Boyhood

A coming of age story of young Mason Jr whose mother flits from one messed up partner to another dragging the young boy and sister along. Take The Wonder Years, convert the Arnold family in to a dysfunctional one with a single mother, shoot it over ten years with the actors aging gradually and you will end up with this movie. However the Tv series had a certain depth and charm to it that is missing here. It feels that the use of time rather than make up and different actors to show aging is the only thing that this film has going for it.

Rating: * *

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Bad News Bears

Morris Buttermaker (Billy Bob Thornton) is a washed up baseball player who loves his alcohol. He is charged with coaching a rag tag baseball team. It turns out to be a kids version of A League of Their Own. A feel good type of movie; the kind I usually avoid. The only reason I wanted to watch this was because of Richard Linklater. A director whom I highly regarded for a while but after seeing some of his old films again, I realize he is just a tad above the average.

Rating: * *

A Scanner Darkly

This Philip K. Dick novel floats its way onto the screen with its wavy characters trying to weave a story... It is a world seven years from now. A drug called Substance D rules the minds of people. You see its effects and the people trying to fight it. But after a point you wonder who is on drugs? The director, the author, the actors or you...

Rating: * +