What's New in Blu? (Week of Sept. 29)

“Chef” (R)
Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey Jr.
Directed by Jon Favreau


“Transformers: Age of Extinction” (PG-13)
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammar, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor
Directed by Michael Bay

What's New in Blu? (Week of Sept. 22)

“Neighbors” (R)
Starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Dave Franco
Directed by Nicholas Stoller


A couple somewhat grudgingly moving forward in adulthood and parenthood is faced with a temptation that turns into trouble after a college fraternity moves next door to them in "Neighbors," a frequently funny, occasionally raucous comedy. Someday, perhaps a movie will depict the value and meaningful experiences of being in a fraternity. This is not that movie. But it does take a good concept and has fun with it, even though it overloads on the raunch a bit. Seeing Rogen and Efron face off is pretty much what the movie trailer promises, but Byrne is a real standout in her portrayal as a loving wife and new mom who has no problem mixing it up with the boys. Normally, the wife/girlfriend role in movies like this is left on the sideline to complain and be the voice of reason. The movie does lose steam down the stretch, but delivers the laughs often enough to forgive its shortcomings.
Grade: B+

“The Rover” (R)
Starring Guy Pearce, Robert Pattinson, Scoot McNairy
Directed by David Michod

Movie Review: "They Came Together"

Starring Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Cobie Smulders, Christopher Meloni, Max Greenfield, Bill Hader, Ellie Kemper, Jason Mantzoukas, Melanie Lynskey and Ed Helms
Directed by David Wain

There are some movie genres that seem to be setting themselves up to be skewered — probably none more so than the romantic comedy. That’s the goal of “They Came Together,” which also serves as a practical reunion of the cast of “Wet Hot American Summer,” the 2001 comedy that marked the feature film directorial debut of David Wain.

Here, Wain teams up with longtime friend and collaborator Michael Showalter on a script that is riddled with cliches and occupied with broadly and poorly developed characters. However, that was the filmmakers’ intent, and while the movie definitely generates some legitimate laughs, it never hits the manic, anything-for-a-laugh spirit of spoofs like “Airplane” and “The Naked Gun.” At times, the movie clearly has an aim at ridiculous sight gags and literal interpretation of dialogue that those popular 1980s-era films did, but with sporadic success. It tries to wink at its audience a bit too much, as you practically expect the characters to look into the camera every few minutes.

The cast certainly does all it can to move the very slender story along, with Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler portraying the romantic leads, Joel and Molly, who meet on the way to a Halloween party (where both are dressed as Ben Franklin, naturally), and instantly hate each other. But as the genre dictates, that hate turns to love in fairly quick succession, even as a corporate candy company for which Joel works looks to open up a candy superstore and close down Molly’s little candy shop (Upper Sweet Side) in the process. Will their love survive?

Actually the movie is hardly concerned with the story as anything but a series of scenes in which to hang their jokes. More land than flop, but not by a large margin. Clearly, the cast is on board with the material, as Wain gets an immeasurable amount of help from a strong collection of comedy veterans. (Rudd, in particular, has brought a winning everyman quality to past Wain projects, including “Role Models” and “Wanderlust”).

“They Came Together” ultimately is a bit of a letdown, yet still funny through sheer force of will from its game cast. If it were a candy, you’d probably still eat it, but maybe not buy it again.

Grade: B-
(Rated R for language and sexual content.)

What's New in Blu? (Week of Sept. 15)

“The Fault in Our Stars” (PG-13)
Starring Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern,Willem Dafoe
Directed by Josh Boone


“Godzilla” (PG-13)
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, David Strathairn, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins
Directed by Gareth Edwards


“Think Like a Man Too” (PG-13)
Starring Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union, Michael Ealy, Taraji P. Henson, Meagan Good, Romany Malco
Directed by Tim Story

Movie Review: "Under the Skin"

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay
Directed by Jonathan Glazer

Aliens have long been a subject of fascination in movies — some lovable (“E.T.”), some hideous (the “Alien” series), but almost always interesting. However, as “Under the Skin” makes abundantly clear, they can also be boring. That’s not really meant to be a knock on Scarlett Johansson, who plays an alien inhabiting the body of a woman on the prowl for men in Scotland. She frankly doesn’t have a very dynamic character to portray here, which I’m sure is part of the point in the script by Walter Campbell and Jonathan Glazer (who also directs). But it sure doesn’t make for compelling viewing when long stretches of the film unfold in general silence with little to no action.

