The Upside

First Hit: Both funny and pointed, the relationship between Dell (Kevin Hart) and Phillip (Bryan Cranston) highlights taking responsibility for where they find themselves and opening up to something new.

Kevin Hart can often overwhelm a film with a frenetic energy that can push the meaning of the film aside. However, director Neil Burger was able to reign in Kevin’s tendencies with a clear vision and focused script.

Here as Dell, newly released from prison, we are introduced to him attempting to get signatures on a form that proves he’s trying to seek employment. Dell makes it clear the jobs that the computer system spits out for him are not fitting while seemingly he seems to forget he’s a felon and if Dell doesn’t seek to prove he’s job hunting, he’ll end up back in jail.

Thinking that he’s applying for a position as a janitor in an extremely high-end apartment building in New York City, he ends up in a room with other hopeful people who are highly trained to be a full-time on-site caretaker of Phillip, a wealthy quadriplegic man.

Yvonne (Nicole Kidman) is Phillip’s executive taking care of all Phillip’s affairs, schedules, and hiring. As qualified people are interviewed, Dell gets impatient and barges in an interview, asking Phillip to sign a form. There is humor in the asking a person with quadriplegia to sign the papers, and as the exchange goes on, the hook is that Phillip senses or feels a challenge with Dell and someone he can trust not to try to resuscitate him if he starts to have trouble breathing. Phillip gives the impression he’s looking for a way out of his life.

Carrying his deep sorrow for his wife who passed because of cancer he blames himself for the choice he made to go paragliding in a storm. His accident caused him to lose function of his arms and legs. The guilt of this accident took away his ability for him to be available to his wife as she went to the stages of dying. Phillip carrying this pain is the burden he lugs through the film.

Dell, on the other hand, wants to be a father to his young boy Anthony (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) who he's rarely seen because of his time in prison. His son’s mother, Latrice (Aja Naomi King), is angry at Dell for not providing and not being there for his son. When Dell met his father in prison, and his father said “welcome home” he realized he had to change his ways, that is his burden through the film.

This story is about these two men, together, learning about how to live and grow from their mistakes while learning about how to unburden themselves from their past decisions.

There were visible signs throughout the film about how Phillip would find love again, and that was disappointing. However, there were amazing and funny moments as they discover what they have in common.

At times, I think the film dragged a bit. However, I don’t know what pieces I’d change.

Hart was elegantly constrained in this role which allowed a fullness of character. His interactions with Latrice were well done. Cranston was brilliant as the quadriplegic multi-millionaire. His ability to carry a level of remorse deeply hidden, and allow its uncovering was terrific. Kidman in a minor role was beautiful. She brought just the right amount of integrity and deep longing. Winston was great as the son who wanted his father to be there for him and was rejected numerous times. King was fantastic as a woman who loved Dell but was waiting for him to show up. Jon Hartmere wrote a sharp and well thought out screenplay. Neil Burger had a strong vision for what he wanted to see, and he was able to achieve a developed heartwarming film.

Overall: This was a very entertaining, funny, thoughtful and enjoyable film.

Divergent

First Hit:  Not very believable, a little long, some good acting, therefore this film is all over the place.

The future looks grim if you think this film has any modicum of truth. If it is, then I’m not interested in being there.

Basically, the story is that one city, Chicago, is surrounded by a very high concrete wall topped by metal fencing that looks more like antennas. Is Chicago the only society left and how do we know? Society is made up of five different types of people. Really! Is it really possible to take 10’s of thousands of people have them predetermined and predisposed to fit into 5 or 6 personality types? No. These personality types are designed to fulfill certain societal roles.

The personality types (I won’t bother using the names they used as these words are as bad as the story) are:  People who govern. People who are brave. People who are peaceful. People who are intelligent. And, people who are truthful. Right, as if one is predisposed to truth, why can’t they be predisposed to also be peaceful? Oh, that’s where Divergents come into play.

The Divergents have no one predisposition. There is a “test” every young person takes which tells them what they are. Then after learning the results of their test, in a public presentation, each chooses a group to associate with. Although everyone can chose another role than the one they are predisposed, they don’t often pick something different.

However, once they chose a role they are stuck with it and cannot go back to their families or anywhere else. When someone fails the test, they are labeled a Divergent because they have no one predisposition and are considered a threat to society. Tris (Shailene Woodley) learns she is a Divergent but chooses to be in the brave group because they seem to have more fun and are active. As a recruit she excels at some things and struggles at others like fighting. She is mentored by Four (Theo James). Her mother Natalie (Ashley Judd) who is a govern (or is she?) tries to support her.

Her best friend is Christina (Zoe Kravitz) and her help each other pass the test to become a full fledge brave person. If one fails to pass their initiation test they become homeless. There is other stuff about a faction wanting to take over control of the government as led by Jeanine (Kate Winslet) as well but all this is part of an unclear story.

Woodley is very good and does her best with the role, but the whole thing is preposterous. James is good and the chemistry between him and Woodley is good. The downside of his acting or the screenplay is that his difference is telegraphed throughout the film. Kravitz was actually one of the best things about the film – I enjoyed the energy she brought to her role. Winslet was lost in this useless role. Judd was OK as Woodley’s mother and hid her secret well. Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor wrote a poorly conceived script from a published book. Neil Burger directed this and given the script and story it was OK.

Overall: This was so poorly strung together that the result was; it was too long and unbelievable.

Limitless

First Hit: The concept is very interesting and the execution was a little uneven.

The opening camera sequence is one long camera moving shot which travels down streets, through cars through signs, walls and finally into a brain where we see a rendition of a brain cell firing.

This opening sequence provides a great foundation as to the speed and vision in which this film is going to move. Eddie Morra (played by Bradley Cooper) is attempting to be a writer, has some great ideas, has an advance, but cannot get anything on to paper.

He’s depressed, looks almost homeless in appearance, and in an opening scene his girlfriend Lindy (played by Abbie Cornish) is dumping him because the relationship is no longer working. He runs into his former drug dealing brother in-law Vernon (played by Johnny Whitworth) who turns him on to a pill. He says this pill will allow him to use 100% of his brain instead of the 10% we normally use.

In a fit of depression and hopelessness he takes the pill. In a matter of 30 minutes he starts being everything he can be. Writes most of his book, cleans his house, and gets his act together. The next day he feels the way he felt before he took the pill so he seeks out Vernon for more pills. Vernon sends him on an errand and when Eddie returns Vernon is dead and his apartment is trashed out because someone was looking for something, the pills.

Eddie figures out where the pills are and takes them. He begins taking them regularly and becomes an innovative investor. He ends up getting the attention of a powerful investor named Carl Van Loon (played by Robert De Niro). 

Van Loon has him assist in creating a takeover deal of a financial rival who, as we discover, is also using the pills but has run out. The pills have a side-effect which includes physical debilitation, reverting to a prior limited way of thinking, and death.

Cooper is very good as Morra. He has the ability to come off as very intelligent as well as grounded at the same time. Cornish has a limited role but is solid as Eddie’s girlfriend. De Niro is pretty good as the high level financier who gives Eddie a chance for success. Leslie Dixon wrote the screen play and although it was overdone at times, it worked in the end. Neil Burger directed this film with some effective shots however, at times it felt a little lost and could have been tightened up.

Overall: Conceptually this was a very good film and in execution it was good but not great.