Movie Reviews 2015
THE REVENANT: (noun: one who returns after death or a long absence) Based on a true story (and 2002 book by Michael Punke) set in the Upper Missouri River area of Montana and South Dakota in the winter of 1823-24, Leonardo DiCaprio is a clear favorite for the Academy Award in his riveting depiction of Hugh Glass, frontiersman and scout for the Rocky Mountain Fur Trading Company. Mauled by a grizzly bear hundreds of miles from the nearest fort, two of his fellow company members (left behind to bury him) leave him for dead. He spends the rest of the film in a gruesome effort to survive – and exact revenge.
Tom Hardy, up for a Best Supporting Actor nomination, brilliantly plays an evil John Fitzgerald, one of the two to leave Glass behind, buried alive; Jim Bridger (yes, THAT Bridger), a wet-behind-the-ears frontiersman, is the other.
The frontier violence in this film is brutal, but not misplaced. The cinematography is award-winning, even if the American Rockies were filmed in Alberta and Argentina – and the actual story did not even happen in the Rockies, but within the boundaries of present day central South Dakota. Oh, well.
As good as this film is, it is not without its problems. The first is Glass' apparent immunity from frostbite and hypothermia; the second is the difficulty to understand some of the dialog; grumbling seemed to be an 1820s trait; and, last – and this shouldn't be a surprise – the screenplay writer (not up for an award) and producer/director (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, he of Birdman fame, and a favorite this year) played fast and loose with the facts. There was no mention (in the book) of a son being with Glass on the expedition, and the ending was totally concocted. Thanks, Hollywood.
This is definitely worth seeing on the big screen if this genre of movie is for you.
9 stars
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS: This is a worthy addition to the Star Wars series, even if George Lucas had little input into the final product. Picking up where Episode 6 (1983) left off: Harrison Ford is back as Han Solo, rogue smuggler; Carrie Fisher is now General Leia; Peter Mayhew (we think!) is Chewbacca; but Mark Hamill as Jedi warrior Luke Skywalker is nowhere to be found. And the airship, Millennium Falcon, finds wings again!
Enter two new characters: Daisy Ridley as Rey, excellent as a wannabe Resistance freedom fighter, who helps in the search for Skywalker, and BB-8, an interesting new R2D2-like droid. Adam Driver didn't add much as the love child of Solo & Leia; the irony, of course, is he's now gone to the Dark Side.
The First Order, under the direction of a Voldemort-like leader, Snoke, seeks to pick up where Darth Vader failed, and the Resistance is under attack. Plenty of action (the Star Troopers still have trouble with their aim) and nostalgia for the first three episodes.
8½ stars
RESULTS: This made its way quickly to the top of our Netflix queue because it appeared on a couple of "bests" lists in the New York Times. OK, we liked Colbie Smulders in How I Met Your Mother, so we gave it a go. What we got was an odd love triangle that included fitness trainer Smulders, her boss (and her former lover) and a sad sack, ecentric rich guy who wants to get in shape.
It was enjoyed by the critics (metacrtic = 73) much more than it was by viewers (5.5) or me.
6 stars
CAROL: A slow moving, sensual love story - of forbidden love, exquisitely set in the early 1950s - between Cate Blanchett (Oscar, Oscar!) and the ever-darling Rooney Mara (Audrey Hepburn anyone?).
It was a different time, and Blachett, a loving mother in the middle of a divorce, is caught between her husband, daughter and her own sexuality.
This will be highly regarded come award season and should not be missed. Blanchett is terrific, and Mara has been lighting up the stage since playing Lisbeth Salander in the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (US version).
9 stars
THE BIG SHORT: One of the more depressing movies in recent memory - a semi-comedic look at the economic meltdown of 2008.
Steve Carell knocks it outta the park as a Type A trader who's convinced the housing market is about to collapse. Christian Bale is pitch perfect as an odd duck trader who also figures out the impending collapse. Brad Pitt is a third reluctant trader convinced of the same. The banks, of course, are incredulous that anyone would want to bet against the housing market. But bet they do.
The insidious relationship between Wall Street and the credit agencies was particularly depressing. 'If we didn't AAA rate those bond packages, the agency down the street will - and there go our lucrative fees.'
A must-see, however, which should be awarded come statuette time.
9 stars
CREED: Young director (and co-writer) Ryan Coogler, fresh off of his success with Fruitvale Station, had to talk Sylvester Stallone into reprising the Rocky franchise, and he did the patriarch proud. This is far more than a boxing movie – even my anti-boxing wife loved it – and although it likely will not surpass the 1976 original for gathering in the awards, it will be in the conversation come awards season.
