FILM: How to be Single
CAST: Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie, Leslie Mann, Damon Wayans Jr
DIRECTION: Christian Ditter


How to be Single is an example of the dangerous pitfalls of judging a movie based only on the cast list, movie poster and early trailers. Going strictly by those elements, How to be Single looks a chick flick that relies heavily on bawdy material to generate laughs.
This kind of assumption comes from the casting of Rebel Wilson, who tends to play comedy so over the top that the jokes often die from lack of oxygen. The posters make it look like this is little more than a big-screen version of Wilson’s failed TV series, Super Fun Night.
Then there’s Dakota Johnson. Toss in the hit and miss work of Leslie Mann and the mousy nature of Alison Brie and the signs pointed to a disaster.
How to be Single actually is a smart, fun and sweet movie.
Despite an all-female starring cast, it delivers its comments about relationships in such a full and inclusive manner that males will be pulled into the intertwined stories.
It starts with Alice (Johnson), a law firm employee who is coming out of a failed relationship. Her best friend, Robin (Wilson), decides to help her navigate the choppy waters of dating. The efforts don’t always work as Robin speeds through life.
Alice is also dealing with her single sister, Meg (Mann), whose relationship with a younger man leads to a pregnancy.
The last piece of the puzzle is Lucy (Brie), a woman using logic, statistics and strategy to find the right mate. This intellectual approach keeps her from seeing the people around her who may really care for her.
Credit director Christian Ditter and writers Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein and Dana Fox with keeping this film at such a high level. There are plenty of humorous moments, but instead of just relying on the lowest common factors, each joke is a smart commentary on life and love.
This works because Ditter gets the best performance out of Johnson of her young career. She’s as comfortable with the humour as she is with the deeper emotions. It’s easy to see this complicated dating world through her eyes because she comes across so real and genuine.
The biggest shock is Wilson. Generally, her performance is so manic that she quickly becomes a distraction rather than a comic asset. Ditter mixes her in at just the right moment to slam dunk a joke and then move on. There’s no feeling that she’s trying to milk the life out of a funny twist.
Mann’s job is to anchor the story as the more mature member of the group. It’s refreshing that her storyline about an older woman and a younger man isn’t played as some type of sleazy play. These are two complicated people who never have to resort to over-used sex jokes.
How to be Single is an equal opportunity film where the male characters are presented with depth. The best example is the single father played by Damon Wayans Jr. His character is dealing with a lot of emotional baggage when it comes to his daughter and that adds another level to the story.
The weakest link is Brie. Her character always seems to be on the fringes. She’s part of the group, but her work is so far removed that her story never fully blends with the others. It’s a weakness, but it’s not enough to take away from what is a very solid story of love and loss played against a New York City backdrop that is so beautifully shot it looks like a fantasy land.
How to be Single is a wonderful surprise. It takes a high road in both comedy and story that makes it work on multiple levels. More comedies that focus on one gender should pay attention to this movie. The cast and crew deliver from start to finish. — The Fresno Bee/TNS


A narrative turn that’s 
difficult to swallow


By Tirdad Derakhshani

FILM: The Abandoned
CAST: Louisa Krause, Jason Patric, Mark Margolis
DIRECTION: Eytan Rockaway


Julia sees ghosts. A whole variety of ‘em — scary spectres, plaintive souls, lost children, even a few playful playmates.
At least she thinks she does, on those dark days when she doesn’t take her antipsychotic meds.
Played with sympathy and sensitivity by Louisa Krause (Bluebird, Martha Marcy May Marlene), Julie is the unlikely hero of the haunted-house yarn The Abandoned, a tense, subdued, and well-acted creep-fest co-starring veteran thesps Jason Patric and Mark Margolis.
Loaded with oodles of atmosphere, solid sound design, and amazing settings, writer-director Eytan Rockaway’s feature debut also is a hopelessly muddled mess that tries to go in too many directions.
Krause plays a single mother with mental-health problems who is on the verge of losing her daughter unless she gets her life in order. She lands a job as one of two night guards who watch over an abandoned apartment building in New York. A massive, cavernous, neoclassical number filled to the brim with marble, tile, columns, and crazy frescoes, the setting is the film’s biggest attraction.
“You have to be careful here,” Julie’s boss (Ezra Knight) tells her as he takes his leave for the night. “Things are starting to fall apart.”
You don’t know the half of it.
Patric is wonderful as the other guard, a middle-age misanthrope with a sadistic streak who plays nasty practical jokes on the newbie.
Soon enough, Julie begins seeing scary apparitions. Then she discovers a mysterious door, a system of tunnels, crazy catacombs and a creepy underground dormitory that used to house mentally disturbed kids.
Despite its formulaic structure, The Abandoned has a lot going for it. It eschews cheap scares, bloodletting and gore. Instead, it works the audience with good, old-fashioned suspense. And it has heart.
But it spins out of control in the third act, taking a narrative turn that’s just too difficult to swallow as it morphs from a well-executed thriller into a melodramatic tearjerker. — The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Comedy and action

FILM: LEGO Nexo Knights: Season 1 
VOICES: Alessandro Juliani, Ian Hanlin, Brian Drummond
DIRECTION: Michael Dowding, Asaph Fipke


The high-tech Kingdom of Knighton is in trouble. The King’s Jester has gone rogue and stolen the strange talking Book of Monsters. Using its evil magic, he summons an army of dangerous Lava Monsters and attacks. It is up to the brave but inexperienced Nexo Knights to come to the rescue.
In their amazing rolling castle and with the help of holographic Wizard Merlok 2.0, they have technology and Nexo powers, an incredible new digitised magic, on their side. But the Jester and the Book of Monsters have a sinister plot that may spell doom over the once peaceful kingdom.
The episodes are pretty neat. It’s a quirky cross between medieval and space theme. 
Anyone who enjoys Lego animated shows such as Ninjago or The Freemaker Adventures are bound to love this one as well. Even if you’re not a fan of those and just looking for something light and fun to watch, this will fit the bill nicely. As with the other Lego shows, this one is filled with plenty of comedy with just the right amount of action to spice things up to keep kids and those young at heart into the series. 


DVDs courtesy: 
Saqr Entertainment Stores, Doha