Boyhood (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Boyhood

The singular director Richard Linklater hits big with nothing less than a human epic. "Boyhood" is a visual roman a clef, as subtle and introspective as it is personal.

Mason (Ellar Coltrane) is a six year old boy, nervous and reticent over his parents divorce. This is very much a concept film, given that we follow Mason along with his mom, Olivia(Patricia Arquette) his dad, Mason (Ethan Hawke) and his sister, Samantha (Linklater's own daughter Lorelei) for the space of twelve actual years, in what is very close to real time.

Following a group of fictional characters, aside from the documentary series "28 Up" by Michael Apted, has never been done.

In this film, we sense what it actually feels like for a young person to mature and it unfolds before our eyes like a Texas cactus.

Faced with domestic unrest, Mason retreats into himself. His mother meets a militaristic and headstrong teacher who at first seems engaging and fun, but soon turns violent with alcoholic rage.

The wonder of it all, is in its softness and delicate detail that spins in the camera with the short pungency of haiku: we see Mason in long takes arguing with the authenticity of a person in his private space. We see these characters doing what is often unthinkable---being bored.

At times, when Mason is pensive and lethargic the story moves like a rhythmic tome, at others when the camera winds in between doorways to show a rabid and frothing  stepfather, the story has the percussiveness of a psychological horror story.

Mason has a great range here from a fledgling curious kid, mischievous tween, a disaffected teen and then to a young adult, nearly obsessed by national paranoia.

Samantha too evolves from a kind, idealistic young girl, to a self centered monotone teen, and then moves a bit outside her shell again.

In addition to its people, this is also very much a story of America.

We are bombarded at first by some mechanized and aggressive imagery from the Manga on TV to the gulf war, but through the course of the story, technology's death grip on culture lessens, if ever so slightly, though Mason's lament on intimacy in cyberspace.

The father oscillates from a bohemian disordered lay-about to a straight laced, semi-religious person who sells insurance.

It is a rare thing that every character moves with organic bends and stops---as life often does---no one character rings false.

The state of Texas in all its plaid homophobia and desolation is seen here as it is, or might be, in some populations. There are churches, bars, white-supremacy houses, and blue grass jamborees. But like a human being, Texas, the place transforms as well, with blue and red orbits of Obama signs that sprout on lawns like lollipops.

Better yet, there is enough here to make us ponder and reflect within the film. There is just as much not known about Mason and his parents as there is revealed and that is what is rare.

Mason emerges to us as a friend on a Texas street deep within the western suburbs where clusters of taciturn, hooded kids barely mumble hello. We follow him, sticking to the camera and Mason in turn, stares at us with his camera.

We can't pull away.

When Mason's deep voice finally emerges as a young adult, the fact that we have watched this boy from age six, sneaks up on us all and hits us like a slug from a 30 ought 6.

"Boyhood" is a rich and thoughtful film that unfolds like a novel, yet it also entertains and playfully toys throughout (as if its three hour  running time is a daring aside to audiences)

Don't let the film's scope intimidate you. "Boyhood" is very much a poetic meditation on Ray Bradbury's evocative "Dandelion Wine" and it is sure to leave you with many questions, not only regarding its characters, but more compellingly, on the nature of film as it is predominantly consumed today.

Write Ian at redtv_2005@yahoo.com

The Hundred-Foot Journey (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Auteur Lasse Hallstrom directs the affectionate "The Hundred-Foot Journey," a sugar-glazed culture clash film that turns the blazing tensions of professional cooking into a "It's a Small World" Disney trip and makes it all seem smooth and effortless.

The Indian Kadam family has relocated to France, after losing their restaurant and enduring the loss of their mother, who died in a fire.

Papa (the iconic actor Om Puri) is as solid as a rock and gets an idea to have a restaurant along the French countryside. He knows this is The Way. After all, his son Hassan (Manish Dayal) has numinous culinary  gifts. He can transcend the spirit world through his salivary glands and communicate to curried ghosts, both near and far.