Glazer, who has been out of the movie scene for nearly a decade, made his very promising film directing debut in 2000 with the crime drama “Sexy Beast.” He’s not a filmmaker afraid to take chances, and with “Under the Skin,” an amalgamation of science fiction and horror, is able to occasionally generate a sense of uneasiness and dread. A scene involving a family at the beach with Johansson’s emotionally detached character watching a terrible series of events unfold is a perfect example of Glazer’s skill.

Bateman stars as Guy Trilby (who is employed as a proofreader), an admitted underachiever in education, having never advanced beyond the eighth grade. He uses that schooling deficiency to exploit a loophole in the rules of the National Quill Spelling Bee, allowing him to compete against children generally a quarter of his age. His participation doesn’t sit well with anyone, be it parents, the spelling bee officials or the competitors themselves. But Trilby doesn’t care. Instead, he responds to everyone with a sharp tongue and is exceptionally quick with insults. That acerbic wit is aimed at adults and children alike, with the script by Andrew Dodge generating laughter frequently, although you might feel a bit guilty along the way. Case in point: Trilby’s devious new use for a ketchup packet.

That said, the story’s driving action — as thin as it is — doesn’t generate much excitement and is too redundant. Much of the alien’s activities involve driving the Scottish countryside, picking up single men and taking them back to her place, where they meet their ultimate demise. How this happens is a creepily effective conceit in which nary a drop of blood is spilled, with the viewer left to speculate what exactly is the overall goal of the aliens. Johansson’s outer space visitor, like all characters in the film, is unnamed, but it seems clear she isn’t the lone alien in Scotland.

There are some memorable visuals and at times the film’s soundtrack is effectively haunting, which leads me to understand why Johansson would be attracted to being involved in a project that’s far away from the big-budget and high-profile “Avengers” world. Still, the movie’s rhythm is sometimes just off-putting, while the languid pace becomes a very difficult hurdle to overcome. Clearly, it’s a movie built much more on atmosphere than action. While that approach might work for an undisputed sci-fi masterpiece such as “2001,” “Under the Skin” is ultimately too bleak and cold around the heart to care much for what transpires.

Grade: C-
(Rated R for graphic nudity, sexual content, some violence and language.)

Movie Review: "Bad Words"

Starring Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Rohan Chand, Ben Falcone, Philip Baker Hall and Allison Janney
Directed by Jason Bateman

There’s a well known quote, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” That’s especially true when it comes to dark comedies, as they can easily push the limits of good taste right over a cliff. To the credit of Jason Bateman, making his directorial debut in “Bad Words,” he occasionally comes close to the edge but consistently finds a way to avert disaster.

Having built up a filmography in recent years of playing generally decent and well-intentioned guys on TV in “Arrested Development” and in movies such as “Identity Thief” and “Horrible Bosses,” it’s a little bit of a shock to see Bateman portray such a jerk in “Bad Words.” He is a funny jerk, though, so he’s got that going for him. That actually helps keep the audience on his side, which is imperative when your character is a 40-year-old man looking to defeat young children in spelling bees — by any means necessary. As the movie slowly reveals, that dogged and seemingly misguided determination in his character is more driven by hurt, rather than mean-spiritedness.

Bateman stars as Guy Trilby (who is employed as a proofreader), an admitted underachiever in education, having never advanced beyond the eighth grade. He uses that schooling deficiency to exploit a loophole in the rules of the National Quill Spelling Bee, allowing him to compete against children generally a quarter of his age. His participation doesn’t sit well with anyone, be it parents, the spelling bee officials or the competitors themselves. But Trilby doesn’t care. Instead, he responds to everyone with a sharp tongue and is exceptionally quick with insults. That acerbic wit is aimed at adults and children alike, with the script by Andrew Dodge generating laughter frequently, although you might feel a bit guilty along the way. Case in point: Trilby’s devious new use for a ketchup packet.

One reporter (Kathryn Hahn) serves as a media sponsor for Trilby as he makes his way through the regional bees to reach the national competition, with the hopes of getting a story as to why he’s so determined to win. He even grudgingly — actually, make that very grudgingly — befriends a lonely 10-year-old competitor (Rohan Chand, in a winning performance), who is exceedingly cheerful and in desperate need of a friend.

