Author: Mike Smith

• 5-25-77
• Starring:  John Francis Daley, Austin Pendleton and Colleen Camp
• Directed by:  Patrick Read Johnson
• Rated:  PG 13
• Running time:  2 hrs 12 mins
• Filmio

A young man, enthralled by the rmagic of the movies, begins to make his own films with his family and friends.  If this sounds like Steven Spielberg’s film, “The Fablemans,” you would be right.  However, “5-25-77” has been around, in various forms, since 2007.

Film fans will recognize May 25, 1977 as the day “Star Wars” opened in the United States.  Like “Jaws” before it, the effect the film had on Hollywood would change it forever.  Thanks to the success of “Star Wars,” films like “Star Trek the Motion Picture” and “The Black Hole” were greenlighted by studios, bringing science fiction, once a stalple of 1950s Hollywood, back to the cinema.

Pat Johnson (Daley) takes in a showing of “2001: A Spsce Odysey” and is mesmerized by what he has seen.  He begins to make home movies in the neighborhood and finally saves the money to travel to Hollywood with one mission: to meet Douglas Trumball, the man behind the special effects of “2001.”  His trip doesn’t go exactly as planned, but what does happen changes Pat’s life forever.

The film follows Pat on his journey west – he lives in Illinolis – where, while waiting to meet Trumball he runs ito a young Steven Spielberg, who is currently finishing up the special effects on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” a film Trumball also did the special effects for.  He also stumbles into a room containing models for another upcoming film called “Star Wars.”  Impressed by the young man’s interest, one of the crew invite him to a screening room where he is given a peek at a very rough cut of “Star Wars.”  Overwhelmed by what he’s seen, Pat returns home where he does his best to make his friends and family as “Star Wars” crazy as he is.

The first act of the film is well done.  Daley captures the same enthusiasm that my 16-year old pals and I had in wating for the film to open.  It’s clear to the viewer that “Star Wars” really had an effect on Pat’s life, much the same way that “Jaws” had on mine.  So excited is Pat that he invites his entire class to be his guest at the theatre on opening day.

It’s the second act of the film where things begin to fumble.  Even though the film runs a healthy 132 minutes (11 minutes longer then “Star Wars”), Mr. Johnson has tried to cram too much into the final 45-minutes of the film.  It’s almost as if, after 15 years of working on the film, Mr. Johnson decided to use everything he had.  As someone who focuses on the minute trivia of films, I was disappointed to find a Cubs game on television late at night.  I lived in the Chicago area until 1974 and I don’t recall Cub games being re-broadcast.  Also, if my ears are working correctly, there is a batter in the game that has 98 RBIs – in mid-May.  I have other issues with the film but to list them would require a SPOILER ALERT notice.

I first became aware of this film when Mr. Johnon was interviewed for the “Jaws” documentary “The Shark is Still Working,” a film in which I also appear.  I was intrigued by the 5-25-77 poster behind Mr. Johnson and have eagerly been waiting for this film since then.  While I did have some quibbles with the film, it is definitely one that should be seen, not only for movie lovers who will find a kindred soul in young Pat Johnson but as a validation of Patrick Read Johnson’s perseverance.

I give “5-25-77” 3.5 stars out of 5.  

• AIR
• Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Viola Davis
• Directed by: Ben Affleck
• Rated: R
• Running time: 1 hr 53 mins
• Amazon Studios
• (Five stars out of Five)

It’s been 26 years since a couple of kids named Ben Affleck and Matt Damon took Hollywood by storm when they won an Oscar for their original screenplay “Good Will Hunting.” In the time since winning, the two have battled through career ups and downs and today are among the most respected people in Hollywood. Especially Affleck, who went from being a punchline to becoming one of the best directors in the business. His non-nomination for directing the Oscar winning Best Picture, “Argo,” is a true mystery that I don’t even think Scooby Doo and his pals could solve.

