Dark Places

V-am spus ca nu mi-a placut cartea mai demult. Totusi, fan infocat al lui Gillian Flynn, am decis sa vad si filmul. Si, spre deosebire de carte, merita atentia voastra daca sunteti si voi admiratori ai femeii care a inventat-o pe Amy si a definit conceptul de “cool girl” pentru o intreaga generatie.

In primul rand filmul se misca mult mai repede decat m-as fi asteptat.  Ben ajunge imediat in barul cu drogati unde se lauda ca a omorat vaci in numele Satanei, iar Libby si Lyle ajung in strip club-ul unde lucreaza Krissi Cates in 2 timpi si 3 miscari.

In cazul in care nu ati citit cartea si va e lene sa cititi pana si review-ul meu, subiectul pe scurt: cand Libby era foarte mica, mama si surorile ei mai mici au fost ucise, ea fiind singura supravietuitoare.  Erau o familie foarte saraca, iar fratele ei era un adolescent retras cu par negru vopsit, pantaloni de piele si acultator de heavy metal. Crimele au avut loc cand in America exista fenomenul “Satanic Panic” – frica de prezenta satanistilor. Drept urmare, tanarul Ben a fost condamant, iar el si Libby nu s-au mai vazut de atunci.

Dupa cativa zeci de ani, Libby nu mai are bani, asa ca accepta sa ajute un Kill Club local in o noua ancheta privata a cazului in schimbul unei remuneratii. In peregrinarile sale este ajutata de tanarul Lyle, initiatorul acestei investigatii.

Personajele din prezent sunt interpretate de Charlize Theron (Libby), Nicholas Hoult (Lyle) si Corey Stroll (Ben), iar cele din trecut de Christina Hendricks (mama) si Chloe Grace Moretz (malefic Diondra). Rezolvarea misterului m-a enervat si de data asta, previzibil avand in vedere ca e fidel cartii.

Poate, daca va pasioneaza romanele cu detectivi, nu o sa fiti dezamagiti. Enjoy!

Ant-Man

I know you’re tired of super-hero movies and I know the idea of a guy whose super-power is to shrink to the size of an ant is as lame as it gets, but you have to give Ant-Man a chance. It’s a lot more fun thank you might think, plus it works perfectly as a stand-alone movie.

Scott Lang (an ageless Paul Rudd) was just released from prison. He tries to get in touch with his little girl, but his ex-wife (Judy Greer, always the secondary character) and her fiancée, a cop (Bobby Cannavale), will not let him near the girl until he gets a job and a place of his own. He currently lives with his former cell-mate (Michael Pena) and two of his friends (T.I. and David Dastmalchian). He tries to live an honest life, but all he can get as an ex-con is a free giant mango-smoothie.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas, who is said to have enjoyed a lot filming this) has kept his former ant-man suit hidden. The problem is that his protégé, Darren (Corey Stroll, not Peter Sarsgaard and not Jai Courtney, but a guy who looks like the perfect mix of the two), is close to finding his own formula for a similar suit he wants to sell to anyone rich enough to afford it. In order to stop him, Hank can only rely on his estranged daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly). That’s until he crosses paths with Scott, obviously.

If you are a Marvel fan, you’re going to be pleased to see Agent Carter (Hayley Atwell) at the start of the movie. Also, at one point, Ant-Man fights The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and wins!

In the comics, there have been 4 people taking on the role of Ant-Man, but the last two are not as important. Hank is the most popular one, a founding member of the original Avengers along with his wife The Wasp. The other one is Scott Lang. Hope was only shown in an alternate-universe arc (Marvel seems to have a lot of these in the comics), where her name is Hope Pym and she’s kind of evil. It’s pretty obvious the Hope Van Dyne is a good girl, who will probably be The Wasp in future films.

That being said, you don’t have to know all of this geeky stuff to enjoy the movie. It’s good-clean family fun and it’s full of memorable gags. Unlike other films, you’ll be pleased to find there’s more than the trailer lets you see. So go see it! Enjoy!