2 Days in New York

Movies to See Right Now

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Lauren Ambrose and Mike Birbiglia in SLEEPWALK WITH ME

There are some very promising fall movies coming out this weekend (see below) to add to our our current crop of fine comedies, led by Sleepwalk With Me.  The zany French odd couple comedy The Intouchables is a crowd pleaser – and an attendance record breaker in France.  Frank Langella’s performance in Robot and Frank elevates the film from a pretty good comedy to a revealing study of getting older.   Celeste and Jesse Forever is a smart and authentic comedy of best friends too perfect for each other to fall in love at the same time.   Ruby Sparks is a hilariously inventive romance that probes whether realizing a fantasy can bring happiness.

It’s worth seeking out the compelling documentary Searching for Sugar Man, about the hunt to uncover the secret fate of an artist that didn’t know that he was a rock star.

The brilliantly made Louisiana swamp fable Beasts of the Southern Wild enters the life and imagination of a child and celebrates her indomitability. It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2012 – So Far.

Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in New York is a rollicking light culture clash comedy. The stylishly violent crime drama Lawless is well-made and well-acted but predictable. The bike messenger thriller Premium Rush is nothing more than a chase scene, but it’s a cool chase. The Dark Night Rises is too corny and too long, but Anne Hathaway sparkles. The Words is a corny drama that insults the audience by over-explaining everything.

I haven’t yet seen The Master, Trouble with the Curve and House at the End of the Street.  You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is The Salt of Life, a gently funny and insightful Italian comedy about men of a certain age.

Movies to See This Week

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SLEEPWALK WITH ME

Sleepwalk With Me leads our current crop of fine comedies.   The zany French odd couple comedy The Intouchables is a crowd pleaser – and an attendance record breaker in France. Frank Langella’s performance in Robot and Frank elevates the film from a pretty good comedy to a revealing study of getting older.  Celeste and Jesse Forever is a smart and authentic comedy of best friends too perfect for each other to fall in love at the same time.  Ruby Sparks is a hilariously inventive romance that probes whether realizing a fantasy can bring happiness.

It’s worth seeking out the compelling documentary Searching for Sugar Man, about the hunt to uncover the secret fate of an artist that didn’t know that he was a rock star. The same holds for Bill W., the story of the reluctant leader of a movement, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The brilliantly made Louisiana swamp fable Beasts of the Southern Wild enters the life and imagination of a child and celebrates her indomitability. It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2012 – So Far.

Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in New York is a rollicking light culture clash comedy. The stylishly violent crime drama Lawless is well-made and well-acted but predictable. The bike messenger thriller Premium Rush is nothing more than a chase scene, but it’s a cool chase. The Dark Night Rises is too corny and too long, but Anne Hathaway sparkles.  The Words is a corny drama that insults the audience by over-explaining everything.

You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is the darkly hilarious Norwegian thriller Headhunters.

Movies To See This Week

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THE INTOUCHABLES

Let’s face it – we’re now in a holding pattern, waiting for the big autumn movie releases. But, if you haven’t seen the four good comedies out now, you still have a chance. The zany French odd couple comedy The Intouchables is a crowd pleaser – and an attendance record breaker in France.  Frank Langella’s performance in Robot and Frank elevates the film from a pretty good comedy to a revealing study of getting older.  Celeste and Jesse Forever is a smart and authentic comedy of best friends too perfect for each other to fall in love at the same time.  Ruby Sparks is a hilariously inventive romance that probes whether realizing a fantasy can bring happiness.

It’s worth seeking out the compelling documentary Searching for Sugar Man, about the hunt to uncover the secret fate of an artist that didn’t know that he was a rock star. The same holds for Bill W., the story of the reluctant leader of a movement, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The brilliantly made Louisiana swamp fable Beasts of the Southern Wild enters the life and imagination of a child and celebrates her indomitability. It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2012 – So Far.

Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in New York, which opens this week, is a rollicking light culture clash comedy.  The stylishly violent crime drama Lawless is well-made and well-acted but predictable. The bike messenger thriller Premium Rush is nothing more than a chase scene, but it’s a cool chase. The Dark Night Rises is too corny and too long, but Anne Hathaway sparkles.

I haven’t yet seen the heralded drama The Words, which opens this weekend. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is the heartfelt French Canadian drama Monsieur Lazhar, another of the best films of the year.

Movies to See Right Now – Labor Day Edition

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ROBOT & FRANK

There are some good movies out this Labor Day, and four of them are comedies.  Frank Langella’s performance in Robot and Frank elevates the film from a pretty good comedy to a revealing study of getting older.  The zany French odd couple comedy The Intouchables is a crowd pleaser – and an attendance record breaker in France.  I am impressed by both Celeste and Jesse Forever and Ruby Sparks – each is written by an actress and each is a good time at the movies.  Celeste and Jesse Forever is a smart and authentic comedy of best friends too perfect for each other to fall in love at the same time.  Ruby Sparks is a hilariously inventive romance that probes whether realizing a fantasy can bring happiness.

