SNOWPIERCER (2013)

In the near future, scientists release chemical CW7 to finally combat global warming - which instead starts a new ice age that kills off nearly all life.  By 2031, survivors live circling the globe on a constantly-running super-train, whose movement sustains its eco-system and therefore all life on it.  The train's also developed its own class system; the rich and powerful at the front of the train enjoying untold luxuries, the quality of life dropping as you go down the train to the general populace in the end cars - the poor, starving class beaten down by their "superiors".  It's all run by the deity-like Mr. Wilford, the mystery man at the engine - and the target of a group of rebels at the train's end led by Curtis (Chris Evans) and his wise mentor Gilliam (John Hurt); a courageous group determined to claw, scratch and kill their way to the engine and Wilford - to live as equals or not at all.  What they find along the way makes for some stunning cinema ... and a hard-to-forget film, even if the ending doesn't quite live up to the promise of all that came before. (rated R)  ****

SNOWPIERCER trailer 

PETALS ON THE WIND (2014)

It's been ten years since the events of Flowers in the Attic, and "perfect" siblings Christopher (Wyatt Nash), Cathy (Rose McIver), and Carrie (Bailey Buntain) Dollanganger are mourning the death of their guardian, Dr. Sheffield, who took them in soon after they escaped the attic.  Determined to forge a career in ballet, Cathy enters into a relationship with a volatile principal dancer in New York, who gets her into his company there - even as the darkness of their past (and rich-bitch mother) still haunt them, payback always hovering in the back of Cathy's mind.  Packed with as much melodrama, over-the-top story, and the siblings-who-are-more-than-siblings Ick Factor you'd expect if you've read the novel (even with major book-to-film plot changes), POTW definitely benefits from the recasting of McIver (Nash was good as well, though I was sorry to see Mason Dye go), the sequel much more fun to watch than Flowers.  Definitely "guilty pleasure" material ... though what the hell was with having so little Ellen Burstyn in this one?! (TV-14)  ***

PETALS ON THE WIND trailer

UNIDENTIFIED (2013)

Admittedly, I would watch anything Parry Shen is in; he's one of the most likable, watchable, natural actors working today, and has been since Better Off Tomorrow.  That said, I still don't get the negative reviews I've read for Unidentified.  True, the film doesn't always seem sure of what genre it wants to be; about four friends who go to Vegas for a shady poker game, then end up on the run from a loan shark before ending up stranded in the Nevada desert with extraterrestrials, this part comedy, part science fiction, part horror, part buddy film is helped greatly by Shen and the always-excellent Eddie Mui, who - along with Colton Dunn and Eric Artell - help the film's slower first third give way to a healthy dose of suspense and creepiness until The End.  Go in with the right frame of mind - that this isn't Gandhi, but a low-budget buddy/road trip comedy/alien invasion horror film with good special effects and better-than-average acting, designed to entertain - and there's no reason not to enjoy the ride. (not rated)  ***1/2

UNIDENTIFIED trailer

THE LEGO MOVIE (2014)

As someone who didn't play with Legos much as a kid, I was completely bowled over by this film - easily one of 2014's best.  The storyline's simple: per a prophecy, lowly Lego construction worker Emmet (Chris Pratt) is thought to be the new "Special" by a rebel group of master builders when he discovers the missing "piece of resistance," the only thing able to stop the machine the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell) is going to use to destroy all the Lego worlds.  So various Lego-ites, including many recognizable film, book and TV characters (Best. Batman. EVER.) band together to help a nobody save the world ... a world that just pops on-screen, beautifully rendered and wholly believable, in a film that kids will love, while at the same time adults will enjoy, laugh at, and "get" (there's even a sort of Orwellian theme going on), as well.  One of the best animated films ever made, I think The Lego Movie - had it been released just a few months earlier - might easily have snagged the Oscar from Frozen.  Yeah, it's that good. (rated PG)  *****

THE LEGO MOVIE trailer

TRUST ME (2013)

