Crisp Criticism - "Daddy's Home", "Brooklyn", "Point Break", "The Lady in the Van"

by

Julien Faddoul

Daddy’s Home

A stepfather is threatened by the original father for the love of his stepchildren.

Wretched slapstick-comedy with no successful jokes or discernible sense of competency.

d – Sean Anders

w – Brian Burns, Sean Anders, John Morris

ph – Julio Macat

pd – Clayton Hartley

m – Michael Andrews

ed – Eric Kissack, Brad Wilhite 

cos – Carol Ramsey

p – Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy, Adam McKay, John Morris

Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Paul Scheer, Hannibal Buress, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lamonica Garrett, Cedric Yarbrough, Thomas Haden Church, Kerry Cahill

Brooklyn **

In 1950s Ireland and New York, a young Irish girl has to choose between two men and two countries.

Elegant, sweet, perceptive study on the courage it takes for one to completely uproot their life for a better one someplace else. Although it soaks itself in nostalgia a little too much, the period detail is guilefully characterized.

d – John Crowley

w – Nick Hornby    (Based on the Novel by Colm Toibin)

ph – Yves Bélanger

pd – François Séguin

m – Michael Brook

ed – Jake Roberts

cos – Odile Dicks-Mireaux

p – Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Bríd Brennan, Jane Brennan, Fiona Glascott

Point Break

A young undercover FBI agent infiltrates a gang of thieves who share a common interest in extreme sports.

Moronic and utterly forgettable remake of the 1991 film. Even the stunts are pedestrian.

d – Ericson Core

w – Rick King, W. Peter Iliff, Kurt Wimmer 

ph – Ericson Core

pd – Udo Kramer

m – Junkie XL

ed – John Duffy, Gerald B. Greenberg, Thom Noble

cos – Lisy Christl

p – John Baldecchi, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Christopher Taylor, David Valdes, Kurt Wimmer

Cast: Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramírez, Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer, Delroy Lindo, Tobias Santelmann, James Le Gros

The Lady in the Van

A woman of uncertain origins temporarily parks her van in Alan Bennett’s London driveway and proceeds to live there for 15 years.

Ridiculous and trite drama, typical of its writer and based rather insecurely on his memoir, in which the “revelations” are so programmed it could have been written on a greeting card.

d – Nicholas Hytner

w – Alan Bennett

ph – Andrew Dunn

pd – John Beard

m – George Fenton

ed – Tarig Anwar

cos – Natalie ward

p – Nicholas Hytner, Kevin Loader, Damian Jones

Cast: Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Frances de la Tour, Gwen Taylor, Dominic Cooper, James Corden, Roger Allam