DOLITTLE

Robert Downey, Jr.    Antonio Banderas    Michael Sheen    Jim Broadbent    Harry Collett    Carmel Laniado

Voices of:  Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjani, Octavia Spencer

Tom Hollans, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Marion Cotillard

     Talking to the animals and having them respond back.  This movie is surprisingly convincing in making you think it is possible. Dr. Dolittle (Downey) has been holed up in his house, not doing much of anything but talking to his animals after he lost his love Lili on her adventure at sea.  He lives with these creatures, and seems to be gradually going nuts.

     In the meantime, there is young Tommy Stubbins who can’t bear to shoot animals on his family’s hunting expeditions (much to the puzzlement of his father) and one time, he accidentally wounds a squirrel named Kevin (Robinson).  Desperate, he runs to the animal doctor’s house to get him to save him.  Now, Kevin is outraged and deeply resents Tommy, vowing throughout the story to get his revenge.   

     On his way to Dr. Dolittle’s, Tommy runs into Lady Rose (Laniado), Queen Victoria’s niece.  The queen is gravely ill, and has specifically asked for Dr. Dolittle’s help.  But the doctor is still grieving for Lili and is insufferably cranky, just wanting to be left alone.  After reluctantly reviving Kevin, he’s talked into (after being told that if the queen dies, his house will go to the Treasury and he’ll have to find another place to live) going to the palace, riding ostrich Plimpton (Nanjiani).  Unbeknownst to Dolittle, Tommy has stowed away in the carriage with Lady Rose, consistently begging the doctor to take him on as his apprentice, but always denied. Nevertheless, Tommy tries to be as useful as he can and learn to talk to the animals on his own.  It will take a long time for the distracted Dr. Dolittle to recognize Tommy’s value.

They arrive at the palace, Dolittle quickly diagnoses the queen’s problem (by most unorthodox but entertaining means), and decides that the antidote can only be found at a remote island.  To reach it, Dolittle must steal Lili’s diary with directions to the island from her father, King Rassouli (Banderas), king of the pirates.  This requires detailed planning, because the king is not pleased with his son-in-law.  

     Adventures begin on the high seas, with the Dolittle party in one boat, and jealous rival Dr. Blair Müdfly (Sheen) in hot pursuit.  Seems there is some palace intrigue, and Müdfly has received certain instructions to sabotage the Dolittle party.  In addition, the crew will have to either sneak into the palace and retrieve the diary or confront King Rassouli directly. The struggles on the ocean and within the palace provide enough tension and interest to qualify for a kid’s action movie.

     In this whole saga, Robert Downey Jr., is in his element, being playful and crafty at the same time (one of his trademarks).  Martin Sheen is a worthy adversary, with greedy eyes and rude hoots when he thinks he has won a battle.  Antonio Banderas plays the more cosmopolitan figure with exotic appearance and inflated entitlement to redress perceived wrongs against him. All the other supporting actors—including those who lend their voices to the animals—are superb.  They’re given wonderful lines that perfectly capture their individual personalities, such as one with self-esteem problems, one with daddy issues, one inclined to bury his head in the sand when the going gets rough, and one suffering psychological aftereffects from stomach problems.  Much to the character’s credit, Dr. Dolittle at times functions as a therapist by encouraging these animals through their trauma, along with being a brilliant diagnostician and surgeon.  

     The production design (Dominic Watkins) and sets (Lee Sandales) are beautiful, backed up by an intelligent script by director Stephen Gaghan and his co-writers.  Danny Elfman’s music and Guillermo Navarro’s cinematography likewise contribute a great deal to this delightful production.  

     The production has much of value for children in modeling teamwork (“Teamwork makes the dream work”), the value of persistence in reaching a goal, recognizing that individuals need to be encouraged through their difficulties, and the efficacy of forgiveness in making everyone feel good about what they are doing.

A delightful action movie for children about how animals and humans can work together for mutual benefit.  

Grade:  A                             By Donna R. Copeland

PAIN AND GLORY

Antonio Banderas     Asier Etxeandia     Leonardo Sharaglia     Nora Navas     Penelope Cruz     Asier Flores

     Pedro Almodovar’s account of his early years and a low period in middle age when he was suffering with a host of bodily complaints, depression, and anxiety is a soul-baring, intimate look at his life.  Interestingly, he sets aside the years when he was becoming and had achieved fame as a world-renowned filmmaker, although the main character, Salvador Mallo, is portrayed as just such a person.  But except for giving us brief pictures of Salvador’s childhood, this story focuses on an aging man in the midst of an existential crisis marked by physical ailments and ennui.

     I love the way the movie opens with the young Salvador (played by the enchanting Asier Flores) and a group of boys being asked by the choir director at church to demonstrate their potential for singing.  His pitch is perfect, demonstrating promise, at least in singing.  But the child goes on from there in mastering his studies and earning a scholarship at seminary. (Make no mistake, though; he definitely does not want to become a priest!)

