Labor Day

First Hit:  What was disappointing about this film was that it didn’t seem realistic.

Why would someone who’s hiding from the law, be so openly visible through the front windows and in the backyard? He was supposed to be hiding.

This is what I kept thinking while the story on the screen unfolded. Did I like the basis of the story? Yes, but it was this poor direction about the story that made it not work. We had great actors working with a reasonably good script/story and ignore the reason behind the story - one of the main characters was hiding out. An emotional and feeling based story, such as this, must also be logical in its execution.

Adele (Kate Winslet) is a depressed mother of a young pre-teen boy who, as we learned, is depressed because of 4 miscarriages and a stillborn child she had. These events put her into a tailspin from which she couldn’t escape. Her then husband wasn't strong enough to help her so he left. Her son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith), tries to be everything to his mom, her only friend, her housemate, and the man to do the chores around the house to help her survive.

In an infrequent outing to a store, Henry gets corralled by Frank (Josh Brolin) who is an escaped criminal. Frank talks Henry and Adele into letting him stay there a few hours which turns into a weekend. What we learn is that Frank, despite his physical presence of strength, is thoughtful, kind, wants to be helpful, is smart and cares.

His background story is told in flashbacks, that aren't very well scripted or put together - but the audience does figure it out. His strength of character comes through as he becomes a strong male role model for Henry by showing him how to hit a baseball (yes, they’re all openly in the backyard though he’s supposed to be hiding out). He cleans the house and fixes things a "man" might around the house. His coup-de-grace is that he shows Adele and Henry how to make a pie (this is a turning point scene).

However, despite engaged actors, the scenes weren’t congruent with the story – someone hiding out trying to escape being captured.

Winslet clearly knew how to take this role and deliver it. Griffith is really engaging as Henry and he did a good job of being both protective and open to change. Brolin was commanding of the screen when he was in it. Almost too commanding. Jason Reitman wrote and directed this film from Joyce Maynard’s novel. Felt that the screenplay was more effective than the direction which seemed too loose with the hideout theme.

Overall:  Just didn’t hit the mark.

That Awkward Moment

First Hit:  There were some very funny moments in guy oriented film about relationships.

Three friends since college come together again because Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) finds out his wife is having an affair with her divorce attorney.

The other two Jason (Zac Efron) and Daniel (Miles Teller) work together at a book cover company. In order to help Mikey, the three make a deal to go out to bars, meet women, and make no commitment to a relationship - just have fun and get laid. Jason and Daniel have common theme with women – when a woman says “so, where is this relationship…”, these guys leave the women and the possibility of a relationship behind.

Mikey is still in love with his wife Vera (Jessica Lewis) and instead of enjoying the nights out with the boys, he pines for her. Daniel, on the other hand, uses his friend Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis) to get himself introduced to women in bars and have sex with them. However, when they say "so...", he hightails it out of there. 

This is the same story with Jason, who seems to be headstrong about not getting into a relationship, but when he meets Ellie (Imogen Poots) his world begins to be rocked. The scenes of the guys hanging out together, joking with each other, and talking about life gives insight to guys afraid of commitment and to a younger (than me) generation.

A few of the bits are out-loud funny but mostly for a guys kind of humor. For me, one of the funnier scenes was when Jason showed up to a party at Ellie's house totally dressed in the wrong kind of outfit. His vulnerability and ability to deal with his mistake was well acted and very funny.

Efron is cute in his own sort of way and appears to have a good handle on the role. Teller is equally strong in his role and has the total feel of being a jokester. Jordan is a great straight man for the other two while staying clear about his role. Poots is very engaging and it is easy to care about her character. Davis is really good as a part-time free spirit and in giving hints at her longing to be close with Daniel. She was one of the most engaging people in this film. Tom Gormican both wrote and directed this guy oriented film with the women getting what they want in the end.

Overall: I enjoyed this film and although it wasn’t great – it was fun to watch.

The Invisible Woman

First Hit:  This film had possibilities but really failed to deliver feeling.

This is a film about a famous writer (Charles Dickens) who meets a younger woman and keeps her as a secret girlfriend. So what is the interesting about this story - not a lot. Therefore it would have to be the acting of this story to make it compelling to watch. 

From that end Ralph Fiennes (Dickens), Nelly, the younger woman, (Felicity Jones) and her mother Francis Ternan (Kristin Scott Thomas) did a good job of making the story interesting. However, by the next day it was gone, the thoughts, feelings and the story.

Even though there were strong attempts to share a story about breaking free from the norms of that society, there just wasn’t enough there to make this film unique or stimulating or even thought-provoking.