Papa wanders about the grounds, discovering a big house with an open courtyard.

It's kismet.

But alas, the location is next door to Le Saule Pleureur, a haute cuisine  showplace, helmed by Madame Mallory, (Helen Mirren) an icy straight arrow who is a fusion of Cruella de Vil and Julia Child.

Mallory declares "war" on the new Romantic family, buying all the produce so the Kadams have little to work with and she stuffily complains about exuberant Indian music.

There is a silver lining in this cauliflower-shaped cloud however, as Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) a vivacious sous-chef as adorable as  Ariel in "The Little Mermaid", takes a fetching interest in the gentle Hassan.

A battle of wills commence.

There is a commentary on anti-immigrant hostility when a nationalist chef Jean-Pierre (Clement Sibony) attempts to burn the restaurant down in one of the more interesting passages of the film.

While "The Hundred-Foot Journey borrows a bit from other Eastern-themed underdog films such as "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Million Dollar Arm," the visual sweep within this film is a treat that works. And while "The Hundred-Foot Journey"  is, no doubt, pure Hollywood thru and thru, it is almost a period piece, given that it highlights and catalogs the magic of Steven Spielberg; he is the producer and his mark is clearly seen.

In showcasing golden sauces that pour over our eyes like light from an edible sun, its depiction of colorful curries that froth and swirl like calico candies of LSD, and last but not least, huge red peppers that pulse in an almost animated motion like the dismembered hearts in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," this film illustrates the liveliness of food within its gustatory circus.

And although it is predictable, we still get a charge in seeing Hassan go to Paris, attempting to break down the molecular science of "quantum cuisine," to discover past spirits and meet with ghosts.

Yes, this is a Disney version of the hard nosed dog eat dog world as seen in "Chef," but it is so unapologetically sentimental (from the fireworks on cue, to Papa and daughter looking ridiculous but acting earnestly in a gold turban and a shimmering sari ) that you end up smiling in spite of all.

With all of the Franco-Indian fairy dust heaped in tablespoons as if left by "Aladdin", "Mary Poppins" and "Ratatouille", "The Hundred-Foot Journey" still creates a perfect food-fusion sleight of hand with hints of Bollywood spice in this blissful, yet cinematic Béchamel.

Write Ian at redtv_2005@yahoo.com

Week of August 8 to August 14 (Rhoades)

Tropic Overview

Twelve Years and One Hundred Feet Go In Tropic Cinema’s New Fare

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades
Film Critic, Cooke Communications

The movie promo could read “Twelve Years in the Making!” -- for that’s exactly how long it took director Richard Linklater to film “Boyhood,”  a mosaic about the life of a Texas family (Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette). However, the film’s focus is on Ellas Coltrane, the kid he signed for the movie back in 2000. Watching Coltrane grow from boy to man is like amazing time-lapse photography. Newsday says, “Richard Linklater's latest feels more like living a life than watching a movie.” And Creative Loafing calls it “a work that easily breaks free of the shackles of ‘just a gimmick’ and emerges as a superb motion picture in its own right.”

Also new to Tropic screens is “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” a delightful foodie film starring Helen Mirren as the proprietress of a snooty French restaurant who isn’t happy when an Indian café moves in across the street. Directed by Lasse Hallström, this comedy will tickle your tummy as well as your funny bone. Variety observes that “it contrasts the heat and intensity of Indian cooking with the elegance and refinement of French haute cuisine, then balances the two with a feel-good lesson in ethnic harmony.” And Village voice calls it “almost embarrassingly enjoyable.”

“And So It Goes,” which is holding over, appeals to baby boomers with its sweet tale about a crusty realtor (Michael Douglas) and a weepy songstress (Diane Keaton) who find each other at an age others are thinking of retiring. Director Rob Reiner makes a cameo as Keaton’s sometimes suitor and piano accompanist. TheMovieReport.com says, “These legendary stars don’t disappoint in their first screen teaming.” And Urban Cinefile describes it as a “discerningly funny rom-com with a pedigree.”

