Noah (2014) **

Like all of Darren Aronofsky's films, this one is about obsession and the lengths to which the obsessed will go to fulfill their perceived goal. Noah comes around eventually to see his error, but by that time the strident animals = innocence, humans = evil message along with the unrelenting dark and barren antediluvian existence drives home a very different feel. Some nicely put together montage scenes along with stellar CGI effects completely undermined by ubiquitous extreme closeups. Must we be able to count all the freckles on Emma Watson's face? You can count all the medium shots in this picture on one hand.