SUCH GOOD PEOPLE (2014)

Why all the hateful reviews of this film?  While not perfect (the story weakens in act two), Such Good People is an often funny, fun-to-watch caper comedy starring Michael Urie ("Ugly Betty") and Randy Harrison ("Queer as Folk") as gay couple Richard and Alex, who get the chance to live in the home of their dreams - temporarily - when a housesitting gig via a spiritually-enlightened Buddhist couple leaves them in charge of their Silverlake home and a trio of Labradoodles.  But when the couple dies over in Bhutan and the guys find a secret stash of close to a million in cash, they devise a scheme to better their lives that ends with the cops, Alex's greedy half-sister, and a killer in pursuit.  Urie and Harrison have great chemistry here (Randy Harrison, HOW do you only get better-looking with age?), and they're backed by a supporting cast who all seem to be having fun, too (special nod to Forrest Wheeler, Emery of ABC's "Fresh Off the Boat", who with no dialogue adds as much to the film as anyone else).  A pleasant surprise. (not rated)  B

SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE (2015)

Though I've never seen the TV series, being a huge fan of Aardman Animations (Chicken Run, all things Wallace & Gromit) made it a no-brainer to watch this charming animated feature about a very smart and rambunctious sheep, whose ingenious plan to have him and his friends take a day off working the farm backfires when their farmer ends up in the Big City with amnesia, and Shaun and his sheep friends - along with the farmer's dog - have to go and rescue him.  For about the first twenty minutes this film felt very much "for kids only" to me - but once things kick in, Shaun the Sheep Movie turns quickly into a funny, sweet, relatable, and very lovable story for all ages, about friendship and banding together and realizing there is, indeed, "no place like home."  Hopefully ewe'll love it as much as I did! (rated PG)  A-

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015)

What a brilliant, intense, gutsy - and yes, deep - movie.  Starting with wall-to-wall action from the first minute, Mad Mad: Fury Road never let's up through its two-hour running time - making, say, Kingsman: The Secret Service (another of my favorite films this year) seem like The Bridges of Madison County by comparison.  Tom Hardy (fast becoming my favorite actor) stars as Max, Charlize Theron (whom I've gained a new liking and mad respect for) fairly owns the film as Furiosa ... and I'd be remiss not to mention yet another brilliant performance by an unrecognizable Nicholas Hoult, as Nux, who adds an emotional texture to the film you don't see coming.  Set in an apocalyptic future where the world's resources are gone and Earth's become a desert wasteland, a tormented Max - still tortured by his past - unwillingly teams with Furiosa, a woman on a mission to get back home and set things right, for the ride of their lives ... if they can outwit and outrun the veritable army led by the one man out to destroy them.  To say any more would risk spoilers, so I'll make it easy: SEE. THIS. FILM. (rated R)  A+

POLTERGEIST (2015)

The Bowen family - Eric (Sam Rockwell), Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt), and their three kids - have just moved into a cookie cutter suburban Chicago home after Eric is laid off from his job.  It's a new (if undesired) start, made worse even before they fully move in when six-year-old Madison starts talking to something unseen and hiding in the closet, and son Griffin experiences some weird happenings in his attic bedroom that go beyond the squirrel Eric finds there.  This update of the 1982 classic employs a box full of evil clown dolls instead of just one, a male psychic investigator instead of the wonderful Zelda Rubinstein - and while you'll recognize many of the same "moments" from the first film, giving you a sense of familiarity, this is a soulless remake that has zero chemistry among the family members (possibly the biggest strength of the original), making you care very little about their plight.  A few nice moments, but they should have left well enough - and Tobe Hooper - alone. (rated PG-13)  D

FISHING NAKED (2015)

