Theatrical Releases: The Counselor & Bad Grandpa

October 24, 2013 / Leave a Comment

BAD GRANDPA || October 24th, 2013

	Ridley Scott and Cormac McCarthy team up to deliver “The Counselor”, one of the most underrated ensemble dramas of the year. Fassbender is undeniably outstanding to watch, delivering on a scale we haven’t yet seen in Hollywood for decades. McCarthy’s script feels like a play, setting up different situations that often interconnect and I strongly feel a second viewing of the film is needed to appreciate all the film has to offer.
	“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” succeeds at recreating the real people, real reaction skits that we know and love from the “Jackass” series, but attempts some strange Frankenstein monster meld between real life and fake story that completely misses its mark. Unlike any child actor I’ve seen before, Jackson Nicoli’s unwavering commitment to the jokes, especially when by himself talking to adults, is absolutely jaw-dropping.

	Having yet to see “White Material”, I know not of director Claire Denis’ genius, but if the trailer for “Bastards” proves anything, it’s that great imagery and word-of-mouth does not make up from an interesting concept and something the viewer can grab onto. Film noir’s can be great and I enjoy seeing the foreign take on them, but this film does not harness enough to peak my interest.	PASS
	Brimming with raw emotion, the winner of this year’s Palme D’Or, “Blue Is The Warmest Color”, takes the viewer inside a living, breathing relationship between young Adele (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and an older, artistic spirit, Emma (Léa Seydoux). With strong tones in discovering one’s sexuality and the great human connection, this is a sexual coming of age film, where kissing turns to touching and touching turns to unadulterated intimacy.
	Not often does voice-over narration overshadow an actual trailer but with “Captial”, I was more drawn to that man’s voice than I was with what was going on with the imagery and attempt to set up a story. Reminiscent of the recent Netflix series, “House Of Cards”, there’s breaking of the fourth wall, corruption, and cheating, all leading to the same inevitable conclusion which I can experience somewhere else, in much better fashion.	PASS
	Blake Freeman, the director of this semi-fictional documentary “A Journey to Planet Sanity” has a strongest enough comedic voice for me to latch on. His cynical nature is hilarious and in his adventure in proving to an old man that aliens aren’t real, he comes across some truly crazy people. Whether this is staged or not, seems irrelevant and proves to be quite funny.	25% MAYBE
	Kevin Smith’s stamp of approval is never enough to get me interested in a film and “Losers Take All” is no exception. With the only recognizable face being Kyle Gallner, and a been there done that rock band origin story, there’s almost no reason whatsoever to see this film.	PASS
	“Spinning Plates” is an interesting tale of three restaurants facing adversity, but at the end of the day, it’s restaurants and not a life changing feat. Yes, buildings burn down, people get behind on bills, and get cancer, but how these relate to high-end restaurants, I do not know. I appreciate the telling of these stories in this documentary but it’s not something I’ll take part in.	PASS
	More interested in seeing the final minutes of this film when they finally reveal who actually set off the bomb, this feels like a heavy handed Hallmark/Lifetime movie where two families of different race play the finger pointing game. I am glad that the finger gets pointed at the white family as well, but there’s a sinking feeling in me that believes neither of the boys or both of the boys are responsible for the bomb.	PASS