April 2015

Having finally finished watching (or, in many cases, re-watching) the full runs of Frasier and Kids in the Hall, I got the opportunity to view the latest season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which—as usual—was crude but laugh-out-loud funny. I finally got my apartment nice and clean, and have worked hard to keep it that way. In book news, this was the month I finished "reading" (via audiobook) John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee mysteries. What a ride!

In movie news, here's what I saw:




IT FOLLOWS (2015)—Yet another in the endless procession of horror movies that somehow accrue an impressive number of positive reviews, only to leave me rather cold. A young woman is tracked by a ghost. Boo! There are a couple of tense moments, but overall, I found this mostly forgettable. (5)



HOME (2015)—Three of my favorite performers—Jim Parsons, Steve Martin and Rihanna—lend their voices to this animated science-fiction comedy adventure from Dreamworks. It's a lark, and contains some thematic elements that actually supply both kids and adults with something to think about. Excellent soundtrack features songs by Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez (which I had "drilled" prior to our screening).



ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (1975)—I don't normally include repeat viewings of movies in my blog, but in the case of films I saw as a kid, I think they're OK to blog about. In the case of this Disney sci-fi actioner, practically the only thing I distinctly remember is that I really enjoyed it, and that there were some decent special effects in it. Forty years later, many of the FX are embarrassingly dated, although some of them hold up pretty well. And it's still a cool escapist fantasy, involving a pair of orphaned siblings with special powers who are struggling to understand their place in the universe. Ray Milland and Donald Pleasance are good heavies, and Eddie Albert is a terrific protagonist who helps the children. (9)



RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN (1978)—My re-viewing of Escape to Witch Mountain was, in large part, an excuse to watch the sequel, which I'd missed during my high-school years. None of the adults from the first outing return; new baddies include Christopher Lee and Bette Davis. It's a similar formula, although this time around, the brother and sister are separated for most of the movie. Still, it kept me interested and absorbed. (9)



CHAPPIE (2015)—The trailer for this "robot with feelings" sci-fi flick was great, and it's from the director of the excellent District 9 (from 2009). Alas, the movie is a mess, with a lot of unnecessary violence and a weak plot. Good FX can't save this downer. (5)



McFARLAND USA (2015)—Having greatly enjoyed the last two Kevin Costner movies (Draft Day and Black or White), I hoped he'd continue on his roll, and he does not disappoint. Like Draft Day, this is a sports-centric story, but based on true events. High-school coach Jim White, heading up a hopeless football team made up largely of Mexican boys, notices that they are all great runners, so he sets out to organize a track team instead. This was precisely the movie I wanted it to be, executed just the way I'd hoped. This was a Walt Disney production, directed by Niki Caro. (9)



FUN AND FANCY FREE (1947)—Well, after three excellent Disney movies in a row, I was bound to hit a wall. This early animated effort is one of several released by Walt that consisted of stitched-together shorts; this one contains the occasionally amusing but tragically overlong story of Bongo the bear (based on a Sinclair Lewis story) that features songs by Dinah Shore and seems to go on forever. The second half is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk called Mickey and the Beanstalk, featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. It's really for very small kids. This second segment also includes interruptions by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his puppets; though blessed with a gift for voice characterizations, Bergen must be the worst ventriloquist I've ever seen. The musical segments in this film are godawful and boring. (5)



MATCH (2015)—Patrick Stewart, the memorably gallant captain of the Starship Enterprise from The Next Generation, plays a ballet instructor at Juilliard who is interviewed by a married couple, ostensibly for the woman's dissertation. However, their motives for quizzing Stewart are quite different than they initially let on. Based on Stephen Belber's 2004 play, this is a three-character drama with some interesting surprises and twists, succeeding largely on the performances of its stars, particularly Stewart. (8)



EX MACHINA (2015)—Like the previous movie, this science-fiction film consists almost entirely of three characters; like Chappie, it's about a robot with artificial intelligence. Unlike Chappie, though, this movie is more shrewdly assembled and thought-provoking. An extremely wealthy software magnate (Oscar Isaac) invites a programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) to tour his private lab, at which he has invented a sexy female android with artificial intelligence. Naturally, there would be no need for a movie if this scenario were conflict-free, and the problems that arise are the stuff of intelligent sci-fi—although nothing we haven't seen before, Dave. I had a number of minor objections to writer-director Alex Garland's plot, but it did keep my interest throughout. (8)



