Review: I quite enjoyed this movie, which sees Al Pacino play a famous singer called Danny Collins who has a young fiancé, loads of money and a alcohol and cocaine habit. On his birthday he receives a gift from his best friend Frank Grubman (Christopher Plummer), which is a letter written to him from John Lennon, saying that he should stay true to his music, so he takes his kind words on board and decides to leave his fiancé and stay in a hotel near his son who he hasn't seen since he was little boy. He also stops his tour so he can write new material, with the help of the hotel manager, Mary Sinclair (Annette Benning), who he has the hots for. When he finally goes to his sons house, he gets to meet his young granddaughter and his wife Samantha (Jennifer Garner) who he gets on with fine but as soon as his son Tom (Bobby Cannavale) comes home from work, he tells him to leave because he has nothing but bitter feelings towards his father. Mary then advises him to carry on pursuing a relationship with his son so he decides to help them out financially and he puts his granddaughter in a highly rated school. He then finds out that his money is running out because of his lavish life style and the only way he can carry on living the high life is by going back on the road, which he can now approach with a different outlook on life. This is definitely a feel good movie about a man whose looking for a purpose in life. I liked the chemistry between Pacino and Plummer and the sweet love story between Pacino and Mary was very well written and light-hearted fun. His son was a bit arrogant at the beginning but when he started to accept his father, I liked watching them bond together. His little granddaughter cracked me up but Al Pacino's singing and performing was pretty awful. Anyway, it a watchable movie with some emotional and touching scenes but Pacino has still got a way to go before he reaches the performances of his younger years. Watchable!
Round-Up: Although this movie lost money at the box office, it's not as bad as a lot of the projects that Pacino has brought out lately. At 75 years old, he's still remembered as Tony Montana in Scarface or Don Corleone in the Godfather and everyone is hoping that he comes out with another gangster movie before he gives up acting for the big screen. After a string of disappointing movies like Righteous Kill, Stand Up Guys, the appalling Jack & Jill, the Last Act and the Son of No One, he really is starting to lose his credibility as one of the best actors in the world. He still has a unique acting style which has made him a worldwide star but his choices of movies have really been awful in the latter part of his career. He has a role in the upcoming Martin Scorsese movie, the Irishman, alongside Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel but he takes a long time to bring out movies so I doubt that we will be seeing that project finished in 2015. Anyway, this movie was written and directed by Dan Fogelman who wrote Crazy, Stupid Love, Cars & Cars 2, Fred Claus, Bolt, Tangled, the Guilt Trip and Last Vegas. He's not new to the comedy game but this is the first movie that he has directed so it's a shame that it didn't make back it's money. The fact that the whole John Lennon letter concept was true, made this dramatic comedy a joy to watch but it's not one that will go down as a classic. There are different elements that spice up the storyline but Pacino's name isn't enough to guarantee money at the box office anymore.
Budget: $10million Worldwide Gross: $7.5million
I recommend this movie to people who are into their comedy/drama/music about a famous singer who starts to question his morals after receiving a 40 year old letter from John Lennon to him. 5/10
Round-Up: Although this movie lost money at the box office, it's not as bad as a lot of the projects that Pacino has brought out lately. At 75 years old, he's still remembered as Tony Montana in Scarface or Don Corleone in the Godfather and everyone is hoping that he comes out with another gangster movie before he gives up acting for the big screen. After a string of disappointing movies like Righteous Kill, Stand Up Guys, the appalling Jack & Jill, the Last Act and the Son of No One, he really is starting to lose his credibility as one of the best actors in the world. He still has a unique acting style which has made him a worldwide star but his choices of movies have really been awful in the latter part of his career. He has a role in the upcoming Martin Scorsese movie, the Irishman, alongside Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel but he takes a long time to bring out movies so I doubt that we will be seeing that project finished in 2015. Anyway, this movie was written and directed by Dan Fogelman who wrote Crazy, Stupid Love, Cars & Cars 2, Fred Claus, Bolt, Tangled, the Guilt Trip and Last Vegas. He's not new to the comedy game but this is the first movie that he has directed so it's a shame that it didn't make back it's money. The fact that the whole John Lennon letter concept was true, made this dramatic comedy a joy to watch but it's not one that will go down as a classic. There are different elements that spice up the storyline but Pacino's name isn't enough to guarantee money at the box office anymore.
Budget: $10million Worldwide Gross: $7.5million
I recommend this movie to people who are into their comedy/drama/music about a famous singer who starts to question his morals after receiving a 40 year old letter from John Lennon to him. 5/10