22 Jump Street

Posted on June 12, 2014 at 5:55 pm

B-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for language throughout, sexual content, drug material, brief nudity and some violence
Profanity:	Constant very strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drunkenness, drugs and drug dealing
Violence/ Scariness:	Comic action-style law enforcement violence, characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	June 13, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	November 18, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00KPYT9PS

It can be treacherous to go meta in a sequel, especially in the sequel to movie based on a television series that was already pretty meta, with a climax that included appearances by Johnny Depp and some of the other stars of the 1980’s show about young-looking undercover cops. Meta can be smart and funny (see the movie based on another cheesy television series, “Charlie’s Angels”) but it can also be easy and self-absorbed. This sequel is in some ways about sequels, and one of its best moments comes at the very end, with a piling-on of increasingly sillier ideas for future chapters. There are a couple of nice digs at the bigger budget/lower quality/repetitiveness tradition of movie sequels at the beginning, in a scene with the hilariously deadpan Nick Offerman. But if you’re going to make that joke, you’d better be able to clear that hurdle (as Channing Tatum does in a running joke about his parkour-esque athleticism) and not face-plant (as Jonah Hill does in a recurring joke about his lack of athleticism). There are also recurring jokes about how the stars look too old to be in college, the dynamics of the two guys as a couple, and, again, about the bigger budget and repeated storylines, most of which are not as funny as the filmmakers hope.

The 21 Jump Street group has moved from the former Korean church they used as headquarters to a former Vietnamese church across the street. Hence the new address. And they have spent their bigger budget on a high-tech set-up that their commanding officer, Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), describes as suitable for Iron Man. This time, as we heard at the end of the last film, our undercover cops Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) are going undercover in a college. And once again they are looking for the people behind the distribution of a powerful drug. This one is known as whyfhy (pronounced Wi-Fi), and it produces four hours of intense focus (for studying) followed by four hours of wild hallucinogenics (for partying). They stop by the prison to consult with a couple of characters from the last film, and then it’s time for school.

The first film had some real insights about high school, but this one feels based on movies about college rather than the dynamics of a real college environment. There is football, fraternity hazing, and spring break, but not a lot of energy or insight. The chemistry between Hill and Tatum is still terrific, and one scene where Jenko loses it following an awkward revelation in the captain’s office works very well. Peter Stormare has an underwritten role as a generic bad guy and Wyatt Russell (son of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell) has an underwritten role as a frat guy. The one who comes close to stealing the show here is Jillian Bell as the former roommate of the student whose death led to the undercover operation. If (heaven forbid) there is another sequel, it should not be the budget that is bigger; it should be her role.

Parents should know that this film includes extremely strong and vulgar language, sexual references and non-explicit situations, brief nudity, drinking and drunkenness, fraternity hazing, drugs and drug dealing, law enforcement violence with guns and explosions, and characters who are injured and killed.

Family discussion: Which one of the sequel ideas glimpsed at the end looks funniest? Do you prefer relationships with some friction?

If you like this, try: “21 Jump Street” and “Lethal Weapon”

DVD Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes

The Grand Seduction

Posted on June 12, 2014 at 5:55 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some suggestive material and drug references
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and drunkenness, brief references to cocaine
Violence/ Scariness:	Tense confrontations, some medical images
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	June 13, 2014

This utterly beguiling, comfort-food remake of the French-Canadian film La Grande Seduction is about adorable residents of an impoverished fishing harbor in Canada who come up with a plan to bring a recycling factory and all of its jobs to their town. The men in the community lost more than their jobs when the fishing industry collapsed. They lost their self-respect and their sense of purpose. Also, apparently, their sense of their manhood.

But the factory will not come to town unless they have a local doctor, some cash for a side payment, and enough locals to staff the new facility. They can finesse the cash and scare up a few extra bodies. But the doctor is a challenge. Murray (the always-superb Brendan Gleeson) comes up with a preposterous plan. When a handsome young doctor named Paul (Taylor Kitsch), giddy over an athletic triumph, celebrates a little too much and a small bit of cocaine is found in his luggage at the airport, a combination of a some light blackmail gets him to the harbor and a massive “Truman Show”-style fantasy is set up to persuade him that he has found paradise. They discover that he likes cricket, so soon all of the women are dying clothes white to create cricket uniforms and the men are pretending to play a game they know nothing about and to love watching it on television at the pub, cheering whenever something may possibly have happened. They listen to his favorite music. They cook his favorite meals. And when they discover he lost his father, Murray takes him fishing and tells him about his (fictional) late son. Of course there is someone from the town under the water making sure that there’s a fish on Paul’s hook, just as Murray is skillfully baiting his metaphorical hook to reel in the doctor himself.

