Beyond the Lights

Posted on November 13, 2014 at 5:55 pm

“Beyond the Lights” is a welcome return to the grand traditions of movie romance, with sizzling chemistry between gorgeous, fabulously charismatic stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Nate Parker. And it also has some very astute insights about family, ambition, and the pressure put on young women, especially those in the performing arts, to present themselves as sexually provocative and available.

Minnie Driver plays Macy Jean, a ruthlessly ambitious stage mother who sees her talented young daughter, Noni, as her ticket out of poverty and powerlessness. We first see them at a singing competition when Noni is a little girl (India Jean-Jacques). Her performance of Nina Simone’s “Blackbird” gets her a trophy that her mother smashes to the ground because she did not come in first. Then Noni is grown up (Mbatha-Raw), singing and dancing in a steamy music video, featuring a successful rapper named Kid Culprit (Richard Colson Baker, aka Machine Gun Kelly). Macy Jean is pushing Noni hard to do whatever it takes to become a star, and she is on the brink of a breakthrough, with an upcoming television appearance that should launch her into superstardom.
But in the midst of all of this sound and fury, Noni feels lost. The image her mother has created for her is so overpowering that she does not know who she is anymore. She is a singer with a million-dollar voice, but she is also a person who feels that it belongs to someone else, that she is lost somewhere beneath the glitter and fakery. Alone in her hotel room, she goes out the window and sits on the ledge, contemplating allowing herself to just fall off.

She is rescued by a cop assigned to her security detail. His name is Kaz (Parker) and he grabs her hand and looks into her eyes. He says “I see you.” And she believes he does.

Of course, the incident is spun for the press. “We’re selling fantasy here, and suicide ain’t sexy.” Noni jokes about the risks of combining champagne and stilettos and poses with her handsome savior. But Kaz did see Noni. He saw her the way she wanted to be seen. And she saw him, too.

Kaz has a demanding parent, too, a father (Danny Glover) who wants him to run for office, and knows that Noni is not first lady material.

Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Love and Basketball”) keeps the love story glamorous but never soapy, through the subtle, moving performances by Mbatha Raw and Parker, and a script that respects the characters, with thoughtful details and easy humor. In the very beginning, Macy Jean is frantic because she does not know how to handle her biracial child’s hair. Later, Noni is wearing a purple-streaked weave for her music video. And when she begins to be happy again, she frees her hair as she finds her true voice. Prince-Bythewood’s confidence in her own voice as much a pleasure of this film as the love story and the star power, which add up to the best date movie of the year.

Parents should know that this film includes very provocative sexual imagery and musical performances with very skimpy clothing, sexual references and situations, strong and crude language, attempted suicide, and tense family confrontations.

Family discussion: What does it mean to “do small things in a great way?” How did Noni and Kaz help each other? Why did being on the brink of great success was Noni in despair? What can we do to protect girls from the overwhelming focus on appearance?

If you like this, try: “The Rose,” “The Bodyguard,” “Lady Sings the Blues,” “Dreamgirls,” “Love Me or Leave Me,” “Gypsy,” and “Mahogany”

The Hundred Foot Journey

Posted on August 7, 2014 at 5:59 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for thematic elements, some violence, language and brief sensuality
Profanity:	Brief strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Wine
Violence/ Scariness:	Fires, sad death of parent, characters injured, vandalism
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	August 8, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	December 1, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00MI56UI6

Shakespeare famously made fun of the notion of a sighing lover creating an ode “to his mistress’ eyebrow.” But it would take Shakespeare to do justice to Helen Mirren as a French woman of impeccable bearing who is able to punctuate her declarations with a perfect circumflex of that divine eyebrow, exquisitely conveying the steely authority that comes not just from being the boss but from being right.

Producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, screenwriter Steven Knight, and director Lasse Halström have adapted the book by Richard C. Morais into a cozy saga along the lines of Halström’s “Chocolat,” about a cross-cultural competition that turns into an alliance. Every sunbeam, every garnish, and yes, every eyebrow is presented exactly comme il faut, and it has Mirren’s splendid performance. And yet, for a story that is about the importance of excellence and innovation, it feels a little, well, under-spiced and overcooked.

