I'll See You in My Dreams

First Hit:  Thoughtful and very well acted film about loss and growing older.

Carol (Blythe Danner) is alone, her husband died twenty years earlier.

She has a dog that dies early in the film which adds to the sorrow Carol carries. Her mood has a heaviness to it that is palpable. Her friends Georgina (June Squibb), Sally (Rhea Perlman), and Rona (Mary Kay Place) play bridge regularly. Sally and her play golf at a golf club and her life seems set, unexciting, and, at times, meaningless.

Her pool guy Lloyd (Martin Star) is a lost young man who has no direction, little purpose except to clean the pool he’s cleaning at that time. He’s philosophical with his predicament and shares his belief with Carol. Given his place and her place, it creates a bond of understanding and friendship.

When he sings the song he's written to Carol, the mood is so sweet, beautiful and heartfelt. It adds to his beauty as an understanding person. Carol tries speed dating, which has its own funny moments, but when she finds herself attracted to and giddy about Bill (Sam Elliot), the life in her begins to show. How she expresses it with her visiting daughter Katherine (Malin Akerman) was very touching and real.

Danner is exquisite. She really embodied the dullness and sadness of her life and the rise of hope when Bill arrives into her life. Squibb, Perlman, and Place are perfect as friends having strong personalities that support and care about Carol.  Star is amazing as the guy who sings off key, is lost in life, cleans pools and finds a friend in Carol. Akerman is very good as the daughter that knows her mom well enough to draw her out and support her next steps. Elliot is strong as the self-assured older man who has a hankering for Carol. Marc Basch and Brett Haley wrote a strong and insightful script. Haley did an excellent job of directing this cast as well as making the script feel full of heart.

Overall:  This was an amazing performance by Danner and the entire cast.

Entourage

First Hit:  Although billed as a comedy it was more like a drama that wasn’t that good nor was it very funny.

I’ve never seen the television series that this film was taken from – probably a good thing. I didn’t find it funny as it may be mimicking Hollywood studio decision making all too closely.

In this story, you never see anyone do any work on the film, so we’ve no idea how well it got made and if the team spent the money wisely, which is what the plot is all about – they need more money. The Entourage is made of Eric (Kevin Connolly), Vince (Adrian Grenier), Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara).

They are working with/for Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) who decides to take an offer to become studio head and his first film in his new role is one which he wants Eric to star. Eric is all in except he wants to direct the film as well. The plot takes a Hollywood and stupid turn when the movie almost doesn’t get released because of Travis McCredle’s (Haley Joel Osment) jealousness of Eric’s relationship with a girl he likes. Travis’s dad, Larson (Billy Bob Thornton) is the one putting up the cash for the film but listens to his son review of the initial showing. Sound like a stupid plot? Possibly, but it may have more base in Hollywood reality than we might think. There are lots of side stories that give credence to cameos by lots of famous people.

Connolly is OK as the main character. Nothing outstanding in his performance. Grenier, Dillon, and Ferrara are, at times, fun to watch as their own dramas' play out. Piven is the best part of this film as he fights his anger over Hollywood stupidity and his own ego. Osment was fun to see again and he made something of his character. Thornton slid through this small role. Doug Ellin and Rob Weiss wrote this rather predictable and uninteresting story. Ellin’s direction was better than the script and some of the cuts to the multiple stories being juggled were well done.

Overall:  A few laughs, the drama wasn’t dramatic enough, and in the end it didn’t have much to offer.

Aloha

First Hit:  At times the story was whimsical, then thoughtful, and generally improbable.

This film seemed like it didn’t know what it wanted to be. Was it a romance? Was it about how rich people and their companies try to influence and deceive the government for their own gain? Or was it about the culture and people of Hawaii and how they been treated by the government?

It probably was supposed to be all three and it failed because, in the end, the film didn’t work. I enjoyed the relationship between Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper) and Allison Ng (Emma Stone). My heart was pulled by Gilcrest trying to put closure on his previous relationship with Tracy Woodside (Rachel McAdams).

The scenes between Brian and his friend John “Woody” Woodside (John Krasinski), Tracy’s current husband, were priceless.

The story about how the government is contracting satellite launches to private companies is real but the added piece that the contractor put a nuclear device on the satellite was improbable. This seemed to be part of the film so that there could be a hero. The part that would have made this story more interesting would have been to add scenes about native Hawaiians and how they viewed the land and the sky. Some of the more beautiful scenes were when Gilcrest and Ng were with the Hawaiians on their sacred land.

For the most part this film didn’t know what it wanted to be and the fault lies with the writer and director, Cameron Crowe.

Cooper was really good in moments in the film. When he’s working relationships, he’s superb, when it involves him working his job, his acting comes off as mixed and not embodied. Stone’s character was a little high strung for me and, I think, for her as well. It didn’t come off very well. When she settled down a little she created a wonderful character and it worked. Her chemistry with Cooper was great. John Krasinski was excellent as the silent quiet man who struggled with letting his feelings being shared. Bill Murray as the business man Carson Welch who was attempting to put the armed satellite into space was OK, but not really a great fit. Rachel McAdams, as Cooper’s old girlfriend and Krasinski’s wife, was good and her performance and believability was elevated when her daughter’s blood line was revealed. Best scene in the film? Probably when Gilcrest stands outside his daughter’s dance studio and they connect eye to eye. Cameron Crowe seem mixed in his ability to create and execute a cohesive story and film.

Overall:  Having the three stories in one film didn’t work and ended up creating a scattered, somewhat lifeless movie.

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes)

First Hit:  A wonderful set of 6 short films that are well done, interesting, to the point, and enjoyable.

From the opening film called “Pasternak” to the end film called “The Proposal”, all of them are intense, dark, and in the end funny.

The writing and direction by Damian Szifron exemplifies a bright creative mind and the wherewithal to deliver these ideas and stories through film. All of the actors in each of the films were great.

Overall:  This is a wonderful set of films, they are Wild Tales.

Pitch Perfect 2

First Hit:  The upside was the music the downside was the comedy, which was sophomoric, staged, and unnecessary.

I’m not much for musical films but when done right as part of the plot it can be good. The singing here was very strong and some of the representations of current and older songs were fun to hear. Unfortunately the part of the plot that didn’t work was the staged comedy scenes.

Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) rowing across the lake, Fat Amy hanging from the middle of the stage and her costume rips. Yes the screenwriters and director used this to push the plot in a particular direction but the women in the film are too old and too smart for this sort of plot.

The only actress that seemed to fit age wise for college was Emily (Hailee Steinfeld). Beca (Anna Kendrick) sang well but I couldn’t help but think she wasn’t really interested in the role. The silly scenes of her being pulled up into a tree on the retreat or her unintelligent comebacks to Chloe (competitor lead singer) weren’t in-line with her, the depth of her character or the film.

Kendrick is a very strong singer and it is unfortunate that the screenplay had her underplay her skills. Wilson is hard to watch. Her voice is mediocre compared to the rest of the cast (occasionally flat or sharp) and having her be the brunt of the humor because of her size is type casting and unfortunate. Steinfeld was good and seemed to be the only person who was age appropriate for the part. Kay Cannon and Mickey Rapkin wrote a very poor script and the story they created to put the Bella team into a situation where they had to sing well to get their reputation back, was lame. Director Elizabeth Banks didn’t make this film stand out but she wasn’t given much of a script to work with.

Overall:  This film probably didn’t need to be made and there better not be another.