I have a semi-disturbing question for those of you who are married or in serious relationships – how well do you really know that person sleeping beside you? Their deepest desires, darkest secrets and inner workings and capabilities of their mind may surprise and/or scare you, if Twentieth Century Fox’s chilling thriller Gone Girl is any indication.

Starring Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, the husband who finds himself thrust in the spotlight of suspicion when his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) turns up missing on their anniversary, Gone Girl is based on a novel written by Gillian Flynn. Flynn also penned the screenplay, so I presume it must follow the plot of the book fairly closely, although I haven’t read it.

Similar to his other films Zodiac, Fight Club, Se7en and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, director David Fincher keeps the audience engaged and guessing about the many plot twists and turns as Gone Girl unfolds. The dark, almost melancholy backgrounds, Affleck’s haunting opening monologue about wanting to crack open his wife’s skull to spill forth her secrets, the stark-looking film credits and the eerie musical score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross wonderfully set the tone for the next two and a half hours. Gone Girl is like a beautiful but bizarre jigsaw puzzle that takes its time getting put together. It can be at times frustrating, at times predictable, at times outrageously absurd and at times so enlightening and/or frightening to ponder in its rich layers of complexity that probably no two people will share the same exact theater experience.

What I appreciated most about this film was being able to see the investigation from all sides. Society seems to have a macabre fascination with cases involving missing persons, especially when it’s a husband under suspicion for the disappearance and/or murder of his wife. Anybody else remember the media circus that was the Scott and Laci Peterson case? Gone Girl is a very similar story but you get to see it develop as a behind-the-scenes spectator beginning on the day of the disappearance and working forwards and backwards from there.

July 5, 2012, begins normally enough – Ben Affleck’s character goes for a drink at the bar he co-owns with his hilariously sarcastic twin sister Margot (Carrie Coon) and then he returns home to find his wife missing. He promptly notifies the police when he suspects foul play. It’s interesting to watch Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit dig around for clues – Kim’s police detective is very shrewd while Officer Patrick adds the necessary comedic elements to their yin-yang partnership. Each day presents new information about Amy’s disappearance and the case slowly but steadily building around Nick, as you also glean some of the more intimate details about the couple as seen through flashbacks about how Nick and Amy met, fell in love and got married as told through Amy’s diary entries. It’s hard to know which person is more at fault for the unravelling of their once-happy marriage.

The missing persons case quickly warrants national attention because it turns out that Amy is not your ordinary housewife. Amy is none other than the “Amazing Amy,” the daughter of two famous authors who penned an entire series of books revolving around her childhood and “amazing accomplishments.” Tyler Perry puts in a solid performance as Nick’s Johnnie Cochran-like defense lawyer, Tanner Bolt, who clearly specializes in cases of this celebrity and magnitude. There is a scene in which he coaches Nick on what to say for a national television appearance in order to make the public more sympathetic about the nature of his character after he’s made several incriminating faux pas. It was a fascinating study in human nature and how body language can convey so much about a person’s attitude. Also look for Neil Patrick Harris as Amy’s uptight ex-boyfriend Desi Collings and Casey Wilson as nosy neighbor Noelle Hawthorne – they’re both stand-outs in the film.

At about two and a half hours, Gone Girl felt a little long. While I thoroughly enjoyed the first three-fourths of it, it was the final fourth that left a bitter taste in my mouth. I won’t go into detail and reveal plot spoilers, but I will say I was not the only member of the audience left sitting there in an almost angry, bewildered cloud of confusion after it ended. It almost makes me want to read the book because I want to know more about what these characters were feeling and thinking inside their heads. Maybe then, and only then, will I find peace because the end felt so flawed and full of holes it didn’t make sense to the shrieking rational side of my brain.

I recommend Gone Girl if you’re looking for a film that makes you think about the ties that bind, how men and women relate to one another or if you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary. There’s almost an artsy element to its cinematography. However, if you’re about to get married, it might make you think twice. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Marriage is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory.” Abraham Lincoln was a wise man but Gone Girl felt like a marriage made in the darkest circles of hell, not purgatory. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are both excellent in their roles.

