Nebraska - movie review

          If you escape to the movies as a respite from some of the harsher aspects of the real world, you might want to skip “Nebraska” starring Bruce Dern. It’s a bleak movie with a lot of nothing: no color (filmed entirely in black and white), flat landscape-less scenery of Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and lots of actors playing friends and relatives taking up space in living rooms or at dinner tables but saying little, stuck in their own worlds of … of what? I couldn’t even imagine. Grunts and vapid stares replaced any kind of recognizable conversation.

          At the same time, this movie is filled with a powerful story of love and hope and getting older and care giving and friendship and family. The blank openness of the film leaves much for your imagination to create the scenario of what it must have been like for the Grant family living a tough existence in Billings, Montana.

          Bruce Dern plays the patriarch, Woody Grant, who is singularly focused on getting to Lincoln, Nebraska to claim his sweepstakes prize of one million dollars from a magazine sweepstake promotional company.  His son David, played lovingly by Will Forte, tries to explain to his dad that the sweepstake is a scam and that his dad has not, in fact, won anything.  David is constantly tracking down his dad who is repeatedly escaping his home or the hospital to hit the road to Nebraska.

          I didn’t really begin to ‘get’ this movie until one hour and fifteen minutes into it when Kate Grant (June Squibb), who plays the wife of Woody, delivers a shocking and wake-up line in the film – I won’t spoil the surprise here. June Squibb’s performance is outstanding as she plays all the mid-western wives rolled into one who are fed up with vacant spouses that, on the surface, cause more grief than they appear to be worth. Ms. Squibb has played in a few movies (About Schmidt and Scent of a Woman, Meet Joe Black) and appears equally noted for her TV work in Getting On (a new HBO series) and Mike and Molly and Castle. I intend to check out her work; she’s that good.

          I’m not sure how to rate this film. On the one hand, it’s compelling and makes you think. On the other hand, all the components used to convey the bleakness (filming style, landscape, casting, story line) took a toll on my ‘enjoyment’ of the film, and perhaps that’s just the way it was supposed to be.

Three ticket stubs out of a possible five

 



 

 

 

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Enough Said - movie review

          “Enough Said” is the story of the relationship of Eva, played by Julia Louis Dreyfus, and Albert, played by James Gandolfini. Eva is a divorced single parent who works as a masseuse and has a daughter who is headed out of the nest for college, and Albert, also a divorcee, is a somewhat slovenly, but imminently likeable, cinematic librarian. They meet at a party and begin an intimate and highly unlikely (my opinion) relationship.

          Separate from meeting Albert, Eva also meets Marianne at this party and she becomes a friend and client of Eva’s . During the tenure of their friendship and client relationship, Eva listens to Marianne complain in painful detail about her ex.  I doubt it’ll be much of a spoiler to say that in the most uncomfortable meeting, Albert and his ex, Marianne, find out that Eva has known both of them throughout their respective associations. This all happens at Marianne’s house, in front of Eva.

          What I won’t spoil is how it is all ends. For that, you need to take the time to see this charming, intelligent and refreshingly mature flick.

          Honestly, I went to see this movie partly because it is James Gandolfini’s last. I must admit, he didn’t look well, sort of bloated and fairly unhealthy, which he actually was or portrayed so convincingly. There’ll probably be no accolades for “Enough Said,” but I found it a nice break from all the loud, metallic, zombie crap we’re being bombarded with currently at the theater. Oh, that made me sound sort of old, didn’t it?


                                                                       

                                                                                           Three ticket stubs out of possible five stubs



 



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Defending Jacob - book review

        
          Wow. That’s the word that immediately escapes my mouth as I close the back cover of a page-turning legal thriller involving a family that, under different circumstances, would look like any other that you might know.

          This is the story of Andy Barber who is an assistant DA in a rural Massachusetts community. He is well known and respected in his position and enjoys a happy home life with wife, Laurie, and 14 year old son, Jacob.

          The entire Barber family’s life is turned upside down when Jacob is accused of murder of one of his classmates. While this obviously tears up the Barber family emotionally, it presents a special wrinkle because of Andy’s position in the DA’s office.

          Andy understandably wants to believe his son is innocent but damning facts and shocking revelations make both parents wonder how well they know their son. This sounds like an open and shut case of a fast-moving thriller to be enjoyed over a weekend or on a sick day from the office.

          There are, however, a whole load of things that happen that are difficult to conceive but, to reveal them here, would spoil this excellent mystery/thriller. Suffice it to say, I’m going to recommend you get to the library or bookstore and read this entertaining story.

          Defending Jacob has been named “One of the Best Books of the Year” by Entertainment Weekly. The author, William Landay, is a Harvard graduate and a former attorney, like John Grisham and Scott Turow.

 

Four bookmarks out of possible five



 

 

The Spectacular Now - movie review

          “The Spectacular Now” is a wonderful movie of a book by the same name written by Tim Tharp. It’s the story of two unlikely teenagers who meet and fall in love.  One is out-going and practically an alcoholic and the other is quiet, a peripheral nerd with little life experience.

          The movie stars Miles Teller as the outgoing Sutter and Shailene Woodley as the quiet Aimee.  (Shailene played the older daughter in “The Descendants” with George Clooney.) While Aimee has dreams of a future, Sutter lives in the splendor of what he perceives to be a spectacular now. Both have family issues, but what teenager doesn’t?

