****

Romantics Anonymous- nf– (French with subtitles) This is a romantic comedy about an extremely anxious and shy woman (Isabelle Carre)  who is hired  at a chocolate factory to be a sales representative,  by the owner (Benoit Poelvoorde), who is equally anxious and shy. In fact, he sees a therapist on a regular basis who gives him little assignments to carry out to try to socialize him. She is in a therapy group of equally afflicted men and women who tell their stories while supporting each other. She is actually a talented chocolate maker but is afraid to let it be known because she feels she couldn’t handle the recognition. The screenplay is by Diane Bardinet and by Director Jean Pierre Ameris. The writing, direction and magnificent  acting  results in a laugh out loud comedy which also tugs at your heart and has you rooting for the characters. Perhaps it is characteristically French that even after the couple eventually have sex together they are still hilariously shy and anxious about being together. This is really a gem of a movie that should not be missed.(2011)

****

Still Mine – sp  The population is aging and many movie goers are ready for a good, interesting, tough, moving but heartening story about relationships towards the end of life. This is one such film which will get you behind the main characters, allow you to root for them, feel their anguish, appreciate their caring for each other and share their successes. Michael McGowan read about the Canadian man who was trying to personally build a house that could accommodate his wife when she returned from the hospital. He investigated the details behind this news story and ended up writing directing and co–producing this film. Veteran actors James Cromwell and Genevieve Bujold play Craig and Irene Morrison who live on farm not too far from their grown children. They find themselves in a changing world but Craig more than amply demonstrates that he has the skills and knowledge to build a new home for he and his wife. His quest to do this reflects a familiar theme that makes a great subject for this movie to examine. The execution is almost faultless as is the great acting which matches this excellent screenplay. (2013)

*****

Fruitvale Station-sp  This is one of the most realistic, gripping and yet personal  depictions of a tragic event that we have seen in a long time. It is well known to residents of the Bay Area and many other people that a few years ago there was a shooting of a 22 year old black man by the name of Oscar Grant by the BART (transit) police. This event was vividly captured by numerous cell phone videos on that day and was shown in the opening of this movie. Ryan Coogler, a black film student of the same age, was very much impacted by this event, as he felt it could have been him. Nina Yang Bongiovi, movie producing partner of the well known actor/director Forest Whitaker, in their quest to support young filmmakers, connected with Coogler and were impressed by his student work  and his motivation to make this film. Bongiovi in our post screening discussion related how once Coogler was chosen to direct this film, he wrote the screenplay in 4 weeks and along with the producers convinced Michael B. Jordan to play the role of Oscar Grant. Melanie Diaz then signed on to play the girlfriend and veteran actress Octavia Spencer took on the all-important role of the mother. Both were magnificent in their sensitive emotional roles of these devastated women. Jordan who has acknowledged that he also felt quite related to his character handled the multifaceted parts of him quite well. It is the presentation of the persona of Grant that raises this movie to the five star level we believe it deserves. He is shown to be a caring young man who loves his daughter, girl friend and mother and is quite capable of extending his sensitivity to others in many ways. At the same time he is not totally honest with himself or others.  He is troubled, and angry. He has a temper which can lead him to  provoke as well as respond to temptations to fight and lash out. It may be argued that he may have become a symbol of the persistent racial tensions in the Bay Area and now to a worldwide movie audience. However the insight shown into him may also be able to allow both sides of the divide to identify with him and his aspirations which raises the possibility that this understanding will help to defuse these racial tensions which are still with us.  Once the story begins to develop, it  is very fast moving aided by the hand held camera work by Rachel Morrison who brought her reality TV experience to this movie. In the end, the great effort from both sides of the camera gave us a first rate movie that has the potential to make a big difference in how we understand ourselves and others. (2013)

**

Double Indemnity- nf– The main thing that we can say about this classic film is that it reflects the state of the art of the time  and demonstrates what would have been a thrilling mystery in the 1940s. (It is set in 1938 probably to avoid any wartime issues) Other than an historical film document, there is no way that a modern  filmgoer would view this movie other than as a unsophisticated black and white  film noir drama. It is hard to believe that it was co-written by the  premier mystery crime writer of his time,  Raymond Chandler, along with the premier filmmaker, Billy Wilder who directed it. Fred MacMurray played the slick insurance salesman, cocked hat and all, who gets drawn in by beautiful, unblinking ,sparkling eyes,  glossy lips, sexy voice  Barbara Stanwyck who also wore an enticing ankle bracelet. Edward G Robinson who has a voice and a tone just like everyone who has ever imitated him,  plays the tough, all wise insurance adjuster who is in the process of sniffing out out the plot to kill the Stanwyck  character’s husband and make it look like an accident to collect double indemnity !! The music background is as you would have expected it. The crime has to be solved without any  CSI techniques. Hardly anything in the film was believable but it held our interest. This was partly because of the twists and turns of the thin plot and partly because we were thrilled to be watching the ancestors of the some of the great crime movies and TV shows that we can see today. (1944)