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ALL PASSES HAVE BEEN CLAIMED. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED. FOLLOW CLIQUECLACK ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE+ and TUMBLR FOR CONTEST ALERTS, REVIEWS and BREAKING NEWS.

CliqueClack has partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to offer readers in Washington, D.C. an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new dramatic thriller Gone Girl starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Carrie Coon and David Clennon.

On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick’s portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

The screening will take place Thursday, October 2 at 7:00 PM at AMC Mazza Gallerie.

A very limited number of passes are available on a first come, first served basis. To be eligible, please read and follow the directions CAREFULLY. There will be no exceptions.

• Comment on this post ONLY with MAZZA. Do not add anything else to your comment or it will not register. If you make a mistake, do not edit your comment because it will not register. You must submit a new comment.
• Include your FULL NAME (First and Last) and email address on the entry form (NOT in the comment box!). Double check your email address before submitting. If your email address is misspelled, you will not receive passes.
• ONE entry per person or couple will be accepted. CliqueClack has the right to discard any duplicates or comments that appear to be duplicates. Multiple comments from a single person will result in complete disqualification. As this is not a random drawing, only one person per couple needs to comment. Keep these offers fair for everyone!
• Check your calendar before commenting. If you have no intention of using the passes, please don’t leave a comment. If the studios see that passes we are given to award to our readers are not being used, they will not want to offer us passes for future screenings. Please be considerate!

Please note that passes do not guarantee seats at the screening. Seating is first come, first served so plan to arrive early. CliqueClack has no control over the total number of passes distributed, and is not responsible for seating arrangements at the theater. Please note: Annabelle is rated R. No one under 17 will be admitted without parent or guardian.

Have a look at the trailer below and then tell us where you want to see the film! Gone Girl opens in theaters October 3.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-_-1nJf8Vg

ALL PASSES HAVE BEEN CLAIMED. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED. FOLLOW CLIQUECLACK ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE+ and TUMBLR FOR CONTEST ALERTS, REVIEWS and BREAKING NEWS.

CliqueClack has partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to offer readers in San Francisco and Sacramento an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new dramatic thriller Gone Girl starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Carrie Coon and David Clennon.

On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick’s portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

The screenings will take place Thursday, October 2 at 7:00 PM at the following locations:

• Century City 9, 845 Market Street, San Francisco, CA
• Regal Natomas Stadium 16, 3561 Truxel Rd, Sacramento, CA

A limited number of passes are available on a first come, first served basis. To be eligible, please read and follow the directions CAREFULLY. There will be no exceptions.

• Comment on this post ONLY with either SAN FRANCISCO or SACRAMENTO. If you make a mistake, do not edit your comment because it will not register. You must submit a new comment.
• Include your FULL NAME (First and Last) and email address on the entry form (NOT in the comment box!). Double check your email address before submitting. If your email address is misspelled, you will not receive passes.
• ONE entry per person or couple will be accepted. CliqueClack has the right to discard any duplicates or comments that appear to be duplicates. Multiple comments from a single person will result in complete disqualification. As this is not a random drawing, only one person per couple needs to comment. Keep these offers fair for everyone!
• Check your calendar before commenting. If you have no intention of using the passes, please don’t leave a comment. If the studios see that passes we are given to award to our readers are not being used, they will not want to offer us passes for future screenings. Please be considerate!

Please note that passes do not guarantee seats at the screening. Seating is first come, first served so plan to arrive early. CliqueClack has no control over the total number of passes distributed, and is not responsible for seating arrangements at the theater. Please note: Annabelle is rated R. No one under 17 will be admitted without parent or guardian.

Have a look at the trailer below and then tell us where you want to see the film! Gone Girl opens in theaters October 3.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-_-1nJf8Vg

People think that the genre of comedy westerns contains just a handful of films, but the comedic western goes back to the dawn of cinema including 1918’s Out West and 1922’s The Paleface, with movies featuring comedy legends from Bob Hope (The Paleface) to the Marx Brothers (Go West) to Don Knotts (The Shakiest Gun in the West). More recent comedic westerns include Back to the Future Part III, City Slickers, The Lone Ranger, Lust in the Dust and Three Amigos. There are even animated comedic westerns starring Bugs Bunny, Speedy Gonzales, Fievel and Rango.