Fiennes was strong enough to be a good Dickens. Jones was the most interesting character. Her intelligence and clarity of action was very good. Scott Thomas was good as well. Abi Morgan wrote an adequate screen play about a mostly conventional subject matter. Fiennes had a good hand on the tiller of this story, but it was the story itself that lacked punch.

Overall:  This was a many told story that lacked something unique.

Her

First Hit:  Very strong acting with a novel, yet thoughtful concept.

Can we fall in love with a voice that is the result of an artificially intelligent computer OS? This is the obvious question the film plays out, but it also is about learning, growing, being in the now and about the space between our thoughts.

The later part of this statement is mostly based on Samantha’s (computer OS voice by Scarlett Johansson) experience as she learns that there is more space and time between her interactions with humans than when she is interacting with them. She discovers there is more growth available to her in this space.

A computer’s experience and ability to learn (in this film) is far faster and probably greater than a human’s ability to do the same. Joaquin Phoenix (playing Theodore) is heartbroken about his collapsed marriage. Part of the self-acknowledged issue is that he shut himself off from his wife Catherine (Rooney Mara) and therefore hid himself.

Theodore is sensitive and this sensitivity allows him to be a star letter writer for an online company that writes letters from people to other people. He purchases a new OS whom introduces itself to him and asks what kind of voice he wants for the OS. He picks a woman’s voice.

The voice names herself Samantha, and he begins to be seduced by her abilities to take care of his tasks – his life tasks. This is both Theodore’s strength and weakness with Samantha. He loves that she is on top of his life but also he becomes dependent on her for conversational companionship. It is also made easy because there is no real person in front of him. As he falls in love with Samantha, it is clear that this is not going to have a wonderful ending, because she is not human – and is not bound by human feelings, emotions, and the limits of a body.

The scenes where he’s opening up to Samantha were truly beautiful. The scene where Samantha sends a physical surrogate to be with Theodore shows the complete awkwardness of this whole situation. The ending with Theodore and neighbor Amy (Amy Adams) who has somewhat the same experience with her OS is perfect.

Phoenix is extremely strong as Theodore a man looking for a way to find a safe connection with another human being. His ability to slip from the outside world to the inside world of sharing with Samantha is great. Mara, in a very limited role, is sublime. The divorce lunch conversation she has with Theodore was amazing. Her touching expressions were perfect and heartfelt. Adams is great as the computer game nerd who is also looking for a greater connection with her partner. Johansson’s voice is dead on perfect – so seductive, warm and expressive. Spike Jonze both wrote and directed this risky thought provoking film is a great concept and well done.

Overall:  This film is very interesting by providing a glimpse of what could be a question we have to address in the not so distant future:  Can we have a relationship with a computer OS?

Blue Is the Warmest Color

First Hit:  A deep dive into a woman discovering herself through her sexuality.

The opening classroom scene has the instructor talking about a book and its author who’s written about the moment people see each other, having no verbal communication, and the sense or feeling between the two people.

Adele (Adele Exarchopoulos) doesn’t like over explanation of books she’s reading. While walking to meet a boy she's been pressured into meeting, she sees Emma (Lea Seydoux) for the first time and the previous classroom discussion is not lost on her or the audience. The interchange with him, after a couple of meetings, leaves her very dissatisfied physically and emotionally.

One day she is kissed by one of her girl school friends and she experiences feelings she’s not had before. The questions are in constant battle within her and Adele shows all these feelings subtly and obviously with her facial expressions, body movements and tears. She finally meets up with Emma and begins to explore her emotions, feelings and sexuality.

The sexuality is both graphically and beautifully shared on the screen and it must have been difficult to share that much intimacy with a stranger on film. Outside of the sexuality, the film is a study on the evolution of a young woman towards her self-discovery. The parts that didn’t work for me was the passage of time, I don’t think it was done well because I had to figure out how much time had gone by with each major scene change. Sometimes it was weeks, other times it was months and then years. 

There were a couple of scenes where I wondered what happened to Adele’s parents, did they now know she was a lesbian?

Exarchopoulos was amazingly transparent and open in this role. Having a camera so close to her throughout this film must have been difficult. She was extraordinary. Seydoux was a great in her role as foil and lover. She was sure and strong in expressing what she wanted while providing glimpse of soft vulnerability. Abdellatif Kechiche and Ghalia Lacroix wrote a great screenplay and Kechiche directed the actors, scenes and situations with sublime exquisiteness.

Overall:  Although long, this film was an amazing study of discovery.