By Dave Montalbano
http://cinemadave.livejournal.com
Over the Easter weekend, Furious 7 broke box office records for an April release. With a gross of 147 million, this film owes much to the well-promoted tribute to the late Paul Walker, who passed away last fall from a tragic car accident.
The tribute is a fine one, with visions of poetry. People left the movie in tears.
For a full evening price ticket, it is disappointing to write that Furious 7 is not a successful movie overall. The set-up is good. As always, the characters are engaging and new villain Jason Statham gives both Vin Diesel & Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson their lumps. The first big action sequence in the mountains is thrilling; but, as the action progresses, the reliance apon computerized special effects diminishes any sense of danger.
As long as Vin Diesel feels like producing this Fast and Furious series of movies, expect a “Fast 8” in 2017. This 15-year-old series revolves around a core group of individuals that resembles a family dynamic. Every two years, it’s nice to check up on these people.
Last Thursday evening, the Palm Beach International Film Festival (PBIFF) announced that X+Y won the Best Feature Film Award. This unique motion picture features a young mathematical genius, Nathan (Asa Butterfield), who goes on a field trip to Asia. Considered autistic, Nathan makes new friends and learns that his estrangement from people has more to do with a blocked trauma from his past.
Omo Child: The River and the Bush tied with Walking Man for Best PBIFF documentary. Directed by Josh Salzberg, Walking Man presents a bipolar father and son who go on a cross country walk to bring attention to teenage suicide prevention.
It is a road movie, but, along the way, we meet young people who have attempted suicide. Back home, the mother explains the up and down behavior of the father and son. Whereas the son’s mood swings would occur on a daily basis, the father would have a manic/depressive episode that lasted three years.
The climax is presented as a confession from the mother and father. We learn the importance of maintaining communication with empathetic people. What makes Walking Man a successful documentary is the candor about this painful, but important, subject.
