This Week at the Movies

This article was written by Nathan Duke.

This Memorial Day weekend was littered with sequels, but only one of the three films I caught during the past few days featured characters worth revisiting.   

At this point, is there anything else that can be said about “The Hangover” or “Fast and the Furious” franchises?   

To be fair, the former is a series that has gotten progressively worse, while the latter is a franchise that I wasn’t too fond of at the beginning, but has slightly improved over time.   

The problem with “The Hangover Part III” is that director Todd Phillips seemingly misplaced the humor. The picture, which follows the surprisingly sober travails of its three protagonists (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) as they search for Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), plays out as more of an action film than a comedy.   

You know your movie is in trouble when one of its comedic highlights involves the decapitation of a giraffe. Ho, ho. This third – and hopefully – final film in the series is similar to a particularly hellish morning after.   

As for “Fast and Furious 6,” I can’t complain too much. The film favors nonstop mayhem over character or story, but it delivers as an action film.   

Its numerous car chase set pieces are well choreographed, despite being implausible and consistently breaking the laws of gravity.   

I’ll admit to not being much of a fan of the first few films in this franchise. And while I’m still not over the moon about the “Fast and Furious” pictures, I can at least give them credit for delivering what they promise.   

Richard Linklater’s “Before Midnight” is easily the best film of the weekend. The picture is the third in a series that began in 1995 with “Before Sunrise,” during which scruffy American traveler (Ethan Hawke) met soulful Celine (Julie Delpy) during a night in Vienna.   

The two made a vow to meet one year later, but their reunion never materialized – that is, until 2004 when Celine sought out Jesse, who at the time was married, as he promoted his novel in Paris.   

Now, it’s nine years later and the couple has remained together, produced twin girls and, as the picture opens, are in the midst of wrapping up a holiday in Greece.   

Much like Linklater’s previous two entries in the series, “Before Midnight” is primarily centered around conversation, opening with a sequence during which the couple travel in a car, discussing Jesse’s son, Hank, who lives in Chicago with his ex-wife.   

During the film’s second scene, the couple wraps up their vacation during a dinner scene with a younger couple, a middle aged couple, an elderly woman and an aging writer, with whom they have spent the summer. In the following sequence, the couple walks through a street, discussing the process of growing older and their children.   

The couple heads to a hotel for a night alone, which has been paid for by two of their Greek friends, who have agreed to watch their children for the evening.   Celine and Jesse are supposed to have a romantic evening, but instead get into an argument that starts out humorously and eventually erupts into volcanic proportions.   

While the first “Before” film centered around a love at first conversation and the second involved second chances, Linklater’s third picture in the series no longer frames Celine and Jesse’s relationship in romantic terms, but rather depicts a partnership that has been weathered by time.   

It is now that the characters – who are often equally charming and obnoxious – can get down to the business of being themselves. “Before Midnight” is often funny, occasionally sad and truthful in its depiction of the ups and downs in a relationship through the years. I hope Linklater revisits these characters again in the future.  

“The Hangover Part III” is playing at UA Court Street Stadium 12 & RPX.   

“Fast and Furious 6” is also screening at UA Court Street Stadium 12 & RPX, while “Before Midnight” is playing at Angelika Theater.