FAULTS (2015)—I was intrigued by the trailer of this black comedy about a man (Leland Orser) who "deprograms" brainwashed cult followers—including his latest challenge, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, whom he kidnaps and takes to a hotel room at the behest of her parents. Although much of it is interesting, I was let down by final last quarter—particularly the twist ending, which I found a tad confusing. (6)



UNFRIENDED (2015)—This horror movie unfolds entirely on a laptop computer, where a group of kids text, Skype and message each other. Then they start receiving transmissions from the ghost of a girl they were each responsible for driving to suicide the year before. This could be called I Know What You Did Online Last Summer. This season of Modern Family pulled off a very similarly structured episode to great comedic effect; this movie does the same thing, but for horror. And quite decently, too. (8)



IDENTITY (2003)—A terrific cast—including John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet and John C. McGinley (of Scrubs fame)—find themselves holed up in a motel during a terrible storm...while being stalked by a serial killer. This one has a few twists that you'll never see coming. Tense, Hitchcockian fun. (9)



CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED (1964)—Although this is supposedly a sequel to my all-time favorite movie (Village of the Damned), I've never had the patience to sit all the way through the follow-up. Now that I have finally forced myself to watch the film in its entirety, everything about it continues to confound me. Although it does contain a number of conceits that tie it to the original—strange kids with glowing eyes and a title with the words the Damned—it really has nothing to do with the original story. It is, in fact, a completely different tale with a vaguely similar theme, and no mention at all is made to the events of the original Damned. In the first film, a dozen blond children who all look the same are born to mothers who have become mysteriously pregnant via unknown alien forces. As the children age, they develop powers of telepathy and mind control; as their sinister motives become more focused, it becomes clear that humankind's survival depends on their annihilation. In the second film, six super-intelligent kids of varying races are brought together for examination; they look nothing alike. However, as in the first movie, it is implied that at least one of them has no biological father. It is further revealed that the children (who annoyingly remain silent for most of the movie) also have the powers of telepathy and mind control, and they use their powers to kill humans. At some point, the movie bizarrely decides to switch tactics and adopt the peculiar perspective that man is the true enemy, that the kids are actually a sudden leap in man's own evolution and not, as in the first movie, aliens from another planet. Our ultimate extermination of this second crop of children turns out to be an accident—the filmmakers making some sort of antiwar statement regarding the dangers of bombs and weapons (I guess). The story tries to play it both ways, and it just doesn't work. At least the first film made it clear who the good guys were, and who the bad guys were. (5)

March 2015

There’s wasn’t a great deal to truly distinguish this month—no fun plays or travel or other notable events to speak of, at least that spring to memory. I’m only a couple of episodes away from finishing the full run of Frasier, and then it’ll be on to something new…not sure what. In addition to the movies listed below, I continued to enjoy the first excellent season of Better Call Saul, along with the other shows I watch. Here were the movies I enjoyed:



BLACK OR WHITE (2015)—Kevin Costner stars in a family drama that eventually morphs into a courtroom drama when a custody dispute turns ugly. Although it occasionally veers off into melodrama, the film is always watchable and makes some good points about race relations. The entire cast is excellent. (9)



KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2015)—I’m not a spy movie fan, per se, but this Colin Firth action flick is a deliciously entertaining diversion, especially with bad-guy Samuel L. Jackson chewing the scenery (with a weird speech impediment, yet) and Michael Caine on hand as well. The gag at the very end—lampooning double-entendre James Bond quotes and involving a Swedish princess’s bum—is a classic for the ages. (9)



GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF (2015)—I view most religions as insidious, but Scientology is a special case. Even more than most other religions, it's brainwashing of the highest order, and comes with the most preposterous backstory you could imagine (a bad science-fiction story written by former pulp author L. Ron Hubbard). But having big movie stars like Tom Cruise and John Travolta attached somehow lends the cult more credibility than usual. The filmmakers demonstrate how the cult leaders take over people's lives and, in the case of Travolta, may be blackmailing him into remaining in the fold. This HBO documentary played in theaters prior to being shown on cable. It's not really riveting, but it's very interesting and often compelling. (8)



WHILE WE’RE YOUNG (2015)—A couple coasting in their 40s (Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts) meet a young, vibrant couple in their 20s (Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried), and a spark of life briefly rubs off on the older married pair. Director Noah Baumbach attempts a Woody Allen-esque comedy-drama about the generation gap and mostly succeeds. Seyfried is outstanding (and extremely cute). (8)



