Currently browsing the "Mia Wasikowska" tag.

Albert Nobbs

What an odd little film! Every few years a gender switching film comes along and everyone gets excited about it (Linda Hunt in The Year of Living Dangerously, Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry, Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie.) This time Glenn Close plays the title character Albert Nobbs, a timid little butler in a second-rate Dublin hotel around the turn of the 20th century. The film has a very Upstairs, Downstairs feeling, mostly downstairs, with one of the maids getting knocked up by a handyman, a typhoid scare shutting down the hotel, and the usual petty personality quirks keeping things interesting. Unfortunately, the character at the center of this film, Albert Nobbs, is not part of the fun.

Restless

I got restless watching Restless. In other words, I was bored.

Jane Eyre

A quick check of IMDB reveals that Jane Eyre has been made no less than 22 times since the advent of film; the earliest was in 1910. Charlotte Brontë wrote the classic from which it has been adapted in 1847 and it has been a must read ever since. But does it really need one more interpretation? The last time it was remade was in 1996 and starred William Hurt and Charlotte Gainsbourg. I saw that one, too, but I’d say the new one is much better, which leads me to say, yes, we do need a new one every few years for the people who don’t know this story.

The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right is one of the smartest, funniest films of the year. Annette Bening is pitch perfect as the alpha-mom of the movie and really should get an Oscar for her performance. Which is not to say that the rest of the cast (Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, and Josh Hutcherson) are less than fabulous; this talented ensemble keeps you laughing from beginning to the end. (Okay, there are a few moments that are more serious, but fear not! They are few.)

Alice in Wonderland

With his Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton is back with a film that may look in some ways like one of his others but in a lot of ways is a different animal. Mia Wasikowska (In Treatment, Amelia) plays 19 year old Alice, a young woman who has always had vivid dreams and is being shoved into marrying to a total prig. She falls down the infamous rabbit hole while running away from her “engagement party” to think about her options. And once down in this strange world, she encounters all the usual suspects, the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp with a strange lisp), Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, the Cheshire Cat, the March Hare, etc.