Admission
Film Review by Kam Williams

Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) has worked for 16 years in the admissions office at Princeton, the college regularly rated the best in the country by experts. Because of her pivotal role in picking prospective students for the highly-selective Ivy League institution, the highly-principled administrator often finds herself approached by pushy, helicopter parents seeking preferential treatment for their children.

That’s why she prides herself on never having compromised the integrity of the application process, a commitment also appreciated by the outgoing Dean of Admissions (Wallace Shawn). In fact, he’s recently indicated that upon his impending retirement, he’s prepared to recommend either her or the equally-dedicated Corinne (Gloria Reuben) as his replacement.

That announcement jumpstarts a fierce competition between the two colleagues which soon has Portia venturing to New Hampshire in search of qualified candidates. There, she visits an alternative high school whose handsome principal, John Pressman (Paul Rudd) had been a classmate of hers at Dartmouth. Sparks fly, but nothing transpires, because she’s in a committed relationship.

Instead, John just pressures Portia to interview Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), a bright but underachieving student with a woeful academic transcript. She has no problem dismissing the kid out of hand until the headmaster slips her a birth certificate showing that he’s the son she surrendered for adoption as a baby.

Suddenly, Portia’s maternal instincts kick in and she finds herself on the horns of a dilemma. Should reject this candidate who is clearly not Princeton material, or should she bend the rules for her own flesh and blood? After all, it’s the least she could do, since she played no part in raising him.

That is the conundrum at the heart of Admission a delightful, romantic dramedy directed by Paul Weitz (American Pie). Based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s best seller of the same name, the film offers a very revealing peek at the cutthroat, college entrance process from the gatekeepers’ point of view.

Besides the temptation of nepotism, the film revolves around the tender romance between Portia and John which conveniently has a chance to blossom when she’s abandoned by her philandering boyfriend (Michael Shannon) upon returning home from New Hampshire. Meanwhile, intriguing subplots abound involving a cornucopia of colorful support characters.

For instance, itinerant bachelor John has an adopted African son (Travaris Spears) who craves the sort of predictability his settling down with a stable woman might provide. And Portia needs to mend fences with her estranged mother (Lily Tomlin), a breast cancer survivor who in turn might benefit from the attention of an ardent admirer (Olek Krupa). Additional sidebars feature memorable cameos by Roby Sobieski (Leelee’s little brother), Asher Muldoon (author Korelitz’s son) and an emerging ingénue in Nadia Alexander.

An alternately comical and thought-provoking cautionary tale that’s every bit as hilarious as it is sobering.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity and some sexuality

Running time: 117 minutes

Distributor: Focus Features

To see a trailer for Admission, visit

The Sapphires
Film Review by Kam Williams

As young children, the McCrae sisters, Gail (Deborah Mailman), Julie (Jessica Mauboy) and Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell), formed a promising singing group with their cousin (Shari Sebbens). But the ensemble barely got off the ground before Kay was seized by the authorities while recuperating in a hospital.

You see, the girls were growing up in Australia at a time when the law allowed fair-skinned aborigines to be taken from their mothers and placed with Caucasian families so they could be raised in accordance with the “White Ways.” Consequently, half-caste Kay had virtually no further contact with indigenous culture or any of her relatives over the next decade.

By 1968, however, Gail, Julie and Cynthia were old enough to track their cousin down, whereupon they encouraged her to run away with them on the spot. And it wasn’t long thereafter that the reunited foursome entered a local amateur competition as a Country music act.

Although they underwhelmed the audience that day, they did impress Dave Lovelace (Chris O’Dowd) who recognized their potential, assuming they would be willing to change their repertoire to popular Motown tunes. In short order, he became the quartet’s piano player, conductor, choreographer and manager, whipping his diamond in a rough into Australia’s answer to The Supremes before signing them to perform for the troops over in Vietnam.

Based on the stage play of the same name, The Sapphires recounts the band’s harrowing, real-life experiences upon arriving in Southeast Asia during the bloody Tet Offensive. The movie marks the impressive feature debut of aborigine Wayne Blair, a gifted actor-turned-director who does a remarkable job of subtly recreating the political climate of the turbulent Sixties.

For instance, he effectively employs the iconic clip of Muhammad Ali refusing to serve in the army (“No Viet Cong ever called me a [N-word].”) to convey the mounting minority opposition to the conflict. Nevertheless, blinded by a combination of naivete and the pay, our hapless heroines find themselves in the middle of a war zone with little preparation for the unspeakable horrors they are about to witness.

With no choice but to make the best of a bad situation, they proceed to put on a number of very well-received shows, as the tour takes them closer and closer to the frontlines. Amidst the insanity, they somehow find time for reverie, reflection, and even a little romance.