Another comedy is “Tammy,” a road trip movie that’s tailored for Melissa McCarthy and Susan Sarandon. Playing a down-on-her-luck daughter and an out-of-control foul-mouthed mother, the pair has great chemistry. Forbes calls it “Melissa McCarthy at her best, frank and raw but in a much more honest way than we've seen before.” And Real Film Reviews describes it as “a decent comedy/drama that hopefully marks McCarthy's first step towards a more varied selection of roles.”

And the dramatic high point of the week is “A Most Wanted Man,” a John Le Carre espionage tale about German spies trying to recruit an agent. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars in his last role as the enigmatic spymaster. Impulse Garner says “This slow-burning film about surveillance asks moral questions regarding how long we must contain our racial and prejudicial impulses before acting on our suspicions.” And Richard Roeper calls it "one of the best spy thrillers in recent years."

Yes, lots of reasons to spend your extra hours at the Tropic.

srhoades@aol.com

Boyhood (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movie

Linklater’s “Boyhood”
Is Collection of Moments

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

You read about quickie films made in a matter of days. For instance, Roger Corman shot “Little Shop of Horrors” in two days and one night. Steven Spielberg  reportedly shot “Duel” in 10 days plus pickups.

But filmmaker Richard Linklater is different. He takes the long view. Linklater’s famous trilogy (“Before Sunrise,” “Before Sunset,” and “Before Midnight”) was filmed in three installments over 18 years.

And now Richard Linklater gives us “Boyhood,” a film shot intermittently over a 12-year period, following along as a boy named Ellar Coltrane grew from childhood to adulthood.

“Boyhood” is now playing at the Tropic Cinema.

Back in 2000 Linklater announced he was beginning the then-unnamed film. He stated, “I’ve long wanted to tell the story of a parent–child relationship that follows a boy from the first through the 12th grade and ends with him going off to college. But the dilemma is that kids change so much that it is impossible to cover that much ground. And I am totally ready to adapt the story to whatever he is going through.”

So he hired seven-year-old Ellar Coltrane to play the boy as the centerpiece for his unfolding story. He added his own daughter Lorelei Linklater, because she was handy. And teamed up with his frequent star Ethan Hawke (they’ve made eight movies together) and Patricia Arquette.

Shot in annual increments, the result is like watching time lapse photography, with everybody actually aging (particularly the boy) over a dozen-year span.

Like most Linklater films, the plot is minimalist. We get a meandering story of Mason Sr. (Hawke) and Olivia (Arquette) and their two kids (Coltraine and Linklater), following along as the parents separate and remarry, often making bad choices that affect the children’s sense of family. Mason Jr. grows up, has his own relationships, eats hash brownies, goes off to college. In the end, the boy observes that each moment in life is “right now.”

Linklater describes ”Boyhood” as “this little collection of moments that probably doesn’t fit into most movies. They’re not advancing the character enough or the story enough or the plot but they all add up to something much bigger than each little place and each little piece of it so that was kind of the feel of the whole movie, that it mirrors our lives.”

Ethan Hawke adds that it’s “an epic about minutiae.”

The project’s successful, kind of in the same way “Seinfeld” was a TV show “about nothing.”

srhoades@aol.com

Tammy (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Tammy

In what might have passed with some chuckles if other Melissa McCarthy features were not seen, "Tammy" co-written by the usually very funny McCarthy and directed by her husband Ben Falcone is choppy, derivative and just falls flat.

McCarthy is Tammy, a boisterous woman down on her luck. She just got canned from a fast food job and her hubby, the uninteresting Greg (Nat Faxon) cheats on her openly.

