Young Adult

"Young Adult” stars Charleze Theron, Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson in this 94 minute drama involving a basically depressed and mentally disturbed woman in her late 30;s seeking to recapture the glory years she spent in high school and the romance that never quite came into fruition. Ms. Theron gives a worthy performance in creating a character devoid of reality with the uncanny ability to instigate awkward and unpleasant experiences with most of those she encounters when she returns to the place where she was born and raised. However, good acting alone does not make a good movie. The best way to describe this film is for me to share with you that, throughout its viewing, it made me feel edgy and very uncomfortable. There are scenes where you know what is going to happen and almost wished it didn't in order to avoid watching it play out on the screen. Although the team of writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman were so successful in their film “Juno”, unfortunately for them, and for this film's viewing audience, this movie does not reach that level of accomplishment. I give the film 2 stars with a suggestion that there are better ways to spend your money in order to feel frustrated and depressed.

Hugo

“Hugo”, in 3D, is a movie buff’s delight. Set in the early 1930's and starring Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley and Sasha Baron Cohen, this 207 minute film is enchanting as it is informative. Based on the book “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick (yes, a relative of David O.) and faithfully adapted by John Logan, this film masterpiece was directed by Martin Scorcese who can rightfully boast having made one of the best pictures of 2011 and of other years as well.. Much like ”The Artist” this movie searches the cinema past from the Lumiere Brothers first cinemaphotographe salons and the documentary aspects of the new medium to the short films made by George Melies, a French magician turned filmmaker who in the early 1900’s introduced story lines, fade ins, fade outs and trick photography to the new movie going public. Although not a household name, Mr. Melies wrote, directed and starred in over 500 films and chronicles his life and achievements as part of the larger story of a young boy trying to cope with the mysteries of life and its meaning. Not to be overlooked is the marvelous cinemaphotography as the scenes of Paris become real and surreal via the 3D medium. There is a storybook quality to the film that makes one feel as if he or she was reading from a children’s book with vivid colors and landscapes intermingled with real footage of movies of the era. I give this film 4 stars for its beauty, its message and the more than joyous experience I had watching it.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” stars Gary Oldman and Colin Firth in this UK French joint venture based on the best selling novel of the same name.by John LeCarre. This is a text book example of what can happen when producers attempt to depict on the screen the essence of a well written novel with religious adherence to the plot but without enough film or time to do it as well as the written word. Taking place in the midst of the cold war in 1973 this film is uncomfortable to watch and the 2 hours and 7 minutes of its duration seems more like a lifetime. Torture techniques are discussed in the film but I suggest that subjecting a prisoner to a viewing of the film will elicit more information from him than waterboarding, for instance, ever could. Co-written by Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan and Mr. LeCarre and directed by Tomas Alfredson, there is plenty of blame for each of them to share in creating this less than worthy piece of work. A director can do very little with a script that is confusing and seemingly endless and that is what Mr. Alfredson apparently had to deal with in order to bring about this boring and tedious endeavor. I went to the film aware that some very respected critics in some highly regarded papers and periodicals raved about the film and, consistent with that, my expectations were quite high. Unfortunately my viewing experience was not pleasurable at all nor did the movie in any way involve me in the plot, the characters or the story itself. I give this film 1 and ½ stars with a strong recommendation that it be avoided when making your next theatrical selection (unless, of course, you are looking for a 127 minute nap).

“”Like Crazy” is a film directed by Drake Doremus who also co-wrote it with Ben York Jones. It stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones (no relation to Ben) as two young lovers caught in the muck and mire of visas, passports, British and US bureaucracy and the struggle to save their relationship. The film shows us that even the strongest and most beautiful of love affairs can have difficulty experiencing hardships and obstacles placed in their path and when these all combine in the same series of events, the results can be heart breaking. Yelchin and Jones are powerful in their respective performances but, alas, the scenes ping pong between London and LA at such a consistent and speedy pace that the viewer barely has time to get over his or her jet lag. At some points, the editing and scene changes are so rapid that it was hard to follow exactly what was taking place until a subsequent scene allowed us to understand what had happened before.
Somewhat tedious to watch I give the film 2 and ½ stars with a suggestion that it won’t be a great tragedy if you miss it before it ends its current run.

Jack and Jill

"Jack and Jill" is a supposed comedy starring Adam Sandler playing the role of Jack as well as his twin sister Jill. Married to Katie Holmes Jack is totally repulsed by his twin sister, Jill. As his twin, Mr. Sandler plays her as such a revolting character so as to make her totally unbelievable and there, of course, lies the defect in the entire film. There is no credibiliyt in Jill's character for she is as obnoxious as she is unreal and without reality, humor doesn't work. Relying for the most part on bathroom humor (literally and figuratively) the movie asks us to believe that Al Pacino, who also stars in the film, would ever even sit next to let alone be enamored by Jill. It asks too much so, at a certain point, the viewer just doesn't care. I give this film one (1) star and remind its producers and proponents that although the story book "Jack and Jill" may have gone up the hill, this movie isn't going anywhere but down. The best word to describe this entire 96 minute theatrical experience is "disappointing".