Fading Gigolo - 3 smiles

Although writer-director John Tuturro has many narrative dots he fails to connect, and if you can overlook Woody Allen’s messy personal life, “Fading Gigolo” has some rewards to offer. This movie is a sex comedy featuring Allen who, if you hadn’t heard, was recently accused again of child molestation by his adoptive daughter. Here, he’s a lovable nebbish named Murray who’s renting out a perfectly willing middle-aged man, Fioravante (Tuturro), a part-time florist who needs the cash. Still, Tuturro’s movie, intended as a quirky romance, now runs the risk of looking like an exercise in poor taste. Nonetheless, the movie mostly comes off as a charming jumble of sweet nothings and gentle chuckles. As for Allen, whatever your feelings for him, he delivers one of his best performances in years and he steals every scene he’s in.

Murray, the owner of a failed bookshop, overhears his dermatologist, Dr. Parker (a very good Sharon Stone), musing about a threesome with her gorgeous friend Selima (Sophia Vergara). ‘I thought of you,’ Murray tells Fioravante and a partnership is born. Fioravante – chivalrous, thoughtful, good at back rubs – soon finds himself in demand. The movie weakens considerably halfway through when a Hasidic woman, Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), beings frequenting Fioravante’s boudoir and a serious romance develops. Soon events move into farce when Murray is abducted by angry Hasids and grilled before a temple court. Bob Balaban plays his defense lawyer and Liv Schreiber plays a member of the local Hasidic neighborhood watch. “Fading Gigolo” is an improbable bit of confection. 4/21/14

Transcendence - 2 smiles

“Transcendence” presents itself as a smart movie while bombarding the viewer with confusing plot turns, lapses in logic and smart characters who are slow to realize the obvious. Johnny Depp plays Will Caster, a computer genius who is close to making a key breakthrough in the advancement of artificial intelligence. This makes him the target of fringe terrorist groups who believe that rise of the computer is leading to the downfall of mankind. They strike out at Will, critically injuring him. With only five weeks to live, he begins the process of uploading his consciousness into the most advanced computer on earth – a project continued by his wife, Evelyn, (Rebecca Hall), and a colleague, Max Waters (Paul Bettany), after his death. The process works but the ‘transcended’ Will is a cold, dangerous entity whose sole goal is the accumulation of knowledge and power. Max is aware of the situation and alerts others, including fellow computer scientist, Joseph Tagger (a wasted Morgan Freeman) and FBI agent Buchanan (Cillian Murphy). It takes Evelyn longer to realize that the Will in the machine is no longer the man she loved.

This is the directorial debut for Wally Pfister, the veteran cinematographer who has worked behind the camera on all of Christopher Nolan’s films since Memento. The film looks great and the special effects are first rate, but the same degree of care wasn’t accorded to things like storytelling and character development. There are chunks of “Transcendence” that don’t make sense including a bit about a computer virus. There’s no chemistry between Depp and Hall and their character’s love story, so critical to the narrative, never seems real. And Depp is strangely muted, which some might consider a pleasant change after his recent flop as Tonto in The Lone Ranger. Rebecca Hall seems to be trying too hard, probably to compensate for an underwritten role while Bettany, Murphy and Freeman are underused. More than any genre, science fiction has an obligation to convince the viewer to willingly suspend disbelief. Unfortunately, rather than overlook the contrivances, we find ourselves lost in a disappointing “Transcendence.” 4/18/14

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 4 smiles

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” part of the Marvel Studios universe, is easily one of the best (along with The Avengers). It successfully combines Cap’s WWII history and the present-day situations. The performances are good, the script (by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) is sharp, and the action sequences are superb. This new film is an espionage flick that harkens to the political thrillers of the 1970s. Having been thawed out of his post-war freeze and then commissioned as an Avenger, Captain America, aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), is now working as a reluctant contractor for SHIELD, the global spy service run by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). When pirates highjack a SHIELD vessel in the Indian Ocean, Rogers and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are sent on what appears to be a routine hostage-rescue mission. It’s not, of course, as Fury has another, secret agenda for the operation: SHIELD has been compromised at a high level and he’s trying to find out how and by whom. SHIELD agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) has a small but important role and we’re introduced to former paratrooper Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and to Nick Fury’s boss, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford). An important new friendship for Rogers begins and another from his past pays a crucial role in what unfolds.