          “The Spectacular Now” is a John Huston redux – a coming-of-age movie which comes of age with sophisticated acting and a more complicated story line. It wasn’t  as predictable as such classics as “You’ve Got Mail” and “The Breakfast Club” but it was just as entertaining if not more so. I believe this flick will appeal to people of all ages. It got rave reviews at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival with critics gushing great things for the film and its actors.

          I loved it…I probably will see it again. Even though I know what happens I’ll probably still hold my breath a little when each of these two young people comes to their own personal fork in the road.

Four out of five possible ticket stubs



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Lee Daniels' The Butler - movie review

                                                                               

         First of all, you may wonder why it’s titled “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” instead of just “The Butler.” Evidently Warner Brothers claimed they owned the rights to a 1916 silent film entitled “The Butler.”  Seems like a stretch to me that the two might be confused but, hey, it turned out good for Lee Daniels, the director.

 

          This movie tells the story of black butler, Cecil Gains played by Forest Whitaker, who served eight presidents in the White House. The story was inspired by Eugene Allen, the real White House butler who served throughout the civil rights era as well as during Vietnam. He died in 2010. The movie does an excellent job of showing what it must have been like during the civil rights movement from an African-American point of view.

          The huge back story of this film is the relationship between Cecil and his son, Louis. While father is keeping quiet as he serves a master he may not agree with, the son goes the Black Panther route against oppression. This conflict between the two, which runs the entire length of the film, is the best story being told and, in the end, both are able to see each other’s side of the issue.

          The following stars appear in the film:  Mariah Carrey, Vanessa Redgrave, Oprah Winfrey (as Cecil’s wife), Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, John Cusack, Minka Kelly Live Schreiber, Alan Rickman, Clarence Williams III and Jane Fonda (who, ironically plays the arch enemy of her real life Hanoi persona, Nancy Reagan). Whitaker and Gooding and Howard gave excellent performances but most of the rest detracted from the movie. Instead of paying attention, I was dissecting Robin Williams as Eisenhower, or wondering why Lenny Kravitz had been chosen to play just another butler or how Oprah, an avid non-smoker, couldn’t have been given a prop she could inhale, or maybe she didn’t remember how to inhale. Anyway, she smokes throughout the film and is accompanied by a portable oxygen tank toward the end but we never see the smoke go anywhere other than just in her mouth.

          I found “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” a little boring and, overall, an excellent opportunity to make a highly entertaining movie was squandered on big names and a predictable storyline. With the exception of a few of the freedom rider scenes of violence, I didn’t feel it was as gut wrenching and evocative as billed. Without Whitaker playing the title role, this film would have been a complete waste.

          If you’re like me and want to get in on something big in the beginning, go and see it now, so you can at least say you've seen it. On the other hand, now that I’ve been there, I can encourage you to stay outdoors in the sunshine and wait for it to come out on video.

Two of five possible ticket stubs



 You might enjoy:  Twenty Feet From Stardom - movie review

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What Maise Knew - movie review

         
           What Maise Knew is taken from the novel of the same name written by Henry James in 1898. The movie tells the story of six-year-old Maise (Onata Aprile) who becomes the human volleyball between bitterly divorcing parents, played by Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore.  Maise has that wide-eyed innocence and purity of a child who has done no wrong and who deserves the best love and attention any child should have. Maise does get some of that devotion from the new spouses of her divorced parents; she smiles and comes alive under their care, and they instantly become her loving caregivers.  

          The ill-suited parents can do nothing right, saying “I love you,” but leaving – or rather dumping – Maise on the street with no assurance of anyone to care for her, or forgetting her at school hours after she was supposed to be picked up by mom.  Their shallowness occurs throughout the entire movie, and Coogan and Moore do an outstanding job as neglectful, self-centered and angry people who stop at nothing to lash out at each other even if it means torment and misery for their precious child.

          It pained me to watch this movie as it might any child who has ever been the object of two warring parents. Neither one has the time or true desire to keep Maise emotionally healthy and happy but she’s almost too valuable to let go of in terms of being a tool for taunting the other parent.  Onata plays the innocent victim with minimal ‘acting’ relying mostly upon haunting looks that require little or no dialogue.

          A little research showed me that James wrote this story as a thorough condemnation of parents abandoning their responsibilities to their children. During his time, he saw English society as becoming more corrupt and decadent and What Maise Knew was his harshest indictment of these kinds of parents.

          Could I recommend this movie? Yes, in terms of the acting by all players, however, no, if you’re likely to be waiting for a bigger shoe to drop than is delivered in this film, or if you’re one of the walking wounded from a crummy childhood and/or split home. When I escaped to the movies in this film I wound up in a place I didn't really enjoy being.

Two out of five possible ticket stubs



20 Feet From Stardom – movie review

          Award-winning director Morgan Neville created this documentary about the untold yet true story of the backup singers who performed with some of the greatest singing legends including Frank Sinatra, Sting, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and the Rolling Stones. The film joyously shows the power of many singers whose names we never knew and also shows the heartbreak of their endeavors to stand alone in front of the audience….most were not successful in their efforts to perform as headliners.

          The first 30 minutes of this documentary drag a little until Lisa Fischer appears. Her story about singing behind major headliners to her struggles to make it out in front are told in more depth, and the focus of her journey is highlighted. At this point I began to recognize more of the songs and the story is enhanced by the appearance of Bette Midler. Other great input is provided by Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger.

          I’m a documentary junkie, so it’s easy to entertain me when I'm learning something new. I learned a lot about these unsung heroes (sorry about that pun). Anytime I can learn while tapping my toe to fabulous R&B and rock music, it’s a good thing.

 

Four out of possible five ticket stubs