David Ottertale (Bronson Pelletier) and his buddy Rodney (Evan Williams) are a pair of free-spirited buddies living in a small mountain community who excel at scaring city tourists off prime fishing locations with a Bigfoot hoax (Rodney usually in the suit).  Their days are spent mostly fishing and hanging out, and at night David brings the fish home to his grandma Louise (Elaine Miles), who has a heart condition and who - it's hinted at - is also slowly being romanced by the town sheriff, Art (Steve Reevis).  The arrival of two townie girls, camping in the woods, sparks the boys' hormones ... but also results in the Bigfoot hoax being taken to the next level, and the next, until the FBI is brought in and Louise finally reveals a real alien being is involved.  Fishing Naked could have been a better film in more skilled directorial hands, but is still a likable comedy, thanks largely to Pelletier's scene-stealing boyish charms and the deadpan delivery of Elaine Miles.  A typical low-budget stoner comedy, elevated by the beautiful Colorado scenery and Miles's and Pelletier's chemistry on-screen. (not rated)  C+

THE WATER DIVINER (2014)

At first glance Russell Crowe's directorial debut, The Water Diviner, isn't the most uplifting of stories.  Set during and several years after the Battle of Gallipoli, the film is about an Australian man, Connor, with an almost mystical knack for finding underwater wells, who along with his wife suffers a blinding loss when all three of his three sons are killed in battle.  Another tragedy four years later, and Connor - determined to keep a promise he made to his wife to have his sons buried at home - travels to Turkey in search of their remains, his process blocked at every turn by the military, a new invasion, and the ongoing tensions of the country itself, still very much in the throes of war.  Crowe turns in an understated, heartfelt performance, and yes the film openly manipulates your heartstrings (with this subject matter, you'd expect less?), but not in a way that feels fake or forced.  Crowe's debut as a director is touching, moving, suspenseful and humane; may he continue to work more behind the camera, as well. (rated R)  B+

CINDERELLA (2015)

Everyone knows the story of the beautiful, kind-hearted Ella (Lily James), forced into servitude when her father dies and leaves her with a cruel stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and pair of selfish, wicked stepsisters ... until a chance meeting with a handsome young man she doesn't know is the prince of the kingdom (Richard Madden) sets her on a magical path to happiness.  The story's been told many times - by Disney itself in its classic animated film - yet this live-action adaptation is a surprisingly emotional, funny and magical retelling that's a joy to watch throughout.  The early scenes with James aren't quite as strong, but that changes upon the arrival of a terrifically-restrained Cate Blanchett, who never goes overboard with her performance ... a treat saved for Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother, who is deliciously giddy in what is one of the best sequences of the film.  Inspiring, suspenseful (yes, even though you know the story), visually stunning, and (thankfully) never too over-the-top, this is one of the best versions of Cinderella you'll ever see. (rated PG)  A-

EX MACHINA (2015)

Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a computer coder in New York for the world's largest internet company, Bluebook, when he wins an inter-company lottery to spend a week with the company's brilliant, reclusive CEO.  Flown by helicopter to a remote area in the Alaskan mountains, he meets Nathan (a brilliant Oscar Isaac) - a guy protective of his secrets who drinks, works out, and has a unique experiment waiting: Caleb will test and interact with the most advanced artificial intelligence ever created.  Her name is Ava, (Alicia Vikander), and her level of humanity is such that Caleb starts to question his own feelings toward her ... and his feelings for Nathan, whom Ava warns is not all he appears to be.  The film is well-done, the effects spectacular, the mind-games it plays on the viewer first-rate - yet, somehow, the tense ending we spend most of the film leading up to just sort of ... happens, with little fanfare and no real surprises.  Mixed on this one. (rated R)  B-

13B (2009)

