The Only Living Boy in New York

First Hit:  I liked the idea of the story more than the pithy clichés and lines that filled up the screen.

Thomas Webb (Callum Turner) is a mid-twenty-year-old man who is living on the lower east side of New York City. His parents live on the upper east side and are wealthy as his dad Ethen (Pierce Bronson) owns a publishing house.

He meets W. F. Gerald (Jeff Bridges), a rumpled mess of a man, as he walks into his building one day. W. F. tells him he has moved into Apt 2B. He seems very personable in wanting to know more about Thomas. Thomas succumbs to his inquiries and begins to tell W.F. his story.

Thomas is in love with Mimi (Kiersey Clemons) after one magical night they had together under the influence of molly and alcohol. But she only wants to be friends. He’d like to be a writer but when he showed his dad some of his writings, he said they were “serviceable.”

One day he sees his dad having an intimate lunch with an unknown woman named Johanna (Kate Beckinsale). He’s hurt and is afraid to tell his mom Judith (Cynthia Nixon) because she’s so mentally fragile. At a loss of what to do, he follows Johanna and confronts her.

However, he ends up having an affair with her and falls in love with her.

Sound twisted? Yes, because this is used to crack open the real story of the film, which isn’t about his love for Mimi and Johanna but how he came to exist.

Turner was adequate in this role but we never see him suffer, grow, or even write which he says is his passion. He almost played victim throughout the film. Bridges was good as the writer who held the secret and was writing a story about “The Only Living Boy in New York”. Clemons was good at the beginning but I thought her character to be not honest. She shunned Thomas because of his affair with Johanna when she had an affair with Thomas when she was with another person. Beckinsale was interesting as the desired woman. It was only till the end did I think she cared about something. Bronson was OK but his moments were few and far between. Nixon was OK as the fragile mother. Still didn’t think the story warranted such fragile behavior. Allan Loeb wrote a weak script that was poorly conceived to tell this story. Marc Webb had some nice sets to work within. I thought the lower east side apartments that both W.  F. and Thomas lived in were perfect. The other inside sets were equally good as well. However, this plot needed a reworking before being committed to filmed.

Overall:  This was a long and ineffective way to tell the real story of Thomas, 'The Only Living Boy in New York.'

Collateral Beauty

First Hit:  Wonderful concept, wonderful cast, mediocre execution.

The idea that someone could talk with Love, Time and Death is interesting. Having a cast with Will Smith (as Howard), Edward Norton (as Whit), Kate Winslet (as Claire), Michael Pena (as Simon), Helen Mirren (as Brigitte and Death), Keira Knightly (as Amy and Love), Jacob Latimore (as Raffi and Time), and Naomie Harris (as Madeleine) all in one film is amazing. However, there was something about the script and way it was directed that had this film fall short of its potential.

The title “Collateral Beauty” was also at fault in some ways. Normally when we hear the word “collateral” we hear it with the word “damage”. This term is used in the movie as a lesson or mantra that Madeleine hears after the loss of her child. When she was in the hospital, just prior to her daughter’s death, an old woman sitting next to her outside her dying child’s room said, do not be so taken by grief that you forget to see the collateral beauty. The movie does nothing to really show what this means.

The focus of the film is that Howard, who is a brilliant advertising creative executive, loses his young 6-year old daughter to a disease. The company he’s built with Whit, Claire and Simon begins to suffer and is now losing clients because of his disengagement with work. He spends his days building domino trails then knocking them down, or riding his bike at night through the streets of New York City. To save their company and investments Whit, Claire and Simon arrange to have Amy, Raffi and Brigitte pretend to be Love, Time and Death respectively in hopes of communicating with Howard to bring him out of his deep sorrow.

Although this is done with some seriousness, the constructs and building of the story is weak. When the words and concept of "Collateral Beauty" are passed from Madeleine to Howard, the failure to engage the audience and Howard are palpable. It is at this point I realized that this film, regardless of how it finishes, would be lack luster.

Smith was OK as the once engaging advertising company creator, leader and grieving father. Norton was slightly better as Howard’s business partner. Winslet was fine as the morally caring business partner. Pena was very good as the ill business executive who cares about his family. Knightly was good as Love. Mirren was very good as Death, her style brought strength to the film. Latimore was strong as Time. Harris was very strong as the grieving mother. Allan Loeb wrote a weak screenplay in that the characters lacked depth and the story never grew. Direction by David Frankel was weak in that he never saw the failings of the story to find ways to make it have more depth. The film never really shared the beauty of a child’s depth which, in this case, was supposed to be collateral.

Overall:  Although somewhat engaging at the beginning, it fails to fulfill any beauty collateral or not.

Rock of Ages

Initial Hit:  This is a fun and engaging film if you like the music.

This film is about two things: 1980's rock music and Tom Cruise. As Stacee Jaxx, Cruise personifies the 1980s rock star: Full of drink, sex, rock and roll and himself while being totally enjoyable.

The story is about a Sherrie (played by Julianne Hough) who is from the Midwest and comes to Hollywood to make her fame and fortune as a singer (think of the song “Oh Sherrie” by Journey). Hitting LA she gets robbed, meets Drew (played by Diego Boneta) who gets her a job in a famous rock bar as a waitress.

