A Rainy Day in New York

 A Rainy Day in New York (2020)

Starring Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez, Jude Law, Diego Luna, Rebecca Hall, Cherry Jones, and Liev Schreiber

Directed by Woody Allen

Written by Woody Allen

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Motherless Brooklyn

Motherless Brooklyn (2019)

Starring Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, Michael K. Williams, Ethan Suplee, Dallas Roberts, and Leslie Mann

Directed by Edward Norton

Written by Edward Norton

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C-

Boy Erased

Boy Erased (2018)

Starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton, Joe Alwyn, Xavier Dolan, Troye Sivan, Britton Sear, Flea, Cherry Jones, and Russell Crowe

Directed by Joel Edgerton

Written by Joel Edgerton

Summary (in 500 words or less):  When Jared (Lucas Hedges) comes out to his parents after a semester at college, his preacher father (Russell Crowe) enrolls his son into a gay conversion program. 

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B-

Movie Review - The Beaver

The Beaver (2011)

Starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Cherry Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence

Directed by Jodie Foster

I've said this before in a previous review of one of his films, but what Mel Gibson does outside of a cinematic setting is one thing...I still like him greatly as an actor (and director, for that matter).  In The Beaver, Gibson's first foray into acting since his most recent meltdown in which he berated his girlfriend, the actor takes on a role that seems rather suited for him in his current situation -- a depressed guy wanting to hide away from the world.  Although married to a seemingly lovely wife (Jodie Foster) with whom he has two sons and despite being the top exec at a promising toy company, Walter Black is in a funk.  Seriously forlorn, his wife Meredith kicks him out of the house, unable to deal with his lack of attention to his family.  While throwing away some of his belongings in a dumpster, he comes across a beaver hand puppet, which, after he places it on his hand, becomes Walter's sole way of communicating with other people.

Right off the bat, The Beaver has an incredibly odd premise that seemingly would lend itself to comedy (or dark comedy at the very least).  However, this is where the Jodie Foster-directed film ends up faltering the greatest.  It's obvious that the ultimate goal of the flick was to find a balance between drama and humor, but the comedy never really made itself known.  Foster simply can't foster the humor and it creates an uneven tone that never works itself out.

It's unfortunate, really, because Mel Gibson is actually pretty darn good here.  Perhaps by studying the accent of his Edge of Darkness co-star Ray Winstone, Gibson's rough-around-the-edges British accent that he spouts whenever speaking as the puppet is spot on.  But there's certainly more to his performance than an accent.  This'll sound corny, but there was something in Gibson's eyes in this movie that just said all that needed to be said.  While Gibson was spouting the Beaver's lines, the eyes of Walter were displaying what the character truly felt -- a man struggling with trying to find who he once was and how he possibly could have sunk so low.

While I placed a bit of the blame on Foster above, I think the film's biggest problem is a script that just doesn't quite know where it wants to go.  To me, this thing would've worked infinitely better as a clever short 30-minute flick, but when the movie tries to expand its landscape by delving into the life of Walter and Meredith's eldest son Porter and his burgeoning relationship with the school valedictorian (Jennifer Lawrence) who has troubles of her own, the whole thing falls flat.

There's part of me that wants to tell you to rent The Beaver simply because Gibson's performance is worthy of viewing.  However, heed the warning that you won't really be seeing a quality film to go along with it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Mother and Child

Mother and Child (2010)

Starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, Cherry Jones, and Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Rodrigo García

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

I'm usually a big fan of movies like Babel or 21 Grams that have distinct storylines that eventually converge or are revealed to be interrelated.  There's a similar tone on display in Mother and Child (the director of those aforementioned films, Alejandro González Iñárritu, executive produced this flick), but writer-director Rodrigo García has a difficult time creating believable characters.  Adoption (which is the underlying societal "issue" tackled in this drama, much like Babel discussed gun control and 21 Grams delved into drug addiction) apparently causes women to turn into harsh ice queens with a hatred for men, themselves, and children.  With nary another characteristic beyond "bitter" to describe the three talented actresses onscreen -- Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Kerry Washington -- the film becomes overbearing and almost a chore to watch.

We first meet Karen (Bening), a fifty-one year-old woman who is still living with the guilt of giving up a child for adoption thirty-seven years ago.  While she cares for her aging and bedridden mother, Karen has turned resentful.  Meanwhile, in some other city, Elizabeth (Watts), a thirty-seven year-old lawyer is starting a new job.  [Yes, the fact that Karen gave up her child thirty-seven years ago and Elizabeth is thirty-seven is not hidden in the film.]  We soon discover that Elizabeth (who has the exact same unpleasant acrid attitude as her biological mother) uses sex as a way to mask her hurt for her lack of a caring family growing up, going so far as to have an affair with her boss (Samuel L. Jackson) at her law firm.  Rounding out the trilogy of women dealing with the ramifications of adoption is Lucy (Washington) who is unable to have children with her husband and is longing to adopt.  While not quite as nasty as Karen and Elizabeth, Lucy isn't exactly a shining example of womanhood.

The biggest problem with Mother and Child is the simple fact that none of the three women are the least bit pleasant to watch.  They're all rather nasty.  Then, about halfway through the movie, these ice queens suddenly melt into loving, caring ladies.  The transition is so instantaneous in all three cases that it almost seems like I was watching two disparate films.  When you tack on a rather melodramatic final act, even the three lovely actresses who I've liked in many of their previous films can't rise above the flawed characters they're forced to portray.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+