Comfort is a sweet romantic comedy about a courier who gets mixed up with the daughter of his company’s most important client. Comfort is one of the funniest entries at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

2016 Los Angeles Asian American Film Festival
Writer/Director: William Lu
Cast: Chris Dinh, Julie Zhan, Kelvin Han Yee, Billy ‘Sly’ Williams

Comfort has a unique premise to cross into the rom-com genre in a while. Cameron (Chris Dinh) is a courier in Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a chef. Cameron suffers from Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a disease that causes extreme sensitivity to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Like a vampire, Cameron can only exist during the night.

Cameron’s boss, Eddie (Billy ‘Sly’ Williams) needs him to make an important delivery for his best client, Martin (Kelvin Han Yee), the King of Hot Sauce. Martin asks Cameron for a favor. He needs Cameron to pick up his daughter Jasmine (Julie Zhan) at LAX, because he has to stay late to finish an important hot sauce ad campaign. Cameron, in turn, gives Jasmine a late night tour of Los Angeles. Soon a friendship and romance develop.

Comfort walks that fine line between romance and schmaltz. Comfort saves itself with a well-disciplined story from William Lu and good acting.  Writer/Director William Lu manages to capture discussions of love, life and romance that feels real. There’s a lot of sweet comedy set in the landscape of late night Los Angeles.

As an Asian-American myself, I’m also excited to see good acting and the cast of Comfort is fantastic, funny and real. As the film’s lead, Chris Dinh and Julie Zhan are so likable that you cannot help but root for them to find romance. Chris’ performance is subdued and low key with a subtext of a dreamer. Julie is sweet, attractive and plays as Cameron’s inspiration to reach his dreams.

7 out of 10 stars

Captain America: Civil War manages to do everything Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice failed to do. That tells a fantastic story involving way too many superheroes and introduce new characters in a meaningful and exciting way.

Release Date: May 6, 2016
Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Director: Joe & Anthony Russo
Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, Scarlett Johansson

Similar to the Marvel Comics event that pitted hero against hero, Captain America: Civil War pits Captain America (Chris Evans) against Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in a physical and moral battle. After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, the United Nations demand that all powered humans register with their governments and submit to its authority as well.

Iron Man is for hero registration because even the most powerful hero needed to be kept in check and held responsible for collateral damage when acting alone. Captain America is for civil liberties and can not submit to a government agency, especially when lives are at stake.

A crisis occurs when the debate over the matter is interrupted when a bomb is set off next to the U.N. Headquarters. The explosion kills many including the leader of Wakanda, King T’Chaka (John Kani). Video footage shows that the bomb was set by the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). The U.S. decides to engage supporting heroes to capture and even kill the Winter Soldier. This includes the new hero, Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), who decides to avenge the death of his father.

Captain America knows that if the Winter Soldier did set the bomb, he did not do it of his own free will. In fact, a new villain reveals himself in the shadows, Zemo (Daniel Bruhl). Zemo was the one who reactivated the Winter Soldier and turned him once again into a killing machine. Zemo is intent on bringing down an empire and his plan involves finding the secret lab that created ten other Winter Soldiers.

Teams have been formed. Team Iron Man consists of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Vision (Paul Bettany), Black Panther, War Machine (Don Cheadle) and amazingly Spider-Man (Tom Holland) (pun intended). Team Captain America is Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

Captain America: Civil War features three amazing chase/battle scenes. The ultimate battle between the heroes at an airport feel like it leaps directly from a comic book. It’s fun and incredible. The final battle between Captain America and Iron Man is both sad and satisfying.

The tight story from Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely makes this long movie feel like you want more. It succeeds in so many ways. First, Let’s face it, this movie has a lot of heroes and it’s easy to be lost in the sauce, but every character has a moment to shine, not only in battle but as individual characters.

Second, the story introduces two characters: Black Panther and Spider-Man. Both characters make a bold statement in the movie. Black Panther is a prince avenging the death of his father as well as donning the new responsibility as the leader of a nation. His motivations of anger are justified and his character arc leaves you excited for the upcoming Black Panther movie.

