CliqueClack

Jersey Boys is workin’ its way back to you on Blu-Ray & DVD

I love musicals, and I love biopics. My eyes (and ears) have adored Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons since I was a kid and heard “Oh, What a Night” reverberate over the radio for the first time. I actually didn’t realize that it was an “oldie” as a kid because it seemed to enjoy quite a bit of radio time around the time the group must have reunited for their Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame induction. Needless to say, I had high hopes for Clint Eastwood’s film adaption of Jersey Boys, the musical based on the Broadway hit about their legendary rise to fame. However, I didn’t ever go see it in the theater partially based on the seemingly unfavorable reviews it received, including CliqueClack’s review.

I liked the way the film began, with Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza) telling you how the group first came to be and explaining to you the ways of New Jersey and what it’s like being a Jersey boy. Actually, the asides from various members of the group throughout the film are a nice authoritative touch. While I also enjoyed the costuming and musical performances, I would agree that the film seems to lack a certain energy. At a little over two hours in length, I spent most of it waiting for Frankie to sing “Oh, What a Night” and really for the film to pick up with some major revelation or point of action. It feels like what should be big life-changing moments are quickly glossed over, such as when Frankie gets married to or even divorced from Mary (Renée Marino). There was the hint of delving further beneath the surface in the scene in which Frankie comforts his little girl on the stair, but it’s almost as if they were afraid to take anything in this film too seriously. John Lloyd Young does a convincing portrayal of Frankie Valli, but I didn’t see as much emotional depth with the role as I’ve seen in other biopics.

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Download passes for The Theory of Everything in Boston

CliqueClack has partnered with Focus Features to offer readers in Boston an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new biographical drama The Theory of Everything starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney and David Thewlis.

This is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of – time. Together, they defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine and science, and achieving more than they could ever have dreamed.

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Win passes to see Billy Elliot: The Musical in Los Angeles or DC

CliqueClack has partnered with Fathom Events to offer readers in Los Angeles and Washington, DC an opportunity to attend a special presentation of Billy Elliot: The Musical: Live from the West End.

Set in a northern mining town, against the background of the 1984/85 miners’ strike, Billy Elliot is the inspirational story of a young boy’s struggle against the odds to make his dream come true. Follow Billy’s journey as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class where he discovers a passion for dance that inspires his family and whole community and changes his life forever.

This unique cinema event will feature the return of Liam Mower, the first boy ever to play the role of Billy on stage, in the role of Older Billy. PLUS, as a special treat, 25 past and present Billy actors will reunite for a very special mash-up finale!

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Listen Up Philip is about an awful person but it’s not an awful movie

Ah, the indie “antihero” movie. This is the film with a character who’s not likable, but is probably charismatic in some way, or at least they ought to be. Or at least the director hopes they come across that way. Otherwise, why bother watching an awful person for two hours? You can flip on Captain America instead and watch just a regular old charismatic hero! But the antihero presents a different way to tell a story, one with different stories and themes than you can with a normal heroic protagonist. Instead of rooting for victory, you root for comeuppance. It’s still fun, but a very different sort of experience entirely.

Listen Up Philip comes from writer/director Alex Ross Perry and if you’re thinking this is a classic indie movie about tortured white men geniuses, I’d have to ask if you were reading ahead in the review! Jason Schwartzman stars as the eponymous Philip Friedman, a young author with a fairly successful first novel. As his second novel is being published, Philip begins to grow weary of many things. His relationship with his girlfriend, the successful photographer Ashley, has always been toxic and is only getting worse. Philip hates the idea of promoting his book, much to his publisher’s chagrin, and not only that, but our “hero” can’t deal with the noise and liveliness of New York City. He wants solitude, but he can’t afford it. But he stumbles into some absurd luck: his idol, famed author Ike Zimmerman (Jonathan Pryce) likes his book and wants to meet! Not only that, but Ike offers Philip the chance to stay at his summer estate in the country.

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Six things you’ll love about Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6 is the funniest movie I’ve seen all year. I love throwing down statements like that; they can be challenged, to be sure, but it’s all subjective opinion, right? The semantics really don’t matter. Big Hero 6 is the kind of film that sneaks up on you; like Toy Story and Finding Nemo before it, children will drag their parents to theatres only to watch their parents laugh at humor that exists appropriately above their head. There’s nothing like sitting in a theatre full of kids and hearing the parents laughing harder than the young ones (though I always love it when the row of film critics sitting in a row are the only ones laughing).

