The Wedding Ringer (2015) * * 1/2

Directed by:  Jeremy Garelick

Starring:  Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Ken Howard, Olivia Thirlby

I wish comedies these days would have enough confidence in themselves not to take the low road.    The Wedding Ringer is almost such a comedy.    It's a pity, because there are long stretches in which The Wedding Ringer threatens to surprise us and even work.    But then the slapstick and gross-out humor are thrown in, and we have an ungainly fit.     Nonetheless, this is the most likable Kevin Hart has been on screen yet and he and co-star Josh Gad make for a pretty good team. 

Gad plays Doug, an accountant with a good income who is engaged to Gretchen (Cuoco-Sweeting), who is a hottie with a bit of a bitchy streak.    He thinks she is way out of his league and still has to pinch himself to make sure he is not dreaming that she agreed to marry him.    Doug is a nice guy, but for some reason just doesn't have any male friends.    Gretchen has bridesmaids and a maiden-of-honor all lined up, while Doug does not even have a best man in his future.    Doug hears about a service run by Jimmy Callahan (Hart), in which Jimmy and some employees pose as Doug's best man and groomsmen for a price.     Jimmy arranges the bachelor party and keeps all of the guys' fictional stories of how they know Doug straight.     One caveat is that the relationship is strictly business.    Once the wedding is done, Jimmy and Doug will not be friends for real.    Naturally, we know this is one stipulation that won't be upheld.

Jimmy himself is a rather lonely guy too without any real friends.    His business prevents lasting bromances.    He has business ethics to uphold.   But soon enough, he and his employees have Gretchen and her family convinced that they've known Doug forever.    It does not always go that smoothly.   Gretchen's sister Alison (Thirlby) is a tad suspicious of Jimmy's whole story about being in the military.    And what a strange coincidence that the names of Doug's "friends" are Drysdale, Garvey, and Koufax, all of which the last names of LA Dodger greats.    Jimmy goes by the name "Bic", which sounds just like the disposable razor. 

The inherent likability of Hart and Gad allow them to mesh well.    They are nice, lonely guys who we know will become friends, because each desperately needs at least one.    Their budding friendship gives The Wedding Ringer more of a heart than one would expect.    But then, there are scenes in which a dog licks peanut butter off of a guy's testicles, a game of football between the guys and Gretchen's family that isn't funny, but violent, and other gross-out gags thrown in as a way for the filmmakers to hedge their bets.    They nearly derail the entire movie.   

Gross-out scenes like the ones I just detailed are beyond played out at this point.   There was a time in which the kid in American Pie accidentally drinking his own semen was at least new and fresh.   Now, I don't think there is a bodily fluid that hasn't seen the back of someone's throat.    Movies tend to up the ante until the point that such things are uninspired and reek of desperation.    What precisely is funny about a guy nearly coldcocked on a muddy football field by a bullying linebacker?   And why is it when we see and elderly woman in a comedy we correctly assume she will be foul-mouthed?  

But don't despair, there is enough good about The Wedding Ringer to make it a near-miss.    Kevin Hart is better when he is given a character to play and doesn't just motormouth his way through a movie.    Gad is a sympathetic schlub while Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting remains a sexy, alluring actress even when given a one-dimensional character.    Things go predictably in The Wedding Ringer, but it nearly becomes a satisfying comedy.    I have seen a whole lot worse in recent years.  

Chocolat (2000) * * 1/2

Directed by:  Lasse Hallstrom

Starring:  Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Alfred Molina, Carrie Anne Moss, Judi Dench, Peter Stormare, Hugh O' Conor, John Wood, Leslie Caron, Lena Olin

Lasse Hallstrom's Chocolat is a quiet, whimsical, predictable film that looks beautiful, sounds beautiful, but doesn't deliver a satisfactory payoff.    Things end happily for all involved, but are we moved?    Not really.   

Chocolat takes place in the late 1950's in a small French village which looks probably as it did three hundred years ago.    It is a deeply religious town that adheres to tradition.     The week centers around Sunday mass, where it seems every citizen of the town attends.    One who does not is Vianne (Binoche), a newcomer who opens up a chocolate shop during Lent which provides various temptations for the townsfolk.     Per the film's narrator, she came in like the North wind.   The mayor Comte de Reynaud (Molina) rules the town and even writes the weekly sermons for the parish priest (O'Conor).    He visits Vianne and questions her wisdom in opening a chocolate shop during Lent, which is one of many subtle ways he displays his disapproval of her and the shop.    We sense there may be otherworldly things afoot with Vianne and her chocolates.   

