Trainwreck (2015)

I watch Inside Amy Schumer and am completely on board with her brand of comedy, which I think could have been the problem here: there was no way the movie was going to live up to my hopes and expectations.

Although Schumer did her thing, it wound up feeling like a slightly more tame skit from her show with an insulting rom-com ending tacked on. Sure, they had the freedom to say “fuck,” but the other boundaries were never pushed quite hard enough -- or even at all. There's far more innovative stuff on her show than there was here.

My guess is that non-Schumer fans will find this funnier than I did.

B

These Final Hours (2015)

It's the end of the world & everyone’s dealing with it in different ways, but mostly with anarchy.

Our hero is having a last screw with his fuck buddy before heading to a big party at his girlfriend’s house. Before he gets there, he sees a pre-teen girl in danger and instinctively saves her, so now he’s got a travel companion.

There was a real sweetness and sense of redemption even though it's covering quite well-trod territory.

B

Faults (2015)

Once-famous expert on cults is now slumming it speaking for small groups in hotel conference rooms and sleeping in his car. When a couple approaches him requesting that he help their daughter, he agrees -- for a rather large fee.

There were some original sections in this and things certainly weren’t predictable, but the expert was a little too seedy/desperate and that kind of made it difficult to suspend disbelief.

C+

The Scapegoat (2012)

Laid-off teacher stumbles across his country-gentleman doppelganger in a pub and, before he knows it, the double has run off with his possessions and left him to figure out what to do. The teacher quickly learns that the gentleman was anything but and that explanations as to his actual identity won’t be believed -- but he also sees ways in which he can help to clean up the messes left behind by his predecessor.

I wouldn't call this a flawless movie, but it does a good job of keeping it on the “yeah, I could buy that” course as well as being entertaining with a low-level of intensity.

B+

The Whales of August (1987)

A boring day in the boring life of two elderly sisters living on the coast of Maine.

Some people, in old age, lose their hearing or sight or mind. Bette Davis, apparently, lost her ability to act.

D

The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

I was not a fan of the book, but the movie was just the sort that would’ve meant EVERYthing to me if I were 30 years younger. The kids are perfectly cast and they broke my heart in ways that made me ugly-cry.

B

Austenland (2013)

Well, it would probably win the award for "most girly movie" I’ve ever seen. That's something, right?

There just didn't seem to be much concern with quality in any way. The strokes were broad, the jokes were lazy, and everything felt kind of cheap. Also, I spent the entire movie wondering how Tom Hiddleston wandered into this piece of crap. But, it appears that either 1) poor Hiddleston (image on left) only happens to share a face with JJ Feild, the guy who was actually stuck in this film, or 2) Hiddleston was prescient enough to know this would be one of those movies where requesting a pseudonym in the credits is prudent.

D

Mr. Holmes (2015)

I will be pissed if McKellan doesn’t get nominated for this - he did a beautiful job of showing us how annoying old age can be without ever dipping in to morbidity.

I enjoyed every single bit of this story, but especially the friendship between boy and elderly man. It was both believable and heartwarming & it made me determined to have the same sort of relationship with my grandchildren when I finally meet them.

A

World War Z (2013)

Starts off with a bang and doesn’t really let up. Great popcorn flick; Gary and I were both pleasantly surprised.

B

The Flat (2012)

A Jewish man living in Tel Aviv begins the task of cleaning out the apartment of his recently deceased grandmother who left Germany ahead of the second World War. During the process, he finds evidence that his grandparents were close friends with a high-ranking Nazi before and after the war. His desire to uncover the whole story fuels this documentary.

It’s sort of interesting, but probably not in the way that the filmmaker intended. I found his presence to be offputting -- much like Werner Herzog’s is to me -- in that he 1) has no personality and 2) says very little that’s insightful. The absorbing bits were watching the immediate descendants of the Nazi couple and the Jewish couple try to cope with what they’re learning despite their lifelong training in disinterest on the subject.

But, even with a story this unique, it still feels very much like flipping through a stranger’s mementos.

C

Inside Out (2015)

Charming little movie about the anthropomorphic emotions inside an 11-year old girl’s head and how they cope with a move to a new state. I especially liked the fact that they put forth the idea that sadness can sometimes the healthiest emotion to have. There were many moments that were affecting and/or insightful and it was brilliantly cast.

But, for all that, it didn't strike me as an immediate classic.

B+