Hell or High Water (2016)

Brothers hatch a plan to rob several branches of the local bank that is about to foreclose on their family ranch.

Chris Pine has never been better than he is here and I think the same can be said for Ben Foster, who can annoy the hell out of me when he’s at high-level-crazy (which is often), but he reins it in here just the right amount.

Lean story simply told. Ends perfectly.

A-

Uncle John (2015)

An amiable farmer is hiding a big secret from his community and the situation is becoming unsustainable. When his nephew shows up for an impromptu visit, the tension -- unnoticed by the visitors -- nearly pulses.

I don’t think that calling this “masterful” is over-praise.

A-

Tallulah (2016)

Talullah a free-spirit who lives in her van and dumpster dives for meals, but her boyfriend has had enough of it. Lu heads to New York to find him and, while stealing leftover room service off of trays in a hotel hall, is mistaken for housekeeping and pressed into babysitting service by a very rich, sad, mother of a two-year-old. Before she’s thought it through, Tallulah has abducted the child (which is an act of mercy, IMO) and talked her way into her boyfriend’s mother’s apartment for the night.

There's definitely a lot going on here, but it’s also weirdly believable and lovely. I liked it way more than I ever expected to.

B

Love at First Fight (2015)

An underachiever is helping out with the family business by building a pool shed for a client with a prickly daughter. She dreams of joining an elite branch of the army and he’s soon interested as well -- in both the daughter and her dream.

I liked the characters and the slow pace of the movie, but stepping a bit back from it, I can see that there’s just not enough there to hang a feature film on. This could’ve easily been a much more entertaining short subject.

B-

A Hijacking (2013)

A cargo ship with a crew of 7 is overtaken by a group of Somali pirates who demand ransom from the company that owns the ship. Against advice that he’s too emotionally involved, the CEO of the company carries on the negotiations himself.

It’s tense without being exploitative and I was especially absorbed by the boardroom debating and waiting.

B+

Chuck Norris vs. Communism (2015)

Documentary focusing on ‘80s Romania, when the communist regime was at its height and black market VCRs and bootleg copies of Hollywood blockbusters were a balm to many.

A lot of the story focuses on Irina Nistor, the woman who dubbed most of the films for the Romanian audience. She was THE voice of Hollywood for those devouring the videos in secret, often in jam-packed living rooms. It’s so strange being on “this” side of things and realizing that these films -- some of which seem inconsequential -- caused a revolution.

B+

The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)

Pretty low-key telling of the real-life test scenario where volunteers were randomly assigned the roles of either “prisoner” or “guard.” Empty classrooms in one of the university’s basements stood in for cells and common areas.

It’s definitely disturbing to watch how quickly the mentality of both groups shift from equals to victims and victimizers, but this movie doesn’t do anything new with the material that’s been around for 40+ years.

B-

Out of Sight (1998)

Bank robber escapes from prison and plays cat and mouse with a sexy U.S. Marshal.

This is a stellar Leonard adaptation -- maybe not quite as amazing as Get Shorty, but really close. Jennifer Lopez is actually really good here and Clooney is all shabby charm. A winner of a film.

B+

Soapdish (1991)

Still very funny even though extremely dated -- both in politics and (especially) fashion.

B-

King of Devil's Island (2011)

A juvenile detention facility on a small Norwegian island hold boys aged 11-18 or so. When a new inmate arrives whose sole passion is escape, the dynamic between the inmates and the staff shifts. It’s as if the boys wake up and decide that they, too, can hope again.

Very powerful -- even more so with the knowledge that it's based on true events. Reminded me a lot of The Magdalene Sisters.

B+

The Little Prince (2016)

Not all bits worked, but most did and I cried at least three times.

A-

Finders Keepers (2015)

Guy undergoes a below-the-knee amputation and decides to keep the removed leg. Problem is that when he received it, it hadn’t been preserved in any way. Well, actually, that’s just the first problem. He also stuck it in a smoker for safekeeping and then put all of his belongings in a storage facility and then didn’t pay rent on the facility and then the smoker got sold at auction and then the guy who bought the smoker and found the leg didn’t want to give it up.

A pretty weird story with a sour hillbilly on one side and a simple hillbilly on the other. Interesting for a while but tiresome by the end.

C+

The Prey (2013)

Imprisoned bank robber with a loving wife and daughter awaiting his upcoming release trusts the wrong guy and has to think fast and run faster to control the damage.

Despite the extraordinary set-up, the action was always smart. I never felt manipulated or as though the decisions made were anything but sensible. Great action film.

