Movie Review: 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'

At the Hollywood Reporter, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Film Review":

Emotional fluency and literary pretense go hand in hand in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, an affecting, well acted tale of 9/11 trauma and a boy's effort to piece things together after his father's death. A self-conscious prestige project with weighty thematic elements, a tony literary pedigree and top-tier actors, director Stephen Daldry's fourth film is dominated by the performance of a 13-year-old with no previous acting experience, Thomas Horn, who enables his character's pinball intellect and inchoate emotions to pulse through every scene. While the subject matter will keep some prospective viewers away, many who do come will be emotionally wrenched by the treatment of loss and the interplay between parents and child, indicating good commercial prospects in most markets.

I can only think of one other big screen epic of this sort, "World Trade Center," and I'm surprised we haven't had more. And "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is another film that's on my list of movies not to miss.

Angels Sign Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson

They snag the most feared slugger and ex-Texas ace in what may be biggest one-day free-agent splash in MLB history. Team officials say it shows owner Arte Moreno's desire to win; teammates are giddy.

The Angels made perhaps the biggest one-day free-agent splash in baseball history and transformed themselves into legitimate World Series contenders Thursday, spending about $331 million to acquire the game's most feared slugger and one of its top pitchers.

Within a span of two frenzied early morning hours at the winter meetings, the Angels reached agreements in principle with first baseman Albert Pujols on a 10-year, $254-million deal and left-hander C.J. Wilson on a five-year, $77.5-million deal.

Bridesmaids in recent free-agent pursuits — the Angels failed in bids to sign Mark Teixeira, Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre the last two winters — the Angels nabbed the two stars with a massive investment that was $144 million more than the $183 million Arte Moreno paid to buy the team in 2003.

"I can't say in my wildest dreams I thought I'd be sitting here today," Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto, less than two months into the job, said at a news conference to announce the moves. "It's a tribute to the aggressive nature and quality of our ownership.