Top Five

— This film has quite a bit going for it. Chris Rock’s created a fine look at fame and creativity through the eyes of a comic who’s been typecast “Hammy the Bear” thanks to a successful series of film roles. It’s time to get his life back on track and, since Rock’s responsible for the writing too, it’s tight and timed perfectly. It’s a pretty complicated film from start to finish and it deserved more attention that it received when it was released. I streamed it and you should too.

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[2014. 102 min. Written and directed by Chris Rock. Starring Chris Rock and Rosario Dawson.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/top-five-2014

Remember

— Elderly Christopher Plummer whose memory is failing and whose wife has recently died, goes AWOL from his nursing home with the help of Martin Landau, another resident of the home. He sets off to find an 88-year-old German SS soldier who ordered the deaths of his parents at Auschwitz. The story’s interesting enough and it’s crafted very well by director Atom Egoyan. Except for an unsatisfactory ending, this is actually a very good film [DVD].

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[2015. 94 min. Directed by Atom Egoyan. Starring Christopher Plummer, Kim Roberts, Amanda Smith, and Martin Landau.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/remember-2016

Learning To Drive

— Sweet little film with good actors that repeatedly makes the point that learning about life is like learning to drive. Enjoyable but not memorable. [DVD]

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[2014. 90 min. Directed by Isabel Coixet. Starring Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley.]
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jun/12/learning-to-drive-review-ben-kingsley

Star Trek Beyond

— I don’t ask much of this kind of film—plenty of special effects and action, a plot I can follow, more humor than angst, and an assortment of interesting or at least attractive people. “Star Trek Beyond” is all that and maybe just a little more. My early years didn’t include a nerdy fascination with the television series or even the first ten films, so those cerebral themes aren’t really necessary to me. As a result, I was happy when JJ Abrams rebooted everything in 2009 and Justin Lin continues on in Abrams’ stead. “Beyond” does what it does admirably with enough emotion, decent dialogue, and wow factor to keep it moving for two hours. I like the youngsters but sometimes wonder if after all these years they aren’t a little boxed in by fifty years of series backstory. In the end, it’s enjoyable, summer blockbuster fare.

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[2016. 122 min. Directed by Justin Lin. Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, and Idris Elba.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/movies/review-star-trek-beyond.html

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

— I’m not sure why I knew next to nothing about this upbeat film because it is really fun. A troublesome kid and his salty foster uncle are tracked across the New Zealand bush by an overly zealous child services’ caseworker. It’s something of a farcical chase film, but with relationships that are all too real and bring out the need for love and family. The idiosyncratic characters may be a little flawed, but they have plenty of depth to them. Sure, the film has a few weaknesses but overall it’s filled with memorable scenes and lovely moments.

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[2016. 101 min. Directed by Taika Waititi. Starring Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, and Rima Te Wiata.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hunt-for-the-wilderpeople-2016

The Audience

— The filmed performance of “The Audience” (National Theatre Live), recorded in London's West End in 2013 and starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, is a fascinating look at the Queen, told through her weekly private audiences with the twelve Prime Ministers who’ve served during her reign. The result is a view of the “most invisible visible public woman in the world” and of the events that shaped Great Britain from Churchill to Cameron. Mirren is amazing and the two and a half hours flew by. If you get a chance, it’s well worth seeing. The staging and costumes are also of interest since the play is not chronological so Mirren's age at any scene can be anywhere between 30 and 90, while all costume changes occur on stage but not as integral action. I particular like the concept of “the unlived lives within us all“. It’s hard not to a like a play that acknowledges the Queen is in some ways, a "tribal leader in an eccentric costume" or "a postage stamp with a pulse."