The stage is set for a showdown between Vianne, whose chocolates represent change and perhaps even paganism, and the mayor, who prefers people like Vianne and Roux (Depp), a bohemian musician who lives by the river, pack up and take their alternative to religion elsewhere.    Since Roux and Vianne are vaguely in the same age range, we know they will hook up.    Both Binoche (Oscar-nominated for her role here) and Depp provide Vianne and Roux with tenderness and sweetness in the face of intolerance.    Vianne wins over some locals with her superior chocolates and pleasant manner.    The shop represents a respite from the strict adherence to religious doctrine which basically takes all the fun out of life for these poor residents.

Some of those who refuse to be converted to the church of Vianne include the mayor, Caroline (Moss), whose mother is Vianne's defiant, stubborn landlord (Dench) and with whom she maintains a distant relationship, and Serge (Stormare), and abusive husband whose wife Josephine takes shelter at the shop.    Except for Serge, who is incorrigible, the others will soon see the light.    de Reynaud's wife is "away in Italy", but is most likely gone for good.    He wields his power as a mask for his pain and his disappointment that God hasn't made his wife return to him.

I wonder why in movies religious people are seen as hateful, intolerant jerks who get their kicks out of denying themselves and everyone even a hint of pleasure.    While I'm not a religious person, I know the fanatical zealots are a minority.    Yet, in films like Chocolat, Footloose, and in a secular way Pleasantville, those moralists behave so irrationally it is a wonder why they have any followers at all.    What is more fun?   Hanging around a churl like de Reynaud or the sweet hottie Vianne?  
It is no contest.    However, history has shown that these religious minorities hold a lot of sway with those who cower at their every word.    Perhaps my view is a bit too utopian.

The scenes in which the scales fall from the eyes of the locals do not hold much impact.   I'm happy for them, but not much moved.    Roux and Vianne make a good-looking couple, but their romance is by rote.    Molina is a master at subtle villainy disguised as pleasantry, but his fate is inevitable.    So we wait for him to change, but when it does it does not reward us for our patience.   

Chocolat is a nice film; breezy, light, and luxuriously photographed, but not compelling enough when all is said and done.    I admire the performances all the more for a story that we've seen done many times before and better. 

The Fan (1996) * *

Directed by:  Tony Scott

Starring:  Robert DeNiro, Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, Benicio Del Toro, Ellen Barkin

I don't know if there are sports fans out there willing to go to the lengths Gil Renard (DeNiro) does to ensure his favorite player breaks out of his slump, but I can not say it would surprise me if there were.   The Fan would have been wise to focus unmercifully on Renard instead of transforming into a run-of-the-mill thriller in which the crazy baddie terrorizes his favorite player only to get his in the end.    The Fan is all too happy to head in the latter direction and it is a shame.    A later movie named Big Fan (2009), which starred Patton Oswalt as a diehard New York Giants fan, had more insight into the special type of fan who calls sports radio talk shows and is willing to protect a player who beat him up just to ensure the Giants win on Sunday.   

I would like to think the average sports fan handles his or her team's performance in an even-keeled manner.    The good feelings following a win or bad feelings following a loss do not usually last longer than an hour or two and then it's on with life.    However, based on regular listening to sports talk radio, reading stories of Little League dads who attack umpires, and soccer fans who kill referees and threaten the life of a player who screwed up on the field, I am beginning to wonder if these are the average sports fans anymore.     Rude, obnoxious, or belligerent fan behavior is described as "passion".     Players have objects thrown at them in the name of such passion.    There may have been a time in which fans like Gil Renard would be considered extreme, but these days he is scarcely ahead of the curve.    The Fan was made during such a time where such behavior was unthinkable.   

The Fan, which starts out as a movie about an unhinged fan, soon becomes laughable.    It seems to know about attitudes of pro players towards fans, but not as much about baseball itself.    An examination of a fan who bleeds his team's colors and a player on that team who could not care less about fan opinion would be an interesting movie.    The Fan is not that movie.    As The Fan opens, it is the dawn of a new San Francisco Giants baseball season.     Gil is thrilled at the offseason signing of the reigning league MVP Bobby Rayburn (Snipes) and calls into the local sports talk radio show predicting a World Series title.    Gil is a hunting knife salesman whose job is in jeopardy because he scares clients with his bizarre manner.    He is the type of guy who takes his son to the opening day game and leaves him there alone for hours while visiting a make-or-break client.   

The arrogant Rayburn soon is mired in an endless slump.    He is involved in a feud with a teammate (Del Toro) who wears the number 11 Rayburn wore on his former team and refuses to give it up.    Gil believes Rayburn not being allowed to wear his usual number is causing the slump and soon takes care of Del Toro by making him an offer he won't be able to refuse.    Gil's scary behavior causes his ex-wife to withhold visitation and he is soon fired from his job.    Looking for an ounce of self-respect and recognition, he turns his attentions to Rayburn, who suddenly can hit a baseball again.

