Ed's Review Dot Com

Annapurna Pictures, Archer Gray, Modern People,

Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Lucas Jade Zumann, Billy Crudup

The late seventies in Santa Barbara, California finds Dorothea (Annette Benning) as a forward thinking single mother raising her child of the sixties, teen Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) who is struggling to become a man. Dorothea feels unprepared to offer him her advice so she calls upon two women of different generations, Julie (Elle Fanning) and Abbie (Greta Gerwig) to train him in how to be a man and to resolve his issues.

This is a very slow moving story. It’s a lot about feminism told from a male point of view, I guess, and it develops really slowly and somewhat pointlessly as it plods along. Somehow I felt like the writer had something to say, but just couldn’t get it together. Some people (mostly ladies I presume) really seemed to enjoy this film, but I found it to be over the top boring. We watched as everyone’s life unraveled but without any real point. In the end, everyone goes their way, and we are none the richer for it. Elle Fanning was really good and did a great job. The rest of the cast was adequate. It’s just that it was such a weird story that went nowhere. I didn’t enjoy this movie very much, so I suggest you skip it.

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Big Indie Pictures, ShivHans Pictures,

Al Pacino, Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale, Christopher Plummer, Josh Peck

Danny Collins (Al Pacino) is a rock and roll legend of the 1970’s. He sang some garbage songs that become hugely popular, and here 40 years later, drugs and booze have taken their toll. Danny is still singing the same songs, and wasting as much money as he can. But things are getting rough, and Danny’s best friend and manager Frank Grubman (Christopher Plummer) has set him up with another world tour to bring in some much needed cash. But he has a surprise for him. Frank just got his hands on a letter that was written back in the 70’s from John Lennon himself after a televised Danny Collins concert with some really good advice and invited Danny to call John and discuss it. The letter had never been delivered. Danny was struck deeply by the letter and the advice John gave him and cancels the tour, heads to a hotel in New Jersey to stay long term to change his life around and make thing better. But there are a few other secrets that made Danny choose New Jersey as his estranged son and his family live nearby. With the help of hotel manager Mary Sinclair (Annette Bening) who Danny took a liking toward, he’s trying to change things around. This story is loosely based on a real person who received such a letter from John Lennon that had been undelivered for many years and is based upon his experiences trying to live up to the advice John really did give.

Al Pacino really nailed this role. I was not expecting him to be able to pull this off. Michael Corleone, yeah, or even Satan himself, but a 70’s rock star? Really? He gave it a great deal of effort and played it amazingly. He was extremely funny and quite believable, and really did carry this film. But he had some excellent help. Annette Bening was also very good in her role and it was very nicely done. Jennifer Garner also played the wife of Danny’s son and she had a wide eyed innocence in trying to deal with the whole issue that really added a lot to the film as well. And of course Christopher Plummer was also perfect in his role as the long suffering manager but more of a best friend who really wants to help. All in all, this is a fantastic cast, and I was really blown away with the film. I enjoyed it very much, and highly recommend this movie. I’m not sure how I missed hearing about this one, but this is a great DVD rental and a really enjoyable evening watching this. I was very impressed.

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Mockingbird Pictures,

Annette Bening, Ed Harris, Robin Williams, Amy Brenneman, Jess Weixler

Nikki (Annette Bening) is a widow. He husband, Garrett (Ed Harris) was suddenly killed while on a beach vacation, and she is still suffering from the loss. But when she accidentally bumps into a man who looks exactly like her husband, she fakes an interest in art (Tom ((Ed Harris)) is an art teacher) him to be close to him. Soon she feels for him, much to the chagrin of her long torch carrying neighbor Roger (Robin Williams).

