BOYHOOD

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Ellar Coltrane: 6-year-old Mason

Patricia Arquette: his mother Olivia

Lorelei Linklater: Mason’s 8-year-old sister Samantha “Sam”

Libby Villari: Mason’s grandmother

Ethan Hawke: Mason’s father

Marco Perella: Professor Bill Welbrock

Brad Hawkins: Jim, an Afghanistan/Iraq War veteran

Jenni Tooley: Mason Sr.’s new girlfriend

Zoe Graham: Mason Jr.’s new girlfriend

REVIEW

The thing that sets this apart from all the other movies about growing up is the unconventional method used: the same four principal actors play their role during the 12-year period it took to film. Usually actors who look like their younger counterparts are brought in to advance the story.

Episodic in nature, about every two or three years there is another series of events centering around the lives of the four. But the passage of time occurs without warning: from one scene to the next they have aged. Snap! Just like that.

Another thing that sets this one apart from most movies is its length: with a running time of 166 minutes following the usual trailers means a three-hour viewing session. Not everyone has that much time to spend watching a film.

The acting is uniformly good although the kid’s parents are the best of the bunch.

CLASSIFICATION

for language including sexual references as well as for teen drug and alcohol use.

A MOST WANTED MAN

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Philip Seymour Hoffman: Günther Bachmann, head of an anti-terrorist team

Nian Hoss: his assistant Irna

Grigoiry Dobrygin: Issa Karpov, an illegal immigrant

Rachel McAdams: civil rights lawyer Annabel Richter

Homayoun Ershadi: Dr. Faisal Abdullah, Muslim philanthropist

Willem Dafoe: Tommy Brue, banker

Robin Wright: C.I.A. officer Martha Sullivan 

REVIEW

True to fashion, this spy-thriller makes it difficult (impossible?) to figure out who is lying and who is telling the truth, who is covering up and who is not. Heading up the cast with a remarkable performance (one of his best ever) Hoffman leads us through the murky world of bad guys (and the murky world of good guys too) as he pushes his own agenda against some very strong resistance.

Without the usual car chases, the fisticuffs and general mayhem so often seen in movies of this sort, the film requires some mental commitment on the part of the viewer. But it is worth the effort.

CLASSIFICATION

 for language.

IDA

In Polish with English subtitles

F.Y.I.

World War II began with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. More than 6 million Polish citizens died during the war. In 1944 a Soviet-backed Polish provisional government was formed as a satellite state of the Soviet Union. Renamed the People’s Republic of Poland this Marxist-Leninist government was not overthrown until the Revolutions of 1989.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Agata Trzebuchowska: 18-year-old novitiate nun

Agata Kulesza: her Aunt Wanda

Dawid Ogrodnik: Lis a saxaphone player

REVIEW

It has all the earmarks of an art film aimed at a small niche market:

• no costly celebrity actors
• modest sets, no expensive special effects
• fairly short, shot in black and white

In addition, to set it apart from mainstream blockbuster films, it was filmed in the so-called Academy ratio, the squared-off aspect ratio of 35mm film that went out of style with the introduction of widescreen movies back in the ‘50’s.

It is a simple story with the principal cast member having very little to say: her near-silent character relies upon facial expression and a dozen lines to tell her side of the story so there’s very little acting required for the role. The pacing is ponderous, slow and the outcome often predictable. 

This one is certainly not for everyone.

CLASSIFICATION

 for thematic elements, some sexuality and smoking.

OBVIOUS CHILD

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Jenny Slate: part-time comedian Donna Stern

Jake Lacy: an unlikely bar patron Max

Gabu Hoffman: Donna’s BFF Nellie

Gabe Liedman: their friend Joey

and others no doubt

REVIEW

I am not a big fan of humour that relies upon getting laughs about day-old female underwear and intimate details about the stand-up comedian’s sex life. And from the opening scenes it is apparent the patrons of the sleazy smoky bar are of the same opinion as no one laughs. Other than that the jokes are of the potty-mouth variety including reference to noisy bodily functions, the sort of gags that appeal to 5 and 6-year-olds.

Given that the film is promoted as a romantic comedy the comedy side is practically nil. As for the romance it is basically a one-night stand and there’s not a lot of romance in those type of encounters. So that aspect is practically nil as well.

It didn’t take long before I realized this is a big waste of time so I walked out.

CLASSIFICATION

 for profanity, sexual situations, crude humour.

