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Car Dogs – Trailer

February 6, 2017 (updated February 6, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

CAR DOGS

Release: March 24, 2016

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Director: Adam Collis

Writer: Mark Edward King

Cast: Patrick J. Adams, George Lopez, Josh Hopkins, Cory Hardrict, Dash Mihok, with Nia Vardalos, and Chris Mulkey

Producers: Adam Robinson, Stefanie Epstein, Mark Edward King, James Mather Miller, F. Miguel Valenti, Adam Collis

Run Time: 100 Minutes

Rating: R “language throughout, including some sexual references”.

SYNOPSIS

With everything to gain, and even more to lose, Mark Chamberlain (Patrick J. Adams) and his brazen sales team have just eight hours to sell more cars than have ever been sold in a single day. As the clock ticks down, their outrageous tactics step up, with each salesperson ready to do whatever it takes to be top “car dog”. But for Mark, the stakes are much more than a paycheck. Leading the pack is sales vet, Christian Caldera (George Lopez). He’s slick, fast talking, and conniving; able to get customers to both open their wallets and part with their better judgement. Hot on his heels is Sharon Stavron (Nia Vardalos). She’s smart and savvy, outmaneuvering the competition with her wit and charm. Sales vet, Scott Williams (Dash Mihok), has a baby on the way that’s keeping him from doing his job. Mark’s best friend, Boyd Robertson (Cory Hardrict), wants the best for Mark but also for the team. And Tyler Bedloe (Joe Massingill) is the rookie of the team, trying to compensate with enthusiasm for his lack of experience – though that may not be enough to get him through the good natured hazing that is the rite of passage for all “newbies”. Undermining the team’s efforts is Mike Reynolds (Josh Hopkins), Mark’s underhanded and manipulative rival who has an agenda all his own. As victory comes within reach, Mark is pushed further to the edge by his ruthless and manipulative boss, Malcolm Chamberlain (Chris Mulkey), who also happens to be his father. Mark is forced to come face to face with his own reality. Is he his father? Or is he a man who can stand on his own two feet? And in one incredibly tense and life changing moment, he must decide if he can save his team, retain his self-respect, and still come out ahead of his old man.

*This was filmed in Phoenix and several talented people in the area were fortunate enough to be involved.

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In Theaters March 24th

http://www.fandango.com

CAR DOGS Official Channels

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/CarDogs

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CarDogsTheFilm

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/cardogsthemovie/

HASHTAG: #CarDogs

Rings

February 3, 2017 Published by JMcNaughton

What started as a Japanese horror movie has become a franchise in the United States. First as “Ringu”, then the American remake, “The Ring”, with a sequel called “Ring 2”. They all feature he storyline of a person who watches a bizarre short movie clip, and then gets a phone call where they get the message ‘seven days’. For a week, that person who has seen the movie is haunted by creepy images until the last day, when the ghoul named Samara comes to get them…UNLESS you can get somebody else to watch a copy of your video, and the Ring cycle continues.

In this muddy story line, Julia (Matilda Lutz) sees her boyfriend Holt (Alex Roe) go off to college. There he takes a class with Professor Gabriel Brown (Johnny Galecki). Gabriel has an ongoing secret of seeing the Ring movie years ago. He has spent several years developing a little campus club of people who see the movie and then need to find someone else to take their place. Holt is talked into the cycle, and Julia visits the campus to find out what is going on. She meets Skye (Aimee Teegarden) but Skye needs somebody new to watch the video, because Samara is coming for her today.

It all goes wrong for Skye, but Julia thinks she can help Holt by watching his copy, thus taking the curse off of him. Holt and Gabriel find out that the video copy that Julia has seen is different. It has video embedded in the shorter video. So, is that “Ring-ception”? Anyway they chase down clues about where the body of Samara might be kept. It leads them to a small rural town call Sanctuary City.

