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This weekend there are five new films out for you to choose from: drama in Boyhood, something for the kids in How To Train Your Dragon 2, and drippy drama in Begin Again, Mr Morgan’s Lost Love and Love Me Till Monday.
Boyhood
strong>Boyhood looks like a must-see film from Richard Linklater, as it’s one that’s been filmed over 12 years with the same cast.
It tells the story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason (Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on screen before our eyes, and stars Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason’s parents, plus newcomer Lorelei Linklater as his sister Samantha.
Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and all the moments in between become transcendent, set to a soundtrack spanning the years from Coldplay‘s Yellow to Arcade Fire‘s Deep Blue. Boyhood is both a nostalgic time capsule of the recent past and an ode to growing up and parenting.
I figured Boyhood would have a long running time, and it clocks in at 163 minutes.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
How To Train Your Dragon 2
It’s been five years since Hiccup and Toothless successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favourite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 features the voices of Kit Harington, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, T.J. Miller, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Djimon Hounsou and Craig Ferguson.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Begin Again
Begin Again has a big cast and is a film which looks like it could have been interesting, but ends up being a drippy romantic drama about a sacked music business exec (Mark Ruffalo) who meets a young singer-songwriter (Keira Knightley), new to Manhattan, and wants to turn her into a big star.
Once Director John Carney also directs Hailee Steinfeld, Catherine Keener, Adam Levine, Mos Def, CeeLo Green and…. sadly, James Corden appears. Why? It had a decent cast until then.
This film was originally titled Can a Song Save Your Life?, which was a bit of a mouthful.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Mr Morgan’s Lost Love
A look at the life-changing connection between a retired and widowed American philosophy professor and a young Parisian woman, starring Michael Caine doing a dodgy accent, plus Clémence Poésy, but it does have Justin Kirk, aka Andy Botwin from Weeds.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Love Me Till Monday
A young woman who has recently finished university is working a dead-end office job whilst looking for ‘the one’. Why can’t she find the man of her dreams?
Starring Sarah Barratt, Sarah Jayne Butler, Charlotte Gallagher, Tyler Gayle and Ludo Hardy, the trailer doesn’t particularly inspire me, so for now, it’s a…
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.