A Star Is Born

First Hit: First part of the film is engaging, however towards the end it less fetching and with a 135 minute running time, needed to be trimmed.

This felt like two separate films. The first part is engaging, and buying into the characters is easy. We are introduced to Jack (Bradley Cooper), a boozing leader of a popular band, in concert delivering raspy singing and playing wild guitar in-front of a huge adoring crowd.

Driving away from the concert he wants another drink and finds a bar. In the bar, he watches Ally (Lady Gaga) sing a fantastic rendition of La Vie En Rose. Jack is enthralled and heads backstage and after conversation they head to another bar to talk.

Jack discovers that Ally also writes songs, good ones. They begin a romantic relationship, and he invites her to sing one of her songs with him in front of an audience of thousands. Her insecurities, which are explored when she and Jack are hanging out in a bar, stem from what she says is her too-large of a nose. This reason for her insecurity wasn’t believable to me. A quick review of others who played this role, Barbara Streisand, has a far more unique nose. This wasn’t the best thing to select for Ally’s anxiousness. However, this is where the audience is hooked, and also where the movie begins to meander.

As the film journeys onward, we’ve bought into their love because their chemistry is excellent and Lady Gaga as an actress is fully believable. Cooper, we know, can act his pants off, and for the most part he’s good here, but I couldn’t help but sense there was some struggle with him directing himself.

The last half of the film is where this film begins its decline. For me, Jack never really seems to, or appears to, clean up from his drinking and drug use, although he supposedly does. When he finally cleans up, Ally’s music and business manager Rez Gavron (Rafl Gavron) tells Jack, that he’ll be the reason for Ally’s downfall if he continues to associate musically with his wife Ally.

At this point it becomes obvious what’s going to happen, as the clues are poignantly spread out during the course of the film.

Cooper as an actor was excellent more towards the beginning of the film, but it seemed to fall off towards the end. I have no idea of the sequence in which the film was shot but there is a noticeable difference between the beginning and end of this movie. As a director and producer, there seemed too many scenes and prudent trimming would have helped to overall presentation. As an aside, he did a great job of playing a musician on stage. Gaga was extraordinary. She is a natural on the screen and this part was perfect for her to introduce acting into her repertoire. Gavron was strong as Ally’s career guiding manager. Sam Elliot (as Bobby, Jack’s older brother) was wonderful as the older brother who did his best to raise Jack. Andrew Dice Clay (as Andrew, Ally’s father) was sublime. I’m happy to see him in this role without the “Diceman” attitude. Anthony Ramos, as Roman, was wonderful as Ally’s best friend. Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper wrote a good script, although it needed to be trimmed. Cooper, as previously stated, directed this film.

Overall: The singing was terrific, and it showcases the talent of Lady Gaga

Rich Crazy Asians

First Hit: There are some very funny bits in this revealing film about Crazy Rich Asians.

Having dated a number of Asian women, I’ve experienced some of the familial ties as represented in this film. The closeness, nepotism, and sacrifice in business and family situations is difficult to fully comprehend by an outsider. The cultural differences are part of this film’s attraction. Adding social and financial differences within the Asian community only adds to the insight and delight.

The film sets up the Young family as wealthy and ruthless in the first scene. It opens with a young Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh) entering a swanky hotel with her two young children (Nick and Astrid) and her mother. They have reservations for the biggest and best suite in the luxurious hotel. However, because they walked in wet from a pouring rain and the kids had muddy feet, the snooty desk staff felt they weren’t really the type of people they wanted in the hotel. Refusing them their reserved room, and suggesting a room in Chinatown, Eleanor calls her husband who immediately buys the hotel. Walking back into the lobby, the current owner pops out the elevator and tells the staff that the hotel is now owned by the Youngs. The now sufficiently humbled staff get them checked into the hotel immediately.

This is a wonderful setup to show racism, the power of money, and how family ties can make something work.

The film moves forward in time about 25 years and we meet Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), a gaming theory economics professor, teaching her class about confidence through a poker demonstration she had in class. Rachel was raised by her single mother Kerri (Kheng Hua Tan) who worked multiple jobs to sacrifice her life for her child’s education and wellbeing.

Rachel’s boyfriend is Nick Young (Henry Golding) who was the young boy in the opening hotel sequence and who went to school with Rachel and hasn’t told her about his family’s wealth which has now blossomed to be the wealthiest family in all of Asia.