They hunt all around and find out about mysterious things that happen 30 years ago. A young girl disappeared, there was a huge flood, and the priest in the main church gave up the building and now it is very rundown. There are strange visions that Julia has, and she meets an old caretaker for the graveyard. Burke (Vincent D’Onofrio) is now blind, but he has a very deep knowledge of what happened many years ago. Maybe he knows a little too much…

This franchise is starting to run on fumes at this point. The story is a head-scratcher, the dialog is laughable, and the character’s actions become idiotic. No Julia! You don’t have to open that locked door at the end of the hallway! No Julia! You don’t have to crawl into the tiny crypt at the graveyard! No Julia! You don’t have to watch that video that everyone has told you not to watch!

It was hard to get excited for any portrayal or role in this movie. All the actors seemed to the best they could with the odd dialog and the unbelievable plot actions. But I’m sure that Vincent D’Onofrio cried all the way to the bank to cash his check from being in this movie. Unfortunately, the ending screamed out loud: “Hey, we really want to do more sequels like this one!”

But in this case, perhaps it is best that the “Ring” is finally broken…

The Space Between Us

February 3, 2017 Published by JMcNaughton

The movie “The Space Between Us” seems to be on odd mash-up. It is about a boy who grew up on Mars, and gets a chance to visit Earth and fall in love. It takes parts from a science fiction movie, a young-adult romance, a story of person with a severe medical condition who wants to hit his bucket list, a cross-country journey film genre and puts it all together. Kind of a cross between “The Martian” and “The Fault in out Stars”, maybe call it: “The Fault in our Mars”…

Nathaniel Shepherd (Gary Oldman) is a billionaire who personally sponsors the NASA space program to live on Mars. The flight crew gets there, and on the way Astronaut Elliot discovers she is pregnant. She gives birth on Mars and promptly dies. Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield) is her son whose very existence is kept a total secret. But when he is 16, he finds a way to contact a high-school age girl named Tulsa (Britt Robertson). She has been in a series of unhappy foster homes, but she is resourceful and finds a way to have chat sessions with Gardner.

Kendra Wyndham (Carla Gugino) is a fellow Astronaut on Mars, Gardner ‘s mehtor and mother figure. But she knows that Gardner needs to get away. NASA Director Tom Chen (B. D. Wong) decides to bring Gardner and Kendra back to Earth. Gardner must undergo some physical training and special medical treatment to reinforce his undersized bones. Living with Mars gravity is tough, when you leave and go to Earth. He explains to Tulsa that he will go on a trip and vows to here that they will meet up soon.

Once on Earth, Gardner finds a way to conveniently escape the NASA medical facility and work his way to meet Tulsa. She is upset that he did not communicate for the past few months, but he says he was on a long trip. Nathaniel, Tom Chen and Kendra go after Gardner, with the help of the authorities. Tulsa sees that Gardner could be in trouble. She uses her near-criminal skills to keep ahead of the group chasing them. Gardner really wants to find his father, and he has a couple of clues.

They ‘borrow’ a biplane, a BMW and a truck to get far away. They travel to New Mexico, the Grand Canyon (lovely), Sedona (beautiful), and they finally end up at a beach house on the California coast. Gardner is expecting to find his dad, but he finds out something different. Tulsa has a solidly cynical view of the world, yet she starts to believe that there is something unusual about Gardner. The time that they spend together makes both of them happy. Yet, the past is not far behind, and the group finally discovers where Gardner and Tulsa are located.

So to break this movie down, I think it came about by somebody listing to the lyrics of Elton John’s song “Rocket Man”:

Mars ain’t the kind of place

To raise your kids

In fact, it’s cold as hell

And there’s no one there to raise them

If you did

And from that, this movie was born. Perhaps not on Mars, but the lyrics might explain it a bit more. So this movie was right for the intended audience: teenage girls. The acting was just OK, but Britt Robertson does a more convincing role. Asa Butterfield is very tall and lean and lanky, so he might have been born on Mars. The script was ham-fisted at times, and made some very clunky character transitions.