[Note: In case you've forgotten, the original Rocky won the Academy Award in 1977 for Best Film. Can you name any of the movies it beat? Answers here: http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000003/1977?ref_=ttawd_ev_1.]
Michael B. Jordan (of Fruitvale Station) did an excellent job as Adonis Johnson Creed, the out-of-wedlock son of Apollo Creed (Rocky Balboa's nemesis in earlier films), who decides to follow in his deceased father's footsteps. And Stallone was at his best as his trainer and mentor. Tessa Thompson is very good as Creed's sultry girlfriend.
The film does such a good job of blending the old with the new that it gives you pause: Wait, was Apollo Creed a real person? Was Rocky Balboa?
Brutal boxing action – naturally. But a film worth seeing
9 stars
YOUTH: Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel are subtle in this poignant, yet odd and overly slow, story of growing old and feeling unwanted…even when word comes that Caine, a retired maestro, is summoned to conduct a performance for Queen Elizabeth. Rachel Weisz and Jane Fonda give heft to the show (even though the women are given short-shrift throughout), which is beautifully set at a resort hotel in the Switzerland Alps.
This one is not for everybody; in fact, many will find the time to take a nap. But if you stick with it, the ending beats the beginning.
6 stars
CONCUSSION: Will Smith transforms himself into Dr. Bennet Omalu, a highly-educated Nigerian immigrant and coroner in Pittsburgh, who does an autopsy on a former Steeler football player suffering from some type of brain disorder – and his discovery eventually rocks the NFL world. Expect Smith to be Oscar-nominated.
The reaction of the NFL to Omalu's findings, not surprisingly, was the same as the tobacco industry, oil companies and Catholic Church when confronted with facts they did not like. Deny, deny, deny.
The movie gets bogged down in side issues – e.g., humanizing Will Smith's character – and I'm still unclear of an NFL-FBI connection, but the message is powerful. Those who scored it a “1” on the imdb.com website are either NFL shills (who probably didn't bother watching the movie) or those horrified that their sacred game would be tarnished by those who wish to make it safer.
If you watch football, you will never watch it the same way again. Or, you might just stop.
8½ stars
TRUMBO: Unlike the critics (Metacritic score = 60), I loved this film. There’s nothing Hollywood doesn’t like about a fine flick, a great acting performance and a cast of recognizable co-stars – and it’s all about Hollywood, warts and all.
Bryan Cranston (he of Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle fame) does a bang-up job as Dalton Trumbo, the talented American-communist novelist and screenwriter of the 1930s through 70s (I recall reading Johnny Got His Gun in college in 1970) who defied the House Un-American Activities Committee, which earned him a 11-month stint in a federal penitentiary for contempt of Congress.
After Trumbo was released from prison – still on the Hollywood blacklist (courtesy of John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Hedda Hopper and others) – he couldn’t find a writing job. With a family to support, Trumbo took to ghost writing movies, many of them B-listed for producer Frank King, played by John Goodman. But he also penned a few that earned Academy Award statues for, ah, they didn’t know who to give them to!
Helen Mirren plays a mean Hedda Hopper (in more ways than one), John Goodman a defiant producer, Diane Lane a flat Cleo Trumbo, Louis C.K. a feisty co-writer, Dean O’Gorman a strong Kirk Douglas and Christian Berkel a supportive Otto Preminger. In fact, it was Douglas & Preminger who led the way to give Trumbo credit for work he had done.
The blacklist seems to be back because this film is difficult to find. Oh, well. My guess is it will be overlooked come Oscar time.
9 stars
SPOTLIGHT: An excellent film about the uncovering – a bit belated, however – of a disturbing pattern of priest pedophilia in Boston, covered up at the highest levels. This had an All the Presidents Men feel, with Michael Keaton leading an investigative unit at the Boston Globe. Rachel McAdams & Mark Ruffalo co-star along with John Slattery & Liev Schreiber at the newspaper; the ever-dapper Stanley Tucci excels in a small role as one of the attorneys for some of the victims.
This is a must-see prior to the 2016 awards season; expect this to be a strong contender for Best Film.
9½ stars
BROOKLYN: A poignant and understated story of a young Irish girl who moves to America in the early 1950s with the promise of a new job and a new life, leaving behind her older sister and widowed mother. This is a story of confidence and courage, of taking on a new life, new culture and new friends – yet always yearning for what she left back home.
