Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

First Hit:  I was deeply touched by the story, quality of acting, and the full range of emotions I felt while watching.

Greg (Thomas Mann) has a poor view of himself. He’s a senior and has figured out a way to be both invisible and part of every group at school (we all remember the different groups in high school). His being associated with each group is at the level where he can say "hi" to each, but he’s not directly associated with that group to everyone else, so he has no up or down sides in these relationships. His association or non-association allows him to basically disappear from everyone.

His long term friend Earl (RJ Cyler) and he make films and each lunch together everyday in his sociology teacher's office, where they watch old films. The films he and Earl make are funny parodies of famous films (like Creature from the Blue Bathroom). When the camera pans across the titles of the film cartridges – the effect is hilarious and the audience gets to learn more about Greg and Earl with each title they have.

Greg’s parents are a hoot as well. His dad hangs around the house all day in odd outfits trying different kinds of foods. His mom inspects all his communication devices and leaves Greg feeling as if he has no privacy or control of his life - he feels smothered. Greg also is an amazing and funny monologist. Him mom tells him that one of his classmates has leukemia and wants him to visit her.

Although he complains he’s not friends with Rachel (Olivia Cooke) he reluctantly goes to visit her. Their friendship grows during her months of chemotherapy which drives Earl and Greg attempt to make a film for Rachel. One thing I wanted to see more of, was Rachel's ability to cut books – when you get to the end of the film, you’ll know what I mean – fascinating.

Mann was amazing. His ability to make his long monologues natural and revealing was divine. Cyler, although his role was smaller, was strikingly present in his scenes. Thoroughly enjoyed his character. Cooke was very strong and the revelations of her character as she progressed through chemo-therapy were great. Jesse Andrews wrote an amazing script (especially for Mann). Alfonso Gomez-Rejon captured the feeling of the characters with his inimitable direction.

Overall:  This film may not get seen by a lot of people and it definitely is one of the best films in the first six months of this year.

Dope

First Hit:  An interesting, well executed, thoughtful, coming of age film.

As a coming of age film, this was very good. It worked because the characters are fun, interesting and unique.

As a geek Malcom (Shameik Moore) hangs out with two other geeks Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons). Together they have a band and play music as an escape from "The Bottoms", a harsh, tough and hard hitting neighborhood in Inglewood, CA where they live.

To navigate their senior year, they try to keep a low profile while applying to college. However, trying to not get harassed by the local drug dealers and thugs,  Malcom gets involved with a particular drug dealer and a young lady. This involvement creates and unforeseen and unfortunate circumstance requiring he use his intelligence and wit to sell someone else's drugs through the internet. How does this help? It might get him into Harvard.

Moore is amazing in this role. His command of the story is wonderful. Revolori is strong as his friend and bass player. He's funny and supportive. Clemons is fantastic as his lesbian drummer and dear friend. Rick Famuyiwa wrote and directed this excellent film.

Overall:  This was an excellent film in that it delivered the story with joy, heartache, and style.

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.

Love & Mercy

First Hit:  Acting and story was extremely heartfelt while riding the ups and downs of Brian Wilson’s life.

I fondly recall The Beach Boys because I was a beach oriented guy myself in the 1960's.

In 1964 when the Beatles came into the musical consciousness of my life, there was a conflict of who was better. By the Beatles "Revolver", I knew the Beatles had risen to the top. This was partially because of the type of music, but also because of the struggles The Beach Boys were having internally as a group. The focus of those struggles, Brian Wilson, the genius behind the music. He wanted to take the group in a different direction than what they had done in the past.

This film documents Brian of the early years (Paul Dano) and the Brian of the mid 1990’s (John Cusack). Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson (Brett Davern and Kenny Wormald respectively) where brought up by a very mean, aggressive and extremely abusive father, Murry (Bill Camp). It effected Brian the most because he was the songwriter and leader of the group.

In his later years after spending an infamous 2 years in bed, Brian he was then controlled and manipulated by a psychiatrist named Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti). The visual likeness of Landy and Murray was amazing and was telling how Brian fell into Landy’s fold. Then there was Melinda (Elizabeth Banks) a Cadillac selling girl who sees Brian as a sensitive honest human being. Her relationship helps Brian to free himself from Landy and his life begins again.

Paul Dano was absolutely amazing at being the young Wilson by giving us a Brian who was always on the edge of sanity. He even looked a lot like a young Brian. Cusack was very strong as the older Brian attempting to find his way back into usefulness. Camp was good as the oppressive and abusive father. Giamatti was almost over the top at the unhinged psychiatrist who controlled Brian for his own purposes. Banks was inspiring and really good as the woman who could see Brian for more than what Dr. Landy was presenting. Michael A. Lerner wrote a fantastic script. Oren Moverman did an amazing job of creating a biography film that was both interesting and compelling to watch.

The music was fantastic; the story even better.

San Andreas (3-D)

First Hit:  Some of the visual effects were awesome even if improbable, the rest was mediocre.

To be frank, the storyline was extremely implausible. As pointed out by the experts, the San Andreas fault would not create the type of crevasses as depicted in this film. Neither would the tsunami that picks up a large cruise ship and tosses it against, and breaks, the Golden Gate Bridge.

Despite the unreal depictions, the way they were presented was fun in 3-D. I loved the rolling ground during the earthquake. However the helicopter scenes where they fly between the falling buildings of LA were not believable.

As for the characters, they were subsets to the whole film. Although Ray (Dwayne Johnson) with his huge physic did what he could, he and the rest of the characters couldn’t compete with the visual graphics. I was also highly suspect of Ray’s ability to fly the helicopter and borrowed airplane, with his wife Emma (Carla Gugino) from LA to SF during this type of catastrophe to save their daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario).

Johnson did his best to be as big and dynamic as the visual effects of the earthquakes. It just wasn’t a possible task. Paul Giamatti (Lawrence) as the scientist who figures out how to predict the huge quake came off as odd. At one point he seems unhinged and at other times clearly in-charge. Gugino as Johnson’s wife was good, but competing with the effects was just not possible. The best acting was done by Daddario because many of her scenes are more human oriented and not based solely against special effects. She showed both vulnerability and strength that worked with the two English boys she was helping. Carlton Cuse wrote an unbelievable screen play which was not based on actual science. Brad Payton did a wonderful job of putting in lots of effects, but as far as directing a believable film – it didn’t work.

Overall:  Go to watch the effects, just don’t expect much in the way of realism from the story or actors.