Ender’s Game

— “Ender’s Game” is a bit disappointing but, since so much is crammed into the film, it managed to hold my attention. The adults in the film are all a little disturbing, but a bit more approachable than in the book. Ender, the main character, seemed considerably softened for the movie, a move which changes the impact of the work. In the end, it has a depth that should appeal to adolescents, only touching on the troubling gray issues. In the end, it’s an okay film—better than many but certainly not great. (I should mention that this is the film many activists are boycotting due to the anti-gay views of the book’s author, Orson Scott Card. It is also reported that Card will not receive any money from ticket sales.)

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[2013. 114 min. Directed by Gavin Hood. Starring Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, and Viola Davis.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/movies/enders-game-with-harrison-ford-and-asa-butterfield.html

Enough Said

— I’m on a roll, having seen three good films in the last month. I’m just back from “Enough Said” and was really pleased to see a funny, well-written and well-acted, serious film about love in middle age. It’s an updated version of the romantic comedies I grew up with, complete with an against-all-odds attraction, sharp dialogue, wacky friends who spend a lot of time bickering, and a chance meeting that throws a kink in everything. This is really a good film, owing a lot to James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but also to Nicole Holofcener, whose talent as both the writer and the director are obvious throughout.

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[2013. 93 min. Directed by Nicole Holofcener. Written by Nicole Holofcener. . Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, and Catherine Keener.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/movies/enough-said-stars-james-gandolfini-and-julia-louis-dreyfus.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Captain Phillips

— “Captain Phillips” is well-paced, moving along at a seemingly effortless pace so you’re hardly aware of how well the film’s crafted and how gripping it is. Somewhere near the end you realize what a subtle performance Tom Hanks has been giving and, by the final scene, it’s hard not to feel the emotions washing over you. It’s a successful and complex thriller with a final scene that is incredibly moving. Hanks and director Paul Greengrass are both at the top of their game.

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[2013. 134 min. Directed by Paul Greengrass. Starring Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, and Faysal Ahmed.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/movies/captain-phillips-stars-tom-hanks-as-a-high-seas-hostage.html?_r=0

Gravity

— “Gravity” is worth the hype. Alfonso Cuarón knows what’s he’s doing and this film is a 3-D delight. Mind you, I usually don’t think 3-D is worth the extra few bucks but in this case, it really is worth it. For that matter, this is a beautiful, “must see in a real theater” kind of film. In fact, it’s as much an experience as a film. It doesn’t hurt that Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are outstanding. See it.

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[2013. 91 min. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and Ed Harris.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/gravity-works-as-both-thrilling-sci-fi-spectacle-and-brilliant-high-art/2013/10/02/cffa11bc-2a03-11e3-97a3-ff2758228523_story.html?wpisrc=nl_movies

The Family

— I’d hoped for more from “The Family”, a Luc Besson film with Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfieffer, and Tommy Lee Jones. Billed as a dark comedy/thriller about a former mob boss and his family hiding in the Witness Protection Program, it has a decent premise and decent actors, but the plot is kind of linear, the comedy a little scare, and the pace a little uneven. With these actors, it should have been more clever, but at least it was something other than the slapstick, angst-ridden, overly dirty humor of summer-release, teen comedies. It was vaguely enjoyable but also pretty forgettable.

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[2013. 111 min. Directed by Luc Besson. Starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, John D'Leo, and Tommy Lee Jones.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-family-2013

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