Howard Holloway (Clark Gregg) is a former child star in Hollywood, who now represents young talent as an agent - or at least, does so when super kid's agent Aldo Shocklee (Sam Rockwell) isn't stealing even the most moderately-decent talent from him (often by any means necessary).  When Howard accidentally comes across a genuinely gifted fourteen-year-old named Lydia (a quite impressive Saxon Sharbino), up for the lead in a new series of big-budget Hunger Games-style films, and finds potential love in a beautiful neighbor (Amanda Peet), it seems as if the "bottom-feeder" agent is on top of his game at last.  But this is L.A. - where very little, if anything (or anyone) is what it seems for Howard, something that Trust Me echoes as a film; it's not the comedy the poster and trailers imply, but more of a dark comedy-drama that even comes with touches of film noir.  Written and directed by Gregg as well, it still an impressive film that - if a bit uneven - does VERY much paint the industry as exactly what it is (wow, does it).  That he captured perfectly. (rated R)  ***

TRUST ME trailer

BLACK WIDOW (1987)

Catherine (Theresa Russell) is a beautiful young woman who has married and murdered three millionaires for their insurance.  With each one she changes her appearance, dons a new name, and spends months researching the man's personal and professional life, boning up on whatever interests he has until she can discuss them like her own.  She makes each death look like accident or illness, and vanishes soon as she collects her inheritance - seemingly unstoppable until ambitious Justice Dept. investigator Alex Barnes (Debra Winger) stumbles upon a clue pointing to one of the deaths as murder - and becomes obsessed with Catherine when she just misses preventing her latest kill.  Taking a leave from her job, Alex trails Catherine to Hawaii, ingratiating herself into Catherine's world even while trying to find a way to stop her.  One of the best "guilty pleasures" ever; one you'll watch over and over again, thanks to the blistering chemistry between Winger and Russell.  Surprising, just how good this is. (rated R)  ****

BLACK WIDOW trailer

HAUNTERS (2010)

Cho-In is an angry young man with a dark gift: he can completely control the mind of anyone within his line of sight, making them do his will.  He's had this ability since childhood, and now - bored and insolent - uses his "talent" to rob pawn shops.  Kyu-Nam, a kindhearted young man who lost his job at a scrapyard after a horrifying accident, lands a job with the Utopia pawn shop ... which not only crosses his path with Cho-In's, but puts them in direct combat when Cho-In - during the robbery - discovers Kyu-Nam is the first and only person, EVER, whose mind he can't control.  From here the film becomes a battle of good vs. evil (with occasional touches of humor to lighten the mood), Kyu-Nam determined to stop the crazed Cho-In, who's gone on a killing spree to destroy him.  Wonderfully tense, the film's only let down is in never revealing how Cho-In got his power - or why Kyu-Nam is impervious to it.  But for sheer suspense, a few great set pieces, and the intense performances of the two leads, Haunters is an engrossing watch. (not rated) ***1/2

HAUNTERS trailer

BELLS ARE RINGING (1960)

Judy Holliday was a vivacious talent whose premature death robbed the film industry of her comic genius.  The Oscar winner lit up any project she appeared in, and never was that more evident than in this musical comedy, where she even makes lackluster co-star Dean Martin shine.  Here she plays Ella Peterson, a Brooklyn answering service operator who somehow can't seem to stay out of the personal lives of her clients (using information gleaned from one, say, to benefit another).  No one knows her as Ella, as she sort of "plays" different characters on the phone, depending on the client's needs - but when she's forced to come to the aid of a struggling writer (Martin) who knows her only as "Mom" on the phone, Ella finds herself falling in love - and her life becoming a lot more complicated.  A subplot involving gangsters is fun, if a bit silly, but with a stellar supporting cast, a wonderful score, and plenty of laughs, Bells Are Ringing remains at the top of my favorites list over thirty years after I first saw it. (not rated) ****1/2

BELLS ARE RINGING trailer

ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)