If you have smiled or laughed in your lifetime, you’re going to find something to love in Big Hero 6. It might just be one of these six things that I found particularly awesome. Continue reading 'Six things you’ll love about Big Hero 6' »

Interstellar will thrill your senses but may not touch your heart or mind

I like sci-fi movies in theory, by which I mean many of them aren’t very good. But the concepts of science fiction are filled with potential, using ideas about far off technologies and futures that tell stories about how humanity is in the present. These days, we’ve seen a lot of dystopian movies or ones without much in the way of “hope.” And even when you do have that, there’s usually a very strong element of “evil science” in such films.

Of course, anytime you have an “evil empire,” they always have the best tech, like in The Hunger Games or the recent Maze Runner. So the good guys have to take down the system using wit and gumption. Rarely is science seen as what it truly is — objective. Luckily, we have a new movie where science is hero and villain alike, where humanity can doom or save itself by action, not due to evil. From my perspective, it’s about time science had something positive in its portrayal in popular media beyond the propensity for people to use computers as magic.

Interstellar is the latest from acclaimed film director Christopher Nolan and it’s already getting very mixed reviews (mostly positive, but a few very angry outliers). I stand in the camp of liking the movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best I’ve seen this month, year, or from Nolan. The movie takes place in the “not too distant future,” where humanity is running out of food so everything else becomes less important. Cooper (played by Matthew McConaughey) is a corn farmer raising two kids, his son Tom who plans to become a farmer after his father, and his daughter Murph (played by Mackenzie Foy of that last Twilight movie) who is more of the scientific nerd/genius type.

But ah, you see, Cooper was actually trained as an engineer and NASA test pilot, but when food became an international priority, he stopped doing what he “was good at.” The first hour or so of the movie does a few things, and is mostly uniformly interesting. After a dust storm, Murph and Cooper find mysterious lines in her room that lead them on a new adventure. Soon enough, they discover a secret NASA program that’s seeking new planets that might support human life. You may be thinking, wait, there aren’t any nearby!

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The 100: This ever changing world in which we’re living

As I was preparing one of the paragraphs in this review, specifically talking about the relationship between Anya and Clarke (and thus the Grounders and the 100), I’d written out the lyric that is now the title of this review before realizing why and where the reference came from. The song “Live and Let Die” feels so ingrained in this episode and the show in general. While I haven’t particularly loved that all of our characters are spread out and disconnected, it has created a situation where alliances and relationships are evolving weekly.

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Download free passes for Beyond the Lights in Baltimore, DC or Virginia Beach

CliqueClack has partnered with Relativity Media to offer readers in Baltimore, DC and Virginia Beach an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new musical drama Beyond the Lights starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Colson “MGK” Baker, and Danny Glover.

Beyond the Lights is the story of Noni, the music world’s latest superstar. But not all is what it seems, and the pressures of fame have Noni on the edge — until she meets Kaz Nicol, a young cop and aspiring politician who’s been assigned to her detail. Drawn to each other, Noni and Kaz fall fast and hard, despite the protests of those around them who urge them to put their career ambitions ahead of their romance. But it is ultimately Kaz’s love that gives Noni the courage to find her own voice and break free to become the artist she was meant to be.

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Win passes to see Rosewater in Boston

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CliqueClack has partnered with Open Road Films to offer readers in Boston an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new drama Rosewater starring Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Haluk Bilginer, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Golshifteh Farahani.

Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a 42-year-old broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship living in London. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who was the prime challenger to controversial incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Moussavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed on election day, Bahari endured great personal risk by submitting camera footage of the unfolding street riots to the BBC. Bahari was soon arrested by Revolutionary Guard police, led by a man identifying himself only as “Rosewater,” who proceeded to torture and interrogate the journalist over the next 118 days.

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Win passes to see an advance screening of Rosewater in Los Angeles

THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED.

CliqueClack has partnered with Open Road Films to offer readers in Los Angeles an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new drama Rosewater starring Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Haluk Bilginer, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Golshifteh Farahani.

Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a 42-year-old broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship living in London. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who was the prime challenger to controversial incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Moussavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed on election day, Bahari endured great personal risk by submitting camera footage of the unfolding street riots to the BBC. Bahari was soon arrested by Revolutionary Guard police, led by a man identifying himself only as “Rosewater,” who proceeded to torture and interrogate the journalist over the next 118 days.

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