Director Don McKellar knows how to keep the movie sweet without becoming cloying, partly by being frank about the devastating impact of the town’s economic collapse. The specificity of the sense of place also lends weight to the storyline, its exquisite, pristine beauty and its precariousness. And then there is the superbly chosen cast, anchored by Gleeson, who keeps a twinkle in his eye but shows us the real pain and longing of the men who have been deprived of the essence of their sense of themselves. He knows that sometimes crazy times require crazy solutions. And while it may not be true that he lost a son, it is true that he has lost a great deal and that the chance to be something of a father figure to a young man heals something inside him. The wonderful Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent (“Away From Her”) and Liane Balaban (TV’s “Supernatural”) create warm, witty characters as well. It is especially nice to see Kitsch get a chance to play a nice, regular guy. Paul believes what is going on not because he is gullible but because he would really like to believe there is a place as perfect for him as this one. And we go along because we would, too.

Parents should know that this film includes sexual references, some strong language, a brief incident involving cocaine, and pub drinking and tipsiness.

Family discussion: Why was having jobs so important to the way the people of this community felt about themselves? What was the worst lie they told?

If you like this, try: “Waking Ned Devine” and “The Full Monty,” along with the original French language version of this film.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2

Posted on June 12, 2014 at 5:55 pm

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for adventure action and some mild rude humor
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Action-style violence including battles, humans and animals in peril, very sad parental death
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	June 13, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	November 10, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00LG6XHDY

“How to Train Your Dragon 2” is all fans of the original were hoping and has a good shot at being not just the best animated film of the year but one of the best in any category and for any age. The visuals are stunning, with thrillingly vertiginous 3D swoops and soars as the human characters fly on their dragons. And sorry about this #tfios fans, but this film has the tenderest love scene in theaters right now, and an exquisitely beautiful song called “The Dancing and the Dreaming,” with lyrics by Shane MacGowan and music by Jon Thor Birgisson and John Powell.

It gets off to a joyous, roller coaster-y start, with our old friends Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his best friend/sidekick, Toothless the dragon, who may be the last of his breed. Five years have passed since Hiccup taught the proud Vikings of his cold and stony town of Berk that dragons are to be cherished, not hunted. Hiccup’s burly father Stoick (Gerard Butler) is now very proud of his son, but does not always listen to him. Stoick wants Hiccup to follow him as leader of the community. But Hiccup is something of a loner, and would rather explore with Toothless and work on his maps than speak to the crowd or make decisions about what they should do. Hiccup’s girlfriend, Astrid (America Ferrara) is sympathetic. And she is pursuing her own dream, as we see in a rolicking, thrilling, and hilarious dragon race as the movie opens, part Quidditch, part mayhem. The Berkians may have a new appreciation and respect for dragons, but sheep, not so much.

Things get complicated quickly as two new characters appear. Drago (Djimon Hounsou) is a fierce and cruel villain, “a madman without conscience or mercy,” who is assembling a dragon army to attack Berk. And Hiccup’s travels lead to the discovery of Valka (Cate Blanchett) who is something of a dragon whisperer, a Jane Goodall of flying reptiles, who lives in a dragon sanctuary. Both have a history with Berk and with Stoick.

Advances in technology have made it possible to have more characters and more interactivity. Hundreds of figures appear on screen at a time including a fabulously imaginative flock of dragon babies and an ominous invading army. There are new striking effects like light on ice that give the images a gorgeous luminosity. One of the best developments comes from the animators’ having some fun with scale. To say more would be to spoil the surprise.

The story is endearingly true-hearted despite a few bumps. Ruffnut (Kristin Wiig) is unnecessarily mean to the two guys who have crushes on her (and to pretty much everyone else), and it is disappointing to see her take one look at Eret’s muscular arms and collapse into a exaggerated goo-goo-eyed crush. It was so painfully retro I kept expecting some sort of twist. The theory behind the source of the greatest threat is a bit wobbly, making the resolution less satisfying than it should be.

But these are minor compared to the sumptuousness of the story and power of the connection between the appealing Hiccup and Toothless and between Hiccup and the audience. What gives this story its power is not how beautiful it is, but how real it feels.

