"The Martian" Review (****)

Matt Damon stars as Mark Watney in "The Martian."

“The Martian” is an emotional, ruthlessly realistic space-travel survival story that never once overwhelms you with the scope of it, with the concept of interstellar isolation, or with hopelessness. Instead, it magnifies the magnificence of everything within its frame. Ridley Scott is practiced and controlled and patient with the grandeur of space, and “The Martian” is arguably his loosest and most playful project to date. And with Drew Goddard adapting Andy Weir’s bestselling novel for the screen, this film can’t be anything but good… and it is. Honestly, it is. “The Martian” never maroons you within the darkest pits of Mars, never speaks in platitudes about the smallness of humanity, never reduces itself to cliché. It’s a champion of exploration, of adventure, and of knowledge and innovation. I doubt there’s much contention in me saying that “The Martian” will be the blockbuster film of 2015.

Review: "A Most Violent Year" (****½)

Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac star in "A Most Violent Year."

From the opening credits, "A Most Violent Year" is hypnotic. A tracking shot shows our lead, Abel (Oscar Isaac), jogging through a chilly New York. It’s 1981. Passing graffiti-covered buildings, piles of dirty snow and junk yards, we’re introduced to a New York rarely seen in film. The gorgeous, crisp sepia-toned colors and cool, clean tracking shots call to mind some of David Fincher’s more recent films. Perhaps writer director JC Chandor took a page from Fincher’s how-to-make-anything-and-everything-look-amazing playbook. It’s beautiful. The sun starts to rise as the city wakes up. After Abel finishes his morning run, we see his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), applying her make-up and listening to the local news on the radio as she stares into the mirror and exhales cigarette smoke. Soon after, the couple meets up in a damp, snowy parking lot as Abel grabs two brief cases from the trunk of his car and tells Anna that she “looks very nice.” At the same time, a young man driving a large truck pays his way through a toll booth on a bustling highway. The man is immediately blocked in by two cars, pulled out of his truck and beaten up by two strangers with hand guns. The words “A Most Violent Year” appear on the screen accompanied by the sound of a passing train.

Two Takes: "American Sniper" Review

In our new review column, Cameron and Ali have a conversation and give both of their takes on Clint Eastwood's latest film, which just earned six Academy Award nominations.

Bradley Cooper stars as Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper."

Cameron: After three weeks in tremendously successful limited release, earning six Oscar nominations and a perfect storm of buzz and press interest, Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” opened up nationwide this weekend. I loved the film on many levels. What was your overall impression?

Ali: Overall impression? I’d say this is a very heavy film. And I loved it, too. I really did, I wish I wasn’t in such a rush after the movie. That way, I could really soak in the feeling I was left with after this film. Particularly with regard to what it means to be a war hero, I felt the entire time Clint Eastwood was playing like a devil’s advocate of sorts. I didn’t know if he was glorifying or horrifying it.

Review: "Interstellar" (***)

Matthew McConaughey stars in "Interstellar"

Here’s the first thing I have to say about Christopher Nolan’s newest film “Interstellar”: 159 minutes is too long. There are films, though rare they are, that warrant this kind of length: "Boogie Nights" (149 minutes), "Titanic" (195 minutes), "The Godfather" (175 minutes)… you get the picture. “Interstellar” does not belong on this list. That’s not to say it doesn’t belong on other lists, because I absolutely think this is a quality film with valuable insights. But there is a whole chunk of the movie, that had it not been there, I think it would have made for a much better viewing experience. Without spoiling or revealing too much, there’s a 30-minute subplot line that involves a very tragic and angry Matt Damon that is so maundering and unnecessary that it nearly defines the word superfluous. There was an extremely dumb looking fistfight (boys will be boys, I guess?) on am extremely gorgeous looking planet, and I found myself laughing at a part of this film that had no intention of being funny.

Jessica Chastain one-two punch: "Zero Dark Thirty" (****½) and "Mama" (**½)

Top: Jessica Chastain stars in "Zero Dark Thirty"
Bottom: Chastain stars in "Mama" alongside Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

It's hard to think of another film career that has begun with quite the same bang that Jessica Chastain's has. After Meryl Streep transitioned from the stage to the big screen, it didn't take long for the Academy Award nominations and leading roles to start stacking up. Audrey Hepburn's star rose astoundingly quickly after her first Oscar-nominated performance in "Roman Holiday." But neither Streep nor Hepburn can claim such a seemingly overnight ascent to the top in both the critical and the commercial realms.

