2 quick movie reviews: Before Midnight and The Way Way Back
Before Midnight is the third in the excellent series starring Julie Delphy and Ethan Hawke. In Before Sunrise, the two met on a train and spent the night wandering around Vienna, falling in love. In Before Sunset, they reconnected in Paris 10 years later. Now it's another 10 years later and they're still together, with kids, but also with the problems of a long-term relationship--kids, jobs, and keeping the romance alive. This one is more serious than the other two and sometimes harder to watch. But both actors are great and the Greek setting is spectacular. I do hope we check in with this duo 10 years from now, to see how things are going.
The Way Way Back is the story of an unhappy teen named Duncan forced to spend the summer at the shore with his meek divorced mother, her jerky boyfriend and his snarky teenage daughter. He doesn't fit in with the other teens (who've all summered together for years) or with the party-hearty adults, who are acting like it's spring break in Ft. Lauderdale. Then he bumps into Owen, the haphazard manager of the local water park, who takes young Duncan under his wing and makes the summer bearable. He also strikes up a friendship with the cute girl next door, who can see that there's more to Duncan than meets the eye.
Liam James, as Duncan, is very good as is Sam Rockwell (as Owen). Usual nice guy Steve Carrell is amazingly effective as a selfish jerk and Toni Collette is good as the mother who needs to develop a backbone. While it's not a brilliantly innovative premise, it is a sweet story with some very funny scenes.
The Way Way Back is the story of an unhappy teen named Duncan forced to spend the summer at the shore with his meek divorced mother, her jerky boyfriend and his snarky teenage daughter. He doesn't fit in with the other teens (who've all summered together for years) or with the party-hearty adults, who are acting like it's spring break in Ft. Lauderdale. Then he bumps into Owen, the haphazard manager of the local water park, who takes young Duncan under his wing and makes the summer bearable. He also strikes up a friendship with the cute girl next door, who can see that there's more to Duncan than meets the eye.
Liam James, as Duncan, is very good as is Sam Rockwell (as Owen). Usual nice guy Steve Carrell is amazingly effective as a selfish jerk and Toni Collette is good as the mother who needs to develop a backbone. While it's not a brilliantly innovative premise, it is a sweet story with some very funny scenes.
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