Nick wants to bring Rachel home to meet his family while he serves as best man for his best friend’s wedding. The wedding is in his home country of Singapore. What makes this an easy decision for Rachel to join him is that her best friend from college, Peik Lin Goh (Awkwafina), lives in Singapore and Rachel will get to visit her.

Getting on the plane, Rachel expects to eat what her mother packed for snacks and sitt in the crowded economy section. However, Nick and her are ushered to a private first class room at the front of the plane and this is when he explains to Rachel his family is wealthy.

The rest of the film shows an overindulgence of rich Asian families. For instance, Peik, who comes from a wealthy family of her own, drives Rachel to the Young family compound in a Audi R8 sports car. Remaining outings in cars feature Bentley and Rolls Royce cars. The parties are over the top extravagant and beyond the means of 99% of the population, including the bachelor party where everyone is flown out to a huge container ship, tricked out as a huge disco, in helicopters. The maid of honor party is the take over of an entire island and it's resort facilities where they shop, get massages, and party.

The heart of the family rejection of Rachel is Nick's mom Eleanor who doesn’t think Rachel is good enough for her boy, although Eleanor’s mother Ah Ma (Lisa Lu) likes her and her “auspicious nose.” Many of Eleanor’s friends participate in the hating of Rachel, and that is only part of the problem. There are many girls in Singapore that want to be hooked up with the very eligible and rich Nick, so most of young girls despise Rachel as well and think she is just a gold digger.

With these plot devices, the story is filled with comic opportunities and the director takes advantage of this. The romantic part of the film is a test of Nick and Rachel’s love for each other along with Rachel’s ability to own her power.

Wu was wonderful as Rachel. She showed the right kind of strength of character to make this role work. Awkwafina was hilarious as Rachel’s best friend. I loved how she kept specific outfits in her car for all occasions. Golding was strong as Nick. He embodied humbleness and his position of wealth is an elegantly. Yeoh was outstanding as Nick’s protective mother. Some of her steely looks were perfect. A priceless scene was when she and Rachel played a round of Mahjong. The intensity and pointed dialogue was executed by both Wu and Yeoh was spot on. Tan was great as Rachel's mom. Lu was wonderful as the matriarch of the family. Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim wrote a poignant and culturally pointed screenplay. Jon M. Chu did a wonderful job of keeping the film both light hearted and well intentioned through all the scenes.

Overall: This somewhat tongue-in-cheek film has some great comedic and heartfelt moments.

On Chesil Beach

First Hit: Saoirse Ronan shows, once again, why she’s one of the top actors acting today.

When an actor can share a wide range of deeply felt feelings and emotions without saying a single word to draw the audience into each scene, pay attention.

This story is about two people, who've just married, attempting to sexually consummate their marriage. The film uses flashbacks to show their family history, issues, and the pressures they faced growing up and how it's affecting this new life together.

Ronan as Florence Ponting is a young lady with prodigious musical talents is being raised by her overbearing mother Violet (Emily Watson) and a pushy bullying father Geoffrey (Samuel West). Their opinions and control over Florence and her sister, Ruth's (Bebe Cave) lives is a key and important component of the film.

Then there is Edward Mayhew (Billy Howle), he’s living with a mother Marjorie (Anne-Marie Duff) who got hit by a moving train’s door and suffers mental issues. She can be found naked talking to birds in the backyard. His father Lionel (Adrian Scarborough) is long suffering taking care of his wife, the home, work and two daughters along with Edward. Their house is chaos and when he receives a letter stating that he’s #1 in the history tests he took, no one in his family cares.

Searching to find someone he can tell and who cares, he runs into Florence and it is love at first site.

The romance is wonderful yet void of much deep intimacy. They marry and when it comes to consummating the marriage through intimacy, they struggle.

The scenes during and after their sexual attempt are very strong and the amount and range of emotion shown by both actors was excellent.

The film takes the actors forward, some 40 years into the future and it is sweet to see how the film ends.

Ronan is phenomenal. As I’ve indicated in previous reviews, she’s the very best young actress around. She selects roles that are deep and complex and gives each character body and soul. Howle is very good here. He does a great job of portraying men’s insecurities and complexities. Watson is sternly great. West is strong as the intense demanding father. Cave is great. Duff is amazing as the mentally challenged mother. Scarborough is solidly good as Edwards’ father. Ian McEwan wrote a very strong screenplay. Dominic Cooke did a wonderful job of piecing this story together and getting excellent performances from his cast.

Overall: I loved the complexity of this film and how it addressed a difficult subject.