A-

Our Brand Is Crisis (2015)

Jane Bodine, a political strategist, is pulled out of self-imposed retirement to work on the campaign of a Bolivian presidential candidate who’s 30 points behind the leader. She’s got all kinds of personal eccentricities, is socially inept, and has a serious rivalry with the opposing strategist.

All of that sounds like it’d make for an interesting story, but it just doesn’t. I didn’t care about Jane, the “colorful” members of the political team, or the candidate. On the screen, everything was just flat.

C-

For Grace (2016)

Documentary following Chicago chef Curtis Duffy as he works to open his new restaurant “Grace.” It’s mildly interesting but probably would've been more so if I followed the high-class culinary world.

C

Mistress America (2015)

Aspiring writer Tracy isn’t really getting into the groove of her freshman year at Barnard. At her mother’s urging, she decides to call up the soon-to-be stepsister she’s never met who’s at least a decade older and living in the city. Brooke is a whirlwind of activity and non-stop chatter. She’s a legend in her own mind with mile-a-minute ideas that never really go beyond that idea stage.

I had a really hard time connecting to this movie despite the fact that I was interested in the set-up. Tracy is boring as hell, but also a pushy presence in the story. Also: she's just not a great actress. The dialogue often gets into that rat-a-tat rhythm of ‘40s comedies: that "you-talk-I-talk-you-again" stagey pattern that doesn’t feel real. No one’s talking over each other but no one’s listening to each other and it’s basically taking turns quipping. Mostly this movie just somehow made me kind of sad. There didn’t seem to be much going on beneath the surface of any of these characters.

C

The Innocents (2016)

A small convent in Poland, months after the end of WWII, is going through a hard time. One of the young nuns sneaks off to get help and convinces a young Parisian Red Cross nurse to come with her. Once there, the nurse performs an emergency C-section on a young woman in the nuns' care. Come to find out, the convent has more than one pregnancy -- none of which are wanted -- because all of those with child are nuns.

I’ve thought about this movie a lot in the couple of days since I’ve seen it. You’d think that brutal rapes perpetrated over the course of several days would be one of the worst things that could possibly happen to women -- especially sheltered virginal women -- but things can always get worse. I left the theater pensive but not shattered. This is based on actual events, which is mind-blowing.

B

Young@Heart (2008)

A singing group made up of senior citizens performs for sold-out crowds. This documentary follows their rehearsals for 7 weeks and also gives us a few peeks into the home lives of the choir members. 

The entire time I just kept wondering why anyone would pay money to see them in concert. Yes, yes, they're old people doing things old people don't usually do. But they’re not good at all. I’m probably missing the point.

C+

Big Eyes (2014)

Lady painter leaves her abusive husband and immediately marries another guy to make sure her daughter doesn’t get taken away. They stumble into loads of cash when he passes off her big-eyed kid pics as his work. Problem is, she realizes she'd rather have the credit than the money.

The movie’s about as nuanced/interesting as the Big-Eye paintings themselves.

C

Sliding Doors (1998)

Gwyneth & her terrible British accent gets canned and heads home early. She misses the tube, almost gets mugged, hits her head, gets stitched up at the hospital and goes home to her boyfriend just minutes after the woman he’s cheating with leaves their bed. OR she makes the tube, and catches the two in bed.

Both scenarios and the couple of months following are played out simultaneously, but who cares? Gwyneth is a boring dishrag in one storlyline and a boring dishrag with a charming new guy in the other. If it weren’t for the lovely John Hannah brightening up every scene he was in, I’d stick a minus after this grade rather than a plus.

D+

The Invitation (2016)

The first scene -- pre credits -- was so arresting that, when it was over, I puffed out breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding. And, happily, the rest of the film was just as captivating.

I didn’t know what it was about and I’m really glad because it put me in the same boat as the group in the film: just taking the evening as it unfolds. Well-done and surprising.

A

Jason Bourne (2016)

A complete waste of time. The tech portions of the plot were inept,  the general storyline was slight, and the action bits were filmed so shakily that they became impossible to see/follow.

D

The Drop Box (2015)

The Korean couple at the center of this documentary are truly inspirational: they saw an epidemic of abandoned infants dying on the streets and decided to do something about it. These people are the real deal: not only are they a waypoint for these children, but they often become the adoptive parents as well.

I was less enamored of the preachy vibe of the film and the Christian Rock musical montages. Worth watching, but only for the information and inspiration -- not for the craftsmanship of the film itself.

C