A well-deserved tribute to four Aussie lassies who risked their lives to entertain the boys.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence, profanity, sexuality, smoking and mature themes

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for The Sapphires, visit

The Croods
Film Review by Kam Williams

Are you better off than you were four million years ago? That’s the evolutionary question playfully posed by The Croods, a visually-captivating, action-oriented cartoon revolving around an agoraphobic clan of cave dwellers that summons up the courage to abandon their home in the face of impending climate change.

The enchanting message movie was co-directed by Kirk De Micco (Space Chimps) and Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) who assembled an ensemble featuring Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds and Cloris Leachman to breathe life into a colorful array of prehistoric characters. Besides the talented voice cast, the film makes a most effective use of 3-D technology guaranteed to keep the tykes enthralled for the duration, whether they’re ducking projectiles aimed directly at their heads or trying to touch objects dangling just out of reach.

At the point of departure we find the Croods huddled inside their dank, dark cave where they sleep in a pile to keep warm at night. The family is presided over by Grug (Cage), an overprotective patriarch whose mantra is the double-negative “Never not be afraid!”

The other members of his primitive brood include naggy mother-in-law Gran (Leachman), long-suffering wife Ugga (Catherine Keener) and their three kids: feral baby Sandy (Randy Thom), man-child Thunk (Clark Duke) and rebellious teen Eep (Stone). Grug feels it is his duty to remind them on a daily basis of the many dangers lurking just beyond the entrance of their boulder-fortified abode.

That’s why he’s so fond of telling bedtime stories in which any curiosity about the outside world invariably proves fatal. Grug’s scare tactics work until the fateful day Eep sneaks off to explore on her own only to encounter a boy (Reynolds) about her own age.

Not only has handsome Guy figured out how to harness fire to keep hungry creatures at bay but he forecasts imminent doom for any humans who fail to move to higher ground. When Eep brings word of this frightening development to her Neanderthal of a dad, it becomes abundantly clear that it’s going to take more than a little convincing to get him to lead the family out of the cave on a perilous trek to safety.

Mother Nature plays a part in nudging him to grudgingly join forces with Guy, and the ensuing sojourn across a vast wasteland to Shangri-La allows for a priceless lesson about risk-taking as relevant in the 21st Century as it must have been back in the Stone Age. A side-splitting, thrill-a-minute adventure reminiscent of the best of The Flintstones. Wilma!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for scenes of peril

Running time: 98 minutes

Studio: Dreamworks Animation

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

To see a trailer for The Croods, visit

Spellbinding.

Benjamin Bratt
The “Snitch” Interview
with Kam Williams

Born in San Francisco on December 16, 1963, Benjamin Bratt's career has successfully spanned movie and television for over 25 years. His impressive resume includes the critically acclaimed Piñero, in a powerful portrayal of poet-playwright-actor Miguel Piñero; Steven Soderbergh's Traffic; and The Woodsman, a festival and critical favorite starring Kevin Bacon.

Television audiences recognize Benjamin from his award-winning role of Detective Rey Curtis on NBC's long-running drama Law & Order. He also starred in A&E's miniseries The Andromeda Strain, based on the novel by Michael Crichton, which garnered seven Emmy nominations. Additionally, he served as series lead as well as producer on A&E's The Cleaner, for which he received an ALMA Award in 2009.

A veteran of dozens of films, Benjamin's other work includes The River Wild opposite Meryl Streep; Blood In, Blood Out with director Taylor Hackford; Clear and Present Danger with Harrison Ford; Abandon opposite Katie Holmes; The Great Raid; Miss Congeniality with Sandra Bullock; and the screen adaption of Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera.

In La Mission, Benjamin re-teamed with his writer/director/producer brother, Peter Bratt, to star in and produce a story which recalls the culture, people and beliefs of their childhood in the Mission district of San Francisco. He and Peter joined with producer Alpita Patel to form 5 Stick Films, a production company geared towards film of conscience, to tell stories with passion, vision and personal reflection.

Benjamin is married to actress Talisa Soto Bratt. They live in Los Angeles with their two children, Mateo and Sophia. Here, he talks about his latest outing as El Topo in Snitch, an action thriller co-starring Dwayne Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Harold Perrineau and Barry Pepper.

Kam Williams: Hi Benjamin. I’m honored to have a chance to interview you.

Benjamin Bratt: It’s totally my pleasure, Kam.

KW: What interested you in Snitch?

BB: A few things, actually. I really liked the script. [Director] Ric Waugh happens to be an old friend of mine. We sort of came up together. His father, the great Fred Waugh, was the stunt coordinator on the first series I ever did, Nasty Boys. And Rick, believe it or not, was a kid who happened to be a great stuntman. It was a family business for him and his father and his brother. Since we became friends way back when, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to come full circle working together again, but in an actor/director relationship. You might look at my part on the page and think, hmm, it’s a little small, and maybe not worth flying to Shreveport three times for just a few days’ worth of work. But the truth of the matter is I was excited to reconnect with him and also to play a part that certainly looms large over the story as a kind of ominous presence of danger, not unlike the role I played in Traffic.
 