Because DeNiro is DeNiro, he is able to handle himself despite having nearly no character to play by the final 30 minutes.    He becomes a movie psychopath with a deranged smile and an ability to slip in and out of anywhere undetected even though every cop in San Francisco is looking for him.    He is no longer a person with motives or feelings.    He is just a killer who needs to be disposed of in a sensational way.    There is no insight into him or his resentment of Rayburn.    He hints at looking for recognition and resentment of Rayburn's attitudes toward money, fame, and fans, but these are mentioned but not explained.   

Snipes plays the entitled Rayburn as someone we sympathize with when Gil begins terrorizing him.   He soon finds himself under pressure to hit a home run or else his kidnapped son dies.    The game itself in which Rayburn has to do this is handled so poorly and unrealistically that it derails any suspense.    How poorly?   And how unrealistically?  

*  The rain comes in the 8th inning with Rayburn flustered as the pitcher begins intentionally walking him.     He shouts in protest at the pitcher.    I'm not sure of the opposing team's strategy since there is no one on base and Rayburn represents the tying run.  

*  The rain itself comes down so heavy it looks like the actors are standing under shower heads.   It is definitely movie rain. 

*  When play resumes, Rayburn approaches the opposing pitcher on the mound with a bat in hand and threatens to use the bat on the pitcher's head if he is not pitched to.    And the umpires do not eject Rayburn immediately.   Uh huh.

*  The pitcher relents to Rayburn against his manager's orders and pitches to him.   And the manager does nothing, not even a visit to the mound.   Uh huh. 

*   The rain comes again in a deluge and the game is not called despite hurricane-like winds and precipitation.    Rayburn takes his time thinking outside the batter's box as the water pours down on everyone.    Uh huh.

*   I think at one point during another game, Rayburn is the next batter and emerges from the dugout to bat instead of taking his place in the on-deck circle.    This is cause for ejection if I'm up to snuff on my baseball rules.  

Why does it even have to rain anyway?    To disguise a plot twist that everyone saw coming?   Or just for atmosphere?   By then, The Fan has abandoned all logic and sense en route to its inevitable conclusion.    We hear Rayburn explain why he doesn't play for the fans but for himself.    After his run-in with Gil, can anyone blame him?  

McFarland USA (2015) * * *

Directed by:  Niki Caro

Starring:  Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Carlos Pratts, Johnny Ortiz, Morgan Saylor, Ramiro Rodriguez

McFarland USA blindsided me with its intricate insight.    It is about a newly formed high school cross country team circa 1987 that breathes life and pride into McFarland, CA, a downtrodden small town of mostly Latino population.    The students are not given much to look forward to after high school.    They will likely return to the fields as "pickers", only they will do so full-time instead of just the morning hours prior to school and then the remaining daylight hours afterward.    There is little hope for a future that does not contain backbreaking 14-hour workdays for minimal pay.  

The film opens with hotheaded football coach Jim White (Costner) throwing a cleat at a smart aleck player during halftime.    In the next scene, we see he and his family packing up the car and heading to McFarland, home of the only high school that would give him a job.   Jim has a history of  His weary wife Cheryl (Bello) and two daughters have seemingly made this trip many times before.    They are appalled at the house they live in, which is tiny and does not have a garden, and are even more alarmed at the neighborhood.    Jim does not envision his family having to live there for long.

Jim is hired by a desperate principal who needs a gym teacher and an assistant football coach.    Jim does not last long as the assistant to an undersized football squad, but he recognizes some players and students who can run very fast with amazing stamina.    He pitches the idea of forming a cross-country team and is able to recruit seven students who wake at the crack of dawn to work the fields, go to school, and then go back to working the fields after school.     They somehow fit in team practice which requires miles of running.    Their endurance and strength are extraordinary.

Based on this information, you can predict the obligatory scenes:   Jim will at first alienate his team with his harsh coaching style, only to form a guarded truce and then bring the team together.    The team will be blown out in its first meet against superior competition, then hit their stride, and qualify for the state championship.    Do they win?    I won't say, but you know the odds are 50-50.    You check off these scenes as they happen, but what you do not expect are the warm and gentle scenes in which Jim and his family become part of the community.    They embrace the "blancos" as one of their own.    Oh and naturally Jim catches the eye of a rival school that wants him to become their new cross country coach.    Will he accept it?

McFarland USA takes great care to show how Jim becomes one with these hard-working people and helps instill hope that there is life beyond working the fields.    The students have a chance to actually go to college, while none of the previous members of their families attended school past 9th grade.    For the first time in forever, the families of the runners have something to be proud of.    McFarland USA succeeds because while it covers the clichés we have seen in such previous movies, it also takes a moment to let us see inside.    The big race is just a small portion of these people's lives.    Life goes on before and after.  