Setting much of the action in the world of competitive spelling bees filled with overbearing parents and stuffy, egotistical competition officials makes for some easy and predictable comedic targets. The movie does a better job of setting up the pins than knocking them down, with the story’s seemingly black heart lightening up down the stretch. Still, it never turns into a maudlin affair that tries to make its lead character learn the error of his ways. In Trilby’s world, there’s no time for apologies, even if it means crushing a bunch of middle schoolers’ dreams.

Grade: B+
(Rated R for crude and sexual content, language and brief nudity.)

What's New in Blu? (Week of Sept. 8)

“Brick Mansions” (R)
Starring Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA, Gouchy Boy, Catalina Denis
Directed by Camille Delamarre


“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (PG-13)
Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Robert Redford and Samuel L. Jackson
Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo


“Words and Pictures” (PG-13)
Starring Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche, Bruce Davison, Navid Negahban, Amy Brenneman
Directed by Fred Schepisi

Movie Review: "Boyhood"

Starring Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater and Ethan Hawke
Directed by Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater has never been a filmmaker afraid to take chances, be it using rotoscoping animation techniques throughout entire movies (“Waking Life” and “A Scanner Darkly”) or crafting a romantic drama that’s played out over three productions and nearly 20 years (the “Before” trilogy). In fact, the latter movies likely were a precursor to his decision to film his latest creation, “Boyhood,” over a 12-year period.

Focused on a young boy named Mason (Ellar Coltrane) between the ages of 6-18, Linklater’s family drama — which he also wrote — demonstrates the power of a story simply told. It’s a film devoid of car chases, explosions, tearjerking tragedies or credibility-straining situations. It’s life played out over the passage of time, and how a family develops, changes and learns about one another.

That’s not saying that it’s all love and happiness in this family’s household. By the time the film opens, the parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke — a frequent Linklater collaborator) have already divorced, with Mom forced to provide for herself, 6-year-old Mason and 8-year-old Samantha (Lorelei Linklater). Her struggles in navigating single parenthood are played out in a number of early telling scenes (arguing with a boyfriend about putting her kids before him, and the need to move to further her education).

After an extended time away from his children, Mason Sr. comes back into the picture as the seemingly responsibility-eschewing father who gets to whisk the kids away every other weekend to have fun at the bowling alley and baseball games. In the early scenes with Mason Sr., you feel you have the character pegged. But much like Linklater does with many of the people populating the movie, you see how time can change perceptions.

Many movies have offered slice-of-life vignettes on growing up in certain time periods. Some have spent time with characters over a summer or fast forwarded their lives as youngsters to adults. But I can’t think of any that have demonstrated the patience and perception that “Boyhood” has documenting the mix of pleasure and pain of growing up. That doesn’t just apply to the kids in this one.

Clearly, a movie that doesn’t have action sequences or a big budget to rely on, is rather dependent on a great script and performances to match. To its credit, “Boyhood” is strong in both areas. So many scenes play out with a deft ear for dialogue and the way most people converse with one another, you begin to wonder if some of them were biographical. Both kids, who grow up on screen before your eyes, never make you think you’re watching actors playing siblings. You believe it, particularly with the focused gaze of Coltrane in the central role as Mason. His character is not a big talker, but is definitely taking in his surroundings at all times. Arquette, who many may know from her role on the former NBC drama “Medium,” hits new heights as a mother doing the best she can for her children. Hawke takes what could have been a potentially cliched role and adds real depth.

Even though the movie clocks in at 165 minutes, it’s time you’re glad to have spent with this family. And there's no doubt it will make you think about time with your own family in the process.

Grade: A
(Rated R for language including sexual references, and for teen drug and alcohol use.)

The long wait is over

First off, 2011? That was when I last made an update to this blog? Wow, that's awful! I promise I didn't swear off my love of movies during that time. Clearly, I just got forgetful (and lazy). Well, that's about to change, as I'm bringing the updates back — hopefully on a much more consistent basis. Of course, who are we kidding? Any updates would be better than a nearly three-year drought that is now coming to an end.

As before, I plan to get some reviews cranking up, along with Blu-ray release roundups. I add trailers to the list of notable releases, because frankly the trailers are effective means to determine the value of a movie. In many cases, they are better than the finished product. Some movies reviewed will be new and some will be old, with an emphasis on smaller flicks that have flown under the radar of most movie watchers. That said, I can promise you some will have deserved to be overlooked, while others are hidden gems that deserve your time and attention.

OK, enough yapping from me ... I've got some updates to tackle.