Old Man @ The Movies

I had been seeing previews of the film I saw yesterday and was looking forward to seeing it because it appeared to be the amusing story of a boy who easily coped with his problems. I was disappointed. It turned out to be a faith-based movie that was ultimately sad and depressing. Scott and Teresa, the parents of Austin, THE UNBREAKABLE BOY, are shattered when they realize he is not only autistic, but has a rare disease, octogenesis imperfecta, inherited from his mother.  It essentially is brittle bones, which causes easily breakable bones. Despite this, Austin is upbeat and positive and outgoing; his father doesn't handle it well and therein lies the problem with the film, which focuses too heavily on guilt-ridden and self-focused Scott. It is not that it's a bad film, it just lost its focus. The cast as a whole did a credible job, but the actor who played Austin was particularly gifted. I did not find anywhere that this was based on real people but felt it was obvious that som...

Looks like I'm on a losing streak, or rather a streak of watching what I consider loser films. The latest is THE MONKEY, and I happen to like monkeys. This monkey is a windup toy, in the possession of twin boys, and when he is wound up and plays his drum, horrible things happen to people, primarily relatives. The twins leave home, leaving the monkey behind, and drift apart. Now grown men who don't resemble one another, they are somehow reunited with the monkey and stupidly wind him up, with predictable results. I didn't care for the brothers, the monkey or any of its victims, so I was pleased when this hour and 38 minute loser ended. I guess the critics (79%) and audiences (60%) were not when giving it a thumbs up.    

It appears that I can't even keep promises to myself. I seem to recall sometime last year or the year before that I pledged not to see any more Marvel comic movies. I failed when I went to see CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, and I deeply regret it. In this one, Captain America is selected to protect us by the newly elected U.S. president, played by fast aging Harrison Ford, who at one point changes into a monster who looks like the Incredible Hulk and tries to destroy the good Captain. Other silly events occur both before and after Harrison's transformation, but none significant enough to write about. Just be comforted by the fact that Captain saves America or humanity once again, so you have nothing to worry about. 49% of critics and 70% of audiences gave this film a thumbs up.  

This week turned international  for me. I went from seeing a Norwegian film to viewing one from Mexico. I changed my mind at the last minute and went to see EMILIA PEREZ instead of Captain America because there was a lot of publicity about Emilia recently, having won a host of awards already and with a near record 13 Oscar nominations. I thought the movie was interesting, unique and just plain weird. This one is about a big time Mexican criminal who undergoes a sex change operation with the help of a small time lawyer to satisfy a longtime desire and also to hide from those pursuing him. I think I am getting used to these weird plots but this one had more appeal because it was a musical with a lot of singing and dancing that reminded me of a Broadway show. The total production was successful and entertaining, in its own way, in terms of acting, direction and unusual cinematographic effects. But I wasn't that impressed. I long for the days of movies like Casablanca and Indiscrete, N...