Frank

3 1/2 out of 4 Stars

Frank is a surreal, hilarious, and moving portrait about the struggle for fame and the struggle with reality. Based on Jon Ronson's semi-autobiographical story, Jon Burroughs (Domhnall Gleeson) is an aspiring singer-songriter who is brought in to play keyboards for a band called the Soronprfbs led by Frank (Michael Fassbender), the lead singer who is unseen by all due to a football-sized head he wears over his own head; think of Daft Punk meets Peter Gabriel during his stint with Genesis. After a five minute gig in a Welsh pub, Jon is recruited by Frank to live in a desolate part of Ireland to record the Soronprfbs debut album. The recording process leads Jon to question his own musical talents whilst working with a band that is as hilariously dysfunctional as Spinal Tap.

Acting as mediator to the band and to Frank's introverted state is Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a shrill Theremin player with a voice as hauntingly sedative as Nico from the Velvet Underground's first album (listen to her rendition of a song from "A Clockwork Orange"). As she despises Jon's attempts to get the band play at the South by Southwest music festival (SXSW), Frank cherishes Jon's promises of the band being recognized for their music as opposed to their comical fights on stage. As the Soronprfbs prepare for their album to be finished and their performance at SXSW, a series of mysterious events occur leaving you guessing what's in Frank's head and who is in Frank's head.

Michael Fassbender gives a comically brilliant and heartfelt performance as Frank; even though he's shrouded in plastic throughout most of the film, Fassbender emphasizes the mystery of Frank with his eccentric behavior leading to a stunning conclusion. Domhnall Gleeson gives a great performance as Jon as he blends ambition with journalistic observations of his life revolved around Frank. Maggie Gyllenhaal is hilariously cold as Clara by walking on the tightrope between obsessive control and the compulsive desire for love.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson (Adam & Paul, What Richard Did), Frank is a sublime cautionary tale about the quest for fame mixed in with the struggle with self-identity.
  

Boyhood

4 out of 4 stars

There are few films this year that have made me both laugh and cry and Richard Linklater's Boyhood is one of those films. Boyhood focuses on the life of Mason and his family over the course of 12 years, which is how long it took Linklater to film, and charting the ebbs and flows of his life: parental separation, his first love, and his first day of college. During the 12 year journey, Linklater chronicles the major events of the last decade (Iraq, the rise in social media, the 2008 election) with subtlety rather than being a major plot point a la Forrest Gump or an episode of The Wonder Years. Combining the wanderlust style of his previous works (Slacker, Dazed and Confused, and Waking Life), Linklater's two hour and forty-five minute epic cuts against the grain of the generic, bloated, coming-of-age films with a visual style and story that is ambitious as it is original.

An  unknown actor from Texas who was 7 when he started the film and 19 when he finished, Ellar Coltrane is amazing as Mason as he gives a genuine and authentic performance. Patricia Arquette gives an incredible performance as Mason's mother as she deals with the hardships of being a single mother and her own journey in providing for her two children. Her performance is reminiscent of Ellen Burstyn's leading role in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore as she does what she can to find happiness for herself and her family. Ethan Hawke gives his best performance as Mason's father who acts as a cathartic release for Mason and the tribulations he faces during his ascent into adulthood while Mason's father grows up as well. Richard Linklater's own daughter, Lorelei, gives an incredible performance as Mason's sister, Samantha.

Boyhood is a film that focuses more on the journey than the destination with a freewheeling style of storytelling that will leave you stunned and holding back tears of sorrow and joy. In short, Richard Linklater has created a masterpiece.

Robin Williams (1951-2014)

In the past 48 hours, its been hard for me to face the fact that one of the great icons of comedy and cinema has departed from this world. Robin Williams was found dead in his Marin County home on Monday. Since 4pm on Monday afternoon, tributes have been paid on social media networks, late night talk shows, and his stand-up routines have been broadcasted on the radio. The details into Robin's death will be speculated and over-analyzed by the press as is common for anyone famous; hopefully, he will be remembered for his craft and warmth he brought to the world rather than be remembered for his departure.

The constant memory of Robin Williams that's been circling in my head these past two days was my Eighth birthday when my parents took me to see Jumanji. Based on Chis Van Allsberg's children's book, two siblings find a board game which comes to life as they roll the dice and battle with the creatures of the jungle. I remember barreling over in laughs over Williams' bearded presence on the screen and watching in awe as he played a bumbling Errol Flynn fighting crocodiles, running from a heard of rhinos, and acting as a father figure to two lonely children. Since then, I started watching anything he was involved in; from his televised antics on Mork and Mindy to his masterclass performance as a therapist in Good Will Hunting.

I could go on and on over the accolades Robin Williams has received over the years, his personal life, and his generosity with Comic Relief and his USO shows, but the only thing I can say about him was that he quenched our thirst with his presence. Last night, I was watching The Fisher King and during the nude sequence in Central Park, an Au-natural Williams tells Jeff Bridges about the story of the holy grail:  

One day a fool wandered into the castle and found the king alone. And being a fool, he was simple minded, he didn't see a king. He only saw a man alone and in pain. And he asked the king, "What ails you friend?" The king replied, "I'm thirsty. I need some water to cool my throat". So the fool took a cup from beside his bed, filled it with water and handed it to the king. As the king began to drink, he realized his wound was healed. He looked in his hands and there was the holy grail, that which he sought all of his life. And he turned to the fool and said with amazement, "How can you find that which my brightest and bravest could not?" And the fool replied, "I don't know. I only knew that you were thirsty."  

Robin Williams quenched our thirst and knew we were thirsty for humor, for a sense of warmth, for something to distract us from our problems regardless of how big or small they were. He knew we were thirsty and whenever I see a clip of him doing stand-up or catch a glimpse of him on television, I know who I can rely on to pour another cup.