Lee Daniels' The Butler - 2 1/2 smiles

“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” is often good, but it is also often too simplistic. “The Butler” is based on a real person, Eugene Allen, a black Southerner who served in the White House from 1952 – 1986, a stretch marked by racial violence, assassinations and the Vietnam War. The fictionalized Allen (he died in 2010), here named Cecil Gaines, is played with vast inner strength by Forest Whitaker. The movie finds its strongest moments in fiction. Cecil’s son, David (an invented character played by a simmering David Oyelowo), is the opposite of his father. David is a passionate participant in the Civil Rights era and his lunch-counter sit-ins, contrasted with Cecil’s mannered table-setting for wealthy whites dining at the White House, is jarring in its juxtaposition.

Director Lee Daniels also visually highlights Cecil’s two Americas. The corridors of power are cool and clean while the humble homes of Cecil and his co-workers (Lenny Kravitz and Cuba Gooding Jr.) have a dingy yellow warmth. Oprah Winfrey, in her first major role in years as Gloria, Cecil’s alcoholic wife, brings focus to a somewhat vague character. But the movie is marred by too many simplistic notions. The American presidents are mostly op-ed cartoons – John Cusak’s loutish Nixon, Live Schreiber’s hard-charging LBJ. Whitaker maintains Cecil’s dignity against a series of performances that range from bland (James Marsden’s JFK) to cartoonish (Robin Williams’ Eisenhower). And too much of “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” seems to have For Your Consideration slapped all over it. If it does elicit Oscar nominations, the tribute will be for the subject rather than the treatment of that subject. 8/22/13

The World's End - 2 smiles

I guess I just don’t appreciate comedy because I rarely find them funny. And so it goes for “The World’s End,” a loud, chaotic story about five middle-aged Brits recreating an unfinished pub-crawl from their youth. What they don’t know is that humanoid robots have infiltrated their hometown of Newton Haven. Simon Pegg plays ringleader Gary King, an aging Goth who is living in the past, a boy in a man’s body. Nick Frost is Andy Knightley, once a heavy drinker but now a teetotaler. Martin Freeman is the sensible Oliver, Paddy Considine is nice-guy Steven and Eddie Marsan is worrywart Peter. A charming Rosamund Pike plays Sam, the girl who got away from more than one of them.

The script, written by Pegg and director Edgar Wright, is most engaging whenever the group is sharing pints. Their camaraderie and shared memories feel very real. Had the movie stuck with this warm tone, it would have resulted in a comedy with poignant underpinnings. Instead, “The World’s End” is a mash-up of action, comedy and sci-fi apocalypse. The silly robot scenes, with smashed heads and spurts of blue blood, just keeps going long after the novelty has worn off. I assume the intent was to spoof Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but it drags on and on as the boys scramble to hit every pub on their itinerary and fight off the robots. And the end is pointlessly long and meaningless. 8/23/13

Paranoia - 1 smile

If you’ve seen the previews for “Paranoia,” you’ve pretty much seen the movie. It’s mildly interesting to see Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford (sporting a bald head) chew the scenery in their few scenes together. And star Liam Hemsworth is pure eye candy even if he can’t act. Director Robert Luketic gives us an electronic score; quick, jarring cutaways; sleek, modern interiors and a hip hero with a posse of nerdy, cute co-workers. Unfortunately, the story lacks any originality and creates little tension.

Adam Cassidy (Hemsworth) is struggling to pay for his father’s (Richard Dreyfuss) hospital bills and after his presentation to his boss, Nicolas Wyatt (Oldman), fails to impress, Adam and his gang are fired. Then Adam is told that Wyatt wants him to go to work for the competition – Wyatt’s onetime business partner, Jock Goddard (Ford) – to steal the design of a new smart phone. Adam doesn’t want to, but Wyatt blackmails him so he has no choice. Caught between to tech moguls, Adam starts to feel the pressure when the FBI moves in. The straightforward conclusion is disappointing and the obvious twist, if you can call it that, is superficial and unbelievable. In the real world, Adam would get eaten alive by people like Wyatt and Goddard. Save your money and wait for “Paranoia” on cable. 8/17/13