Saoirse Ronan does a fine job as Eilis, torn between two worlds, in this Nick Hornby written screenplay; it may be enough to earn her an Academy nod.
Brownie points for guys who take their date to this one.
8½ stars
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PART 2: A fitting end to the Hunger Games series, which the talented Jennifer Lawrence clearly has outgrown. Not great, but continuous action keeps you interested, right up until the sappy ending (hey, it IS based on a teen romance novel series, and we had plenty of young teens in the opening night audience who loved it all).
Katniss Everdeen, the face of the Districts’ rebellion, is focused on killing President Snow (evilly played by Donald Sutherland), and she leads a squadron of former Hunger Game participants into the Capitol to make it happen.
Sad to see this last performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman; Woody Harrelson & Julianne Moore are part of the rebel alliance and do add star power to the film.
If you haven’t followed the series, don’t bother. If you have, you might as well slug your way through this one, too.
7½ stars
YOU’RE NOT YOU (2014): Hilary Swank plays a classical pianist in a perfect marriage to a successful husband (Josh Duhamel), when she is stricken by ALS at a young age. She struggles through her disease, and with the help of her new aide, an unorthodox college student, Emmy Rossum (whom we love as Fiona in Shameless), she works through rejection from her family and friends. A bond slowly forms between the two women as they rely on each other to face their uncertain present and future.
A sad but poignant film, worthy of a place on your Netflix queue.
7½ stars
SPECTRE: Daniel Craig proves, yet again, that he makes a fine Bond; James Bond. Unfortunately, the movie fell a little flat for me. It was pretty formulative Bond, with the requisite car chases, villains, narrow escapes, explosions, gadgetry and a seductive Bond girl: Lea Seydoux (Belle in the 2014 Beauty and the Beast), who proves that there’s far too much lipstick in this world (as in she looks far better without it).
It just seems like we’ve been here before.
7 stars
BURNT: Bradley Cooper certainly can dominate the screen, and he does again here where he plays a anger-challenged chef who’s trying to turn over a new soufflé, free of drugs and over-the-top behavior. It’s not easy in Coop’s world, but with a nice support cast (led by Sienna Miller, Matthew Rhyes, Uma Thurman and Emma Thompson) he tries mightily to pull it off. Entertaining, but not memorable.
You don’t need to rush out to see it - it can wait for Netflix - but if you enjoy fine food, the art of food presentation and the eye candy that is Bradley Cooper, put it on your list.
7 stars
THE MARTIAN: And yet another space movie in which it feels it actually was filmed in outer space! Matt Damon plays an astronaut left for dead on the Mars surface after a severe storm sends the Jessica Chastain-led mission back toward Earth. If he’s to survive, he’s got to figure out how to stretch several months of food supply to the three or four years it would take to send a crew back to rescue him. And that’s just one of the problems he faces.
Unlike Apollo 13, about which you knew the ending yet it still kept you gripped to your seat, this one is pure fiction – yet it seemed so real. Great cinematography, story line…and disco music! (The latter an inside joke.) Ensemble cast included Chastain, Kate Mara, Kristin Wiig, Jeff Daniels & Michael Pena.
This is another that you’re better off viewing on the big screen. We saw it in 3-D and recommend your seeing it that way, too.
Expect Academy nomination nods to (at least) Damon, director Ridley Scott and the film itself, as well as for screenplay, sound and cinematography.
9½ stars
BRIDGE OF SPIES: Tom Hanks dominates the screen as James Donovan, an insurance lawyer (who had worked with the prosecution at Nuremberg) drawn into defending accused Russian spy Rudolph Abel in 1957. Donovan fought against a biased judge and a wary public, yet he took the case all of the way to the Supreme Court (over the objections of his law partner, played by Alan Alda).
Five years later, Donovan is drawn back into the spy game when he’s asked – unofficially, of course – to negotiate the release of captured U2 flyer Francis Gary Powers. The situation is complicated by the recent capture of an American student, who’s caught in East Berlin behind the newly-erected Berlin Wall.
The tension is palpable as Donovan negotiates among his American sponsors (who only cared about Powers’ release), the Russians (who held Powers) and the East Germans (who held the student).
You feel you are in Cold War Berlin as the film moves to its fateful climax. Excellent support cast (who, other than Alda, are relative unknowns), starting with Mark Rylance who might be up for best supporting actor for his portrayal of the spy Abel.
Go see this one.
