Rush

— I’ve never had much interest in Grand Prix, Formula One, or any other kind of racing, but I respect Ron Howard as a director and he didn't disappoint me with “Rush”. It isn’t the racing, but the two main characters and their dissimilarities that are the focus, raising lots of questions about respect and self-respect, friendship, value, motivation, beauty, and bonding. Oh, and there’s a good bit of car racing too, made even better thanks to great cinematography. Early on I wondered why anyone would like either of the two main characters but, over time, even I found them both a bit more charming, more intricate and principled than I’d thought, but that may just be the allure of boys and their toys.

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[2013. 123 min. Directed by Ron Howard. Starring Daniel Bruhl, Chris Hemsworth, and Olivia Wilde.]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10281663/Rush-review.html

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

— I’m not sure why I didn’t see “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” in a theater when it was released, but I didn’t. It may have been some notion that a “young-adult” novel wouldn’t satisfy. Not so! I watched the DVD last night and was pleasantly surprised by the memories of adolescent and “young adulthood” that are still within me, ready to be tapped by a film like this one.

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[2013. 102 min. Directed by Stephen and Ezra Miller. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Dylan McDermott, and Kate Walsh.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower-2012

Prisoners

— “Prisoners” is a well done crime thriller with flawless acting (Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhall, Vliola Davis, and Maria Bello, Paul Dano and Terrence Howard) by director Denis Villeneuve, who caught everyone’s eye with the incredible “Incendies”. Scenes are taut or touching, sometimes a violent enough to make you clench your fists, and sometimes sinister or creepy, all with interesting religious overtones. It does the genre well and is definitely worth seeing, although it is not a film for kids or the squeamish.

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[2013. 153 min. Directed by Denis Villeneuve. Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Viola Davis.]
http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/movies/prisoners-stars-hugh-jackman-and-jake-gyllenhaal.html?_r=0