The African Doctor (2016)

A Sengalese man, recently graduated from French medical school, accepts a posting in the French countryside. His family and the village have a rough time adjusting to each other, but they eventually do.

Sometimes it felt a little too light -- like a sitcom -- but it was generally effective. A nice story based on real life.

B

Pink (2016)

Three female roommates in India face threats and intimidation from a group of men who attempted to assault them. Every aspect of their lives becomes more difficult -- simply because one of them fought back rather than succumbing. They catch a break when their neighbor, a retired lawyer, decides to fight their corner.

Although rather ham-fisted at times, this is a generally effective film with a clear message that women shouldn’t be punished because men refuse to respect boundaries. My one issue is that the helpful lawyer didn’t need to be so dang weird.

B

Game Night (2018)

It’s been a really long time since I laughed out loud at a movie, but I burst several times during this one. Exactly what I was hoping for -- super silly and tremendous fun. I wouldn’t mind seeing Bateman & McAdams pair up a few more times; they come off as a more acerbic Hanks & Ryan.

B+

Girls Trip (2017)

Tiffany Haddish (who really really annoys me) is the best thing about this movie. Unfortunately, the production kept her on a leash. She was allowed to be raucous for mere seconds at a time before the film veered back to main (boring) story of an Oprah-type guru who “has it all” or would if she wasn’t covering up her husband’s philandering. This was mishandled big-time.

C-

The Disaster Artist (2017)

Tommy Wiseau is such a weird guy that it’s hard not to be drawn in by, but then ultimately weary of, that weirdness. So this just went on for too long from my perspective. The most fun part of the film was the “side by side” comparisons of the actual movie and the scenes from Disaster Artist.

B-