“Who in here is not getting any sex?”

When things start to fall apart in a relationship, when the proverbial writing is on the wall, or when giving it another shot just seems like that one shot too many, the area where the first cracks usually appear is in the ‘bedroom-department’. 

Yes, ‘the old in-out’ is not just out, it’s gone, lost, disappeared altogether. 

Exactly one of the reasons why after 31 years of marriage, Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold Soames (Tommy Lee Jones) decide to seek help from world-renowned marriage counsellor Dr Bernie Feld (Steve Carrell) – their bonfire of passion is down to a few miserable smouldering stumps, and rekindling the fiery flame of passion their relationship once knew has become a desperate priority. Of course, with ‘in’ having been out for such a long time, having them mount a bucking rodeo-bull might be easier to do than each other.

Director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) manages to set the tone for each of the characters’ journey distinctly clear from the word go and it’s a joy to sit back and see it all unfold with two actors whose craft is at an all-time high.

For Kay the loss of intimacy in her and Arnold’s marriage is often too tangible and at times quite simply too much to bear, especially when you have to deal with a man that would much rather watch cable television and focus on how to perfect his golf swing, than mend his broken marriage. 

“Sometimes when a connection is lost we forget how to want one another.”

When the pair visits Dr Bernie, Arnold is met with a man every bit as stubborn as himself, one whose philosophy is ‘you have to break a nose in order to fix it - and you never break a nose slowly’. With that, the stage is set for an epic show-down and some heavy emotional hitting with both Kay and Arnold having to face the fact that they are both guilty of having been fighters more often than lovers. 

Fortunately, where there is a will there is a way. Sometimes all you have to do is come clean about everything, say you are sorry, and then live by your word from that day forth so as to remove any doubt.

In ‘Hope Springs’ we are reminded of this simple truth yet again, that things can change, when people honestly desire for them to change. That every great marriage goes through tough times, but that you should hold on. There comes a time when you as a couple will look back to that moment and realise that it was simply the prelude to something far richer than you ever could have dreamt. 

  “It’s for anyone

 who truly wants it, and are willing to try”.

Relationships are hard work. ‘Hope Springs’ shows us the joy and fulfillment you can share when you just go back to the basics. Like the lyrics of the song says: ‘Love me for the woman I am, and I will love you for being my man’. 

If you haven’t seen this movie yet go rent a copy and make sure that you do. It will have hope spring up in you again too. 

Evil is upon you, whether you like it or not...

Usually when you hear of something that sounds too good to be true – it isn’t.  So the day you see something that looks to good to be true, like a house made of candy,  best you keep your eyes open and watch out. Evil is upon you.  
 

In the feature film adaptation of the Grimms fairytale, ‘Hansel and Gretel’, we get to go back to the house that’s been haunting them for so many years, and while doing so, see them inflict pain and suffering onto their childhood tormentors of old: witches. In fact, killing witches is something the brother and sister have become quite apt at since the time when they harrowingly escaped death  from their candy house of horrors.

                                                                                                                         Now years later, they are witch-hunters for bounty, and in their neck-of-the-woods there’s always plenty of crooked creatures luring young children into their lairs that needs to be punished. Exactly the reason why each-and-every witch they find is going to die.   

  

 'The only good witch...

...is a DEAD witch.'

During the opening credits, real care is taken to establish the original Grimms children’s storybook feel with some authentic-looking illustrations. In between we get shown newspaper headlines informing us of the new roles Hansel and Gretel are fulfilling in an obviously witch-plagued society. 

The plot revolves around having to find some children before the dreaded ‘Blood Moon’ ceremony. During this ceremony, six boys and six girls will be killed for their hearts, the sixth girl however has to be a ‘Grand White Witch’. 

Concocting a potion from their victim’s hearts and drinking it, means the witches will become immune to fire, should one of them ever get caught and land up on the stake. In between searching for all the missing children, the siblings uncover their own mother’s true identity as a Grand White witch, and how this was the reason they had to flee into the woods the night they were captured - some rival witches wanted to drink her heart. 

 

Cast:

Jeremy Renner, who plays the character of ‘Hansel’ in this movie, fails to bring enough of his bad-boy charisma to the table and tends to make some lazy choices throughout his entire performance.