CINDERELLA (2015)—Joan and I agreed that whatever else the live-action Disney remake of Cinderella might be, it’s an exceptionally beautiful one. Exquisitely directed (by Kenneth Branaugh) and filled with gorgeous scenery and starring drop-dead gorgeous Lily James (from Downton Abbey), the remake won’t make anybody forget about the 1950 Disney original—especially since they play several of the songs from that movie—but it’s an agreeable time-killer, like any ride at Disneyland. (8)

February 2015

Ah, February. This was the month I traveled back to Florida for the Miami International Boat Show; got to see friends and family—and spend a lot of time sitting in horrible I-95 traffic during an exceptionally busy event week in Miami. I'm now nearing the end of Frasier's ninth season, and Better Call Saul launched this month. Only had time for five movies, and here they are:



THE KID WITH A BIKE (2011)—After naming Two Days, One Night as the best film of 2014, I was understandably eager to check out other movies by its directors, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, one of their most warmly received being this heartfelt drama. In it, a boy who has been all but abandoned by his father attempts to forge a new life with a foster mother. The kid can’t understand why dad doesn’t want him in his life anymore, and he acts out with the woman who takes him in. I wasn’t nearly as moved by this outing as I was Two Days; it did have the same basic flavor, if not the same emotional impact. (7)



BEYOND THE LIGHTS (2014)—This was one of the movies I was sorry I missed last year. It’s about a beautiful black singer who contemplates suicide because of all the pressures of fame and her domineering manager/mom. When a handsome but strangely quiet cop saves her life, a romance develops. Superior soap-opera stuff with a gorgeous soundtrack. (9)



CAKE (2015)—Friends star Jennifer Aniston takes a vacation from her mindless romcoms to play an alcoholic accident victim who has lost her son in the same car crash that has made her a pill-popping train wreck. On her long, brutal road to recovery, she fantasizes about a fellow member of her support group (Anna Kendrick) who took her own life. It’s a black comedy with some truly sharp writing and a career-defining performance by Aniston. (9)



AMIRA & SAM (2015)—When a young Iraqi war vet (Martin Starr) meets a pretty Iraqi immigrant (Dina Shihabi), it’s hardly a love connection—she’s untrusting of him and treats him like garbage. But soon she comes to see his heroism, humanity and humor, and the two hook up. What separates this from being a typical romcom is the unorthodox nature of the characters, along with an excellent script and sharp direction by  Sean Mullin. (9)



HOME SWEET HELL (2015)—I should learn by now to stay away from movies starring Katherine Heigl, but she is so goddamned sexy and beautiful that I couldn’t resist checking her out in this direct-to-DVD black comedy about a goal-obsessed wife who insists that her husband (Patrick Wilson) kill the woman he’s been having an affair with—and who is now blackmailing him. There are some uncomfortable laughs and a bit of suspense, but the movie is never really lives up to its promise. There's a bit of an ambiguous ending where one major loose end was not tied up, and wide-eyed Patrick Wilson spends more than half the movie looking overly shocked, dumbfounded and bewildered—I find him kind of difficult to look at. Heigl, meanwhile, is the very embodiment of sexuality...WOOF! (7)

January 2015

I am now up to Season 8 of Frasier. I was watching the series pretty regularly at this point, but I have very little memory of most of the specific episodes and am greatly enjoying re-watching them all. I was especially excited to get to the point where Niles and Daphne finally come together, and I'm now past that point. I'm also continuing to chip away at the Kids in the Hall box set, and I enjoyed the limited-run TV series Galavant, a wonderfully romantic musical adventure...until the disappointing conclusion.
In January I read another Travis McGee novel (the best ones seem to be way behind me now) and started reading The Martian by Andy Weir, a fun sci-fi adventure that will be a Matt Damon movie this fall. This was also the month that I went full-bore crazy reading short stories by the late mystery author Henry Slesar, buying up old copies of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine on eBay and cross-referencing his stories against a master list I created (typically obsessive Bayne behavior).
Here are the movies I saw in January:



BIG EYES (2014)—Tim Burton is such a crazily hit-or-miss director for me. He has made movies I love (Sweeney Todd, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Corpse Bride) and an awful lot of movies I despise (the rest of them). I am delighted and relieved to add Big Eyes to the “good” pile. My family had those creepy Margaret Keane prints with the big-eyed waifs hanging on our walls when I was a kid. This biopic tells the backstory—about how her husband Walter (Chrisoph Waltz, always incredible) took credit for the work, and how Margaret (Amy Adams) slowly disengages from this lunatic. It’s a marvelous comedy-drama, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who previously teamed with Burton on the equally bizarre biopic Ed Wood. (9)