Spider-man is also interesting in the sense that he really isn’t needed in the movie. Clearly, he was added because Marvel wanted to show off that they have Spider-Man back in the Marvel fold. The movie could have done without Spider-Man. Give credit to Markus and McFeely, they tell the Spider-Man story in a way that is fun and exciting. Tom Holland brings an element of Spider-Man that we haven’t seen in the other films and that’s Peter Parker’s need to constantly comment and make smart remarks throughout an entire fight. His moments with Tony Stark are hilarious, especially the moment that Stark makes Peter admit the kid is “Spider-Man.”

Zemo, played by Daniel Bruhl, is one of the most understated villains so far. Without throwing a punch or threatening to destroy the world, his actions are slowly revealed and the impact of his plan is everything you expect from a villain. He is the reason Captain America and Iron Man fight to the death, making him one of the best villains in the MCU, even though you’ll forget Zemo when you walk out of the movie.

Making a movie like Captain America: Civil War has challenges that need to be faced or the movie will fail. Under the direction of Anthony and Joe Russo, those challenges are met from beginning to end. These challenges include the problem of too many heroes. Everyone has a moment to shine. The reason for the heroes to battle one another are solid and make sense. There is no clear hero. Both Iron Man and Captain America is morally right to do what they are doing and you find yourself shifting back-and-forth regarding who is right. Also a story that has as many holes plugged up as possible.

Captain America: Civil War is the best Marvel movie to date, but it clearly could not have been great without the films before it. Solid story and stunning action pieces with an ambiguous sense of right and wrong make this film the one you see over and over again.

10 out of 10 stars

Based on J. G. Ballard novel of the same name, High-Rise, observes life for the residents of a high tower run out of control.

Newport Beach Film Festival – 2016
Writer: Amy Jump
Director: Ben Wheatley
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Elisabeth Moss

High Rise, I think, is an allegory about class warfare. It’s a very strange movie, and I’ll describe it as best as I can. Dr. Robert Liang (Tom Hiddleston) is a upper-middle class doctor that moves into a futuristic high rise building. The building is an essentially a self-contained country. The rich and affluent live on the higher floors while the poor live on the lower floors. Living on the penthouse level is the architect of the building, Royal (Jeremy Irons), who designed the entire project.

The beginning of the movie, everyone starts moving into their individual apartments. The high rise has its own market, workout room and every amenity imaginable. But quickly things start to fall apart. Liang first attends a party by the lower middle-class residents. Not to be outdone, the rich decide to throw an even better party.

As the movie progresses, documenting a three-month period of time, the society within the high-rise begins to deteriorate. Food becomes scarce, the electricity and water fail and garbage begins to pile up. The upper-class bunker into their floor and the lower class wonder why nothing is improving. Or at least, that’s what I think is happening.

I am absolutely baffled by this movie. Clearly the film is some kind of statement about class warfare, but I can’t really tell you what that statement is. It is based on a popular novel that I have not read, but I’m sure many people have. I should have to read a book to understand a movie.

The main problem a film has when it’s hard to follow. It gets boring fast. I start looking at the clock. I keep hoping this act is the last act. But the end doesn’t come, and I am forced to endure more torture.

The movie is littered with strange and odd images. Visually, the high-rise appears as a sleek modern building of today, but over time, the building deteriorates. Halls are littered with trash and the ungodly. Even food becomes moldy, and water becomes cloudy.

The strange thing is I hear laughter, and I see people who are enjoying this movie. I begin to wonder, am I just too stupid to enjoy this film? Then paranoia sets in, and I wonder if the movie is making fun of me.

I love Tom Hiddleston, and I am a fan of Jeremy Irons. They are good actors and light up the screen. It was probably the only thing that helped me get to the finish line that is the ending of this movie.

I’ll just come out and say it. I didn’t get this movie, and if there was a point or commentary about life and class warfare, it was lost.

4 out of 10 stars

Realizing they are falling behind, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the latest entry from Warner Brothers to cash in on their share of superhero dollars. Is this a cash grab or a serious attempt to be a real player in the superhero genre?

