Movie reviews: 'Asteroid City', 'No Hard Feelings'

EACH YEAR WE CELEBRATE ASTEROIDS, WHEN THE PLANES, METEORITES… ♪ >> HOLY TOLEDO, THAT’S MITCH. >> VERY GOOD. HE HAS AMNESIA. >> HE MAY BE MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER. >> I DON’T KNOW WHY NOBODY ELSE LIKED IT. >> Marcia: OKAY, THAT WAS A CLIP FROM THE LATEST OFFERING FROM DIRECTOR WES ANDERSON “ASTEROID CITY.” IT HITS THEATRES THIS WEEKEND. HERE TO TALK ABOUT THIS MOVIE AND OTHER FILMS OPENING THIS WEEKEND IS RICHARD CROUSE. RICHARD, HELLO TO YOU. SO THIS IS THE NEWEST SCI-FI COMEDY FROM ANDERSON. THIS WAS SET IN TEXAS. HOW DOES THIS MOVIE STACK UP WITH THE

REST OF HIS CATALOG? IS >> WELL, IF YOU’RE A FAN OF WEST ANDERSON AND THERE’S A LOTS OF THEM OUT THERE, YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. IT IS BEAUTIFULLY COMPOSED SHOTS THAT ARE VERY SIMM ETTED SYMMETRICAL. THEY’RE BALANCED. YOU’VE GOT AN “A” LIST SCATTED, SCARLET JOHANSSON, TILDA SWIN SON, STEVE CARELL. THE CAST IN THIS MOVIE IS UNBELIEVABLE. THEN THAT IS WRAPPED AROUND A STORY THAT WILL BE WHIMSICAL TO SAY THE LEAST. SO THIS IS SET IN A DESERT TOWN, 1955, AND THE JUNIOR STAR GAZERS’ CONVENTION WHERE GIFTED CAN IS KIDS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY

COME TO SHOW OFF THE NEW SCIENTIFIC INVENTIONS BUT WHEN AN ALIEN LANDS, IT CHANGES EVERYTHING. I WON’T TELL YOU ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT. THAT’S ABOUT ALL YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW.

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT PEOPLE, EACH OF WHOM HAVE SOME SORT OF DILEMMA THAT THEY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT. BUT THE STORY TELLING, I THINK HE, IN THIS CASE, TAKES A BACK SEAT TO THE STYLE. IT IS, FOR MY MONEY, REALLY THE FIRST TIME THAT WES ANDERSON HAS ALLOWED THIS WHIMSICAL NATURE OF HIS VISUAL STORY TELLING TO OVERPOWER THE NARRATIVE AND IF YOU’RE A FAN,

I THINK YOU’LL GO AND JUST LOOK AT THESE BEAUTIFUL PICTURES AS THEY FLY THROUGH THE AIR TO THE MOVIE SCREEN. BEYOND THAT, THOUGH, YOU MIGHT BE A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED BY THE STORY. I GAVE “ASTEROID CITY” THREE OUT OF FIVE STARS BECAUSE IT’S INCREDIBLE LOOKING BUT THE STORY LET ME DOWN. >> Marcia: SO COLOURFUL. PRETTY. >> IT’S GORGEOUS. >> Marcia: THE NEXT ONE NOT GETTING GREAT REVIEWS. NO HURT FEELINGS. THIS IS AN “R” RATED COMEDY STARRING OSCAR WINNING JENNIFER LAWRENCE. I SHOULD PRE-EMPT YOU BY SAYING IT’S NOT GETTING OTHER REVIEWERS. I’M CURIOUS TO YET YOUR TAKE

ON IT. >> IT IS ABOUT TO GET ANOTHER KNOCK RATE REVIEW FROM ME. I HAD HIGH HOPES FOR THIS ONE SIMPLY BECAUSE COMEDIES HAVE HAD A ROUGH GO IN THEATRES FOR THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS. YOU KNOW, THE SUPER HEROES HAVE KIND OF TAKEN OVER THE LOCAL MOVIE THEATRES AND ALL THE SCREENS SEEM TO BE PEOPLE DRESSED IN SPANDEX SUPER HERO OUTFITS AND SO I WAS REALLY HOPING FOR SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT IN THIS “R” RATED COMEDY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A THROWBACK TO “AMERICAN PIE” AND MOVIES LIKE THAT. IT STARS A REAL MOVIE STAR.

