Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

As many kids movies are these days, this one is based on a series of books as well as the third of a series of films.  The main character is a put-upon boy comically fighting the growing pains of, well, growing up.

In this installment, the main set of characters are still being played by the same actors, giving continuity to the series. Pre-teen Greg (Zachary Gordon) is now looking forward to summer break between 7th and 8th grades, where he plans to zone out by playing video games all summer. His dad (Steve Zahn) though wants him doing something more constructive, such as joining the local scouting troup, or doing some reading of classic novels as his mother (Rachael Harris) suggests. Dad even thinks a new dog might help get Greg to doing outdoor things instead of vegetating indoors.

When Greg sees that his secret crush Holly (Peyton List) belongs to the country club, he enlists his best friend, the goofy and conservative Rowley (Robert Capron) to bring him as his +1 guest, and lies to his dad that he has a job there, to prevent his dad from bothering him further about getting a summer job (as well as avoid military school). Complicating his lie is that his older bullying brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick) lusts after Holly's vain sister and threatens in his big brother way to expose Greg's lie if he doesn't help him get near her.

Fat Kid Rules the World

This is based on a young adult novel. The marketing of the movie makes a big deal that it is directed by actor Matthew Lillard (last widely seen probably as the husband who was cheating with George Clooney's wife in The Descendants; he's also well known for playing Shaggy in the Scooby Doo movies and in the movie Scream).

The film focuses on an out of shape teen, Troy (Jacob Wysocki, who played Terri in the film of the same name which costarred John C. Reilly as the school principal). We see he doesn't like his life much as he fantasizes about the sexy girls at school as well as tries committing suicide, this last effort ended up him being pushed out of the way of a bus by the homeless dropout dope addict Marcus (Matt O'Leary). Marcus tries to cadge money off Troy for saving his life, then cons Troy to be the drummer of his non-existent punk band. It seems Marcus has talent but due to his personality and addiction he got kicked out of his old band. His mother also has remarried so Marcus doesn't live at home with her either.

Troy, who really has no legitimate interest in Marcus or punk music, nevertheless is taken with Marcus' open offer of faux friendship, even if it is kind of parasitic. Troy opens his personality up a little and starts to misbehave or do illegal things with Marcus. Troy's father (Billy Campbell) can see Marcus' bad influence, but he holds his tongue and lets Troy explore this for a time, because the family has gone through the death of Troy's mother and Troy's father has the "at least he's getting out of the house" mentality. Eventually Troy offers Marcus a real friendship and tries to help him clean up his act.

Olympic Dreams-Win Win

Quite a few films about teen sports often focus on the man behind the team--the coach.  In Win Win, we see that coach struggle with his own faults that he first sees as a moral good, but then digs himself into a deep hole that he almost cannot get out of.

Paul Giamatti plays Mike Flaherty, whose dayjob is as a lawyer.  During his off hours he coaches the local high school's boys wrestling team, and unfortunately the team is not very good.  One of Mike's cases involves the estate of an elderly man Leo (Burt Poplar) who needs increased medical care so cannot live alone at home anymore.  When told that Leo's estate can pay someone for his care, Mike takes on this additional job as he needs the money for repairs to his office and basic needs.

At first Mike sees it as a win-win for both Leo and himself, both getting something they need.  Then Leo's estranged grandson comes to visit, but really to escape the inattention and strained relationship with his mother (Melanie Lynskey).  Teen Kyle (Alex Shaffer) begins to live with Mike's family when Mike sees that he is a pretty talented wrestler.  Naturally Mike recruits him for his team, which begins winning, and he becomes lax in his attention to Leo and mistakes are made.  This slippery slope gets more slippery when Kyle's mother comes to claim him.

Olympic Dreams--Shodo Girls

I don't think "shodo" is going to be an Olympic sport anytime soon, but it was interesting to see a local cultural art framed as a competitive sport, while also showing how these old manual arts are disappearing from the youth culture of many countries.  Perhaps Olympics host countries can showcase a lost art like this one instead of always looking into what is up and coming.

Based on real events, shodo is a Japanese calligraphic art, where calligraphers write mottoes or poetry in beautiful brush script. This craft is on the decline. A high school girl, Satoko, who belongs to the school's calligraphy club, tries to generate interest in this ancient art as she can see for herself that the town needs a boost due to the poor economy. They are assigned a new school advisor, but he is flashy, which doesn't equate with her sense of what the classical art should be.

Other club members and their families are shown. This is a paper mill town, and many families' livelihoods are dependent upon the trade. One boy's grandfather is despondent that his handcrafted high-quality paper is passed over for the mass produced products one can find in an office supply store. Another girl's father owns an arts supplies store that no one shops in anymore. Many other shops are closed due to the economy and the results of global trade. Another girl, a former friend of Satoko whose single mother is ill, hides that fact and tries not to let on that she can't attend college and must find work instead.

Satoko, desperate, forms a contest where school calligraphy clubs can compete in a flashy competition involving dancing and splashy motifs. (Similar to those big cheerleading competitions we have here in America.)

Olympic Dreams--The Winning Season

This is a typical underdog sports story starring Sam Rockwell in a type of role he is good at, the loveable loser. It's a sort of a comedy version of Hoosiers (that movie is referenced in The Winning Season, which also takes place in Indiana). The writer of this movie (also from Indiana) wrote Lonesome Jim and Grace is Gone and so you can see the "sad loser" feeling seems to be a theme.