Kevin Costner relies on his ability to be the everyman which was the cornerstone of some of his best performances.     He is a bit more world-weary in McFarland than in other sports-related films like Bull Durham, Tin Cup, and Field of Dreams, but he projects determination and caring.    He is willing to learn from his previous mistakes as a coach, parent, and husband.    The runners themselves make us care by having distinctive stories and personalities.    They are not just a faceless group.    Because of this, when the entire town of McFarland shuts down to witness the big race, we know the human stakes are high.    I didn't care who won as much as I cared about how the race positively affected the town.    The sports movie clichés are all there, but it doesn't matter.    McFarland USA creates genuine warmth.  

Bridge of Spies (2015) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Steven Spielberg

Starring:  Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Austin Stowell

The hero of Bridge of Spies is Brooklyn attorney James Donovan (Hanks), who defends Russian spy Rudolph Abel (Rylance) in court and then negotiates the exchange between Abel and Francis Gary Powers, whose U2 plane was famously shot down over the Soviet Union.    Each country gets its spy back with no loss of face, which was probably the most important thing in the years-long staring contest between the US and the USSR.     Donovan is not a guy who stands on a soapbox making speeches about how even an accused Soviet spy deserves a fair defense.    He stands by his principles assertively and does his job to the best of his ability and mandate.    This makes him more heroic than a thousand speeches from King Leonidas ever could.

When Abel is arrested by the FBI, he is to be tried in federal court in Brooklyn.    After other attorneys pass on defending Abel, the thankless job falls into the lap of Donovan, who mostly handles insurance litigation these days.    He is expected to simply sit by Abel in court and give the appearance of representation so the US looks good in its treatment of accused Soviet spies.    Donovan actually builds a defense to the dismay of his partners and the US government.     He believes correctly that the search of Abel's apartment was unconstitutional, but this motion is quickly denied by a judge who would like nothing more than to see Abel hang.   

The scenes between Donovan and Abel are captivating.    There are no obligatory scenes in which each mistrusts the other and then form a bond over time.     Each respects the other, understands the position each is in, and form an unlikely friendship based on mutual respect.    Abel at one point asks Donovan why he never asked him if he was a spy.    Donovan's response is at the heart of American criminal law:   The state has to prove he's a spy.    It does not matter whether he actually is one.

I enjoyed the quiet demeanor Rylance brings to Abel.    He is forever calm, rational, and unflappable.   He paints portraits and sees all.    When he is arrested, his only request is to be able to put away his paints before they dry out.     He does his job as expected and keeps to himself.    Years of spying likely contributed to that.    He even understands that being a spy means he may one day be captured and imprisoned for the rest of his days.    Or executed.    Donovan wants to assure the latter doesn't happen, but Abel knew the risks of his job.     Still, we care about him because he is such a dignified professional, even if we're not "supposed" to.     Rylance's work is remarkable. 

Donovan is a man not swept up by Cold War, anti-communist fervor which swept the nation at the time.    He approaches Abel like any other criminal case.    In his eyes, whether the accused is foreign or a citizen, he deserves equal treatment by the law.   Not everyone feels that way.    He and his family are scorned and threatened by others who can't believe he is actually defending the "commie bastard."    Despite this, Donovan trudges forward, determined not to abandon his principles.

I have only been describing the first half of Bridge of Spies.     The second half involves Donovan brokering a deal to exchange Abel for American spy Powers in East Berlin.    Powers' spy plane was shot down over the USSR and he was expected to take his own life before capture.    He does not, which makes him not all that popular in the US.   A wrinkle is thrown in with the capture of an American student studying abroad accused of espionage.    Donovan wants both Americans in exchange for Abel, despite the FBI's insistence on an even swap.    East Berlin is seen by Spielberg in cold, desolate gray.    The Berlin Wall is in its infancy and Donovan is horrified to see people shot attempting to climb it to flee to West Berlin.    The FBI uses Donovan to negotiate the deal without government credentials so he can't be accused of being a spy.    But we feel the threat of danger to Donovan, which befalls many Westerners in East Berlin at that time.    Even a mugging takes on international proportions.  

Tom Hanks is an actor whose nature and everyman appeal allows us to follow him through the harshest journeys at will.    In all of his years onscreen, I don't recall if he ever played a villain.   
The closest may have been in Road To Perdition (2002), but even then we sense his decency peeking out.    Very few actors inspire empathy like Hanks does.    Bridge of Spies is the type of movie that plays every bit to his strengths.   

I was not born when the Cold War paranoia was in its heyday.   The Vietnam War put a damper on the belief that a nuclear war was imminent and crouching close to the ground will somehow ward off the effects of an explosion.    Nuclear bomb drills were common in schools, which I'm sure was the case in Soviet schools also.    When I was old enough to understand the Cold War, which was in the early 1980s, the threat of nuclear war was faint.    There was more cooperation between the nations and less unrest.    By the time the 80s drew to a close, the Cold War was but a memory.   