     The film jumps back and forth between Salvador’s young life [poor, encouraged by his mother (Penelope Cruz, who always livens up the scenes she’s in] and much later on when he is at his lowest point, being supported primarily by his good friend Mercedes (Navas), who manages to get him to medical treatment.   It’s the most depressing part of the film because not only is Salvador suffering from a paralyzing depression, but he’s gotten into heroin to ease his pain.  He has re-connected with an actor (Etxeandia) in one of his films whom he alienated at one point, and with his old lover Federico (Sharaglia) who appears by sheer chance.

     All this is suspenseful as to how it will turn out in terms of Salvador working through his significant difficulties.  

     The talented Antonio Banderas is a long-time friend and collaborator of Almodovar, so his portrayal of the Salvador character is hand-in-glove.  Some of the most refreshing scenes in the film are those in which Salvador as a child is shown to be so very bright, enthusiastic, and caring toward everyone he meets, he wins our hearts and stokes our belief that everything is going to be all right in the end.  

     These and other scenes of Salvador with his dying mother and his reunification with Federico are some of the most intimate and revealing moments in the film, showing Almodovar’s admirable understanding of human relationships and how and why they are so important.

A heartfelt, soul-baring account of significant periods in the life of a world-renowned filmmaker.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

LIFE ITSELF

Oscar Isaac     Olivia Wilde     Annette Benning     Samuel L. Jackson

Mandy Patinkin     Jean Smart     Antonio Banderas

Laia Costa     Sergio Peris-Mencheta    Adrian Monner    Alex Monner    Olivia Cooke

     “Life itself is an unreliable narrator”, states this film in so many ways so many times, it becomes the major theme, with the corollary, “Life will always surprise you”.  So life is an unreliable narrator because we never know what is going to happen next.  What may seem like tragedy and death can be deceptive, particularly if one has the fortitude to pick oneself up and continue on.  So life itself can sometimes trick us.  

     That these philosophical “underpinnings” to the narrative are bounteously entertaining and thought provoking becomes the surprise of this well conceived, well told film.  When initial reviews I read were negative in light of the stunning cast, I wondered how so many fine actors signed on to do it.  Now that I’ve seen Life Itself, I can well understand; when they read the script, they “got it.”  What I understand less is how a thoughtful, philosophically minded viewer could miss the gold within it—and maybe those who are turned off by it simply miss—or do not care for—the point.

     The story shows how life’s “accidents” may be fateful, and actually may bind people together in surprising ways.  I especially liked how it reflects the good intentions of people in general and how they (most of us) are unaware of the long-term consequences.  In Dan Fogelman’s fine script and direction, Life Itself views the long-term picture within a family, even though each generation’s story is sufficient for a whole movie—which is what we are most accustomed to in contemporary times.

     But here, we first have Will (Isaac) and Abby (Wilde) in a romantic relationship. He vows that, “I will love you however you’re best equipped to handle it.”  How generous is that?  They have a girl-child named Dylan (because Abby is obsessed with Bob Dylan's Time out of Mind album).  Life happens, and we switch to another time and place to Isabel (Costa) and Javier (Peris-Mencheta), who have a son, Rodrigo (Adrian and Alex Monner), and a special uncle, Mr. Saccione (Banderas). How life goes full circle will keep you suspended and entertained if you are willing to be puzzled, and then pick yourself up and continue to the end of the film.

     The strong cast paired with a substantive story that goes beyond the superficial and looks at generations of families across time is the kind of production that keeps me going to movies.  This is a film I will make sure to see again at least once to have the advantage of hindsight, and a chance to reflect further on its truths.  Every single actor fits perfectly in his/her role in an infectious and appealing manner.  Music by Federico Jusid is integral, and itself very entertaining.

See this for the delightfully pictured romantic relationships, but for a full experience, keep in mind its philosophical undercurrents.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

KNIGHT OF CUPS

Christain Bale   Cate Blanchett   Natalie Portman   Freida Pinto   Brian Dennehy   Antonio Banderas   Wes Bentley   Imogen Poots

          Beautifully filmed by Emmanuel Lubezki, Terrence Malick’s latest production falls short of his previous work, which I always enjoyed.  However, this production seems to be going over similar material as before, with even less plot to carry the viewer along.  Knight of Cups starts with a tale about a prince charged by his father with finding a pearl, but the son goes after the party life, forgetting all about the stone.  The king does not forget, and sends repeated messages to his son as reminders.  Finally, an earthquake catches his attention.

We’re then introduced to Rick (Bale), a melancholy figure who appears to be working through his tumultuous relationships with his father (Dennehy) and brother (Bentley) and tracing the paths he took with the four women in his life (Blanchett, Pinto, Portman, and Poots).  Regret is a salient emotion marking his memories of all. 

        His thoughts are marked by the rueful as well.  “Pieces of your life never come together; that’s damnation.”  “Dreams are nice, but you can’t live in them.”  “So much I was given; so much I left behind.”  “I spent 30 years not living life; I couldn’t remember the man I wanted to be.”

           The end contains short admonitions that seem to come from father to son.  “Love’s so rare that when you find it, don’t let it go.”  “Pay attention to this moment; everything is there, perfect and complete just as it is.”

