Mar 25, 2016
OPENS APRIL 22nd. Marnie (Susan Sarandon) is a widow. She’s got a new iPhone (that she’s learning to use.) She’s able to navigate google and she’s just moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in order to be near her daughter, Lori (Rose Bryne). Walking through ‘The Grove’ mall, Marnie’s trying to find purpose since her husband’s death.
But Marnie’s daughter, Lori worries that her mother will drive her crazy since Lori’s receiving five missed calls a minute [from her]. Lori is a television ‘show runner’ depressed over losing her boyfriend, who’s left her for a twenty-something younger version. Lori’s mother, Marnie, constantly shows up unannounced, has her own key to Lori’s apartment, meddling in everything including an appearance on the sofa of Lori’s therapist, who suggests, that “Perhaps it’s time to set some boundaries?”
When Lori takes a gig in NYC her mother, Marnie, is left behind in LA, now meddling with Lori’s friends,’ one of their weddings, and even happens upon a movie set. It’s there she meets a potential suitor, also a widower, named ‘Zipper’ (J K Simmons.)
But we also come to realize that the one place Marnie might learn to meddle is inside her own head. Marnie feels guilt for all her deceased husband’s money. He left her well-cushioned, and she wants to share her worth with the world.
For Sarandon, who has always played the role of bold woman in control, this is a gentle turning point, embracing age and wisdom. As for J K Simmons, following his temper-tantrum performance in the Oscar nominated Whiplash, this too, is a softer side of life.
In the end, the film comes to feel like an instant classic. It’s Nora Ephron-esque. It’s Terms of Endearment …films about underdog hope, loss, and finding purpose and love again. This is a film about facing regrets, fears and reinvention of ourselves. This is a film that might just be all of us someday. The Meddler is a movie about being consumed by everyone else, until eventually, and through growth, we must meddle with the core of who we really are. Four tiaras
Mar 25, 2016
Justice to who? Whatever happened to Batman not killing people? A colleague of mine said Batman’s number one rule was not killing…until now.
For what it’s worth…when a new doomsday threat is introduced by Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and if Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill) can set aside their differences, they might save the world. But it will be a dark-loud-noise-filled-hour before that happens. Instead your have Imax dropped into your lap. An hour twisting in your seat, just waiting for an actual story line with a pulse. Instead your heart is jumping from a loud soundtrack and just plain unnecessary violence. These are NOT our childhood super heroes.
That’s said, Eisenberg is well cast, reminiscent of Heath Ledger’s joker. And Cavill is handsome and Superman-esque. Ben seems as dark and tortured in his black mask as his off-screen real life mirrors. And Laurence Fishbourne makes a fine Perry White.
In a time when Brussels is being bombed and the world is so dark – remember the Dark Knight shootings in theaters anyone? is this necessary? This film is gutless, heartless and just soulless.
If this is Warner Bros answer to the Marvel heroes, they might hang it up. Now. Iron Man is funny, witty and believable. Let’s hope Captain America (opening in May) can save the world, or at least, the box office. 1 tiara
Mar 22, 2016
If you loved the first one, and the fact that Windex could cure everything, then – Opa! – you’ll love this sequel. And more amazing, all the elderly relatives that you loved too, are back and still alive. Even Gus (Michael Constantine) hasn’t lost his wit and determination. Gus, the family patriarch hasn’t changed…he’s now whining to Tula (Nia Vardolos) that she and her husband, Ian (John Corbett) really should see to it that their seventeen year old daughter, Paris (Elena Kampouris) finds a husband.
But before he speaks up, Gus might want to speak for himself. Turns out that his fifty year marriage to his wife, Maria (Lainie Kazan) is a farce. Years ago the Priest forgot to sign their marriage license. Sadly this is something the squirt of Windex can’t fix.
Of course Gus still has a way of believing that everything can be traced back to the Greeks – and how they invented it – including his blood ties to Alexander the Great. But as life changes – Tula’s Travel agency closed in recession – it’s nice to see that the family diner, Zorbas the Greek, still thrives.