So if you want real sci-fi adventure, look elsewhere. If you want an honest young adult style romance, look elsewhere. If you want a somewhat jammed together version of both, “The Space Between Us” is your launching pad…

Marvel begins production on “Black Panther”

January 27, 2017 Published by Shari K. Green

MARVEL STUDIOS BEGINS PRODUCTION ON

“BLACK PANTHER”

Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis Star in the Newest Chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Studios announced that production has begun on “Black Panther,” starring Chadwick Boseman (“Captain America: Civil War,” “Get on Up”), Michael B. Jordan (“Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”), Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong’o (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “12 Years a Slave”), Danai Gurira (“The Walking Dead,” upcoming “All Eyez on Me”), Martin Freeman (“Hobbit” trilogy, “Sherlock”), Daniel Kaluuya (upcoming “Get Out,” “Sicario”), with Academy Award® nominee Angela Bassett (“American Horror Story,” “London Has Fallen”), with Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Lee Daniels’ “The Butler”), and Andy Serkis (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”).

Additional cast members include Letitia Wright (“Urban Hymn,” “Glasgow Girls”), Winston Duke (“Person of Interest, “Modern Family”), Florence Kasumba (“Captain America: Civil War,” “Emerald City”), Sterling K. Brown (“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”) and John Kani (“Captain America: Civil War,” “Coriolanus”).

Ryan Coogler (“Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”) directs Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” from a screenplay he co-wrote with Joe Robert Cole (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”). The film, which opens in U.S. theaters on February 16, 2018, will be shot in Atlanta and South Korea.

“Black Panther” follows T’Challa who, after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T’Challa’s mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk.

Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” is produced by Kevin Feige with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nate Moore, Jeffrey Chernov and Stan Lee serving as executive producers.

Coogler’s creative brain trust includes his frequent collaborators: director of photography Rachel Morrison, A.S.C. (“Dope,” “Fruitvale Station”), production designer Hannah Beachler (“Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”), editors Claudia Castello (“Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”) and Michael P. Shawver (“Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”); along with costume designer Ruth E. Carter (“Selma,” Lee Daniels’ “The Butler”), visuals effects supervisor Geoffrey Baumann (“Doctor Strange,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Academy Award®- winning makeup designer Joel Harlow (“Star Trek Beyond,” “Black Mass”) and seven-time Academy Award® nominee, special effects supervisor Dan Sudick (“Captain America: Civil War,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”).

Based on the Marvel comic character that first appeared in “Fantastic Four Vol. 1” Issue 52, published in 1966, “Black Panther”joins Marvel Studios’ slate of releases in its Phase 3 commitment to introduce film audiences to new heroes and continue the adventures of fan favorites over the course of four years and nine films.

Marvel Studios’ other epic big-screen adventures include Marvel’s “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Iron Man 3,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Ant-Man,” and the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (May 5, 2017), “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (July 7, 2017), “Thor: Ragnarok” (November 3, 2017) and “Avengers: Infinity War” (May 4, 2018).

A Dog’s Purpose

January 27, 2017 (updated February 24, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

We’ll leave controversy out of this review and talk only about the film. If you’ve ever wondered what the purpose of life is and you love dogs, A Dog’s Purpose is the film for you. It entwines the two in a curious story that’s filled with sweet and adorable. Director Lasse Hallström (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Chocolat, The 100-Foot Journey), takes on the issue of reincarnation and attempts to explain the afterlife through the life of Bailey, as he’s born, passes and is reborn again… and again. His incarnations are Ellie, Tino and Waffles and every time he returns he can never shake the feeling that there’s something he’s missing, that he must have a purpose other than being best friend to his new owner… something but what?