Release Date: March 25, 2016
Writer: David Goyer
Director: Zach Snyder
Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Gal Gadot

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a decent action movie. Unfortunately, it is loaded is popular DC comic book characters and has Marvel Studios setting a high standard for comic book movies. The movie delivers on its title. The all-powerful Superman battles the street-smart vigilante Batman and the battle itself is fun to watch.

The problem is everything leading up to this moment was thrown at us in rapid-fire succession and not developed well. Before we go into the problem, I’ll say what was good about the movie is Ben Affleck’s Batman was not bad, and the action/fights are good.

The main problem with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is its need to present a lot of information and only having two and a half hours to present this information. Sadly, the movie needs another two hours to tell its story and no one wants to sit through that.

The movie starting strong with the final battle between Superman and General Zod but seen through the eyes of Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). Bruce for some reason is in Metropolis, and he is trying to get to some guy trapped in building owned by Wayne Enterprises. Of course, this building is destroyed as collateral damage from the aforementioned fight and the guy, who we only know as Wayne’s good friend perishes. On top of that, we are once again treated to flashback memories of the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents. Already that is a lot.

Next, we jump to Lois Lane (Amy Adams) in the middle east attempting to get an interview with some alleged terrorists. This moment serves only to reintroduce Lois as the main character and her relationship with her protective lover, Superman (Henry Cavill). Later, there is a discussion with Lois and Superman in a bathtub, which is super-hot. Other than that, Lois as a character serves only to expose ultimately Lex Luther as the mastermind of the tragic events that are about to happen.

The next storyline follows the newly discovered Kryptonite. Lex (Jesse Eisenberg) needs help from Congress, led by Senator Finch (Holly Hunter), to import the substance to his lab in the U.S. so it can be used as a weapon against Superman. The twist occurs when the substance is stolen by Batman so that it can be used as a weapon against Superman.

Let us now return to Batman’s story. Haunted again, by the death of his parents, Batman sees the only salvation the world has is the death of Superman. Of course, Batman is conflicted. He also doesn’t trust Lex. Batman hacks into the phone of Lex’s henchman to discover the identity of four “meta-humans” who may be able to help defeat Superman.

Back to Lex, who is upset about his stolen Kryptonite, manages to blame Superman for another national tragedy, figures a way to instigate a fight between Superman and Batman and finally discovers all of Superman’s secret by accessing Zod’s ship from the first movie.

Now to Superman, who only wants to bring peace to his new home and protect his girlfriend. Look, this movie suffers from too much plot. There is so much plot going on that every strand of the plot is not serviced adequately leaving it weak and full of holes.

Another problem, secondary characters only serve to move story along. Lois Lane exists to slowly reveal the mystery of Lex and the Kryptonite and Lex Luther is the vehicle the film uses the pit Superman and Batman against one another and to ultimately unite them together. You could have interchanged Lex with other DC villains and still told the same story.

Lastly, the introduction of the Justice League is weak and underwhelming. As seen in the trailers, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is introduced late into the action. Very little is said about her and she kicks ass, which is what we want, but clearly anything related to the Justice League feels last minute and serves only to create excitement about the Justice League movie.

It’s hard not to feel like Batman v Superman is a movie that needed to exist because Warner Brother’s was falling behind in the superhero race. The difference is that Marvel built its universe over the course of 10 years and Warner Brothers started two years ago with Man of Steel.

The tone of Batman v Superman is dark and moody. There is very little humor in the film. I don’t necessarily have a problem with this. One, it sets itself up as a different kind of filmmaking compared to Marvel. Two, it’s borrowing from brooding tones of the Dark Knight. My only problem is that Superman has always been a character of hope and justice. His storyline, beginning with Man of Steel, as the misunderstood alien just isn’t striking the right tone for Superman.

There you have it. A movie with both Batman and Superman, an introduction to Wonder Woman and soon the Justice League. That’s the best thing you could say about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

6 out of 10 stars

I did not see the original Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightly back in 2005. Mainly because I was not interested in seeing it. Nor have I read the Jane Austin book, because I was not interested in seeing it. Now, throw in a few zombies and I’m in. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a mash-up between 19^th-century romance and the Night of the Living Dead.

