‘Molly’s Game’ hits theatre
Jessica Chastain stars in “Molly’s Game” this week — The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.
In addition to the wonderfully talented Chastain, it also stars Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Sera and Jeremy Strong. It is directed by Aaron Sorkin, who has brought us such real story gems as “Moneyball,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “The Social Network” and most recently “Steve Jobs.” It is rated 14A, and comes with a coarse language and substance abuse warning. It will show daily at 12:45, 3:40. 6:35 and 9:30 p.m. From the official site of STX Films, we read: “Molly Bloom, a beautiful young Olympic-class skier, ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans, and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.”
Chastain’s performance has garnered her several award nominations, and rightfully so (although I feel her performance earlier in the year for “The Zookeepers Wife” was even better). I feel that this film deserved a much longer and stronger reception at the box office, however; in fairness, the movie landscape gets so very cluttered at this time of year, with so many films and studios vying for awards and attention.
On a side note, I admit to having had to bite my tongue recently with regards to Hollywood, and their activities outside of what they are supposed to be good at — making entertaining movies. It seems that everyone in Hollywood has become vocally political and somewhat of an expert on just about everything. I fear they do not see the “forest for the trees,” and like the “Pied Piper”are leading some people astray with the tune they are piping.
The sheer amount of hypocrisy and double standards pouring out of the industry, and in particular the awards shows, are difficult to digest. I just want Hollywood to do what we all want them to do — simply make good quality entertainment that is original, imaginative, inclusive, educational, engaging and entertaining. See you at the movie theatre!
Please feel free to contact me with your comments or feedback — even an idea for an article — len@moviemill.com. Hope to see you at the movies!