Woody's back -- with the impeccably cast, acted and photographed CAFE SOCIETY

Woody Allen's final-period movies (I am guessing here, of course, but really: He'll reach 81 this December, so how much longer can the guy go on?) continue to grow more assured, pleasurable and (TrustMovies thinks so, anyway) mature. Mr. Allen, below, has finally grown up in ways, movie-wise and maybe otherwise, that he hadn't achieved till now. Less interested in being profound or super witty/nerdy/brilliant, he's finally willing to let his characters behave and learn and grow, rather than merely being mouthpieces (often very clever or crazy ones) for his own neuroses.

This has lent a distinctive autumnal feeling to all his recent work -- whether it's an odd murder mystery like Irrational Man (a better film than was generally acknowledged), a surprisingly sweet love story complete with maybe-the-other-worldly such as Magic in the Moonlight, and now something like his latest, an alternately dark and endearing coming-of-age tale called CAFE SOCIETY. Allen (along with ace casting director Juliet Taylor) has long had a knack for fitting the actor to the role. He fills his movies with fine actors, lets them do their thing, and so -- even with

sometimes middling screenplays -- the movies come together surprisingly well. This casting-coup works as well in his latest film as it ever has. I'd say every role is filled just about perfectly (we'll get to the details in a bit), but there's something more here, too. For the first time Allen is working with the great Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (shown at right), and the result is -- whew! -- something wonderful. Because the film takes place in 1930s New York and Los Angeles, we get the bonus of nostalgia, of course, and handled, as it is, with Storaro's mastery of light and composition, everything from the interiors to exteriors, faces to fabrics glow and resonate. Yes, we're mostly with the wealthy upper-crust, but watch how this master handles the scenes involving the lower-middle class New York family at the center of the film. These scenes resonate cinematically in their own dark, quiet manner.

The story -- of a young man named Bobby (a just-about-perfect Jesse Eisenberg, above, left) who must break away from his family for awhile and so ventures out to Hollywood, where his uncle (the ever more versatile Steve Carell, below) is a big-time agent, then falls in love with the uncle's secretary (Kristen Stewart, above, right, adding another smart feather to an already full cap) -- is serviceable and malleable. And, my, how these actors bring it to splendid life.

Speaking of versatility, there's Corey Stoll (below, whom I didn't even recognize in his role of Eisenberg's older brother, Ben, until the end

credits rolled). I find it amazing how Allen gloms on to new and special talent, always making such good use of it. This is as true with his use of Stoll as it is the way he uses Blake Lively (below, center) in the role of  Bobby's other love interest. Ms Lively brings genuine caring and concern to a part that could easily seem little more than secondary. Ditto Jeannie Berlin, who plays the brothers' mama, Rose, with enough depth and passion to help disguise and rise above a screenplay that is, at best, serviceable and often flits a little too close to cliché.

Good work also comes from the likes of Anna Camp, Parker Posey and Ken Stott. By the finale, we've come, along with Eisenberg's Bobby, through enough incident and revelation to reach a level of maturity that allows us to look back in some sadness, yes, but also with the wisdom to appreciate what we have, as well as better understand what we've lost.

Cafe Society -- from Amazon Studios by way of Lionsgate, and running 96 minutes -- after opening in New York and Los Angeles, hits much of the rest of the country this Friday, July 29. Here in South Florida, it plays the O Cinema Miami Beach, the AMC Sunset Place 24, Coral Gables Art Cinema, Muvico Broward 18 in Pompano Beach, and the Movies of Delray in Delray Beach. To view playdates, cities and theaters elsewhere around the country, simply click here.

Read more »

CAFE SOCIETY, coming-of age movies, good ensemble acting, Hollywood nostalgia, the 1930s, Woody Allen,

Rate it :

Blu-ray/DVDebut: David Burris' Appalachia-set clan saga, THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT

With a nod to the Hatfields and McCoys, the Civil War, and a little modern-day drug-dealing, the quietly engrossing movie THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT -- based on the novel of the same name by Award winning Carolina writer Ron Rash (born in South C but raised in North C) -- turns out to be a very nice surprise. Yes, the movie could be better: a bit tighter with less repetition and not quite so heavy-handed at times. But there is an integrity about the entire undertaking, starting, I should guess, with the original novel by Mr. Rash, and proceeding from there through the screenplay (Shane Danielsen), dialog, direction (David Burris) and performances from the entire cast that finally makes this sad tale (of family ties that span generations, guilt, bad behavior and maybe some redemption) believable, resonant and even somewhat memorable.