Parents should know that this film has action-style violence with battles, human and animal characters in peril, a very sad parental death, and brief potty humor. A strength of the film is the portrayal of strong, brave, and capable female and disabled characters and a very brief, subtle suggestion that one of them is gay.

Family discussion: What did Hiccup discover about himself? How is Hiccup like his father and his mother? What does Drago want?

If you like this, try: the first movie and the television series “Dragons: Riders of Berk”

Tribute: Ruby Dee

Posted on June 12, 2014 at 1:48 pm

We lost one of the greats today, the actor and activist Ruby Dee.

Kennedy Center honoree with her husband, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee is as much a legend for her pioneering work as a leader of the Civil Rights movement as for her gifts as a performer on stage and in movies.

Here is a charming early glimpse of Davis and Dee in “Gone Are the Days,” based on Davis’ play, “Purlie Victorious.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRZfdUaVSUU

Here they are in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing.”

You can see Davis and Dee talk about their lives in An Evening with Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.

Dee’s breakthrough role on screen was Jackie Robinson’s wife in the biopic starring Robinson himself. She would later play his mother in Court Martial of Jackie Robinson. She appeared in cultural milestones from A Raisin in the Sun to Do the Right Thing. She was Denzel Washington’s mother in American Gangster and a centenarian in Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First One Hundred Years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj7Zn20XZAo

Davis and Dee led lives so intertwined that they even wrote an autobiography together: With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together. I saw her in person just once, at a small press conference on behalf of one of the hundreds of good causes she and Davis led and supported over the years. I watched her as she watched her husband speak, enjoying her look of pride and pleasure and her commitment to seeing justice done. At one point, he stepped away from the microphone to whisper to a colleague, not realizing that his theater-trained voice carried so well we could all hear everything he said. His words were not important, just some minor administrative adjustment. But her expression was telling. She clearly enjoyed this display of his vital presence and theatricality, so essential to both of them. She will be missed, but a part of her continues in the spirit of every actor and every person who has been touched by her work. May her memory be a blessing.

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Interview: “Obvious Child’s” Jenny Slate and Gillian Robespierre

Posted on June 12, 2014 at 1:10 pm

Jenny Slate gives a star-making performance in “Obvious Child,” a romantic comedy about Donna, a young stand-up comic who becomes pregnant and has an abortion. Her decision is not presented in a comic or light-hearted way. What is revolutionary is that it is presented at all. As writer-director Gillian Robespierre points out, in movies women who become unexpectedly pregnant either choose to deliver the child (“Knocked Up,” “Juno”), or miscarry. In this movie, Donna does not question her decision, but that does not mean it is an easy one. She is supported by her best friend, Nellie (Gaby Hoffman), and her mother (Polly Draper). I spoke to Slate and Robespierre about the film.

In the movie you do basically three stand-up performances. I want to talk to you about what I thought the most compelling scene in the film which was the second one, where you are working through some very deep pain on-stage.

Jenny: That was my favorite really, I like them all but I love that one. You know Donna is very, very free on stage and at the beginning of the movie she’s very free, from 0 to 100 in a second and she just keeps it at 100. You’re enjoying it and you’re not really considering whether or not it’s an active job or a passive job that she is doing up there. And I kind of consider it to be kind of the most basic sort of passive that she’s just blasting it out. And the second time she really lets her nature take over. That need to share has just become the most animal that it can be. In my mind that type of stand-up is equivalent of her just kind of like squatting on the ground and just like sorting through the detritus. This is my stuff, just doing it for nobody but herself. There many different things that we can do to ourselves and for ourselves and that one is on the non-helpful side but I find to be hilarious and you know it’s not so painful and cringeworthy where you don’t want to watch, the audience laughs.

The audience in the theater laughs, but the audience in the movie is uncomfortable because it is so raw.

Gillian: That was our intention. All of the extras were wonderful that day so we have a couple of cutaways with reactions that are just great. I’ve seen the movie millions of times but there’s always one guy who just looks so lost and scared, and really perturbed. I really wanted to make sure that the people in the club in the movie were awkward but the audience in the movie theater or at home are laughing.

Jenny: I like that dual thing where the guy leaves and Donna is like, “oh this is not working for you?” It’s a bummer for them but I think I did a thrill ride for us.

Gillian: One of my favorite parts in the movie. I looked forward to that.

You cast two of my absolute favorite actors as Donna’s parents, Richard Kind and Polly Draper.