JERSEY BOYS

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Vincent Piazza: Tommy DeVito, one of the Varitones trio

John Lloyd Young: his friend 16-year-old Frank Castelluccio

Christopher Walker: mob boss Gyp DeCarlo

Johnny Cannizzaro: Tommy’s brother Nick, the trio’s bassist

Michael Lomenda: their friend Nick Massi

Renée Marino: Mary Delgado

Erich Bergen: Bob Gaudio, songwriter of the hit “Short Shorts”

Mike Doyle: music producer Bob Crewe

Elizabeth Hunter: Frankie’s 7-year-old daughter Francine

Donnie Kehr: loan shark Norm Waxman

Erica iccininni: Journalist Lorraine

Freya Tingley: 17-year-old Francine

REVIEW

Perhaps it is not a fair comparison but having seen the stage version this film is far less entertaining, prone to go off on tangents that add little or nothing to the narrative and it is too long, far too long. Using the narrative device of some band members directly addressing the camera from time to time, I find jarring: a reminder of the fact we are sitting watching a made-in-Hollywood-movie rather than simply being swept up in the story. Voice-over would have been a much better technique as it is less intrusive.

Another thing I found unsettling was the confusing side-story about Tommy’s money problems, presumably from gambling or playing the horses or partying? That was never made clear. And the band’s commitment to helping him out is pushing the “code of honour” a bit too far given the amount involved.

But the chief shortcoming in my view is too much talking between the musical numbers, the reason why this group was so well know. Knowing a bit about them is fine but that should not bog things down.

CLASSIFICATION

 for language throughout.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

• Frankie and the rest of the group arrive at Gyp’s house in two Cadillacs, and park with the blue one in front of the red one. When Bob leaves and gets in the red one, he could not have driven off the way he did without first moving the blue one out of the way.
• This is one of my classic all-time favourite nitpicks: at the end of the telephone conversation the other party hangs up and Frankie is left listening to the dial tone. In reality the dial tone is only heard after picking up the phone before dialling. That’s why it’s called a dial tone.
• After performing at the Ohio State Fair the group is approached by a police officer who says “Welcome to Cleveland”. The state fair is held in Columbus, Ohio not in Cleveland.

P.S.

The aging makeup for the last scene is so poorly done it is almost comical. 

CHEF

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Jon Favreau: Chef Carl Casper

Scarlett Johansson: hostess at Gualoises, an upscale LA restaurant

Emjay Anthony: Carl’s 10-year-old son Percy

Dustin Hoffman: Ravi the restaurant owner

John Leguizam: Martin, line cook

Bobby Cannavale: Tony, sous chef

Sofia Vergara: Carl’s ex-wife Inez

Oliver Platt: food critic Ramsey Michel

Russel Peters: a Miami cop

REVIEW

There is something to be said about taking a hard look at what is important to you and follow through. That is but one aspect of this humorous tale combined with some realistic father and son bonding. Add in a road trip across America and there’s lots to like. And did I mention food: close-ups of the preparation might prompt you to order in, even before the final credits.

The acting for the most part is uniformly good, the dialogue snappy and often funny but the one thing there is too much of is the swearing: there is no need to include the f-word in every second utterance. That simply detracts from the story line making it less plausible. And losing a star as a result.

CLASSIFICATION

 for language including some suggestive references.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

• The wall clock shows it to be 2:32 and remains unchanged during a spirited discussion between the Chef and Ravi which took at least 5 minutes.
• While having a shooter in a bar and without touching it, Martin’s beer bottle rotates from one scene to the next showing the brand label.

P.S.

Subtitles would have been useful for those not fluent in Spanish to get the implication when Martin asks the workers if they will help lift the heavy equipment “or I can call immigration.”

FADING GIGOLO

 Romantic comedy

F.Y.I.

Shorim (Hebrew for watchers or guards) are Jewish civilian patrols set up in Hasidic neighbourhoods in the United States and England. Their primary role is to combat anti-Semitic attacks, burglary, vandalism, mugging, assault and domestic violence. The volunteers are unarmed and do not have the authority to make arrests. They ride in vehicles that look like regular police cars.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Woody Allen: former bookstore owner Murray Schwartz

Sharon Stone: Murray’s dermatologist Dr. Parker

Sofia Vergara: Dr. Parker’s friend Selima

John Turturro: Fioravante, Murray’s former employee

Tonya Pinkins: Murray’s wife Orthella, an African-American

Vanessa Paradis: Avigal, the widow of a Hasidic rabbi

Live Schreiber: Dovi, a volunteer with Shorim

REVIEW

Preposterous, ludicrous and vulgar. Other than that this film about a male escort does not have much going for it. The surprising thing to me is the fact Woody Allen is involved with such a trashy, pulp-magazine type movie. The fact that his role is so unbelievable and totally out of character begs the question “why?”.  

Although there are a few bits of comic relief, mostly of the slap-stick sort, the acting somehow feels wrong and does not ring true. And there is one other thing.

Once more Ralph’s Rule of Redundancy applies:

“Any film where one person takes on more than two key positions has a major shortcoming: the absence of independent critical judgement that results in something less than it might have been.”

In this case John Turturro stars in and is also the Writer and Director.

CLASSIFICATION

 for some sexual content, language and brief nudity.