Manish Dayal plays Hassan, the son of an Indian family that has been in the restaurant business for generations. His mother was the first to recognize his gift for food, and brought him into the kitchen to teach him her skill with seasonings and her understanding of food as a sacred gift that shares memories as well as nourishment for the spirit and the body. She knew that before one could cook, one must know how to taste. When she is killed in a fire set by a rioting mob, Hassan’s father (Om Puri) moves the family to London. But he is restless and no one likes the dreary weather. “In England, the vegetables had no soul, no life.” Papa took the family to find a new home.

Their van breaks down in a small French village, and, as Papa says, sometimes brakes break for a reason. There is an abandoned restaurant for sale. And if it is across the street from one of the most renowned restaurants in all of France, the proud awardee of one coveted Michelin star, well that is not a reason to be wary; it is a challenge. The red Michelin guide awards one star to a restaurant that is worth a visit, two for a restaurant that is worth a detour, and three, the ultimate prize, for one that is worth a special journey. Or, as a character puts it in this film, “One is good, two is amazing, three is for the gods.”

That is Margaret (the bewitchingly lovely Charlotte Le Bon), who rescues the Hassan family and gives them food so delicious that they wonder if they died in the accident and went to heaven. The olive oil is pressed from her trees. The cheese is from her cows. And she, too, is a would-be chef. She works in the kitchen of the Michelin-starred restaurant, owned by the imperious Mme. Mallory (Mirren). The world may be filled with chaos and mediocrity and disappointment, but the portion that is under the control of Mme. Mallory strives for perfection and almost always achieves it.

The Hassans open up their restaurant, even though there is no reason for anyone but eternal optimist Papa to believe that anyone in a small town in France wants to eat Indian food. At first, there is war between the two restaurants. But when Mme. Mallory realizes that it has gone too far, she admits that Hassan’s great gifts as a chef give them a connection far deeper than any commercial rivalry could obscure. The hundred foot journey is from the Hassans’ home to Mme. Mallory’s establishment on the other side of the road.

The cinematography by “American Hustle’s” Linus Sandgren is luscious, the charming countryside dappled with syrupy golden sunshine, the food almost tactile and fragrant. Mirren’s performance, from the steely resolve of the early scenes to the softening as she opens her heart, is always splendid, and, in contrast to the rest of the film, never overdone. Maybe it’s just that the combination of Spielberg and Winfrey is just too potent. They are going to warm your heart whether you want it or not. It isn’t just the sunlight that is syrupy; the story is, too, much more than the book, with not one but two romances. They may be sweet, but they also throw the theme off-balance, with collateral damage to the abilities and ambitions of the two key female characters, shrinking them to the role of love object/cheerleader. The chef characters would know better than to allow such a sour flavor in anything so sugary.

Parents should know that this film includes themes of racism and cross-cultural conflicts, vandalism, riot, fires, and a sad death of a parent.

Family discussion: What is the difference between a cook and a chef? Which of the restaurants or dishes in this film would you like to try?

If you like this, try: “Chocolat” by the same director, and some other foodie movies like “Chef” and “Julie & Julia”

Begin Again

Posted on July 1, 2014 at 5:59 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Some tense confrontations, slap
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	July 2, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	October 27, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00M7D81FO

“It’s delicate,” a songwriter tells a performer who has (literally) amped up her gentle ballad into a power anthem. The songwriter is Greta (Keira Knightly) and the performer (Maroon 5’s Adam Levine) is her ex. They were together for five years when he was struggling, but he has become successful and it went to his head.

The more important question for us is whether success has gone to the head of writer/director John Carney. Has he overly tricked out the sweet story he told so well in the bittersweet “Once,” now that he has a bigger budget and top-tier actors? Not quite. Has he repeated too much of the original? Almost. But it is still a lovely little dream of a film, an endearing date-night treat.

No one rumples better than Mark Ruffalo, and here he plays the very rumpled Dan, a once-successful record producer and co-founder of a label with the very pressed and present Saul (Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def). We know he has had some setbacks because he wakes up in a dingy apartment (and then goes right back to bed), but he drives an elegant Jaguar. He’s unreliable. He’s a slob. He has let down everyone in his life, including his ex-wife, Miriam (Catherine Keener), his daughter Violet (Hailee Steinfeld), and his company. Worst of all, he just does not care about any of it any more, partly because he likes to feel that he is a victim and partly because he just does not want to feel anything at all.