Steve Rogers is ‘out of time,’ a man with a black –and-white disposition in a world of grays and encumbered by regret. Though he allows that the contemporary world has its advantages, he struggles to find his place. The political themes of the film, involving surveillance and governmental misuse of personal data, are more sophisticated than the usual Marvel fare. The film is set predominantly in and around Washington DC, with the 60-story SHIELD headquarters looming across the Potomac from the Kennedy Center although it was filmed in Cleveland and Los Angeles. Chris Evans has another solid outing as the All-American hero. Johansson takes an opportunity to prove her action chops with her expanded Black Widow role. But it’s Mackie, as Cap’s new friend, who steals just about every scene he’s in. Here’s hoping we see more of him in the future. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is taut, suspenseful and, on occasion, even sad. NOTE: There are two post-credit sequences so be sure to stay through all of the credits. 4/11/14

Draft Day - 3 smiles

If you can get beyond the fact that “Draft Day” seems like one long commercial for the NFL, then this movie starring Kevin Costner is a lot of fun. It’s a lot like Moneyball in that it’s more about what transpires behind the scenes as opposed to the game on the field. Director Ivan Reitman looks at the 12-hour span immediately preceding the NFL draft, peering into the back rooms of several franchises and exposing their moves and motives from a strategic perspective. The owners and GMs are like generals and they all have their battle plans. Costner plays Cleveland Browns GM Sonny Weaver Jr. This is his third year on the job and his tenure thus far has been rocky. His dad, a Browns legend, died only a week ago and he’s trying to keep his personal feelings at bay while preparing for the draft. Meanwhile, his girlfriend and co-worker, Ali (Jennifer Garner), informs him that she’s pregnant. Adding to the pressure is the team owner, Harvey Molina (Frank Langella), who wants to make a ‘big splash’ at the draft. The guy Sonny wants to draft, Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman), may be the difference-maker on defense but he won’t sell tickets. Then comes an opportunity. The Seattle Seahawks own the #1 overall pick that would presumably be used to snare can’t-miss prospect Bo Callahan (Josh Pence). Seattle is willing to make a trade at the right price, which turns out to be a king’s ransom – three consecutive #1 picks – a cost that infuriates Browns’ head coach, Vince Penn (Denis Leary). But under pressure from all sides, Sonny makes the deal – then spends the next eight hours wondering if he did the right thing and trying to figure out if there’s another move he can make.

Costner is perfect for this role. His portrayal of Sonny expresses what one might expect from the NFL general manager. Professionally, he’s driven to win and willing to take risks that might seem insane. Personally, he fumbles with alarming frequency. For example, he obviously loves Ali, but he can’t find the words to express his feelings. Jennifer Garner is strong and it’s nice to see that Ali has more depth than the stereotypical ‘love interest.’ Other notable actors with supporting performances include Denis Leary as a self-centered coach at odds with his GM, Ellen Burstyn as Sonny’s mother, Frank Langella as the publicity-loving owner and Chadwick Boseman as the star linebacker. Without an insider’s perspective, it’s impossible to say how closely the events depicted replicate what really goes on. However, it seems real and I loved the way Sonny is able to manipulate his situation. “Draft Day” kinda makes me wish Los Angeles had a football team. 4/5/14

Finding Vivian Maier - 4 smiles

John Maloof, who directed “Finding Vivian Maier” with Charlie Siskel, speaks of attending a Chicago auction in 2007 and buying a box of old negatives. This eventually led him to a vast cache of photographs, numbering more than a hundred thousand that were taken by a nanny named Vivian Maier. Few were printed; many others were never even developed; none were shown in public during her life. She died in 2009, and Maloof, as seen in the film, has spent the intervening years making her work available and seeking to reconstruct her private history. He interviews those that she had helped to raise as children and a portrait of a reclusive woman whose traits verged on the bizarre slowly emerges. She was memorable yet she chose to remain unknown and there is no guarantee that she would have welcomed her posthumous fame.

