It's Kind of a Funny Story

A charming story of self discovery and the power of honesty, with both yourself and with others. Craig is a 16 year old kid who thinks he is struggling with depression when he checks himself into a psychiatric hospital to get help. Only after being admitted does he find that it is for a minimum 5-day stay. And that the teen-ward is under construction so he is in 3 North, with all the other crazies. Of course, none of them are seriously crazy, so everybody has fun working on self improvement in music class, art class and playing table tennis. Craig's friendships on the floor lead to a developing maturity in himself as well as impacting those around him. This could have been really cheesy (it was only sort of cheesy) and really dumb (it wasn't). Mostly, I was surprised that it held my attention and I enjoyed the evening with Cool Craig.
4 stars (out of 5)

The Square

Ray is a construction supervisor looking for a way to change his life by running away with his mistress. This sounds like the beginning of a thousand films, and in many ways, The Square is no different than those thousand. But it is also a quality look at motivation, decision-making and feeling trapped built around the story of a small time heist. On a small scale, we see how one decision leads to an inevitable next decision. Within the context, each decision is logical and essential. In hindsight, I am looking back (as I am sure is Ray) to think about which decision could have been made differently at each step of the way. The plot is sufficiently intricate to keep you thinking and curious, and of course, the story doesn't go the way Ray thought it would...

4 stars (out of 5)

The Audrey Hepburn Story

Every so often it is worth watching a made-for-TV docudrama. And when the subject is one of my all-time favorite actresses, you can't really go wrong. Hepburn is one of cinema's finest stars and while the acting quality in this film is not great, I did find her life story very interesting. Raised in Brussels and Amsterdam during WWII with a Nazi sympathizer father, Hepburn turned a love of dancing into a love for acting and pursued her dream with unwavering commitment. In the end, her mother's mantra of "You can be whatever you want" ended up to be true...

3-stars (out of 5)

Hanna

Hanna is a young girl who is raised by her father in the northern wilderness (somewhere near the arctic circle). The two are completely isolated and dad uses the roughness of nature as a way to train his daughter how to protect herself from anything. When she is finally ready, the two re-enter civilization to try to clean up a messy past. Hanna is not aware of most of the truth (she has been protected), but she is a kick-butt special agent. As we progress through the film, avoiding and then chasing the nemesis, I am not sure what I am left with. Or, I am sure, and it is not much. Reminiscent, at times of last years Kick-Ass, but without the humor and of the old James Bond classics like Goldfinger, but without the camp or class. In the end, we are left with a well trained soldier who is ruthless and has lots of questions about the world. Almost like Jason Bourne, which makes me suspect a sequel next summer. I can't recommend this one, but will probably see the sequel when it comes out since I invested in this back-story.
2 stars (out of 5)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

By far the best of the three Millennium trilogy films (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire as the first two). This film plays out as a courtroom thriller with political intrigue and international espionage drama. We leave behind most of the misogynistic current of the previous films (although it hangs around as a fundamental motive). The protagonist Lisbeth Salander starts here where she left off... dark, chip-on-her-shoulder, and with a bullet in her head. She is in the hospital recovering while a case is being built against her for attempted murder. Blomkvist, meanwhile, continues to dig up dirt on the conspiracy that got Lisbeth in trouble in the first place, getting help from hacker extraordinaire Lisbeth. He ultimately ends up with a massive expose for his magazine. If none of this makes sense, you have got to see the first two films (or better, read the books). Overall, I loved the books, and was entertained by the films. It is interesting the "The Girl" is clearly the protagonist and the driver of the story, but is really a minor part of most of the films. And just for fun, the first of the American version (staring Daniel Craig) releases at the end of this year, so it will be very interesting to see the trilogy again from a different perspective so close to the original.
4 stars (out of 5)

Fast Five

Ok, I am a Vin Diesel junkie. All of his films are summer popcorn blockbusters and he knows it. He plays with the right amount of testosterone and self deprecating humor dripping off the screen. Fast Five is a great follower in the Fast & Furious franchise. We have transitioned out of a pure muscle and speed, car movie (of which I still think Tokyo Drift is the best entry) into a pretty good heist film. From the first heist (stealing cars of course) to the last (a well choreographed, old fashioned bank heist... sort of) there is never a dull moment. We steal from bad guy and utilize the team of experts, each with a specialty, to make things fun. My only complaint is the body count. Well over 100 and not really necessary. Violence alone is enough to make the rating wrong (PG-13? Really?). But summer is here. And like I said, I am a Vin Diesel junkie...

4 stars (out of 5)

The Fighter

I really haven't seen many films that Mark Wahlberg is a good fit for. This is pretty close. I haven't seen many films that Christian Bale is bad in either. This is no exception. Wahlberg plays a "minor league" boxer, trying to stay in the ring and get a shot at a title. His druggie brother (Bale) and manager mom seem to have good intentions without the ability to keep their own ego's in check. The highlight of this film may be the scenes with Wahlberg's gang of half-sisters who, let just say, are not the most intelligent folks on this planet. Any scene they enter is automatically over-the-top and somehow just right at the same time.
3 stars (out of 5)