Tig (2015)

Thoroughly captivating documentary covering the 2-year or so period in Tig Notaro’s life where everything went to shit. It exposes her grief at suddenly losing her mother to complications from a head injury, being diagnosed with a bacterial infection and then cancer, falling in love with a straight woman, deciding to start a family, and some career highs and lows. I just couldn't help but fall for Tig herself as she navigated the twists her life took with grace and honesty.

For me, this was a peek into a type of life I'd otherwise never get to see & I'm richer for the experience.

B+

Bad Words (2014)

It seems kind of weird that I should label a movie concerning a 40-year-old man entering a Scripps-level spelling bee “run-of-the-mill,” but there ya go. I liked it OK, but it felt way too familiar.

B-

8 Mile (2002)

Both Gary and I were pretty excited to see this movie at last. We were seriously let down. There was not nearly enough rapping and there was way too much Kim Basinger.

D+

Quartet (2013)

A “home for retired musicians” (are there such places? If not, I declare that there SHOULD be) is welcoming its newest resident: famed opera singer Jean Horton. Problem is that her ex-husband Reggie is already a resident and is not very happy about the reunion.

This should’ve been full of life and fun, but it was just blah. Reggie was way too boring to buy as the tortured romantic lead and nearly everything else was just flat. I blame Dustin Hoffman’s direction: there was absolutely zero finesse. He relied too much on the premise and that the cast was packed with musical legends. Too bad I had no idea that the extras were a big deal until the -- truly lovely -- end credits revealed each. I bet my lack of knowledge on the subject was shared by most audience members.

D

After Tiller (2013)

Incredibly sad doc about the four US abortionists who are trained to do late-term abortions and the daily dangers they face from those who oppose their work. It doesn’t take long to understand that these four doctors are decent, caring people doing what they believe to be right. It's just a short hop from that knowledge to admitting that these procedures are, at least some of the time, necessary or compassionate for both mother and fetus. It’s just overwhelming what they live with on a daily basis: not only do they have what is probably one of the most draining professions there is, they also get harangued and demonized for it at every turn.

If you believe abortion is morally wrong (and I've gone back and forth on this issue more than once in my life), petition to change the law rather than abuse those who are living within them.

B+

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Fantastic telling of how NWA came together, fell apart, and what happened next.

Entertaining to both my son (who knew nothing) and me (who knew stuff only because I happened to be a conscious adult when it was happening -- not because I know the first thing about hip hop and rap). Basically, I'm a middle-class, midwestern, middle-aged caucasian woman, and I like it. Pretty sure that means everyone should like it.

A-

Pontypool (2009)

A small talk-radio crew in Ontario does their best to cover a sudden outbreak in their town, completely dependent on call-ins from eyewitnesses to tell them what’s happening.

This is genius storytelling: I was terrified by what I heard and imagined, just as I used to be while reading Stephen King in the dead of night. There’s a dip in the terror once the infection makes its way to the station's own doors and we can see the disease rather than having to picture it, but it’s still worthwhile.

B

22 Jump Street (2014)

I laughed a few times, but going back to the well can’t be overlooked simply because you cop to the fact repeatedly.

C+

The Imposter (2012)

The descriptor "bizarre" doesn’t begin to do this documentary justice. A 23-year old Parisian felon decides to pretend he’s a teen to be put into the relatively safe shelter of a children’s home. He gets in over his head when he claims to be an American...and then,  to be a specific child who'd been missing from San Antonio for three years. He fools the police, the embassy, and then even the family of the missing child -- even though this dark, stubbled man with brown eyes looks nothing like the blonde, blue-eyed kid. It only gets more crazy and unbelievable from there.

Compelling subject, but there was a lot left unexplained. I wanted answers that I never got. Still, fascinating.

B-

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

This gave me precisely what I expected/hoped for: a fantastic night at the movies. Cruise is freakin’ amazing.

B+

Jo Nesbo's Headhunters (2012)

Excellent little thriller: art thief whose day job as a corporate headhunter allows him to scope out potential marks finds himself a target of one of those marks. It didn’t let up once it got going and the ends all tied up satisfyingly.

B+