Crisp Criticism - "Like Father, Like Son", "Joe", "Belle", "Walk of Shame"

by

Julien Faddoul

Like Father, Like Son **

A successful businessman learns that his biological son was switched with another after birth and must decide whether to choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own.

With each succeeding film, Kore-Eda has been becoming increasingly sentimental. Despite the schematics of the material here, every move and gesture is accomplished with total precision, with an excellent ensemble cast.

wd – Hirokazu Kore-Eda

ph – Mikiya Takimoto

pd – Keiko Mitsumatsu

m – Takeshi Matsubara, Junichi Matsumoto, Takashi Mori

ed – Hirokazu Kore-Eda

p – Kaoru Matsuzaki, Hijiri Taguchi

Cast: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono, Yôko Maki, Rirî Furankî, Jun Fubuki, Shôgen Hwang, Keita Ninomiya, Isao Natsuyagi

Joe **

An ex-convict turned lumberjack takes the 15-year-old boy with a troubled family under his wing.

Mood and milieu are unerring here, typical of both its director and star, but a nucleus is missing.

d – David Gordon Green

w – Gary Hawkins   (Based on the Novel by Larry Brown)

ph – Tim Orr

pd – Chris L. Spellman

m – Jeff McIlwain, David Wingo

ed – Colin Patton

cos – Karen Malecki, Jill Newell

p – David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Derrick Tseng, Christopher Woodrow

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, Gary Poulter, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Adriene Mishler

Belle *

The true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral.

Detached, expository and ultimately rather didactic depiction of historical socioeconomics; lushly decorated.

d – Amma Asante

w – Misan Sagay

ph – Ben Smithard

pd – Simon Bowles

m – Rachel Portman

ed – Victoria Boydell, Pia Di Ciaula

cos – Anushia Nieradzik

p – Damian Jones

Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton Matthew Goode, Emily Watson, Sarah Gadon, Tom Felton, Alex Jennings, James Norton

Walk of Shame

A reporter's dream of becoming a news anchor is compromised after a one-night stand leaves her stranded in downtown L.A. without a phone, car, ID or money.

Shrill comedy; waste of time, money and a talented cast.

wd – Steven Brill

ph – Jonathan Brown

pd – Perry Andelin Blake

m – John Debney

ed – Patrick J. Don Vito

cos – Lindsay Ann McKay

p – Sidney Kimmel, Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg

Cast: Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden, Gillian Jacobs, Sarah Wright, Ethan Suplee, Bill Burr