It’s worth seeking out the compelling documentary Searching for Sugar Man, about the hunt to uncover the secret fate of an artist that didn’t know that he was a rock star. The same holds for Bill W., the story of the reluctant leader of a movement, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The brilliantly made Louisiana swamp fable Beasts of the Southern Wild enters the life and imagination of a child and celebrates her indomitability. It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2012 – So Far.

Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in New York, which opens this week, is a rollicking light culture clash comedy.  I haven’t yet seen the stylishly violent crime drama Lawless is well-made and well-acted but predictable.  The bike messenger thriller Premium Rush is nothing more than a chase scene, but it’s a cool chase.  The Dark Night Rises is too corny and too long, but Anne Hathaway sparkles. Magic Mike has male stripping, but no magic.

I haven’t yet seen the controversial indie drama Compliance or Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer, which open this weekend. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is The Hunger Games, a well-paced, well-acted and intelligent sci-fi adventure fable for tweens – and for the rest of us, too.

Movies to See This Week

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CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER

Here’s a surprise – there are some appealing (and smart) romantic comedies this August!  I am impressed by both Celeste and Jesse Forever and Ruby Sparks – each is written by an actress and each is a good time at the movies.  Celeste and Jesse Forever is a smart and authentic comedy of best friends too perfect for each other to fall in love at the same time.  Ruby Sparks is a hilariously inventive romance that probes whether realizing a fantasy can bring happiness.

And here are two more comedy winners.  Frank Langella’s performance in Robot and Frank elevates the film from a pretty good comedy to a revealing study of getting older.  The Intouchables is a crowd pleasing odd couple comedy – an attendance record breaker in France.

It’s worth seeking out the compelling documentary Searching for Sugar Man, about the hunt to uncover the secret fate of an artist that didn’t know that he was a rock star. The same holds for Bill W., the story of the reluctant leader of a movement, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The brilliantly made Louisiana swamp fable Beasts of the Southern Wild enters the life and imagination of a child and celebrates her indomitability. It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2012 – So Far.

Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in New York, which opens this week, is a rollicking light culture clash comedy. The Dark Night Rises is too corny and too long, but Anne Hathaway sparkles. Magic Mike has male stripping, but no magic.

I haven’t yet seen the French drama Beloved, the controversial indie drama Compliance or the bike messenger thriller Premium Rush, all of which open this weekend.   You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is the brilliantly constructed (but gloomy) Iranian drama A Separation, which won the Best Foreign Language Picture Oscar.

Movies to See Right Now

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A dream girl comes to life in RUBY SPARKS

Ruby Sparks is a hilariously inventive romance that probes whether realizing a fantasy can bring happiness.  In contrast, Killer Joe is NC-17 for a reason and will either thrill or disgust you; that notwithstanding, it pops and crackles with excellent performances by Mathew McConaughey and Juno Temple.  The Intouchables is a crowd pleasing odd couple comedy – an attendance record breaker in France.

It’s worth seeking out the compelling documentary Searching for Sugar Man, about the hunt to uncover the secret fate of an artist that didn’t know that he was a rock star. The same holds for Bill W., the story of the reluctant leader of a movement, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The brilliantly made Louisiana swamp fable Beasts of the Southern Wild enters the life and imagination of a child and celebrates her indomitability. It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2012 – So Far.

Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in New York, which opens this week, is a rollicking light culture clash comedy.  The Dark Night Rises is too corny and too long, but Anne Hathaway sparkles.  Magic Mike has male stripping, but no magic. The relationship drama 360 is a snoozer.

You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is the French drama Time Out – an excellent choice for the current economic environment.

2 Days in New York: a diversion, sometimes funny

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Writer-director Julie Delpy and Chris Rock play a couple living together in a cramped New York City apartment with their kids from previous relationships when her eccentric French family comes for a visit.  Most French are reserved and impeccably polite; because that’s not funny, Delpy wrote her visitors to be very badly behaved extreme hedonists.  The stress of the first visit by the in-laws, the claustrophobia of packing people into a tiny apartment and language and cultural barriers are all promising comic situations.   A mid-range comedy, 2 Days in New York has its moments.

As a screenwriter, Delpy’s strengths are a keen eye for family dysfunction, brisk pacing and a willingness to get raunchy.  But much of the broadest gags in 2 Days in New York fall flat.  There is a funny bit about Delpy’s emotionally brittle artist literally selling her soul as a piece of performance art.  And it’s funny when Delpy invents a preposterous tragedy to avoid facing a complaint from a neighbor.  But the funniest moments are two Chris Rock monologues when he retreats to his man cave to converse with a large poster of Barack Obama.

I wouldn’t recommend a special trip to the theater to see 2 Days in New York, but it’s a pleasant enough diversion to watch on DVD or stream later this year.