A slobbering Tammy wreaks havoc wherever she goes, knocking burgers over and throwing food. More than a few times, the running joke is that Tammy spills things: pepper shakers, bottles, and cutlery. She puts dandruff a pot of mayo.

None of it is funny, precisely because the theatrics are only due to  Tammy being obnoxious and overweight. Precious little of the humor is delivered through the character on an emotional level so all we get are the same old sight gags of McCarthy, bumping her belly about while yelling and cursing and it  all runs thin.

The genuinely silly sight of Tammy wearing a fast food sack on her head  (while it is, at first, fun) runs cold because the gag is overplayed twice.

Here is McCarthy's persona repeated once more: surly, bumbling and uncoordinated.

Ok. So. We get it. Again.

Tammy has had enough and she hits the road with her suburban grandmama (Susan Sarandon) who, in her heart of hearts wants to sow her wild oats, as older folks yearn to do in countless other comedies. Sarandon's character is so obvious and plainly delivered that it never seems convincing. She has gray hair and fat swollen ankles from diabetes, but these traits are played cheaply, rather than conveying any spirit or explanation, where true comedy originates.

Aside from some mildly ha-ha lines from McCarthy as she swaggers about thinking herself a femme fatale man eater, these are all situations from "The Heat", to "Identity Thief". McCarthy is very physical and does display some comedic staccato wordplay with timing but there is not enough of it.

The actors Allison Janney, Kathy Bates and Dan Aykroyd are here but they make mere bland cameos with little zest.

A Viking funeral for a jet-ski?

Why?

As grandma Pearl is on the road with Tammy slugging beer and knocking over cows, the noisy uniformity just becomes static.

This cartoon has little color, because no character is very fresh or originally played.

The slight poignancy between Tammy and Pearl as they travel together loses punch. All is done in broad strokes, glossed over with a sitcom patina.

The indie film creator Mark Duplass appears as Tammy's love interest but his role is also dull and ill-fitting as he tries to handle such ridiculousness ultra-straight.

Melissa McCarthy is a genuinely funny person, but she is not showing herself in a funny way with her incarnation of Tammy.

If you haven't seen any of her other films you may get a snicker or two, otherwise you will just shake your head and wonder why "Tammy" is just another loud and sloppy  character with scarcely little interest or verve.

write Ian at redtv_2005@yahoo.com

A Most Wanted Man (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

A Most Wanted Man

Dutch master Anton Corbijn, (The American) a poet of images which are strikingly and invariably tinted in slate gray, got his start directing provocative videos for U2 and Nirvana. His trademarks of vast cement spaces, anything but vacant, have a watchful and pensive quality. Even his sterile rectangles have eyes.

We have these hypnotic qualities expressed again in "A Most Wanted Man,," Corbijn's latest thriller.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is Gunther, the head of a covert anti-terrorist team, driven by turns with ambition and fear. Hoffman in his role is a kind of inflated jellyfish, pale and flaccid with a thousand eyes. In his incarnation of Gunther, he surfs the nether zone of Hamburg to catch what he can, eerily melting into the gray, seaweed browns, and turgid greens of the director's palette.

A speck of silver, like a dangerous falling star, lights up his phone.

A young soiled man in a wet hoodie ( Grigoriy Dobrygin) has dragged himself along Hamburg's banks supposedly seeking asylum as a Chechen.

Gunther is immediately on alert, his ashy white eyebrows rising in wait.

But he has other eyes on him.

Rival agent Mohr (a scary bureaucratic Rainer Bock) wants this grunge-dude before he contacts possible terror groups while Gunther wants to wait, having a chance to catch a bigger target, the soft-spoken and distinguished Professor Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi).

There is also a frosty agent Martha (Robin Wright) who puts some soft screws on Gunther under the guise of some acid civility.

Gunther's existence becomes increasingly narrow and claustrophobic; he doesn't know where to go or who to trust. He moves in a subterranean realm. Gunther removes himself from the mortal square, half octopus, half shark, a cigarette his only breathing tube.

