The Secret Life of Pets

First Hit:  Made me think about what our dog might be doing while I was watching this film.  

Pi in hat

There are moments in this film where the animators and voice artists get dogs and cats perfectly right:  Watch the dogs circle to lie down. Other times they were represented as we might want them to be or the way we think they are.

The voice acting in this film is very strong; among them are:  Jenny Slate as Gidget. Louis C.K. as Max. Lake Bell as Chloe. Albert Brooks as Tiberius and the fully engaging Kevin Hart as Snowball the bunny.

Pi Smile Carpet edit

The overall story is that Max and Duke get lost and their friends come to help them find their way home. The animation was very strong and did an excellent job of catching their behaviors. Listening to the children in the theater react to this animated film was the signal telling me the writers and directors were spot on. They captured the young demographic perfectly.

The film did feel a little long and I would have cut the entire sequence in the sausage factory, thought it was unnecessary and didn't move the real story along.

Slate, C. K., Bell, Brooks and Hart’s voices were fully engaging and wonderful. Cino Paul and Ken Daurio wrote a very strong and fun screenplay. Yarrow Cheney and Chris Renaud did a great job of directing this animated feature and getting the most out of the voice actors.

Overall:  This film was fun and I left the theater happy.

Trumbo

First Hit:  Although I didn’t like the main character much, this was an excellent well executed film.

This is one of a few new films that reach back into the 1950’s and the cold war with Russia. All of them, including this one, are very good.

This movie is about how Congress, more specifically a few Republican members, decided to railroad anyone in Hollywood that was connected with the Communist party. The fear based thought of these politico was a reminder of some of the fear based thought we have today in the Republican candidates.

The film doesn’t focus on Communism or anything other than people sticking up for their beliefs under the rules set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights in the United States. This is the heart of the story and how a group of writers, led by Trumbo (Bryan Cranston), were blacklisted from writing Hollywood scripts and therefore making a living because they were Communists.

Famous Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) was a major source for identifying Hollywood folks who had communist leanings. When actors and sympathizers like Edward G. Robinson (Michael Stuhlbarg) couldn’t find work, they named names as well.

Led by John (Duke) Wayne (Davis James Elliot), a group of Hollywood stars jumped on the Congressional band wagon and supported rooting out and keeping Communists from getting work. Trumbo’s family suffered and did everything he could to keep his family with a roof over their head.

He also helped his writer comrades as well. But of course it was hard and it hurt his relationships with his wife Cleo (Diane Lane), family, and especially his admiring daughter Niki (Madison Wolfe and Elle Fanning). On his side was B level film producer Frank King (John Goodman) and fellow writer Arlen Hird (Louis C.K.).

Bryan Cranston was very good. He embraced this character fully and made it work very well. Mirren was fantastic as Hopper – very believable. Davis James Elliot was very good as John Wayne. He embraced the man I ran into once in Newport Center coming out of a bookstore. Stuhlbarg was fair as Robinson however, my history of watching the real Edward G. on film this performance didn’t quite match up. Lane as Trumbo’s wife was perfect: Strong, intelligent and also devoted with perseverance. Both Wolfe and Fanning were great as daughter Niki. Extra kudos to Fanning as she showed once again how to command the screen and scene when needed. Goodman was very good as B film producer King. C.K. was very strong as blacklisted writer Hird. John McNamara wrote a very strong script. Jay Roach did a great job of piecing together real historical footage and filmed footage.

Overall:  This was a valuable story and came through the lens elegantly.

American Hustle

First Hit:  From the opening moment the audience knows it is going for a real ride.

This film opens with an overweight balding Christian Bale (playing Irving Rosenfeld) fixing his hair with a comb-over that beats all comb-overs. He is meticulous in every detail of his hair, style, and the scams he pulls on everyone to make his living.

His business partner is Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) who is nothing short of a miracle on the screen. She’s smart, fire, and looking out for number 1. However, Irving is married to Rosalyn Rosenfeld (Jennifer Lawrence) who is a stay at home mom, controlling, sassy and a lush. Irving and Sydney get caught on one of their scams and the agent who busted them, Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), wants to leverage their conning abilities to catch bigger fish – mainly Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner).

Richie’s boss Stoddard Thorsen (Louis C.K.) doesn’t want to follow Richie’s outlandish plan to catch political crooks but gets outranked in his decisions. Some of these scenes of their disagreement are outstanding. Watching Bale, Lawrence, Adams and Cooper work together is amazing as each defines their character so clearly and fully that the story just jumps off the screen creating full engagement.

I love this type of film where the story is outrageous (loosely based on the real life Abscam scandal) and the acting is spot on dynamic and engaging.

Bale is sublime, he carries the character through the film with flowing subtle changes. Adams is divine. She is sexy, vulnerable, smart, bold and focused. Her character is so much fun to watch. Lawrence is absolutely amazing. She shows a great depth to transform herself through use of language and facial expressions that keep you focused on her when she is in the frame. Cooper is so much fun. He’s wild, bold, lacks subtlety yet he’s the one that moves the story along – amazing. Renner is transformed as Mayor Polito and as he always does, turns in a sterling performance. In a very small, yet pivotal role, Robert De Niro as mob boss Victor Tellegio is powerful. David O. Russell and Eric Singer wrote an amazing script which also reflected the 1970’s and the mood of the times. Russell did an amazing job of putting together the look and feel of this story. It was like he was leading a major orchestra and everyone was in perfect tune.

Overall:  A full time fun film based in excellent acting.