Yes four releases this week, so let me start with the best......
SING STREET
Directed by John Carney
Screenplay by John Carney
Starring Ferdia Walsh-Peelo; Lucy Boynton; and Jack Reynor
Set in Ireland, Cosmo's (Walsh-Peelo) family is having money trouble. So now he has to go to a "rougher" school. Along the way he meets a beautiful girl (Boynton) and he tries to impress her by starting a band with some of his new classmates.
WOW!!! What a surprise!!!
First this film would make a great Broadway Musical, and it probably will end up being so..
It is a musical. It is a comedy. It is a love story.
What makes it work? The three leads perfectly cast. Three actors I have never seen before in film!!
Walsh-Peelo as Cosmo. He is smart and funny and brave. Yes, he does not have the perfect voice, however that even works. He is a teenager with dreams. His voice is not going to be perfect but that makes the film real. Walsh-Peelo owns this character.
Lucy Boynton as Raphina is a find!! She is beautiful. Smart and funny. She also adds a sensitivity to her role. Just wonderful. Boynton understands that sometimes a look says a lot more than a word. Sometimes young actors try to push and explode in their parts. She lets her character almost smolder.
Jack Reynor as Brendan, Cosmo's brother. I think I love his character the most. He is like a Yoda to his brother. He also has a little remorse or longing for things he did not do, or that he was not brave enough to do. I thought Reynor. was really good.
Screenplay:
It is almost a teenage version of another Irish film, The Commitments.
A sweet love story with humor.
Some pretty good 80's music, and some bad 80's music. Strangely, even the bad music is enjoyable.
There is a story line about being bullied and how to handle it. Also, there is something here about finding your niche in an atmosphere where you feel like you are on the outskirts.
Still all these story lines are under one big umbrella about following your dreams.
This film was a wonderful surprise 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. The best picture I have seen this year!! It is a small film, and I hope it gets a wide release so everybody has a chance to see it in the theater.
CRIMINAL
Directed by Ariel Vromen
Screenplay by Douglas Cook and David Weisberg
Starring Kevin Costner; Gal Gadot; Tommy Lee Jones; and Gary Oldman
Costner plays Jericho. Who is locked away and is a bit insane. He ends up getting the memory of Reynolds to find out where a person is hiding.
Yes you read that right. He has Reynold's characters memories.
Critics are killing this. It is not great but it is not as bad as critics say. They complain about ridiculous plot holes and yes there are some but they also gave good reviews to the last Fast And Furious. Like there was no plot holes there??!!
I had fun watching this and is because of the actors. Look at the list above!! They are all good (Reynolds is barely in it, do not be fooled), including Gal Gadot Wonder Woman herself!!
The Screenplay is shaky. There are holes, but there is one big hole involving a bag which is hidden somehow during a chase. Also, the relationship between Costner's character and Gadot is sort of icky. Yes I used the word icky....no spoilers here. Last complaint....the ending was awful. It left things open and a bit icky. Again I used icky!!
The film is a lot like Reynolds other film Self/less. I found this film better.
It is worth a look at home. I give Criminal 3 out of 5 stars. Mindless fun, leave your brain in the other room. You watch this for action. And it delivers action.
THE BOSS
Directed by Beth Falcone
Screenplay by Beth Falcone; Steve Mallory; and Melissa McCarthy
Starring Melissa McCarthy; Kristen Bell; Peter Dinklage; and Ella Anderson
Melissa McCarthy plays an unlikable business woman who loses everything and now has to find her way back up.
No spoilers here. I just wanted it to be or expected it to be funnier.
I think it is well acted. It just feels messy and sometimes just mean and cruel.
The Film lacks rhythm.
The problem is I cannot put my finger on the problem:
The screenplay is not overly funny.
Peter Dinklage is shockingly funnier than McCarthy. I mean he really is good in this movie. Problem is he is only in the film for 1/4 of it.
Kristen Bell, who is funny in other films, seems strangely out of place here.
The film seems long which is not good for a comedy. For comedies you want them to click like a drum beat and you should always want more.
It is just a bunch of little things. For example: There is a teeth whitening scene that was suppose to be funny. However, in the theater it got no laughs. Not one. I think everybody was just grossed out.
Maybe the problem is with Ben Falcone. Maybe he could not tell his wife, McCarthy, no that is not going to work. Lets pull back.
The Good?
It has a nice message about picking yourself up and rising above the struggles of your youth.
It does have some funny parts, just some.
2 1/2 stars out of 5 for The Boss. I guess for home viewing it is an okay film to sit on the couch and watch....you could do worse.
BARBERSHOP THE NEXT CUT
Directed by Malcom D Lee
Screenplay by Kenya Harris and Tracey Oliver\
Starring Ice Cube and Cedric The Entertainer
We return to Ice's barbershop again as the they deal with guns and other problems on the southside of Chicago.
I have to be honest, I did not have much hope. I really liked the first Barbershop. Hated the second one and hated Beautyshop. I am telling you this film here is really good.
I listed just Cube and Cedric as the stars. Yes there are a lot of stars in this. Common; Eve; and on and on. Still this movie belongs to Cube and Cedric.
Cube is in the center and he is really good here. His character Calvin is trying to make a decision if he wants to move his shop to the north side. The safer side. After three movies he really owns this part. He is Calvin.
This film is one of the funniest film I have seen all year. I laughed out loud often. At the same time the film touches heavily on many social issue discussed in the shop. It also deals with gangs outside the shop. Also dealing with youth avoiding problems on the street. Also the film deals with death of the young dying needlessly on the Southside and in the USA. You would think that this being a comedy that there would be a lot of problems with the tone while it tackles all these issues. Credit goes to the writers Harris and Oliver and director Lee. They even threw in a a montage dance scene to Never Enough (Luther!!!) and that even worked.
Negatives?
Yes. There are some small issues. The plot of free haircut weekend is shaky a little. Whenever they take the plot outside the shop the film seems to slow down to much. The dialog in the shop scenes happens to be so quick and sharp you never want to leave there!! I wish they could have just focused this film inside the shop, you hate it when the camera leaves. Also, they had trouble closing. It seemed like they could not make a decision on how to close this wonderful film. So it seemed like they had too many closings.
Back to the positives!!! 4 out of 5 stars for this honest; heartfelt; and funny film.
From the shadows as always thanks for your time.
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