9½ stars
SICARIO: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin & Benicio Del Toro blend together beautifully in this Mexican drug cartel nail biter. Blunt plays a straight-laced Phoenix-based FBI agent who’s brought into the rough and tumble of cartel activity by laid-back Brolin, joining an inter-agency “task force” that’s oddly vague in its purpose. After their first meeting, I’m thinking, “I have no clue if Blunt’s been told what’s what.” Turns out, she’s thinking the same thing - and it becomes an important story line.
Del Toro is usually excellent in his roles, and he knocks it out of the park in this one. Who is he, and what’s his role in the task force?
“Sicario” means hitman in Spanish. Take that as a hint for the violence in the movie. But, frankly, it’s the tension leading up to the action that makes this movie, one of the best of the year.
9 stars
BLACK MASS: Johnny Depp is Oscar-nominated bound for his steely-eyed portrayal of the ruthless Whitey Bulger during his 1980’s crime spree in South Boston. Joel Edgerton (from the recently-reviewed The Gift) is his corrupt FBI handler who gets Bulger to inform on a rival gang in North Boston. In a strange (but apparently true) role, Whitey’s brother, Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), is president pro Tem of the Massachusetts state Senate; they often sit together at family dinners.
This is a brutal tale; the psychopathic Whitey runs his operation with an iron fist. Depp, heavily made up (that’s Depp?), is very believable in this role.
Excellent support from Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll & Jesse Plemons.
Go see it if you can stand the violence. It’ll be well-represented come Oscars night.
9 stars
INSIDE OUT: Amy Poehler (Joy) & Lewis Black (Anger; he of The Daily Show) rock this delightful animated movie about an 11-year old girl who’s uprooted from her hockey-centric life in Minnesota to move to San Francisco because of dad’s new tech job. While we see the world through little Riley’s eyes, we’re mainly viewing it as a tussle taking place in Riley’s subconscious: amongst Joy, Anger, Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader) & Disgust (Mindy Kaling).
Riley’s parents (Diane Lane & Kyle MacLachlan) also lend their voices to this wonderfully imaginative movie. Richard Kind voices Riley’s long-lost stuffed animal.
I encourage you to see it on the big screen while it’s still around. Take a kid if you can; I took my mom!
9½ stars
THE INTERN: It was clear going in that this was going to be a lightweight romantic comedy with its share of groan moments. I’d wonder why they took the time to make this film.
Surprise!
Sure, it was a romantic comedy, sans the romance, but Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway (I admit to liking both) entertained us for 90 minutes - in spite of one bad story line (the philandering husband).
De Niro plays a widowed retiree who wants to get back in the game, so he responds to an ad from a Brooklyn-based Internet clothes company (founded and run by Hathaway) seeking “senior interns.” That he used to work for a company that put together phone books added to the irony. Much of the story line is predictable, but the interplay between the two stars is fun. Renee Russo has a small but nice role.
You don’t need to rush out to the theatre – it can certainly wait for DVD – but it does teach one not to rush to conclusions before viewing.
7½ stars
THE GIFT: A Fatal Attraction-like mystery-thriller, this time it’s Jason Bateman, he with plenty of secrets to hide, who’s haunted by a former high school classmate he can barely remember. Bateman and his wife, Rebecca Hall, have just moved to L.A. from Chicago and, almost immediately, strange stuff starts to happen.
Joel Edgerton writes, directs and stars as the creepy former classmate. Terrific trifecta.
Plenty of suspense and plot twists to keep you guessing. Who’s the good guy, who’s the bad? Who’s hiding what from whom? In the end, only the dog seems innocent.
8½ stars
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION: Love him or hate him, even at 50+ Tom Cruise can credibly pull off playing an action hero. And, per usual, he does it in style with a pretty darn good support cast.
Alec Baldwin as the CIA director; Jeremy Runner as Cruise’s cohort in the agency; Simon Pegg as the seemingly mild-mannered CIA agent; Ving Rhames, part of Cruise’s team; Sean Harris, the bad guy; and Rebecca Ferguson as the double-agent femme fatale.
There’s plenty of action, as expected, clearly stretching the bounds of reality. My Vancouver college roommate and I used to call the TV show of the same name, Mission Ridiculous. It certainly fits here! But if you enjoy this type of film, you won’t be disappointed.
8 stars
DANNY COLLINS: We weren’t expecting much here (too many trailers!), but Al Pacino does a great job as an older crowd-pleasing singer (think Neil Diamond-like) who missed his calling 40 years earlier when a career-encouraging letter from John Lennon was never delivered to him. When his manager - another great job from Christopher Plummer - gives him the letter as a birthday present, it changes Danny’s outlook on life.