Winner of six Oscars, including Best Picture, and #90 on IMDB's list of 250 best films of all time, All About Eve is the story of what happens when a shy, timid ingenue in New York City, Eve (Anne Baxter) manages to get a backstage introduction to her idol, revered (though aging) stage legend Margo Channing (Bette Davis, in many ways playing herself, particularly in this stage of her life and career at the time) ... and the complications that arise when Margo and her friends take the innocent girl under their collective wings, only to realize she may not be as innocent as she seems.  The writing bristles, razor-sharp, from beginning to end, the performances (even a fresh-face Marilyn Monroe, in a small role, livens up the proceedings) all Oscar-worthy, in what has been termed (rightly) by many as not only THE quintessential film about the New York theater scene ... but "the perfect film" as a whole.  (not rated)  *****

ALL ABOUT EVE trailer

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967)

Guilty Pleasure: "Something that you shouldn't like, but like anyway."  Movie lovers have at least a few, this one often at the top of the list.  Chronicling the story of three young women - Anne (Barbara Parkins), Neely (Patty Duke) and Jennifer (Sharon Tate) - who each enter show business and pay the price for it (often with "dolls" - pills - as a backdrop), Valley of the Dolls was based on the scandalous (for its time) Jacqueline Susann novel ... and in itself became scandalous by just how badly made, badly-acted, and badly-written a film it was.  Yet, on a daytime drama level, there is something mystically watchable about it; something that sucks you in through the lunacy, the overacting, and will soon have you watching it for the tenth or twentieth time, quoting lines and lyrics back to it like The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  A train wreck of a film, yet one you can never tire of, or quite turn away from when it comes on cable.  As addicting as "dolls" themselves. (rated PG-13)  **1/2(film) ****(watchability/awesomeness)

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS trailer

THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)

The Queen Mother of all "disaster" films - which hit their stride in the 1970's - remains the best, as well as the first movie my parents let me go to see in a theater alone, as a kid.  It remains on my all-time favorites list, to this day, and still holds up as a thrilling, tense story of what happens when a once-luxurious ocean liner, on her last voyage before being consigned to the scrap heat, is hit by a 90-foot tidal wave and turned upside down in the middle of the ocean.  Gene Hackman leads an all-star cast as Reverend Scott, who no matter what will fight to the end to lead a small group of like-minded survivors, after the ship capsizes, through the upside-down boat to the top (formerly the bottom) in search of rescue ... even as the ship is sinking further and deeper into the ocean as they do so.  The film, nominated for eight Oscars (and winning one, plus a non-competitive Oscar for visual effects) is a riveting dramatic thriller deserving a place on anyone's "must-see" list - then, now, and always. (rated PG)  *****

THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE trailer

VAMPIRE ACADEMY (2014)

If you can keep the characters and their roles straight - the Moroi are the royalty (mortal vampires who don't kill, but feed only off willing donors), the Dhampir (half human-half vampire) are their guardians, and the Strigoi are those who've actually killed a human and turned insane/evil, intent on turning or killing off the Moroi - and Vampire Academy is a good, light, action comedy-drama that has no problem sucking you in (pun intended) about Dhampir Rose (Zoey Deutsch) and Moroi princess Lissa (Lucy Fry) who are dragged back to St. Vladimir's School, after spending a year on the run, to face an even bigger threat when it looks like someone is stalking Lissa.  Based on a series of YA novels, the film knows when - and, more importantly, when NOT - to take itself seriously, which definitely makes the film more enjoyable (even with a few undeveloped characters in the mix).  Nice job, enough so I'd even watch the sequel the end of this films so wickedly sets you up for ... (rated PG-13)  ***1/2

VAMPIRE ACADEMY trailer

THE FLU (2013)

On a broader scale, The Flu is a well-made thriller about what happens when the only survivor of a shipment of illegal aliens smuggled into the Seoul suburb of Bundang, Korea, goes on the run in fear of his life ... carrying a super-contagious virus without a known cure.  Between him and the two smugglers who find the shipment of dead bodies, soon many of the city's residents are ill and dying, the military sent in to seal off the city and contain the disease.  On a more human scale, the story revolves around city rescue worker Ji-goo, and doctor In-hye, who search the city for the surviving illegal, whose blood may contain the only hope for a cure.  Add In-hye's young daughter, who accidentally stumbles across the sick man, and The Flu becomes a stylish, suspense-filled race against time that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end, while never losing the human touch of caring about what happens to the lead characters and one spunky little girl. (not rated) ****1/2

