Need for Speed

First Hit:  The cars were cool and fun to watch.

The story line was lackluster – except for the excitement Monarch (Michael Keaton) brought with his fervor for promoting his annual race. How we get there to this race is supposed to be a dramatic story that we’re interested in.

But, most of the acting and scenes are simply a bunch of clichés strung together. Small town guy Toby Marshall (Aaron Paul) who comes from a racing family is going to lose the garage his father left him because... . And that question is left open and unanswered.

He probably put himself in this predicament because it appears to the audience he likes hanging with his friends working only on stuff he likes to work on - race cars. And because of this the business is going under with no real effort to change his business model. So they do a Hail-Mary pass by fixing a rare Carol Shelby car that was never finished and owned by Dino (Dominic Cooper).

The plot twist is that this arch enemy (who also stole his girlfriend) is the person offering him this opportunity. Interesting thing is that they created the illusion that this was an unfinished Carroll Shelby car which we know couldn’t have a body because Shelby died many, many years ago. But because Ford is promoting their new 50 year old Mustang model in the film this is the draw.

Yup, we got a new Mustang body on a Carol Shelby chassis and engine designs. He fixes up the Mustang, gets pulled into a street race and loses his best friend in the process. For revenge he gets into the cross country street race that involves "winner takes all" (cars that is). The race is orchestrated by Monarch.

The cars: A Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, Koenigsegg Agera R, Bugatti Veyron Super Sports, Saleen S7, GTA Spano, and a McLaren P1. Of course the hero wins and gets basically nothing because the cars get destroyed in the film, but all’s right with the world because he settles a debt, and gets a new girlfriend Julia (Imogen Poots).

The cars were the stars – loved seeing them and wanted to drive them all. Paul was OK as the quiet type hero who does his talking through driving. Cooper was good as the guy who didn’t care much about how his actions hurt people. Keaton was great – the guy still brings so much energy to every role his does. My favorite today is still is role as Beetlejuice. Poots was really enjoyable and I enjoyed her role as it progressed in the film. George Gatins wrote a predictable script. Scott Waugh directed this and I thought it might have been better with less police interference and more open-street driving to see each car’s ability to perform because it was all about the cars.

Overall:  Just wanted more cars and less people.

The Lunchbox

First Hit:  A truly touching romantic film where the written word is the agent for change.

A lonely Mumbai wife tries to lure her husband into a more intimate and caring relationship by making him fantastic lunches which are picked up at her home and delivered to him by the infamous dabbawala which never makes mistakes.

However, Ila’s (Nimrat Kaur) lunches are being delivered to Saajan Fernandes (Irrfan Khan) an aging accounts clerk in a large Mumbai government agency. His wife is gone, he’s alone and he’s about to retire. Ila figures out that her lunches are not being received by her husband and ends up writing a note and putting it in the dabba (the container for the food).

Saajan gets the notes and responds harshly in the second note by saying “too much salt”. Ila begins to create more exotic lunches with the help of her “Auntie”. The note writing becomes more involved with them both sharing more of whom they are with the other.

Through this extended exchange, Ila becomes stronger by making a decision she needs to leave her husband who is having an affair. And Saajan becomes softer and less jaded to life by befriending Shaikh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) a younger, happy, and annoying man who is charged with taking over the retiring Saajan. This film evolves the characters in a very subtle way and the hook is that you root for everyone while not making this story over melancholy or artificially sweetened.

Kaur is divine. Her stoic look interspersed with her sweet beauty is perfect of the newer Indian woman who is willing to stretch her wings. Khan is sublime as the aging lonely repressed man at the twilight of his working career. As he slowly unfolds his own softness the audience is drawn into this complex person. Siddiqui is perfect as the happy enterprising man selected to take Saajan’s place at work. His annoying enthusiasm is a perfect foil to Saajan’s deeper brooding presence. Ritesh Batra wrote and directed this exquisite film. He accurately captures India, their transportation system(s), and the feel and the culture of a major Indian city. The story is subtle, yet wonderfully obvious and universal.

Overall:  I truly loved and enjoyed this film.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

First Hit:  A very whimsical fun film that also has a little darkness.

Wes Anderson has the ability to create sets and scenes that float magically in one’s mind between silly and serious (think of the scene with each person dining at their own table in this well appointed dining room).