Rockwell is Bill, a divorced, alcoholic, middle-aged dad working as a busboy. He seems to have had some promise as a high school basketball player, but that dream didn't evolve. The principal of a local school who was a friend of Bill's asks Bill to coach the team. Bill is excited--until he finds out it is the girl's team. While Bill and the girls learn about each other, both don't think the other can do the job.

Bill seems too laid back but his training is smart, although it depends on the girls working hard, which is something he has trouble motivating them to do. Like his own first reaction, many think the girls are not worth very much.  Most of the players (one is Rooney Mara, the new Lisbeth Salander) have some kind of trait or storyline so you can tell them apart. Bill also has trouble relating to girl problems, so hires the female schoolbus driver (Margo Martindale) as assistant coach to help him in this aspect. She becomes both a mother hen as well as a pretty good legitmate assistant coach.

Olympic Dreams--Whip It!

A Texas teen (Ellen Page) discovers roller derby, but her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) would prefer her to be a beauty queen. Bliss sneaks out of the house to attend a match, meeting a cute musician (Landon Pigg). She has found her true calling and is encouraged by one of the pros (Kristen Wiig) to get a spot on the team. Bliss becomes "Babe Ruthless," and soon becomes very good despite her amateur status. This helps the team because they've never won a championship.

Bliss continues to sneak out, juggling her waitress job, pageant duties, lying to her family, as well her budding romance. Rival skater "Iron Maven" (Juliette Lewis) later finds out a fact about Bliss that jeopardizes her place on the team as well as the success of the team.  Also, her family finds out about her extracurricular activity, which also forces Bliss to choose between the loves of her life--her family or her sport.

Daniel Stern is Bliss' dad; Drew Barrymore plays another teammate (she also directed and co-produced); Jimmy Fallon gives additional humor as the play-by-play announcer; Andrew Wilson is Bliss' team coach; Alia Shawkat plays Bliss' loyal friend.

Joyful Noise

i=Several storylines are woven together in Joyful Noise. It's main story is of a small Georgia town church choir trying to win a gospel singing competition, who has been trying to wrest the title from another church who has won with their flashy numbers. This year the pastor (Courtney B. Vance) decides it is the last time, as the big expense is too much for their little church.

Two ladies butt heads with their different personalities and approach to the choir. The traditionalist Vi Rose (Queen Latifah) is a single mother of two teens, Olivia (Keke Palmer) and Walter, who has Asperger's syndrome. Her estranged husband (Jesse L. Martin) is serving in the military and has been absent for several years. Vi Rose believes the church should stay old fashioned and sing hymns the way they were written. The affluent G.G. (Dolly Parton) on the other hand thinks they need to move with the times and is open to having dance moves and such in their church numbers. Her grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan) who has a reputation as a troublemaker, returns and reacquaints himself with Olivia, something Vi Rose does not approve of.

Camp

Camp is about a performance arts camp in New York State. It's an indie film so production values aren't super high and there are no real stars. It is written and directed by Todd Graff, himself a student at the camp this movie fictionalizes (and is filmed on location there). He also wrote and directed the new movie Joyful Noise.

The film focuses on one summer, and specifically on three teens: Ellen (Joanna Chilcoat), the plain jane "fag hag" (straight girl who hangs out with gay boys, usually because she can't get her own boyfriend); Michael (Robin de Jesus), a gay boy whose parents practically disown him when he wears a dress to the prom; Vlad (Daniel Letterle), the new straight boy who wants to be an actor, whom everyone lusts after (gay boys and straight girls).  Also included is the camp's guest director, Bert (Don Dixon), who only had one hit show and is pretty bitter he didn't find more success.  Vlad manages to help Ellen, Michael and Bert work through their problems.

Pariah

This new independent film, written and directed by Dee Rees, is about a black lesbian teen who struggles with her sexual identity and coming out to her parents, although both sense it while denying it in different ways. Alike, known as Le, has friendships with a lesbian dropout whom her mother doesn't like and a straight girl who kisses her. Le also has to deal with her mother who wants her to remain girly, and her father, a policeman, who wants to avoid the issue of his daughter's sexuality.

This was a pretty good film, the lead actress Adepero Oduye was very natural in her role and believable in her performance. Her character was complex yet we could see the many facets of her confusion caused by the social cues everyone gives her, which contributed to her anxiety and anger at not being able to express herself. Each of the supporting characters represented different views of Le's sexuality, both good and bad. The script was pretty tight and well written. It also looked pretty well put together for a small budget indie. Kim Wayans as the mom was the only actor I recognized, but otherwise it was an all black cast, and overall the acting was very good.

CIFF 2011: Cooley High

I remember, I think, watching Cooley High on tv many years ago. The film screened as part of the Black Perspective component of CIFF 2011, with the writer, the producer and some actors staying for a Q&A. They still had some vivid memories about filming here, working with the actors and crew, and the storyline.

The story takes place in the 60s in Chicago, and is filmed on location. Its central character is Leroy "Preach" Jackson (played by Glynn Turman), a highschooler who has dreams of being a writer or a poet. Being a black teen from a housing project, this aspiration is unusual, unsupported and unfulfilled. He hangs out with his best friend Richard "Cochise" Morris (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), who, like Preach, doesn't get a lot of adult guidance. They spend their days cutting from school, and nights partying, flirting, or drinking.

CIFF 2011: Tomboy

**You have another chance to catch Tomboy if you missed it at CIFF.  It is playing at Reeling, the Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival.**

Kicking off my CIFF schedule is a French film written and directed by Celine Sciamma.  Tomboy is about a girl who is mistaken for a boy, and decides to continue this deception amongst some new friends.