Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, Mary Steenburgen, Ben Rosenfield, Lola Kirke, Paul Whitty, Dan Deacon
Fanny (Anne Hathaway) is estranged from her family, busy with her career and with her own life. But she returns home when her brother Henry (Ben Rosenfield) is in an accident and ends up in the hospital in a coma. Fanny stays beside him day after day hoping for a sign of recovery. Her brother was into music and his favorite artist was James Forrester (Johnny Flynn) who is at the crossroads of his career and on the brink of taking off. Fanny decides to go meet James, and brings a book of song lyrics that her brother had written and asks James to put some of the lyrics to music, and hires him to come and play the songs at the hospital. Franny and James are not alike very much, but they hit it off and find they are strangely attracted to each other.
There is one word to describe this film. Anne Hathaway. This young “Princess Diaries” star has become one hell of an actress. Her performance in this movie pulls it out of the gutter and turns it in to an enjoyable film. They were certainly lucky to cast her in this role. Secondly, the music, of course, is a major player in this movie as well. It is dark and sad, but becomes hopeful as Fanny and James learn much about life from each other. It is a pretty decent drama that has a lot going for it. This was not a blockbuster film, and won’t make anyone’s best films of 2014 list, most likely, but is very worth taking a look at. It was a pleasure to watch the performances, both acting and musical, and if you’re a fan of the quirky independent Brooklyn music scene, this is a big plus for the film. I would say take a chance on it, and you might find it an enjoyable time.
BenderSpink, New Line Cinema, RatPac Entertainment,
Chris Pine, Jennifer Aniston, Christoph Waltz, Kevin Spacey, Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day
Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day) are back where they left off. They have a new invention and are looking for the funding to make it happen for them. But when they’re swindled by a rich tycoon (Christoph Waltz) and his son (Chris Pine), they are in deep trouble. They have already hired a bunch of folks and rented a location, and now have no money to pay for any of it. So they hatch a plan to kidnap the son and hold him for ransom to get the money to finance their business. Of course nothing turns out as they planned, and they are the most inept and dumb characters since Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. Even with the help of the kidnapee, these guys don’t have a chance of getting away with all the schemes they can think of in this comedy sequel.
The original Horrible Bosses wasn’t that great of film, and this one really tanked, But I have to admit, I enjoyed it all the way through. It was kind of a guilty pleasure. I guess it was my growing up in Pittsburgh when Curly, Larry, and Moe made their huge comeback on Paul Shannon’s Adventure Time that made me a fan of silly slapstick comedy. But I’ve always had a thing for those kinds of movies. When you go to see Horrible Bosses 2 you know exactly what to expect, and that’s what you get. Not a spot of intelligence as these dummies do one stupid thing after another. Jennifer Aniston reprieves her sex addicted character Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S. and she is getting pretty good at playing off Jason Sudeikis’ maniacal roles (such as the one in “We’re the Millers”) and though it’s a small role, she’s pretty funny too. I recently reviews “Dumb and Dumber To”, and I feel pretty much the same way about this one as I do about that one. You have to know what you’re in for when you choose to watch this, so why complain that it’s silly and low brow humor, as that’s what it is all about. I enjoyed seeing this one, and though it’s not superb cinema, it’s a laugh fest for you and your friend in low places, so stop with the snobbery and just forget all your troubles and laugh at these guys with me. I mean, really.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Colson “MGK” Baker, Danny Glover, Darryl Stephens, Elaine Tan, Tyler Christopher
Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is blessed with a beautiful voice, but cursed with a mother (Minnie Driver) who is well beyond the usual stage mom. From an early age when Noni was proud to have won second place in a pageant, her mother told her to throw it in the dumpster because coming in second is losing. Now Noni is grown and has become a huge pop diva success. But she’s tired of her life and stands on a hotel room balcony deciding whether to jump. At the last second a security officer, Kaz (Nate Parker) is there to save her with the words, “I see you”. This intrigues Noni and makes her wonder “Who does he see”? Kaz has a father (Danny Glover) who has big plans for him as well, but as Kaz and Noni begin to fall for each other, they both may have to give up a lot to be together in this story of fame and fortune versus love and respect.