It is a whimsical, almost in a silly way, to show how people are so separate from each other. The story in this film is being retold by the Lobby Boy (“Mr. Moustafa” – F. Murray Abraham) who ended up owning this old historic hotel which is definitely on its down-side. Back in the day, the famous concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) and the Lobby Boy (“Zero” – Tony Revolori) got ahold of a famous painting left to him by Madame D. (Tilda Swinton). But her son Dmitri (Adrien Brody) doesn’t want Gustave to have any of his mother’s possessions.

To add to the dynamics of the film, Anderson mixes war (WWII) in to this story. As you watch the film, becoming engaged, Wes throws in a levels of whimsy by showing you things like a ski chase scene that is totally unrealistic, however it is perfect for the overall film and story. Anderson also has the ability to have small integral parts filled by big name actors (like Edward Norton and Bill Murray) which make this film work amazingly well.

Fiennes is great and perfect for this part. His intelligent humor and wit are perfect for Gustave. Revolori is remarkable as the Lobby Boy wanting to follow in his bosses footsteps. Swinton is not recognizable as a wealthy and very old Madame. Willem Dafoe is great as the sinister Jopling. Jeff Goldblum is wonderfully commanding as Deputy Kovacs. Harvey Keitel is perfect as Ludwig a prisoner. Bill Murray is strong as M. Ivan. Edward Norton is sublime as Henkels. Saoirse Ronan is superb as the Lobby Boy’s girlfriend Agatha. Abraham is wonderfully engaging as the aged Lobby Boy. I could go on but it isn’t necessary. Wes Anderson wrote and directed this film with just the right touch of amusement, storytelling, and amazing sets.

Overall:  This film was fun to watch and interestingly crafted.

In Secret

First Hit:  Premise was pretty good but the execution was below fair.

A sexually repressed Therese (Elizabeth Olsen) who was trapped into a marriage with Camille (Tom Felton) by Camille’s mother Madame Raquin (Jessica Lange) finds herself sexually attracted to Laurent (Oscar Isaac) who is the Raquin’s family friend.

While living in Paris, Laurent and Therese begin an affair by his sneaking up the back way to where Therese, Camille, and Madame Raquin live. And there is where the film's script didn't work well. I found it odd that people could yell up and down the stairs to each other to communicate but the noise the Laurent and Therese would make while making love was not heard by anyone in the house or shop below.

The couple wants to spend all their time together so they come up with a plan to kill Camille. The opportunity presents itself when they are rowing on a lake. Camille doesn’t know how to swim and when Laurent hits him in the head with a paddle – he dies. The guilt ridden couple begins to implode with their feelings and guilt ridden angst.

Lange was strong as the controlling mother who manipulated the people around her. Olsen was good as the sexually repressed woman looking for a life far different than the one she finds herself in. Felton was very good as the sickly repressed son. Isaac was OK as the love interest but just didn’t think he possessed the character that made the story work. Charlie Stratton wrote a lifeless screen play, which was made worse by Stratton’s own direction.

Overall:  This film started with a few moments of promise but faded into boredom and writer and director self-absorption.

3 Days to Kill

First Hit:  Parts were really funny; some were really unrealistic, but overall it was entertaining.

Does the CIA really have agents that act and look like a hooker that drive around in an Audi R8 sports cars? I doubt it. But here the head agent Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) charged with killing “The Wolf” (Richard Sammel) gets to do this and more.

The plot is a bit convoluted with “The Albino” (Tomas Lemarquis) and some other characters who work for The Wolf while he’s trying to sell a dirty bomb. To get the job done Vivi hires Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) who is a veteran at killing people for the agency. He’s grizzled yet he’s got a soft spot for his daughter Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld) whom he hasn’t seen since she was a small child.

Each year he contacts her on her birthday but that’s it. He’s fighting what he thinks is a cold but discovers he’s got cancer and only has a few months to live. With this news he wants to spend more time with his daughter and wife Christine (Connie Nielsen). Both are reluctant to have him back in their lives while Christine makes him promise to quit doing jobs for the Agency. But Vivi hooks him in by offering him a unclassified drug that might extend his life a bit.

The funniest part was when he and Vivi are trying to decide which guy in the room is The Wolf’s accountant.

Costner is fun, craggily, physical and smooth. I enjoy watching him use his experience in these parts to make them work for the audience and story. Heard is quirky and electric as the agent. Steinfeld is very good as the daughter who is trying to figure out if she cares, why she cares, and how to express her mixed emotions. Nielsen is very good as Costner’s estranged wife. Adi Hasak and Luc Besson wrote an unbelievable script but in the end it worked. McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol) directed this and cannot figure out what impels him to use “McG” as his name, when the film pretty good – don’t we want to know his name?

Overall:  I was entertained throughout this implausible story.