If it’s a retread of the first film (2002) you’re fearing, imaging it as a lame attempt to milk out the cash of the first very successful comedy, you won’t find it here. Like a sitcom whose hook of characters we come to anticipate (and how they’ll respond) this film has all of that and more. It shows life at a new level, a next generation – adding double the fun. The comedy flows with non-stop belly laughs…”telephone, telegram, tell a Greek” because family wants to put their noses in everyone’s business. And isn’t that all of our families? When the wedding does take place at the film’s end, there won’t be a dry eye in the house.
The beauty in this darling and delightful film is its ability to tap into the annoyance of blood relatives. Get the Windex out. Be prepared for my Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. Opah! 4 tiaras
Mar 10, 2016
Director Terrence Malick takes over a year to edit his films. Back in 2011 he brought us the weird and wonderful The Tree of Life and To the Wonder shortly after, now, a few years later comes this…
In Knight of Cups, Christian Bale plays a lost-soul screenwriter in a series of six relationships with different women including Natalie Portman, Freida Pinto and his estranged wife, Cate Blanchett. ‘Knight of Cups’ refers to a tarot card Bale picks on one of his party sprees, when he roams from desserts to strip clubs, to beaches, to pool parties.
Visually the film is a treat. Especially the underwater camera shots. But when an earthquake hits Los Angeles, Bale is shaken up to the point of finding it necessary (or not) to come to terms with who he really is. Of course that’s easy to do when you miss writing deadlines and spend a day pondering, while Hollywood is slinging big double-your-salary script assignments your way. Bale’s days are full of self-loathing and his nights with parties at Antonio Banderas’s home (with cameos, Ryan O’Neal, etc.) So why do we care about this guy?
Oddly we do. Like most writers, he lives in the figments of his imagination, his roaming mind, and his narcissism. He barely speaks. There is no need for dialog except the one taking place in his mind. He surrounds himself with woman after woman, sashaying around his hotel, apartment, Oceanside, in high heels or flimsy sundresses, taking on the role of muse, helping him find answers that are never quite there.
The story is broken into small vignettes with title cards reflective of the Tarot readings. “The Hanged Man” for his brother’s suicide, or ‘Judgement” for his tumultuous affections towards his ex-wife (Blanchett) and “The High Priestess” for a really hot train wreck of a woman that comes his way.
The cool bit about this film is it manages to convey an entire story without really telling one…much like a writer walks around all day with the stories in his brain. Seeing Brian Dennehy rise up to such a curious occasion as Bale’s father is a beloved moment. The movie evokes interest, as if Malick might be shuffling the deck of Tarot cards. The only thing he got wrong…a writer would never date an actress. Ever.
Three and a half tiaras
Mar 3, 2016
Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) plays a disarming secret service man who guards the President (Aaron Eckhart.) Banning’s wife is pregnant and together, they’re picking out nursery colors. He’s asked his colleague (Angela Bassett) to be the godmother. All the niceties are set up in a row before Banning learns that Aamir Barkawi (Alon Aboutboul) wants to take down the world. He’s been fueling massive arms sales for years. He feels that revenge must be profound and absolute.
When the Prime Minister of England dies, the world-powers-that-be congregate for his funeral. We see the French President arriving by boat in the Thames, and the Japanese Prime Minister on London Bridge (before it falls down). But when terrorism strikes the event, taking down Westminster Abbey and toppling London’s sky line, Banning must sprint into action.
Morgan Freeman is the Vice President, watching the world collapse from the safety of a Pentagon screen, and Oscar-winning Melissa Leo has a bit part nodding her head in agreement with whatever Freeman says.
The film’s mission seems to be delivering the fear of what we already know can happen to the real world. After the recent Paris attacks, one wonders why they felt it necessary to film this Debbie-downer and label it entertainment. The actors do a great job, and Butler is at his best, but a sweet delusion of how we wish we could end terrorism is not so easy. As a matter of fact, the movie was privately screened in Oceanside California at Marine Corps Base Camp as an earnest attempt to honor U.S. troops and servicemen in four branches of the military. They also screened the film in Kuwait, this past weekend in advance of its national theatrical release.
One might be more curious to know what the soldiers thought then to read this review. All of that said, there is a scene where the terrorists – upon capturing the President of the United States – want to livestream his tortuous death. One can’t help wishing we could live stream the torture of the studio head who ‘green lit’ this project. 2 ½ tiaras