Release Date: February 5, 2016
Writer: Burr Steers
Director: Burr Steers
Cast: Lily James, Sam Riley, Jack Huston, Charles Dance, Lena Headley, Matt Smith

If you’re familiar with Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, you know it is about the Bennet family. The aging patriarch, Mr. Bennet (Charles Dance) cannot pass his estate on to any of his five his unmarried daughters unless wed. The story becomes the interweaving tale of manners and matrimony of the Bennet sisters.

Jane Bennet (Bella Heathcote) is in love with Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth), but they cannot marry because Bingley’s childhood friend, Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) does not get along with the Bennet’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth (Lily James). Elizabeth manages to strike Darcy in all the wrong way because she is a strong woman. Darcy in return cannot stand her presence because she does not act like a proper woman. Elizabeth soon begins to fall for Darcy’s estranged adopted brother, Mr. Wickham (Jack Huston). But Elizabeth has also been promised to her cousin, Parson Collins (Matt Smith).

Oh, let us not forget the zombies. A plague has flooded all of England, turning its people into the living-dead, hungry only for the brains of humans. On the edge, Mr. Bennet trained his daughters to not only defend themselves when confronted by a horde of zombies but to attack and permanently kill one without flinching.

The movie begins at a Bridge party. The local constable, Mr. Darcy has arrived because he believes one of the guests is infected with the zombie plagues. Using flies which are attracted to dead flesh, Darcy discovers and dispatches the head of the undead guest.

My one complaint is that the rules of zombies are always rewritten from film-to-film to accommodate the larger story. It tends to weaken, in small ways, the ferociousness of zombies altogether. But then again, you have to tell a story. In this film, infected humans are dead, but their full conversion to brain eaters happen over time. As the flesh decays and wounds go unhealed, they can still act like people, which is often used as a trap to ensure the healthy ones. Eventually, the human mind will ultimately die, and the person becomes mindless brain eaters.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies succeeds because it introduced me to the fascinating world of Jane Austin. The film manages to tell a true Austin story while at the same time mix a horror element. The movie stays true to Austin-era England while weaving in not only the existence of zombies but also the imminent zombie threat.

What makes the movie work is it takes itself seriously. There are comic moments that help ease the tension. At no time do the actors wink at the camera to make sure in on the joke. The actors take their roles seriously and ultimately makes the absurd tale worth watching.

Lily James is memorizing as Elizabeth Bennet. She is beautiful and deadly. She is a woman who stands her ground and not allowing any man change it; not her father and certainly not Mr. Darcy. Sam Riley is equally likable and unlikable as Mr. Darcy and his unflinching view of the world around him. Matt Smith shines as the comedic Parson Collins, in search of a wife that he can rule over and a wife that can protect him from the undead.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a fun, action-filled movie for people who do not know the world of Jane Austin. I have a feeling the Austonians may find the film distasteful, possible because they are against tampering with the source material.

7 out of 10

Ex-Special Forces Agent, Wade Wilson, becomes the smart-mouth mutant mercenary, Deadpool. Deadpool first appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and at that point he becomes a silent villain. Ryan Reynolds proves in Deadpool, that maybe the original creators were right, and you should base the characters on the source material.

Release Date: February 12, 2016
Writer: Rhett Reese, Paul Wenick
Director: Tim Miller
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller

Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is an Ex-Special Forces Agent, who earns money today as a hired gun doing favors for the weak and not-so-innocent. On one special job, Wilson runs into the beautiful and equally tough, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and they quickly “hit-it-off.” By “hit-it-off,” I mean they have sex right away, which then leads into a sequence of sex through the holidays.

In the film’s early moments of Wilson breaking the proverbial fourth wall and talks to the audience, he keenly points out that a no movie can end on a minute of happiness. Soon Wilson is diagnosed with cancer in his lungs, brain, and any place cancer can exist. Not wanting to have Vanessa watch his slow and painful deterioration, Wilson enlists the help of Ajax, who has found a way of awakening dormant mutant cells through a series of near lethal injections and torture.

After weeks of torture, Ajax brings Wilson to the point of death, and this is when Deadpool is born. Deadpool’s new power is the ability to heal rapidly and regenerate, but the treatment disfigured Wilson’s normal appearance. He looks like a monster.

