Joyce KulhawikHere’s the bottom line on some of what I’ve seen lately onscreen:
STEVE JOBS:
See STEVE JOBS. Who knows if it’s all true the way screenwriter Aaron Sorkin tells it. But his trademark breakneck dialogue, furious pace, and facile conclusions are as persuasive as Michael Fassbender’s uncanny impersonation (though he barely looks like the Apple wizard). It’s worth noting that this feature film which takes us behind the scenes of three product launches, arrives at the same conclusions as did the fine doc “The Man in the Machine,” i.e. that Jobs felt simultaneously abandoned and chosen, a dichotomy which here plays itself out in his contradictory responses to fatherhood and father figures, specifically John Sculley, powerfully portrayed by Jeff Daniels. Kate Winslet is fascinating (despite her disappearing/re-appearing eastern european accent)as Joanna Hoffman, Jobs’ brilliant, fearless gal Friday (and all the other days), and Seth Rogen is just right as the great Woz.
SPECTRE:
See SPECTRE. The latest Bond film may be Danny Craig’s last outing as 007. This installment elegantly directed by Sam Mendes fleshes out more of the debonair secret agent’s murky past, and features Christoph Waltz as his archest of arch enemies, plus the requisite intrigue, global cavorting, and killer chase sequences. Ralph Fiennes has been given a bit more to do, wish the same were true of the great beauty Monica Bellucci. But Craig’s chemistry with French actress Lea Seydoux (2013 Best Actress at Cannes for “Blue is the Warmest Color”) almost makes us forget Bond’s late, great, dark-haired inamorata, played by the unforgettable Eva Green.