American

Infinitely Polar Bear

Posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

Ah, the ups and downs of growing up during the pre-divorce Seventies, not only in a single-parent home but also with a bipolar dad. Directed and written by former The Larry Sanders Show writer Maya Forbes, Infinitely Polar Bear is a warm look back on a less than ideal situation.

Imogene Wolodarsky and Ashley Aufderheide as the lucky daughters create a believable chemistry that works really well with the subject matter. Mark Ruffalo’s performance is outstanding even if it probably isn’t one for which he’ll be remembered—his character’s antics are laugh-out-loud funny at times, and he gives his character (Channing) a loveable dorkish quality. I enjoyed Infinitely Polar Bear: it was funny and touching at once—much like an Afterschool Special.

(Landmark Century) B

http://sonyclassics.com/infinitelypolarbear/

The Wolf Pack

Posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

The Wolf Pack is Crystal Moselle’s bizarre account of one family’s reclusive life imposed upon it by its weirdo patriarch in a public housing project on the lower east side of Manhattan. Forbidden to leave the apartment, pretty much everything the Angulo kids “know” comes from movies. The juxtaposition of the Empire State Building outside the small apartment’s window serves as a constant, nagging metaphor for their situation: trapped in a box inside one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world, watching but not participating as life goes on without them.

The Wolk Pack wowed me on many levels. Watching the Angulo pack get through an awkward trek to Coney Island shined a light on each brother’s personality, perhaps to illustrate nature-versus-nurture. The coping mechanisms they adopted, like acting out perfect imitations of Tarantino and Batman movies as an escape, were downright heartbreaking. To see that these kids, mostly boys, came out of this experience as relatively well-adjusted, cool people is fucking amazing.

(Music Box) A-

http://www.thewolfpackfilm.com

Cartel Land

Posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

This one threw me for a loop. I expected an expose on the Mexican cartels, but that was just the backdrop. What Cartel Land is really about is the self-proclaimed “vigilantes” fighting the cartels on both sides of the border: Jose “El Doctor” Mireles, a Mexican shit-town physician running Las Autodefensas, and Tim “Nailer” Foley, a veteran running Arizona Border Recon. Boasting some intense on-the-ground footage, it isn’t quite clear who the bad guys are by the end. Total mindfuck.

(Music Box) B-

http://cartellandmovie.com

Live from New York!

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

A fortieth anniversary retrospective of NBC’s Saturday Night Live! and its rise from DIY skit show to American institution. Objective and analytical in tone, it’s more oral history than nostalgia, broaching unflattering topics like SNL‘s inherent sexism, “anti Golden Age” of the early Eighties, and historical lack of diversity. Insights from Jane Curtin, Garret Morris, Larraine Newman, Julia Louise-Dreyfus, Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Andy Samberg, and many others.

(AMC River East) B

http://www.livefromnewyorkmovie.com

Love and Mercy

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

Easily the saddest story I’ve seen this year, Love and Mercy chronicles the beginning of Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s head trip and his later courtship with his wife, Melinda (Elizabeth Banks). I seriously doubted John Cusack as Wilson—even more because he looks nothing like Paul Dano, who plays young Wilson. My doubts proved wrong, because it works. Paul Giamatti plays a wonderfully evil physician with power of attorney over Wilson. Flashbacks to earlier days are effective and purposeful, unlike Saint Laurent. I have no idea how much was accurate literal history, but it thoroughly engrossed me.

Director Bill Pohlad’s previous films include Brokeback Mountain, 12 Years a Slave, and Wild.

(Landmark Century) A

http://www.loveandmercyfilm.com

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

American Horror Story: Coven director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by Jesse Andrews, who wrote the screenplay. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a simple and underwhelming story, really, with a punchy if morbid title: a self-deprecating goofball teenager named Greg (Thomas Mann) is forced by his mother (Connie Britton) to hang out with prickly classmate Rachel (Olivia Cooke), who is sick with leukemia. Greg’s mother thinks it would be a “nice” thing to do to “make her feel better.”