        The characters don’t speak much in real conversation—we mostly hear voiced thoughts—so most of what they convey is in their movements.  The film is divided into sections that represent Tarot cards, i.e., The Hermit, The Hanged Man, The Tower, The High Priestess, Death, etc.  A closer viewing of the film might shed some light on the metaphorical meaning of each section.

       Much of the entertainment/enjoyment of the film will be derived from Lubezki’s cinematography, although Jungian scholars will no doubt understand the archetypes best, and derive more meaning from Malick’s work.

Obscure meanings, but Lubezki’s sumptuous cinematography compensates.

Grade:  C           By Donna R. Copeland

THE 33

Antonio Banderas   James Brolin   Juliette Binoche   Rodrigo Santoro   Lou Diamond Phillips   Gabriel Byrne   Naomi Scott   Bob Gunton 

           The statistics in mining are dismal.  Twelve thousand miners die in accidents every year across the world.  Owners and regulators are not held responsible for assuring their safety, as illustrated by the owner of the mine in this film based on a real event in Chile in 2010.  When one of the miners brings him one of many broken mirrors indicating that the mountain is shifting dangerously, the owner turns a deaf ear and tells him to get his men to work. 

        Sure enough, on this fateful day, after 33 workers are driven down 2300 feet, the mountain makes a major shift, resulting in huge quaking and debris falling down and bursting through the shafts.  Ultimately, 700 thousand tons of diorite gets wedged above the miners, trapping them.  When they look up, they can see it, and one says, “That was the heart of the mountain; she finally broke.”

      Fortunately, none of the miners are seriously hurt, and they’re in a space called “The Refuge”, which is supposed to have a radio, food supplies, and a ladder up to an opening.  But the radio doesn’t work; the ladder was never completed to the top, and the food is only enough to last three days, if that.  Of course, there is an immediate struggle over the food, with some ready to dive right in.  Even the one in charge, Don Lucho (Phillips) is inclined to give up.  In his 25 years in the mines, five have collapsed, and there were never any survivors.  He also knows from past experience that usually little effort is made to drill down to trapped workers.

       This is when Mario Sepulveda (Banderas) steps in to raise hope and reasonably argue that the food needs to be rationed and divided equally among all, telling them that if they don’t ration and they are rescued, they’ll all be dead anyway in a short time.  He’s persuasive, and the men allow him to apportion the food fairly over the whole ordeal.

       But will they be rescued?  Morale is not always a given; even outside the mine there are those who want to give up immediately or at each setback.  It’s the few who press on that make the difference, and one of these is a young government minister, Laurence Golborne (Santoro), who has received a strong appeal (as well as a slap) from the older sister of Dario Segovia (Juan Pablo Raba), Maria (Binoche).  Large numbers of family members hover outside the closed gates to the mine, refusing to leave until they get word of their loved ones’ fate.

      The minister involves the President of Chile (Gunton), news about the disaster is broadcast throughout the world’s networks, and three countries send powerful drills they hope will cut through the huge rock.  It’s thought that it will take eight days, and no one knows for sure that the men are even alive.  The challenge is first to locate The Refuge, and then direct a drill to the right place, compensating for the inevitable deviations the drills make as they go down.  One of the most dramatic scenes in the film is on the 17^th day when one of the drills finally breaks through (after nine of them broke) to the right place, and the miners attach a message to it that will be read when the drill is withdrawn, verifying that they are alive. 

       Sadly, the mission will be extended to the 62^nd day and additional equipment like a powerful magnet can be obtained before a cage can be send down to bring up the men one by one.

     Understandably with this many people involved in such treacherous work (there is always a risk that the drilling will cause the top of the mountain to cave in on the men inside), ancillary dramas take place both inside and outside the mine, guilt is rampant, relationships become uncertain, and competitions arise.  Director Patricia Riggen and her colleagues do a fine job in highlighting these, successfully giving us a break from the rigors and tension around the rescue.  We begin to learn enough about the townspeople that we really care about what happens to them.  We perhaps could have done without the drama of one man, his wife, and his mistress, but is was humorous.  Filming took place in two real mines in Colombia.

         Strong points of The 33 include balancing the substantial technical information with the dramatic vignettes, a well-cast group of actors (most notably, Banderas, Binoche, Santoro, and Brolin), music (James Horner), cinematography (Checco Varese), and demonstrations of how people change under these circumstances and learn from their experience and others’ insights.  It was clever for the director to require even the English speakers to have a Spanish accent.  That the miners, some of whom consulted on the film, were not apparently compensated adequately by the filmmakers detracts from its heroic story.  They have filed a suit, saying they were misled about the contract by their lawyers.  Many have continued physical and psychological after-effects that need ongoing attention.

        Many of us followed the Chilean mine disaster in the news when it happened, but this film gives us an inside look that is not only informational, but instructive in ethical conduct.

A well-balanced, insightful look at a major disaster.

Grade:  B+                             By Donna R. Copeland