Fences (2016)

Ugh. Depressing and boring as hell with one of the most ridiculous “mentally challenged” portrayals I’ve seen since Bubba in Forrest Gump -- not sure this is the typecasting Mykelti should be going for.

There was absolutely nothing redeeming about Denzel’s character but no one on screen seemed willing to fully admit that and cut ties with him. Though his son recognized the poison, his family insisted on him only celebrating what they labeled as "good."

Nonsense.

D

La La Land (2016)

Stone and Gosling are, respectively, a struggling actress and a frustrated jazz pianist. They find each other, fall in love, and then life happens.

After the first couple of numbers, I was a little bit worried that this was gonna be an inconsequential bit of fluff, but it shaped up into something transportive. I was both charmed and moved -- especially by the final sequence. I left the theater with wet eyes but just so full of admiration.

A

Other People (2016)

Adult son moves home to Sacramento from New York to help out/be with his mother as she’s treated for/is dying of cancer. His family is a “church every Sunday” one, he’s a gay writer, and his father still isn’t comfortable with that.

There was just something about this movie. It felt honest. And a little banal. And that was alright. Death and family aren’t always fraught with meaning -- sometimes it’s just existing alongside those you both love and don’t connect with as well as you wish you could.

I really liked this -- to the degree that I might want to have my kids watch it if I ever get sick so they know what to expect.

B+

The Sound of Music (1965)

This was coming on network television when Gary and I were flipping around and we looked at each other and kind of shrugged and just settled in. What a trip to watch this that way: with ads and everything! It kind of made the viewing feel festive -- I was reminded me of growing up and gathering around and using the breaks to run to the bathroom and rummage for snacks.

Gary wasn't sure he'd ever seen it before, but this was at least my third time & it's still just as watchable as it was when I first saw it at no more than 5 years old. Julie Andrews is winning as the naive initiate serving as a governess for the brood of a stern military widower. No surprises where it goes, but the getting there is lovely. Almost every song is a masterpiece.

B+

Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

Two sisters, one a single mother having an affair with her married high school boyfriend and the other a perpetual screw-up still living with her father, stumble into the world of crime scene clean-up. And that’s about it.

This just felt so budget. There’s not really anything to be mad about, but I’m not sure why it exists.

C+

Goodnight Mommy (2015)

Mom comes home after cosmetic surgery but her twin sons suspect she’s not actually their mother. That's a great set-up, but it goes to crap at the end as it settles for being torture porn.

Plus -- spoiler -- you’d really have to be trying to miss the coming “twist” not to see it just a couple of minutes into the film.

B-

Hector (2015)

Hector’s homeless and making his way up to London to spend Christmas at his usual seasonal shelter with his makeshift family. He’s got some health problems (though the NHS treats him with dignity) and living rough isn’t easy, but in all he seems like a good dude who often happens upon goodness in others.

I have a feeling that most homeless have a rougher time of it than Hector -- at least in the states -- but, even still, it was nice to be reminded that everyone’s had a life, that nobody's only homeless.

B

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

A very good movie that I think I would’ve enjoyed more in my living room. Everything felt spot-on -- like the writer had been a less-than-popular teen girl less than a year ago -- but the movie just wasn’t BIG enough to fit onto a theater-sized screen. Woody Harrelson was pretty dang great.

B+

Arrival (2016)

This is a better movie than Interstellar, but it suffers for being the second to the time-warping alien movie party.

Thinking about this movie after the fact, I feel like I was juked a little too hard. (SPOILERS) Clearly, we the audience were supposed to be fooled into thinking that Amy Adams was sleepwalking through life due the death of her daughter, but the fact was that there had been no daughter, so no reason for her depressive attitude and, actually, we were tipped to her daughter way before she was… just stop with the trickery. You can be a good movie without pulling a “gotcha.” Let us learn along with the protagonist -- don’t screw with our minds ahead of time. I promise we’ll think you’re clever anyway.

Oh, except for that whole “she’s gotta see the phone number” scene, which just called to mind Bill and Ted thinking really hard about hiding the car keys.

B

How to Be Single (2016)

Young woman decides to take a break from her long-term boyfriend to decide if he’s the one. Once she's ready to settle down, wouldn’tcha know it, he’s moved on.

There were tons of problems with this film, but the bulk of them seemed to be a lack of character development and a completely obfuscated timeline. There was no indication of how much time had passed -- so I was unclear whether her ex had found someone new in a week or 18 months. Also, I’m getting pretty tired of Rebel Wilson’s lazy party girl shtick.

D+