Rachel is on to Greg, though, and she resents his pity. Nonetheless, the two go through the motions of faking a friendship to get their mothers—Molly Shannon plays Rachel’s mom—off their backs. After Greg introduces his buddy, Earl (R.J. Cyler)—the two of whom make parodies of real films with titles like “Senior Citizen Cane,” “My Dinner with Andre the Giant,” and “Rosemary’s Baby Carrots”—the three develop a friendship. Greg and Earl set out to make a movie for Rachel.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl easily could have gone off the rails and become an insipid little mess, but it doesn’t. It holds together quite well, probably because it’s full of funny (and cringeworthy) moments despite its sad subject matter. Two things make this film exceptional: the acting is superb, and the script nails teenage boy angst with laser precision.

(AMC River East) A-

http://meandearlmovie.com

Spirited Away [Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi] [千と千尋の神隠し]

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA/Japan 2001)

Fandango’s short and sweet synopsis says all you need to know about the plot here: “Lost in a forest, a 10-year-old girl meets animals, ghosts, and weird creatures.” Weird, indeed. A twisted story with some grotesque imagery sure to stay with me forever, like Chihiro’s parents turning into pigs, that bizarre nose and wart on Yubaba, the coal-toting soot things, the stink ghost, and No Face. Charming in the way that only Japanimation is, I enjoyed this one, to a point. It lost me about two thirds in, and reminded me why I am not into epic fantasies or science fiction.

Hayao Miyazaki tells a good story and gives us really strong characters in Spirited Away, but I don’t need to see it again. Ever.

(Gene Siskel Film Center) C+

http://movies.disney.com/spirited-away

I Am Big Bird: the Carroll Spinney Story

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2014)

I Am Big Bird: the Carroll Spinney Story delivered what it promised: the life story of Carroll Spinney, who became an unlikely icon as Big Bird (not to mention Oscar the grouch). We get tidbits about his artsy mother and crabby father; his fascination with puppetry as a child; his chance meeting with Jim Henson; and nearly quitting Sesame Street during its first season because he didn’t fit in with the cast. We get archival footage and a healthy dose of nostalgia without going overboard. We also get new information; I never knew Spinney was supposed to be a passenger on the ill-fated Challenger mission in 1986, or that he has an understudy. It all adds up to a winner.

Despite everything right with this documentary, however, I left wanting more from it. I don’t know what I expected. Maybe more gossip? Dirt? A drug problem or behind-the-scenes sex? Something. I know, this is Sesame Street we’re talking about, so I accept my disappointment in the lack of any sleaze as my issue. Considering its subject matter, though, I Am Big Bird could have been more fun.

(Gene Siskel Film Center) C

http://www.iambigbird.com

Welcome to Me

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2014)

What happens when a middle-aged bipolar lady (Kristen Wiig) on disability wins $89M in the California lottery and buys her own talk show about herself? One would expect hilarity to ensue, but the opposite happens: Alice Klieg makes a bigger, sadder mess out of things. Money really does change everything. Can she repair the damage?

I love Kristen Wiig, but she can go overboard on stupid. That’s what happened here: Welcome to Me is stupid but not all that funny. While the subject matter is darker, the ending is neat and predictable. It tries to make a grand point about mental illness—I suspect—but the effort falls flat. Here’s to the next project.

One big positive: the supporting cast. James Marsden and Wes Bentley as the scheming Ruskin brothers and a surprise appearance by Tim Robbins as Alice’s therapist are nice touches. Joan Cusack as Dawn, the cunty producer annoyed by Alice from the outset, is by far the best character—and probably the best performance here.

According to her bio on IMDB, director Shira Piven is the older sister of actor Jeremy.

(Music Box) C

http://www.welcometomemovie.com

Iris

Video posted on by moviebloke

(USA 2015)

A slice from the life of feisty millionaire fabric lady, NYC socialite, and longtime fashion maven Iris Apfel and her century-old husband, Carl. Crammed with quips and witticisms, observations, and tips on life and fashion, Iris is a much sunnier endeavor than the Maysles’ better-known Grey Gardens. Those bangles, baubles, and beads, oy!

I found Iris the person entertaining and mostly dead-on with her observations about life, but slightly annoying. She shares a birthday with Aaron, Michael Jackson, and John McCain, if that says anything. In any event, she was fun to watch, but Iris ended just before I couldn’t stomach any more.

(AMC River East) C+

http://www.magpictures.com/iris/