Mr. Burris, shown at left, has more experience in the television field than with movies, yet his work here most definitely looks like a film. He handles his cast well, and serves the interests of both Mr. Rash and Mr. Danielsen. From the opening scene, which features a Civil War execution/ massacre of a family (this is handled, as is most of the movie's content, seriously, effectively and with minimum gore) into the more-or-less present-day events, the plot moves along quietly and with an ever-growing sense of dread that keeps building.

The film's biggest question is, Who, exactly, are these people to each other? By the end we have some answers, though these will have grown and changed somewhat from what we and certain characters imagined that we/they originally knew. This is especially true of Leonard (Noah Wyle, above), a sometimes drug dealer and native of the area, and Travis (Jeremy Irvine, below), the young man whom he meets in one fashion and begins to mentor in another.

It's clear than both these guys have a connection to the Civil War and to the family we saw at the beginning, but how, what and why is seriously clouded. Also on hand is Leonard's sometimes girl (Minka Kelly, below),

and a young nurse (played by Adelaide Clemens, below) who becomes attracted to Travis during his stay in the hospital. Death hangs over the movie heavily from the outset, yet nothing happens to our modern-day folk for quite a long while.

Via fast and occasional flashbacks, we piece together some of the backstory, all of which simply adds to the sense of foreboding that the movie handles so well. Basically a kind of coming-of-age tale featuring folk who may or may not live to come of that age, The World Made Straight does a commendable job of limning the lives of people so steeped in their own pain and envy, pride and stupidity that they can barely understand there might be another way of life.

Those who do must leave this barren-spirited place. One of them does (alive, too), and we have hopes that another couple of our characters will manage this, as well. It's very much to the movie's credit that anything positive that happens here seems absolutely earned. A word should also be said for the fine cinematography (by Tim Orr) in which the place -- North Carolina -- appears every bit as beautiful and spacious as the people seem drab, frightened, cornered or conflicted.

After an exceedingly limited theatrical release last month, the film -- from Alchemy and running two hours exactly -- will be available on Blu-ray and DVD this coming Tuesday, February 17. Streaming and VOD, I imagine, will be coming soon....

Read more »

Appalachia, coming-of-age tales, David Burris, drug-growing and -pushing, good ensemble acting, integrity, Ron Rash, Shane Danielsen, the Civil War, THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT,

Rate it :

Coal-mining country comes to life -- and death -- in Sara Colangelo's film, LITTLE ACCIDENTS

The first thing that came to mind as the credits began to roll at the end of LITTLE ACCIDENTS -- a film about which I had read nothing, except that it starred an actress whom I enjoy seeing, Elizabeth Banks -- was that it must have been directed by a woman. So full of feeling and empathy for the place, the people, the situation is this film that, unfair or not, I found myself thinking that a man simply would not have done it this way. When the director credit appeared, with the name Sara Colangelo attached, I was not surprised, though I knew nothing about the work of this young woman.

Little Accidents appears to be Ms Colangelo's first full-length film (the writer/director is shown at left), and although it's not a great one, it is a good one, worth seeing and quietly ingesting its feel for character and location. The movie moves slowly; you'll need to check your more typical expectation of fast pacing in order to fully experience this small town, propelled by the coal mine at its center that provides a living (and often a dying) for its men, disillusion for its women, and for its children -- unless they get out -- the chance to grow into one or the other when they reach adulthood.

The film begins as the miners go to work one morning, with some emphasis placed upon Amos Jenkins, (Boyd Holbrook, below), the character who is pivotal to the film because he soon becomes the only survivor of that morning's mine accident.

We don't see this accident, nor do we need to. We've by now seen and heard about so many of these that one simply follows in the footsteps of the next, though each also becomes a hotly contested battle ground between miners, owners and the union.

These accidents have left plenty of widows, one of whom is played by Chloë Sevigny (above), mother of the boy, Owen (Jacob Lofland, below, who was so fine in last year's Mud). Owen is responsible for the second, smaller accident that results in the death of another teenage boy.

How these two "accidents," both of which could have been avoided, come together and resonate in ways greater than either of them might have individually makes up the tale that Ms Colangelo tells. Class differences bubble up soon enough, for the missing teen is the son of the mine's "manager" (the under-used Josh Lucas, two photos below) and his wife, Diane (played by the always reliable Ms Banks, shown just below).