FANTASTIC FOUR (2005)–With the reboot of Marvel’s comic-book superhero franchise coming this summer, I thought I would acquaint myself with the two previous outings, mostly because I love Michael Chiklis and Jessica Alba, albeit for completely different reasons. The first of these is enjoyable fluff, much campier than later Marvel outings (Thor, Iron Man) but not terrible if you’re in the mood for that kind of thing. Alba is a vision of loveliness, as always. (8)



FANTASTIC FOUR 2: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (2007)—The FF sequel is marginally better than the first, but essentially the same popcorn time-filler. (8)



RUSSIAN DOLLS (2005)—Here’s the first sequel to 2002’s Spanish Apartment, which I viewed in December. These were on my radar due to the sublime talents of Audrey Tautou, who co-stars in all three movies. In this outing, the gang travels to Russia for a wedding. The film has a much different feel, with lots of split-screen and other effects, but the comedy-drama is just as engaging. (8)



CHINESE PUZZLE (2013)—The final (?) chapter in director Cédric Klapisch’s romantic-comedy series is the best one, focusing more on the relationship between Xavier (Romain Duris) and Martine (Audrey Tautou) as some of the gang relocate to New York City. The film is especially endearing to me because of a scene where Tautou confronts the staff of a Chinese tea manufacturer and speaks perfect Mandarin. (9)



INTO THE WOODS (2014)—I enjoyed the film version of Stephen Sondheim’s stage success more than I did the Broadway version—at least for the first 75 minutes. The second act is a slog, quite depressing and not as fun musically. Meryl Streep makes a dandy witch, but the movie needs some editing. (6)



ABANDON SHIP! (1957)—Known as Seven Waves Away in the UK, the story is similar to Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat—same basic deal (ship survivors in a lifeboat), but this one is just as thrilling, maybe even more so. Surviving ship officer Tyrone Power takes control, and has to make some extremely grim decisions about who should live or die in the overcrowded lifeboat. (Check out the original poster—uh, spoiler alert!) Great supporting players in this edge-of-your-seat yarn. (9)



LUCY (2014)—In director Luc Besson’s sci-fi action movie, a powerful drug transforms Scarlett Johannson into an unimaginably intelligent superhuman, allowing her to exact revenge on the drug smugglers who dosed her…and, well, to basically do anything she wants, including defy gravity, wave her hands and make people lose consciousness, etc. It’s all unbelievably ridiculous—it's never explained how Johannson can do all of this magical shit just by using more of her brain capacity—but it's suspenseful nevertheless. Nice to see gorgeous Analeigh Tipton (Damsels in Distress) in a small role. And why does Morgan Freeman have to be in EVERY SINGLE MOVIE? (9)



THE BOOK OF LIFE (2014)—If ever there was a movie that had more intriguing visual ideas, colors and style than the plot did, it’s this animated fantasy produced by Guillermo del Toro. With an impressive voice cast that includes Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum and Ron Perlman, among many others, the movie is never anything short of dazzling—virtually every frame is an artistic masterpiece, an eye-popping delight, with astonishing character concepts and scenery. But the story about a romance that manages to overcome death mostly bored me, and much of the movie’s afterlife mythos is utterly incomprehensible. Thus, it’s very hard to grade. I so wish that the story had interested me more. (7)



THE IMMIGRANT (2013)—After having declared Two Days, One Night the best movie of 2014, I was compelled to check out star Marion Cotillard’s previous film, a 1920s-era story about how Cotillard and her sick sister arrive on Ellis Island, having fled war-torn Poland. Things turn out to be pretty grim in the U.S. for the pair; the sister is quarantined indefinitely for health problems, and Cotillard falls in with suave but sinister Joaquin Phoenix, who forces her into a life of prostitution. Melodrama galore ensues. It’s a mostly sad movie, but gorgeously photographed and perfectly evocative of life in New York during the early 20th century. Cotillard is excellent—I'll be checking out more of her performances soon. (9)

December 2014

I spent two weeks of this month out of the house—first in South Florida for Christmas week, then at my friend Choiwan's house, dogsitting for Olivia, her super-lazy bulldog. I spent a lot of time catching up on 2014 end-of-the-year flicks, but also forged ahead on Frasier (nearing Season 7) and watching the Kids in the Hall DVD box set. This was also the month that I read a lot of short stories by Henry Slesar.

