Dog Days of Summer Movie Recap

by Sandra Olmsted

Although, according to the calendar and the path of the sun, summer continues until Sept. 21, the return of the students to classrooms and the days getting shorter mean that another summer is waning. Happily there are lots of movies in theaters now, and here is a recap of recent films.

   BAD MOMS (STX) Although co-written and co-directed by two men, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, this raunchy, hilarious chick flick taps into the real-life struggles of too many women who are trying to be everything for everyone but nothing for themselves.

Overworked and underappreciated moms Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell), and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) are sick of their stressful lives of servitude and of the local supermoms Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate), Stacy (Jada Pinkett-Smith), and Vicky (Annie Mumolo). So Amy, Kiki, and Carla decide to be bad moms, who care only for themselves and to heck with being role models. The kids, husbands, et al. will have to figure out how to operate the major kitchen appliances or starve, because these bad moms are going to have some fun and live for themselves and debauchery will be involved. Rated R for sexual material, full frontal nudity, language throughout, and drug and alcohol content. 100 minutes.

   JASON BOURNE (Universal) Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass re-team for the fourth installment of the franchise, and Jason (Damon) gets closer to the truth of his origins. This time social media and black ops figure heavily in the storyline. Chases, crashes, and explosions involving just about every means of conveyance since the horse and buggy in the previous films are a hard act to follow; however, the motorcycle chase in Las Vegas feels too derivative of the Fast and Furious movies. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief strong language. 123 minutes.

   CAFÉ SOCIETY (Lionsgate/Amazon) Director Woody Allen returns with the story of Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) who moves from the Bronx to Hollywood with hopes of a fabulous life, if only his uncle Phil Stern (Steve Carell) will get him a start. Eventually, Phil helps Bobby, who meets Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), a beautiful girl, and falls in love with her. Unfortunately, she’s in love with someone else. Heartbreak, drama, and humor are mixed in with Allen’s mediation on New York versus Hollywood. Narration (Allen) distracts because it condescendingly over explains too much of what is obvious to the audience. We’ll never see Midnight in Paris again apparently. Rated PG-13 for some violence, a drug reference, suggestive material and smoking. 96 minutes.

   SUICIDE SQUAD (Warner Bros.) Writer-director David Ayer takes the old hat of a government recruiting criminals for a suicide mission and only puts a few new feathers on it. The kinky, nasty, and nihilistic team members in this film are more interesting than their mission, and the film looses steam after the squad is introduced, making the movie seem like the setup for other films rather than a film itself. The super villains include Deadshot (Will Smith), The Joker (Jared Leto), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie); Viola Davis and Scott Eastwood, the son of Clint Eastwood, also star. Rated PG – 13 for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language. 123 minutes.

JENNIFER GARDNER plays the wife of Kevin Spacey who gets turned into a cat in Nine Lives.   

   NINE LIVES (EuropaCorp USA) High-powered business man and low-rated dad Tom Brand (Kevin Spacey) gets turned into a cat by Felix Perkins (Christopher Walken) so that Tom can reconnect with his wife Lara (Jennifer Garner) and daughter Rebecca (Malina Weissman). Or Tom can spend the rest of his days in the form of Mr. Fuzzypants, as an as yet un-neutered tomcat who is “the best birthday present” Rebecca ever got. Also features many online cat celebrities, including Little Bub and Henri, the French-speaking cat who is one of Walken’s personal favorites. Only cat lovers and those addicted to cat videos online will fancy director Barry Sonnenfeld’s movie. Rated PG for thematic elements, language and some rude humor. 87 minutes.

   LIFE, ANIMATED (The Orchard) Director Roger Ross Williams’ optimistic documentary chronicles one family’s battle with autism. When the Suskinds discovers that their son autistic Owen responds to Disney animated films, they use them to reach Owen and help him create a life for himself. Compelling animated sections and clips from Disney features illustrate their journey. Rated PG for thematic elements, and language including a suggestive reference. 89 minutes.

   EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS (Sony Pictures Classics)             For fans of Frank Zappa (1940-1993), this documentary compiled from archival interview footage will provide insights into some, but not all, aspects of the avant-garde musician’s life. For the Zappa curious, director Thorsten Schutte provides a gateway to appreciating Zappa, his music, and his opinions on art, business, drugs, politics, and more. Interviews with Steve Allen, Katie Couric, and Mike Douglas and appearances by musicians, actors, and friends of Zappa provide moments of the levity, awkwardness, and pathos. Rated R for language, some sexual references and brief nudity. 93 minutes.

Even through the Dog Days of Summer are the least pleasant, the passing of them and, in the heavens, of the Sirius, the Dog Star, brings some sorrow.

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