John Carney's handling of these scenes from 'Begin Again' is very confident.



Really like Mark Ruffalo's character's reveal/backstory in this clip. Scene also peels back a couple layers of Keira Knightley's character. Nicely written.




Carney knows this world. He played bass with The Frames (and other bands). There are a few live recordings on YouTube. Here's 'Dance the Devil' by The Frames. It's pretty good.

People Want This

People want this in their lives. They want this kind of thing to happen -- to them. They want the opportunity to do something like this.

'Begin Again' may not make a lot of money at the box office, but it resonates -- should do well on TV/Cable.

It Could Happen...

Why not? Stuff like this happens, right?

Written and directed by John Carney who did almost the same story with 'Once'. With Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo 'Begin Again' is at least a must-rent sometime. Looks charming.

Trailer for 'Foxcatcher' -- Not Your Average Inspirational Sports Movie

At first, this trailer makes 'Foxcatcher' look like a by-the-numbers sports movie and you give it a chance just to be fair. You can see the quality from director Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) but it plays pretty regular. Then, it gets more intense. People have odd expressions. It's off somehow. There's something afoot.

For sure we've never seen Steve Carell like this. I would never have guessed he had this much creepy in him. Channing Tatum turns in an edgy performance. And, Mark Ruffalo with a scoped rifle?

'Foxcatcher' is based on the true story of Olympic wrestlers Mark Schultz (Tatum) and Dave Schultz (Ruffalo), and their obsessed coach John Eleuthère du Pont (Carell). The Wikipedia write-ups are worth a read.

By the end, with that last shot, it becomes clear this is an intense psychological drama. By-the-numbers not at all. My kind of flick.