Tragedy Girls (2017)

Best friends with a website dedicated to violent crimes are desperate to have their site hit it big. When a serial killer finally takes their "teens making out in a car" bait, they take him hostage and take over. They kill exes, rivals, and basically anyone who pulls focus from their site. They don't seem to be emotionally tied to anyone other than each other and are unaffected by the horrors they're wreaking. 

I don't know what this is saying. We never feel connected to these sociopaths and it isn't frightening, but neither does it come off as a successful satire. I give it props for the interesting idea, but it ultimately goes nowhere and has zero effect.

C-

The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)

Thomas is a young man just trying to find his footing in the world. He's bucking against his privileged (but rather empty) upbringing and pining after a girl who has firmly categorized him as "friend" when he meets his new neighbor. WF is full of pithy wisdom and is very interested in hearing what's going on in Thomas's life, so much so that Thomas soon is seeking out his advice and company. When Thomas discovers that his father is having an affair, he becomes obsessed with and then embroiled in the situation.

I liked the set-up a lot. There was a sense of discovery and maybe a little bit of magic when the wise WF arrived on the scene -- but, it turns out, I was just projecting my hopes onto the film. In reality, this story's about a group who are playing out their expected roles and making themselves miserable. Yes, there's catharsis and everyone comes away from the situation in a bit more of an authentic place, but I couldn't help but feel that they'd soon fall back into familiar patterns rather than really learn the lessons they'd been given.

C+

Against the Night (2017)

Nine friends decide to go together to the town's abandoned prison in the middle of the night to film a ghost hunting video. Things get bloody quick -- but they get stupid and infuriating even before the blood starts flowing.

My question throughout was "Why in the world would any of these women keep these arrested-development men in their lives?" One of the first scenes has a guy with a camera sneaking into a room to film a couple having sex: the male half of duo sees him and grins while the woman is embarrassed but quickly gets over it. It's like all of the guys are 12 with boobies and sex on the brain and the women just shrug it off with a "boys will be boys" attitude. Literally unbelievable. Also, most of the scares are shot with so little light that they're completely ineffective.

F

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

Despite the popularity of Charles Dickens in 1843, after a few flops he desperately needs a hit and fast. Like before Christmas fast -- but it's already October. His debts are piling up, his parents come to stay with him, and his wife is pregnant again. He cannot screw this up. Spoiler alert: he gets it done. 

Obviously, I have no idea whether the writing process depicted here is anywhere near to what Dickens's actual process was, but it's a delight. As he begins to create his characters, they come to full life and chat with him -- basically turning Dickens into a transcriber. 

The entire household is affected as he rants at the characters and destroys his study in literary fits. There's also a pall over the proceedings stemming from Dickens's bleak childhood, for which he (rightfully, it appears) blames his father. But mostly it's a lot of fun and Dan Stevens proves once again that he's quite a talent.

B

The Motive (2017)

Alvaro, an aspiring author without much talent, is at a crossroads in his life. His marriage to his best-selling-author wife falls apart, he is forced on sabbatical from his job, he moves into an apartment, and is given some harsh truth from his writing instructor. Told to observe natural life, he begins taking an interest in his neighbors. And, when there's not enough drama in what he sees, he finds ways to stir the pot.

It's a tantalizing idea that never really soars. Alvaro's character is mostly to blame as he's a blank: I never knew what he was actually thinking and didn't much care. Also, the film ends with a death resulting in Alvaro's imprisonment, but I wasn't clear on who actually committed the crime. Unfortunately, I also wasn't interested enough to go searching for an explanation.

C

Columbus (2017)

Jin travels from Korea to Columbus, Indiana where his estranged father has had a medical emergency, resulting in a coma. Meanwhile Casey, a recent high school graduate and architecture enthusiast, is stagnating in the town. The two form an odd friendship focused on the modernist architecture dotting the town and this relationship somehow pushes each of them forward.

It took a while -- nearly 45 minutes -- for this movie to hit its stride. Until that point, I was wondering who sucked all of the joy out of everyone on screen. The scenes seemed to stretch way beyond the point of useful storytelling and the camera was sometimes held away from speakers. There was a particularly disorienting section that vacillated between two different time points and two different settings (a bar and a hotel room) while maintaining the music from the bar for both locations. There seemed to be no gain from this confusing choice.

All that said, it did wind up having something to say and I do want to visit Columbus to see the amazing structures first-hand.

B-

The Commune (2017)

It's the '70s and Erik has inherited his family home. It's too large for his 3-person family so, rather than sell, his wife Anna convinces him that they should form a commune. Soon they've filled the house and are making decisions via vote, but Erik struggles to find his place in his expanded circumstances.

It's a perfect "be careful what you wish for" tale: never heavy-handed, the story progresses inevitably with everyone responding in their own ways to the new paradigm. It's a wonderfully natural film from Thomas Vinterburg (Another Round & The Hunt) -- safe to say I'm becoming a fan.

A-

Veronica (2017)

Veronica is a teen almost solely responsible for her 3 younger siblings since her father died and her mother has to work almost constantly to pay the bills. She decides, along with a couple of friends, to perform a seance during which she plans to contact her father. But, of course, things don't go quite to plan.

I enjoy supernatural films that are "based on a true story" because they honestly freak me out. This was doing the job for a bit, but then I noticed that the story wasn't developing. Basically, something evil got conjured and now it's hanging around the apartment and mom's not paying attention.

