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Title: Better Call Saul
Network TV: AMC
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: TV-14
Year: 2015
Creators: Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould
Top Billed Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn
Brief Synopsis: The criminal defense lawyer, Saul, from “Breaking Bad” is the focus of this spinoff. It is a prequel to “Breaking Bad.” Saul uses questionable tactics to defend his criminal clients. The first season explains why he is this way and what drove him to such desperate measures.
My Word to the Wise: This is binge-worthy TV. Saul is a likeable character who is put in trying situations that test his morality. The black humor mixed with well written drama is addicting. I’ve almost finished the first season in a few days (10 episodes).

*This review contains spoilers.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, and Chris Cooper star in this film that may be better watched in a therapist’s office than in your DVD home theater.

Demolition (2015)

Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper

Directed by

Jean-Marc Vallée

Written by

Bryan Sipe

Other Info

Drama
Rated R
1h 41min

I like most of Jake Gyllenhaal’s movies. They are usually a bit left of centre. Enemy was one of the strangest endings I’ve seen in a long time. I also adore Naomi Watts in just about anything she has starred in. The Impossible is one of my favorites. Chris Cooper is also a legend and a treat to watch. With all three of these in this film, you’d think it was an amazing piece of work, you’d think. There is a lot of fun going on here but, as is customary for Gyllenhaal, it’s odd fun indeed.

The story summary is as follows: Jake Gyllenhaal’s character is stricken with grief and apparently in denial after the death of his wife in a horrible car accident they were both in. Instead of grieving by taking off work and showing sadness, he decides to return immediately to work much to the dismay of his late wife’s father, played by Chris Cooper. It’s odd how he is so okay after the accident. What’s more, he seems preoccupied with the way things are put together. He is obsessed with taking household items like appliances apart and assembling them. I told you about the odd part. He meets Naomi Watt’s character and they start a sort of relationship. This doesn’t get much tread because he is usually rebuilding things or breaking things with a sledge-hammer. There is an interplay between Gyllenhaal’s character and his newfound girlfriend’s son. This oddly takes the film in a different direction. The boy suspects me might be gay and seems to draw strength from breaking things apart too. One thing I should note about Gyllenhaal’s character is that he really seems askew, almost “touched.” It’s endearing to watch him go through healing stages if you assume that is what is happening but his character’s outlandish actions of grandiosity discount his realism. He needed to be more human more of the time.

I take this movie as an abstract map for grief. When you go through such a terrible loss, it breaks you apart. It leaves you to pick up the pieces and put yourself back together. I think someone going through grief could find some solace in this film. Sometimes you have to break down to build yourself strong again. This is an interesting and possibly therapeutic film but as a typical box office movie, I felt it was just short of the mark. It didn’t feel like a movie. Instead, it felt like a gesture from someone like a director seeking to help those going through grief. That isn’t a bad thing it’s just not a movie thing for me, too simplistic and not interesting enough subject matter. And again, Gyllenhaal’s character was not real and not believable enough for me to care about him.

You could start a cult with this film. It teaches self-actualization through destruction. There is a lot you can do with destruction, we all want to know what’s inside things. Sometimes it’s tempting to break them open and see it immediately. I think if one looks at the movie as a therapy session, it will make sense and one can have a good experience watching it. If one can’t buy my reading and doesn’t have a framed purpose for this plot, it will get extraordinarily boring very quickly. To close, I’d say it works on one level but not another. People who have been through grief are more likely to enjoy it. For those not interested in grief or the psychological study of it, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

Title: Grandma
Genre: Drama, Comedy
MPAA Rating: R
Year: 2015
Director: Paul Weitz, known for “About a Boy.”
Top Billed Cast: Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden
Brief Synopsis: It’s great to have Grandma but it helps to have mom too. Nobody’s perfect.
My Word to the Wise: I’m a lifelong Lily Tomlin fan so this review may be biased. I think she deserves an academy award for best actress. Beyond that, the cast is all good. It is nice to see Sam Elliot again. While watching this movie I asked my wife, “When will we as a society stop judging each other.” To which she replied,

“We’ll never change, I think it’s in our DNA.” This movie makes me want to at least try harder. The themes are similar to those in “Juno” but with a much more real-life bent. Less comedy than drama, more human than appearances. We need more movies like this, they enlighten and advance the species.