THE CROODS

 Animated comedy\adventure

PRINCIPAL VOICE MEMBERS

Emma Stone: teenager Eep Crood

Nicolas Cage: Eep’s father Grug

Catherine Keener: Eep’s mother Ugga

Clark Duke: Eep’s 9-year-old brother Thunk

Randy Thom: Eep’s younger sister Sandy

Cloris Leachman: Eep’s grandmother Gran

Ryan Reynolds: teenager Guy

Chris Sanders: Guy’s pet sloth Belt

REVIEW

This story about a prehistoric family coming to terms with changing conditions borrows heavily from other movies and so lacks in originality:

• the rebellious red-headed teenage daughter facing off against a protective parent we saw in Brave
• rather odd looking creatures encountering one calamity after another we saw in Ice Age
• the well worn messages about being your own person and living life to the fullest has been around for ages

 Relying upon slapstick rather than witty dialogue to appeal to the younger crowd it keeps their attention by employing the age old technique of non-stop peril. That soon becomes boring and the outcome is entirely predictable with the result there is a temptation to leave and get on with your life.

CLASSIFICATION

 for some scary action.

P.S.

This one gets my vote as the dumbest movie title of the year. 

THE LEGEND OF SARILA

Children's fantasy

PRINCIPAL VOICE MEMBERS

Christopher Plummer: the old shaman Croolik

Rachel Lefevre: beautiful teenager Apik

Dustin Milligan: the young shaman Markussi

Geneviève Bujold: the old widow Saya

Tyrone Bsnskin: village chief Itak

Tim Rozon: his son Poutoulik

REVIEW

Geared to the younger audience the dialogue is kept simple (‘We must go after them. Yes we must.”) and lacks the sophisticated realistic rendering of clothing and hair we have become accustomed to from Pixar and the other big studios.

The story too is unsophisticated: an evil Inuit shaman has put a curse on the village and a young shaman with his friends will attempt to save their clan from starvation. Any bets on the outcome?

CLASSIFICATION

THE GATEKEEPERS

Documentary

REVIEW

Similar to the security branches in the USA with the FBI handling domestic issues and the CIA the ones abroad, the State of Israel has two agencies: the Sherut haBitachon haKlal, better known by its English acronym Shin Bet and Mossad.

Six former heads of Shin Bet speak frankly about their time in office and the major events that they oversaw. In total there are seven segments ranging from the original inception of the agency to coping with Jewish terrorism, dealing with the Palestinian situation and the aftermath of the Oslo Peace Process.

            

In each instance archival film footage or CGI recreations gives us some idea of what transpired but they were all too brief as many of these events are not something most of us are familiar with. This shortcoming results in more questions than answers for the average viewer.

CLASSIFICATION

for disturbing images.

SIDE EFFECTS

Crime thriller

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Rooney Mara: 28-year-old Emily “Em” Taylor

Channing Tatum: her husband Martin

Ann Dowd: Martin’s mother

Jude Law: psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan “John” Banks

Catherine Zeta-Jones: psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Siebert

Vinessa Shaw: Jonathan’s wife Dierdre

REVIEW

Too often new drugs for old problems have unfortunate side effects that can result in some very serious consequences. Given that premise, the first half of the movie unfolds pretty much in a straightforward manner. The acting by Mara and Law is particularly noteworthy although the musical score too often intrudes and makes it difficult to catch all of the dialogue.

Like any good thriller there are twists and turns but at one point (about three-quarters of the way through) there is too much rapid-fire exposition to easily grasp what has transpired.

At the risk of giving anything just let me say you should really pay attention when Emily and Jonathan are alone in the institution and she tells “her side of the story”. Miss that and you’ll exit the theatre like many people did when I saw the film asking their companion “What was that all about?” or saying things like “I don’t know what happened, do you?”

CLASSIFICATION

 for violence, profanity, sexual content and brief nudity.

STAND UP GUYS

 Crime comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Al Pacino: ex-convict Valentine “Val”

Christopher Walken: his former partner and best-buddy Doc

Mark Margolis: Mafia head “Claphands”

Julianna Marqulies: nurse Nina Hirsh

Alan Arkin: her father Richard

Addison Timlin: coffee shop waitress Alex

REVIEW

What a waste of talent: Al Pacino who had us mesmerized as Michael Corleone or enthralled us as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman is relegated to a potty-mouthed mumbling low-life character. And Alan Arkin, who starred most recently in Argo, is given a bit-player role as an ailing old man who has little of consequence to say but has one of the fastest recoveries in medical science.

The thin plot line with its pandering to the young-adult-randy-male includes visits to the local brothel not just once, but twice. To say there are serious plot holes is an understatement: almost total suspension of disbelief is necessary to get though this cliché-ridden contrived mess.

CLASSIFICATION

for language, sexual content, violence and brief drug use.  

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

• While talking with Val the orientation of Doc’s coffee mug changes from one shot to the next although he never once touches it.
• Doc parks the car at a local bar facing in but when they go to leave he drives straight off without having to first backup.
• Bloodletting, the ancient medical procedure was practiced as late as the 19th century but has no place in a modern day hospital.
• As a passenger in the car, Doc has his seatbelt on when viewed from the front but is without it when seen from the driver’s perspective.
• It is impossible to execute a bootlegger’s turn (to reverse the direction of travel of a forward moving vehicle 180°) with a vehicle having an automatic transmission.

QUARTET

 Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Michael Gambon: Cedric Livingstone

Billy Conolly: Wilfred “Wilf” Bond

Sheridan Smith: Dr. Lucy Cogan, the home’s director

Pauline Collins: Cecily “Cissy” Robson

Tom Courtenay: Reginald “Reg” Paget

Maggie Smith: Jean Horton

REVIEW

Beecham House, an English country retirement home for musicians and performers, is thrown into a turmoil with the arrival of Jean, a former diva.

Geared to the more mature audience, it has a lot in common with “The Best Exotic Hotel in the World” in that both star Maggie Smith and are about elderly people dealing as best they can with an unfamiliar changing situation. And both have their share of amusing moments albeit of a different sort.

  

CLASSIFICATION

for brief strong language  and suggestive humour.

P.S.

The end credits pairing old black and white promotional material beside current colour photos highlights the fact that most of the supporting cast are retired professional musicians.

A ROYAL AFFAIR

 Original title: En kongelig affære
In Danish and German with English subtitles

Historical drama

F.Y.I.

Dowager: a widow who holds a title derived from her deceased husband.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Alicia Vkiander: British aristocrat Caroline Mathilde

Louise von Plessen: her Danish lady-in-waitng

Mikkel Boe Følsgaard: Christian VII, King of Denmark

Trine Dyrholm: Dowager Queen Juliane Marie

Bent Mejding: Count von Bernstroff, Chief Minister of State

Mads Mikkelson: German doctor Johann Struensee

                

REVIEW

This true story of the immature, infantile King of Denmark and his young bride provides an insight into the romance and intrigue in the Danish court during the Age of Enlightenment.

The acting is uniformly excellent and production values are first-rate with great attention to period detail. The unhurried pacing results in a running time in excess of two hours but it’s not a minute too long as a lot needs to be said.

CLASSIFICATION

 for sexual content and some disturbing images.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

Caroline’s ladies-in-waiting address her as Your Majesty. Her correct title as a member of the British Royal family before her marriage was Your Highness.