New Film Review: Paris Can Wait

PARIS CAN WAIT
Directed by Eleanor Coppola
Screenplay by Eleanor Coppola
Starring Dianne Lane; Arnaud Viard; and Alec Baldwin




I fully understand what Coppola, in her first film in the directors chair, was trying to do here: An older couple doing a little bit of the Linklater Before Sunrise series.
The plot here is Michael (Baldwin) has a French Associate Jacques (Viard) drive is wife Anne (Lane) to Paris. They make many stops on the way as we follow the two travelers.  Well it did not work..
I will start with the positives:
Dianne Lane!! I mean really!!! She looks exactly like she did in Under The Tuscan Sun. How is that possible??!! Coppola knew what she had in her. Every chance of getting a close up...often with out her saying a word...she used. This is not a complaint, this worked. She is such a good actress she says so much with just a look and an expression. You have to love her. That is what Coppola wants...and it worked.
Viard. I have not seen him before. He seems like a good actor. That is all I can say about him. He was there...and he did not suck.


Problems:
-It failed at trying to be Before Sunrise. Where Hawke and Delpy were full of life and had interesting and funny conversations, the two leads here were kind of just boring. and flat. Where Hawke and Delpy had amazing chemistry in Sunrise....enough to make 3 more films, this film... the leads have absolutely has no chemistry. It was not the acting here...because the acting was wonderful. It was the script and just lack of chemistry. Viard's Jacques came across as more of a stalker. A player. Almost gross. While Hawke was fun in Sunrise, Viard is just unsettling. You want Anne to run.
Now Coppola missed this because she clearly left the end open for another film with these two characters in America (Again, like the Sunrise movies revisits). I really do not want to see them both again. I would rather just watch Anne (Lane) in her own film.


2 out of 5 starts for the disappointing Paris Can Wait. Wait for home viewing if you want to see it.


From the shadows as always thanks for your time

New Film Review: The Book Of Henry

THE BOOK OF HENRY
Director Colin Trevorrow
Screenplay by Greg Hurwitz
Starring Naomi Watts; Jacob Tremblay; Jaden Lieberher; and Maddie Ziegler




Well there is a lot happening here:
Naomi Watts as Susan Carpenter, is a mom who is not ready to adult...or does not know how to adult.
Jaden Lieberher is Henry Carpenter, who is ready top adult, but is ill.
Jacob Tremblay is Peter Carpenter....mmmmm I do not know why he is in this.
Maddie Ziegler is Christina. Who is quietly wonderful in this film. She has to act without saying much.


Wrapped around this is a lot of sadness.
A child dying.
A young girl being molested.


Yeaaaa lets go to the movies.


I know I am not being fair...
It does have some good points:
A very good performance by Naomi Watts (often sans-makeup) in a very difficult part.
Jaden Lieberher is spectacular. You really believe he is a kid who is the adult in the family.
And like noted before, Maddie Ziegler adds a lot to this film.


Problems?
This film is all over the place. It just seems like there is too much going on. Also it feels like it is in a make believe world where problems get solved with a snap of the finger. Do not get me wrong, I did like the sweet ending...but getting there was a bit loopy.


Well this is a tear jerker and if you are looking for a good cry this is your film.
2 1/2 stars out of 5 for The Book Of Henry.

New Film Review: Baby Driver

BABY DRIVER
Directed by Edger Wright
Screenplay by Edger Wright
Starring Ansel Elgort; Jon Bernthal; Jon Hamm: Eliza Gonzalez; Lily James; Kevin Spacey; and Jamie Foxx



Well!!!!!!!!!!!
Here we go!!!!
A real summer film has arrived!!


The marketing for this film was way off. They tried to sell it as a Fast And Furious Film...all action.
Well do not be fooled. This is a Steve McQueen heist film. This is a Tarantino bloody and dry humor film. This is a the best romantic film of the year. Thrown all together in a mixing bowl...stirred up and somehow it works. Great script and great direction by Edger Wright makes this all work.


Casting and performances were spot on....
Foxx and Spacey giving their best performances in years.
Newcomer Gonzalez holds her own versus the big time stars.
Hamm who gives his best performance since Mad Men...is just sinister.
However.....lets face it ...this film belongs to the leads Elgort ( who was wonderful in Fault) and James ( who I thought was underrated in Cinderella). They have great chemistry and most of the time are acting one on one with these big stars who I just mentioned. It is a lot to ask of them and they are magnificent.
Music-Then there is music. I mean it can feel like a musical or a music video. The film almost has a beat of its own. The music is fun.


