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.'

Rampart

First Hit: Outstanding acting performance by Woody Harrelson in a non-glorious role and story.

Set in 1999, love the cell phone and antenna, this story is about a renegade cop from the Rampart Division of the LAPD.

This division was going through extremely tough times from internal mismanagement, theft, and public scrutiny of their police practices. Dave Brown (Harrelson) smokes all the time, never eats, drinks too much and numbs himself with drugs.

His family includes two ex-wives Catherine and Barbara (Anne Heche and Cynthia Nixon respectively) and two daughters, one from each. They all live together while Dave lives in a small apartment unattached from the house the others live in. This is his family and he thinks he’s responsible for everyone in this family.

His police department moniker is Date Rape Dave for his hand in killing what was perceived as a date rapist.

The opening scene, where he is speaking with two other cops from Rampart Division at a parking lot food stand, sets up Dave perfectly. He thinks he’s king of the hill, all knowing, in-charge and operating almost as an independent contractor. At one point he is driving in his car and is hit broadside. He gets out of the car, seemingly to find out what is going on and the driver of the other car abruptly opens his door and hits Dave. Then the perpetrator starts running away. Dave catches him and is filmed beating him almost to death.

This makes all the news stations and becomes yet another PR nightmare for LAPD. Dave is smart, won’t retire and doesn’t back down from his departments’ investigative team.

They are after him. It is clear that they can make him part of the Rampart problem and they can make him the focus of other problems as well. His family wants him gone because they cannot stand the public scrutiny and all things are stacking up against him.

There are some shots here in this film I found fascinating, specifically; when Dave and LAPD department heads and Dave’s lawyer all are talking in an office and the camera just goes in a circular clockwise motion from person to person. This was extremely effective in relaying the tenseness of the discussion and the circles we can create in conversations and the way conversations can go round and round.

The scenes, dialogue and references to actual issues of the time created a well focused film.

Dave’s belief that he is the guardian of our time and LA is profound and extremely well done by Harrelson.

Harrelson shows why he is an amazing actor. Look at his resume from "Natural Born Killers" to "Zombieland" to "Friends with Benefits" to "The People vs. Larry Flynt" to "White Men Can’t Jump", he has a wide range and each time the audience knows he is invested in the part. Heche is great as one of Brown’s wives, the one who is more emotional about the relationship. Nixon is good as the other, more centered, wife. Brie Larson as Helen, one of the daughters is very strong is reflecting the life she has. Sigourney Weaver as Joan Confrey and part of the LAPD team investigating Brown is powerful in her role and a great addition to this film. Robin Wright as Linda Fentress is an attorney who tricks Brown into sex and information is great. Ned Beatty as Hartshorn a former police officer is downright great as a puppeteer pulling the strings. James Ellroy and Oren Moverman wrote a very strong script. Moverman really nailed this script and the characterization of this real life character.

Overall:  This film is dark, has little joy, but is relentless in providing a strong and clear picture of a man digging deeper into his own hole.

Sex and the City

First Hit: I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it and I loved one the themes of this film - forgiveness.

Because I haven’t had a television for over 15 years, I’d never seen the HBO television series of the same name. I didn’t know what to expect but I do know not many television series have converted well to the film medium (Think - Brady Bunch).

If the television series was as fun as this film was, then I might have enjoyed watching it the series. Four women, very different from each other yet connected through their femininity, love of the city (New York), and interest in men; share their differing life experiences together. Through all the ups and downs they, no matter what, are there for each other.

The major plot of this film is that Carrie (Played by Sarah Jessica Parker) is going to marry Mr. Big (Played by Chris Noth). Mr. Big, having been married twice before, just wants something simple and Sarah lets the wedding get away from her and it becomes the "talk of the town wedding". He just wants to be reassured that it is “just the two of us”.

The sub-plots are Samantha Jones (Played by Kim Cattrall) is living in LA as a manager for her much younger actor stud boyfriend. His work schedule is keeping him away from being home and giving Samantha what she likes, lots of sex. This is causing Samantha to wonder about her life and her hunky neighbor.

Charlotte York (Played by Kristin Davis) is the more straight and princess-like wife who couldn’t have a child and therefore adopts one. But then she becomes pregnant. She is in a happy marriage and is “happy most of the time” which is different from the other three girls.

Then there is Miranda Hobbes (Played by Cynthia Nixon) a tight lipped lawyer who thrives on her schedule but has a husband who is more open, kind, and flexible. These differences are starting to show and causing breaks their family unit and the scenes with the child in the restaurant and them together making love are especially telling.

With these 4 plots set in place this film unfolds in a clear, fun and thoughtful way.

Michael Patrick King is the film’s director and does a wonderful job of setting up the film for those of us who didn’t know the characters from television and then briskly moves the film along. Even though it is 145 minutes long, I was never bored and felt like each piece fit and brought something to the overall experience. What I liked most about the film is that there was this strong message throughout, which was forgiveness. It was about the forgiveness of friends, spouses, boyfriends, and fiancés.

Overall: Although there were some parts (1 crucial part) that didn’t work for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and the characters.