Even by 2009 you'd think people would have seen enough movies to know and not rent an apartment on any thirteenth floor.  In the Indian horror film 13B, Manu (R. Madhavan) and his brother have socked all their money into renovating and moving into a spacious apartment with their loved ones, which includes their mom, Manu's wife and younger sister, and his brother's family.  Soon after settling in, Manu finds the elevator won't work (but only for him) ... they can't get a single nail into the walls to set up their prayer room (a #1 priority in any Indian household) ... and a new soap opera the women of the house are hooked on has begun on channel 13 at 1pm (1300 hours) every day, featuring characters that not only eerily mirror Manu's family - but also foretell both good and quite awful events Manu soon finds coming true.  A cool premise, but for me the film builds decent suspense (even subtle humor, in spots) throughout, only to leave too many plot holes and questions - and a bit of confusion - leading to a letdown by the end.  Just so-so for me. (not rated)  C

THE DUFF (2015)

Bianca Piper (the likable Mae Whitman) is your average high school girl who pals around with besties Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca A. Santos) every day, when a chance remark from her lifelong friend and neighbor, football captain (and man-whore) Wes Rush (Robbie Amell, proving he can carry a film as a romantic-comedy lead), makes Biance realize that in terms of school pecking order she is a DUFF - the Designated Ugly Fat Friend guys find approachable when trying to scope out info on her hotter friends.  As Bianca realizes just how true the DUFF phenom is, she spirals out of control herself, ditching her friends and hiring Wes to teach her to be a hottie - leading to embarrassing viral videos, alienation from her entire school, and with no help even from her part-time mom (Allison Janney). Though the second half of The DUFF isn't as strong as its first, a likable cast, terrific soundtrack and the film's sarcastic sense of humor make this fun to watch - though it also (nicely) strives to share a positive message about staying true to yourself. (rated PG-13)  B+

A WEREWOLF BOY (2012)

Elderly grandma Kim Sun-yi, living in the States with family, is summoned back to Korea by a phone call - one that leads her to a small home in the countryside she briefly lived in as a teen - and the bulk of this drama (one of the best, most tragic love stories this reviewer has ever seen) takes place 47 years earlier, when Sun-yi's health brought her and her family to this country home ... and the discovery of a young, feral man living on the property, apparently raised by wolves (or is he one himself?) and long since abandoned, whom the family is forced to take in while local officials try to figure out what to do with him.  This is a beautiful, well-crafted film with just the right touches of comedy, romance and drama; a film that (deservedly) made a star of lead actor Song Joong-ki, who without dialogue brings incredible humanity to Chul-su, and the film itself "rose up the box office charts to become the most successful Korean melodrama of all time".  Have Kleenex ready. (not rated)  A

(NOTE: There is an "extended" version of this film that contains a modified scene, toward the end, that makes this version worth tracking down if you can get it.)

FOCUS (2015)

Nicky (Will Smith) is a first-rate con artist practically from the womb, thanks to a grandfather and father who taught him everything he knows.  Finding humor more than anything else in watching the fledgling thievery of wannabe Jess (Margot Robbie), Nicky is finally talked into taking the young, beautiful woman under his wing, where she soon shows a proclivity for the work, quickly becoming a member of his team.  When they become romantically involved soon after, Nicky decides there's no room for love in the world they inhabit, and promptly leaves her ... only to run into Jess a couple years later, when she becomes a potential stumbling block to what could be the biggest payoff of his illicit career.  Focus is a decent film, though the ending's not as big a deal - twist-wise - as I think the filmmakers would have liked it to be (though for BD Wong's brief appearance in the film alone, the movie is worth seeing).  But essentially this just felt more like Will Smith playing Will Smith, in a film that might have been better with a different lead actor. (rated R)  C

SEVENTH SON (2014)

Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) is a Spook - a hunter of supernatural evil who decades ago imprisoned the queen of the witches, Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore), in a dark pit.  When Malkin escapes, her powers at their peak during a blood moon, she kills Gregory's apprentice (a wasted Kit Harington), threatening the entire world with darkness, and its up to Master Gregory to find his best possible weapon - the all-powerful seventh son of a seventh son - to finish her off at last.  Enter Tom (Ben Barnes), a farmer from an impoverished family who is taken under Gregory's impatient wing, even as he finds himself falling for the beautiful Alice (Alicia Vikander) - who happens to be Mother Malkin's niece.  Seventh Son is "okay" in terms of story and execution, but suffers from not spending enough time developing its characters (Alice, to me, was just annoying), as well as a performance from Bridges that's virtually a duplicate of his character in The Giver.  Some nice moments, but a disappointment overall. (rated PG-13)  C+

THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER (2015)

Combining live-action (an unrecognizable Antonio Banderas as Burger Bob the pirate, who cleverly steals Mr. Krabs secret recipe for Krabcakes and starts the Apocalypse down in Bikini Bottom) and animation (which for the first half of the film feels like nothing more than an extended episode of the TV-series, though things definitely bump up a notch once some of the animated characters go above water and get 3-D), this film - based on the insanely popular show - never comes off as more than a padded episode from the series, with filler added to make it feature film length.  The 3-D animation, once SpongeBob and friends hit land, is beautifully done, with touches of humor and an over-the-top chase scene at the end keeping your interest.  But I couldn't help feeling, especially throughout the first half of the film, as if the writers weren't sure of where to go or what to do, so just stretched things out to fill time - to the point that, by the time all that cool 3-D animation kicked in, the movie had already lost me a bit. (rated PG)  C

STRIPPED (2014)

As someone who drew cartoon characters off TV soon as he was old enough to hold a crayon, I couldn't wait to watch Stripped.  A documentary about the rapid decline of newspapers - and specifically, the comics pages you once found so abundant in them - the film does a great job of succinctly covering the various stages of the comic strip, from its origins to how syndicates worked to the artists who essentially made no money for years until they caught on ... up through how comics were marketed and sold then compared to now, and even to the web comics and graphic novels that seem to be taking over as newspapers seemingly shrink their comic content daily.  Included are interviews with some of the biggest in the business (including first-time-ever voice commentary by Bill Watterson, publicity-shy creator of "Calvin & Hobbes"), and while the film ends on a positive note, I would still have liked it to be a bit longer, going a little more in-depth on both the creative and business side of the cartoonist's life.  Still good, though. (not rated)  B

ACOUSTIC (2010)

Shot in Seoul and featuring members of popular K-pop groups 2AM and CN Blue, Acoustic is a short, sweet collection of comedic and romantic stories, loosely tied together by film's end, about life and music and how the two can be so completely intertwined.  Whether the story of a girl with a terminal illness who is trying to finish writing her song before she dies ... a musician forced to sell his guitar online, due to money problems, whose dork friend bungles the sale by losing the guitar ... to a tale set in the future where the government has full control of what feels like a constant police state, and music is a thing of the past ... Acoustic benefits greatly from earnest performances via its attractive young cast, who can make you laugh one minute with comedy that rings true, yet manage to pull off the dramatic moments (while reigning it in before it hits melodrama) the next.  Sweet film ... and loved the music, too! (not rated)  B+

THE AGGRESSIVES (2005)

Cheon Jeong-Myeong (star of the South Korean version of Hansel & Gretel and with one of the most open, expressive faces in film) stars in The Aggressives as So-yo, a teen abandoned by his parents when they're forced to leave South Korea to evade criminal prosecution (it's never made 100% clear why).  Alone and bored and with an interest in (and mild talent for) in-line skating, So-yo finds a new group of friends in the sport, and not only develops his skills but also forges a bond with the leader of the pack, Moggy (Kim Kang-woo), who along with his buddy that formed the group of skates is having trouble coming to terms with the fact he's getting old enough to put this "hobby" behind if he's to face the real, adult world.  Part personal journey, part coming-of-age story, part sports tale, The Aggressives - while not the perfect film - is a strong, well-acted, touching story of friendship ... and of the difficulty inherent in letting go of a dream that may never see reality. (not rated)  B