Saul fires him (obligatory “Jerry Maguire” joke). Dan has hit bottom. And that is when he sees Greta, who has been reluctantly dragged on stage at an open mic night, and is quietly singing before an indifferent audience. In a moment of piercing beauty, Dan looks over at her and does not just hear but actually sees an arrangement come together around her, as ghostly instruments begin to, yes, delicately, fill in to support her song. She reminds him of what made him excited about music, and he tells her he wants to record her.

Like “Once,” there are scenes of people sharing music, of extemporaneous singing and composing, that light up the characters with so much shimmer it gives us goosebumps. There’s a fairy tale quality to the story. Of course they decide to forego a recording studio and made the album with hit and run session outdoors all over New York City where they run into adorable urchins who provide back-up vocals (and apparently don’t require contracts or royalties or any other pesky little legal details) and finish the tracks before they have to grab the gear and run from the cops.

I wish they had kept the original title for the film, “Can a Song Save Your Life?” It is more apt, more vivid, less safe. Carney is wonderful at evoking the joy of music, its healing powers, and the way it connects us to each other and the universe. This is a love story, not between Dan and Greta or between them and their exes but between humans and music.

Parents should know that this film has constant very strong language, drinking, smoking, and sexual references.

Family discussion: Share your “guilty pleasure” songs with your family. Why did Greta decide to release her music herself?

If you like this, try: “Once,” from the same writer/director

Think Like a Man Too

Posted on June 19, 2014 at 6:00 pm

A romantic comedy based on Steve Harvey’s book of advice for women about relationships has now led to a sequel based on finding the slightest possible premise for getting the gang back together to see if they can create some more box office magic.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. After all, seeing pretty people do silly things so they can kiss and make up is always a good reason to go to a movie. And these are some of Hollywood’s most appealing performers.

In the first film, a group of buddies with a regular basketball game find themselves flummoxed by a bevy of beauties who read Steve Harvey’s book for tips on dealing with players, mama’s boys, and perpetual adolescents. The happily ever after ending has now led to a proposal and the whole group is going to Las Vegas for separate wild pre-nuptial parties followed by the wedding itself. When the groom-to-be assures his bride that everything will be perfect and nothing can possibly go wrong, we know that nothing will be perfect and everything will go wrong in the most humiliating way possible until we find our way to another happy ending with a possible opening for #3, which I hereby predict will involve a baby or two.

Would-be chef Dom (Michael Ealy) and corporate powerhouse Lauren (Taraji P. Henson) are deeply in love but struggling with job opportunities in different cities that they are afraid to tell one another. Mya (Meagan Good) is not happy to run into stories about the wild past of “Zeke the Freak” (Romany Malco). Kristen (Gabrielle Union) wants to get pregnant as quickly as possible and that puts a lot of pressure on Jeremy (Jerry Ferrara).

But the development that has the biggest impact on the film is the one that happened off-screen. Since the first one was released, Kevin Hart has become a box office powerhouse with a concert film in 2013 and two enormously successful comedies already in 2014 (About Last Night and Ride Along). This is most likely the reason that he takes up so much more of “Too” than he did in the first one. And since is a very loud guy, he seems to take up even more than he does, too often with all the appeal of a buzzing mosquito.

The entire premise of the first film is jettisoned, along with any aspirations beyond silly fun. It takes Cedric (Hart) far too long to figure out that he has mistakenly booked himself into a room that costs ten times what he thinks, because every time there is any possibility to mitigate the damages of whatever he has gotten himself into, he blusters like a bantam rooster to block any kind of reality check from the other characters. And this is close to the movie’s most plausible plotline. Even Lucy and Ethel could not make us believe that anyone cares whether the boys or the girls have a wilder pre-nuptial party. Director Tim Story throws in every possible signifier of movie fun, from a makeover (“Bridesmaids'” Wendy McLendon-Covey) to a dance number (okay, the girls’ dancing to Bell Biv DeVoe’s irresistible “Poison” is a treat) and the ever-popular night in the pokey plus the completely superfluous addition of a couple of cute white guys (Adam Brody and “About a Boy’s” David Walton.

The cast is clearly just here to have a good time, and the audience will, too.

Parents should know that this film includes some strong language including crude sexual references and humor, sexual situations, strippers, drinking and drunkenness, and drug use, along with a lot of foolish Las Vegas behavior.

Family discussion: What were the groups trying to accomplish in their pre-nuptial parties? Which couple has the strongest relationship?

