THE WAR WITH GRANDPA

Robert De Niro     Uma Thurman     Rob Riggle     Oakes Fegley     Christopher Walken     Cheech Marin

 

     More than being funny, the movie’s to be admired more for the “arms” grandpa and grandson use to wage their war.  Peter (Fegley) is incensed when his mother (Thurman) decides that it’s too risky for her father to remain in his own home, and forces him to move in with her family.  For this to happen, Grandpa (De Niro) is going into Peter’s room, and he will be put up in the attic. After the boy pulls a few tricks on his grandfather to protest, Grandpa agrees they are at war, so based on his own experience in military service, he draws up rules of engagement that he and Peter agree to abide by.

     That’s when the “fun” begins as each side pulls in buddies who egg each of them on. Part of the pact is that it stays secret; no one in the family is to know about it—war secrets in other words. Grandpa has in mind that this will be an educational lesson for Peter, and is unaware of his own competitive streak—even toward a kid.

     Warfare involves what seemed to me to be fairly sophisticated electronics, mechanical knowledge (Grandpa is a former home builder), and, to them, hilarious booby traps involving a drone, manipulation of music LPs, remote control cars, rearranging snacks, spiking coffee, a snake, and on and on.  Sometimes by accident, the antics miss their target and affect other people.  But since Peter and his Grandpa haven’t revealed their war, no one knows they’re behind the tricks missing their mark.  In one satisfying sequence, the school bully who is consistently commandeering Peter’s backpack gets a trick blow-up in his face.

     Tim Hill of SpongeBob SquarePants fame directs this film written by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, based on a book of the same title by Robert Kimmel Smith.  It succeeds but, as I say, more for the fascination of the warfare tools than for comedy; unless you’re one of those people who invariably laughs at pratfalls, and if so, you will find comedy here.

     The film is not without some heartfelt scenes of family love, friendship, and honor. These are well done and are not too treacly, and often show the character learning something from experience.  

     Oakes Fegley (Wonderland, Pete’s Dragon) again proves his acting skills such that he was able to hold his own with the proven versatile skills of Robert De Niro.  The two together have a wonderful dynamic reflecting an emotional bond.  Uma Thurman chews up a role like this as easily as a practiced tennis shot.  She is convincing as a daughter, wife, and mother always steering a family sometimes going awry.  Not her fault but a flaw in the writing was one of the last scenes showing her tackling a teenager.  After her husband’s (Rob Riggle) multiple deferential statements about her, this was overkill.  

     I imagine this film will delight many families who like this kind of set-up and humor. I find it more in the realm of the kind of entertainment that appeals to many Americans more than more substantive fare.  For those liking movies like Meet the Parents, this will be a hit.

 

A war unlike any you’ve seen before.

 

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE GOLDFINCH

Nicole Kidman     Ansel Elgort     Oakes Fegley     Jeffrey Wright 

Luke Wilson     Sarah Paulson    Finn Wolfhard     Aneurin Barnard

     This movie is full of surprises, most of which I loved.  Above all, the characters fascinate the viewer while the rest of the cast seem to take them all in stride, a kind of lesson in acceptance.  Storytelling hits that sweet spot in which information comes through gradually, punctuated by significant details, but giving one time to savor the plot.  The central character, Theodore (beautifully rendered by Oakes Fegley playing the younger and Ansel Elgort the older Theo), reminds of “Baby” in Baby Driver (also played by Elgort), actors able to convey mystery as they become endearing and grow on their acquaintances.

     The story begins with tragedy, when Theo’s mother is missing after an explosion in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.   His alcoholic father disappeared long ago, so he needs someone to take him in.  When he names the mother of a classmate whom he has befriended, as at least a temporary solution, Mrs. Barbour (Kidman) steps up to the plate and brings him to her family, which is both wealthy and dysfunctional.  She ends up really caring about him, and it looks like he may be with them for a long time.  

     But… (This story is filled with twists and turns, continually bringing up questions about coincidences versus fate/predetermination).  That juxtaposition is one of the themes of the film, coupled with questions about what is fake and what is real, both in relation to art as well as in human relationships as portrayed.  

     The movie Goldfinch is mesmerizing during Theo’s growing-up years when we observe him to be so well balanced and well behaved, managing his losses and compensating for them in healthy ways.  It gives us a realistic picture of trauma (in other characters as well as Theo), its after-effects, and how people manage it.  The characters introduced make the story come alive, such as different family members in the Barbour family, Hobie (Wright) who takes Theo under his wing and educates him about artistic furniture and reproductions, and the reappearing father (Wilson) and his girlfriend (Paulson) who whisk him off to sandy, bleak Las Vegas.  

     Unfortunately, the film loses its way and tries to become a thriller toward the end, with drug dealing, mobsters, and other unsavory characters introduced into the mix.  This is where it lost me, although I did appreciate attempts to show all the characters to be a mixture of good and bad qualities, most of which with good intentions; but the ending was just too fantastical for me to go along with it.

     For the most part, director John Crowley, the actors, cinematographer Roger Deakins and composer Trevor Gureckis have created a beautiful work of art, capturing the qualities of the Goldfinch painting and its history, while prompting us to consider different philosophies of life.