THE FLU trailer

POMPEII (2014)

Those who grew up watching disaster films produced and/or directed by Irwin Allen (The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno) should enjoy Pompeii.  For anyone else, it depends on your mindset going in.  Set in 79 A.D., Kit Harington ("Game of Thrones") stars as Milo, lone survivor of the Roman attack that slaughtered his entire Celtic tribe when he was still a child.  Now an adult and doomed to the life of a slave, Milo has learned to defend himself and fight - skills that bring him up to gladiator status, fighting in the arenas of Pompeii.  There, he meets and befriends Cassia (Emily Browning), daughter of the city's highest official and the girl he sets out to rescue when Mt Vesuvius blows, sealing Pompeii's fate forever.  If you can be okay with toss out story and characterization in favor of a colorful, action-packed film with kick-ass special effects once the volcano blows - and for what other reason would you really go into watching this film? - then it's a good ride and even better "guilty pleasure." (rated PG-13)  ***1/2

POMPEII trailer

I DO (2012)

Jack (David W. Ross), a handsome gay Brit living in New York City, acts as a second father to the wife and daughter of his brother Peter, who died seven years earlier when hit by a car.  Living in NYC for years, Jack's time here becomes threatened when he latest Visa extension is denied, and in a desperate attempt to stay in the country with his only family, he convinces his lesbian best friend Ali (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) to marry him - an act that puts a strain on both them and their friendship, especially when - soon after - Jack meets and falls in love for the first time with a soulful architect (Maurice Compte) who wins his heart.  I Do is a rarity - an indie film with performances of real emotional depth from the entire cast, without a false note; you will want to reach through the screen and shake Jack into making the right choice.  It's also a film that straight people need to see, showing not just the issues LGBT people face in situations like this, but also that we love just as deep, and just as hard ... making it just as right. (not rated)  ****1/2

I DO trailer

THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013)

There is just something so wildly exuberant about Thor: The Dark World.  The plot sounds more complex than it is: thousands of years ago the Dark Elves tried to send all the realms of the universe into darkness with a force called The Aether, but their evil leader Malekith barely escapes with his own life when Asgardian soldiers manage to capture The Aether, hiding it away as it cannot be destroyed.  Flash-forward to present-day Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, who is actually kind of annoying in this film), angry at Thor for not keeping in contact in two years, who ends up a host for The Aether when she accidentally discovers it, bringing Malekith back to Asgard to retrieve the strongest weapon in the universe when Thor learns of what's happened and tries to protect her.  The battle scenes and special effects are HIGHLY ramped up here, in a fun, even funny and exciting film with Hemsworth and Hiddleston now fully grown into their respective roles as Thor and Loki.  Loved it! (rated PG-13)  ****1/2

THOR: THE DARK WORLD trailer

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (2013)

Covering a very private part of a very public life, The Invisible Woman is the story of  Nelly Ternan (Felicity Jones), a fledgling actress from a family of actors who - at the age of 18 - had the honor of meeting, and working with, the writer whose work had already become her obsession: Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes).  Larger than life, generous to a fault and incredibly gifted, Dickens soon becomes her obsession, as well - the man, in return, finding Nelly's educated companionship preferable even to that of his own wife.  The two enter into an affair that must remain secret, due to both his fame and the vast difference in their ages, and while the conventional Nelly finds the treatment Dickens gives to his wife and the sanctity of their marriage a travesty, at the same time she can't help but feel her love for him, however wrong, is something that can't be denied.  A look into the private world of one of the greatest writers of all time, Fiennes bringing Dickens vividly to life on-screen, even during the slower moments of the film.  Must-see for Dickens fans, especially. (rated R)  ****

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN trailer

THE LION KING (1994)

The Lion King opens with the birth of Simba, lion cub to King Mufasa, who will continue Mufasa's reign over the African Pride Lands upon Mufasa's death.  Simba's birth is a cause of celebration for all the animals of the land ... with the exception of Scar, brother to Mufasa and - until Simba's birth - the heir to Mufasa's throne.  Scar, very much the black sheep of the family, plots to have both Mufasa and Simba killed so he can rule the Pride Land at last, but when only half the plot works and Simba runs away in shame and guilt, Scar's reign begins and the Pride Lands seem doomed unless Simba can find his way home again.  A beautiful film, wonderfully scored (the opening scene, and song "The Circle of Life" especially, are incredible) and with comic touches via Timon, Pumbaa, and a couple of wicked hyenas. (rated G)  ****

