Year: 2019

10 Bad-relationship Movies: 6. ‘Blue Valentine’

Jeff Mitchell

6.  “Blue Valentine” (2010) – The title of director Derek Cianfrance’s film is exactly what one would expect.  It’s a love story that goes south, and the unfortunate man and woman caught in the downward spiral are Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams), respectively.  This young couple’s initial attraction to each other is clear, and marriage seems like a romantic forever-rendezvous and the most logical next step. Altruistic bliss is their vision, but reality sets in during a five to six year-relationship, when money, alcohol abuse and the monotony…

10 Bad-relationship Movies: 7. ‘Heathers’

Jeff Mitchell

“Heathers” (1988) – Ah, the new kid.  The new kid at school automatically qualifies for attention from other students, because he or she is an unknown. “Who is the new kid?”   “What’s her deal?”   “Where is he from?” Someone new – at school, work or a social club – can offer a fresh perspective, and in this case J.D. (Christian Slater) certainly offers one at Westerburg High School in Ohio.  He’s a dark, brooding loner and speaks a lot like Jack Nicholson. Veronica (Winona Ryder) has recently grown tired of…

Mikkelsen carries the torch in ‘Arctic’

Jeff Mitchell

“Arctic” – Mads Mikkelsen’s character kneels on a narrow path of black rock and chips away at ice and snow with a pick and a serrated piece of sheet metal.  For anyone who has ever shoveled a driveway when the temperature hovers around zero, the opening scene of “Arctic” is a stressful reminder of Old Man Winter and his associated, compulsory chores. The difference between Overgard (Mikkelsen) and John Q. Public scrapping coagulated powder in the frozen suburbs of Minneapolis, Chicago, Buffalo, Toronto, Boston, and Spokane is the latter poor…