Reel advice: Stories, true and otherwise

A number of things immediately come to mind when watching the film adaptation of Tracy Letts' August: Osage County (The Weinstein Company). The first is that Julia Roberts is making a (desperate?) bid to be taken very seriously (she's also starring in HBO's adaptation of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart). The second is that Meryl Streep wants another Oscar. Other things that come to mind include director John Wells being in way over his head on this project, why people are dressed the way they are in Oklahoma in August, and that it's no surprise that writer/actor Tracy Letts played George in a recent revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? considering the way August: Osage County similarly peels off revelations as if they were layers of an onion.

A dysfunctional family classic dramedy, August: Osage County reunites the volatile Weston family for the funeral of patriarch Beverly (Sam Shepard) following his apparent suicide. A poet, professor and alcoholic whose best years were far behind him, Beverly leaves behind his pill-popping, oral cancer-stricken wife Violet (Streep) and three grown daughters. Barbara (Julia Roberts), Beverly's favorite (according to Violet) lives in Denver, where she and husband Bill (Ewan McGregor, one of several miscast actors) are in the midst of marital turmoil while raising precocious daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin). Karen (Juliette Lewis, possibly the most miscast member of the ensemble) is even farther away in Miami where she cohabitates with shady fiancé Steve (an also miscast Dermot Mulroney). Unwed and private Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) stayed behind in Oklahoma to help tend to her unappreciative parents as they continued to decline.

Rounding out the family is Violet's sister Mattie Fay (Margo Martindale). Mattie Fay is married to downtrodden pothead Charlie (Chris Cooper) and they have a son who goes by Little Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch), whom Mattie Fay treats with nothing but disdain (an important detail to keep in mind for later!).

Matriarchal sisters Violet and Mattie Fay's lack of maternal instincts can be traced back to their cruel mother. Of the younger generation, Barbara, the only sister to have reproduced, is on track to being the kind of mother Violet was to her. The Weston sisters alternate between being sisterly and sniping at each other. But the truly acidic vitriolic volley occurs between Violet and Barbara who go after each other like Democrats and Republicans. Letts, who also wrote the screenplay, has a knack for verbal knife insertion and twisting.

The post-funeral dinner scene, a classic of American theater, comes to life onscreen, but it almost overstays its welcome (Wells, again). As the revelations began to unravel and the characters become increasingly unstrung, be prepared to start squirming in your seat. Streep is, as always magnificent, and Cooper holds his own in the room. But it's Martindale to whom the film belongs, not just because she has the most revelatory dialogue, but because, even when she's not speaking, it's hard to look away from her and the way she completely embodies Mattie Fay, shameful past and all. To her credit, Martindale owns every scene in which she appears, virtually stealing the entire movie from Streep.

The makers of the movie Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (Weinstein) couldn't possibly have guessed that Nelson Mandela would die shortly before their biopic would open in theaters. But it's the kind of tragedy that can translate into box office gold. Too bad the product is gold-plated.

Nelson Mandela (Idris Elba), given the name "Troublemaker" by his father, leaves childhood behind during a manhood ritual early in the film. By 1942, Mandela was an attorney in Johannesburg, South Africa. "The man to watch," Mandela is regularly recruited by the African National Congress to help the people of South Africa deal with the oppressive and racist European white supremacist rulers of the country. Following the death of a friend at the hands of white police officers and the successful bus boycott mounted by the ANC, Nelson joins the group.

So begins Mandela's long history of political activism, beginning with his participation in the defiance campaign. Following his first arrest (and an extramarital affair), his first wife Evelyn leaves him and takes the kids. Shortly thereafter he meets Winnie (Naomie Harris), the first black social worker at a local hospital. They court and Nelson proposes.

Dividing his time between his family and his activism, Nelson sees the sacrifices he must make (especially after the 1960 massacre in Sharpeville) and soon goes underground for further training. Fortunately, Winnie is on the same page (despite being pregnant) and Mandela becomes a revolutionary, embarking on a "path of violence" including the bombing of various government buildings. Ultimately arrested in 1963 and sentenced in 1964 to life in prison on Robben Island. A considerable portion of the film takes place at the prison, where even behind bars, Mandela continues to have influence, eventually gaining his freedom and being elected president.

Too long by at least 40 minutes, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom does a respectable, if imperfect, job of bringing Mandela's story to the screen. It illustrates, if overdramatizes and trivializes, Mandela' impact on his nation and the world and ultimately seems less serious than it should have been. Of course, in a year that includes Lee Daniels' The Butler and Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, it's easy to see how some audiences will be swept up in a Black film renaissance. But, unlike its subject, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom doesn't earn its place.

An enlightening and entertaining tribute to an exceptionally talented man, Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love is the gayest doc ever made about a straight man. Bursting with interviews with gay icons, including Barbra Streisand, Leslie Uggams (a classmate of Hamlisch's!), Idina Menzel, Melissa Manchester and Carly Simon, his American Masters special is an affectionate salute to American master who died too soon, at 68 in 2012.

Hamlisch, who is said to have "heard music in everything," came in with a bang and stayed at the top for most of his career. The son of Viennese immigrants who wanted the best for their children, Hamlisch was a child prodigy who auditioned for Julliard and gained entry at age six. Considered to be "the next Vladimir Horowitz," Hamlisch found being a concert pianist too stressful, preferring Broadway and pop music to classical. He wanted to be the next Cole Porter.

In addition to Uggams and Christopher Walken, Hamlisch also went to school with a guy who was dating Liza Minnelli, leading to an introduction to Judy Garland. Hamlisch's introduction to Streisand occurred when he was hired to be the rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl on Broadway. Soon after, Hamlisch had his first hit with "Sunshine, Lollipops and Roses," a song recorded by out singer Lesley Gore.

Thereafter, Hamlisch established himself through film scores (Woody Allen's Take The Money and Run and Bananas, as well as The Swimmer, Kotch and others). Then came The Way We Were, followed by The Sting (and Hamlisch's role in the ragtime revival) and the rest is music and Oscar history (three wins in 1974).

Of course, the best was yet to come with Hamlisch's groundbreaking collaboration with the late Michael Bennett on A Chorus Line. Throughout all of this, Hamlisch himself began to emerge as a personality, an entertainer and a celebrity in his own right. All of this found Hamlisch ending the 1970s on the high notes of "Nobody Does It Better" (his James Bond theme from The Spy Who Loved Me), They're Playing Our Song (the Broadway musical about his relationship with collaborator Carole Bayer Sager) and "Through The Eyes of Love" (from Ice Castles).

While he never repeated the massive successes of the previous decade, Hamlisch remained productive throughout the 1980s (including his marriage to Terre Blair), 1990s and well into the 21st century, before his sudden death in 2012. Hamlisch, whose legacy remains nearly impossible to top, made for a fascinating subject and his story is sure to delight music fans from all walks of life. (Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love airs December 27, 2013 on PBS.)