THE LION KING trailer

THE NUT JOB (2014)

Surly (Will Arnett) is a city squirrel who lives in a big city park full of animals but only thinks of himself.  While his animal brethern are concerned with storing enough food to get them through the upcoming winter, Surly's greed and self-serving ways results in a caper that destroys what food the animals have been able to save - which gets Surly banished from the park for life.  But when Surly and a female squirrel from the park, Andie (Katherine Heigl), both get wind of a major heist in the form of a nut store nearby, Andie's fight for the park and Surly's fight for himself gets in the way of the very human gangsters who own the nut shop ... who are using it as a front to break into the bank next door.  Decent animation, an okay storyline, a few stand-out characters, and lively action elevate this fairly average animated film to a nice ride for both kids and parents.  Love the dog, especially. (rated PG)  ***

THE NUT JOB trailer

LET MY PEOPLE GO! (2011)

One of the funniest, most charming films I've seen in awhile is this French farce about a young gay French Jewish boy, Ruben (Nicolas Maury), who lives with his Nordic boyfriend in Finland, where he works as a mail carrier after his dreams of opening up his own sauna have fallen on hard times.  An altercation/set of mishaps with someone on his mail route leaves Ruben with almost $200,000 Euro and the impression he accidentally killed a man, and when Ruben tells his boyfriend Teemu about the incident, Teemu kicks him out when Ruben refuses to go to the police and confess.  With nowhere to go, Ruben hops a plane to Paris and his eccentric family, just in time for the Passover holidays, where even more bizarre sets of circumstances land Ruben in even deeper trouble.  Funny, sweet, and with THE perfect lead in the beguilingly innocent Maury as Ruben, this film is a treat from start to finish, the viewer rooting for Ruben all the way. (not rated)  ****1/2

LET MY PEOPLE GO! trailer

STAGE FRIGHT (2014)

Blending horror and comedy, Stage Fright opens with the vicious murder of opera singer Kylie Swenson (Minnie Driver) by a masked killer, soon after her triumphant opening night in "The Haunting of the Opera" ... before we flash-forward ten years to a bunch of spastic, musical theater-loving kids attending summer theater camp, performing an over-the-top musical number about how theater geeks rock, may or may not be gay.  Kylie's daughter Camilla and son Buddy, raised by their godfather Roger McCall, (Meat Loaf) who owns the camp, now work summers in the kitchen ... until Camilla decides to audition for the lead in the big show, a reworking of "The Haunting of the Opera" set in feudal Japan - giving an excuse for a musical theater hater to don a Kabuki mask and start killing again.  Even with a lull in action between the first and subsequent murders, and an obvious low budget to work with, there is something quirky and very watchable about this oddball horror comedy that actually comes with a few decent jump scares ... and musical numbers! (rated R)  ***

STAGE FRIGHT trailer

AUTHORS ANONYMOUS (2014)

As a writer, I loved the premise of this film: a fledgling writers group in Los Angeles is torn asunder when their newest member Hannah (Kaley Cuoco) sells her first novel, inciting jealousy among the other members.  Billed as a comedy, it's sometimes hard to tell what's funny when you have a group of characters so distinctly unappealing and unlikable, you care very little what happens.  Only Chris Klein, playing nerdy pizza delivery guy/would-be novelist Henry, elicits an ounce of sympathy, whereas the petty jealousies, over-inflated egos and childish behavior of the others (Hannah included) wears almost as thin as the CONSTANT product placements from Coca-Cola, throughout the film, of their various products (I started counting how many times I caught the logo alone; stopped at ten).  A semi-sweet tag scene, during the credits, offers little redemption for what (other than a few nice moments) is otherwise an unpleasant, unfunny film. (rated PG-13)  **1/2

AUTHORS ANONYMOUS trailer

HOW I LIVE NOW (2013)

