MICHAEL FASSBENDER AS STEVE JOBS

year: 2015 director: Danny Boyle

What could have been titled, YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO TALK RIGHT NOW? or CAN'T WE DISCUSS THIS LATER ON? is an art-house jigsaw representation of the STEVE JOBS legacy, covering all the sketchy mere-moments before three various Product Launches: the first post-Apple II Macintosh Computer; the failed yet subliminally strategic NeXT system; and the iMAC that brought both Jobs and Apple back to life: Right before Steve hits each stage we get frantic discussions from various people including Seth Rogen's sarcastic yet bluntly serious and logically effective Steve 'Woz' Wozniak, who was Job's partner in the beginning garage days, and simply wants his groundbreaking technological importance revealed and complimented, aloud; Jeff Daniels, as former Pepsi turned Apple CEO John Scully, loathes his own stiff suit reputation; and most important of all, Jobs' unwanted daughter, Lisa, hanging around backstage, is what everything is really about. But not entirely...

Michael & Kate

Kate Winslet more than deserves second tier credit as marketing executive/faithful assistant Joanna Hoffman, speaking with a partial, never-distracting accent in a thankless yet equally significant role as she gathers all Steve's concerns, sets him up with each guest/visitor, stubbornly remains an ignored moral compass and makes sure he's able to rule each show without a single hitch. The biggest catch is we never see any actual speech or demonstration that's been fervently planned: Cutting to the next level before each vignette concludes, STEVE JOBS is a hybrid of RESERVOIR DOGS (hectically discussing what's never witnessed within confined, often claustrophobic boundaries) and A CHRISTMAS CAROL, the man himself a sort of mechanical Scrooge not quite owning-up to each "ghost" – haunting him like (what often seems like) guilt-driven hallucinations.

Cult Film Freak's retro work station

Already controversial for making Steve look like a complete scoundrel, Michael Fassbender actually plays the role with such subtle and natural finesse that might have been more dramatic, dynamic and edgy had the original choice, Christian Bale, remained on board... For in this case, the energy just sort of happens around Fassbender as we learn... also through creatively edited flashbacks... how Apple came about; then broke off into Mac; Jobs being fired and all that modern history jazz you can simply read about online or view in other projects (PIRATES OF SILICON VALLEY with Noah Wyle recommended over Ashton Kutcher as JOBS)...

It's during the literally last-minute problems that the man, the myth, the legend, and most of all, the resilient entrepreneur surprisingly never gets too frantic or frazzled while being perpetually cornered, and whose headstrong denial drives him, and the movie itself, past any flaws... And there are a few: Things get a bit stagey as we occasionally detour into Soap Opera territory. But like this old Macbook computer being used right now, it's the stuff inside the machine that causes things to flow so nicely, making one unaware what can possibly go wrong, because during each moment it all just seems... pretty alright while it's... you know... all going on.

RATING: ****