Pixels

Family Faire:  Pixels  (2015)  PG-13  Aliens have come to wreak havoc on Earth.  It seems, though, they have misinterpreted video feeds of classic arcade games.  Now it’s up to a gang of video gamers to save the Earth from a weapons attack in the form of video games. Can someone just give Adam Sandler a hug because he looks miserable making crappy film after crappy film? This film should have been fun and funny.  Instead we get a film that wants us to believe that someone like Kevin James can be president and that the character Adam Sandler plays is so devastated by not winning a video game contest that it ruins his life. The only actor who gives a performance with any energy is Peter Dinklage, and it’s just not enough to save this sorry film. The movie has so much product placement in it that I expected the closing credits to say “Pixels brought to you by Bud Light.” At the screening I attended, with about 20 minutes left in the film, the fire alarm went off in the theatre. While waiting for the film to restart, my fellow critics and I were able to figure out how the rest of the film would go; it’s that predictable. The best way to describe this film: unimaginative and boring.  And don’t pay extra to see it in 3-D - it was not shot in 3-D, and it shows.  So save your quarters and don’t see this mess of a film.    My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   Pixels Facebook Page

Indiefest:   Paper Towns  (2015)  PG-13  Quentin (Nat Wolf) is taken on an all-night adventure by his friend and neighbor Margo (Cara Delevingne).  Soon after Margo goes missing, Quentin and his friends decide to go on an adventure of a lifetime to search for Margo. I loved this film about a young man and the girl who inspires him to go outside his comfort zone. The film is perfectly cast, especially with Nat Wolf, who does a brilliant job as the shy and reserved Quentin. Cara Delevingne is brilliant as the rebellious girl who inspires Quentin to go on his quest. The rest of the cast is a blast to watch, especially Austin Abrams, who plays the nerdish Ben, one of Quentin’s best friends. The film is part mystery, part road trip which makes it move at a quick pace. It’s a film you will enjoy from start to finish.  My Rating: Full Price   Paper Towns Website

Indiefest:   Tangerine  (2015)  R  Transgender prostitute Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) has just gotten out of prison.  She is shocked to find out that her boyfriend and pimp, Chester (James Ransone), has left her for another woman. Sin-Dee is on a mission to find the cheating couple with the help of her best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor).  This is an interesting film shot entirely on iPhones but doesn’t look like it was. Mya Taylor’s performance as Alexandra, a woman who is trying to keep her best friend out of trouble, is the best thing about this film. Taylor gives her role a funny, sparkling turn, which makes her stand out from the rest of the cast. Shot of the streets of downtown L.A., the film, has a realistic feel to it and makes L.A., itself, one of the characters in the film. The film doesn’t always work, especially some of the scenes with a cab driver (Karren Karagulian) who has a thing for Sin-Dee, but anytime Taylor is on screen, the film gets better.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Tangerine Website

Indiefest:  Unexpected  (2015)  R  An inner-city high school teacher (Cobie Smulders) finds out she is unexpectedly pregnant. At the same time, a student of hers, Jasmine (Gail Bean), discovers that she is also pregnant. The two soon become friends over this unplanned shared experience.  Cobie Smulders gives a moving and briiliant performance as the teacher who sees her career hopes and dreams fading due to her pregnancy. She works well on-screen with Bean as the film progresses. Gail Bean is outstanding as the smart and determined Jasmine, giving her an air of inner strength and making her a character who demands respect for the choices that she makes. This is a film that explores the choices and sacrifices that women make when dealing with pregnancy. It’s to the credit of the two leads that the film works as well as it does. While not a groundbreaking film, it’s an interesting experience showing two women trying to come to grips with the reality of their situations.   My Rating: Full Price   Unexpected Facebook Page   

Forgotten Film:  Tess  (1979)  PG   A young woman (Nastassja Kinski) in Victorian England becomes the pawn of two men in her life.  Kinski gives the performance of a lifetime as Tess, a woman who is preyed upon by men, and there is nothing that she can do about it. It’s a sad, heartbreaking film but one worth watching due to Kinski’s incredible performance.     My Rating: Full Price   Tess Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Pixels: Flamist Artist

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: Listen to Me Marlon (2015)  The film uses a newly discovered archive of over a hundred hours of audio to create a documentary with Marlon Brando’s own voice.   Listen to Me Marlon Info

\Until Next Time!

