KCUR Arts Reporter Steve Walker walks us through two new movies full of dysfunction, style and fine furnishings.
Cyrus (R)
John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei rise to the challenge of playing two quirky, lonely souls whose attempts at a relationship are hindered - if not viciously sabotaged - by Tomei's 22-year-old live-in son, played by Jonah Hill, a graduate of the Judd Apatow school of comedy. The first half is well worth seeing; it's heartfelt and human, thanks to Reilly's and Tomei's finesse with personifying real people with all their nerve endings exposed. The problem is that the directors, Jay and Mark Dupasse, can't seem to lock down who Hill is playing. Is he just an obese schlub in need of a career counselor or a complete psychopath? The questions remain unanswered and the movie eventually evaporates. - Steve Walker
Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky (R)
The world's first great clothing designer (Anna Mouglalis) and the artistically volatile Russian composer (Mads Mikkelson) make alternately combustible and compatible bedfellows in this beautifully accessorized bio-pic by director Jan Kounen. The costumes and art and set direction are Oscar-worthy, and interesting arguments unfold about how to define an "artist." If Chanel and Stravinsky were cold and remote people - perhaps because artists need to be - then the actors are successful at bringing that to the screen. But their iciness makes it difficult to warm up to them as involving characters. Better to just sit back and absorb the clothes and the furniture. - Steve Walker