The Grace Card

Posted on February 24, 2011 at 6:00 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for violence and thematic elements
Profanity:	Some language, implied racist term
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, including drinking to deal with stress, drug dealers
Violence/ Scariness:	Death of a child in an accident, shooting of a teenager
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	February 25, 2011
Date Released to DVD:	June 13, 2011
Amazon.com ASIN:	B005335K9A

Anger seduces us because it fools us into feeling powerful.

Anger absorbs so much energy that it helps us avoid the more complicated and painful emotions of loss, guilt, regret, and fear. And that, as “The Grace Card” shows us, is why it is so hard to forgive.
Mac MacDonald (Michael Joiner) is a cop so bitter and angry after the accidental death of his young son that seventeen years later he is consumed with hatred. He subjects his wife, his teenage son, and his co-workers to constant complaints and insults. The escaping drug dealer who killed his son was black, and Mac has allowed racism to poison his heart as well.

His new partner is Sam (Michael Higgenbottom) a part-time pastor who has had to work as a policeman to make ends meet. He has a naturally cheerful and optimistic nature but he is hurt by Mac’s bigotry and hostility. Guided by the wisdom of his grandfather (Louis Gossett Jr.) and his wife (a warm and gracious performance by Dawntoya Thomason), he is able to play the “grace card,” to find forgiveness in himself and, after a tragic twist, to inspire it in Mac.
This is an unpretentious but sincere film with quiet power, and its final scenes are moving and inspirational.

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It’s Kind of a Funny Story

Posted on February 23, 2011 at 3:57 pm

A stressed-out teenager impetuously checks himself into a mental hospital in this semi-autobiographical tale based on It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. It is brought to screen by the talented writer-directing team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who have demonstrated their understanding of teenagers struggling with difficult situations in the understated “Sugar” and “Half Nelson.” Here, they show a more playful side, with witty and imaginative fantasy sequences that make the unabashed decency and kindness at its heart even more touching.

Keir Gilchrist plays Craig, a 16-year-old student at a Manhattan high school for high-achievers. He is feeling a great deal of pressure to succeed and frightened by thoughts of suicide. He visits the emergency room and when the doctor tells him he can go home, he pleads to be admitted, not understanding that it will mean he must be kept under observation for five days. “I thought you guys could do something quick,” he says. “I have school tomorrow.” Craig also does not realize that the area where the teenagers are treated is being renovated, so he will be staying on the adult ward.

Immediately dubbed “Cool Craig” by a friendly patient named Bobby (Zach Galifanakis of “The Hangover”), Craig discovers a through-the-looking-glass world that challenges the connections and assumptions of his “normal” life. The kind psychiatrist (Viola Davis) immediately recognizes that all Craig needs is some breathing room and reassurance. That gives Craig a chance to look around. He develops confidence when he sees many people far worse off than he is, and when he sees that he can give and accept help. Art and music therapy help him think of what he can express instead of how he will be evaluated. And a pretty fellow patient (Emma Roberts, with her aunt Julia’s lovely smile) is the best medicine of all.

Boden and Fleck, whose previous films had an understated naturalism, make the most of the heightened sensibility of the mental ward setting with sequences that take us inside Craig’s fantasies and memories. In one, we see Craig remembering an incident when he was five, drawing inside a tent in his parents’ living room. The present-day Craig is shown as a five year old, and then in his teen-age persona in the five-year-old’s pajamas. When pushed into being the vocalist in music therapy, Craig swings into a deliriously Bowie-fied version of “Under Pressure.” Boden and Fleck continue to show skill in casting and directing. Gilchrist, Roberts, and Zoe Kravitz as the classmate Craig wishes he could date are all first-rate, and Galifanakis leaves every bit of his stand-up persona behind to give a real performance with subtlety and grace.

It is a relief to see a movie about mental illness that recognizes the real pain but focuses on the real humanity of everyone involved, patients, staff, and Craig’s family. Craig first comes into the emergency room and tells the intake nurse that he wants to kill himself. When she hands him a clipboard and tells him to fill out a form it comes across not as callous but as reassuring. Treating his fear as routine is part of what makes him feel safe there. Boden and Fleck are now among the most reliable and promising film-makers around.