  

Entourage

My View:  Entourage  (2015)  R   Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is now head of a film studio. Vincent (Adrian Grenier) is making his directorial debut, and his film is going way over budget. Can Vincent’s manager Eric (Kevin Connolly) convince Ari to cough up more money to complete the movie, or will the gang have to move back to Queens?  When you make a sequel or a film based on a TV show, it should bring something new to the screen.  Entourage brings exactly nothing new to the storyline. The movie feels a little dated as if time hasn’t been kind to Ari and Vincent. There is a reason the TV show was only 30 minutes long as if it’s any longer, you start not liking any of the characters because they are all too self-involved to care about anything else but themselves. I just didn’t care at all about what happened to any of the characters by the end of the film, and I was almost rooting for them to fail.  My Rating: Cable  Entourage Website

My View:  Spy  (2015)  R  Susan (Melissa McCarthy) is a desk-bound CIA analyst. From her desk, she assists field agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law). When Fine goes missing, and every field agent has been compromised, Susan is forced to go out in the field to bring down arms dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne).  Normally McCarthy is the one who steals the movie, but it’s Jason Statham that steals this film.  He plays a spy who tells stories about his time as an agent, and each story gets more and more outrageous. I enjoyed the film and McCarthy does a fantastic job, especially in the broader, physical comedy pieces. This film, though, doesn’t quite hit it out of the park (it lags a bit in the middle), but it’s fun to watch.  My Rating: Full Price   Spy Website

Indiefest:  Barely Lethal  (2015)  PG-13   Sixteen-year-old Megan (Hailee Steinfeld) has been training to be an assassin under the tutelage of Hardman (Samuel L. Jackson). She sees how other teenagers seem to be having fun and decides to fake her own death to get away from Hardman. She soon discovers that a teenager’s life isn’t always fun and games.  This could have been a game changer for the teen romantic comedy.  Unfortunately, it is just another in a long line of movies that follow the girl out of her comfort zone toward trying to fit in and having a crush on the popular guy. Seinfeld is believable in the part of an assassin and does the action sequences quite well, and Jackson is fun to watch in his limited role. The film could, though, have been much better if it just had taken some chances.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Barely Lethal Website 

Indiefest:  Love & Mercy  (2015)  PG-13  The story of Brian Wilson, the talented but troubled songwriter who led “The Beach Boys” to the top of the charts. This is one of the better films of the year. You wouldn’t think that two different actors (in this case Paul Dano and John Cusack) could play the same man at different points in his life and make it work, but this film does. Dan is brilliant as the younger Brian Wilson, who, at the start of the film, has decided to stop touring and concentrate on songwriting. Cusack gives one of his better performances as an older Brian Wilson, who is strung out on drugs prescribed by his psychiatrist. I loved Elizabeth Banks in the role of the woman determined to help Brian escape the controlling clutches  of his psychiatrist (played by the always brilliant Paul Giamatti). This film gives you real insight into the brilliance of the slightly crazy mind of Wilson. It’s an astonishing bit of filmmaking and one not to be missed.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   Love & Mercy Website

Indiefest:  Saint Laurent  (2014) R   Biography drama film about the life of famed French designer Yves Saint Laurent(Gaspard Ulliel).  I didn’t like this overlong, way too artsy film. It’s rather boring, and we never really get to know why Laurent is so tragically hurt. A number of scenes just don’t make any sense, and there are a few that were shot, it seems, just to try and be artistic. The film also spends so much time on Laurent being moody as he draws his designs that I think only someone who works in the fashion industry could enjoy this movie.  My Rating:  Cable   Saint Laurent Website   

Indiefest:  Results  (2015)  R   Recently Danny (Kevin Corrigan) has come into some big money. He’s bought a house and is living large, but he isn’t happy. He decides to hire a personal trainer and finds Kat (Cobie Smulders), a fiery woman who takes her job seriously. Soon Kat and Danny discover that they might have more in common than just a workout. I enjoyed this quirky little film about two unhappy people who find each other (though it takes quite a bit of time to figure it out).  Cobie Smulders is believable as the trainer who is so driven; she will show up your house to ask you why you missed your workout. Corrigan is very funny as the guy who is just having a good time but knows he is missing something in his life. While not a great film, it’s a film that you will enjoy and getting to know these rather strange people. My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Results Website 

Forgotten Films:  Nick of Time (1995)  R  A father (Johnny Depp) arrives on a train with this daughter.  They are visiting L.A., but before they can start their sightseeing, the daughter is taken and held by a mysterious man (Christopher Walken).  The father can get his daughter back if, in 90 minutes, he assassinates the Governor of California.  This movie is an outstanding thriller that just keeps adding more and more to the tension of the film.  Depp is at his best and gives one of his better performances. It’s the type of film not made anymore with one man desperately at his wits-end trying to make a horrible decision.  My Rating: Full Price   Nick of Time info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Spy:  Crowd Hair Supervisor

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Jurassic World  (2015)  PG-13  I hear great things about this film (critics that have already seen the film are giving it great reviews). Plus, it’s Chris Pratt and some raptors.  Enough said.   Jurassic World Website

Until Next Time!