Recent theatrical viewings

[Rev. Powell]

20 FEET FROM STARDOM: Backup singers, many of whom are far more vocally talented then the singers they are supporting, get their turn in the spotlight in this documentary. The stories of these women (they're almost all African-American women from a gospel background) are about what you'd expect---hard work, little money or recognition---but the music (from doo-wop to jazz to soul to classic rock and roll) is phenomenal. 3/5.

[BoyScoutKevin]

This is Us with One Direction.

As in the other concert films, little interest in what's going on on stage, but interested in the audience's reaction and what is going on backstage.

It looks easy, but that is because there is alot of hard work. Both backstage and offstage.

I am sure there are boys who are fans of the boys, if you can find a boy with the courage to admit it, but you don't see any male fans in the audience till you get to Italy. Oh, those Italians. Maybe with the current rise of all-girl groups someday we might see more male fans on screen. One other thing I noticed was how the group's fans were older than what normally one sees at one of these concerts. Fewer pre-teens and more teens and older.

Then the boys have the poorest physiques I have ever seen. Anytime they take their shirts off, I want to tell them to put their shirts back on. And unlike Justin Bieber, who plays a mean drumset, and the Jonas Brothers, who also play musical instruments, and whose concert films I've seen, except for one boy, who plays the guitar, none of the boys seem to play any musical instrument.

If I had any advice for Simon Cowell, who was responsible for much of their success, it is to take some of the money he has made and get an interior decorator to do a total make-over of his home.

Some family background, which I thought was the least interesting part of the film.

And something else surprised me. How little the fan reaction varies from country to country. (IMHO) we are losing our differentation, and that is not necessarily good.

Next time: Unless something else comes up, next month is "Romeo and Juliet."

[Rev. Powell]

THE SPECTACULAR NOW: A popular high school party guy (and burgeoning alcoholic) falls for a nice nerdy girl after being dumped. Strong teen drama; charming star Miles Teller surely must be John Cusack's long lost son. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE ACT OF KILLING (2012): A Western documentarian gives leaders of Indonesian death squads, now grandfathers and respected elders of paramilitary groups, funds to make a movie proudly re-enacting the massacres they committed as young gangsters. A terrifying glimpse at the human mind's capacity to rationalize and normalize evil, and one of the most moral pranks ever pulled. I doubt there will be a better movie released this year. 5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE STORIES WE TELL (2013): Actress/director Sarah Polley interviews family and friends to get their perspectives on a family secret. A heartfelt and well-told story, though the  narrative's intricacy and novelty is being oversold in some quarters. 3.5/5

[Rev. Powell]

ENOUGH SAID: Facing an empty nest as her daughter prepares to leave for college, massage therapist Eva (Julia Louis Dreyfuss) meets a charming and funny (if overweight) guy; but, will she follow her heart, or be poisoned by listening to his ex-wife's complaints? This pleasant adult romantic comedy with a steady stream of low-key laughs allowed the late James Gandolfini to take his final bow as a nice guy instead of a wise guy. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS: Tom Hanks stars as the real-life Richard Phillips, who was held hostage in a lifeboat by four Somali pirates after his freighter was hijacked in 2009. Tense and realistic examination of how dangerous the high seas still can be; Hanks is as great as you would expect, but the amateurs playing the Somalis are also quite good. 4.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

PRISONERS: Desperately seeking his missing daughter, a father imprisons and tortures a feeble-minded suspect after the police release him without charges; meanwhile, a detective is following up other leads, and wondering where his key suspect has disappeared to. Brutal and painful to watch at times, it's an arthouse combination of a revenge movie and torture porn, motivated by a cruel moral dilemma parents will hate to contemplate. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

12 YEARS A SLAVE: Free black musician Solomon Northrup is kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery in Louisiana, where he is passed from one master to another. Outrage after outrage; this movie may well prove to be the "Roots" for the upcoming generation. Expect it to win some awards. 4/5.

This wasn't a theatrical viewing but I think it's still in theaters so:

PRINCE AVALANCHE: A worker (Paul Rudd) who loves the solitude of nature hires his girlfriend's party-loving brother (Emile Hirsch) to help him paint lines on a seldom-traveled rural road; they clash but eventually open up to each other. The two actors completely inhabit their roles in this slow-moving bromance dramedy. 2.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

ALL IS LOST: A man (Robert Redford) who is sailing a yacht solo in the Indian Ocean finds himself lost at sea after his hull is breached by floating debris. Redford and writer/director J.C. Chandor do an impressive job of milking maximum tension out of this nearly dialogue-free, one actor contest between a man and the sea. 4.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

DALLAS BUYERS' CLUB: At the dawn of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, a homophobic redneck and hustler turns up HIV positive, then enters into an unlikely partnership with a transvestite to smuggle unapproved drugs into the USA to treat patients through a "buyers club." Awards-quality turns from Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto in this unexpectedly libertarian film (when was the last time you saw a movie where Food and Drug Administration bureaucrats were the villains?) 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE: Worried that her rising popularity will make her a symbol of revolution, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) arranges a "tournament of champions" style Hunger Games with survivors of previous contests competing against each other to the death. Against all odds, this teen-oriented series warning about the dangers of governance by reality TV continues to be more charming than hokey. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

SAVING MR. BANKS: Fussy author P.L. Travers fights Walt Disney every step of the way as he tries to adapt her story "Mary Poppins ," while flashbacks to her poor Australian childhood reveal why the character holds special meaning to her. Sure, this is Disney Studios patting themselves on the back about how their classic whimsy banishes cynicism and heals hearts, but it's also pretty damn fine entertainment. Pair it with ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW if you need a contrasting bitter Disney flavor to cut the sweetness.  4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS: Llewyn Davis scrounges for gigs and a new couch to sleep on each night as he tries to make a living as a folksinger in New York City in 1961. Oscar Isaac is believable (and believably unlikable) as the choleric singer with a golden throat and no prospects in this minor entry in the Coen brothers canon. 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

SHORT TERM 12: Young idealistic caretakers deal with her personal demons while helping emotionally troubled youth in a group home. Nothing surprising in this earnest, heartwarming indie drama, but it's well made. 3/5.