The Giver

First Hit: A lot of hoopla for a film that had a few brief shining moments.

Like too many films today (one of which is the Hunger Games series) we’re into the future and society is being controlled to make it all work.

Not that I don’t like films like this, I do, however here we have the general population existing without any memories. No memories of where they come from and how their society came to exist. At a celebration of passing (moving from one place in society to another), Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is afraid he doesn’t have a path, however he is chosen to become the next person who is the holder of memories. He becomes the receiver of memories while The Giver (Jeff Bridges) transmits the memories of our collective past to him.

This position gives him the right to lie and to advise the elders on decisions. His Father (Alexander Skarsgard) and Mother (Katie Holmes) have higher positions in the society whereas his mother is head of security, his father exterminates (kills kids because they don’t weigh enough or others for various reasons like breaking the laws).

Leading this community is the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) who generally drops in on people via hologram. Jonas has an interest in Fiona (Odeya Rush) but only learns of the power of his interest as his memories are enhanced and he quits taking the feeling suppressive medicine everyone must take each day.

Thwaites is good as the boy who is curious and becomes the person to hold the memories. There was a lack of depth to him which came across as not being confident in his role. Bridges was OK as the holder of memories. However, his anguish look came across as forced and not natural. Skarsgard was really good as the man who does what he is told gladly. He made it seem like he was unattached to killing people which was the role. Holmes was less interesting. Her strict approach to the role may have been what the director ordered but it came off as alienated from the film. Rush was great. Soft innocent and sweet and she met the role well. Streep was OK as the Chief Elder but it was uninspired (her and the role). Taylor Swift was a surprise as the daughter of Bridges who was killed because she couldn’t take on the role as memory holder. Robert B. Weide and Michael Mitnick wrote the screenplay which just didn’t hold my interest. Philip Noyce aptly directed this venture in accordance to the screenplay. What was an interesting effect was the black and white slowly fading to color as memories became available to Jonas.

Overall: This film left me empty and the next day basically forgotten.

Calvary

First Hit: Acting is extremely strong in this film about a priest paying a price for other abusive priests’ behaviors.

The Catholic Church has been in the press for the last 10+ years for all the sexual abuse priests subjected to children in their parishes.

This film is about one innocent priest receiving punishment for his peers by one a man who was abuse every other day for years. The priest Father James (Brendan Gleeson), put on the robes after his wife died to live his life as a better person by giving to his community.

His daughter Fiona (Kelly Reilly) is looking for connection with her father because she felt abandoned both when her mom died and he went into the priesthood. The abused man tells the priest in confessional that he’s got a week to get his affairs in order because he’s going to be killed. He tells Father James to be on the beach in a week to be killed.

Father James is good friends with many of the towns’ folk and he is respected and admired, one of which is a writer (M. Emmet Walsh). In the last week of his life we watch Father James put his affairs in order and explore other options to saving his life.

Gleeson is sublime in his role as a man who has found the priesthood to be a path by which he can give guidance and his learned lessons back to the community. Reilly is wonderful as his lost daughter trying to better understand her life and how to be happy. Jack Brennan was outstanding as one of the abused people. Walsh was great to see. His character emanates into film with gentle job. John Michael McDonagh wrote and directed these outstanding actors with clarity and purpose.

Overall: This was a very good film that touches directly on the latter effect of priestly abuse.

What If

First Hit: There are really good and engaging moments but it seemed too long overall.

Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) is lamenting a breakup from his girlfriend.

It’s been a year and as we meet him, he finally deletes her last VM which he has saved 365 times. This was a good way to give the audience perspective of his sadness. He meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan) at a party.

There is an immediate chemistry through their banter. He walks her home and they decided to meet up again but she tells him she has a boyfriend. Through circumstance they meet up and end up being close friends. They spend a lot of time together (which is where the film gets long) in different circumstances and even their friends Nicole and Allan (Mackenzie Davis and Adam Driver respectively), seeing their connection, try to get them to get together.

What didn’t work for me was the script having Chantry being so hesitant to acknowledge what was really going on to her. Yes her boyfriend Ben (Rafe Spall) was a solid guy, but after 5 years together and he didn’t invite her to Dublin to live with him seemed like either a poorly written script or an obvious non-committed relationship.