The bar, owned by Dennis and Lonny (played by Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand respectively), is going bankrupt and needs help. Jaxx’s famous band “Arsenal”, who had gotten their start at the bar, agrees to play there for free to help them out.

You've got to love the line by Jaxx’s manager Paul (played by Paul Giamatti), when asked how he got the famously late Stacee to show up to the gig on time; "I told Stacee that the gig was last night".

The music is the star of this film and Cruise’s enactment of a totally self-obsessed 1980’s rocker is dead on.

Cruise is perfect is his posturing, nonsensical thoughts, and having a sidekick named “Hey Man”. Hough is very good as the Sherrie. Boneta is strong as the young man who loves Sherrie and wants to be a rock singer but has to bend to current boy band musical tastes. Baldwin was good as the club owner. Brand was OK as Baldwin’s side-kick. However I didn’t understand why the relationship was portrayed the way it was. I couldn’t figure out what it added to the film. Giamatti was excellent as the sleazy manager. Justin Theroux, Chris D’Arienzo and Allan Loeb wrote a very good script. Adam Shankman directed this with zeal and fun.

Overall: If you enjoy 80’s rock, this film is a must see.

Just Go With It

First Hit: Very funny at times, but wallowed at times in poor humor and a mediocre storyline.

I like Adam Sandler (as Danny) much of the time, but the humor in this story at times was unnecessary.

Example: Michael (played by Griffin Gluck), who is plays Aniston's son, takes a crap and does this on Danny's brother Eddie’s (played by Nick Swardson) arm as he sleeps in the bathtub while his arm is draped into the toilet. Why was this scene necessary? It wasn’t.

There are a number of scenes like this. I also thought the opening wedding scene where Danny hears that his wife has been sleeping with other men and that Danny and his sister are ridiculed by having overly prominent noses as the unnecessary setup for Danny to become a plastic surgeon and never let himself get close to a woman.

However as we witness the seamless relationship between Danny and his surgical assistant Katherine (played by Jennifer Aniston) we see some good, funny and interesting acting going on. The basis of the story is that Danny wears a wedding ring to obtain sympathy from women and has intimate temporary relationships with them.

He meets Palmer (played by Brooklyn Decker) and falls in love with her. However she thinks he’s married so Danny tells her he’s getting a divorce. Katherine plays his wife to collaborate his story but it becomes convoluted from there. Additionally, while in Hawaii Katherine runs into her college nemesis Devlin (played by Nicole Kidman).

Some of the scenes with Katherine and Devlin are well done and funny. In the end we all know what’s going to happen.

Sandler is OK, nothing great and generally is playing the same character he always does, semi sensitive and always wisecracking. Aniston is the one of the prizes of this film. She is so easy to believe in her character it just doesn’t look like acting. Gluck played a ridiculous character and he did it poorly. Decker is OK as the young beautiful woman. Kidman is funny in this role and she actually has more facial expressions here than she has shown in the past 3 films - think about her plastic surgery. Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling wrote the up and down screenplay. Dennis Dugan directed all the scenes good and bad, but overall just an OK movie.

Overall: This is a film that is worth watching on DVD.

The Dilemma

First Hit: Although not a great film, I found it amusing and enjoyable to watch.

With Vince Vaughn in a film, you know you are going to get fast talking, sarcasm, and an attempt to make a serious point. In this film the point is, does Ronnie Valentine (played by Vaughn) tell his best friend, Nick Brannen (played by Kevin James) that his wife Geneva (played by Winona Ryder) is having an affair.

Ronnie is living with Beth (played by Jennifer Connelly) who is the films straight character is a chef and is happy living with Ronnie. Nick and Geneva are pushing for Ronnie and Beth to get married saying it is the best thing to do, however when Ronnie discovers that Geneva is having an affair his is at a loss as to what to do. He doesn’t know if he should tell his friend and ends up confronting Geneva and her lover Zip (played by Channing Tatum).

This leads to lots of odd behavior which gives Vaughn a character to act out and non-stop dialogue. Because Ronnie and Nick are partners in a business and their business is at the precipice of making it big, the pressure is on.

Does Ronnie tell his friend of his wife’s affair and risk losing the biggest business deal of their lives?

Vaughn is the same character in every movie he makes, so there is little that is new and yet he does have the capacity to make it watchable. James is also type cast in the same sort of role of funny but insecure guy. It was great to see Ryder again in a primary role. She had the best scene and best performance in a scene when she and Vaughn were in a café and she told him how she was going to lie about her affair. She did what Meg Ryan did for faking an orgasm in “Harry Loves Sally” by acting how she was a victim of a horrible lie by her husband’s best friend. Connelly has a minor role and she was the sane and conscious one in the group. I found myself wanting her to be more involved in the film. Allan Loeb wrote the script and I’m sure Vaughn ad libbed sections of it. Ron Howard directed these actors well and was able to make Vaughn watchable and enjoyable.

Overall: This isn’t a great film but it is fun enough to watch without wondering where it is going or how it is going to end.