Bridge of Spies not only excels as a political drama, but in capturing the harrowing fear that engulfed each nation at the time.    The fear of not only bombs, but one-upmanship.    This time was a field day for the CIA and the FBI, who presented the latest technology designed to catch the Russians planning American destruction.     Years later, like on 9/11, when we really needed this type of intelligence, none was to be found.  

The Longest Ride (2015) * 1/2

Directed by:  George Tillman Jr.

Starring:  Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Alan Alda, Oona Chaplin, Jack Huston, Lolita Davidovich

The Longest Ride is about a relationship between two of the nicest, sweetest, and dullest people on the planet.    They figure things out long after we have and we impatiently await for them to catch up.    Dealing with this relationship is rough enough, but we also have to contend with a relationship from the 1940s which parallels the issues the modern-day couple is facing.   The only purpose this ultimately serves is to add to the film's running time.    The Longest Ride clocks in at just over two hours and it feels every bit of it. 

The modern romance is an ungainly fit between art and bull riding.    Sophia (Robertson) is a Wake Forest senior who is a month away from starting an internship with a New York art gallery.    She attends a bull riding competition with her roommate and falls instantly for Luke (Eastwood), who suffered a nearly fatal injury the previous year and is only now returning to action.    If you consider the risk vs. reward of professional bull riding, it is not a sensible profession.    Luke's mother (Davidovich) is forever on Luke to hang up the chaps, but He Has A Dream to be the world's best bull rider.    He should listen to her, but of course he is stubborn.    

Luke is a romantic and his first date with Sophia is a picnic under the stars.   Because They Come From Different Worlds, it appears their relationship won't last.    I think it won't last because they have so little to talk about.     Because The Longest Ride is an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel, there will be torrential rain and a plot development resulting from the rain.    While driving Sophia home, Luke sees a car that drove off the road.     They rescue the driver and a small box before the car explodes.    The driver is elderly Ira Levinson (Alda), who looks great for a guy who, if my calculations are correct, must be pushing 100.   Ira suffers minor injuries and is hospitalized.    Sophia discovers the contents of the box, which are romantic letters written by Ira to a woman named Ruth.    She reads one letter and is hooked.    She wants to find out more about this relationship from Ira and agrees to read the letters to him so she (and we) can hear the endless story of Ira's courtship, marriage, and troubles with Ruth.    

See if you can follow this:   Ruth is the woman Ira marries and lives with.    He writes letters daily about things that just happened to them and mails these letters to her.    Did Ruth ever ask Ira to stop wasting money on stamps when he could just as easily hand the letters to her?   Or did she ever say enough with the letters already?    They do live together after all.    The letters' only function is to serve as a storytelling device.    We, and Sophie, have to await the outcome of Ira's and Ruth's trials and tribulations one letter at a time.    It is like pulling teeth.    Couldn't Sophia have skipped all of the letter reading and just asked Ira what ultimately happened with Ruth?     There are shades of The Notebook here, but the reasoning behind the storytelling device in that film was more effective and understandable.  

Sophia and Luke reunite, have PG-13 sex, break up because They Come From Different Worlds, and will of course reconcile in a highly dramatic way with music swelling up.    The Longest Ride has little substance for as long as it is.    The actors try earnestly with the dreck they are given, especially Jack Huston and Oona Chaplin as the younger versions of Ira and Ruth.    Huston looks nothing like Alan Alda, but then again Ryan Gosling looked nothing like James Garner in The Notebook.    Does Luke master the bull that nearly killed him a year earlier?    Does he become the world's number one bull rider?    If you have ever seen a movie before, then you will know the answers.    If you have not seen a movie before, do not start with The Longest Ride.    It may sour you on future movies.

Finally, the ten best bull riders in the world are all young white males who hail from as far west as Oklahoma and as far south as North Carolina.     Are there any Japanese bull riders?   Or European?   "The world" in this line of work seems to consist of five states and only white males aged 20-30.    In a movie fraught with as many problems as The Longest Ride has, this may seem trivial, but I find it curious.

Inception (2010) * * *

Directed by:  Christopher Nolan

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard

This review is going to seem a bit goofy.     Any attempt to decipher the plot (except for its most basic outline) is a fool's errand.    The film is visually stunning and wholly original, yet I've seen it once, admired it, and have no real desire to see it again.    I caught it on cable and watched a little bit of it, but truth be told I switched to a Big Bang Theory rerun.    My mind can only take so much. 

