by Lorie Lewis Ham
Special coupon for Dinuba Platinum Theatre at the end of this review.
We went to Redbox last weekend looking for something we hadn’t seen that the whole family might enjoy and ended up coming home with Robot & Frank, largely because it looked different, and it definitely was.
Frank (Frank Langella) is a retired jewel thief who is suffering from dementia. He still lives alone, with his son Hunter (James Marsden) coming to check on him every weekend. Hunter is getting frustrated with making the long drive every week, especially since he and his father don’t really get along. So one weekend Hunter brings Frank a robot (did I mention this is set in the near future?) to be his caretaker. At first Frank is adamant that he doesn’t want the robot, but they begin to develop a strange friendship, and Robot’s care actually starts helping Frank do better. 
As Frank gets to know more about Robot, he realizes he would make the perfect partner in crime and they start planning a heist. The first thing they do is steal a rare book from the local library as a gift for the librarian (Susan Sarandon) that Frank is enamored with. But their next heist is much more complicated, and is endangered by Frank’s worsening dementia.
As someone who works in the library and gets to hear first hand about the advancements and new direction that they say libraries are moving towards, it was very interesting, and surprising, to see in this slightly futuristic movie that they were talking the EXACT same way about the future of libraries.
I have always been a sucker for cat burglar flicks–there’s something charming about those type of thieves–so this was a fun movie for me, especially with all the different added plot twists that you don’t typically see in a heist movie. The relationship between Frank and Robot was sweet and a little sad–with a heartbreaking twist at the end. There were also a lot of little surprise twists that I never saw coming.
If you enjoy heist movies, a hint of sci-fi, and a plot that is different from your typical heist movie, don’t miss Frank & Robot. This one will also tug on your heartstrings. While not a kid movie, it was mostly pretty clean so is definitely something you could watch as a family–which was our goal.
While Robot & Frank is not currently playing at Dinuba Platinum Theatres 6, if you’re in the mood to head out to the movies there are many other movies playing there right now. They just got new digital projectors, & will also be showing some films in 3D very soon. Showtimes for other shows playing in Dinuba can be found on their website.
Print this coupon and enjoy a special discount for Kings River Life readers only!
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