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Archives for : November2015

Movie Review: “By the Sea” is a Dull and Pretentious Vanity Project

Dear Angelina Jolie, please give up trying to direct anymore films. To sum it up, at best, you are not very good at directing. Too harsh? Well then you clearly haven’t endured Jolie’s latest project, By the Sea, in which the Academy Award winning actress directed, wrote, produced, and starred.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Angelina Jolie, and I believe she is an incredibly talented actress, when she’s not directing herself that is.

By the Sea follows Vanessa (Jolie) and her husband Roland (Brad Pitt) as they vacation in France so that they may mend their marriage, and he can gain inspiration to write his next book. After what feels like an hour of nothing, they discover a peep hole in their hotel room that allows them to watch a newlywed couple (Melanie Laurent and Melvil Poupaud) on their honeymoon.

Let me first say, for a good thirty or more minutes we have no clue what this film is about. It is clear Vanessa is depressed and awkward, as she is quiet and almost always crying. Not knowing what’s wrong with Vanessa, you would assume her husband is some kind of monster and we’re just waiting for him to go off. Spoiler alert, he’s not. Don’t hold your breath on that one. Basically something did happen between these two. When it’s finally revealed, the story does come together and makes sense to a point. However, it is not worth the pay off, nor the two hours of your life you have wasted.

Pitt is the only saving grace to this wretched film. He seems to be the only character that has any sense and real personality. Unfortunately, for Jolie’s character, she clearly cannot get the best performance out of herself. It was as if she was an amateur actress trying way too hard throughout the entire story.

Though the setting of France in the mid-1970s was beautiful, the shots and the style produced came off too artsy and irrelevant towards moving the story forward. Jolie’s attempt at “deep” and “meaningful” scenes has a much more comical affect.

I’d like to say By the Sea had potential, but sadly, Vanessa’s opening line, “Smells like fish,” foreshadows all too well just how much of a stinker this movie is.

Rating: 1/5

By the Sea opens in theaters November 20.

“By the Sea” Official Trailer HD

Interview: Evan Ross & Wes Chatham talk “Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt 2”

The wildly successful “Hunger Game” franchise concludes with the much-anticipated finale, “Mockingjay Part Two.” I sat down with stars Evan Ross (son of Diana Ross) and Wes Chatham (The Help) about the climatic finale.

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