Some funny (and silly) repartee with Annette Bening, the hotel manager, is woven through Danny’s attempt to reconnect with his love child (Bobby Cannavale) and wife (Jennifer Garner) and their adorable (if hyperactive) daughter.
Loosely based on a true story about British folk singer, Steve Tilston. Worth an add to your Netflix queue.
8½ stars
THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS (2005): This was a clunker; fie on the person who suggested adding this one to my Netflix queue (you’re safe from my direct wrath; I don’t keep such detailed notes).
Paul Reiser mails it in as the dad, husband and son who tries to re-connect with his dad, Peter Falk, who’s just discovered that his wife of 46 years has left him - and he has no idea where she’s gone. Falk, who was adorable as Columbo for many years was just plain awful in this film. It looked like he was always squinting so he could read his lines off of the distant cue cards..
Reiser’s wife (Elizabeth Perkins) and his sisters attempt to figure out where Falk’s wife (Olympia Dukakis) has gone, but do we ever really care? Excessive foul mouthing was an attempt, methinks, to gain a more adult rating; they failed there, too.
Note: If you go to imdb.com, you’ll find plenty of rave reviews (6.6 rating). If you believe them, go for it. Just don’t blame me.
3 stars
20 FEET FROM STARDOM (2013): An underrated and under-seen film that showcases those (mainly women) who are back-up singers for the big acts.
It won an Oscar for best documentary, took 20 other award wins and 23 other nominations, but it has been rated by less than 10% of those who rated, for example, Mission Impossible.
Great stories about these unsung singers who have the talent to blend their voices but not the right break to make it 20 feet away to the front of the band.
8 stars
MUSCLE SHOALS (2013): It’s possible that the only thoughts you have (if any) when you hear “Muscle Shoals” are the lines from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama”:
Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they've been known to pick a song or two
Lord, they get me off so much
They pick me up when I'm feeling blue, now how about you?
Frankly, until I saw this documentary, those were just confusing lyrics to me. It turns out, podunk Muscle Shoals (Alabama) became the go-to place in the early 1960s if you wanted to capture a sound that was lighting up the musical world.
FAME Studios was founded by Rick Hall, a musician and songwriter in his own right who turned to musical production, and the key to their success was a motley group that formed its backup band – so named the Swampers. (Note: The Swampers eventually formed their own studio, so the draw of Muscle Shoals music grew even larger as the studios competed for talent. It’s all well told in the movie.)
From early successes with Percy Sledge (When a Man Loves a Woman) to the Dixie Chicks, Muscle Shoals became a magnet for The Rolling Stones, Etta James, Bono, The Allman Brothers, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, Alicia Keys, Steve Winwood (and Traffic) and many others. Some terrific old footage used in the documentary, as well as interviews with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bono, Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Rick Hall and members of the Swampers.
If you’re into early rock and/or R&B music of the 1960s, this one’s a must see. Great music. Great history.
9 stars
BIRDMAN (2014): I got so many conflicting reviews on this film that it was a conscious decision not to see it. Even after it won Best Movie of the Year at this year’s Oscar’s, it wasn’t as if we rushed out to see it. It even lingered on our Netflix queue, then our TV stand for a while, until we got around to watching it.
Okay, okay, now I see why it won the Oscar: It’s really good.
By now you probably know the plot: Michael Keaton is trying to make a comeback on Broadway from his earlier days as the cinematic superhero, Birdman (who haunts him in his dreams), and he’s more than a little nutso. With the “help” of his Type A daughter, Emma Stone, his co-star, Naomi Watts, and plagued by an aggressive fellow actor, Edward Norton, Keaton makes every effort to keep his play (and that of his beat friend, Zach Galifianakis) afloat.
A great acting ensemble that keeps you focused as Keaton straddles the line between brilliance and self-destruction. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should. It DID win the Oscar.
9 stars
WORDS & PICTURES (2013): Clive Owen plays an eccentric high school English teacher (who has seen better days) attempting to make a play for the newly hired fine arts teacher, beautifully played by (still gorgeous) Juliet Binoche. A competition ensues – is a picture really worth a thousand words? – and the entire school gets involved and takes sides.
Owen & Binoche are wonderful in their roles, but you can’t help but cringe as Owen self-destructs as the ice queen Binoche starts to warm to his advances.
This one surprised us, and it kept us interested.