New liaisons are soon made, and various characters must confront their histories and their actions and take responsibility. All this happens very gradually. Nothing feels forced, and when we finally reach the finale, what we get is neither the usual feel-good closure or the rarer tragedy in the making. We see instead what looks awfully like life lived as it might be in a little town like this with people who seem sad and real and worth saving.  

If Little Accidents' snail pace at times threatens to derail our interest, the filmmaker gets back on track soon enough, and performances all seem genuine, place-specific and thus believable. 

The movie -- from Amplify and running a slightly long 105 minutes -- should make certain that this filmmaker is heard from again, and soon. It opens this Friday, January 16, in New York City at the Cinema Village and in the Los Angeles area at the NoHo 7 and simultaneously in another dozen cities throughout the country, with further playdates scheduled for the weeks to come. To see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters, click here and scroll down.

Read more »

accidents, character studies, Class, coal-mining movies, good ensemble acting, LITTLE ACCIDENTS, Sara Colangelo,

Rate it :

An original new movie musical arrives: Paul Chau's LIFE OF AN ACTRESS: THE MUSICAL

There are so few new and original musicals these days -- it's all of the jukebox variety, with at least half of them schlock -- that the idea of one popping up on your local movie theater screen is, at the very least, enticing. Imagine: a new musical with original songs, characters, story and plot. Be still, my heart. Further, this one has a cast of professionals who can sing and dance and act, and who've already made their mark on Broadway and elsewhere.

LIFE OF AN ACTRESS: THE MUSICAL has a cast in which there is not a lemon in the bunch. The story -- of three actresses/waitresses (above: age 25, 30 and 40) continually trying to crack into the big time, middle time, even the small time, by landing a role -- is a perfectly acceptable one, if certainly tried and true. And the performances are so good -- real, energized and, as the parlance goes, always in the moment -- that watching them work is a pleasure.

But what about the music and lyrics, which of course supply the measure by which a musical lives or dies? You had to ask. The writer and director of the film, as well as the man responsible for the music and lyrics, is Paul Chau (above, second from right, with some of his cast members), whose only other film, according to the IMDB, was the 2009 thriller called Scalp, which, to the best of my knowledge, was never released. Mr Chau's work here is not acutely embarrassing, in the manner of last week's Isn't It Delicious. It's simply... well... not very good.

Mr. Chau has bitten off quite a bit more than he can chew. It pains me to have to say this, too, because the movie does have its moments, some scenes that are rather nice, and a few songs that work pretty well. And the actors are good enough to merit better, which is, in its way, the most difficult part of watching Life of an Actress. You keep praying, hoping that it will take off for the sake of these performers who are clearly giving it all they've got.

And it does take off, sort of, in the final, title song, in which all that we've been watching comes together. But by then it's too little, too late. The major problem here is that Chau's music sounds far too much alike from song to song (featuring style and tempo that are too similar), while his lyrics are the sort that rhyme "bad" with "sad" and use not-quite-rhymes too often along the way. (Chau does flirt with a tango tempo in one song, but it comes to little.)

Everything is unnecessarily repetitive, as well. How often must we hear that Carlos and Jen (above) should be together, or wonder whether Sandy will give in to that slimy, would-be producer or if maybe Charlie's coughing is going to lead to something worse? Too often, as it turns out.

The movie does try to show us bits and pieces of its titular "actress' life" -- the ridiculousness of auditions (three photos above), the difference between SAG and non-SAG performers (in one of the better songs from the movie, above), the frustrations of the "callback." And its tackling of the specific fears of the aging actress, brought to wonderful life by Orfeh (shown below) in the film's best performance, is brave and moving. She takes, as do the other performers, Chau's straw and spins it into something approaching, well, at least gold leaf.

As a filmmaker, Chau has much to learn. His movie literally cries out for split-screen work and added energy from its opening number onwards. Whether his budget was simply too minimal to allow this, I don't know. He finally gives us a touch of split-screen in a much later number, as well as some choreography and chorus work, but the filming is mostly pedestrian.

In the role of the youngest actress, Jen, Taylor Louderman (above, left) is nimble and cute, while Allison Case (below), as the intelligent, on-the-cusp Sandy, brings occasional fierceness a bit of fire to the proceedings.

In the male roles, Bart Shatto (below, left) as the diner owner, Charlie, and Xavier Cano as Jen's boy, Carlos (shown two photos up, at right), are both fine, with Mr. Shatto particularly compelling. His final scene, which ought to be silly, he and Orfeh manage to make moving instead. And, as the villain of the piece, Richard H. Blake (below, right) proves mean, smarmy -- and sings well, too.