***

Francis Ha – rm If you are a couple of generations  out of sync with Francis Ha you may find it difficult to  relate to this 27 year old woman (Greta Gerwig) who is trying to establish her life in New York City as a dancer, actually as an apprentice dancer who in fact doesn’t even have her own apartment. We  first meet her with her best buddy girl friend Sophie (Mickey Summer) who isn’t quite as immature as Francis (which isn’t saying much) and is able to move her life along. By the way, another one of her friends is played by Grace Gummer who is a dead ringer for Meryl Streep and happens to be her daughter. We found ourselves feeling sorry for the likeable Francis much as we felt when we caught some episodes of the popular television program Girls with Lena Dunhan as she stumbles through the singles scene in good old New York. It may still be true “that if you can make it there you can make it anywhere”. However, as these characters demonstrate, it may be much more difficult for young women to kick start their lives in today’s single scene in New York and elsewhere. In past generations we recall 20 and 30  something women  usually had jobs and were on their way to careers, especially if they were college graduates  and most had  serious relationships. This doesn’t seem to be the case today  in this story or in real life. Writer/ Director Noah Baumback (who wrote and directed  The Squid and the Whale and Greenberg) teamed up with lead actress Greta Gerwig who also starred in the latter film and are romantically linked. Their dialogue captures the essence of their characters, ie “ We are like a lesbian couple that doesn’t have sex anymore.”   The choice to make this film in black and white allows the audience to focus on the essence of these characters and perhaps also of New York City which doesn’t need color to show it’s stark reality. It should be no surprise that the movie suggests that everything is going to be all right although it doesn’t really show us why and how that should happen. Perhaps their next film will fill in the colors. (2013)

****

Before Midnight– We didn’t see the two prequels of this movie, Before Sunrise (1995) and After Sunrise (2004) and don’t believe it is necessary  in order to appreciate this superb examination of the relationship of the couple Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke)  now in their early 40’s. Director Richard Linklater reunites with his two stars and they collaborated in writing this  sequel which they filmed on the Greek Peloponnesian peninsula. The movie opens with  Jesse saying good-bye at the airport in Greece  to his 14 year old son who is returning to Chicago after a summer visit with his Dad. The parents divorced many years ago . Jesse now lives with Celine and their twin 9 year old daughters. He is a  successful novelist  clearly very happy with French born Celine and their family, but  obviously feels guilty that he will not be able to regularly see his son during his high school years. In the subsequent car ride back to where they are staying as invited guests for the summer at the home of a Greek author, as well as at a dinner with two other couples, we learn more about their back story. This dinner conversation unfolds and reveals the values and attitudes of three different generations. The main focus now spotlights Celine  and Jesse as they walk through the magnificent Greek location to a quaint hotel and then spend a special planned  evening together without their children. They become engaged in what turns out to be a no holds barred examination of their overt and hidden feelings. While the interesting specifics of their circumstances were unique to this couple, we recognized the conflicts, dilemmas and angst were universal and we could extrapolate them to familiar issues in many couples of different ages and generations. The unsolved and continued exploration of how a couple will raise children in this post feminist era is laid out in the back and forth recriminations of this couple. How do couples make decisions about where to live and which careers to support when both have career opportunities and there are children involved? How do you distinguish between being true to yourself and your love for your partner ? Does love and loyalty trump all and overcome an extramarital attraction or a fling? What will a couple say in the heat of an argument and can they forgive each other for what they might say? There were many long uninterrupted scenes which underscored the chemistry between  this trio (We have to include the unseen director). The subtle facial expressions which included anger and tenderness  added to our identification with Celine and Jesse. In the end we are left with a very stimulating movie to discuss. It becomes our challenge to also ponder how the next sequel will turn out. (2013)

**

Now You See Me- rm – The opening scene is a great magic trick which you in the movie audience can participate if you pick a card, any card from the deck being shown to you. It is the first 40 seconds of this trailer for the movie- after the commercial . What comes next is a thriller caper with lots of magic. The first trick was people at a gigantic Las Vegas show robbing a bank in Paris . Everything seemed to get more grandiose from there. The screenplay by Ed Solomon and Boaz Yakin and directed by Louis Leterer built one preposterous gimmick after another. The key magicians Jesse Eisneberg, Isla Fischer and Woody Harrelson seemed to be one step ahead of the FBI and Interpol led by Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent. What might have been a great car chase through Manhattan’s highways and bridges was known to anyone from New York as unrealistic as the cops never weave in and out of traffic dangerously risking innocent people’s lives – especially just to catch a potential money thief. Michael Caine of course is always great as some rich guy entwined with tricky magicians seemingly getting away with lots of money. Morgan Freeman is intriguing as usual, this time as the ex-magician who exposes other magicians (perhaps based on the real life “ Randy, the Magician ”). Do we have very clever magicians, an inside job, get rich quick artists or a bunch of robin hoods?? In the end there is a good chance you are not going to care that much. Now that we have seen it, you don’t have to. (2013)