THIS IS JENNIFER LAWRENCE WHO HAS SO MUCH CHARISMA IN HER PERFORMANCES, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS, THAT SHE CAN KIND OF SELL EVEN THE WEAKEST OF SCRIPTS, WHICH IS WHAT I’M AFRAID “NO HARD FEELINGS” HAS. IT’S THE STORY OF A YOUNG WOMAN LIVING IN MONTAUK. SHE TAKES ON A JOB TO BRING A SOCIALLY AWKWARD YOUNG MAN OUT OF HIS SHELL BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. AND THIS HAD SOME PROMISE, I THOUGHT, MIGHT HAVE BEEN KIND OF A MUSING. THERE ARE A FEW SOLID LAUGHS MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THE GOOD CAST, JENNIFER LAWRENCE. FOR ME, IT FELL FLAT

BECAUSE THERE’S NOT REALLY ANY AUTHENTIC MOMENTS IN HERE AT ALL. I ONLY GAVE IT TWO OUT OF FIVE STARS. AND IT’S IN THEATRES RIGHT NOW. IF YOU NEED YOUR JENNIFER LAWRENCE FIX. >> Marcia: LASTLY, THIS IS BLUE JEAN. THIS IS A BRITISH PERIOD DRAMA SET IN THE 1980s. ARE WE REALLY CALLING THE 80s A PERIOD? >> IT’S 35 YEARS AGO. >> Marcia: OH! OH, DEAR. WHAT’S THIS ABOUT? DID YOU LIKE IT? >> I DID LIKE THIS MOVIE. THIS IS CALLED “BLUE JEAN” SET IN 1988. JUST AS MARGARET THATCHER’S SECTION 28 WAS COMING INTO EFFECT. THAT

WAS A LAW AS IT SAID, THAT BANNED THE PROMOTION OF HOMOSEXUALITY. THAT’S THE QUOTE FROM THE LAW. SO SAYING DON’T SAY GAY IN FLORIDA RIGHT NOW AND SORT OF GET THE IDEA. IT FOCUSES ON ONE YOUNG WOMAN NAMED JEAN WHO, IN HER PRIVATE LIFE, IS OUT. SHE HAS A GIRLFRIEND. SHE GOES TO THE LOCAL GAY BAR AND PLAYS POOL AND HANGS OUT BUT DURING HER WORK DAY AT SCHOOL, WHICH IS PE TEACHER, SHE’S CLOSETED AND TERRIFIED THAT PEOPLE WILL FIND OUT THAT SHE IS A LESBIAN BECAUSE IT COULD COST HER HER JOB AND SHE SAYS

IN THE FILM, I’LL NEVER GET ANOTHER JOB IF PEOPLE FIND OUT. ONE NIGHT, ONE OF HER STUDENTS COMES INTO THE BAR AND SEES HER AND SENDS HER INTO AN PA I CAN. IT HAS A REMARKABLE CENTRAL PERFORMANCE FROM SOMEONE NAMED ROSY McEWEN WHO HAS A COUPLE OF CREDITS ON BRITISH TELEVISION. THIS IS HER FIRST FEATURE FILM. I THINK GIVEN THE WORK THAT WE’RE SEEING HERE FROM HER THAT SHE HAS A HUGE FUTURE. THIS IS A STAR MAKING PERFORMANCE THAT REALLY BRINGS THIS LOW-KEY STORY TO LIFE. IT IS A STORY THAT I THINK CERTAINLY DURING PRIDE

MONTH PEOPLE WILL BE INTERESTED IN SEEING AND IT’S A VERY GOOD FILM CALLED BLUE JEAN, I GAVE IT THREE AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE STARS AND IT’S IN THEATRES RIGHT NOW. >> Marcia: IN THEATRES. OKAY. RICHARD, GREAT STUFF. THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOOD TO S