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Due Date

Posted on February 23, 2011 at 8:00 am

Two obnoxious and unlikeable people are stuck together for an excruciating cross-country road trip that is hard on them and harder on the audience. It is such a thoroughly unpleasant journey that it forced me to reconsider my previously firm conviction that I would happily watch Robert Downey, Jr. in anything. I stand corrected.

Downey plays Peter, an architect in Atlanta on business who has to get home to Los Angeles for the birth of his first child. At the airport he has a meet-uncute encounter with man-boy Ethan (Zach Galifianakis, rapidly depleting the goodwill from his fine performance in “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”). A few sharp words and an inadvertent exchange of some personal effects and no one but the characters is surprised when they end up on the same flight and are immediately booted off and put on the no-fly list.

Various slapstick catastrophes occur filmed with a surprising lack of energy and interest by director Todd Philips (“The Hangover,” “Old School”), who seems as uncomfortable and distracted. Perhaps that is why he failed to consult with Downey on exactly what his character is supposed to be doing in this film. I don’t mean getting from Atlanta to LA or even having alternate meltdowns and blow-ups. I mean — is he the everyman we are supposed to identify with, a counter-balancing order to Ethan’s chaos? Is he the guy who seems together on the surface but turns out to be even more of a needy mess than the big delusional baby with the beard and the mincing walk? Is there any way not to wince, given Downey’s real-life history, when his character has to get all trippy? The ghost of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” haunts this joyless mess.

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Comedy

The Sunset Limited

Posted on February 22, 2011 at 3:42 pm

Tommy Lee Jones directed and co-stars with Samuel L. Jackson in “The Sunset Limited,” an HBO movie based on the play by Cormac McCarthy (“The Road,” “No Country for Old Men”). Jones is a professor who struggles with despair so deep that he tries to commit suicide by jumping in front of the train in the movie’s title. Jackson is the janitor, a man of profound and committed faith, who rescues him and brings him back to his apartment for a conversation about God, purpose, meaning, and what we can know about life.

This is a rare production that is willing to engage on issues of faith. Whether you think of it as a literal conversation between two men or as a metaphor of a Jacob-like character wrestling with an angel, it is a moving experience — and a chance to see two of our greatest actors at their best.

Featurette

The Sunset Limited

Megamind

Posted on February 22, 2011 at 8:00 am

Let’s get it out of the way first thing. “Megamind” would be a much more enjoyable experience if it wasn’t so close to one of this year’s brightest family pleasures, Despicable Me. Both are stories of the clash of two mega-villains that turn an anti-hero into a lovable guy. Both lead characters suffer because they were not loved and made to feel a source of pride as children. The sidekicks even have the same name. Megamind has to battle “Despicable Me’s” Gru for the affection of audiences.

It isn’t as good — and it owes a little bit to the incomparable “The Incredibles,” too. But on its own terms it is still a lot of fun and one of the best in a year of spectacular animated features.

Megamind (voice of Will Ferrell) came to earth as a little baby with a big, blue head sent here by rocket before his planet exploded. But at the same time, another set of parents was shooting off their baby towards earth. Megamind’s rocket landed in a prison and he had a childhood of abuse, bullying, and deprivation while his rival was the handsome, charming, popular kid in school who would grow up to be a superhero known as Metro Man (the very manly voice of Brad Pitt). Megamind decided that if he couldn’t be the best at being good, he’d be the best at being bad.

All goes pretty well until Metro Man is suddenly out of the picture. Without a worthy adversary, Megamind has something of an existential crisis. His brilliant solution is to create a new hero so he have someone to compete with. But that doesn’t go according to plan and Megamind finds himself having to save the day.

Those who are familiar with superhero lore will appreciate the tributes to the Superman origin story and Lois Lane-style intrepid female reporter. There are some references to Cyrano de Bergerac as well; it’s not a coincidence that the female lead is named Roxanne (voice of Tina Fey). It is clever without being snarky, and avoids over-doing the usual pop culture references and air quotes. I especially like the way that the emotions and reactions of the main characters, Megamind, Roxanne, and the new nemesis are very relatable for elementary school kids while giving them something to stretch for with references to Tesla coils and existential discussions and a plot with a couple of extra twists. And Roxanne is far from the usual damsel in distress. “Can someone stamp my frequent kidnapping card?” she asks dryly. “You of all people should know we discontinued that promotion,” Megamind replies. She likes him, not because he’s dangerous, but because she can see how much he really wants to be good. And when he’s bad, he’s very, very bad, but when he’s good, he’s even better.