Danny Collins

Danny Collins is a somewhat mundane, boring movie with only one distinctive element – an experienced star actor whose character, however, does not arouse much sympathy and might seem cool only to those ladies in the front row of one of his concerts. In his old age, Al Pacino as an egoistic bohemian tries to find the way to his estranged son as a gazillion other characters did before him in a gazillion other films. At the same time, he’s trying to make the unattainable Annette Bening have dinner with him, but not in such an entertaining and charming way as Jack Nicholson tried to do with Helen Hunt in As Good as It Gets. (05/06/2015)

The kind of movie that explains how money, hookers, and dope can't make you happy. Understandably shot from the point of view of a man who has no shortage of money, hookers, and dope. As a nostalgic sentimental safe bet, it's challenging from all directions, especially the passages where the protagonist irons out his shitty life by buying someone something terribly expensive or at least a bunch of toys or something. Logically, the first of the narrative breaks occurs when he runs out of money, which is either a deliberate middle finger to the classic value-building of melodramas or the incompetence of the filmmakers, but which is excellently patched up by the affable Al Pacino, whose wild charisma as the rich jerk behind the microphone I just ate up. Oh, and some of the dialogue is great. (23/09/2015)

Al Pacino is simply such a mature actor that he captivates you with his great performance. True, Christopher Plummer stands out even more, as he is incredibly vital for his age, but above all, he acts brilliantly. The story is human, moving, and shows human aspects that are not always nice. But it definitely belongs to life. At times overly sentimental, but never completely over the top. (07/07/2015)