In Dìdi, Chris (Izaac Wang), a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy, comes-of-age in Fremont, California, during the summer before his first year of high school. He lives with his mother, Chungsing (Joan Chen), grandmother, Nai Nai (Chang Li Hua), and older sister, Vivian (Shirley Chen). As Hitchcock once observed, some movies are like a slice-of-life while others are more like a slice-of-cake. The screenplay by writer/director Sean Wang, set in 2008, veers more toward a slice-of-life like Boyhood. There isn't much of a plot except for Chris trying to woo his school crush, Madi (Mahaela Park), posting videos of him skateboarding on YouTube and dealing with peer pressure from his friends. He's also rebelling against his mother who's doing her best to raise him while her husband is working overseas in Taiwan. Dìdi feels, essentially, like a series of snapshots from the life of a 13-year-old who's awkward, shy and immature like most kids around his age. Wang captures some humorous moments in the interactions between Chris and his mother and in his experiences with Myspace, YouTube and Instant Messaging. There's somewhat of a voyeuristic aspecting to watching Dìdi which means that you, the audience, become like an additional character as you're observing Chris in his day-to-day life.

      Izaac Wang deserves to be commended for his very natural, breakthrough performance. The always-reliable Joan Chen makes the most out of her role as Chris' mother. She has a very moving scene during the last ten minutes. Writer/director Sean Wang's greatest triumph is that he manages to find the Spectacle within the film's many Truths, and to turn something seemingly mundane into something profound. At a running time of 1 hours and 41 minutes, Dìdi, is a sweet, tender and funny slice-of-life with shades of Boyhood. It opens in select theaters via Focus Features.

 

        In The Fabulous Four, Alice (Megan Mullally), Kitty (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Lou (Susan Sarandon), travel to Key West to be bridesmaids at the wedding of their friend, Marilyn (Bette Midler). Lou and Marilyn had a fall out because Marilyn had stolen her boyfriend years ago. Now Marilyn is marrying a man who she's been seeing for only a few months. Alice and Kitty trick the cat-loving Lou into traveling with them to Key West under the false impression that she'll be given a polydactyl (six-toed) cat. Meanwhile, Lou meets a charming man (Bruce Greenwood) who flirts with her after she throws an egg vibrator at a thief who tries to steal the man's bicycle. Unfortunately, the screenplay by co-writers Ann Marie Allison is tonally even, unfunny and clunky. None of the jokes land no matter how hard the talented cast tries to make them work. Bette Midler gives the same kind of shrill, over-the-top performance she gave in That Old Feeling. Alice's character, along with Megan Mullally's accent, gets annoying pretty quickly. There are two twists, but one of them is very cringe-inducing and the other is very, very contrived. Only one scene works in terms of generating emotional depth: when Lou lets it all out in a long rant to her friends on the dock toward the end, but, by then, it's too little, too late. Kudos to Susan Sarandon for her emotionally honest performance. It's too bad that she and the other actresses are undermined by an inane, lazy and witless screenplay. At a running time of 1 hours and 38 minutes, The Fabulous Four, directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse opens nationwide via Bleecker Street. It makes 80 for Brady and That Old Feeling look like masterpieces.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

      In The Last Breath, Logan (Arlo Carter), Noah (Jack Parr), Brett (Alexander Arnold), Riley (Erin Mullen), Sam (Kim Spearman), Noah's ex-girlfriend, scuba dive off the coast of the British Virgin Islands to explore the wreckage of a WWII battleship. Little do they know that great white sharks lurk down below. The screenplay by Nick Saltrese doesn't earn any points for originality which is fine, but what's most disappointing is that it takes a premise that sounds exciting and turns it into a pedestrian and unimaginative bore that's low on suspense, thrills and terror. The characters are all merely one-dimensional devices rather than fully-fleshed human beings. Even Jaws stops to breathe life into its characters and to give them---dare I say it---some personality. The dialogue often sounds stilted and dull which would've been forgivable if there were something else to hook the audience like edge-of-your-seat action scenes. The action sequences are poorly shot and none of the kills are even remotely memorable. The violence is pretty tame. Julian Sands plays a boat captain who waits for the scuba divers on the surface, but he's wasted here in a role that doesn't give him much to do. If only The Last Breath were even half as entertaining as Deep Blue Sea or Jaws. At a running time of 1 hour and 36 minutes, The Last Breath, directed by director Joachim Hedén, is a tedious, underwhelming, poorly-shot and forgettable B-movie. It opens at IFC Center via RLJE Entertainment.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