To have an intelligent character put into this hold position for so long was false.  Her character was too smart to wait so long to make and act on a decision. This in-turn had me not believing the story.

Radcliffe was very good and he projected his restraint towards Chantry with a longing wistfulness that was done very well. Kazan was hampered by the script. I just don’t think she was given the opportunity to make the story better. We all knew the end of the story going into the film. Creating extra delay to get there hurt her ability to perform. Davis and Driver were both amazing and outstanding together. Spall was strong as the solid guy Kazan was waiting for. Elan Mastai wrote the screen play and as I’ve said already there were elongating mistakes in the script that kept the film from moving along to its obvious end. Michael Dowse directed the film and could have driven this film forward in a less meandering way.

Overall: This story had potential but was waylaid by the un-crisp script.

Palo Alto

First Hit: A very well acted film about young people finding their place.

April (Emma Roberts) is a sensitive girl who has a crush on her high-school soccer coach Mr. B. (James Franco). The desire is mutual.

Teddy (Jack Kilmer) is a “stoner” whose mom is not very attentive of her son and his exploits, which partially results in behavior that is somewhat destructive. His closest friend Fred (Nat Wolff), is a self-absorbed guy who is always trying to make trouble with everyone as a way to be the center of attention.

The story is mainly aimed at how April and Teddy have experiences that help them to take another step towards growing up. The thing that stood out most about this film is that it felt very accurate about how young people deal with, talk about, and process the information given to them about their lives. The script and direction was very strong which gave this film its feel of authenticity.

Roberts was really good at being the girl who is on the fringes of the popular group but attempting to find what will create happiness for herself separate from the group. Jack Kilmer was also strong at being the guy who wants to be popular, hangs with the most troubling guy to push his cred, and finally settles into is art which where his soul resides. Val Kilmer has a small part of Roberts’ step-father and his stoner ways exemplify the lack of direction kids were getting from their parents in this community. Wolff was strong as the kid, we all knew, from high-school who always pushes the boundaries of the law, good taste and good behavior. Gia Coppola wrote and directed this film with a skill, expertise and eye for the subtleties of the struggles of being young.

Overall: This is a strong film and worth seeing.

The Hundred-Foot Journey

First Hit:  A wonderful film although I thought the middle was long and a little slow.

The premise was great: A family coming from India to France via England to create a livelihood for themselves. Would they find a way to make it?

They were restaurateurs in India and this was what they knew. Papa (Om Puri) was in control of his family and after he lost his wife, he did his best to guide his family in a single direction, together. His younger son Hassan (Manish Dayal) had the gift of being able to cook. His mother had taught him about spices and how to use them in food.

The family settles into a large building across the street from a restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) who has a single Michelin Star. She is obsessive about the star, her restaurant and is a difficult taskmaster about how the restaurant works, presents itself and the food they serve. She is not happy about the Indian music and curry smells coming from her new neighbor.

One of her sous-chefs Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) takes a liking to Hassan and their relationship both professionally and personally grows. The scenes where each kitchen is chopping food in a war-like competition were fun. The beauty of the food on the plates - wonderful. The growing relationship between the two families was fun to watch.

Where the film got lost for me was shortly after Hassan moves to Mallory’s kitchen and through the part when he was in Paris learning how to cook through science and chemistry. Where was the real angst of this soulless work? Where was the real longing to get back to cooking real natural food.

I don’t know if the film would have been interesting with another middle, but the end was obvious from the beginning and I think there was another way to get there.

Puri was sublime. His portrayal of being and Indian entrepreneur protecting and doing what was best for his family was simply great. Dayal was really good as the son who had the cooking talents. Mirren was her usual fantastic self. She made me fully believe she was a Michelin Star restaurateur. Le Bon was a ray of light in this film and her smile made each of her scenes, alone, worth watching. Stephen Knight wrote an interesting screenplay although at times it seemed too involved. The story could have been simpler. Lasse Hallstrom directed this film with a great eye for color, scene staging, and sense of feeling. Again, not to belabor, somewhere in the middle I became a bit disinterested, only to find it the story to pick up again in the end.

Overall:  I enjoyed this film and thought that each scene was wonderfully executed.