In How I Live Now, Saoirse Ronan vividly brings to life an isolated American teenager, Daisy, who is sent to stay with distant relatives in the English countryside by an indifferent father.  A loner still hurting over the death of her mother, Daisy is hostile to her foreign cousins (whose own mother works in a high-level government position, so is rarely around) until drawn out of her shell by handsome cousin Eddie (George MacKay) and his younger brother and sister ... just in time for England to be attacked as the world breaks out into war.  Forced into separation from her male cousins (who will be trained to enter the war), only her young cousin Piper at her side, Daisy fights not only to survive ... but to be reunited with her new-found family, taken from her just as she's found both love and a purpose in life.  Thanks to the always-brilliant Ronan it's Daisy's story of growth all the way, a simple and artful indie film well worth seeing. (rated R)  ****

HOW I LIVE NOW trailer

SAVING GENERAL YANG (2013)

One of the most emotionally-involving films I've seen in some time, Saving General Yang tells an important story in Chinese history - the tale of the legendary General Yang Ye, who in northeast China in 986 A.D. was abducted by the Khitan army, in revenge for a supposed past wrong.  But the Khitan army won't stop there, for General Yang has seven sons and the real plot is to set a trap for - and slaughter - the seven sons (two of whom have never before been to war), crushing the Yang family for good.  The film becomes a tense race against time, as the brothers set out to find their father, facing their family's greatest enemy in the quest to bring their father home.  Even with great fight/action scenes, the relationship between the seven close brothers - to each other, as well as to their honored father - also sets up an emotional core to the film that elevates it to near must-see status, even for those who normally might not be fans of this genre.  LOVED IT. (not rated)  ****1/2

SAVING GENERAL YANG trailer

AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS (2013)

In the same gritty, realistic style that made 1967's Bonnie and Clyde a film where you grew to care for two of the most notorious gangsters in American history, David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints turns the same soulful eye on the lives of Bob Muldoon (a beautifully understated Casey Affleck) and Ruth Guthrie (Rooney Mara) in 1970's Texas.  Small-time crooks caught up in a shootout, when a pregnant Ruth shoots a deputy it's Bob who takes the blame, going to prison to spare her the ordeal.  Years later, when Bob breaks out and starts out across Texas to reunite with Ruth and a daughter he's never known, he's determined to put things back the way they were - as Ruth (who only wants a better life for herself and her daughter) questions whether they can have that again ... or if she even wants it.  The cinematography here is gorgeous, tone somber but nonetheless involving due to the great sympathy you will have for these characters - the unquenchable desire to see everything turn out okay for them, even when that seems impossible. (rated R)  ****1/2

AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS trailer

FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009)

The beauty of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox is that it both pays homage to AND also revitalizes the art of stop-motion animation many of us grew up loving.  George Clooney voices the intelligent, urbane, sly Mr. Fox, who promises to give up his poultry-stealing ways and settle down upon learning his wife (Meryl Streep) is pregnant.  Flash forward years later, Mr. Fox working as a newspaper columnist to support his wife and pre-teen son when he relocates the family from their underground dwelling to a beautiful tree above-ground ... right in line of sight of Boggis, Bunce and Bean, three of the meanest poultry farmers alive.  Finding himself reverting to his thieving ways, when Mr. Fox goes too far and the farmers retaliate - putting Mr. Fox, his family, and all their animal community in peril - it's Fox who must use all his wiles to save the day.  Based on the children's novel by Roald Dahl, the film captures Dahl's style, characters and mood down to the most minute detail.  Quirky, funny, lovable film. (rated PG)  ****

FANTASTIC MR. FOX trailer

THE BEST OFFER (2013)

Geoffrey Rush, one of the finest actors working today, has never better than here, playing world-renowned auctioneer Virgil Oldman, an eccentric, solitary man in full control of both his life and those around him.  Living in Italy, Virgil dines in fine restaurants, lives in a home straight out of Architectural Digest, and is a man so guarded, he's never even known love (or great kindness) from a woman.  Enter Claire, a reclusive heiress seeking Virgil's help in valuating and cataloging her deceased parents' exhaustive furniture/art collection for auction.  Claire's inconsistencies of mood and lack of follow-through have Virgil abandoning the job at first, but soon he becomes obsessed with the oddly reclusive (she refuses to even meet him face to face) young woman, his heart softening as - for the first time in 60+ years on earth - he finds himself falling in love.  But this is no ordinary love story; there is a dark side even beyond Virgil's growing obsession with Claire, and the film has a few surprises in store - for Virgil and viewers - that you won't see coming. (rated R)  ****