This is a film that I thought would do well when it was released, but it seemed to sputter. I guess there are a number of reasons why it didn’t do so well. There are some basic flaws in the movie that are not fatal, but probably caused folks to spend their movie dollars on something else. First of all, it’s very formulaic to a flaw. This is a number of other films (Glitter anyone?) almost scene by scene. The only thing a little bit unique is that they both have a bright future, and usually in these films one of them is poor and unworthy, but the other loves them anyway. But I suppose that is not enough to propel this film. The acting isn’t all that bad, and the story is predictable to a fault, but not too badly constructed. The actors are pretty good, so it’s kind of a mediocre feeling I got from watching it. I didn’t have anything exciting to make me remember it, or to encourage my friends to go see it, but on the other hand it wasn’t that bad, really. So I guess in this case it’s up to you. It’s a romantic drama of a star who is tired of being on all the time. Watch it if you’re interested, but I’m not going to give it a glowing recommendation.
Access Motion Pictures, F & A Production Services, Reality Pictures In Motion,
Halle Berry, Stellan SkarsgÄrd, Phylicia Rashad, Chandra Wilson, Rosalyn Coleman, Joanne Baron, Brian Markinson, Matt Frewer
Frankie (Halle Berry) is a stripper, coarse and with many rough edges who lives with her sister (Chandra Wilson) and mother (Phylicia Rashad). But Frankie gets in a bit of trouble when she shows up at an old friend’s wedding as a fancy and refined white woman named Alice who is Frankie’s split personality. She ends up in another mental institution and is being treated by a former teacher, doctor OZ (Stellan Skarsgard) who sincerely wants to get to the bottom of Frankie’s multiple personality disorder. He is able to reach into her past to find an awful event that cause her personality to split and leads her down the path of possible eventual recovery.
This is what I laughingly called the “Black Sybil”. But Halle Berry really puts her heart in to this role and did an exceptional job of playing the girl with this kind of illness. Stellan Skarsgard is also extremely good as the psychiatrist who is trying to get to the root of the problem. It’s a very well done film, and was almost completely overlooked when this came out. That’s too bad as it’s a stunningly good solid film with a lot of heart and a lot to say. The story is extremely well crafted, and it is very well made. Like most of these “Hidden Gems” that are out there on DVD and streaming, it’s often overlooked and that’s too bad as it has a lot to offer. Especially if you’re a Halle Berry fan, you shouldn’t miss this film as it’s a riveting story through the kinds of problems few of us have to face in our lives. I would recommend this one when you have a chance to catch it. It’s well worth it.
Brandy Schaefer, Zack Andrews, Bobby Roe, Mikey Roe, Jeff Larson
Five friends hop into their mobile home and head out on the search for one of these crazy “Extreme” haunted houses. Every October thousands of these haunted attractions open up and make a lot of money in a short time. But these folks are getting bored with the amusement park scary houses and are looking for the rumored private Extreme house that is invitation only and moves to a new location every year. Only by following the clues and meeting the requirements imposed upon you can you visit this once in a life time horror house. But will any of them survive the adventure, or is it real? You’ve certainly never seen anything like this before.
This is a rather unique idea. It completely looks like a documentary, and they really give the feel of an unauthorized documentary. Several times they get tossed out for using the camera. The terror, especially the last 20 minutes or so, is pretty intense. But unfortunately it’s lost footage handheld camcorder stuff that is getting so VERY tedious at this point, and there are lots of scenes, and I mean LOTS of scenes of them driving from haunted house to haunted house in the camper. This can get really boring. There are some really creepy characters here, and a good look at these haunted attractions. Some of the stuff is really silly though, and it detracts from the film. I think it was a good idea that was not really fulfilled. It fell pretty short in the end. I can’t highly recommend this film, but it is out there for free streaming, and it is a horror film. If you have a curiosity of how these haunted attractions work, it might be worth watching with a finger on the fast forward button, and be warned that aside from the last 20 minutes, there’s not a lot going on. You could, however, watch the end of this as a short film and it might be pretty decent. That’s my opinion, and I’m sticking by it.
