Concession Stand

by Jason Webber

A Separation (4 stars)

What It’s About: A traditional Iranian couple must make a difficult decision—leave Iran to pursue a better life for the sake of their child…and stay behind and fulfill their “obligation” to look after a family member with Alzheimer’s Disease.

What We Like: Wha…?! Subtitles? In Toledo? Whodathunkit? This winner of the 2012 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film may have earned director Asghar Farhadi one of those coveted gold nude bald guys, but it’s also given him an almost Salman Rushdie-like stigma in his native Iran by certain arts and religious organizations that find “A Separation” culturally offensive. One prominent Iranian critic said this film is “the dirty picture of the Iranian people that westerners are wishing for.” Don’t believe him. At a time when prejudice against Middle Easterners is still a serious social problem, “A Separation” is not only an enjoyable film but a necessary one.

Now playing at Rave Motion Pictures Levis Commons 12


Jeff Who Lives At Home (3 stars)

What It’s About: Jeff (Jason Segal) who—you guessed it—still lives at home in his mom’s basement gets thrown into a series of nutty existential-tinged screwball situations involving his older brother (Ed Helms) and his bro’s possibly adulterous wife.

What We Like: OK, here’s the thing. This film from the Duplass Brothers—the guys who did that “Cyrus” movie”—is fun. But the big problem with this otherwise enjoyable film is that it simply tries too hard. Not all the gags work and ultimately the character of Jeff is just another self-righteous, hipper-than-thou, poor-man’s Jeffrey Lebowski. At this point the Adorable Philosophical Slacker is a movie stock character…and he’s getting old and tired very quickly. Having said that, is the movie good? Yes. But it’s anything but groundbreaking.

Now playing at the State Theater in Ann Arbor.