Soon, we find out that Ajax is not healing people of diseases, but, in fact, creating an army of mutants who will become the slaves of the highest bidder. After burning down the lab facilities, Wilson goes on the hunt for Ajax, who he believes can heal him. He hides from Vanessa because he can’t let her see him in this state and also serves as his protector.

Simply put, this movie is a Deadpool movie. It is incredible to see how much research the filmmakers put into studying and ultimately realizing the comic book Deadpool on the big screen. The costume is one of the best comic book replications in movies today, and the tone and attitude of Deadpool is dead on (pun intended).

Everything in this movie serves as a showcase of Deadpool. This movie is to show the world, who this Deadpool guy is and why everyone thinks he’s cool. He’s cool because he doesn’t care about anything but himself. He has a small conscience and loves Vanessa dearly. He’s self-aware and says everything everyone is thinking. You can take away the entire plot because it’s unnecessary. This movie is a showcase of everything great about the original Rob Liefeld character.

The film is brutally violent throughout the entire film. The film uses incredibly raunchy language throughout the entire film. The film is hilarious throughout the entire film. There are several great performances. Morena Baccarin as Vanessa is beautiful, sexy and can hold her own against any criminal. Stefan Kapicic is the voice of Colossus, a CGI version of the popular character, but true to the original X-men character. His fight scene with Deadpool is gruesome and hilarious, which leads to an incredibly funny scene with veteran actress Leslie Uggams. Brianna Hildebrand shines as Negasonic Teenage Warhead. She is all hero and all teenager. Let’s not forget T.J. Miller as Weasel, the only friend Deadpool has in the world, even though he has Wilson on his Death Pool.

You are not going to watch Deadpool because it has an awesome story. You are going to see Ryan Reynold’s portray the perfect Wade Wilson/Deadpool and show that a rated-R superhero movie can be successful as a film and successful at the box office.

9 out of 10

Fans of the Coen brothers are sure to have a good time with their latest offering, Hail Caesar!. The film tells the story of studio head, Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) running an entire studio, while leading man, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) of its biggest budget feature has been kidnapped and held for ransom.

Release Date: February 5, 2016
Writer: Ethan & Joel Coen
Director: Ethan & Joel Coen
Cast: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Alden Ehrenreich

Hail Caesar! follows a single day for Capital Pictures head, Eddie Mannix, who must juggle crisis after crisis while keeping the movie making machine rolling. First there is newcomer, Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich). Hobie is a naïve stuntman, who is being touted as the next up-and-coming star. After a series of successful singing cowboy movies, Doyle is being moved to dramatic roles. In the film’s funniest scene, Doyle’s heavy western accent is not working for director Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes).

Actress DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) is the studio’s swimming beauty and she finds herself pregnant out wedlock. Mannix must spin the story as to not become a tabloid scandal. He enlists the help of professional “person” Joseph Silverman (Jonah Hill). He also needs to deflect studio rumors from tabloid journalist Thora Thacker (Tilda Swinton) and her competitive identical sister, Thessaly Thacker (Tilda Swinton).

The studio’s biggest problem is the abduction of its biggest star, Baird Whitlock. Whitlock is literally in the middle of filming a scene in Capital Pictures largest budget movie, “Hail Caesar!” He is kidnapped by two extras and being held ransom for $100,000. Mannix figures out who kidnapped his star, how to get him back and keep the news out of the tabloids.

The Coen brothers have managed to create an amusing film that is more or less a throwback to the movie studios of old. They produce a stunning water ballet scene featuring Scarlett Johansson, a whimsical song and dance routine with an amazing Channing Tatum and an old school Biblical epic with George Clooney.

The main problem with Hail Caesar! is that it’s being sold as a studio thriller. In actuality, the movie serves as a slice of life. That’s not to say that being a slife-of-life movie is bad. The movie is fun to watch, but the subplots are low stakes and the kipnapping story is not an exciting story. The Coen brothers have captured the whimsical world of the early studio days and that about it.