THE BEST OFFER trailer

MIDNIGHT LACE (1960)

Though not quite up to the quality of an Alfred Hitchcock production, Midnight Lace is an obvious homage to the director, telling the story of a newly-married American heiress, Kit Preston (Doris Day), living in London with her husband Tony (Rex Harrison), who suddenly becomes the target of a stalker who claims he will kill her before the month is over.  First approaching her in the fog, then via telephone, the anonymous maniac grows ever-closer ... even as circumstantial evidence builds that maybe Kit is actually imagining the whole thing.  The suspicion is doled out effectively - to Kit's husband, her aunt, the shady son of the Preston's housekeeper, a hunky construction foreman - while at the same time making the viewer question Kit's sanity ... all well-handled and grounded by a searing performance by Doris Day, who supposedly had her own mini-breakdown from making the film.  While the ending might not be wholly original, it's a taut high-wire act getting there.  And yeah, even in 2014 the killer's voice remains amazingly creepy. (not rated)  ***1/2

MIDNIGHT LACE trailer

U WANT ME 2 KILL HIM? (2013)

This UK thriller, based on a true story, details the obsession of handsome, popular high school jock Mark (Jamie Blackley), as he begins falling for a girl he's only "spoken" to online named Rachel.  Rachel, hidden away in a witness protection program, is being abused by her criminal boyfriend Kevin, and one night elicits a promise from Mark that - no matter what happens - he is to look after her younger brother John (Toby Regbo), one of Mark's classmates and a quiet, shy boy that everyone bullies.  At first only being nice to John because of Rachel, the two become good friends - and allies, when Rachel dies from a supposed suicide, in finding her real killer:  Kevin.  The film opens with Mark being arrested and interrogated by world-weary D.I. Sarah Clayton (Joanne Froggatt), the rest of the film going back to tell a story of lies and deception where no one is who they appear to be - and where a friend can become your enemy (and vice-versa) in the blink of an eye.  A compelling indie film, despite its anti-climactic ending, thanks to the two leads. (not rated)  ***

U WANT ME 2 KILL HIM? trailer

KILL YOUR DARLINGS (2013)

The true story of a murder involving (to one degree or another) THE iconic poets of the Beat Generation - Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William Burroughs (Ben Foster) - begins in 1943, when shy Paterson, New Jersey "good boy" Ginsberg is accepted to Columbia University in New York. It's there he meets the charismatic Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan), who introduces Allen to liquor, drugs, the party lifestyle .. and the expansion of his mind and life, as a writer, that becomes Ginsberg's addiction.  As the four pals begin to redefine how people think, feel and live through their controversial new literary movement, their own genius, wild lifestyle and bold choices grow more daring, dangerous - and deadly.  The four leads (Radcliffe, a genuine talent, breaking further away from Harry Potter than ever) bring the script to dramatic life on-screen ... the film also firmly securing another notch in the belt of Dane DeHaan as this generation's Leonardo DiCaprio. (rated R)  ****1/2

KILL YOUR DARLINGS trailer

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (2013)

**2014 OSCAR NOMINEE**
Though never a Trekker, per se, I fell hard for J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek reboot; that, to me, was a near-perfect merging of action, character, and story.  Two elements of which - character and story - are lacking in this sequel, about the crew of the Enterprise being dispatched to capture a one-man superweapon (a terrific Benedict Cumberbatch), whom Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) then has to enlist for help when an enemy from within threatens all of Starfleet (and the world).  While the action/special effects are top-notch, there's no character development here (Bones comes off a caricature of his TV counterpart, the "romance" between Uhura and Spock touched on so tepidly you wonder why it's even in the film), the action overshadows a weak story (by the end chase scene I was just wanting it all to be over), and the death of [SPOILER] was plain ludicrous as a dramatic ending, as you knew from jump how that was going to turn out.  Not terrible, but coming after 2009's Star Trek this is a poor imitation at best. (rated PG-13)  ***