Weakness? Only a few.
-We have Stormtrooper problems which ....if you read my reviews means....bad guys cannot shoot.
-Closing was a bit sloppy or rushed using montage scenes which I hated. I spent an hour and a half with this couple, do not give me an open ending. But I have to admit a PT 2 would be intriguing.


4 1/2 stars out of 5 for this big surprise!! It is just fun!! I want to see it again!


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

New Film Review: Cars 3

CARS 3
Directed by Brian Fee
Screenplay by Keil Murray; Bob Peterson; and Mike Richardson
Voice work by Owen Wilson: Cristela Olonzo; and Chris Cooper



Being a huuuuge PIXAR fan you would think that this review would have come a couple weeks ago.
Well..............if you follow my blog....then you know in my PIXAR post...Cars 1 and Cars 2 are at the bottom of my list of PIXAR films. Sooooo with many other films out there I put Cars 3 on the back burner. Well it is time. I was pleasantly surprised. Lightning McQueen is fighting a new generation of racers. He has to prove, even though he is old school...he is still able to compete.

The Positives:
-This movie is beautiful!!! Every scene is flat out gorgeous. Coming off Finding Dory and The Good Dinosaur....it leaves those two film in the dust. You can just turn the sound off and just watch this beautiful film.
-The plot is strong. New vs old. Remembering who your friends are. Remember where you came from. How to behave in competitions. The funny thing is that one of the focus points is....how old school can be better than modern technology.......aaahhhh....PIXAR took out modern cartoon art lol.
-Voice work is pretty good, highlighted by Chris Cooper and using voice work from the late Paul Newman from the original Cars.

Negatives:
-The plot is good, however the script has some problems:
1- Slow in many place, which may make the younger viewers rammy.
2-The ending...will make adults watching go..REALLY??? Switching places??? Kids will not question that I am sure, but what made PIXAR work the stories were for kids as well as adults.

Well.....pushing negatives aside, I think this is the best of the Cars films...I would give it a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised.

New Releases This Week For Home Viewing

Just two films for me to note for home viewing this week:

POWER RANGERS

Directed by Dean Israelite
Screenplay by John Gatins
Starring Dacre Montgomery; Naomi Scott; RJ Cyler; Ludi Lin; Becky G; and Elizabeth Banks
Voice work by Bryan Cranston and Bill Hader



Power Rangers Return.

This new version of the Power Rangers of 2017 did a lot right....
-They had a really good idea for a script. Kudos to script writer John Gatins, what he did right is take his time with character development. In a film that last a little over two hours we really do not see these teenagers as Power Rangers until there was about thirty minutes left in the film. We get to know these teens, highlighted by RJ Cyler as Billy the Blue Ranger, who steals the film with his nervousness and humor and kindness. I really liked everyone of these kids.
-Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa (Great Name!) is over the top funny and evil. Great casting.

Of course it had problems....
-The last half hour was close to unwatchable. The final battle was silly. It felt like it was made up as it went on. It also felt like there may have been some reshoots, it seemed like there was two endings in the final battle.. They fell into a trap that is the problem with most big superhero films have...relying to heavy on special effects. Also...they do not have police in this town???!! I felt so disappointed after the surprisingly good start, they finished with what looked like a video game.

Before I finish, maybe the best product placement in years in a film featuring Krispy Kreme Donuts.

3 stars out of 5 for the new Power Rangers they could not close....however I would like to see these characters again.





CHIPS

Directed by Dax Shepard
Screenplay by Dax Shepard
Starring Dax Shepard and  Michael Pena




CHIPS follows Jon Baker (Shepard) of the California Highway Patrol as he teams up with Ponch (Pena) who is an undercover FBI agent. The plot does not matter.

This is all bad:
-The comedy is not funny. Is it a comedy? I do not know.
-The plot is all over the place. It was written by Shepard. He tried to throw in too many plot points,  he was all over the place.
-The filming seemed poorly edited, where the film bounced all over. I mean it was a simple film and even I got lost.... why? Why? Why Everything???!!!
-Pena who is one of my favorite actors...is awful here. He is miscast he looks silly when he is on the bike. He has no chemistry with Shepard (even in the press junket with Shepard they seem to not be on the same page).
-How far has Adam Brody fell? Really??!! Fire your agent now!!!

Not good... 1 star out of 5....and that is mainly because of Kristen Bell as Jane...who gave me the few laughs while watching. Save your time on this one.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.