The chemistry between him and Gemma Arterton (Gretel) also appears to be an unholy business at times, and the sibling pair fails to impress as witch-hunters, especially ones that witches should fear.

Arterton’s character would probably have been better portrayed by Rachel Weisz, who most definitely would have given a more centered performance between being a striking feminine beauty and a vicious witch-hunter.  Here, Hollywood also seems to make a lazy choice, the amount of available cleavage clearly the deciding factor.

Making a character more ‘butch’ by having them swear has never served any lady all that well. Sigourney Weaver, during an emotionally charged scene of Aliens, must have been one of the few female leads to get us all on her side when she told the queen alien, ’Get away from her you bitch!” 

Arterton is no Weaver, and her attempts in coming across as ‘in charge’ fail to impress. Fortunately if a career in acting doesn’t work out, one as an underwear model might.

 

Famke Janssen (Jean Grey, X-Men) delivers a solid performance in her role as Muriel, the chief witch. 

Unfortunately, Hansel and Gretel is nothing more than a miserable witch-hunt. Trying to persuade its audience that there are also ‘good witches’ in this world, is like trying to convince people that there are versions of the truth.  

 

To those who would like to see Hell Boy, Blade, The Lord of the Rings and Twilight come together in one sitting, there might be some satisfaction in watching this movie. For the rest of us who are already occupied dealing with all the other evils of this world on a daily basis, inflicting such torment on yourself during your free time might just be too much to ask.

'When you lie to me, I hurt you...'

Lies are bad allies, period. If you weren’t taught this principle while growing up, then you most certainly will learn it very quickly during a CIA interrogation, especially if you are a terrorist. 

In her latest movie, director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), gives a very surreal interpretation of the capturing of Osama Bin Laden. For 13 years the world has been following the cat-and-mouse game between America’s clandestine agencies and the leader of the extremist group – Al Qaeda. In ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, we get to witness his demise and the events that lead up to it.

Bigelow was actually set to start filming another movie when they received news of the raid on Bin Laden’s compound, and his subsequent death. They immediately altered course and started drafting a new script. Fortunately, much of the groundwork done for the first film came in handy and production for ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ could start right away. 

In the world of espionage, the greatest virtue any intelligence agency or agent can possess, is that of patience. Much of the film’s concept also revolves around this. 

Most of us, to our annoyance, are bound, often limited by time in our careers. When you work for the CIA, and are pursuing one of the most dangerous men on the face of the earth, extracting information from co-conspirators is given all the time necessary. That’s good news for the hunters, it's bad news for the terrorists.

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ manages to convey this message really well. America is in it for the long haul when it comes to bringing to justice those who inflict terror upon her citizens, and they will find you, no matter where you are in the world. The characters, for most of the time, also gave some exciting performances. Jessica Chastian, who plays ‘Maya’, is not only a pretty face in this movie, but also the face of a calculating operative that won’t become derailed in her attempts at succeeding in finding Bin Laden. 

Jason Clarke, who plays the character ‘Dan’, also manages to portray his character’s inner turmoil quite accurately. He knows he has a job to do, he knows there are plenty of lives at stake, including his own. But even suffering emotionally as a result of ‘seeing to many naked tortured men’, is simply part of the job description and the characters in this movie certainly knows that.  

In contrast to Clarke and Chastian, Jennifer Ehle and Mark Strong’s performances were slightly methodical, and it shows.   Ehle who plays Maya’s senior CIA analyst, at times delivered her dialogue with inflections and rhythms almost more accurate in style than Meryl Streep herself. Strong appears to have had some coaching from Al Pacino for his character, but comes across as being confused between just following his teaching and copying the master himself. 

With minor flaws like this, ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ still managed to be nominated for five Academy Awards, including: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay and won for Best Sound Editing.

It’s a gritty movie and will keep you entertained until the very end with its steady storyline. Bigelow really did succeed in sustaining the suspense throughout the entire film, and the shifts in momentum you'll encounter is superb. 

If there is one thing you'll take away with you from this movie then it's this: if you are a terrorist and get caught, redeem yourself and co-operate, because 'When you lie to me, I hurt you.’