As the studio head, Josh Brolin is clearly the lead of the movie. He’s a likable studio head and his struggle to balances the craziness of the studio with his personal life is quite charming. There are a lot of big stars in this movie, but the real shining moment of the film is Alden Ehrenrich as Hobie Doyle. His portrayal as the young naïve actor, who wants to be a team player, is sweet and endearing. Where did this guy come from and can we see him in more movies?

If you are a fan of the Coen brothers, Hail Caesar is distinctly the work of the Coen Brothers in terms of tone and humor. But compared to their other film it’s definitely a light movie, missing a dark edge and violence.

6 out of 10

Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) are back as former supermodels self-exiled into the wintery tundra of New Jersey and the desert wasteland of Malibu. Now aging supermodels, Derek and Hansel must find out who they are and discover why famous celebrities are being murdered.

Release Date:  February 12, 2016
Writer: Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux
Director: Ben Stiller
Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Penelope Cruz

For Derek Zoolander, his dreams died 12 years ago when his school for Children-Who-Don’t-Read-Good, collapsed and killed his wife, Matilda. Soon, his soon Derek Jr. Is taken away from him because he was caught on video not knowing how to make spaghetti soft. After being scared from the collapse of the school, Hansel also goes into seclusion with his orgy, lead by Kiefer Sutherland (Kiefer Sutherland). The orgy wants to make a family, but Hansel doesn’t know if he’s ready to be a father to his orgy’s babies.

A distant figure Billy Zane (Billy Zane) visits Derek and Hansel with a message. They have been invited to model once again for up-and-coming designer Don Atari (Kyle Mooney) and his mentor Alexanya Atoz (Kristen Wiig). What follows is a series of wacky and unlikely events ultimately unveiling a more sinister plot. Agent Valentina (Penelope Cruz) who is part of the fashion division of Interpol, enlist Derek and Hansel to uncover the sinister plot involves Derek Jr. (Cyrus Arnold).

What makes Zoolander 2 work as a comedy is the world in which the movie exists, created by writers Ben Stiller and Justin Theroux. They’ve created a wacky world within the real world. The key is the rules to this world must be religiously followed. The story’s solid, but strange, plotline makes enough sense to be passable to the film’s audience. Zoolander 2 amazingly stands on a pretty solid foundation.

Whether you like the film or not, now depends on whether or not you like the Zoolander world and the silliness of Zoolander and company. The movie is peppered with fashion world inside jokes. Like any good movie, Zoolander 2 asks and simple question. What if the fashion industry secretly ruled the world? Liking the movie hinges on whether you want to know the answer.

Surprisingly, Zoolander 2 is filled with dozens of cameos and these cameos work. In most cases, celebrities don’t just appear, just to appear. Celebrities have a role in this world. For example, Keifer Sutherland plays the spokesperson for Hansel’s orgy and uses his dramatic skills for laughs. Benedict Cumberbatch is mystifying as the asexual model All, who models for no gender.

When it’s all said and done, you will like or not like Zoolander because you found it funny or not funny. Ben Stiller did everything right to make a well thought out sequel for a silly movie. I laughed through the majority of the movie and laughed out loud and some really stupid jokes. If you liked the original Zoolander, you will like Zoolander 2.

8 out of 10

An aging rock star decides to change his life when he discovers a 40-year-old letter written to him by John Lennon.

Release Date: April 10, 2015
Writer: Dan Fogelman
Director: Dan Fogelman
Cast: Al Pacino, Annette Benning, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale, Christopher Plummer

Al Pacino plays Danny Collins, the aging rocker, who still manages to sell out stadiums across America. As famous as he has become, Collins is a man going through the motions on stage and finding solace in drugs and his very young fiancé. On his birthday, Collins’ manager Frank Grubman (Christoper Plummer) bring Danny a letter than John Lennon had sent to him before he became famous. The letter was never delivered to Collins and Grubman found it from a collector.

The Lennon letter is an instrument of irony. It was an encouragement to Collins to remain true to himself and soft-handed warning about the trappings of fame.  The letter prompts Collins to examine his life and where he is. It also prompts him to visit the son he never knew.

Collins take a trip from Los Angeles to New Jersey hoping to mend things with his son, Tom Donnelly (Bobby Cannavale), Tom’s wife, Samantha (Jennifer Garner) and his granddaughter, Hope (Giselle Eisenberg). Collins says at the local Hilton, where he meets and becomes smitten with the manager Mary (Annette Benning).