And then there is the benchmark for all western comedies that have come since 1974 – Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles. Brooks’ film satirized racism that was often obscured in Hollywood films about the American West, and was full of anachronisms from a reference to the Wide World of Sports to the German army of World War II. The film literally broke the fourth wall by spilling onto the Warner Brothers lot to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, And, of course, there was the infamous campfire scene which set the standard for fart jokes.

Now, Seth MacFarlane has thrown his cowboy hat into the ring with his own take on the anachronistic western comedy, A Million Ways To Die in the West. MacFarlane plays Albert, a very modern man in the west of 1882 who hates everything about living in the west and all the dangers that life entails. He’s a not very successful sheep farmer who loses his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) to Foy (Neil Patrick Harris), owner of the Moustachery (where you’re not a man unless you have a moustache). Albert’s best friend Edward (Giovanni Ribisi) is dating local “working girl” Ruth (Sarah Silverman), who has sex with at least 15 men a day, but is saving herself for marriage before doing the deed with Albert (because that would go against their Christian beliefs).

Albert is ready to leave town to head to the big city of San Francisco, but Anne (Charlize Theron) rides into town one day, and Albert decides that life there may not be so bad after all once Anna becomes more than just a friend to him … except he doesn’t know she’s already married to ruthless gunslinger Clinch (Liam Neeson) who won’t take too kindly to another man kissing his wife.

A Million Ways To Die in the West has a pretty simple set-up, but it rarely delivers on the big laughs expected from the previews. In fact, most of the best gags are in the previews (including the giant block of ice, which does end up being much more explicit and hilarious in the film), and for some reason one of the best “surprises” in the movie as already been blown in the latest round of ads (which I won’t spoil here because it was still a surprise to me when I saw it). There are a couple of funny, if nonsensical cameos (keep your eyes peeled for Ryan Reynolds, Gilbert Gottfried, John Michael Higgins and Ewan McGregor), some gorgeous scenery and nice production design, but the movie just doesn’t have any real laugh-out-loud moments.

MacFarlane makes a good leading man, but I never once believed he was from 1882. The language and the anachronistic references just put the film too firmly in the present. It’s like, perhaps, The Village where the modern world was just right past those shrubs. Neil Patrick Harris probably has some of the funniest scenes in the movie … and then he has to go embarrass himself in a gag apparently meant to top the Blazing Saddles campfire scene, but just a bit more disgustingly visceral. What does work is the chemistry between MacFarlane and Theron, who gives a terrific, heartfelt performance right out of another movie. It’s almost as if MacFarlane decided to sacrifice the laughs for the budding romance and ultimate showdown to help his character grow. The movie isn’t about anything like Blazing Saddles was, but it does include one racist gag merely for shock value.

I really wanted to go into A Million Ways To Die in the West and laugh my ass off, but I didn’t. I laugh more at the scenes in the TV commercials … many of which aren’t even in the actual movie! And I laughed much more, and harder, at MacFarlane’s Ted which suit his modern, pop culture sensibilities much better. Comedies live or die on laughter, and unfortunately, the lack of laughs here is just another one of those million ways to die on the big screen.

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All passes have been claimed. Follow CliqueClack on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ for contest alerts, breaking news and reviews.

CliqueClack has partnered with Universal Pictures to offer readers in the Indianapolis area an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new comedy A Million Ways To Die in the West starring Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman and Liam Neeson.

After Albert (MacFarlane) backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves him for another man. When a mysterious and beautiful woman (Theron) rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband, a notorious outlaw (Neeson), arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.

The screenings will take place on Tuesday, May 27, 7:00 PM at AMC Castleton Square in Indianapolis.

A limited number of passes are available on a first come, first served basis. Simply comment on this post and we will send your pass by email. Please make sure you have entered your email address correctly! As passes are limited, we will accept one comment per person/per email address/per household (this is not a random drawing so if you’re a couple, only one of you need comment!). CliqueClack reserves the right to discard any duplicates or comments that appear to be duplicates. Multiple comments from a single person will result in complete disqualification. Please keep these offers fair for everyone.

