Manchester by the Sea

Gripping, but a complete downer from beginning to end.

The film's worst moments are when the music takes over, most notably when a cartoonishly bombastic score tells us what we are supposed to be feeling during an already clearly horrifying scene.



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Spirited Away: 15th Anniversary

The movie is a masterpiece, of course, and breathtaking when viewed on the large screen.

The "Ghiblies" short features, though, are mostly a waste of time, pretty much just animators fooling around & letting off some steam--but I can't help but think if Disney/Pixar were to allow their staff such leeway, their more recent work would be a whole lot more creative & breathtaking.

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Loving

Unbelievably suspenseful, especially considering that of course I already knew how the court case came out.

What's sad is, I spent a good part of the movie worrying about a Trump administration.



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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Ever since the final Harry Potter movie, Warner Brothers has been trying to find that next Harry Potter, the blockbuster, captivating, spellbinding film series that will recapture the magic and the masses.

And they need to keep on looking.



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Arrival

One of cinema's greatest achievements, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, is joyful in large part due to the time paradoxes it introduces.

Mad props to Amy Adams & company for the Bill & Ted tribute.

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Naruda DONORuda

This Vicky Donor remake we never knew we needed has plenty of popping cork imagery, poorly-produced musical scenes--and yes, also plenty of fun & funny moments.

They key here, as with the original, is to leave at intermission.





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The Dressmaker

Billed as a "revenge comedy," though the two never quite really came at the same time: it was more like: comedy, comedy, comedy---and then a switch to revenge.

It doesn't matter, though: this movie gets high marks just for being DIFFERENT.



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Pink

Nothing like the preview that made me think Bachchan was playing a masked killer, this movie begins somewhere in the middle, then dips in & out of confusion as it slowly fills in the gaps.

Bachchan's courtroom speeches would surely anger the parents of some college rapists.




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Freaky Ali

Starts out laugh-out-loud funny, and rarely changes its tone.

Sure, the ending is abrupt & nuts, and there are loose ends, but we've got a fine underpants-to-riches story here.




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Happy Bhag Jayegi

Happy is a runaway bride who seems to have 3 men in love with her, despite the fact she behaves horribly toward everyone she encounters.

This is one of those movies where you somehow think she might actually end up with all three of the gents.




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Southside with You

Only two people know what happened on that first date, but it is enjoyable being a fly on the wall.  

And also in the broken-down hoopty.




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A Flying Jatt

It's true: on the basis of its special effects--using the same technology as your local TV weather report--this movie can't compete with Marvel Studios.

As far as sheer FUN, though--and song & dance number Cap & Thor had best never attempt--this is the winning super hero film.



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Don't Breathe

The violence got progressively more appalling, until the only relief was in the idea that at least there would be no one left around for a sequel.

And then they left things wide open for a sequel.





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Hell or High Water

Offers just enough resolution to leave room for a sequel.

This is an Art Film, though, so I know there will be no sequel--thank goodness.



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Joker

In the last line before the intermission, a woman tells a man she will marry him if he installs a toilet.

Of course, I had to come back after the break.



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Florence Foster Jenkins

The producers had to spend an awful lot of money, training Meryl Streep to sing awfully.

They could have had me for a lot less money; I'm already at my peak.




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Star Trek Beyond

Well, I thought, for obvious reasons, they would finally let go of their fetish with the TV series cast--but they didn't.

A photo of the aging cast in their movie years, really?




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Sardaar Ji 2

I wish the movie were as fun as all of its posters make it look, but posters lie all the time.

I did like his secret good & evil selves, exactly the kind of thing I remember from old Donald Duck cartoons.


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Parched

Horror gets laid upon horror, upon more horror.

It's really a wonder these women can manage a smile at the end.




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The Meddler

I love Susan Sarandon; she's so much fun to watch.

Rose Byrne might not miss her when she dies, but I sure will.





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Housefull 3

Crime don Urja Nagre has three beautiful daughters.

It is a true shame that not one of them can act.




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Love & Friendship

This is a simply wonderful film to see if you are out & about, and in need of a nap.

There are neither any loud noises, nor anything else at all that might keep you awake.

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X-Men: Apocalypse

The absolutely best part of this movie was the "Sweet Dreams" scene with Quicksilver, or Kid Flash, or whatever that guy's name is (I'm glad he survived "Age of Ultron," after all).

This movie could have been great if they had included Spider-Man.



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Sarbjit

This is one tearjerker that layers misery, on top of misery, on top of misery.

