Being Frank (2018)

 Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Miranda Bailey
Cast: Jim Gaffigan, Logan Miller, Anna Gunn 

Running Time: 99 minutes

 

A rebellious teenager who aspires to go study music in New York disobeys his father’s orders by going away for Spring Break with his best friend. On this trip, he finds out his father has a second family and he decides to spend the weekend with them, throwing a monkey wrench into his father’s big elaborate lie.

I went in with low expectations here and I was pleasantly surprised. The premise sounded silly, but what I got was a sweet comedy focused on the father and son relationship. The acting was not bad, though some stuff was a little over-the-top. Overall, this is an enjoyable little movie.

Rating: «««

The Sheik (2014)

Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Igal Hecht
Cast: Khosrow Vaziri, Jack Black, Jim Duggan

Running Time: 95 minutes

 

This documentary film looks at the career and life of Khosrow Vaziri, better known around the world as The Iron Sheik. We learn about Vaziri’s early life in his native Iran, his departure for the United States, his experience as a wrestling coach in the Olympics and his jump into the world of professional wrestling as one of the most reviled villain in that business’ history. The film also discusses how, in his later years, Sheik battled drug addiction and went on to become a Twitter phenomenon.

I found this film captivating. It gave me a deeper look into a personality I mostly knew for his onscreen character. I was glad to learn more about his family life and his battles with addiction. I am also happy to see that he is in a better place now. The only fault I found with this film is that Sheik’s pro wrestling history was a little rushed and ended up missing some elements. Nonetheless, well worth watching.

Rating: ««««

Omertà (1996-1999)

Genre: TV / Franco / Thriller
Distribution: Michel Côté, Luc Picard, Michel Dumont 

Nombre de saisons: 3

 

Cette série télévisée québécoise en trois saisons — les deux premières ayant comme sous-titre La loi du silence et la troisième ayant comme sous-titre Le dernier des hommes d’honneur — relate le travail d’un groupe de policiers chevronnés pour contrer les efforts criminels de la mafia italienne de Montréal.

Cette série enlevante est une création de Luc Dionne. On y retrouve une panoplie de personnes intéressants campés, la plupart du temps, par des acteurs de talent effectuant du bon boulot. Le début de la troisième saison, qui était en quelque sorte un antépisode, détonait un peu du reste, mais c’était néanmoins fort intéressant.

La plupart des personnages étaient criants de vérité, et je me suis bien amuser à retourner dans le temps voir cette série que j’avais manquée à l’origine.

Rating: ««««

 

Before Sunset (2004)

 Genre: Romance / Drama
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy 

Running Time: 80 minutes

 

Nine years after their chance encounter on a train and their night spent roaming around Vienna, Jesse and Céline a reunited in Paris when Jesse travels there on a tour to promote the book he wrote about that night they spent together. They reconnect and spend the afternoon together, as Jesse is set to fly back home later that day.

This is a charming sequel to Before Sunrise. It is short, but sweet. A very compelling story. A lot of dialogue, but it is delivered masterfully by the two leads, who share some solid chemistry on screen. The characters still feel real, though they have evolved after nine years. I love this film.

Rating: «««««

Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

 Genre: Biographical / Drama
Directed by: Ron Howard
Cast: Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso
Running Time: 115 minutes

 

Inspired by the memoir of the same name written by J.D. Vance, this film depicts Vance’s family history in poverty-stricken family dealing with violence and drug addiction. As a Yale law student, Vance must go back home to Middletown, Ohio, to deal with a family emergency involving his junkie mom.

In spite of the overly melodramatic movie-making, this film greatly benefitted from excellent acting by Amy Adams and Glenn Close. The script itself was very uneven, but, in the end, I was entertained by this story of resilience and overcoming the odds.

Rating: «««

All Is Bright (2013)

 
Genre: Christmas / Comedy / Drama
Directed by: Phil Morrison
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Paul Rudd, Sally Hawkins 

Running Time: 107 minutes

 

Dennis is a con man out on parole. His ex-girlfriend and the mother of his young daughter is unwilling to give him another chance, and he finds out that she has started a relationship with his former associate, Rene. Needing money to buy a nice Christmas gift for his daughter, Dennis begrudgingly accepts a job selling Christmas trees in New York with Rene.

I liked this dark comedy. Going in, I did not quite know what to expect. The premise seemed silly, but a fun script and a solid acting performance by both leads made this one much better than it could have ever hoped to be. Giamatti and Rudd had a great chemistry and worked well off each other. Overall, a nice little unexpected gem here. I laughed and I was touched in some moments.

Rating: ««««

Happiest Season (2020)

 Genre: Christmas / Romantic Comedy
Directed by: Clea DuVall
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie
Running Time: 102 minutes

Abby Holland and Harper Caldwell have been a lesbian couple for over a year. Feeling bad that her girlfriend hates Christmas ever since she lost her parents, Harper decides to invite her to spend the holidays with her and her family in her hometown. On their way there, Abby realizes that Harper never came out to her family, which is bound to make for a complicated situation.

This is your typical Christmas rom-com with a little modern twist to it. While it does indeed contain a good dose of clichés, it is not without charm. The little speech about coming out delivered by Dan Levy’s character, for example, felt very preachy. Nonetheless, this movie made for a fun evening of cinema with the wife, with a compelling story and some decent acting.

Rating: «««