Inception is a feast for the eyes and an overload for the brain, yet it does allow itself its share of human moments.     The motives of Cobb (DiCaprio) are understandable:   He is a corporate raider who does one last job so he can see his children again.    Why is he in exile in the first place?    I think the reason was explained, or maybe it wasn't.     A CEO named Saito (Watanabe) promises Cobb he can make a call and all of the obstacles in Cobb's way will be removed, if he can pull off what Saito asks of him.     What is it?    Well, Cobb is a corporate raider with a team that can infiltrate the dreams of sleeping people and steal their secrets.     Saito wants Cobb to slip into the mind of his biggest rival Robert Fischer (Murphy) and steal an idea which will save Saito's company and destroy Fischer's.    

Cobb assembles his team, all of which play a part in the plan (although I could never pass a quiz on what it is they do in a million years), and they get to work.    Only Cobb emerges as a true individual, the rest perform their assigned functions and then leave the scene.    They are barely given enough time to develop personalities.    Michael Caine is on hand as Cobb's father, who sympathizes with him and wishes only for a reunited family.    Cobb's own dreams are haunted by visions of his now dead wife (Cotillard), who spends the bulk of her time haunting Cobb and needling him to provoke his guilt over his failure to stop her death.    How did she die?    I think the reason was explained, or maybe it wasn't.    It may have completely escaped me.

Simply slipping into the subconscious mind of Fischer will not be easy.    He has his own security of sorts, which includes guards brandishing automatic weapons.    My question is:   How does one install this security?    Why would anyone think they would ever need it?    Or is it a natural defense system?    The mind boggles.    Cobb and company need to work through different layers of Fischer's mind and go deeper and deeper in order to achieve their goal.    This means more gunfire and car chases, which seem strange in a film about the human mind, but in the world of Inception almost seems right at home.

Are the standard action movie gunfights and chases Nolan's way of hedging his bets to make the film more palatable?    The screenplay is meticulously constructed, but how many people would be able to tolerate a nearly two hour, 45 minute film about dreams with no action?    The idea of people slipping into people's dreams to alter them is not necessarily new.    Dreamscape (1984) was an action thriller about a psychic who is able to enter the dreams of his subjects and change the dream and the outcome in reality.    Dreamscape was not as cumbersome as Inception.    The visuals were high-tech for the time, but it was more linear and knew what it wanted to do.    Inception takes the long way around to achieve the same result.    This includes about one hour more of running time.

Inception is a film that kept me interested, mostly because the visuals and sound are loud and jarring.    It is not a film with great human interest.     Nolan instead goes for the gusto with buildings and rooms that shape shift and a touching ending.    Is it fair to say that Nolan was more focused on the sights and sounds?    Probably.    I admire the originality of Nolan's vision and his willingness to go nuts with it.    About thirty minutes less running time and some more human touches and Inception would have been great. 

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) * * * *

Directed by:  Frank Darabont

Starring:  Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, Clancy Brown, William Sadler, James Whitmore

"Hope is a dangerous thing.   Hope can drive a man insane.   It has no use on the inside.   You had better get used to that idea."   

These are words of wisdom of Shawshank prison lifer Red (Freeman) to Andy Dufresne (Robbins), who despite serving a life sentence himself is holding onto hope.   What is he hoping for?    He never explains, but by the end he doesn't need to.    We understand completely.

The Shawshank Redemption was not a box-office success, mostly because it is difficult to market a drama about a friendship between two prison lifers.     It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Morgan Freeman, winning zero.    The film has become a staple on cable and it remains a treasure.    It stretches twenty years in a prison population but never drags.    It is patient with its pacing.    When the now well-known payoff finally arrives, it blindsides us in an inspiring way.  

As Shawshank opens, Andy is a successful banker who coldly observes his wife and another man in a romantic rendezvous.    He is armed with a gun and a bottle of booze, sitting alone in a car.    The next thing we know, the two are dead and Andy is convicted of their murders.    His aloof, cold demeanor certainly makes him appear guilty.    He doesn't inspire much sympathy.   

The film is narrated by Red, who is serving a long stretch for an unspecified crime, although I would assume it's not petty theft.    He is observant, mostly because twenty years in Shawshank prison allows him nothing but time to be observant.    He thinks the quiet Andy will be the first new prisoner to break down and cry on his first night.    He even bets the other inmates, who take wages on other newcomers.    Red loses his money.    He will learn over the years that he is wrong a lot about Andy.

Because of Andy's knowledge of accounting and banking, he ingratiates himself slowly with the guards and then the warden (Gunton).    The warden carries the Bible in his hands and preaches the good word, but uses the prison as a money-laundering operation.    Andy cooks the books and mostly keeps his head down.    He sees all, but keeps mostly to himself and plays close to the vest.    Red is more verbal and direct.    The two men play off each other well.