Chastain first turned heads in 2008, playing the title character in "Jolene." A small release that mostly played festivals, Chastain earned higher marks than the film itself. In 2011, the Chastain blitzkrieg began. "The Tree of Life," "The Help," "Take Shelter," "The Debt," "Coriolanus," "Wilde Salome" and "Texas Killing Fields" assured her face was in every multiplex and her name was on everyone's lips. A requisite Oscar nomination followed (for "The Help"), and again the next year (for "Zero Dark Thirty"). In 2012, starring roles in "Lawless" and "Zero Dark Thirty" catapulted Chastain beyond her label as a new, critically-beloved actress and into movie star territory. In the past two weeks, Chastain has held the number one spot at the domestic box office twice, and the top two positions simultaneously. The success of "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Mama" is crucially timed. Chastain is on everyone's minds just as Oscar ballots are currently in voter's hands. The hardworking actress could very well receive a trophy on stage at the Dolby Theatre next month.

Review: "Lawless" (****)

Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain star in "Lawless"

Step one: Get director John Hillcoat and writer/musician Nick Cave back together. Step two: Assemble names like Chastain, Hardy, LaBeouf, Oldman, Pearce and Wasikowska. Step three: Convince Emmylou Harris to work with Cave and Warren Ellis on some new music. Step four: Film in Georgia. This is a perfect recipe to gain my interest.

With my curiosity at an all time high, "Lawless" premiered at Cannes. While it didn't knock any socks off, it didn't receive many bad marks either. When the trailer hit a few weeks later, my expectations were put in check. I remained enthusiastic, but some wind was let out of my sails upon seeing what appeared to be more of a commercial play than an exercise in artistry. Now, having seen the film, I confess to being very pleased with the final product.

The Best Films of 2011

A lot of movie pundits have agreed to label 2011 as a weak year. I suppose I see where they are coming from. I can only claim to love just a few of 2011's releases, but I sure did like a lot. Titles like "Certified Copy," "Melancholia," "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "We Need to Talk About Kevin" showcased crisp and intelligent European cinema as good as anything else in the past several years. Commercial American films such as "Contagion," "Hugo" and "Moneyball" paired sharp screenplays with excellent visuals. Independent cinema shined too, with films like "Martha Marcy May Marlene," "Take Shelter" and "Sahkanaga" standing out. One film, however, stands heads and tails above the rest.

After years of doing this, one usually develops a sense of how strong or weak the year in film is pretty early on. But once you start going back and compiling a list of accolades, each year seems strong in it's own right. Check out my top twenty films of 2011 after the jump.

"The Tree of Life" dominates first ever Georgia Film Critics Awards

"The Tree of Life" won 6 awards out of 8 nominations.

You can now add Georgia to the list of states and cities around the country that boast their own film critics groups and award presentations. The Georgia Film Critics Association released their slate of nominees for their inaugural awards last week and just this evening announced the winners. Although both "The Tree of Life" and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" led the way with eight nominations each, the former received the lion's share of prizes with a total of six. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" was awarded Best Ensemble. "War Horse" won Best Score out of six nominations and both "Moneyball" and "Certified Copy" took home two awards each.

Brad Pitt won both Best Actor (for "Moneyball") and Best Supporting Actor (for "The Tree of Life"), while Juliette Binoche won Best Actress (for "Certified Copy") and newcomer Jessica Chastain was awarded prizes for Best Supporting Actress (for "The Tree of Life") and Breakthrough. Chastain bested fellow "The Tree of Life" star Hunter McCracken, British actor Tom Hiddleston ("Midnight in Paris," "Thor" & "War Horse"), as well as actors-turned-filmmakers Josh Radnor ("Happythankyoumoreplease") and Richard Ayoade ("Submarine") in the Breakthrough category.

Other awards went to "The Adventures of Tintin," "Midnight in Paris," "The Muppets," the Georgia-made "Sahkanaga" and racing documentary "Senna."

See the full list of winners and nominees after the jump.