Real Steel

1.5 Paws
Seen recently at 20 Grand Cinema

Child actors come in two categories - great and awful. Dakota Goyo (Max Kenton) is part of the latter. He reminds me of Jake Lloyd, the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Both overact and come off as shrill, unrealistic preteens.

I wish the bad news stops there, but it doesn't. Evangeline Lilly (Bailey Tallet) is another unfortunate casting choice. She's too young for Hugh Jackman's Charlie Kenton, and she does nothing to make us believe she's grown up in a boxing gym. If it were up to me, I would have given that part to Maria Bello (The Cooler, A History of Violence), who would have lent a sense of credibility to the film.

The only thing that stopped me from wishing I'd skipped it altogether was Atom, the robot Max rescues from the scrap heap. There's something very human about his bright blue eyes and Tin Man-like face. It turns out that - just like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree - all it needed was a little love.

Bonus Bones: 0
No dogs, not even a futuristic robot version of one.

Martha Marcy May Marlene

1 Paw

Seen recently at the Dundee Theatre (still musty, still open)

Creepy. But I'm not buying it.

A note to any relative of mine who may be reading this - if I ever call you, hysterical, not quite sure which U.S. state I'm in after having gone AWOL for two years, please come and get me and take me to a hospital immediately or, at the very least, to your family physician.

People who are as disturbed as the lovely Elizabeth Olsen (Martha) need medical attention, not one of your dresses so they look like they belong when you throw a little gathering for friends at your tony weekend retreat.

If you can get past the plot faults, which is difficult to do upon reflection, the acting is on target. John Hawkes (Patrick) of Winter's Bone fame (how do you forget a character like Teardrop?) makes you squirm in your seat. And Olsen looks like she has a promising career ahead of her - Mary Kate and Ashley should leave the acting to their little sister.

Bonus Bones: 0

No hounds - perhaps they're too instinctual to be lured into cult life.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed

3 Paws
Seen recently at Film Streams

I wish I had met Prince Achmed when I was younger.

This 1926 marvel from Lotte Reiniger, part of a local Silents in Concert series at one of Omaha's independent cinemas, is the oldest surviving animated feature film (at least that's what Wikipedia tells me). Wikipedia also explains how the film was made - it features a silhouette animation technique invented by the director that involves manipulating cardboard cutouts and thin sheets of lead under a camera.

It has everything a kid could want - faraway lands, fantastical creatures and a happy ending. The adult in me, which surfaces from time to time, was drawn to the warmth of its color tinting, the delicate beauty of its intricately garbed characters and the simplicity of its story telling structure.

The best part of the experience for me? The witch saves the day.

Bonus Bones: 0
No dogs, but the flying horse - complete with up and down levers - was pretty satisfying.

Tower Heist

2 Paws

Seen recently at Aksarben Cinema

Why is it that some actors are hell bent on tackling an accent they can't pull off? Ben Stiller's Josh Kovacs would have been much less annoying if he wasn't trying to sound like a wise guy. Then there's the premise. I'm sure there's room for social commentary in comedy, but this we-hate-you-Bernie-Madoff script is a bit too preachy for my taste.

That being said, there are some bright spots. We all know Eddie Murphy has range (as evidenced by his Oscar-nominated Dream Girls role), but he may be at his best when he's being funny, which he definitely is here. (He would have made a must-see Oscars host.) Matthew Broderick (Mr. Fitzhugh) has made a pile of bad film choices, so it's nice to see a glimpse of the comic charm he demonstrated as Ferris Bueller oh so many years ago. And the under-appreciated Tea Leoni turns in a great bar scene as a special agent who's had a few too many (someone please get her a decent script).

It also gets props for its Thanksgiving Day Parade footage.

Bonus Bones: 5

Look for sweet little Lucy who's in need of a walk during the elevator scene.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

2 Paws

Seen recently at Film Streams

I'm in the midst of reading "Writing, Directing and Producing Documentary Films and Videos." Author Alan Rosenthal contends that in order to make a good documentary, you need "a strong narrative thrust and a tale that can be recounted in the most compelling, dramatic way possible."

Goran Olsson, the director responsible for editing together footage shot by a group of Swedish journalists who documented the Black Power Movement in the United States, might have benefitted from a quick perusal of Rosenthal's book prior to beginning his work. The footage itself was indeed compelling - I headed straight for my laptop after leaving the theatre to read more about Angela Davis (where is the biopic chronicling her life?). However, the strong narrative thrust was absent.

I don't know much about Swedish culture, but perhaps thrusting isn't their forte.

Bonus Bones: 0

No puppies - not even snarling police dogs, which you would expect given the content.

50/50

3 Paws
Seen recently at Aksarben Cinema

I had no interest in seeing a buddy movie about two guys dealing with cancer (childhood visions of Brian's Song danced in my head). Nor did I have any interest in seeing yet another film starring Seth Rogen, whose one-note acting talent is more palatable in much smaller doses.

I stand corrected. This film is smart, funny, real, heartbreaking and life affirming. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is nothing short of charming as the cancer-stricken Adam, and Rogen manages some nice moments as his lumbering sidekick (the finding-the-book-in-the-bathroom scene was almost too much for my available Kleenex supply). Serge Houde makes the absolute most of his few scenes as Adam's father, and Angelica Huston's turn as Adam's mother makes me wish someone would drop a few great 'middle-aged woman' scripts by her door.

If you don't like to sniffle in public, you might want to wait and watch this one in the darkness of your living room.

Bonus Bones: 10
Bryce Dallas Howard's Rachel manages to do one good thing by bringing home Skeletor, played by a pair of pups named Denver and William. Watch for the street scene in which Skeletor meets Marlow the Wonderdog (played by Marlow the Wonderdog).