IFC Films R for language including sexual references, and for teen drug and alcohol use. Running time: 162 minutes. Four stars out of four. Simply as a piece of experimental filmmaking, “Boyhood” would have been fascinating. What Richard Linklater did was so inspired, so risky, and it could have gone...
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Reviews
What the Flick?! — Boyhood
All of us were moved and wowed by Richard Linklater’s ambitious and profound film following the life of a Texas boy from first grade through freshman year in college. Solely as an experiment — shooting with the same actors in snippets at a time over a 12-year period — “Boyhood”...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Lullaby
Richard Jenkins, an actor of great insight and subtlety, makes his moments tolerable and occasionally moving in this otherwise mawkish drama. Jenkins stars as the wealthy patriarch of a Manhattan family who gathers his loved ones around his hospital bed to witness his decision to go off life support after...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — How to Train Your Dragon 2
The sequel “How to Train Your Dragon 2” is wondrous, colorful and vibrant. But it also dares to present some very serious themes and see them through to their completion. I took Nicolas to see it and he was only slightly frightened of the character Djimon Hounsou voices: a villain...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Bears
“Bears”! It’s about … bears. They’re cute and cuddly until they get hungry and angry. Matt, Alonso and I packed a pic-a-nic basket to discuss the latest Disneynature documentary....
Read moreThe Lego Movie
Warner Bros. PG for mild action and rude humor. Running time: 100 minutes. Four stars out of four. “The Lego Movie”: Merely a great film, or the greatest film ever in the history of cinema? I asked this question — jokingly, rhetorically — during our What the Flick?! review, but...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — The Lego Movie
Matt and I are seriously in love with “The Lego Movie.” In many ways, it’s actually better suited for adults than it is for kids. The animated comedy is consistently high-spirited and hilarious but also profoundly emotional in a surprising way. Alonso, meanwhile, wasn’t quite so wild about it. You...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Run & Jump
Will Forte displays even deeper dramatic ability following “Nebraska” — and reveals himself as a surprisingly appealing romantic lead — in the small, Irish gem “Run & Jump.” But the even greater revelation is Maxine Peake, who’s radiant as a housewife and mother of two struggling to maintain her optimism...
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