Please note that passes do not guarantee seats at the screening. CliqueClack has no control over the total number of passes distributed. Seating is first come, first served so plan to arrive early. CliqueClack is not responsible for seating arrangements at the theater. The film is rated R — no one under 17 will be admitted to the screening without parent or guardian.

This offer will be valid until all passes have been awarded or on the day of the screening, whichever comes first. Have a look at the trailer below and tell us want to see the film. A Million Ways To Die in the West opens in theaters on May 30.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ORtLAxueLU

Unlike many of my Clacking Contemporaries, I love internet lists; especially end-of-year-compilations. I love the arguments that develop over the placement of one particular show/flick/book/video game over the other. What I don’t always appreciate is the idea of “best.” Take a look at some of the “Best of 2013 Films” lists floating around the Internet this week: Are there a couple of flicks you have never heard of, let alone had the opportunity to see? Yeah, that’s not how I see things. I think we can celebrate the “best.”

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I don’t like Mad Men and I haven’t yet tackled Sons of Anarchy or (GASP!) Breaking Bad. I didn’t see every movie I wanted to (The Butler, About Time and Fruitvale Station probably top that list). Again, this is about what I really liked this year, not about what I — or the Internet as a greater whole — thinks “best.” I think that approach is much more true and much more fun.

Scandal

I have my problems with Shonda Rhimes’ latest show, but that doesn’t keep me from love everything else about the show. Put simply, Scandal is batshit crazy, and there’s not a single positive character on the entire show. As much as Olivia and her crew talk about their white hats, you can’t add enough white to grey to get the black out; Huck’s actions last week are proof positive of that. But Scandal has also been home to some of the year’s best performances; Bellamy Young and Jeff Perry both have had a couple of scenes that were simply phenomenal.

The Veronica Mars Kickstarter

The announcement that Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell would be taking their plans for a Veronica Mars flick to Kickstarter nearly blew the doors off of my Twitter feed. The project quickly met its goal of $2 million within 11 hours, and more than doubled that by the time the funding period was over. The viral campaign leading up to filming was phenomenal; many of the actors filmed quick videos for YouTube announcing their participation, a process that helped build the hype for the show’s cult fandom.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Veronica Mars’ presence at Comic-Con this year. While I wasn’t able to make the Hall H panel, fellow Clacker Keith McDuffee and I did back the Kickstarter project high enough to get a reserved seat at the fan event held later that evening. The event itself was far from perfect, but it was a pretty damn cool experience nonetheless.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DTZ-fXU4iE

Netflix’s House of Cards and Orange is the New Black

Was there an entertainment company that had a better year than Netflix? Bringing back Arrested Development was a big coup, but it was the other two shows that really tripped my trigger. House of Cards is the kind of show that was conceived personally for my enjoyment. I love a good political yarn, and Kevin Spacey absolutely chews every second he is on the screen. Orange is the New Black was different, “coming out of nowhere” to really surprise some people (Not this particular blogger, who wrote about lead Taylor Schillling: “She has the look, and the talent, to be a breakout star” four years ago).

Gravity

Gravity was one of those flicks that had been in pre-production for a long time. I had followed the project for years as director Alfonso Cuarón waited for technology to catch up to the script, as well as go through the myriad casting changes the project experienced. The final product was phenomenal. Sandra Bullock and the film’s technical mastery easily covered for a rather pedestrian script. There are very few movie’s that I believe are “must see” in 3D – and in this case IMAX as well – but Gravity was one of them. I’m a little worried that the film won’t hold up on people’s TVs at home, but the theatre experience was unforgettable.

Arrow

Arrow has received a great deal of buzz this year as being greatly improved from its inaugural season last year and while I won’t deny it has been pretty damn great, I thought that season one was pretty good, too. The promotions of Colton Haynes, Manu Bennett and (particularly) Emily Bett Rickards have filled out the show nicely. The CW is now using the show to launch a show centered on the Barry Allen version of the Flash, and there are continued rumors (that are often denied and then pop up again) that both shows might be linked to the DC Cinematic Universe.