What a powerful movie. It's one of those films where, when it's over you say to yourself, "What just hit me?!" It stars Bill Hader? and Kristen Wiig, two former SNL alum. And while it's certainly offbeat, it's not really a comedy in the traditional sense. Milo (Hader) is a struggling actor eking out a living in L.A. The film opens with him attempting suicide while his twin sister Maggie (Wiig) contemplating the same thing, gets a call from the hospital explaining what happened. She brings him back east with her and the two reconnect after not communicating for ten years. The siblings have major issues with their lives they've been brushing under the rug for years.The film does have some funny moments, but also some heavy duty scenes as well. It's one of those movies that sort of sneek up on you, and by the end, you almost feel like you're part of the family.
The perfect movie for Father's Day. The film stars Kevin Hart in a heartwarming and true story. It opens at a funeral and wake. We discover that Hart's character has just lost his wife. The movie jumps back in time to him as a father-to-be and his wife leading up to the birth of their daughter. Just after giving birth, his wife dies. A bit of turmoil erupts when his mother and mother-in-law get involved and want him to move back to Minnesota so they can help raise his daughter. There are some amusing scenes when he's trying to figure out the whole dad thing. We jump ahead a few years and his daughter is now a precocious little six- or seven-year old. I won't give away any more of the story, but it's all fairly light, somewhat predictable. But the acting is good, especially his young daughter, and it's a fun hour and fifty minutes of movie viewing.
This film could be subtitled “Martin Landau’s Last Movie” for that’s precisely what it is. I grew up watching “Mission Impossible” in the 1960s and Martin Landau played one of the coolest characters on TV. Everyone I knew wanted to be like him. So it was a bit shocking to see him years later in Woody Allen’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors” where he played a successful ophthalmologist who has his wife bumped off. And gets away with it! I know he’s been in quite a few movies over the years, and when I saw he was in this one, I had to see it. What a pleasant surprise.
In his swansong film, Landau plays Dr. Abe Mandelbaum, a retired doctor who has decided to sell his home and move into an assisted living facility with his wife. He’s a kindly, intelligent, and fairly reserved older gentleman. His wife Molly suffers from dementia and is usually fairly normal. Every once in a while she has a panic attack and can only be comforted by wrapping herself in her favorite fur coat.
Abe soon meets Phil (Paul Sorvino) who’s quite a character. Phil was a gambler and real lady’s man in his day and loves to brag about his many conquests. The two become fast friends and it’s amusing to hear them talk about sex. Abe is somewhat shocked at how frank Phil is but eventually opens up. I have to admit; there are a couple of cringe-worthy scenes.
As Abe starts getting comfortable at the facility, Angela (Maria Dizzia) a new nurse befriends Phil and Abe. She’s an orphan and is looking for her biological father. Angela was given a mysterious note that indicates he’s actually living in the assisted living center. When they get wind of the situation, they’re convinced they‘re the long-lost father.
It’s a heart-warming little film that offers several delightful surprises. And as you’d expect, the acting is superb. I’m not sure how many other actors could pull it off quite as well. While there is a bit of a melancholy feel to it, ultimately it’s an hour and a half of satisfying movie viewing. As a side note: the movie was written, directed, and co produced by Howard Weiner, who is a Professor of Neurology. Nice work, Prof!
A gripping political thriller that I somehow missed when it first came out. In it, Ben Affleck plays a Senator investigating the actions of a Blackwater type company. His aid is killed and Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams, who work for a Washington newspaper start doing some digging. Things start to get interesting. It's a well written, well acted movie I just couldn't stop watching. Even Ben Affleck, who I don't think much of as an actor, does a credible job here. It'll keep you guessing right until the end. The film also stars Dame Hellen Mirren, Jason Bateman, and Jeff Daniels.