Seriously: they got the dancing out of the way quite early in the movie, and then it was as if it had never happened--and certainly never would, ever, ever again.

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The Man Who Knew Infinity

Even though Dev Patel plays the title character, I could tell it was Jeremy Irons they were trying to get an Oscar, as the cameras started to go low & swirly as that ol' guy started giving a speech.

Now, the speech itself was hardly award-worthy, but give Irons the award, anyhow--not really for this movie, no, but because he was Scar the Lion!



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24

I don't remember ever seeing a time travel movie where the travelers arrive in the past at the age they were way back then.

I guess I'll never be seeing dinosaurs in person.

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Keanu

This is so bad, so devoid of laughs, it makes me worry for Key & Peele's futures.

The only thing more unfunny than this movie is the previews that were played beforehand.



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Captain America: Civil War

Wow, this is the best of the Avengers movies--and not just because Gwyneth Paltrow stayed home!

Spider-Man really makes this movie fun to watch (and the other bug guy doesn't hurt, either).



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Fan

The movie has some pretty exciting chase segments, the best of them being the first, which is entirely vertical.

Other than that, CGI, heavy makeup, and SRK's purposeful overbite do much of the heavy lifting here.




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A Hologram for the King

Nothing happens in this movie; even Ben Whishaw--Q from the Bond movies, who is allegedly in here someplace--disappears into this sleepy mess.

The snorkeling scene is nice, though.



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Laal Rang

Well, they do talk about "Dracula" and "Batman" an awful lot, but even with blood flying all over the place, it's just not all that exciting.

To be honest, I just saw this one so I could avoid "Fan."

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Elvis & Nixon

The best part of the whole movie is when the Elvis impersonators mistake Elvis for an Elvis impersonator.

At that point, though, they might have been right.

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Barbershop: The Next Cut

Not as funny as any of its predecessors, this "Barbershop" is less a comedy than a cause film.

If the film helps the cause, it's all worth it.

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My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

I never saw the original, but this movie stars a cast of unknowns who apparently all made one movie about 15 years ago.

The one other group of people in my screening were laughing so hard, I figured they were either: a) Greek; or, like me, seeing the parallels to The Addams Family.

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Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)

Sure, a hot lead goes a long way, but even that can't distract from some things.

Things like Rishi Kapoor's wretchedly-thick pancake makeup.



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Hello, My Name Is Doris

Will the young guy at work ever find out that his septuagenarian suitor wears a clip-on hairpiece?

It's a fun movie, mostly, but the funniest parts are the one-off comments written for the hipster gathering somewhere in the middle.

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Eye in the Sky

 

At the SeniorPlex, it was a choice between this movie & some silly thing starring Sally Field; being a Helen "Hella" Mirren fan, I chose this.

After watching her stuck in one room, barking out commands for two hours, I Hella wish Mirren had starred in the silly thing.

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Ki & Ka

This movie is so unrealistic.

No woman would let her husband turn their home into a toy train station that looks like a steroid version of the one on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

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The Lady in the Van

Poor Maggie Smith; first her time serving as Downton Abbey's answer to Bea Arthur came to an end, and now she's smelling up a series of broken-down vans.

As if being underused throughout the Harry Potter series was not enough of an indignity for one lifetime.



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Jai GangaaJal

Sure, she's gorgeous, but Abha Mathur is no-nonsense: she is tougher than any man under her command (or above her rank); she doesn't engage in singing & dancing; she isn't mooning over any man; and she does not--even once--stand in front of any damned wind machine.

Such a role is rare even here in the U.S., and I'm sure Priyanka Chopra's leading tough-guy madam-sir role owes a lot to her success as a TV star in Quantico.


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10 Cloverfield Lane

What a film--a lot of really horrific things take place over the course of this story.

The most appalling of all is a sandwich made of marshmallow fluff & peanut butter.

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Deadpool

Deadpool is funny, Deadpool is violent, Deadpool is an effects movie.

Two of the most special effects: Deadpool's eyes, and Ryan Renolds' keyster.


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Wazir

I was going to call this movie's genre "revenge porn," but I am told by the Wiki page that what I should say is "crime thriller."  

As such, there are many of the expected stunts and FX, but the one special effect that had me absolutely staring the whole time was Amitabh Bachchan's hairline.



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Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I really enjoyed the new Star Wars movie a lot, but I hear George Lucas hated it, and do you know what I have to say to him?

"GOOD, GEORGE--NOW YOU KNOW HOW THAT FEELS!"


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