Not including a brief appearance on the “set” of “Good Will Hunting 2’ in Kevin Smith’s “Jay and Silent Bob Save Hollywood,” the two have no appeared on screen together since GWH. That all changes now with the release of “Air.”

It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when Nike was almost an afterthought when it came to sneakers. Back in my youth the popular brands were Adidas and Puma. Sure, Nike was big with runners but, where I once as a kid asked my parents to buy me a pair of Lou Brock-model Keds, I cannot remember ever asking them for a pair of Nikes. Enter Sonny Vacarro (Damon), hired by the Beaverton, Oregon company to help increase the brand.l The 1984 draft has just been held and he is charged with finding three players to hopefully sign sponsorship contracts and get the word out. But Vacarro, going against everything he has been told, decides to put all of Nike’s eggs in the baseke of a certain young man from the University of North Carolina, one Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Packed with great performances and backed by a killer soundtrack of 1984 tunes, “Air” asumes the audience knows that Jordan and Nike now go hand in handl, but are curious to know how they got together.

Damon is his usual solid self, giving Vacarro an empathy that you might not normally have for someone in his position. It is his persistance, as well as his genuine belief that Jordan is truly a once-in-a-lifetime talent, that keeps the film moving. Damon is joined by director Affleck, who plays Nike founder Phil Knight as a man who must balance his employee’s beliefs with the wishes of his stockholders. Also contributing: Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker and Chris Messina, who plays Jordan’s agent, David Falk. Messina’s scenes with Damon are comic gold, somehow making characters who should be unlikable anything but. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the award-worthy performance by Viola Davis, who plays Jordan’s mother, Deloris. Her quiet strength, and true belief in her son’s ability, give the film a great compass.

The script is tight and Affleck has given the film a quick, but even, pace. I’d put “Air” on the same shelf as “Argo” in both style and execution.

I know it’s only April, but I am not afraid to state for the record that “Air” is – nd will be – one of the best films of the year.

• PUSS IN BOOTS:  THE LAST WISH
• Starring the voices of:  Antonia Banderas, Salma Hayek and Harvey Guillen
• Directed by:  Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado
• Rated:  PG
• Running time:
• Universal

Ah, to be a cat.  I mean, sure, we can all lap up milk and, if we so desire, play with a ball of yarn.  But we only live once.  Cats have nine lives, which gives them the unique opportunity to be a little more reckless than you and I.  That is, of course, unless they only have one life left.

An off-shoot of the very popular SHREK series, “Puss in Boots: the Last Wish” brings us the swashbuckling cat (the always smooth Banderas) at his most vulnerable.  He is now overwhelmed with the one feeling he’s never had.  Fear.  Genuine fear.  With a long standing bounty on his head, he is now running from a very large wolf and a “family” gang made up of Goldilocks and the Three Bers.  Deciding to play it safe, he strips himself of his boots, lets his fur grow out and goes to live with a woman who LOVES cats.  There he is befriended by Perro (Guillen), a dog who has disguised himself as a cat in order to eat.  And, despite Puss’ protests, a true friendship is developed.

Well animated, and ever more well voiced, “Puss in Boots: the Last Wish” is a nice return to the screen for the boastful feline.  The script is full of some great lines, most of them aimed at Puss who now really is more of a pussy cat then a lion.  The story is a little dark, with one villain chuckling while his minions – no, not those guys – are sent to their death.  One in joke is that this baddy is known as Big Jack Horner, having grown from Little Jack Horner due to his love of pie.

Things begin to get exciting when Kitty Soft Paws (Hayek) arrives on the scene.  It seems everyone concerned is searching for a magical map that will take them to a place where they can have a wish granted.  The enjoyment in this adventure comes from the fact that the map reacts to the person holding it.  Bears and other baddies are sent through fire pits and thorn infested forests.  Those good at heart get to romp through fields of posies! 

As with most of the films in the SHREK universe, the performances are first-rate and the animation is beaufiul.  Here’s hoping this cat has more lives in him.