        Ma Zhe (Zhu Yilong), a police detective, investigates the murder of an elderly woman whose corpse is found by a river in Only the River Flows.  Xie (Tong Linkai), a mentally ill man, is the prime suspect, but Ma Zhe doesn't believe that he's the killer and continues to investigate despite undermining his superiors who want the case closed as soon as possible.  Meanwhile, his pregnant wife, Bai (Chloe Maayan), learns that their child might be born with intellectual disabilities. Writer/director Wei Shujun has woven a slow-burning, atmospheric and provocative crime thriller. It also serves as a poignant character study of a man who's finding it increasingly difficult to find truth and justice. His obsession with the case has an emotional and psychological effect on him that blurs the line between reality and fantasy. Shujun does a great job of allowing the audience to get inside Ma Zhe's mind and to empathize with him even if they can't relate to his particular circumstances. He's dealing with a lot of stress at home and at work concurrently. The plot, set in the 1990s like Longlegs gets more complicated when another dead body related to the elderly woman turns up, so Ma Zhe is clearly dealing with a serial killer. Unlike Longlegs, though, Only the River Flows doesn't veer into supernatural territory nor does it try to push the envelope with graphic violence. It's more along the lines of Insomnia and the Hungarian film Twilight, so if you like those films, you'll probably like this one too. At a running time of 1 hours and 41 minutes, Only the River Flows opens at The Metrograph via KimStim.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

      Rhinegold is a dull, overlong and meandering biopic about Giwar Hajabi (Emilio Sakraya), an Iranian-Kurdish immigrant who moved to Germany with his family during his childhood before joining a gang, dealing drugs, stealing gold teeth, becoming a rapper and getting sent to prison. He gained fame in prison for his rap music while under the stage name Xatar. The screenplay by writer/director Fatih Akin and co-writer Giwar Hajabi bites off more than it could chew. If it were to only shed light on just one or two key moments from Giwar's very interesting life, it it would've been much more focused and allowed for more profound moments. The non-linear plot flashes forward and back so much that it might cause whiplash for some audience members. Unfortunately Giwar remains at a cold distance from the audience because the film rarely stops to provide a window into his heart, mind and soul. Emilio Sakraya tries his best to open that window with his heartfelt performance, but he's undermined by the pedestrian and vapid screenplay. Moreover, you can feel the weight of the running time that clocks past the 2 hour mark, so writer/director Fatih Akin and co-writer Giwar Hajabi don't display enough restraint as filmmakers while trying to cover too much ground simultaneously. Kneecap is a much more invigorating biopic about troubled musicians. At a running time of 2 hours and 19 minutes, Rhinegold opens at IFC Center via Strand Releasing.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

      Swan Song is a mildly engaging, but dry and bland documentary about Karen Kain’s ballet company production of Swan Lake in 2022. Director Chelsea McMullan deserves to be commended for gaining access to Karen and the ballet dancers as they rehearse for the big production. Although Swan Song captures the frustrations, stress and hard work behind-the-scenes, it barely scratches the surface of its subject. McMullan opts for a fly-on-the-wall approach similar to Frederick Wiseman's documentaries, but not nearly as thorough or illuminating. She also squanders an opportunity to allow the audience to get to know Karen, a former ballet dancer, who's now at the helm of her first ballet production before her retirement. So, yes, Swan Lake is her swan song, hence the film's title. Karen has surely led an interesting life, but Swan Song doesn't even bother to shed light on her backstory which would've made the film much more insightful. It also fails to build up tension leading up to the production of Swan Lake. Unless you're passionate about ballet, you'll probably be bored by watching this documentary. There's also nothing exceptional about the cinematography or editing that would've compensated for the lack of substance. There's nothing about the cinematography or editing that compensates for the lack of substance. At a running time of 1 hour and 43 minutes, Swan Song opens at IFC Center via Greenwich Entertainment.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

        Water Brother: The Sid Abbruzzi Story is a heartfelt, well-edited and illuminating documentary biopic about Sid Abbruzzi, a surfer who opened a store called Water Brothers Surf and Skate Shop in Newport, Rhode Island. Co-directors Charles and Daniel Kinnane blend archival footage, contemporary interviews with Abbruzzi's friends, and footage of Abbruzzi desperately struggling to save his beloved, iconic store from being demolished after he was served an eviction notice. The Kinnane brothers shed light on Abbruzzi's younger years when he developed a passion for surfing. The film linearly charts how he started his shop on a beach shake before opening up his brick and mortar store in 1971. Most importantly, it captures Abbruzzi's charismatic personality, free-spiritedness, kindness toward others and warmth along with his perseverance during times of adversity. You don't have to be into surfing to enjoy or be inspired by this captivating documentary which is far better than the documentary Kim's Video and on par with Flipside which would make for an interesting double feature. At a running time of 1 hours and 28 minutes, Water Brother: The Sid Abbruzzi Story, opens at Village East by Angelika.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1