The movie opens on Bailey having just been born. The kids will smile with glee as the screen fills with puppies to fall in love with. We’re in 1961. Bailey is rescued by a youngster named Ethan. His parents let him keep the dog so he takes him home and Ethan becomes Bailey’s boy. The pooch goes onto a wonderful life of playing catch and being loved. Through the years we have point of view camera angles from both Bailey and Ethan which are clever and fun to observe, especially the shot from inside of the sniffing dogs’ nostrils. As boy’s do, Ethan grows up and gets a girlfriend but Bailey is still a very important part of his life. Bailey never goes without and is as happy as a dog can be. How we know this is because he tells us so. He tells us through the voice of Josh Gad. Often cast in comedic roles, Gad was frisky animating the voice of this perplexed pup as he was as Olaf in Frozen. He’s also a good choice because not only is he capable with humor but he can easily adjust if a dramatic moment is needed.

The script is written to entertain adults yet efforts were made to not go over the heads of youngsters who will be drawn to the film. The filmmakers handle the dogs passing away in a very sensitive manner. The young children shouldn’t be hurt or too deeply concerned since the dog always returns. Taking the kids to this might be a good way to approach the subject of death with them, without the real heartbreak you get from films such as Where the Red Fern Grows or Old Yeller which were heavy on the heart. Instead of tears for days, see this, open up a question and answer session and just like that, it’s out of the way. It’s made clear that death brings Bailey happiness as he returns and screams with joy that he’s back. The new puppy we see each time is a happy visual that will blanket any feeling of shock if young viewers were feel any.

As you assumed there would be there’s a nice happy ending to the movie that I won’t share. I assure you there’s a positive message for all. Again, this is a good movie for families to watch and enjoy together but the twenty-something’s would most likely yawn their way through which is why I didn’t rate it higher. There are a few silly moments that were a bit too contrived but the film is one to take the kids to see this weekend. They’ll have a blast watching Bailey fulfill his purpose which is to lick the ones he loves and to be here now.

Gold

January 27, 2017 (updated February 4, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

The pursuit of that bright shiny metal can drive a prospector to extremes. In “Gold”, the apparent major find in the Indonesian jungle sets off a frenzy in the lives of the people involved. That includes Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey) who owns a tiny mining company started by his grandfather in Reno. The company has hit upon hard times, and now the salesmen try to sell shares of dead mines that have no future. They all work out of a bar in Reno, since the office has been closed for a long time. Kenny has a girlfriend in a waitress named Kay (Bryce Dallas Howard). But Kenny still has big dreams about gold…

His dream leads him to Indonesia, where he meets Michael Acosta (Édgar Ramírez). Acosta is a geologist who once discovered the largest deposit of copper. Kenny thinks that Acosta can do the same thing for him and discover the world’s largest gold reserve. Acosta has also had a string of bad luck, but Kenny has so much enthusiasm that he convinces Acosta to try again.

After a few false starts, Acosta settles on a remote jungle location. Kenny has limited funds to support the exploration, but he presses on. The jungle takes a toll on Kenny, and he catches malaria and nearly dies. But when he is better, Acosta tells Kenny the good news. He has been successful in finding a large gold deposit.

The story moves back and forth between Indonesia and Reno, where Kenny has become a big shot in the mining industry. He reopens his company, and the investments are flowing in non-stop. There is a major New York hedge fund that is ready to find major investors. Barry Wolff (Corey Stoll) has Kenny and Kay come to New York where they live it up. Acosta stays at the mine delivering more good news all the time. The world’s largest mining company is ready to buy out Kenny and Acosta, but Kenny turns them down at the last minute. The gold bug has bitten him really bad…

The mining company was snubbed and wants to get even, so they convince Indonesian government to shut down the operation. That almost stops Kenny, until he finds a special partner who will get all back on track. So the operation keeps running, the bankers have been rejected. Kenny finds out that Kay was not impressed with Kenny’s new attitude. She leaves him, and he shrugs it off.