C-

The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

Ryan Reynolds is a former top-tier bodyguard reduced to cruddy little gigs after he lost a client. He's called in by an ex to protect an assassin (Samuel L. Jackson) who's on his way to testify for the government after the team originally assigned to do it is wiped out. Wouldn't ya know it? The bodyguard and the assassin have history.

Plenty of movies attempt this (see any of Kevin Hart's action comedies), but here they nail the formula. It's a great time.

B

The Babysitter (2017)

Cole is the only kid in junior high who still has a babysitter, but he's OK with that because she's amazing. Not only is she beautiful, she seems to enjoy his company and is really fun to hang out with. When a friend makes a suggestion that she is probably having orgies after he goes to bed, he decides to stay up late to see what she does with her evening... and it's definitely nothing he could've guessed. 

It's a surprisingly good time. The violence was more funny than frightening and the short runtime was the right call. It's entertaining start to finish.

B

School Spirits (2017)

A girl and her single father relocate to Missouri. She soon discovers that there are ghosts in town as well as a couple of ghost enthusiast classmates. Most of the ghosts are harmless, but a few are scary. One is actually terrifying and wishes to absorb the lifeforce of the kids. Good thing she's a genius who can rig up a EMF reader to be an EMF translator/recorder so she and her ghost hunting classmates can understand them.

Not only is this incredibly dumb, the lead often delivers her lines under her breath -- like even she realizes how awful the dialogue is.

D

Wheelman (2017)

A getaway driver just out of prison is working a bank robbery. Unable to contact his handler, he accepts direction from an unexpected caller which puts him on the outs with just about everyone else. It's a literal race to stay ahead of bullets and other drivers while working to figure out what to do, whom to trust, and how to keep his 13-year-old on good behavior while she's home alone.

What a ride.

B+

Dave Made a Maze (2017)

Annie comes home from a trip to find a cardboard fort in her living room and her boyfriend Dave claiming he cannot find his way out. Now that's an interesting premise: an artist who's depressed at his lack of direction and success literally feeling trapped by his own art. Too bad that's not what was going on here.

Annie, some friends, a camera crew and some randos all decide to pile into the fort only to become trapped themselves. Then some die (maybe? It's hard to tell since the weapons are cardboard and the "blood" is made of construction paper). Also, it's one of those movies that feels never-ending despite it taking up very little actual time.

D+

The Trip to Spain (2017)

Coogan and Brydon hit the road again. They're taking in the sights, enjoying the food, and doing never-ending bits to amuse each other.

I enjoyed this outing quite a bit. Having just re-read my review of "The Trip," I'm surprised at how crabby my review was. I can't imagine the two films are that different from each other. Maybe I'm just less uptight than I was? Or perhaps actually is a better film.

B

Mayhem (2017)

A virus that causes people to lose all inhibition and act on their impulses infects a law firm. Fortunately, there's a protocol for the virus: quarantine for several hours while the vaccine is administered through the ventilation system. Unfortunately, everyone in quarantine is in full-on crazy mode.

It's incredibly violent and extremely short on story, but it's also pretty entertaining.

C+

A Dark Song (2017)

Sophia has prepared her body, rented a house, and hired an expert in order to perform a ritual. Joseph, the expert, is skeptical about her motives which makes him concerned about the ritual's success. Their wary relationship and the subterfuge that each of them employs with the other makes this a one-of-a-kind story.

This kept me off-balance and caused me to keep revising my predictions about what was going to happen. It's scary, dirty, cruel, and sad. While it's not without issues, the acting and mood are flawless.

B+

Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017)

Sprawling look at Joan Didion's life, from her early years to her widowhood. It's undeniably fascinating, but that may be due more to the time, place, and people of note who hung about than to Didion herself. 

B-

The Discovery (2017)

Once the existence of an afterlife has been proven, instances of suicide jump dramatically. The man behind the revelation has fashioned a kind of commune for those interested in continuing the research. And, though he has long been estranged from the family, the man's elder son is coming home.

Even if it wasn't dreary and slow as molasses, this was never going to work for me because I simply didn't get the premise. Why would people kill themselves just because there's an afterlife? No one's saying that the afterlife is a happy one. They didn't prove the existence of heaven -- just something else. To me it was absolutely bizarre that the collective assumption would be "it's gotta be better than this."

C-

The Christmas Train (2017)

A journalist is traveling from New York to Los Angeles by train in order to fulfill a promise to his late father. Also on board is his ex-girlfriend, a former journalist now working on scripts. For some reason, this train is called "The Christmas Train" by the conductor, engineer, and other passengers. We've got the eloping couple facing opposition from rich parents, the lonelyheart busybody, the recent widower, a bigshot Hollywood director, and an arrogant chess master.

It's clumsy and obvious and, somehow, still not a terrible way to spend a cozy winter evening. The twist at the end pulls it up a bit.

C

Raw (2017)

The story in a nutshell: Justine, who has been raised vegetarian, is headed to veterinary school, where her sister has been attending for a year already. After she eats a raw rabbit kidney during hazing, she just can't get enough meat -- especially human meat. She soon finds out that her sister has similar cravings. OK. So that's supposed to be the disturbing stuff. But, honestly, the most horrific portions of this film were:

• the over-the-top hell week for freshmen. Why?? I get being hazed when you join a fraternity -- I don't like it, but it's still a choice that's being made. If you don't want the hazing, don't join. But everyone who wants to have a career in animal medicine being subjected to constant humiliation and danger was downright insanity.
• two words: eye lick

Just because you can think up a big ol' pile of "what the hell" doesn't mean you should write a screenplay.

D