***1/2

New Year’ Eve –nf  This is a movie that is perfect to see with your lover, young or old and might be especially nice to curl up with this person on New Year’s Eve. It is also a New York film  and a good part of it includes Times Square, getting ready to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve as well as Mayor Bloomberg. The screen play, by Katherine Fugate, consists of several stories that show people’s various romances and loving situations  which is brought out in anticipation of the new year. So this a romantic film  in the traditional sense  with the usual clichés but it also includes the love between a mother and her young daughter and a daughter and her older father. The new year brings new beginnings and also new chances for the future. However, the film is also a comedy which should not be surprising since the Director is Garry Marshall. Part of the fun of this movie is to identify this amazing cast which is somewhat characteristic of a Marshall film. It  includes Hilary Swank, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katherine Heigel, Robert DiNero, Halle Berry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Biel, Seth Meyers, Sophia Vegara, Mathew Broderick, Josh Duhamel, Jim Belushi  and others. These stars don’t just have walk on parts, as each one plays an important role in his or her mini-story. There are also acting and singing roles for Jon Bon Jovie and Lea Michele (of Glee fame). In the film you can also find Garry Marshall’s sister Penny, his wife Barbara, his granddaughter and a couple other people named Marshall. There is a small role for Hector Elizondo, a veteran actor and friend of the director  who     is in many of his films. The movie offers several surprises and in the end you should feel satisfied. If you stay for the credits you get a bunch of out takes which adds to the fun experience of seeing this film. (2011)

*** 

20 Feet From Stardom sp– This is a great title for this documentary about the often unsung backup singers who could really sing! Starting in the late 50s into the 60s up to contemporary times so many great pop artists brought in usually black back up singers to highlight their music. Many got the training doing gospel singing in their churches and quite a few were daughters of preachers. The late Gil Frisen, a long time Chairman of A&M records, originated the idea for this documentary film and he worked with filmmaker Morgan Neville who directed this unique project which covered a subject which has had very little media exposure. This reminds us of another excellent  film we saw a couple of years ago titled The Wrecking Crew which told the story of usually anonymous session musicians. The stars of this current  film will probably also be be unknown to most viewers but they clearly articulated their lives and there was lots of their great music in it. Of particular note are Merry Clayton, Darlene Love, Gloria Jones, Judith Hill, Tata Vega along with some  others. In addition there were  up close and personal interviews with musical icons such  Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Sting, Bette Midler and Stevie Wonder who unequivocally expressed their admiration of the talent of these singers and how important they were to the success of the well known stars. So often     “ the hook” or the main theme which we remember was put across by these talented performers. In the personal interviews with the backup singers we felt a mixed message of how they loved singing and were usually quite content to blend and be part of musical history of the last 50 years, yet they  contemplated and some tried to breakout while  most never made an individual name for themselves with the public. We learned how the notorious music producer Phil Spector in his original famous Christmas Album unfairly  attributed the work of Darlene Love to the Crystals and how Ms. Love felt about this.  We also learned about how supportive veteran music producer Lou Adler was to many of these performers. Credit has to be given to Director Morgan Neville for digging up so many great video clips which featured the performances of the backup singers doing their best work 20 feet from stardom with Mick Jagger, Joe Cocker, David Bowie and one outstanding video which featured a young Ray Charles grooving at the piano  with his famous Raelettes backup group. While the film has to be enlightening for even the most informed pop music afficianado, it is the great music throughout this  90 minute documentary which makes it so enjoyable and something that shouldn’t be missed by anyone who digs pop music. (2013)

***

Celeste and Jesse Forever-nf  Two best friends Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg)  get married and although they are still good buddies, after a little while decide to get divorced. Maybe it is because he can’t get his art career going and she is a successful trend forecaster. He lives in the garage studio behind the house and eventually moves out but they still feel very close as they evolve to the singles scene. Even when one of them finds someone that seem right for him, the old feelings are still there.  In many ways this theme reflects what sometimes happens when first loves feel they need to move on  (hopefully even before they have tied the knot). Sometimes the separation is easier for one than the other and sometimes it goes back and forth. Maybe they will always love each other. Andy Samberg conveys the exuberance and youthfulness of the character he plays and only in subtle manner does he draw upon his comedic skills. Rashida Jones seems very comfortable in her role (perhaps because she co-wrote the script with Will McCormack who has a secondary role as one of her friends in the film). She seems a tad older and more mature than the Jesse character  but she struggles as she realizes what  is ultimately happening to her relationship with her soon to be divorced husband and best friend.  This film directed by Lee Toland Krieger is filled with an almost continuous musical wallpaper of  the contemporary setting which it portrays. It successfully highlights the theme of lovers forever even if they may have to move on. (2012)