I can't honestly recommend Life of an Actress: The Musical to anyone except die-hard musical fans, who might want to catch it for its occasional moments.  They're there, all right, along with all the rest. The movie opens this Thursday, December 18, in Los Angeles at Laemmle's NoHo 7, and here in New York City on Friday, December 19, at the Quad Cinema.

Personal Appearances at New York's Quad Cinema: 

Q&A with director and cast moderated by Michelle Park (TV Host & Lifestyle Expert) after the 6:30 PM show on Saturday, December 20. Q&A with cast moderated by Paul Chau (Producer and Director) after the 6:30 PM show on Sunday, December 21. Q&A with director and cast moderated by Paul Wonterek (Creative Director & Editor-in-Chief of Broadway.com) after the 6:30 PM show on Monday, December 22. Q&A with DP Ben Wolf and Editor Dan Loewenthal moderated by Paul Chau (Producer and Director) after the 6:30 PM show 
on Tuesday, December 23.

Read more »

good ensemble acting, LIFE OF AN ACTRESS: THE MUSICAL, low-budget indies, movie musicals, New York-based movies, Paul Chau,

Rate it :

Comedy, crime, romance and "catricide" dot Gillian Greene's droll farce, MURDER OF A CAT

Talk about bizarre movies: After yesterday's winner, The Foxy Merkins, today we cover another oddball film for which there is not much precedent, so far as I can recall. MURDER OF A CAT, the new movie from first-time-full-length filmmaker Gillian Greene, is very nearly uncategorizable. Maybe think of it as a kind of throwback. But to what? The closest match might be the screwball crime capers of the 1940s, with a man in the role usually reserved for a woman: the clueless and not very bright "investigator" who sets the plot in motion. Really: This movie sort of mimics the sensibility of that family from You Can't Take It With You but sets its behavior down in the midst of our 21st Century.

Ms Greene (shown at left) is also known, evidently, as Mrs. Sam Raimi (Sam was one of the producers on the film) but what she has come up with would never be mistaken for a Raimi endeavor. Her movie begins with what looks like a nail-biting escape. By whom? From what? We don't know, but the escapee sure looks scared. Then we get the title card that reads Five Days Earlier and we're whisked back in time to a pleasant surburban street and a yard sale involving a bratty kid, our beleaguered hero and the cat that will soon be headed for kitty heaven. Also on tap: out hero's semi-nattering-but-really-pretty-decent mother; a local law-enforcement officer who's infinitely nicer and more patient than any you'll have seen on film in this century; a heroine who's up to something besides being heroic; and the owner of the town's superstore which has put a number of other local small businesses out of business. Including that belonging to our hero.

So the stage is set for... what? Just about anything you might guess. And the plot's twists and turns certainly encourage this kind of helter-skelter approach in which one odd thing leads to another even odder. The movie really turns on the role of Clinton Moisey and the performance of Fran Kranz (above) in that role. Mr. Kranz has impressed in some of the work of Joss Whedon and his crew, but here he gets the kind of bizarre role that actors either embrace or go running from as fast as they can. Kranz embraces it and then some.

From the near-fright wig he wears initially to his self-righteous attitude, constant bumbling and wrong-headedness, he makes Clinton a hero that only a mother (and maybe a girlfriend) could love. And he is just loony enough to finally win us over. In the role of the girlfriend and cat-sharer, Greta, Nikki Reed (above) makes a pleasantly abrasive other half of the investigative team,

while J. K. Simmons (above), always great fun to watch, plays the local Sheriff in such a pleasant and patient manner than he almost makes you forgot his Snidely role in the current Whiplash. Blythe Danner as the sweet, thoughtful mom; Greg Kinnear, offering up all kinds of charac-terizations as the owner of that megastore; and the wonderful Leonardo Nam as the store's most bizarre employee round out the main cast.

As a filmmaker, Ms Greene wisely concentrates on low-key humor rather than mystery or suspense (as both of the latter are either ridiculous or missing in action), and thereby succeeds in making her movie work pretty well. Overlong by maybe ten minutes, Murder of a Cat never pushes too hard and so ends up being a lot more charming than you might expect.

The movie -- from Gravitas Ventures and running 101 minutes -- opens today, Friday, December 5, in New York City at the Village East Cinema. Simultaneously, it will also be available via VOD platforms, Amazon, Apple and iTunes.

Read more »

Fran Kranz, Gillian Greene, good ensemble acting, low-key comedy, MURDER OF A CAT, screwball crime capers,

Rate it :