“Happy End” – Money can’t buy happiness. After watching writer/director Michael Haneke’s new movie, one could easily picture the aforementioned, famous saying as the film’s title, because the wealthy family featured – the Laurents – lumber in a constant state of dysfunction. Most Haneke fans – who appreciate this filmmaker’s frequent and wholehearted dives into cynical, offputting material – will embrace “Happy End” and leave the theatre satisfied, but not necessarily happy. With Haneke, that’s generally the point. Rather than driving home his points through a specific, sweeping story arc,…
Day: January 20, 2018
‘Forever My Girl’ does not last
“Forever My Girl” – Eight years. A lot can happen in eight years. A fourth grader will become a high school senior. A U.S. president can spend two terms in office. The French could build four more Eiffel Towers. Americans built a manned rocket that landed on the moon, and actually, it only took seven years from JFK’s famous “Moon Speech” to Apollo 11. The point is a lot can happen in eight years. For Liam Page (Alex Roe), he left the love of his life, Josie (Jessica Rothe), at…
‘Small Town Crime’ is a middling curiosity
“Small Town Crime” – “Well, I was born in a small town. And I live in a small town. Probably die in small town.” – John Mellencamp, “Small Town” Mike Kendall (John Hawkes) lives in a small town, out west in the high desert, where blue skies reign, the ground sports varied shades of brown and snowcapped peaks hold court in the distance. Writers/directors Eshom and Ian Nelms filmed outside Salt Lake City, Utah, but within the movie, the exact locale is not important. Mike’s own well-being is not terribly…