Thelma Adams: Novelist, Critic, Oscar Expert

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Gone, Baby, Gone: Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike Kiss Deadly in David Fincher’s Killer Thriller

October 4, 2014 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Pike's Peak with a side of Affleck

Pike’s Peak with a side of Affleck


There hasn’t been a soignée blonde so flat-out hate-able since Gwyneth bitched about the burdens of motherhood. Welcome to the A-list, Gone Girl star Rosamund Pike! The tall, slender, Oxford-educated actress who made her feature film debut in Die Another Day in 2002 would have made a great Hitchcock obsession, pecked by birds or poked in the shower.

Pike escapes playing go-to girlfriend roles (Jack Reacher opposite Tom Cruise) to rule as the title anti-heroine in David Fincher’s highly anticipated adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s marriage-gone-wild thriller, which opened last Friday following its world premiere at the New York Film Festival. Flynn, a former journalist, also scripted, tweaking an ending that never quite satisfied on the page.

For novel fans, there will be few surprises (read here for my review of the book on Goodreads: Amy Dunne (Pike), whose parents irksomely exploited her childhood in a profitable children’s book series titled Amazing Amy, disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary to Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck doing an Affleck). Nick, who has retreated with Amy to his Missouri hometown after they both lost their Manhattan writers’ jobs, is at first the bereaved and befuddled husband. And then, thanks to some helpful clues, and the doggedness of Detective Rhonda Boney (a tart Kim Dickens), the trail begins to point at imperfect Nick and suggest foul play.

Out, out damn spot for Pike's Appalling Amy.

Out, out damn spot for Pike’s Appalling Amy.

As Amy’s parents arrive from New York and generate a media frenzy to find their daughter as much as whip up flagging book sales, Nick begins to appear increasingly suspicious. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Movies & TV Tagged With: Ben Affleck, David Fincher, Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl, New York Film Festival, novels into film, Rosamund Pike, The Leftovers

Countdown to TIFF – 13 Days – Movie Trailer “Argo”

August 24, 2012 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Ben Affleck has turned out to be a good, smart Hollywood director. Tell me you didn’t like “Gone, Baby, Gone” or “The Town.” Now he’s back with “Argo,” about a desperate rescue mission during the Iranian revolution. It looks like a good seventies-era thriller set in the seventies. It could be Oscar, but I won’t know until I see it on Thursday September 6th at the Bell Lightbox. Take a look:

Filed Under: Movies & TV, Oscar Race Tagged With: Argo, Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Iran, Oscars 2013, TIFF12

Movie Review: The Company of Men

December 10, 2010 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Up in the Air, Movie Review, corporate greed, Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, Chris Cooper,

Us Rating: ***

When his business downsizes, an exec (Ben Affleck) gets a wake-up call in this sharp, dark ensemble drama. Affleck’s alpha male struggles with selling his beloved Porsche — the shame! — and resorts to manual labor for his despised builder brother-in-law (Kevin Costner). A variation on last year’s Up in the Air, the timely story dissects the bitter human cost of corporate greed.

Click here to view Us Weekly review

Filed Under: Criticism Tagged With: Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, corporate greed, Kevin Costner, movie reviews, Sundance Film Festival, Tommy Lee Jones, Up in the Air

Review: The Town

September 19, 2010 By Thelma Leave a Comment

Rebecca Hall, Ben Affleck

Us rating: ***

Ben Affleck does double duty on this engrossing romantic thriller, both directing and assuming the lead role. As a career criminal in Boston, he falls in love with the bank manager (Rebecca Hall) abducted by his crew during a heist — a scenario that’s further complicated by his short-fused accomplice (Jeremy Renner). TV’s Jon Hamm and Blake Lively make a leap to the big screen as a fed and a druggie mom, respectively. But it’s Affleck the filmmaker who really scores: His strong storytelling sense makes this Town worth the visit.

http://tiny.cc/coi2v

Filed Under: Criticism Tagged With: Ben Affleck, Blake Lively, Boston, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, movie reviews, must-see, Rebecca Hall, The Town, Toronto International Film Festival

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