My motivation for seeing Nowhere Boy was that young John Lennon was played by Kick-Ass Aaron Johnson. The late Beatle, even as an awkward teen, was a far cry from the shy, dweebish wannabe action hero, and I thought it would be interesting to see the one so soon after the other. Even knowing going in that the story was about John Lennon, at times I would forget and think I was watching Paul McCartney’s story (confusing!). I’m not sure why – maybe I haven’t watched A Hard Day’s Night enough times (just the once), or maybe I can blame it on Mr. Johnson or the screenwriter for not making a caricature of Lennon’s younger self (joke!). It was a tragic story, and the guy sitting in the next seat assured me it was accurate, since Britain’s Channel Four was involved. I see that the story is taken from Lennon’s sister’s memoir, so I’m satisfied. Great performances all around, and a pretty good story even if you forget John, Paul, and George grow up to be famous. [Nowhere Boy plays again at the Admiral on 27 May at 7pm]

Afterward, I headed down to Dragonfish for some happy hour vittles, which was kind of a strange experience in which I forgot to get my sake card punched. Karen joined me, and then we headed to Pacific Place for Farsan. Funny and sweet, this is Swedish film about a Lebanese immigrant looking for love. The main character, Aziz (played by the writer/director’s real-life father) is a widower who is requested by his son to find a new wife as a distraction. The son cannot have children of his own, so he’s hoping to sneak an adoption by ol’ Pops. While the humor is generally not slapstick, there is one very hilarious kitchen scene involving Aziz’s milquetoast boss and his wife. [Farsan plays again at Harvard Exit on 29 May at 9:15pm.]