By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

With the releases of Logan, Kong: Skull Island and Beauty & the Beast, the March 2017 box office has broken records, much like the old summer blockbuster season used to be. Could it be the weather? Uninteresting television? Perhaps all three motion pictures are providing big screen entertainment again.

Of the proceeding mentioned films, Beauty & the Beast is the weakest flick to go see on the big screen. A remake of the 1991 animated version (which was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, losing to Silence of the Lambs), this Beauty & the Beast has exquisite production values, fine performances and music that will ignite sentimental tear ducts. Yet, during the film’s climax, director Bill Condon sacrifices good storytelling for technical splendor.

For a good story and realistic character development, The Last Word expands to more screens this weekend. Shirley MacLaine is garnering her best notices since her Oscar-winning achievement, Terms of Endearment. As Harriet, MacLaine is a control freak facing the twilight of her life.

Reading the obituaries of her contemporaries, Harriet contacts Anne (Amanda Seyfried) to write her obituary for the local newspaper. Given Harriet’s prickly personality and Anne’s naivete, this business proposition seems doomed to failure. Upon closer examination of what makes a good obituary, Harriet creates four goals to achieve before the shadows claim her. Dragging a reluctant Anne along with her, Harriet embarks on a series of escapades.

Under director Mark Pellington’s confident direction, The Last Word unfolds in realistic fashion. Each one of Harriet’s goals is abstract, but the human interaction is humorous and feels true. There are many scenic gems found in this movie. Among the highlights are Harriet’s attempts to be a benefactor to an alternative radio station and be a mentor to an African-American girl of a single mother.

As both producers and actors, MacLaine and Seyfried form a good team. MacLaine is the dominant personality, but Seyfried gives a transitional performance that is endearing. These two veteran actresses develop a fine chemistry with young AnnJewel Lee Dixson, the African American child forced to take in a mentor. MacLaine, Seyfried and Dixson shine during an emotionally tense lunch scene with Harriet’s daughter (Anne Heche).

This weekend, the much hyped Power Rangers and CHiPS start crowding the cineplexes. Don’t let fine movies like Logan, Kong: Skull Island and The Last Word get pushed aside. These three films provide Saturday matinee popcorn-eating fun.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

As I write this week’s column, news is breaking that the host of Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Robert Osborne has passed away. A film historian with personal relationships from motion pictures’ golden age of movie stars, Osborne’s persona was a major influence upon this film columnist. Regardless of the film he introduced (classic film, an Oscar winner, a historical curiosity), Osborne had a knack of bringing a fresh perspective to a film he had seen countless times. TCM co-host Ben Mankiewicz will follow in Osborne’s footsteps, but the young host has big shoes to fill.

The passing of the torch is a major theme of Logan, this week’s box office champion. A culmination of seven X Men and two Wolverine movies, Logan takes place 22 years into a dystopian future. After decades of saving the world from hostile forces, Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) lives in an abandoned oil field with his old mentor Professor X (Patrick Stewart), who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Wishing to live his final years in peace, Logan is confronted by a woman who has read too many X-Men comic books. The woman wants Logan to take a special little girl to Eden, which is found in Canada. Unwilling to become involved at first, Logan learns that Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and Professor Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant) have devious plans for the little girl and her “special” friends.

Starting with Bela Lugosi in Dracula and concluding 17 years later with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Universal Pictures created memorable monster movies that have enthralled many generations. It has been 17 years since Hugh Jackman first portrayed Wolverine. In Logan, he is provided a final curtain call for his duties as an X-Man. Logan is a current classic on the big screen.

The Women’s Balcony opens this weekend at neighborhood theaters. In Hebrew with English subtitles, The Women’s Balcony is a comedy/drama. While attending a bar mitzvah, the women’s balcony collapses in the middle of the ceremony. When it looks like the temple will be closed for a long period of time, a new rabbi quickly comes to the rescue of the worshipers. Unfortunately, he is more like the pied piper.

The temple opens quickly, but the women’s balcony is not restored. Being more orthodox than his predecessor, the rabbi wants the women to cover their heads to display their modesty. Naturally, the modern women rebel.

Unlike the angry protests that we see on the news every day, The Women’s Balcony has an infectious sweetness that will make the ticket buyer smile.