Disobedience

First Hit: Extremely well-acted film about how antiquated thinking can split families and a loving relationship.

Ronit Krushka (Rachel Weisz) is a photographer in New York City. As we meet her, she's photographing a tattooed man.

She suddenly has to leave New York and we see her as deeply anxious. She arrives in a small town Orthodox Jewish community in England because her father, Rabbi Rav Krushka (Anton Lesser) has died suddenly. She did not know he was ill with pneumonia. The mystery is set with this scene; as she enters Dovid and Esti Kuperman’s (Alessandro Nivola and Rachel McAdams respectively) home where they are honoring Rav’s death, there is a strong silent judgmental air as she enters the house and each room.

The way this movie is filmed, we see her both as slightly detached from the people around her and intensely engaged. There is a depth of sadness in her character.

There is an especially strong sense of a subject not discussed when Ronit and Esti are together. Dovid was Rav’s specially selected heir apparent to be head rabbi of the local temple. The audience slowly learns that Ronit’s absence and rejection by the community is partially due to a lesbian romance with Esti when they were very young.

Scene after scene the community rejects Ronit because of her past and their passive aggressive closed-minded behavior is a key subject of the film.

The stark, clean way this film is shot adds to its intense beauty. The slow building of the way we learn about their previous relationship, how the community saw this forbidden relationship, and how the love still burns for each of them is outstanding.

Although their hotel lovemaking scene is what is advertised, it’s the entire story around it that makes this scene and this film work.

This film also exposes the lack of acceptance of human love by her family and friends and the Orthodox Jewish community.

Weisz is amazing in this film. She is an incredibly strong actress and she puts herself into roles that challenge her and the role of women (think My Cousin Rachel and this film to name two) in their communities. McAdams is a revelation in this role. Her subtly in revealing her love in this film was fantastic. I loved how she fiddled with her wig as it showed a level of unsurity. Nivola was wonderful as the conflicted rabbi who loved his wife Esti, Ronit, and his Jewish faith. Sebastian Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz wrote an detailed and effective screenplay that got to the spirit and heart of the matter is a wonderful way. Lelio had a clear vision in his direction of this story and cast. It was clean and was based on characters that had depth.

Overall: This is one of the best films this year.

Finding Your Feet

First Hit: A very inspirational, delightful and fun film.

Sandra (Imelda Staunton) is married to Mike (John Sessions) who has just received his MBE from the British Crown. They live in a big house and Sandra is a dutiful wife giving everything of herself to support her husband.

During a party she walks in on Mike making-out with their mutual friend Pamela (Josie Lawrence) and Mike tells her that they've had the affair going on for five years. Mike has no intention of stopping the affair.

Sandra walks out of the house and goes to her sister Bif's (Celia Imrie) flat which is in a very crowded common person's neighborhood. Bif is an adventurer. At about age 70, she takes dancing classes with others her age, rides a bike and goes swimming in a outdoor pond facility. Her flat is messy. Her life has been and is lived as fully as she can make it.

Sandra and Bif have not been in contact with each other for years and their two juxtaposed lifestyles make it difficult for them to live together, but gentle nudging from Bif and her friends, Charlie (Timothy Spall), Ted (David Hayman), and Jackie (Joanna Lumley), she begins to realize she's suppressed her life for Mike and slowly becomes more joyous and carefree.

At their mutual dance class, they learn new steps and put on a spontaneous mashup performance that gets filmed and goes viral. They get invited to Rome to perform.

After Bif passes away, Mike and Pamela break up and Mike realizes he misses what he had. He asks Sandra to come back into their home. She gives it a try, but the lessons she's learned about herself from her newfound friends require her step into her life and find her own feet.

Staunton is fantastic as a once brave woman re-finding her source of inspiration for living her life. Sessions is excellent as the stuffy brit who took advantage of his wife's loyalty and lived only for himself. Imrie was amazing as Sandra's sister Bif. Her edge was perfectly appropriate for the part. I loved her story about having only one love while they were in Rome.  Spall was sublime as the loyal husband who has a wife with alzheimer's. I loved how he got his van back when it was confiscated. Hayman was wonderful as one of the dance team and a close friend of Charlie. Lumley was great as one of the dance team and inspirational friend. Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft wrote and wonderfully touching script. Richard Loncraine did an excellent job of directing this ensemble of performers to deliver a wonderfully inspiring film.

Overall: This film was filled with emotion through endearing characters that most everyone could relate to.