Screening Room: “Killing Them Softly,” “Anna Karenina”

Russ Simmons

12 years ago

KANSAS CITY, MO —

KILLING THEM SOFTLY (R)

If you want to take the sentimental edge off this holiday season, “Killing Them Softly” will do the trick. This brutally violent and cynical gangster flick stars Brad Pitt as a hit man who has the task of knocking off three dumb criminals who rob a mob-run poker game.

This territory is the same usually mined by filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, and while “Killing Them Softly” isn’t quite up to their standards, Andrew Dominik’s decadent R-rated shoot-‘em-up is a smart and stylish work. Terrific performances from Pitt, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins and Ray Liotta give it a boost.

The movie’s attempt to draw parallels between the underworld and American business and politics is a bit heavy-handed, though.

Shawn says “Brad Pitt couldn’t be more boring or flat. Feels like an over-achieving student film and something Quentin Tarantino would have done last century.”

So, feeling too upbeat? Experiencing the bleak worldview demonstrated by “Killing Them Softly,” will certainly change that.

RUSS: 3 Popcorn Bags

SHAWN: 2 Popcorn Bags

ANNA KARENINA (R)

Style nearly overpowers substance in the 10th movie adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic tragic romance, “Anna Karenina.” Director Joe Wright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard mount the story inside an aging theatre, so the sheen of artifice is always there. At times, it plays a bit like a Broadway musical.

But the filming is wildly imaginative and the costumes and art direction are impeccable. Kiera Knightly makes for a passionate Anna, the 19^th Century Russian aristocrat who has a torrid affair with a handsome count behind her husband’s back.

The cast is rock solid and the story is compelling, but the filmmaker’s nearly operatic approach prevents us from fully connecting emotionally.

Shawn calls it, “a sophisticated cinematic soap opera that’s way heavier on style than substance. Kiera Knightly once again is good, but not great.”

Purists may balk, but “Anna Karenina” is still a ravishing, if flawed experiment.

RUSS: 4 Popcorn Bags

SHAWN: 3 Popcorn Bags

JACK AND DIANE (R)

Sometimes, we critics take a bullet for you. “Jack and Diane” is the perfect example. This wannabe arthouse horror flick is about a pair of teenage lesbians who may be werewolves! The most interesting thing about this colossally pretentious movie is its casting. The film stars Juno Temple, daughter of famed British director Julian Temple, and Riley Keough, the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughter of Elvis Presley.

What could have been campy fun is, instead, deadly dull…and a candidate for worst movie of the year.

RUSS: 0 Popcorn Bags

Also opening this week, “The Collection” (R) is yet another violent horror flick about a psychopathic killer who “collects” young women for torture.