Freeman and Robbins play two distinct people who are thrown together within the prison walls.    They become friends, but Andy only allows people in so much.    Andy prefers to show his affection in other ways, like bargaining to obtain beers and a 15 minute break for fellow prisoners tarring a roof on a hot day.    Andy's influence allows for a prison library to be built and further improvements acted upon.    He maintains a satisfied half-smile.   

If you have not had the pleasure of seeing The Shawshank Redemption in the twenty plus years it has been out, then I won't be a creep and ruin your experience with spoilers.    Part of the joy of watching this film, and other great films, is seeing it unfold before your eyes.     A different joy is seeing it again and feeling like it is unfolding again with the same impact.    After watching them grow and mature in the worst of circumstances, we feel joy that Red and Andy finally learn to live life on their terms and not the prison's.  









  

The Intern (2015) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Nancy Meyers

Starring:   Robert DeNiro, Anne Hathaway, Anders Holm, Rene Russo

Not to be confused with The Internship (2013), the lame Vince Vaughan-Owen Wilson comedy, The Intern is warm and observant.    We see two people who care for each other and grow to understand each other.    Their differences only strengthen and complement their personalities.    This is a refreshing film in which age doesn't divide people, but acts as a catalyst for learning and growing.

DeNiro stars as Ben Whitaker, a retired widower bored with his daily life of doing nothing.    At first, retirement was a novelty, but there are only so many yoga classes you can attend.
He sees a flyer advertising a Senior Intern Program for a local web-based company run by the harried and time-crunched Jules (Hathaway), who rides a bike around the office and allows five minute windows for meetings.    Ben applies and is hired, but doesn't have much to do.    He is the type of man who wants to be of service and finds ways to keep busy.    It is Jules' good fortune that she becomes his mentor, or is it the other way around?   

Jules' company is a runaway success, but investors are nervous that she may be not be able to sustain it as business demands grow.    They recommend she hire a CEO to handle the company, which Jules reluctantly agrees to.   Jules' swamped days soon bleed over into her family life, which consists of a stay-at-home husband named Matt and a young daughter.    She loves them dearly, but the business has slowly become the focal point of her days.    Will this cause tension?    It is a safe bet to say yes.

Ben's involvement in Jules' life starts at strictly professional, but then he takes on the role of father figure and a trusted confidant.    Ben also attracts a love interest, an office masseuse named Fiona (Russo) who manages to rub in all the right places.    Russo does what she can in a role that is largely unnecessary and whose only function is to make Ben realize that he doesn't need Viagra just yet.   This detour does not deter from the main event however. 

DeNiro, who here and in Silver Linings Playbook (2012), effortlessly plays a man who effuses experience, fortitude, and decency.    It is good to see DeNiro transform into these likable characters after years of playing cops, wiseguys, and morally questionable people.    Hathaway's Jules is not a cold career woman.    She is simply unable to juggle everything her job and family demands of her, although it isn't from lack of trying.    When she finally gets a chance to sleep, we hope no one wakes her.

Thank goodness The Intern did not transform into a comedy punctuated by lame ageist jokes and gags.   Writer-director Nancy Meyers sets a warm tone that is right throughout.    The outlines of The Intern are nothing that will surprise anyone, but the people will.    I love a movie that allows its people to surprise and touch us in ways we did not anticipate.    The Intern is one of those movies that lets its characters be real and human. 

The Martian (2015) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Ridley Scott

Starring:  Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara, Sean Bean

Think of The Martian as Gravity times ten.  Gravity (2013) was a harrowing story of an astronaut trapped in space above the Earth with only her wits and ingenuity to guide her in her attempts to make it back to Earth.  Mark Watney (Damon) has it worse, if you can imagine that.  He is left behind on Mars by his research team during a massive storm and believed to be dead.  He survives, however, and has to find a way to survive on an uninhabitable planet where food doesn't grow, there is no water, and he is unable to communicate with NASA.  Throw into the mix that he may not be rescued for at least four years (if NASA ever discovers him) if my Mars time vs. Earth time calculations are correct.  Mars is roughly about 140 million miles from Earth, so the math is staggering. 

The allure of a film like The Martian is universal.  We see a man facing overwhelming odds to survive in the worst of circumstances.  You would have to be a real churl not to root for him. Watney maintains his sanity by logging daily entries into a video journal (which acts as the electronic version of Wilson from Cast Away) and undertaking the challenge of growing food using human waste and botanical techniques.  It is a time-honored plot which we've seen in Gravity, Apollo 13, and Cast Away on different levels, but it is still an effective one.   How would any of us feel about being trapped in a place with little or no hope of rescue?

