Reeling on two coming of age movies opening Thursday night

Siblings 6 year-old Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and 9 year-old Samantha (Linklater's daughter Lorelei) have the usual up and down relationship in a quiet Texas suburb where they live with their single mom Olivia (Patricia Arquette, "True Romance").  A move to Houston reconnects them with their dad, Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke, "Before Midnight"), a struggling musician returned from a stint in Alaska whom Olivia regards as irresponsible.  But over the course of twelve years, dad will turn into a family man with a minivan while mom becomes a respected college professor who's struggled through two more failed marriages.  As he sets off for college, we've shared in the moments - rites of passage, the everyday and the joys and sorrows of Mason's "Boyhood."

Writer/director Richard Linklater has observed the influence of time with his "Before" trilogy, but his latest is something else again, an unparalleled production (backed by IFC Films) filmed yearly over the course of twelve years using the same central cast.  It's an extraordinary achievement, one which will have you reflecting on your own life, all those moments big and small, many of which represented crossroads you may not have seen at the time.

To read the rest of the review, click here:
http://www.reelingreviews.com/boyhood.htm

With his disapproving dad Gabe (Mandy Patinkin, Showtime's 'Homeland') dying of cancer and unable to fund his kids' private education anymore, unemployed actor Aidan Bloom (Zach Braff, TV's 'Scrubs') is faced with home schooling Grace (Joey King, "White House Down," TV's 'Fargo') and Tucker (Pierce Gagnon, "Looper"), orchestrating a parental reunion with his eccentric genius younger brother Noah (Josh Gad, "Jobs," "The Internship") and learning to recognize the sacrifices his wife Sarah's (Kate Hudson, "Bride Wars") made in "Wish I Was Here."

Cowriter (with Adam J. Braff)/star/director Zach Braff's ("Garden State") infamously-funded-via-Kickstarter movie is a bit more grown up than his last one, but he's still leaning on too many cutesy devices to attain the emotional depth he's going for.  It says something that the single truly moving scene is one between Patinkin and Hudson, the latter of whom is the surprising reason to see this film. As Braff walks around town toting a giant swear jar instead of a more practical wallet, Hudson grounds every scene she's in with real emotion in her own exhausted reality.  She's a revelation here.

To read the rest of the review, click here:
http://www.reelingreviews.com/wishiwashere.htm