Be Kind, Please Rewind

He’s a Doomsday Clockmaker. He’s the…

Vidiot

Week of February 20, 2015

Time is how we know we’re late. First up…

 

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The Theory of Everything

The reason women dig guys in wheelchairs is because they get to board the plane first.

Mind you, it could be the intellect of the mobilized virtuoso in this drama that attracts the opposite sex.

Shortly after meeting Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) at Cambridge, astrophysics student Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) succumbs to ALS, and slowly begins losing control of his muscles.

Despite a bleak prognosis, Jane stays with Stephen, and the two defy his two-month life expectancy indefinitely.

Years on, their marriage, their children and Stephan’s bestseller begin to drive a wedge between the pair – as does his weakening health and his wandering eye.

A mesmerizing romance complemented by elegant cinematography and two formidable performances, The Theory of Everything is a poignant adaptation of Jane’s own book about her marriage to the famed theoretical physicist.

Incidentally, how does GPS have so many voice options but Stephen Hawking still only have one? Green Light

Birdman

The reason actors prefer stage work is because they get a cut of whatever falls out of the audiences pockets.

And that loose change could really help the struggling Broadway show in this drama.

Determined to molt the avian super-hero image that made him famous, Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) writes, directs and stars in a play drastically different from his onscreen work.

But when his lead is replaced by a difficult stage legend (Edward Norton), Riggan’s feels upstaged and out of his element.

With open night looming, and early reviews unfavorable, Riggan lashes out at those around: his daughter (Emma Stone), his friends (Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts) and the costumed hallucination of his alter ego: Birdman.

A satirical attack on super-hero movies, social media, and the general public’s palate, Birdman may boast a brilliant cast and inspired direction but it’s lost in its own self-importance.

Besides, if it weren’t for super-hero movies kids would never learn they couldn’t fly. Red Light

 

Dumb and Dumber To

When searching for the child you never knew you had start looking in the places that you’d normally hang out at.

But as this comedy points out, not all offspring share their parents’ affinity for underground dogfights.

Waking from a self-imposed vegetative state, Lloyd (Jim Carrey) reunites with his best-friend Harry (Jeff Daniels) after twenty years.

Unfortunately, Harry’s failing kidney threatens their reunion unless they can locate the daughter (Rachel Melvin) Harry unknowingly had with Fraida (Kathleen Turner).

When they learn she’s headed to Texas with a million-dollar idea, the duo hit the road with a nefarious family friend (Rob Riggle) in hopes of obtaining her liver and the priceless invention.

The long awaited sequel to the Farrelly Brothers’ 1994 hit, this unnecessary revival is forced and unfunny, with the actors looking as old and uninspired as the archaic jokes they’re reenacting.

Besides, who the hell wants a girl’s kidney?  Red Light

***Smart and Smarter***

 

A Beautiful Mind

The downside to being an extremely intelligent person is not being able to enjoy anything in pop culture.

Thankfully, the math prodigy in this drama keeps himself occupied cracking hidden code.

After proving his acumen at Princeton, and later at MIT, John Forbes Nash, Jr. (Russell Crowe) is approached by the US Defense Department (Ed Harris) to decipher Russian communiqué concealed in daily newspapers and magazines.

Much to the chagrin of his concerned wife (Jennifer Connelly), John becomes obsessed with his top-secret task and the shadowy government agents he insists are out to silence him.

Ron Howard’s astute but skewed interpretation of the Noble Prize winning economist ‘s descent into schizophrenia, this adaptation of the renowned novel is masterfully crafted and superbly acted. However, its insistence on formulating a touching love story is strenuous.

Incidentally, marriages built on an attraction to each other’s mind only works if you’re both ugly.

He’s a Brain Donair. He’s the…

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