In these grim circumstances, The Martian maintains its humor and hope.  NASA, under the watchful eye of budget-conscious Teddy Sanders (Daniels), discovers Watney is alive and springs into action to rescue him.   They strategically do not tell his crew that they left him stranded in order to spare them the guilt they would ultimately feel, so they crunch numbers and think outside the box to come up with a timely and practical rescue operation.  Time is of the essence, but even in the best of situations, it would take at least one year to even launch a rescue.  We see Watney continuing his daily struggle juxtaposed with scientists trying effortlessly in the face of harsh deadlines to figure an unprecedented plan.    

We identify with Watney, who is bravely and with good humor trying to fight through unprecedented and dire circumstances.   He thinks on his feet and shows dogged determination.    "I'm going to have to science the shit out of this," he says and boy does he ever.   And you thought the kid from Home Alone was ingenious.   We know good and well that Watney will not be left to die because that would be a bummer on a massive scale.  We have seen Gravity, Apollo 13, and Cast Away so we know this, but the strengths of The Martian lie in the suspense of learning just how NASA plans to rescue Watney.   The Watney character has a built-in sympathy card, but that does not stop Damon from creating a smart and funny person who lasts a lot longer than he should on Mars through sheer intelligence and elbow grease.  Sometimes duct tape is the difference between death and another day of life on the hostile planet.   

Ridley Scott tackles another space opera with seamless visuals.  Mars is seen in all of its desolation and vastness, as is space itself.   The final rescue mission is not without its perils, mostly the danger of flying out into space forever if you can't grab onto something.  I can not say if any of the science in The Martian is accurate, but it sure sounds convincing enough.  I'm sure there are going to be articles and video blogs on You Tube detailing all of the inaccuracies of The Martian, but who cares anyway?  The point is to craft a suspenseful space adventure and it works splendidly. 

I'll See You In My Dreams (2015) * *

Directed by:  Brett Haley

Starring:  Blythe Danner, Sam Elliott, June Squibb, Martin Starr, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, Malin Akerman

I'll See You In My Dreams is a bland movie.    The performances are grounded, realistic ones by actors who could be portraying real people you may run into at a country club, golf course, or in the supermarket.     These people are there and mean something to someone, but I do not necessarily want to see a movie about them.    I'll See You In My Dreams is filled with people like that.     They are just...ordinary.   

The movie stars Blythe Danner as Carol, a seventyish widow whose life is one big rut.    She tends to her garden, walks her beloved dog, plays bridge with her friends, and drinks one or two too many glasses of scotch in a given day.    Her dog dies and it is the most heartbreaking scene in the movie.    It is not a good sign when we care more about the dog than most of the people.    Carol's life continues on this path until she meets two people who will jostle her out of her comfort zone:  Lloyd (Starr), a would-be songwriter whose real job is pool cleaning and Bill (Elliott), who is straightforward about his desire to date Carol while forever chomping on an unlit cigar.  

Carol's relationship with Lloyd starts out as friendly chit chat, but we sense it could become something more when they go on a date to a local bar where there is karaoke night.    Lloyd sings "I Think We're Alone Now" in a way Tiffany or Tommy James never intended, while Carol belts out a standard admirably.    Carol was once a singer who abandoned her dreams when she married her now-deceased lawyer husband.    She isn't bad and may even have a shot on America's Got Talent.

Lloyd is clearly smitten with Carol, although Carol has to detect this, she does seem to realize she is about forty years older than him.    The smoldering tension does enliven their scenes together.    Bill is much closer to Carol's age bracket and he is nice, honest, and confident.     He genuinely likes Carol and she seems to like him, which serves to spring Carol from her doldrums even for a while.    However, the screenplay decides to put an end to the relationship before we see which direction it will take.  

Blythe Danner is a well-respected actress and the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow.   She has been in many movies and TV projects.    She is skilled, but truth be told she does not inspire compulsive watching in this movie.   She has excelled in roles as an exasperated wife, like she was in The Great Santini (1980), Meet The Parents (2000), and The Prince of Tides (1991).   Here, she's fine, but that's about it.  

Sam Elliott and Martin Starr provide I'll See You....with shots in the arm in two distinct performances featuring men of certain ages that both find they need Carol.    But what exactly inspires such needs?    She is pleasant enough, but not someone who would inspire these men to drop everything to be around her.     The dynamic between Carol and her friends plays like the Sex and the City girls at mature age.    Their scenes revolve around Carol as the center, but the other three women are far more watchable.    They do not have any scenes without Carol in them.    It is fun to see Perlman, Place, and Squibb completely steal the scene.    It is as if their lives stop until Carol graces them with her presence again.

I'll See You In My Dreams clearly thinks Carol is much more of an interesting person than we do.    We are supposed to be moved when she musters up the strength to buy a new dog, or smoke medical marijuana with her pals, or have sex after a near 20-year drought.    However, I simply could not bring myself to feel much of anything about this blah person.    She is the type of woman whom you may say hi to when gathering your mail, but then you both would go about your merry way without giving each other a second thought.