The Only Living Boy in New York

Review by Pamela Zoslov

Simon and Garfunkel are having a pretty good year, with two movies named after their decades-old songs  “Baby Driver” and “The Only Living Boy in New York,” a tune that was a thinly veiled message from Paul Simon to Art Garfunkel, who had flown to Mexico to film Catch-22 (“Tom, get your plane right on time/I know your part'll go fine”). The erstwhile pop duo may actually hold a record for songs used in movie soundtracks.

The “boy” in THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK is Thomas Webb (Callum Turner), a recent college graduate and aspiring novelist. He lives in a squalid flat on the Lower East Side, in rebellion against his rich parents' upper Manhattan lifestyle. He is beset by young-man woes: his father, Ethan (Pierce Brosnan), an influential book publisher, is pressuring him to get his career on track; his mother, Judith (Cynthia Nixon) is depressed and dependent on pills and cigarettes; and his pretty love interest, Mimi (Kiersey Clemons), has consigned him to the dreaded “friend zone.” What's a boy to do?

No Escape

Review by Joseph Anthony

Enjoying the film NO ESCAPE depends on what you go to the movies for. The beauty of film is that each one offers a unique experience for each audience member. Like any form of art, it speaks to you or it doesn’t. NO ESCAPE is a unique experience, it just depends if it’s the one you want to have.

When the film opens, we are in the midst of a coup in an unnamed Southeastern Asian country (we know we’re near Vietnam, so it’s probable we’re in either Laos or Cambodia). A rebel group has risen up and removed the government in power. As the coup unfolds, a family of four from Austin, Texas is mid-flight, permanently relocating to our country in turmoil.