A captivating story with meaningful characters, derailed by superfluous drama seemingly “tacked on” toward the end.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

WONDERSTRUCK

Julianne Moore     Oakes Fegley     Millicent Simmonds     Jaden Michael

Cory Michael Smith     Tom Noonan     Michelle Williams

       Unless you’ve read Brian Selznick’s work on which Todd Haynes based this film, plan to spend a fair amount of time trying to make sense of the plot and learning who the characters are.  Screenwriter Selznick actually does capture the model in his book in telling two different stories, one about a girl in 1927 and one about a boy in 1977.  I might say from the beginning that I’m not a fan of this model of storytelling; it takes more work than simply listening and seeing the story unfold.  Nevertheless, the book’s reviews are very positive, and most readers do find the exposition charming.

     The film opens when Ben (Fegley) is having one of his nightmares, and his mother (Williams) comes in to comfort him.  The next thing we learn about Ben is that he has intense curiosity about his father, but his mother insists on withholding that information “until the right time.”  When she is never able to give it, Ben takes it upon himself to follow some clues he has about the father’s whereabouts, and proceeds to go find him.  Keep in mind that he is going to be traveling from Minnesota to New York City, and just recently became deaf, so he doesn’t know sign language or lip reading.

     Ben’s story and that of Rose’s (Simmonds) are interwoven, hers in wordless black and white pictures from the 20’s, and the other in full color taking place in the ‘70’s.   There are numerous coincidental experiences each has, but the mystery of their connection is revealed only in the very last part of the film.  Rose is growing up in Hoboken, N.J., the child of divorced parents.  Her mother is a famous stage actress (Moore) in New York, but Rose lives with her father, a very stern, unemotional doctor who scolds her frequently.  She runs away to try to find her mother, despite the fact that she, like Ben, is deaf, and is mute as well.  The absence of sound in her story reflects not only the silent movies of the time, but as well her being born deaf and, consequently, mute.

     The two young actors ably carry the bulk of the film, along with some fine help from Jaden Michael, who plays a friend Ben makes at the Museum of Natural History.  Fegley, proving his skills first in Pete’s Dragon and some other minor roles, is captivating here in his earnestness and persistence.  Millicent Simmonds is a worthy counterpart with her luminous, expressive face and eyes, playing a role about which she has had direct experience in her own deafness.  In Julianne Moore’s two roles, she expresses a sample of the range of her abilities.

     Although I do regard Todd Haynes as a highly skilled director, I found some drawbacks in this production.  In addition to the fractured story-telling, it was difficult to follow sometimes simply because the notes that characters were writing to one another were presented to the audience so rapidly one didn’t have time to read them, and/or the they were dark or obscured by another object.  To me, it was an omission not to have shown Rose’s parents or Ben’s family trying to find out where they were. 

     Wonderstruck requires a certain amount of patience to sit through it, but if the viewer is impressed with Haynes earlier pictures such as Far From Heaven and I’m Not There; and Brian Selznick’s books (Hugo and Wonderstruck), this film is likely to be entertaining. 

Two stories from the ‘20s and the ‘70s interweave to tell a story of remarkable coincidences.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

PETE'S DRAGON

Bryce Dallas Howard     Robert Redford     Oakes Fegley     Oona Laurence     Wes Bentley     Karl Urban

               Ah…magic is still alive and all’s right with the world!  When five year-old Pete has to fend for himself in the forest after a car accident, a dragon who had been spotted occasionally in that forest through the years suddenly appears.  Without speaking, of course, he lets the child know that he is a friendly dragon, and Pete knows from his book about a dragon to name him Elliot.  They spend the next six years playing together, building a tree house, finding shelter in a cave, and foraging for food. 

        When civilization starts to encroach upon the forest in the form of housing development, the idyllic lives of the two friends are about to change.  Pete has a gradual introduction when he is spotted by a girl about his age named Natalie (Laurence) who is the daughter of the man responsible for clearing the forest.  She is a curious child and immediately wants to make friends and chases after him.  He runs up a tree, with her right behind him, but she is not as experienced as he is and falls.  This brings her parents, who must figure out who Pete is and where he came from.

               Pete has vague memories of his mother, and he is reminded of her when Natalie’s mother Grace (Howard) gently talks to him, so he warms up to her.  Grace has grown up in the region and knows the forest very well and some of the lore about it told to her by her father (Redford).  She will work on finding out about Pete’s origins and see that he is well taken care of.

            However, she doesn’t anticipate that greed and mass hysteria among people in town are going to hamper her efforts.  When Elliott is spotted looking for Pete, trigger-happy Gavin (Urban) whips up the townspeople to get out their guns and give chase.  They are afraid, but it’s also evident that they love the sport of hunting just for the fun of it.  This is one of the good messages in the film for children—that they don’t have to run and get their guns anytime they see something strange or try to exploit it for profit.

            In the course of dealing with this issue and trying to help Pete find his friend, Director David Lowery gives us excitement aplenty, mixed with tender moments after close calls and significant discoveries.  I think this Disney production does a fine job in balancing the scariness and tension with the joys of discovery in the natural world, as well as showing the warmth of a loving family.  I especially appreciated seeing that Natalie was better than the adults in understanding Pete and introducing him to things he has never seen or has forgotten.  Once again, it’s good for children to see that model of behavior with a stranger, as opposed to rejecting him because he is different.

          Robert Redford is a powerful figure onscreen, and when the movie opens and he is telling a group of children about a dragon, he captures our interest right away.  Bryce Dallas Howard plays her role as daughter, wife, and mother in a natural, loving way, giving assurance that Pete is in good hands.  Both child actors, Fegley and Laurence, merge into their roles with ease and are delightful to watch.  Daniel Hart’s music choices are just right in using well-known American songs that give a sense of place and time.

For a bit of thrilling magic, go see Pete’s Dragon.

Grade:  A                        By Donna R. Copeland