KW: I have some questions for you from my readers. Larry Greenberg asks: When you play a hardcore bad guy like El Topo, is it a different mindset from when you play someone in law enforcement?

BB: One might think so, Larry but, surprisingly, the answer is “No.” I think most law enforcement people would tell you that there’s a very fine line between going one way or the other. On some level, as a career criminal, you’re a soldier. And certainly a police officer also has that soldier’s “us or them” mentality where the delineation between black and white is very clear. My brother-in-law happens to be a detective on the East Coast. Having played a man in uniform several times, it’s always been a fascination for me. And I’ve spent hours talking to him over the years about the mindset of someone on the force, and it’s very clear. There’s no gray area in law enforcement. Evil exists in the world and it must be dealt with. And those on the side of good can feel righteous in their approach to eliminating evil. There’s no ambiguity there. So, in the case of someone like El Topo, it’s not so much that he’s evil, but that the director is very keen to point out that he’s a man, a father, just as Dwayne Johnson’s character is. He has a job to do. He’s a businessman. Yes, he happens to sell drugs but, at the end of the day, he has to get the job done and take care of his family. I thought that was a unique take on this kind of villain. Although we don’t get to spend much time with him, we get the sense that, yes, he’s capable of a great deal of violence, and yet, he’s just taking care of business.   

KW: Editor/legist Patricia Turnier would like to know: What message do you think people will take away from Snitch?

BB: I think the message that resonates most, and definitely the one that resonates with me and my wife as parents, is that there is no length that is too great to go to in order to protect your child. So, it’s fascinating to see how Dwayne Johnson, who is a formidable, mountain of a man, is reduced to feeling powerless when his son is suddenly in danger. It’s very compelling to watch the process of his coming to terms with what he has to do to get his boy released from jail.    

KW: Kate Newell says: I love Benjamin Bratt! You’ve done such amazing work, but I'm going frivolous, here. Will your character, Javier Delgado, be returning to Modern Family?

BB: [Chuckles] Yeah, rest assured, Kate, he will be back. We don’t have an air date yet, but I just filmed an episode recently which I believe will be coming out some time in April.  

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: How difficult is it to switch from doing a TV role to a big screen movie role? Which do you prefer?

BB: I’d have to say that acting is acting, and that you always want to convey a sense of honesty and authenticity. So, I approach both in a similar way. For me, though, the great joy of doing this film was that there was so much gravitas to my role. In fact, I feel that I do my best work when the stakes are a lot higher, where I play the heavy, like I did in La Mission, a movie my brother directed.   

KB: Harriet has a follow-up: Is there a remake of a classic you’d like to do with a role for yourself in mind?

BB: I think every actor would like to be in some version of The Godfather. So, if they’re doing Godfather IV, sign me up. [Laughs]

KW: Patricia asks: Is there a Latin icon you would like to portray in a film?

BB: Not one that jumps out at me. That’s a good question, Patricia, and one I’ve pondered a lot because I’m always trying to be proactive in bringing our stories to the fore, and I’m lucky to have a built in writer/director in my brother.

KW: Your mother brought you to Alcatraz as a child to participate in the occupation of the island by Native Americans. Maybe you’d like to portray Dennis Means, the leader of the American Indian Movement.

BB: That idea has come up before. In fact, I even saw a script at one point. There was a young, charismatic leader by the name of Richard Oakes who spearheaded the initial takeover of the island. He was a Mohawk from New York. I always thought that his would make an interesting story. 

KW: Documentary filmmaker Kevin Williams says: How has acting changed for you over the years and how have you managed to mix comedy with drama so successfully?

BB: Good question. I think that I was hungrier when I was younger, and it showed in my work on some level. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown a lot more assured about what I’m doing. I call upon my training, my research and my life experience. That’s the good news about getting older. Your life experience really informs the work that you do in front of the camera, and even more so onstage. That comfort level enables an actor to be more at ease. Being a greater risk-taker comes from the experience of taking on roles, and it shows.  

KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?

BB: I remember being twirled around in a circle when I was about 3 by my dad who was holding me while music played.

KW: Is there a childhood friend you’d like to reunite with?

BB: Yeah, there are a couple of them.

KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?

BB: The Round House by Louise Erdich.

KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What was the last song you listened to? 

BB: “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars.

KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?

BB: Pasta Bolognese. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do at home with my wife. I also make my own homemade sausage with kale and pasta.   

KW: That’s great. So many celebrities I interview say they never cook.

BB: I know. They’re probably single. [LOL]

KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?

BB: Oh man, Armani’s hard to beat. Hugo Boss makes some great stuff. Rag & Bone is excellent for casual wear. Calvin Klein has worked out very well for me, and so has Levi’s. It’s tough to beat Levi’s!  

KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

BB:  [LOL] I see a father, and a husband, and someone who is very content.

KW: Thanks again for the time, Benjamin, and best of luck with the film.

BB: Thank you, Kam.

To see a trailer for Snitch, visit