Give and take

The film version of The Giver (TWC), based on the cherished dystopian Y/A novel by Lois Lowry that predates The Hunger Games and Divergent by nearly 20 years, does a decent job of including Oscar-winning actors such as Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges alongside promising younger talent, to bring this tale of memory and manipulation to the big screen. A pet project of Bridges', who plays the titular character, a role he originally wanted for his late father Lloyd, The Giver has plenty to offer.

Following The Ruin of the future, communities were constructed in which people minded the border, obeyed the curfew, followed every rule and did the job they were assigned. All of this and more was done in an effort to eliminate the conflicts, wars and annihilation of the past. In a (literally) black & white world where being different was frowned upon, Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) saw things differently. It was something he couldn't share with his mother (Katie Holmes in all her Stepford glory), father (Alexander Skarsgård), sister Lilly (Emma Tremblay) or best friends Asher (Cameron Monaghan) and Fiona (Odeya Rush).

Jonas isn't the only one aware of his difference and at the Ceremony of Advancement, held for teens his age to get their work assignments. Jonas is singled out by the ominous Chief Elder (Streep), and her equally menacing hair, to be The Receiver to Bridges' Giver, and have all the past wisdom and memories of the world and society transmitted to him. It's both an awesome responsibility and a luxury, as all restrictions are lifted from Jonas, as he witnesses scenes involving love (they couldn't include a single same-gender couple?), war, religion, nature, man's inhumanity to man, and so on. However, Jonas and the Giver must proceed cautiously considering the terrible fate met by Rosemary (Taylor Swift), the previous Receiver. As the past is revealed to Jonas, and begins to color his world, so to speak, he finds himself in an unexpected position of power.

It's a given, if you will, that Hunger Games and Divergent fans will receive The Giver with open arms. Also, having a hot guy such as Thwaites as the lead character gives teen girls and gay guys something to look at while taking in the story, and all of its political and social implications, and the action.

The late Robin Williams was a gifted comedic and dramatic actor. Sadly, you'd never know that by watching The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (Lionsgate), now on DVD + Digital, one of Williams' final films before his untimely passing.

Told via dismal voiceovers by the titular character Henry (Williams) and a doctor named Sharon (Mila Kunis), as well as inferior flashback sequences, The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is essentially about what one man thinks are his final 90 minutes alive before a brain aneurysm kills him. This movie is so awful that you might envy Henry's plight. The supporting cast, including Melissa Leo as Henry's estranged wife Bette, Hamish Linklater as his estranged son Tommy, Peter Dinklage as his brother Aaron, Louis C.K. as his M.I.A. doctor, James Earl Jones as an electronics store clerk (in a shockingly offensive scene involving stuttering) and Richard Kind as estranged classmate Bix, is utterly wasted. Director Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams!) ought to be ashamed.

Not only is The Angriest Man in Brooklyn not in the least bit entertaining or amusing, it's also shockingly prescient. Henry's tombstone reads 1951-2014, the same lifespan as Williams. Following his prognosis, Henry is suicidal and even attempts to take his own life by jumping off of a bridge. The equation for comedy is supposed to be tragedy + time. There will never be enough time passing to make this bomb palatable.