From Web search and interviews with Maier’s employers and former charges, Maloof learned that though she was born in New York in 1926, Maier affected a ‘fake’ French accent. Then again, her mother was French and she spent chucks of time in the Alsatian village where her mother grew up. Maier was devoted to the children she cared for, but she could also be harsh. One former charge reports being force-fed by Maier; others call her mean or complain of being dragged around Chicago’s slums while she searched for subjects. As she grew older, Maier became more secretive and if not for the generosity of two of her former charges, she would have fallen into vagrancy and mental illness. Nonetheless, the filmmakers portray her as a woman of mystery, making much of her love of photography. Now Maier is a bona fide star, admired by major photographers like Joel Meyerowitz and Mary Ellen Mark and her work has been compared to Diane Arbus and Robert Frank. A full-time nanny who was also an extremely talents street photographer finally gets her due in “Finding Vivian Maier.” 3/30/14

Sabotage - 1 frown

“Sabotage,” Arnold Schwarznegger’s latest action movie, is an ugly waste of time. It is probably the worst movie he’s made since leaving California’s governorship and definitely the most depraved. This is an extremely gory flick, but after 30-years, it’s pointless to complain about the bloody body count although his movie reaches new lows. The script by director and co-writer David Ayer and Skip Woods has Schwarznegger playing a crooked cop and perhaps he’s hoping it will revive his dying career. After all, it won Denzel Washington an Oscar. Not to worry; it doesn’t. You have to wonder why a movie like “Sabotage” got made. It certainly wasn’t for the money with only $8.8 million box office. 4/2/14

Divergent - 3 1/2 smiles

Much like Hunger Games, “Divergent” takes place in a rigidly structured, dystopian future where one extraordinary girl will serve either as its destroyer or its savior. And it’s the performances, namely from stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James and from Kate Winslet in a juicy supporting role, that make the movie engaging. “Divergent” is all about identity, about searching your soul and determining who you are and how you fit in as you emerge from adolescence to adulthood. Woodley and James have an easy chemistry with each other, but it’s Woodley who makes for an appealing complex Tris, a heroine whose sense of loss at leaving her family behind, along with her sense of identity, is tempered by the thrill of discovering new powers and she keeps us rooting for her.

In the fenced-off remnants of post-war Chicago 100 years from now, society has been broken down into five factions or groups of people arranged by a primary, defining trait. The Amity are happy, hippie-like farmers who grow food for everyone. The Candor run the judicial system and value truth above all else. The Edudite are the serious-minded scholars. The Abnegation are known for their selflessness and modesty. The pierced-and-tattooed Dauntless are the brave soldiers who guard and protect the city. Woodley’s Beatrice Prior is a member of Abnegation along with her brother, Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and their parents (Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn). When she undergoes the aptitude test required of all teens to determine which faction is the best reflection of one’s true nature, her results are inconclusive. She’s got pieces of a few different groups in her, which makes her a Divergent, something dangerous and kept secret. At the annual Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice dares to choose Dauntless. This means she can never see her family again. But it also means she gets to train to unleash the bad-ass that’s been lurking inside her all along. Renaming herself Tris, she learns how to fight, shoot, jump from moving trains, throw knives and control her mind in a series of harrowing simulations, all while competing against a couple dozen other initiates in a demanding ranking system. Eric (Jai Courtney) is the merciless Dauntless leader who’s taking the faction in a militant and vicious direction. But the hunky trainer who goes by the name of Four (James) is the one who will have a greater impact on the woman Tris will become. It will be interesting to see the other two films as Tris and Four attempt to learn what’s really going on in their world. (“Insurgent” is due in theaters next March.) 3/21/14