Gillian: Well when we were looking for the parents, Jenny was always part of the film, we wanted to find the perfect combination of sort of whimsical and arty and tough. And it could have been either way, the dad could have been tough and the mom could have been whimsical but really the script meant for a fun creative dad and the more uptight mother. And I can picture them in the 80s wheeling down and around in New York City and really being tickled by each other but obviously they could not make it last. And they’re perfect left side/right side and that’s sort of what Donna has. We know that she on one hand tells very sort of body jokes but on the other hand she has a very high IQ, which are mom reminds her of everyday. And on stage which is sort of relating to the audience, are smart moments in her life that people can relate to even though she does it in a kind of silly way. So we wanted both of those aspects of her brain and her personality to be portrayed in human parents. And I love Polly Draper from Thirtysomething. I watched it when I was little and I obsess about that show. She and Jenny have the same raspy voice. I think they look alike. I think Richard Kind and Jenny have these malleable comic faces. I’m so thrilled they said yes. They read the script, they loved it and they saw that it was a Jenny Slate movie and they said yes immediately.

This was originally made as a short film so tell me a little bit about expanding it to full-length.

Gillian: Donna didn’t have a career in the short. We had to get in and out pretty quickly. She was a lot younger, she was 25 and she gets dumped, has a one night stand, discovers she is pregnant and then she bumps into the one night stand on the way to the woman’s health center. And we sort of just shot it four days in New York City with no money. We wanted to really expand in her world, creating her parents. In the short her mom was a character but not anything but a phone call so it was a voiceover. And that voice was acted by my mom. We expanded on Donna’s world. It was fun to figure out what is Donna going to be, what’s her job. She’s not a career person but she’s been in this bookstore for five years, it’s very comfortable in there. Her boss is a sort of grandpa figure. They’re friends and she’s really somebody who has a hard time with change and expanding her world. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that kind of character. She’s a little meek in life and not a victim but she lets a lot of things happen to her. “My boyfriend broke up with me and he is cheating on me so I can’t do my comedy anymore.” That’s a very passive way of thinking about life and the easy way until it’s hard.

Jenny: She thinks, “I’m just chill, I’m just trying to make s**t work and everybody’s just messing with me,” until suddenly just like, “God that just can’t be true because I feel so mad I must have some power in there.”

The movie has a beautiful portrayal of girl friendship, with the character played by Gaby Hoffman.

Jenny : In the scene where she is trying to say like, “No do your own thing” and Joey has his own opinion, she says, “You guys stop with the crazy jokes” which I think adds a really nice texture. And it just reveals a little bit of what their relationship is, kind of a threesome of friends and you don’t need to know that story but it just adds a bit of realism to it. Gaby and I are both people that are very eager to share so that made it very easy to connect to each other and then Gillian’s script is so clear.

Gillian: I feel like that’s a very important relationship in a lot women’s life. I know that I’m a gal’s gal and I have a lot of great friends. I have great female friends and they mean so much to me in my relationship, it’s so important and for Donna I wanted her to have that complex female relationship with her best friend who is not really going to let her get away with everything but also very unconditionally supportive. They’re polar opposites. Nellie is a little grumpy and a lot more reserved and has a lot more rules while Donna is sort of a wildflower who can’t really control things but they meet up in the middle and have some wonderful balance. And then three of them together, that’s when I think Joey and Donna sort of regress a little but they’re fun, they like to tell jokes each other, make each other laugh and made her laugh. Nellie won’t have it sometimes and then sometimes she breaks down and she chuckles.

What has the reaction been to the portrayal of abortion in the film?

Gillian: People are really excited for this story, I think it’s exciting to see a woman in screen who they can relate to and who they can laugh with. Pushback hasn’t really come our way yet and we’re excited for conversation if and when it happens.

Donna has to learn to overcome her prejudices when she meets a guy who does not look like what she is used to.

Gillian: At first he seems like a dull kind of frat boy muscleman. But like for every other character we wanted to make them complex and dimensional and with him it was like not just peeling away his bro-ness but to show that he’s really excited about this funny woman. When she tells a joke he laughs really hard and then he tells her one back and he’s a funny guy too. And she doesn’t feel like she deserves to be looked at so that was like a nice subtle layer that in there but also that she would never ever go for a guy who wears boat shoes.

Jenny : And then she makes fun of him right away. And he’s like, “don’t judge me”, and she’s like, “oh….”

What’s next for you?

Jenny: I’m in a new series on FX called “Married” with Paul Reiser. I play a woman who has a lot of daddy issues and a tiny, tiny bit of a partying problem. And she has a three-year-old son. It’s about different couples trying to make their marriages work.

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