Danny Collins is a story of redemption. Can Danny make things right with the son he abandoned as a child. Considering he is the result of a one-night stand and never bothered to know his son because he just didn’t care. On the flipside, can Tom forgive the father, who never wanted to be his father. Can Tom allow himself to be the object of Danny’s redemption. Finally, will Danny Collins ever become the artist that John Lennon say 40 years ago.

Danny Collins is a story that’s been told before, but these stories never starred Al Pacino. Pacino brings Danny Collins to life as a celebrity famously known around the world. You root for him as a man who wants to change and fix the pain he’s caused in the past. You also root for him in hopes that he overcomes the demons of not only drugs, sex and rock-n-roll, but the demon of failure.

As his son Tom, Bobby Canevale holds his own against Pacino. He is not a victim of Danny’s apathy, but then again, he is. Tom also faces a struggle of him own and soon realizes how much he needed a father-figure in his life…better late than never.

Danny Collins, the movie, is no Dog Day Afternoon and Pacino’s portrayal of Collins is no Michael Corleon. But Danny Collins is a light, fun comedy that leaves you feeling good about the world in the end. As a veteran actor, Pacino is comfortable as Collins even to the point of singing his own songs. It’s clear the Pacino wanted to do a comedy as a challenge and he picked the right one from writer/director Dan Fogelman.

7 out of 10

Fifty Shades of Black is Marlon Wayans’ parody of the sexually-charged movie, Fifty Shades of Grey. In this parody, businessman Christian Black (Marlon Wayans) is looking to naïve reporter, Hannah (Kali Hawk) to be his sexual submissive.

Release Date: January 29, 2016
Writer: Rick Alvarez, Marlon Wayans
Director: Michael Tiddes
Cast: Marlon Wayans, Kali Hawk, Mike Epps, Affion Crockett, Jenny Zigrino

To say that Fifty Shades of Black is a bad movie is being kind. The movie suffers from being incredibly bland. It strings together a series of mediocre jokes using a fragile, if non-existent, storyline. The fact that this is a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey, the filmmakers use the storyline and structure of the film as a loose guide solely to get us from the beginning to the end of the movie.

It is almost not worth summarizing the story, but let’s try. Christian Black is a successful and mysterious millionaire, who has made his riches selling drugs and stealing everything. Hannah is a young ingénue, who interviews Black, when her nymphomaniac roommate is under-the-weather after a night of violent banging.

During the incredibly awkward interview, Christian is enamored by Hannah and offers to enter a business-like love relationship, which includes sessions in the playroom. If you’re familiar with Fifty Shades of Grey, you know where this is heading.

As a comedy, writers Rick Alvarez and Marlon Wayans basically took every scene from Fifty Shades of Grey and rewrote it by added a series of jokes and gags. The problem lies in that by adding jokes to a scene they managed to remove the parts of the story that leads you to the next scene. So while you might mildly laugh at the juvenile sex humor, you then wonder where is this movie going?

For example, the scene where Hannah is talking to her roommate Kateesha (Jenny Zigrino), about the interview with Christian Black. While Hannah is going over the questions, Kateesha can’t help but go on and one about her sexual encounter the night before that left her in this weakened state.

The other problem is the level of inconsistency in characters and in its storyline. It’s as if the filmmakers just want to throw jokes in your face hoping you’ll laugh at something. In one scene Christian is going to spank Hannah for some reason I can’t remember. The joke is Hannah butt is tight and as Christian spanks her, he is the one who feels pain in his hands. Later in the film, Hannah is being whipped on the rear and she feels pain. It’s as if they write these scenes completely independent of one another and are not concerned with how they match against each other.

Fifty Shades of Black is just a plain old bad movie. The original Fifty Shades of Grey was funnier because you had actors saying and doing the most ridiculous gags with a hilarious level of seriousness. In this movie, the actors are comedians both in on the joke and telling the jokes. Gags are shoved into scenes because they need gags. Laughs are childish, scatological and penis jokes.

3 out of 10