Kenny has an interview with an FBI visitor (Toby Kebbell) who explains that everything about the mining operation is not what it seems. Kenny and his company are brought down in a crashing failure. Acosta is nowhere to be found, and the authorities want answers. Kenny is left in the lurch…

Matthew McConaughey really transforms himself in the role of Kenny Wells. The ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ changes to become a middle-aged, balding, pot-bellied, chain-smoking drunkard with bad teeth. He owns the role, and makes Kenny’s personality shine like a super-nova. When Kenny meets up with Michael Acosta, he persuades the geologist with his pluck and luck. Édgar Ramírez also does a fine job as Acosta, the geologist who might have lead Kenny down the Golden Path. Bryce Dallas Howard also does what she can with her role, but the focus is really on Kenny and his obsession with gold.

Is “Gold” as good as the real thing? The story is very interesting, and it is told with a great deal of style and flair. The acting is fun to watch, especially McConaughey getting into the slovenly Kenny character. But the center is not focused in any one direction, and it does tend to wander. So it never reaches pure 24 Karat quality, but is sure is shiny.

Fox Searchlight acquires “Patti Cake$”

January 25, 2017 (updated January 25, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES ACQUIRES

DIRECTOR GEREMY JASPER’S PATTI CAKE$

Starring Danielle Macdonald, Bridget Everett, Cathy Moriarty, Siddharth Dhananjay,

Mamoudou Athie, McCaul Lombardi, Sahr Ngaujah, Wass Stevens, and MC Lyte

Specialty Arm Acquires Worldwide Rights

PARK CITY, UT January 25, 2017 – Fox Searchlight Pictures Presidents Stephen Gilula and Nancy Utley announced today that the company has acquired worldwide distribution rights to first-time writer / director Geremy Jasper’s infectious hip hop debut film PATTI CAKE$, starring Danielle Macdonald, Bridget Everett, Cathy Moriarty, Siddharth Dhananjay, Mamoudou Athie, McCaul Lombardi, Sahr Ngaujah, Wass Stevens, and MC Lyte. The film is an RT Features, Stay Gold Features, Maiden Voyage Pictures presentation of a Department of Motion Pictures production. It is the new company’s first feature film. PATTI CAKE$ is produced by Michael Gottwald, Noah Stahl, Rodrigo Teixeira, Dan Janvey, Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Chris Columbus, with Lourenço Sant’Anna, Sophie Mas, Eleanor Columbus, Josh Penn, Jonathan Bronfman, Lon Molnar, Fernando Fraiha, and Bill Benenson serving as executive producers. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will be released in 2017.

“Geremy Jasper has created a personal and specific story which resonates universally and is very entertaining. Patti Cake$, brought to life by Danielle Macdonald, is a singular, lovable, and highly talented character for whom we root hard. We are proud to bring this beautiful film to the world,” said Utley and Gilula.

“Patti Cake$ is a true labor of love made by a team of people with so much creativity, care, and passion. Sundance finally got to meet Patti AKA Killa P AKA Danielle MacDonald and now Fox Searchlight will make sure the world does too. We could not be in better hands,” said director Geremy Jasper.

“We knew from our experience with ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ that Fox Searchlight was the perfect place to introduce the world to an incredible heroine like Patti, and a fiercely talented filmmaker like Geremy,” said producer Michael Gottwald.

PATTI CAKE$ introduces Australian native Danielle Macdonald in a breakout role, as aspiring rapper Patricia Dombrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$. Fighting an unlikely quest for glory in her downtrodden hometown in Jersey where her life is falling apart, Patti tries to reach the big time in the hip hop scene with original and affecting music. Cheered on by her grandmother (Cathy Moriarty) and only friends, Jheri (Siddharth Dhananjay) and Basterd (Mamoudou Athie), Patti also shoulders her mother’s (Bridget Everett) heartaches and misfortunes.

The deal was brokered by Fox Searchlight’s Executive Vice President of Business Affairs Megan O’Brien and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Co-Productions Ray Strache, with CAA and WME Global on behalf of the filmmakers.

Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both finances and acquires motion pictures. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of 21st Century Fox.

The Founder

January 20, 2017 (updated January 20, 2017) Published by JMcNaughton

Fast Food. Dietitians hate it, society tolerates it, but most people just love to consume it. So when you get a movie about the origins of the most popular fast food restaurant in the world, you know people will eat it up. “The Founder” will be like a satisfying meal, and will fill you up more than two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, and pickles on a sesame seed bun.

“The Founder” is the tale of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) and how a milk-shake machine salesman turned into a fast food titan. Ray is downtrodden and getting along with minimal sales, until learns of two brothers who run a new-fangeled restaurant that carries their last name. The McDonald brothers Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick (Nick Offerman) have started something new and different. Ray wants in on the ground floor.

The brothers very reluctantly agree to Ray setting up franchise McDonald’s restaurants around the country. They have a very tight contract with Ray, and make sure that the emphasis is on quality and speed of service. Ray does great, but he does not let his wife Ethel (Laura Dern) know that he mortgaged the house to get it done. The expanding number of restaurants is not paying Ray enough, due to the tight contract details. Ray meets Harry Sonneborn (B. J. Novak), who explains that Ray should own the land and then lease it to the franchise owner.

Soon Ray has created a new company to buy land and create franchise owners. The original McDonald brothers are furious that Ray has taken liberties with their concept and product. Ray meets the wife of a new franchise owner named Joan Smith (Linda Cardellini). Before too long, Ray Kroc has bought out the McDonald brothers, divorced Ethel, and married Joan. He had become an unequaled giant in the fast food business.

Michael Keaton does a stupendous job playing Ray Kroc. Here is a story of a man who created a monster-sized business, yet he sometimes was brash, rude and uncaring. He saw what he wanted and took it, regardless if that was a burger chain or someone else’s wife. Yet he thought deep down that everything he did was to make himself, and the country, better.

As the two McDonald brothers, Nick Offerman & John Carroll Lynch also are terrific. They seems to convey and deep sense of pride in what they have accomplished, and each of them always is looking out for the other. They are also stubborn and small-minded. So when the business began to really grow, they rebelled against Ray Kroc instead of working with him.

If there are any problems at all with the movie, it is the ‘side dishes’. Other than the three main characters, the other roles are ‘undercooked’. Laura Dern has not much to do, and Linda Cardellini comes into the picture way too late. B. J. Novak blends into the other minor characters, also, so it is hard to tell him apart.

“The Founder” can also be compared in a way to ‘The Social Network”. Both feature a strong leader who finds a unique concept, and then battles two brothers for the ability to take something brand new worldwide. McDonald’s, like Facebook, is an international brand that took a visionary leader to get it there.

Paterson

January 20, 2017 (updated February 24, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

“Paterson” is an absolute pleasure to witness. One feels honored to be on this… ride. I say this because it is about a bus driver whose story is delicate, even delectable. It’s fascinating. Jim Jarmusch turns a seemingly banal and simple life into a complex, contemplative introspective. Paterson (Driver) drives a bus for the city of Paterson, N.J. but he’s also a poet. His hero is William Carlos Williams and deep within he holds a dream to be as good as Williams yet never calls himself a poet, therefore stopping any disappointment that may come from negative criticism.

Paterson sees poetry in all things and one of the factors that has you treasure experiencing this life that Jarmusch has displayed for you is how you absorb Paterson’s poetry. It’s not only spoken by him, whether in his thoughts as he cruises through traffic, or as he walks his dog Marvin (played charmingly by Nellie), but we also see it scrolling across the screen as he speaks in a composed and knowing tone. It becomes visually embedded in our minds and we crave more.

His poems are perceptive, analytical at times, logical and illogical. They’re both abstract and they’re ordinary but they’re sublime. He writes these poems in a notebook, one he keeps to himself, careful they can never be seen.