Here's my final batch of movies for 2014:



BLUE RUIN (2014)—For a movie currently holding a 96% “Fresh” rating on RottenTomatoes.com, I was surprised not to see this on a lot of “Best of 2014” lists. Macon Blair plays a homeless drifter whose parents were murdered several years ago. When the killer is released from prison, he shifts into revenge mode. It’s a great idea for a movie and executed with an acceptable degree of style and finesse, but Blair plays his character as a guy who’s so aloof that we never truly feel his anguish. There are some cool plot twists here, but it could have been more deeply felt. (8)



STILL ALICE (2014)—Julianne Moore is a wife and mother of three grown children who learns she has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Even worse, it’s a variety that you can pass on to your kids. The movie chronicles her struggles and the difficulties of her husband (Alec Baldwin), family members and friends with this terrible affliction. It’s obviously quite downbeat, but felt more like an infomercial at times than a drama. (8)



SANTA CLAUS (RiffTrax Presentation) (1959)—Those Mystery Science Theater 3000 guys are at it again, and for December they riff on a dubbed version of this terrible Mexican Christmas movie, which shows Santa engaging in a game of cat and mouse with a mischievous devil. As awful as the movie is, the comments by Mike Nelson and crew are typically hilarious. (9)



THE CAPTIVE (2014)—Atom Egoyan’s thriller features Ryan Reynolds as a man desperately searching for his kidnapped daughter and deflecting suspicion that he had something to do with the girl’s disappearance. Rosario Dawson is a cop who only realizes what’s going on when the villain decides to target her as well. Not bad, but could have been much better—a lot of it tests our suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. (7)



FRACTURE (2007)—Anthony Hopkins murders his wife, then challenges prosecutors to prove it in court—the evil genius has hidden the murder weapon very well, and the lead attorneys keep making mistake after mistake. With such an ingenious setup, it would take a performance of abysmal proportions to sink it, and Ryan Gosling is more than up to the challenge. It is absolutely one of the worst performances in a major movie that I’ve ever seen. It’s a pity; besides him, this was a gripping yarn. (7)



BOYHOOD (2014)—Tired of movies that feature flashbacks to the main character’s childhood, and the actor playing the kid looks nothing like him? Director Richard Linklater solves that problem by filming his family drama over a 12-year period, so we see the kid (Ellar Coltrane) grow up before our eyes—a technique used to similar effect in Michael Apted’s Up documentary series. Oscar’s frontrunner for Best Film chronicles Coltrane’s boyhood from age 6 up to 18, so we see him go from wearing short pants to using drugs, graduating from high school, etc. The 165-minute movie takes full advantage of the gimmick; we see his procession of girlfriends, major life events, various marriages by his mother and so on. Linklater does a typically great job doling out the drama; my main problem with the movie was that Coltrane’s character didn’t grow up into a young adult I particularly liked. (8)



A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES (2014)—Having read the 1992 Lawrence Block novel earlier this year, I had a curiosity about how it stacked up as a movie. The film is a much watered-down and bowdlerized version of the original story, but Liam Neeson is generally entertaining, and although this is kind of a bare-bones version of the story, it’s reasonably entertaining. (8)




WILD (2014)—Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, the real-life woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail alone as a way of cleansing herself of various personal dilemmas (heroin abuse, divorce, family tragedy, etc.). The movie ping-pongs between Cheryl’s often trying trek along the trail—blistering heat, snakes, snow and the inevitable human predators—and flashbacks that fill in the blanks of her character. Laura Dern is superb as Cheryl’s mom. Based on Strayed’s memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. A truly amazing film that depicts the extent of man’s—make that woman’s—indomitable spirit. Quintessential and unmissable. (10)



GOOD MORNING MISS DOVE (1955)—This month was all about catching up on this year’s movies, but I forced myself to watch this Jennifer Jones vehicle about an aloof but beloved teacher, her health scare, and how she brings a community together. Rather corny, with a performance by Jones that Star Trek’s Spock would have have found highly logical. (7)



IDA (2014)—This acclaimed Polish film garnered enough rave reviews to make me curious to check it out. On the plus side, it contains some solid performances and a setup I found irresistible: a nun about to take her vows discovers that she’s the daughter of Jewish parents. Unfortunately, even at a mere 80 minutes, it feels twice that long, due to relatively little action and a plethora of interminable scenes where nothing happens—people just sit there looking sad, or walk slowly across a field. Ida would have made a much better short. I will say that it is amazingly photographed: nearly every frame looks like an award-winning B&W image. That alone gives it a +1 on my final grade of (7).



TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (2014)—Belgian directors Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne have crafted the best film I saw all year, the story of how a woman (Marion Cotillard) attempts to keep her job at a solar-panel plant. This story about compassion and selfishness is devastating, having reduced me to tears less than half-hour in. This soundtrack-free movie, with its uncanny performance by Cotillard, should be required viewing by all directors on how to make a movie. And it should be required viewing for you, too. (10)



CALVARY (2014)—Brendan Gleeson is Father James, an Irish priest who receives a startling confession from a parishioner: He plans to kill Father James in a week’s time as a symbolic gesture (the parishioner having been the victim of sexual abuse by another priest, who is now dead). Over the following week, we meet a bunch of the locals, most of whom do not seem to like Father James. We also meet his grown daughter, conceived before he became a priest; she recently attempted suicide and carries a lot of daddy baggage of her own. Interesting film, but suffers enormously from a lack of sympathetic characters. (7)



THE SPANISH APARTMENT (2002)—This year marked the release of Film #3 in the Spanish Apartment series, of which this is the first. I was curious about it because it features Audrey Tautou (of Amélie fame), but her involvement here is relatively minimal. The film—which is largely in French and Spanish—introduces us to a bunch of foreign-exchange students living and studying together in Barcelona, including Xavier (Romain Duris), who is juggling romantic and professional dilemmas. The residents of the apartment may speak different tongues, but as the film shows, loyalty and love are common languages. Decent comedy-drama. (8)



SELMA (2014)—It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for a big, solemn Oscar-hogging movie featuring African-Americans. No slavery this time around, so a biopic about Martin Luther King will have to do. I approached this movie with trepidation—it seems like one of those “eat your vegetables” movies where you half-expect there to be a test after the screening. (Lee Daniels’ The Butler was last year’s equivalent, and it also featured Oprah Winfrey.) But although the first half of “Selma” is achingly solemn and very “scripty” (the dialogue just seems obviously written), it gets far more involving, suspenseful and intriguing as it goes along. I was happy to see a movie that humanizes King, and paints an unflattering portrait of Lyndon Johnson that many Americans may be surprised to see. (9)



TOP FIVE (2014)—Comedian Chris Rock is the funniest standup performer alive right now. However, while TOP FIVE proves handily that he is not the most talented actor or director, it’s a moderately enjoyable comedy-drama that wisely takes advantage of the chemistry between Rock and his real-life squeeze, Rosario Dawson. (I never get tired of looking at Dawson on the big screen—I want to see every one of her movies.) Top Five, about a comedian who wants to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor, also features the always-amusing Jerry “J.B. Smoove” Brooks and stunning Gabrielle Union. Rock takes the basic idea of Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories and puts his unique spin on it. (8)



THE IMITATION GAME (2014)—Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Alan Turing, the real-life mathematician and puzzle-solver who saved countless lives during World War II with his expert Nazi code-cracking. The film wisely casts Keira Knightley as a woman on Turing’s team; every film should cast her! (8)



AMERICAN SNIPER (2014)—Clint Eastwood’s biopic is about Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), the expert marksman who became one of the best Navy SEAL snipers in history. Kyle did four tours during the war in Iraq before a deranged veteran shot him dead here in the U.S. The movie goes BANG BANG BANG! and BOOM BOOM BOOM! as an uncountable amount of terrorists are mowed down (along with some of our heroic soldiers, of course), and it all starts to feel a bit repetitive. Kyle is portrayed as a man positively addicted to “defending our country”; as the movie progresses, he starts to care less about his wife and kids, and more about getting back into his tank and picking off the bad guys. Curiously, Kyle’s tragic fate is inexplicably reduced to a caption at the end of the film. (6)



FORCE MAJEURE (2014)—And I close 2014 with this shockingly overrated Swedish movie about a fun family ski vacation in the mountains that becomes miserable in the wake of a scary but harmless avalanche. Mom is angry that Dad went running when things looked grim, leaving her and the kids behind—then their marriage starts unraveling. I found much of the "action" deadly dull in this overlong melodrama. (4)