We hate Ben Affleck

Metro-100114-ReelTalk-GoneGirl

‘GONE GIRL’ TRAILER REVIEW BY METRO CREW
Each week, the Metro crew shares their thoughts on trailers for upcoming films. Directed by David Fincher and based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl stars Ben Affleck as a man whose wife goes missing — and he’s the main suspect. We love Fincher, but watching this trailer really just turned into a Ben Affleck hate-fest. Gone Girl opens Oct. 3.

PAIGE: I read the book. It’s a good book, but I hate it. Everyone is lying. That is what you should think about when you watch the film. Everyone. Is. Lying.
CHRISTINA: Every time I see Ben Affleck, I just wish that he were Casey Affleck.
JAIMIE: Every time I see Ben Affleck, I want to punch him in the face.
NICOLE: YES.
JAMES: Every time we see Ben Affleck in the trailer, he’s throwing something.
JAIMIE: Also that song (in the trailer) is really annoying.
CHRISTINA: It creeps me out. When you have a song that is happy sounding, but then they put it against imagery like that, that just always really creeps me out.
JAIMIE: But it just makes me hate Ben Affleck even more. Overall in the trailer, I think we are supposed to hate him.
JAMES: I think he did it.
NICOLE: I don’t want to see this movie! I hate Ben Affleck. I don’t care.
JAIMIE: Ben Affleck has only been good in, like, three films.
NICOLE: Name the three.
JAIMIE: I can’t. I am just arbitrarily saying three.
JAMES: (Ben Affleck) is better behind the camera than in front of the camera.
JAIMIE: Ben Affleck is like the rejected best friend. Everyone prefers Matt Damon and no one wants Ben Affleck.
CHRISTINA: Casey Affleck is so much better. Any time they want to hire Ben Affleck, they should just get his more talented younger brother.
JAIMIE: Yeah, how come Casey Affleck’s face doesn’t make me want to punch him?
NICOLE: I feel like (Ben’s) mouth is always slightly open, and that bothers me. Close your mouth. Like, Kiefer Sutherland is a mouth-breather. That irritates me!
JAMES: (back to the Gone Girl trailer) I feel like they’re implying the fact that he could be guilty.
PAIGE: In the book, half the book is the Ben Affleck character telling his story of what happens after his wife disappears. And the other half of the book is the diary of his wife from when they first met all the way until her disappearance.
JAIMIE: In the trailer, when he is giving the press conference and he is standing next to the poster of his presumed dead/missing wife, and he gives that creepy smile … I just hate him.

 

REEL-VIEW RATINGS: THE BIGGER THE BEARD THE BETTER THE MOVIE

Metro-100114-ReelTalk

TO BE TAKEI
kewlHe may be Hikaru Sulu of USS Enterprise and a prominent civil rights activist, but George Takei is equally likely to share tortilla memes and other “nacho everyday occurrences” with his fans — he’s really nothing short of a Renaissance man. Now, filmmaker Jennifer Kroot attempts to capture everything Takei in her 94-minute documentary, To Be Takei, playing Wednesday and Friday at Honolulu Museum of Art’s Doris Duke Theatre. “George Takei is a unique cultural icon whose life story allows for candid conversations about an interesting spectrum of important topics, ranging from wartime class struggles to race tensions, LGBT issues and the complexities of media representation,” explains Taylour Chang, Doris Duke’s theatre manager. Kroot’s film bounces smoothly between Takei’s present-day endeavors (popping in and out of conventions and speeches with his manager-husband Brad Altman) and his past struggles, including his family’s forced relocation and internment in World War II and the struggles he had getting work as a closeted Asian-American actor. In addition, look for interviews with a number of Takei acquaintances, including late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. Takei maintains his cheerful persona throughout the film, but Kroot manages to capture the man in occasional moments of frustration — even Takei’s unflappable humor comes at a price. Still, she doesn’t drop any new revelations about Takei, who repeats his heartfelt message about equality wherever he goes. But if you like the man (and who doesn’t like the man? Besides William Shatner, at least), then you’ll like the film. “People want to root for (Takei), and people will want to root for the film and its message,” Chang concurs. To Be Takei plays at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, and 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3. Tickets cost $10 for the public and $8 for museum members. For more information, call 532-8768 or visit honolulumuseum.org/events/films.

 

Metro-100114-ReelTalk-Review

THE SKELETON TWINS
kewlSNL alumni Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader reunite, trading in laughs for existential despair as estranged twins with enough emotional baggage — including the suicide of their father, a series of failed romances and other issues — to keep an airplane grounded. The heavy topics don’t prevent lighter moments, though, and Wiig and Hader are able to play off their shared history to produce mirth and tears in spades. (R) Opened Sept. 26 at Kahala Theatre.

 

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GOD HELP THE GIRL

mehAspiring musician and recovering anorexic Eve (Sucker Punch’s Emily Browning) starts a band with two friends and gets into some romantic tangles along the way to success. The brainchild of Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch, this very indie musical-movie, featuring some very indie-pop music, is as cute as a little pink silk ribbon atop a spoonful of sugar. In other words, yes, it might be too twee for the cynical at heart. (Unrated) Plays at Doris Duke Theatre 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1 and 1 p.m. Oct. 3, $10.

 

HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS
notamusedSimon Pegg stars as Hector, a psychiatrist who, well, just isn’t happy. Naturally, his solution is to travel the world, visit any number of generic and almost-caricatured locations in Africa and Asia, and spout off equally generic aphorisms about love and life. No surprise that this out-of-touch film is based on a self-help book. Help yourself by skipping it. (R) Opens Oct. 3 at Kahala Theatre.