We are with Paterson for a week of his life. He has a girlfriend, has a dog and is methodized, unlike girlfriend Laura (Farahani), who is all over the place. A painter obsessed with the color black one minute, a baker the next; him a structured poet, her a musician… this week, anyway. The relationship is sound as they balance each other, or so it would seem… perhaps not? Do they love each other or are they just putting up with one another for convenience sake? Upon reflection, you realize there’s much more going on than you first thought. It can be slow in moments but the movie consumes you, more or less. It is, simply put, poetic. Once you’ve seen “Paterson” it will stick with you for quite some time. The alpha male battle he has with Marvin, also the conflict within himself over what or who he is, is gripping to observe. Driver does such a remarkable job of bringing levels to this character without nearly uttering a word that he seduces you. I highly recommend you see this film. You’ll never see Driver as Kylo Ren again.

Trespass Against Us

January 20, 2017 (updated February 24, 2017) Published by Shari K. Green

Set in the countryside of Britain, we are introduced to the Cutler crime family which is run by Colby played by a coarse Brendan Gleeson; who, interestingly enough just played Fassbender’s son in “Assassin’s Creed.” Colby’s reputation precedes him for a reason as he’s not a very charming fellow and not many challenge him. The Cutler’s look like a band of misfits or perhaps something you would have spotted in a scene from the movie “Deliverance.” Even though they have been somewhat successful criminals up to this point, they live in trailers and practically in poverty which finally hits Colby’s son Chad, (Fassbender). Not that Colby minds what he does for a living. He has fun when cops chase him through the streets but he’s starting to realize the impact his actions are having on his children and his wife and is struggling with a decision. He has to break away. His son Tyson (Smith) is starting to rebel and verbally spar with his dad, spouting exactly what Chad usually hears coming from his father Colby and this doesn’t sit well with him. Being uneducated, Chad has allowed his father to lead him through his life. He has always done as ordered but he sees the writing on the wall and waking up to what his and Colby’s limitations truly are, he decides he doesn’t want that for Tyson. The police are onto his every move but when he wants to try and leave his father’s shadow, he is, too.

Director Adam Smith, who’s more known for his work on “Doctor Who”, has had mixed reviews on the film festival circuit but having assembled an excellent cast and creating a unique blend of chaos and calm in a crazy world, I think he has a hit on his hands not matter the venue. There’s something fascinating about Chad and his family that, as the film goes on, you almost catch… like a cold. At first you’re not sure you have it but when you do, it really ensnares you. Perhaps it’s the fact that Smith didn’t try to play to the American audience. It’s authentic in that he doesn’t drop the local, incredibly thick accent, nor does he remove the British jargon that’s in use. We are in their world. Luckily for us, we view this world from the extremely gifted lens of Eduard Grau, (“Suffragette”, “The Awakening”, “Buried” and “A Single Man.” He takes you incredibly deep into the story, bringing you into it by using intimate shots that make you feel like you’re peeking around a corner… hiding where you shouldn’t be; surveying where you have no business. The scenery is beautiful so there’s no chance you’re looking away.

Shining are the performances. Lyndsey Marshal is magnificent as Kelly, Chad’s wife, who, through it all, pulls a Tammy Wynette and stands by her man. Fassbender, though his Chad is raging with testosterone and as tough as nails, is almost sweet at times. The moments where he’s not fulfilling an illegal act or behaving like a hoodlum, he shows how at peace his character is with the final decision he has made. A quite difficult one but, as Christ did, he must sacrifice himself for the sake of all of his children. If you can get through the accents, I’d have to suggest you see this in the theatre if it’s near you but if not, see it as soon as possible, in whatever form possible.

Tag: Drama

Car Dogs – Trailer

In Theaters March 24th

Rings

The Space Between Us

Marvel begins production on “Black Panther”

A Dog’s Purpose

Gold

Fox Searchlight acquires “Patti Cake$”

The Founder

Paterson

Trespass Against Us

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