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS trailer

THE THIN MAN GOES HOME (1945)

The fifth (out of six) comedy-mystery feature film, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's iconic characters Nick and Nora Charles, is both a departure from the usual series and a personal favorite of mine.  No constant martini drinking or big-city locale here; no, this film has Nick and Nora heading back to Sycamore Springs - Nick's hometown - to visit Nick's parents in small-town suburbia.  Nick's dad, a prominent local doctor, has always had a reserved relationship with Nick, whom he always wanted to practice medicine instead of solving crimes ... but when a hometown boy is shot on Nick's parents' doorstep, seconds after telling Nick he has to speak to him, The Charles's learn that Nick's hometown harbors a few skeletons in the closet - and a murderer prepared to kill again.  From snappy one-liners to a nicely-plotted mystery, genuinely funny moments to the dynamite on-screen chemistry of Powell and Loy, this "homespun" entry to the Thin Man series is a real treat. (not rated)  ****1/2

THE THIN MAN GOES HOME trailer

THE BOOK THIEF (2013)

**2014 OSCAR NOMINEE**
Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) is a young girl in World War II Germany who is given up by her mother in the hopes of giving her a better life.  Living with her adoptive parents - a stern mother (Emily Watson) and childlike father (Geoffrey Rush) - as the war in Germany grows Liesel learns to read for the first time, books both transforming her imagination and fueling her resistance of a nation going mad with oppression.  When her new parents take in a Jewish refugee, hiding him in the basement, Liesel finds a friend who also has a love for literature ... and the first crush of love via Rudy, a neighbor boy, whom she badly wants to trust in a world where you can trust no one.  The Book Thief is engaging, beautiful, and ultimately satisfying in its tale of the Holocaust as seen through Liesel's eyes - yet, good as it is, in the end there is something lacking, almost sugarcoated ("Disney-fied"?) in its emotional impact, though the subject matter is handled with such grace even young people would enjoy - and benefit from - seeing it. (RATED pg-13)  ***1/2

THE BOOK THIEF trailer

DEATH NOTE (2006)

It's a rare film that truly changes your concept of how potent movies can be; Death Note, for me, was such a film.  Based on the Japanese manga, it's the story of brilliant college student Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara), who finds the Death Note - a notebook with the power to kill any human whose name is written in it.  Deciding to use it to secretly rid society of the world's most heinous criminals, Light quickly develops a god complex, power corrupting him as bad guys start to fall - and the general public hail their unknown vigilante, "Kira," a hero.  But another college-age genius, the world's greatest detective known only as "L" (Ken'ichi Matsuyama), is hot on Light's trail ... in a film so original, so suspenseful, with fine performances and incredibly believable CGI, that by the time the tension-filled finale arrives you'll have gnawed your fingernails to the elbow.  Rarely will a film capture your mind and imagination more, from start to finish ... before leaving you gasping for the sequel. (not rated)  *****

DEATH NOTE trailer

AMERICAN HUSTLE (2013)

**2014 OSCAR NOMINEE**
New York City, 1978.  Brilliant con artist Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), at the top of his game since taking on British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), finds everything jeopardized when the two are busted by rogue FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper).  But DiMaso, anxious to impress the Bureau (and being a bit of a nutjob), offers them a deal that involves helping him to catch some major conmen, as well as learning some of Irving's tricks.  When the deal spirals into entrapping a New Jersey mayor (Jeremy Renner) and some federal politicians, then gets worse via DiMaso's obsession with taking down a mafia kingpin, Irving and Sydney - despite some new-found differences - realize something has to be done before they're in too deep to get out.  Bale and Jennifer Lawrence (as Irving's bubblehead of a wife) are huge standouts, Cooper also great (only Amy Adams comes off a bit false), in a well-crafted, darkly entertaining comedy/drama that - somehow - still comes off emotionally distant. (rated R)  ****

AMERICAN HUSTLE trailer