Daniel Bruhl appears as a human marker behind a monochrome screen. A human pencil who eternally watches. There is also a formal and detached banker (perfectly,  if predictably played by Willem Dafoe).

Rather then hit us with a slug and crunch as in the Bourne or Bond episodes, we are led as a camera in captivity within circular orbits where there is often little more than some half uttered phobias and squelched  sighs as a solitary camera looks on, myopic and inhuman.

These are people who exist behind walls and borders and plastic. They are blanched and not quite normal. Anton Corbijn is at his best in capturing this enervating and snickering world, polarized against the sloshing soup of Hamburg's canals, not to mention its generic and faceless buildings with angles as sharp as a shark, and shut windows that pose harsh accusals of no entrance.

"A Most Wanted Man" is terrific as a winding and visual garrote that subtlety seduces us with its snaky cinematography and then pulls us in by the neck, but symbolically and cinematically, the film can be seen as a final mirror of Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the actor of a hundred faces, a thespian / spy who went to the underbelly of life to gather a wealth of dramatic intelligence and came up against an unpredictable and very personal double cross.

When his Gunther is left wheezing, overwhelmed and mortified from an unfortunate car, it is natural, perhaps, to think of Hoffman himself as the camera's perspective is left nonchalant and cast aside to follow Gunther / Hoffman as he walks away, bereft, detached, and ultimately resigned in whatever awaits.

Write Ian at redtv_2005@yahoo.com

Bicycling with Moliere (Brockway)

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

Bicycling with Moliere

Philippe Le Guay (The Women on the 6th Floor) delivers another hit with the light and ebullient "Bicycling with Moliere". The film co-written by actor Fabrice Luchini (who plays the irascible Serge) is an Odd Couple vignette about two men who know each other so well they oscillate between affection and bitterness with each other, not to mention resentment and ribaldry.

Smooth silver fox Gauthier (Lambert Wilson) wishes to take a sabbatical from TV acting, traveling to the picturesque French hideaway of Île de Ré to talk to his old friend Serge.

Gauthier presses him to help bring Moliere to life, by acting in "The Misanthope" as Philinte.

The difficult needle-like Serge wants no part of it.

Gauthier persuades his cantankerous friend to at least read the script. Serge reluctantly agrees, then demands that he play the main character Alceste instead of a "minor" role.

Gauthier proposes that they alternate the roles and Serge concedes.

Throughout the film, Serge throws sarcasm at the inflated and George Hamilton-like actor while he tries to hold his own, via a scarf around the neck. Gauthier gets into a violent fight with a taxi driver (Stéphan Wojtowicz) and feels out-done by Serge in his pursuit of the vivacious Francesca (Maya Sansa)

Gauthier's egotistical pratfalls become more comical by the second.

This is a bon-vivant who is used to getting his way. Despite his celebrity role, he is no master thespian.

The tension, albeit of the tickling variety is in watching the contrast: the debonair Gauthier against the baggy and turtle-like Serge who also makes an excellent Beckett character. He accuses his friend of becoming a vain sellout, while Gauthier counters that he has no relevance to the audience and no persona.

In matters of Cupid, the film overtly echoes "Jules and Jim" with its sheepish love triangle.

While the drama expressed is often in kid gloves, there is some loud and physical stuff here, with Gauthier being a self obsessed prick even though he does care for his friend.

While at first we think Serge the shy hermit, under the brash cuts of Gauthier, he becomes more and more enraged at the parading of his friend.

Serge becomes the better actor.

This is a swift and  carbonated comedy that shows two affectionate rivals doing anything they can for their egos.

Each character in his own way is selfish, each is passionate.

The upper hand of poetry may well go to Serge, however. While the tanned and handsome Gauthier is dazzled by the stage lights of Alceste, Serge is left on a desolate beach to recite Moliere's lines in a charmed, but wistful urgency.

Write Ian at redtv_2005@yahoo.com