Jobs - 2 smiles

I would have liked “Jobs” to be more. Instead, what we get is a standard bio-pic with a few nice moments, but you don’t get a sense of who Steve Jobs was. And, unfortunately, I don’t know whether Ashton Kutcher’s performance was effective or not because all I could see on the screen was Ashton Kutcher. Writers Matt Whiteley and director Joshua Michael Stern try to cover more than 25 years in a 2-hour movie, which is a mistake. As Lincoln so well illustrated, the best way to bring a real-life figure to the screen is to depict a specific, limited period of his life. Cherry-picking incidents rarely works since that approach often leads to a sense of superficiality. So while we get a vague sense of what makes Jobs tick, his charisma and drive are constants, we’re left with only a choppy understanding of the chronology of his life.

“Jobs” starts slowly and the early scenes pretty much fly by as we’re introduced to a teenage version of the man while at Reed College. With his best friend of the time, Daniel Kottke (Lukas Haas), he drops acid, talks pretentiously and visits India. Upon his return, he forms a partnership with electronics wunderkind Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad) and begins to make computers. Apple is born in Steve’s parents’ garage and, with the capital provided by investor Mike Markkula (Dermot Mulroney), quickly expands into a major force in the fledgling industry. By 1984, Jobs finds himself in trouble with Apple’s board of directors and, by the end of 1986, he’s out. Ten years later, Apple comes begging for Jobs’ return. More politically savvy and understanding of corporate politics, he returns, transforming a financially struggling company into the Goliath it is today. Great men don’t always have great lives and part of the problem with “Jobs” could be that simple. On the other hand, the movie hasn’t figured out how to portray greatness. Jobs was a compelling figure, but compelling doesn’t describe the movie. 8/16/13

We're the Millers - 1 smile

“We’re the Millers” is not only not funny, it’s offensive. There’s a scene in which a father is willing to pimp out his teenage son to perform sexual favors on a corrupt policeman in order to avoid arrest. He urges the boy to do it for the good of the family. Granted, the ‘father’ is a small-time drug dealer and his ‘son’ is not related to him, but a clueless neighbor kid posing as his son. Still it’s an adult pushing an unusually innocent boy to prostitute himself. Even in R-rated comedies, there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed. In an effort to be outrageous, director Rawson Marshall Thurber mistakes cringe-worthy for edgy humor. To top it off, its stars, Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston, have no chemistry although we're supposed to believe that they fall for each other.

David (Sudeikis), a pot dealer, rushes to aid his neighbor Kenny (Will Poulter), who is being picked on by a bunch of thugs.  These same punks rob David of thousands of dollars’ worth of weed and his cash. David’s supplier Brad (Ed Helms) orders him to pay back the value of what was stolen and offers a way to erase his debt: Drive to Mexico and smuggle a shipment of marijuana over the border. David decides he should take along a ‘family’ to appear less suspicious to border authorities. So he recruits Kenny and a street-smart girl named Casey (Emma Roberts) to pose as his teen kids. It takes some work, but he persuades his neighbor Rose (Aniston), a cynical stripper, to pose as his wife. Of course, nothing goes as planned. “We’re the Millers” is distasteful and mediocre, but the outtakes are mildly amusing. 8/12/13

Elysium - 3 smiles

“Elysium,” starring Matt Damon, is a solid science fiction/action movie that supports the idea that director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) is an engaging moviemaker. However, I can’t help but wish there was more to the story. Perhaps 109 minutes isn’t enough time to develop all of Blomkamp’s ideas and character development suffers, too. Matt Damon’s character Max is way too bland and we don’t get to know enough about Jodie Foster’s Defense Secretary Delacourt. Sharlto Copley’s Kruger, while a nasty piece of work, remains a one-dimensional bad guy. There are plenty of action scenes, especially one on Earth and one on Elysium, although they’re not particularly groundbreaking. My biggest complaint is the easy way the conflict resolves because it really isn’t solving the problem between the haves and have- nots.