This was one of the last looks at Robin Williams, and though it’s a small part, it’s very difficult to watch now that we know how Robin ended up as it is a darkly depressing role for him. But all in all this was a very disturbing film for me. It looks like a romance/comedy type of film, and that’s more of what I expected. But the actors in this film are so excellent in their roles, and the script allows them to really develop their characters a great deal. We really dig into Nikki’s psyche, looking at the deep anger she buried at Garrett when he dies foolishly and leaves her all alone. She hasn’t really dealt with it, although she’s convinced she has put it behind her. And Tom’s role as her new love, is really unaware of the dangerous mindset Nikki is in as he has no idea of her history. All in all it was fascinating to watch, very deep and thought provoking, but all together quite unsettling. I cannot figure out who I felt sorry for most in this movie! Nikki and her daughter, Tom, and neighbor Roger are all in a sad place and they all really need a hug. If you like slow moving films with lots of dialog and great character development you’re probably going to enjoy this. I once heard of a guy who had a flap of skin on his stomach where his doctor could see inside to view the effect of things (like drinking alcohol) on his internal organs. That’s just how I felt watching this, which is why I think it unsettled me so much. If it sounds like an interesting topic to you, I’d say give it a try. It’s a well made film.

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Maven Pictures, Anonymous Content, Ambush Entertainment,

Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening, Matt Dillon, Darren Criss, Christopher Fitzgerald, June Diane Raphael, Natasha Lyonne, Bob Balaban

Imogene (Kristen Wiig) is a failed N.Y. Playwright who’s failed career and suicide attempt causes her to be forced to move back home with her wacky Mom, Zelda (Annette Benning) and her new far out boyfriend George (Matt Dillon) who claims to the “The Bousche” (George Boushce, get it?) from the CIA. To add further insult to her situation, she finds a strange man, Lee (Darren Criss) who sings in a Backstreet Boys Cover Band living in her old room. Her life goes from bad to worse as everyone believes she’s insane and a suicide risk, but everyone around is literally driving her crazy for real.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect much. I found it streaming on NetFlix and it sounded a little bit interesting, but I found it really entertaining. The biggest problem I had with it was that Kristin Wiig, although a great actress and comedienne, seemed much too old to play a character this young. Now perhaps the story was about a somewhat more mature lady, but the way she acted and behaved, she gave me the impression she was in her mid 20’s. That was really the only part that didn’t strike me as just right. But she did a good job, and carried the movie, although this is an ensemble cast for sure and there are some big names and great characters in this little film. Matt Dillon is actually hysterical in his role as Zelda’s boyfriend and does a great job. Darren Criss also plays his role well, and Annette Benning is stellar. All in all this is was a much, much funnier movie that I ever expected, and I really found myself interested in the story and how it was going to work out. I was very pleased with this film, and if you’re in the mood for some silly and lighthearted comedy, this is an unusual story that comes in from left field and wraps up nicely in the end. I enjoyed it, and I’m glad I invested the time to watch this.

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Fox Searchlight Pictures, Bona Fide Productions,

Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Steve Coogan, Elliott Gould, Chris Messina, Alia Shawkat, Aasif Mandvi, Toni Trucks, Deborah Ann Woll

Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) is a writer. He wrote the great American novel when he was very young, but is now stuck. He’s suffering from writer’s block, and is trying to work through it. As a project given by his therapist, and based upon a dream he had of a loving and understanding girl named Ruby, he begins writing about her, only to find she has come to life and is living in his house. She’s actually real, but he can control her every action, even her personality, by what he writes. But he finds that it’s more difficult to create the perfect girlfriend than he thought.

This is an interesting film. It’s not at all like I expected. I could have been very childish and “Zapped” like, where he writes her into many situations, but this story is very much deeper than that. This is much more like a Twilight Zone episode that has been expanded to full length. In fact, there was an episode a lot like this where a writer dictates the perfect woman to replace his nagging wife. This is very similar to that episode, but with the extended time, we get to look much deeper into mind of both Calvin, and his muse, Ruby, who is a real person who is quite confused at why she acts like she does.

It’s actually a very good character study. There are some lesser characters that have a lot of development as well, such as Calvin’s therapist and his brother who is unhappy in his relationship and very jealous of the power Calvin has to make Ruby into whatever he would like. The problem is that, as in real life, no matter what we think we want, we find we don’t really want it after all. It takes the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the sweet and the bitter, to appreciate any of it at all. This is very poetic, and I’m sorry to be writing that way, but that’s the message of this entire film. A lighthearted and very enjoyable look at the human existence. Very well done, this is thinker. It’s a film that will let you keep thinking long after you’ve seen it. I really enjoyed this story.

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