New drama/biography Resistance is the story of a group of Jewish Boy Scouts who worked with the French Resistance to save the lives of ten thousand orphans during World War II.
Written/directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz; key cast includes Jesse Eisenberg, Ed Harris, Edgar Ramírez and Clémence Poésy.
Having recently seen Eisenberg in The Art of Self Defence (2019), where for much of the film he’s far from empowered, I like that in Resistance his character appears brave, heroic and in charge.
Matthias Schweighöfer, Bella Ramsey, Géza Röhrig, Karl Markovics, Félix Moati, Alicia von Rittberg, Vica Kerekes, Tobias Gareth Elman, Kue Lawrence, Christian Clarke and Aurélie Bancilhon also star.
The Art Of Self Defense (2019), Jesse Eisenberg, Bleeker Street
It was the humour in the trailer for writer/director Riley Stearns’s comedy/drama, The Art of Self-Defense, that first had my attention. Then came my desire to see Jesse Eisenberg’s character Casey’s interest in self-defence actually pay off.
Also starring Alessandro Nivola and Imogen Poots, the first third of The Art of Self Defense proved quite uncomfortable to watch, because it’s never fun to see a vulnerable person being taken advantage of. I therefore couldn’t wait for Casey to finally reap the benefits of his Karate lessons – which he does, but certainly not quite in the way one might expect.
I liked the general outline of Stearn’s story, but similarly to Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster (2015), things took a dark turn I wasn’t fully expecting, and I found myself wanting to go back to the more humorous phase, even though said phase was mixed with uncomfortably vulnerable scenes.
There are two or more moments in Stearns’s film that had me questioning the believability of certain goings on. Also, towards the end, the editing had me feeling as though specific scenes had been skipped, which unfortunately made the whole experience feel rushed.
Everyone performed well but my favourite is Nivola’s turn as sensei, because he’s the source of much of the little humour there is, plus his quiet confidence and general air of mystery also proved quite arresting.
Generally speaking, I really can’t say that I enjoyed The Art of Self Defense more than it annoyed and or made me uncomfortable. Should you find yourself particularly curious, especially if you liked The Lobster (2015) in its entirety, perhaps give The Art of Self Defense a chance.
Vivarium is the new sci-fi/mystery starring Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, and directed/co-written by Lorcan Finnegan.
While searching for the perfect starter home, young couple Tom and Gemma end up following a mysterious real estate agent to a new housing development, but soon realise that they actually can’t leave.
‘What fresh nightmare is this?‘
The very kind that has me wanting to watch and find out just how different this will be compared to one of my Jim Carey favourites, The Truman Show (1998).
I’m guessing some kind of alien abduction happened.
Jonathan Aris, Eanna Hardwicke, Shana Hart, Senan Jennings, Molly McCann, Danielle Ryan and Olga Wehrly also star.
New comedy The Art of Self Defense stars Imogen Poots, Alessandro Nivola and Jesse Eisenberg.
Directed by Riley Stearns, it’s the story of Casey (Eisenberg), a man who’s randomly attacked on the street, and so begins a journey to learn self-defence, with the help of a charismatic and mysterious Sensei.
The promise of comedy is why I’m interested, and I definitely want to see Casey become less afraid.
There’s also the fact that I already like Nivola’s character’s attitude. He reminds me quite a bit of Chris Messina’s Danny Castellano character in The Mindy Project (2012-2017).
Steve Terada, Phillip Andre Botello, Leland Orser, Josh Fadem, Elizabeth Howlett and Chris Lay also star.
Salma Hayek, Alexander Skarsgård and Jesse Eisenberg are the stars of The Hummingbird Project, a Kim Nguyen-written/directed drama about two high-frequency traders facing off with their former boss.
The prize available is serious money in a fibre-optic cable deal.
I’m in for the showdown, because I love Hayek, I want to see Eisenberg in what looks like a more crazed version of his role as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network (2010). And lastly, I have to see more of Skarsgård’s character running.
Michael Mando, Johan Heldenbergh, Ayisha Issa, Sarah Goldberg and Kwasi Songui also star.
The Movie My Life 