“Elysium” is sent in 2154 with an overpopulated, polluted Earth, which has been abandoned by its wealthiest citizens for a space station paradise called Elysium. Those who remain on the planet are the dregs of society, manual laborers, criminals and those struggling to make a living while gazing longingly up at the great wheel in the sky where advanced medical care is available for all, homes are beautiful and there’s no crime. Max DeCosta (Damon), an ex-car thief who has gone straight, struggles against the temptation to go back to a life of crime with his buddy, Julio (Diego Luna). After a workplace accident, Max has only five days to live unless he can get to Elysium and gain access to their medical facilities. Normally, this would be impossible, but Secretary of Defense Delacourt (Foster) is planning a coup with the help of billionaire John Carlyle (William Fichtner). Because Max doesn’t have enough money for a ticket on an illegal shuttle to Elysium, he is forced to kidnap Carlyle and download the information Carlyle has in his head. This task is made more difficult by the arrival of Delacourt’s henchman, Kruger (Copley). While “Elysium” is sufficiently different from everything released in the past few months, it isn’t as original as District 9. Nonetheless, it’s well paced and looks great. 8/10/13

The Spectacular Now - 3 1/2 smiles

“The Spectacular Now” continually takes us in unexpected directions, giving the film surprising depth. The two leads, Miles Teller’s Sutter Keely and Shailene Woodley’s Aimee Finicky, are so well drawn and believably portrayed that it’s impossible not to accept them as real. And it’s important to stress how good Teller and Woodley are. These are relatable characters with recognizable behaviors. They display none of the superficial aspects that are so evident in coming-of-age movies. So a lot of credit for that has to go to the script adapted from Tim Tharp’s novel by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. (They also wrote 500 Days of Summer.)

Sutter (Teller) is the smooth-talking kid who has an answer for everything, makes friends easily and seems to be gliding through life. Until he isn’t. Sutter always has a soft-drink cup with him, a cup that always has booze in it, and Sutter always seems to have a slight buzz most of the time. The night his girlfriend Casssidy (Brie Larson) breaks up with him, Sutter gets really, really drunk. He wakes up in the front yard of a home he doesn’t recognize with Aimee (Woodley) standing above him. He doesn’t know her, but she knows who he is. He’s part of the popular crowd; she’s quiet, studious and polite. You think you know where this is going, but things don’t happen that way. She doesn’t overnight blossom into a beautiful butterfly. These two kids have parent issues and they help each other muddle through. Aimee has plans for the future; Sutter lives for the now, the spectacular now, which barely disguises his fear of what the future may hold. You know from the start that Sutter has a drinking problem and you wince as he teaches Aimee how to drink. Nonetheless, tension comes from Aimee’s vulnerability and Sutter’s heedlessness. The ending is not tidy, but it does allow a measure of hope. You’re rooting for Sutter and Aimee although, perhaps, not together. “The Spectacular Now” is finely made and deeply felt.

Two Guns - 3 smiles

“Two Guns,” starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, is loud, fun, quick moving and features some nice acting by its stars. But don’t look at the story line too closely. The movie is about a pair of undercover agents, neither of whom is aware of his partner’s real identity. Bobby Trench (Washington) is DEA and Stig (Wahlberg) is Navy Intelligence, but each thinks he’s paired up with a legitimate crook. Their mutual goal is to take down cartel lord Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos). Their plan to do this, which is never really clear, involves robbing a bank where Papi’s money is supposedly stashed in safe deposit boxes. After the robbery, however, they find out that the stolen money belongs to the CIA and their enforcer (Bill Paxton), who wants it back. Additional complications occur when Bobby discovers his ex-girlfriend, Deb (Paula Patton) is involved and Stig’s commanding officer, Quince (James Marsden), decides the money should be his.