7½ stars
SHORT TERM 12 (2013): This one can bring you down; it’s a fine independent film about a group foster home for troubled kids. But the ensemble cast carries it off, and you’re given a good glimpse of life for the not-so-privileged.
With a troubled past of her own, Brie Larson plays one of the young counselors, and she’s wracked by the troubled lives of her clients. You’re not supposed to be their “friend,” but it’s difficult for Brie and the other counselors to put their feelings aside. When faced with a young girl whose issues seem to mirror her own past, Brie can’t help but go the extra mile.
This film received dozens of award nominations, winning 38, so it’s not to be taken lightly.
8½ stars
RIDING GIANTS (2004): An excellent documentary about the early days of surfing and the constant search for the biggest waves in the world. Great footage from the 1950s and 60s of beach life and surfing scenes in Hawaii and California.
If you enjoyed The Endless Summer series, this one is a must see.
8½ stars
71: An intense drama about a young British Army recruit whose unit is sent to Northern Ireland, into the heart of IRA-controlled territory in Belfast. On his first patrol, a mob scene erupts, and Private Hook (wonderfully played by Jack O’Connell) is separated from his unit and finds himself in enemy parts of the city. Wounded and disoriented, Pvt. Hook uses his wits to survive in an urban hostile environment.
The British accents aren’t all that difficult to understand, but the Irish ones - well, I’m not even sure if we were supposed to understand that dialog. This might be a completely different movie if seen with subtitles at home on DVR. It also got confusing, especially in the end, telling who was on which side of the conflict; this was further exacerbated by the use of undercover British officers who seemed less apt to take direction from other British officers. Who’s in charge here? Gee, maybe that was one of England’s problems.
Very worth a look-see, but perhaps when you can get it on disc. I’m apt to watch it again because understanding all the dialog might be helpful. It is brutal, however, so beware.
8½ stars
RUN ALL NIGHT: The ageless Liam Neeson is surprisingly good at playing an action hero. Unfortunately, they keep giving him sappy plots that lead to incongruous conclusions.
In this one, he plays (appropriately enough) a broken down ex-hit man who wallows in self-pity for his past deeds, never having formed a relationship with his son and family. Enter the bad apple son of his gangster best friend (ruthlessly played by Ed Harris), who feels a need to come after Liam’s son, Michael. The eventual like-father-like-son plot pits Neesom against his former New York mobster colleagues; chaos ensues. Even Common gets in the action as an independent contractor, hired by Harris, to go after Neesom: “It’d kill that mutherf*er for nuthin’!”
Enter at your own risk; good enough if you are a Taken fan.
6½ stars
BOYHOOD: We avoided this one, frankly, because the reviewers zeroed in so much on the novelty of taking 12 years to film a movie that we wondered if there was much substance. But then we finally saw it on DVD, and it was seamless - almost to the point where, during the credits, you wanted to know who played the kids as they were growing up! Witty, engaging, emotional; a great coming-of-age story.
Patricia Arquette & Ethan Hawke are at their best - the former, of course, walking away with the Best Supporting Actress Oscar Award - and their kids, Ellar Coltrane & Lorelei Linlater (the writer/director's daughter), make this film a must-see. Too bad we weren’t aggressive enough to see it when it first came out.
Dozens and dozens of award nominations and wins. It’s long (perfect for home viewing) and certainly slow in parts; rent it if you haven’t seen it yet.
9 stars
McFARLAND USA: Frankly, the first half of this Kevin Costner film was no better than a mediocre, made-for-TV movie. Formulamatic, sappy, groan-worry.
But then the story kicked into gear - and it is a true story - of an unlikely, new coach at an almost all-Latino school in the southern San Joaquin Valley (near Bakersfield) who quits as a McFarland High football coach to organize the school’s first cross country team.
The film morphs into a difficult-to-believe, but you know it’s true, feel-good story about a bunch of farmworkers’ kids who find success on the athletic field, in school, then later in life - success that’s almost make-believe. Sure, there are still schmaltzy moments, but the kids are easy to root for, as is Costner.
Worth an addition to your Netflix queue.
7½ stars
My Best of 2015
Inside Out (9½)
Spotlight (9½)
Bridge of Spies (9½)
The Martian (9½)
Carol (9)
The Revenant (9)
Concussion (9)
The Big Short (9)
Trumbo (9)
Black Mass (9)
Sicario (9)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (8½)
The Gift (8½)
Danny Collins (8½)
My Best of non-2015 films:
Boyhood (9 stars)
Muscle Shoals (9)
Birdman (9)