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[2013. 150 min. Written by Peter Morgan. Directed by Stepehn Daldry. Starring Hellen Mirren, Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert Fox, and Andy Harres.]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2289929/The-Audience-review-Helen-Mirren-magnificent-The-Queen-Margaret-Thatcher-gets-rough-ride.html

Maggie’s Plan

— I went to see “Maggie’s Plan” partly because I was in search of a comedy but also because most of the cast members keep showing up in interesting, kind of offbeat films. It’s Maggie’s story, a woman about to have a child on her own through artificial insemination when she falls in love with a married writer and adjunct professor whose marriage to another professor may be on the its last legs anyway. A divorce, a marriage, and a child later and Maggie’s no longer sure she’s in love or in a marriage with an equal partner. She and her husband’s ex-wife concoct a plan for him to fall back in love with the woman he divorced. You can see the possibilities, particularly with this quirky cast and some really good writing by writer/director Rebecca Miller. It walks a line that’s occasionally almost, but not quite over the top, and then seems a little too low key at other times, but I couldn’t help but like it. You have to smile as the movie moves along and Greta Gerwig’s Maggie never really seems to have much of a plan, Julianne Moore’s peculiar Scandinavian accent is a riot, and the whole idea of a University professor whose field is “ficto-critical anthropology” is just oddly believable enough so those of us who live in college towns can’t help but quietly groan. It’s a little edgy and oddly reminiscent of both “Saturday Night Live” and Woody Allen. It may not be humor for everyone, but I had a soft smile on my face as the credits rolled.

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[2015. 98 min. Directed by Rebecca Miller. Starring Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Bill Hader, and Maya Rudolph.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/movies/maggies-plan-review-greta-gerwig.html

The Infiltrator

— Bryan Cranston really is mesmerizing with his commanding voice, intelligent eyes, and furrowed brow. It’s hard not to compare his role in “The Infiltrator” with his Walter White character in “Breaking Bad”. Both are men moving inside the drug world, but as “The Infiltrator” he’s on the right side of the law. It’s based on the true story of FBI agent Robert Mazur who goes undercover as a money launderer to take down part of Pablo Escobar’s cartel. It’s not very glitzy, more seedy than anything, but it's the right undercurrent for this fascinating, tense story of a sting operation. Cranston is perfect at showing the toll pretending to be someone else takes, particularly when the stakes are so high. Some of the film seems familiar, but that okay since there just seems to be an environment in which drug lords operate that’s portrayed similarly in most drug cartel films. Cranston alone makes it worth seeing, but it helps that the story's really very good too. (My only word of caution is that while less bloody than many, there are a couple of scenes that happen quickly and almost without warning, that aren’t for the squeamish.)

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[2016. 127 min. Directed by Brad Furman. Starring Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, and Diane Kruger.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/movies/the-infiltrator-review-bryan-cranston.html

Our Kind of Traitor

— This is a fine little espionage film, both because it is based on the John le Carré novel and because it has some decent actors with parts that are developed well. Its good entertainment and holds your interest, but it doesn’t have the complications and twists I enjoy in Cold War era films. Like “A Most Wanted Man”, the film’s fairly linear, and it wasn’t much of a challenge keeping track of the action. It’s still well done and worth seeing if you like spy films, but it’s not in a league with “The Spy Who Came In from the Cold” or “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”.

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[2016. 108 min. Directed by Susanna White. Starring Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, Damain Lewis, and Naomie Harris.]
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/our-kind-of-traitor-20160629

Swiss Army Man

— This has to be the weirdest and most imaginative film I’ve seen in a long, long time. Hank, a suicidal man stranded on a deserted island, receives new hope after befriending Manny, a flatulent corpse that washes ashore. A bromance ensues and the duo set out on a quest to find the girl of Hank’s dreams. Odd as this is, music video turned film writer/directors Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan (known as “DANIELS”) manage to make it a fascinating, creative journey. At first I was a little worried but once I just let it happen, I got into it. It ends up a being an imaginative look at loneliness, loss of the fearlessness of childhood, resilience, the creative spirit, and even stalking! Paul Dano adds to his recent streak of outstanding roles (“Youth”, “Love & Mercy”, “12 Years a Slave”, “Prisoners”, “Looper”), and is perfect as Hank. Daniel Radcliffe, whose appeal I'd not previously understood, does an amazing job as Manny. Ultimately, the outside-the-box hand of the directors is everywhere and you’ll love it or hate it. I was mostly intrigued, charmed, and delighted by this bizarre film, although I scratched my head for a few days afterwards, wondering about it.

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[2016. 97 min. Written and directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. Starring Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/swiss-army-man-2016