The relationship between Bobby and Stig, which falls into the tired category of mismatched buddies, is saved by the back-and-forth banter of Blake Masters’ script. The villains are all suitably cartoonish and none exudes much menace although Paxton’s sadistic CIA man comes close. Director Baltasar Kormakur keeps things moving and the action is over-the-top with its chases, shoot-outs and explosions. The fun to be had is watching how Bobby and Stig survive a variety of seemingly inescapable situations. “Two Guns” is an enjoyable way to spend a summer afternoon at the movies. 8/4/13

Blue Jasmine - 4 smiles

 Cate Blanchett’s performance as Jasmine in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine,” is spectacular. And clearly Allen had Tennessee Williams’ Blanche DuBois in mind when he wrote this script. Jasmine is Blanche’s contemporary Upper East Side iteration, a sad, self-medicating woman whose rapidly fraying mental state is barely camouflaged under layers of Chanel, carefully coiffed hair and frequent applications of vodka. The movie opens with Jasmine flying to San Francisco to stay with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins) in order to escape troubles with her Wall Street executive husband, Hal (Alec Baldwin) and begin a new life. Once in Ginger’s shabby apartment, Jasmine’s already fragile composure begins to crack. Her compulsive small talk becomes even more desperate and her memories of better times, on Park Avenue, in the Hamptons, of accepting jewelry from an adoring husband, begin to intrude more insistently. Jasmine’s former happiness is tied to Hal’s wealth, which she enjoyed while looking the other way as he slickly stole from his investors (think Madoff). Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Ginger encourages her beautiful sister to join her on depressing double dates and to get a job. Caught between the awful realities of her past and her present, Jasmine begins to resemble a brittle doll.

Blanchett makes Jasmine at once touching, off-putting and cracked in her grand delusions. And although this movie is often difficult to watch, Blanchett is mesmerizing. The movie is also rich with dynamic supporting performances from Hawkins, Cannavale (as Ginger’s blue collar boyfriend) and Andrew Dice Clay (as Ginger’s ex-husband). They play people who have no money but probably have a fuller sense of what life is. Jasmine tries to rise above them, but she ends up only fooling herself. “Blue Jasmine” is one of Woody Allen’s most compelling films and it certainly deserves several nominations come Academy Award time.  8/2/13

R.I.P.D. - 1 frown

Uhhhhh, been there, seen it. Men in Black was a much better movie. With a similar premise, R.I.P.D. brings nothing new to the table other than Jeff Bridges’ irritating character. It’s embarrassing to watch him play an over-the-top version of Rooster Cogburn. He and co-star Ryan Reynolds have no chemistry and Reynolds doesn’t even seem to be having fun. “R.I.P.D.” is not funny. It’s not exciting. It’s not entertaining.  It’s not even worth seeing. 8/2/13

Fruitvale Station - 3 1/2 smiles

Without seeming forced or false, writer/director Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station” about a young man’s final hours is an extraordinary film with a strong emotional impact. It’s clear from the start what’s going to happen. Real-life cell phone footage from a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009 shows a tense confrontation between police and a group of men handcuffed on the ground. There’s a scuffle, a gun goes off and one of the young men falls forward. Then the footage goes dark. Then it’s 12 hours earlier, and 22-year-old Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan) is reassuring his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz) that he’s there for her and their 4-year-old daughter, Tatiana (Ariana Neal). Oscar runs errands around his hometown of Hayward, Calif., gets food for the birthday celebration for his mother Wanda (Octavia Spencer) and texts the pals he and Sophina are planning to see New Year’s fireworks with in San Francisco. Oscar has lost his job at a local market because of his tardiness. Pressed for money, he’s tempted to sell drugs, but that’s what sent him to San Quentin. Wanting to keep his mother and girlfriend’s respect, he dumps the drugs, but life is hard for Oscar and he rarely gets a break. On the way back from San Francisco, a prison rival spots Oscar and starts a fight. It ends fast, but the police arrive and detain Oscar and three others.