If you like this, try: the first film and “About Last Night” (rated R), also featuring Hart, Ealy, and Hall.

The Fault in Our Stars

Posted on June 5, 2014 at 6:00 pm

John Green’s best-selling novel, The Fault in Our Stars is the story of kids with cancer, but it is not about dying. It is about living. This exquisite adaptation is that rare film based on a beloved novel that does full justice to the source material without being static or talky. The screenplay is by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who showed exceptional sensitivity in the bittersweet love stories “(500) Days of Summer” and “The Spectacular Now” (also adapted from a beloved YA book and also starring Shailene Woodley), and it was directed by Josh Boone, of the underrated “Stuck in Love” (also starring Nat Wolff, who appears here as a friend of the central couple).

Remember the hospital scene in “Terms of Endearment?” This one will make you cry more. But it is sad, not depressing.

Woodley plays Hazel Grace Lancaster, whose lungs have been badly compromised and who cannot breathe without a nasal cannula attached to an oxygen tank. Pushed by her mother to attend a support group that meets “literally in the heart of Jesus,” with a guitar-strumming leader who is well-intentioned but unwilling to acknowledge the direness of the circumstances, Hazel catches the eye of lanky Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort, and yes, he played her brother in “Divergent”).

She’s the nerdy girl, he’s the basketball-player and cool guy, which is the classic high school movie romantic setup for opposite attraction except in this case what they have in common is more important than what table they would sit at in the school cafeteria. He is not playing basketball anymore because his leg was amputated due to cancer. What brings them together is not the cancer but the shared worldview they developed as a result of the cancer, with few illusions but an openness to hope, if not hope for a longer life, at least hope for a better life. Hazel worries that she is “a grenade,” that the most significant impact her life will have is the devastating grief she leaves behind.

Hazel and Augustus exchange favorite books. His is a novelization of a video game. Hers is an ambitious, literary novel by a reclusive author named Peter Van Houten (Willem Dafoe, superb in a tricky role). The book ends abruptly, in the middle of a sentence, when its main character dies, and Hazel is overcome with curiosity about what happens to the characters she left behind. For all they have lost, they still have “cancer perqs,” privileges that come with the combination of pity and guilt felt by people around them. Augustus takes advantage of his to help Hazel meet Van Houten. But it is in the other parts of the journey that they find more important answers and better questions as well.

The characters in the movie like to say, “it’s a metaphor,” but their own story is a metaphor about the issues we all grapple with. Watching people whose biggest problem should be what to wear to the prom confront the problem of making sense of life, finding meaning, risking intimacy is a heightened version for dramatic purposes. But these are the core challenges for all of us, whether our lives will last for 16 years or 116. These teenagers just do not have the luxury the rest of us do of being in denial about how little time there is.

Elgort is marvelous, but then he gets to say swoon-worthy lines like “You realize that trying to keep your distance from me will not lessen my affection for you. All efforts to save me from you will fail.” On the other hand, he has the challenge of grandiloquent lines like. “It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you,” and he says them beautifully. Woodley is in every way (except literally) the heart of the film, and once again delivers a performance of endless sensitivity, even with a cannula in her nose. Fans of the book will find key scenes like the egging of a car and the ultimate romantic restaurant date exactly as they envisioned it. Even the trip to the Anne Frank house, which could have been heavy-handed, is handled well. Anne Frank is, in a way, the spiritual sister of Hazel and Augustus. Like them, she had to find meaning in the midst of devastation. As they walk through the hidden annex where she lived, her words of hope come out of tinny display speakers. And Hazel’s climb up the steep steps to see it is itself a “shout into the void.”

I like the way they call each other by their full names. Even though their time is limited, addressing each other with a touch of formality and grandeur is too important for short cuts. I like the intensity and honesty of their talks; anything less they know they do not have time for. The title comes from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” The nobleman Cassius says to Brutus: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” He is saying that it is we who determine how we live. But the line that I think of when I see this film is from poet Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote, “The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”

Parents should know that the theme of the film is teenagers with cancer. Many characters are very ill and there is a very sad death, as well as brief strong language, sexual references and situation, teen drinking and adult alcohol abuse.

Family discussion: What questions would you like to ask an author about a book you like? How should you choose who will hurt you? What makes some infinities larger than others?

If you like this, try: the book by John Green and the films “Harold and Maude” and “Restless”