Foxcatcher (8.5/10)

What an incredible story. I wouldn't have believed this to be based on true events if the movie didn't open with those words.

This movie also boasted one of the year's best ensemble in Channing Tatum, Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo, with Sienna Miller in a smaller role. But all three main actors were so lost in their roles that they were unrecognisable.

Tatum had many moments of brilliance. To me, however, he still made me go in and out with his inconsistencies as a great actor. The way he talked was one of the main culprits as it's a very distinct way that he uses all the time.

Ruffalo embodied the character to the core. There was no trace of him as an actor here. But it was Carell that really amazed me. I have never seen him disappearing like that. This was definitely his best work.

Carell was so good at being this sociopath that he scared me through the screen. The whole time I was wondering how Tatum could still be in that presence. The way he would stare at Tatum, without changing his expression, I would have bolted for the door because he looked like a volcano about to erupt. And we did see that eruption. I was shocked.

The director Bennett Miller did a wonderful job bringing out the best in his actors. Just like what he did with Jonah Hill in Moneyball, he almost did it again here with Tatum.

But I remembered I liked the pacing in Moneyball much better. Foxcatcher was slightly too slow a burn for me, even though the actors kept me fully engaged with their performances.

There was also another jarring sequence which I thought was "out of pace" with the rest of the movie, and that was the cocaine and hairstyle of Tatum at one point in the movie. That was also when Tatum and Carell lost me the most with their performance as they seemed very inconsistent with what they have done before and after.

But I loved the cinematic experience of how the movie ended. I didn't know anything about these people so I didn't know how the story would end. It was definitely heartbreaking for me to see what happened to them.

A great story told by Miller with a haunting performance by Carell. The Best Actor category is tough competition this year but I doubt the honour will go to Carell.