As intense as the story is, we wouldn’t be as invested if Oscar wasn’t as complex and likeable as he is and Jordan is responsible for this. There are split-second transitions as the charismatic, low-key Oscar reveals different sides of himself. As his mom, Spenser makes Wanda tough but loving. If there’s a complaint, it’s Coogler, in his debut feature, is a little heavy-handed with his foreshadowing. Rattling subway cars are too ominous and Oscar’s comforting of a dog hit by a car too obviously suggests later action. Nonetheless, “Fruitvale Station” is a powerful movie. 7/30/13

Red 2 - 2 smiles

Red, the 2010 sleeper hit, was refreshing. Not only were the movie’s heroes all older than 50, but the action-comedy paid as much attention to the comedy as to the action and the result was movie-going fun. Sequels, for the most part, are repetitive and stale, so it’s no surprise that the luster has faded in “Red 2.” The bigger blow is just how clunky and unsatisfying this follow-up feels. As the movie opens, CIA retires Frank (Bruce Willis) has returned to the quite life, shopping at Costco, with his girlfriend, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker). As he attempts to embrace the joys of normal life, she is despondent. She craves adventure. Luckily, Frank’s quirky former partner, the conspiracy theorist Marvin (John Malkovich), appears with new information. The trio ends up traveling to Paris, Moscow and London, trying to discern the meaning of Operation Nightshade. Frank and Marvin have been accused of spearheading the deadly mission even though they know nothing about it. New enemies have cropped up to take the three heroes down, including the world’s best contract killer Han (Byung-hun Lee), the sadistic Jack (Neal McDonough) and even their old friend Victoria (Helen Mirren). To spice things up, Catherine Zeta-Jones shows up as Katja, Frank’s ex-lover. And Anthony Hopkins plays an institutionalized scientist who may be the key to the Nightshade puzzle.

The plot is overly busy and the focus of the movie is action: shootouts, car chases, shootouts during car chases, hand-to-hand combat, helicopter crashes and bomb explosions. Missing is the banter that elevated the original, which gave it its appeal. Frank and Sarah had great chemistry, Frank and Marvin exchanged amusing barbs, Sarah and Victoria shared dating advice. The script, by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber, pays no attention to dialogue. And while there’s a lot of action, much of it looks computer-generated.  Red director Robert Schwentke didn’t return for the sequel (but his latest, “R.I.P.D.” is a lot worse.) Nonetheless, the director for “Red 2,” Dean Parisot, can hardly be blamed for the Hollywood machine that takes any surprise hit and churns out a follow-up as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that means quality suffers. 7/19/13

The Way Way Back - 4 smiles

“The Way Way Back” is not to be missed. Not only does it have a solid narrative, but also the characters are well developed and fully realized people, a rarity these days. This coming-of-age tale also provides situations that seem real as the lead character, Duncan (Liam James) is 14, socially awkward and uncomfortable around girls. Duncan’s family situation is a mess. His divorced mother, Pam (Toni Collette), has hooked up with Trent (Steve Carell), the single dad of a teenage daughter. Trent’s style of ‘tough love’ with Duncan is misplaced and his lack of tact when it comes to past (and possible current) flings puts a strain on his relationship with Pam. Duncan mopes around Trent’s beach house, trying to avoid Trent, his mother, and the habitually drunk next-door neighbor, Betty (Allison Janney). Meanwhile, he’s attracted to Betty’s daughter, Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb), but doesn’t have a clue what to do about it. Duncan’s vacation is saved when he discovers ‘Water Wizz,’ a local water park and discovers that he fits in among the oddballs who work there. The park’s manager, Owen (Sam Rockwell), takes a liking to the awkward Duncan and offers him a job. Susanna, strangely intrigued by what Duncan is doing to fill his days, starts following him around to learn where he goes.

The film is the directorial debut of the writing duo of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (who have supporting roles as workers in the water park). These two, who previously wrote The Descendants, understand human nature and what makes for a compelling coming-of-age story. Duncan’s tale is about his development as a person, his becoming more comfortable about being in his own skin, his gaining confidence to stand up for himself and, more importantly, reconnecting with his mother. The movie also features several outstanding performances. Chief of these belong to Sam Rockwell, who is in top form, delivering Faxon and Rash’s dialogue with pinpoint timing and precision. He certainly deserves to be remembered come Academy nomination time. Steve Carell, who generally plays likeable characters, makes Trent unsympathetic without turning him into an ogre. Finally, there’s Liam James, who effortlessly embodies teenage angst and awkwardness before blooming in a winning fashion. “The Way Way Back” is funny, affecting and appealing. 7/7/13