TWENTY (2015)

Leave it to the Koreans: even when they do a "raunchy" (raunchy by Korean standards, that is) buddy comedy, they still manage to instill the film with a touch of heart - and your eyes with a tear or two.  Womanizer Chi Ho, comic book artist Dong Woo, and kindhearted Kyung Je are all just twenty years old, suddenly realizing while the world is at their disposal, the time may be coming when they need to start looking at what they really want to do with their lives.  First on the agenda seems to be love - or, for handsome Chi Ho, getting laid; that is, until his rich parents try cracking down on him to get serious by cutting off his money.  Meanwhile, Dong Woo tries to pursue his dream by attending school to be an animation artist, and Kyung Je finds his career track in college changed when he meets a beauty who is also the smartest gal in school.  The film is low on plot, basically the story of three best friends trying to find their way and find love - at times silly and laugh-out-loud funny, but also with moments of heart and soul. (not rated)  B+

CAROL (2015)

Though I've never read Patricia Highsmith, I've become a fan of her themes of secrets, duality, and complexity through filmed versions of her work like The Talented Mr. Ripley and (a personal favorite) Strangers on a Train.  There is this feel, a mood, to the Oscar-nominated Carol as well - the story of a friendship struck up between a New York City department store clerk, Therese (Rooney Mara), and the beautiful, sophisticated Carol (Cate Blanchett) when she sells the older woman a toy train set for her daughter.  Said friendship, from start, is rife with sexual tension (the mutual attraction crackles on-screen), a potentially sticky situation as this is the 1950's and Carol - going through a separation/divorce - is a fiercely devoted mother expecting to retain custody of her beloved daughter.  Carol is a slow burn; a character study of a relationship that may more too slow for some, but for me was fairly fascinating thanks to the lead performances.  An intriguing and lyrical film. (rated R)  A-

SPOTLIGHT (2015)

Opening in 1976 with a short scene filled with dread (a portent of things to come), Spotlight then fast-forwards to 2001, when the tiny "Spotlight" division of the offices of The Boston Globe (a team that does long-term investigative journalism) is given the task of checking into allegations of sexual abuse committed by a priest.  What starts off as a rumble quickly turns to a roar, as the team uncovers more and more victims, survivors of abuse from priests all over the city - the state - even beyond.  Featuring a terrific ensemble cast led by Michael Keaton (including Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo), Spotlight details the investigation that would come to expose a major cover up by the Catholic Church, as well as open the doors to similar, criminal investigations around the world.  Pretty intense stuff, and more than once in the film I had to cry for what the victims had gone through, not just in the abuse but also in the taking away of their innocence and faith.  Based on the real-life Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation, and deserving of every accolade (and prize) it gets. (rated R)  A

CREED (2015)

Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) grew up fighting.  The illegitimate son of boxing legend Apollo Creed, who died before he was even born, Adonis also lost his mother at a young age, and learned to fight coming up via a series of foster homes and juvenile detention centers, until taken in by Apollo's widow and ultimately living a life of privilege in Los Angeles.  He grows up a good man yet still a fighter at heart; so much so, Adonis travels cross-country to Philadelphia to seek out former champion Rocky Balboa (an incredibly moving Sylvester Stallone), his father's friend and most stalwart opponent, to help him channel his anger into making him a first-class boxer in his own right.  Feeling a bit like an update of the original Rocky, Creed takes the similar, essential story, and gives it a fresh spin through the eyes of a complex young man battling demons both in an out of the ring.  An emotional, rousing film whose last ten minutes will have you on the edge of your seat, and make your spirits soar. (rated PG-13)  A

TRUMBO (2015)

I sat down to watch this film with a prejudiced mind; I have loved classic Hollywood movies since childhood, and the witch hunt that was the Hollywood blacklist, the "Red Scare" of the late 1940's through the 1950's, where some of the biggest names in the industry were singled out as potentially threatening members of the Communist party, was the beginning of the end for the careers of some of my all-time favorite actors (John Garfield comes to mind), who never fully recovered from having their reputations soiled.  Trumbo tells the story of famed, eccentric screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston), who, along with a number of colleagues eventually labeled The Hollywood Ten, would refuse to name names, and ended up doing jail time for it.  Trumbo, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, would go on to create a cottage industry, writing scripts under various names (and recruiting fellow writers to do the same) - including the screenplays for Spartacus and Exodus - right under the very noses of Joseph McCarthy and his Republican cronies determined to make the U.S. live in fear.  Cranston is great, but the rest of the cast deserves equal mention, particularly Helen Mirren as the salacious and insatiable Hedda Hopper, and an extraordinary David James Elliott playing John Wayne, a major proponent of the Red Scare.  As someone calling himself a writer, and someone who reveres the days when Hollywood actually had "stars," for me this film was at various times rejuvenating, aggravating, eye-opening, horrific, touching, even amusing ... but always riveting.  While Cranston deserves his nomination, I think the film's strength rests just as much on its incredible cast, in a film everyone should see - particularly with the political climate in America today.  Frightening, the likenesses; more frightening is the realization, watching this, of how close we may be, as a nation, to repeating past mistakes ... if we don't remember the heinous roads they took us down before. (rated R)  A

BROOKLYN (2015)

Saoirse Ronan is beautiful as Ellis Lacey in this Oscar nominee, about a young Irish girl who emigrates to America in the 1950's in search of a better life.  Leaving her mother and older sister Rose behind, after a tough journey by sea Ellis lands in Brooklyn where, thanks to a local priest (Jim Broadbent) she's already set up with a department store job and a room in a strictly-run, all-female boarding house.  Though loneliness and homesickness nearly drive her back home, thanks to Father Flood Ellis she toughs it out, until things change when she meets a handsome Italian boy, Tony (Emory Cohen).  The two become close, Ellis finding happiness in the States at last, when urgent news from home calls her back to Ireland ... and away from the boy she's grown to love.  Ronan leads a fine cast in this wonderful romantic drama; no explosions, dire circumstances or melodrama here, this is simply Ellis's story; the tale of a young woman finding her way, her life, and first love in a whole new world. (rated PG-13)  A-

DUMBO (1941)

Still trying to catch up on the classic Disney animated films I haven't yet seen, I hope it won't sound sacrilegious to say I wasn't 100% into Dumbo.  Nothing to do with the look of the film (still love hand-drawn animation best, to this day), the characters, story, music, etc.; I just couldn't get past that weird pink elephants musical number, and frankly the story felt thin as broth.  Mrs. Jumbo, finally receiving her bundle from the stork, finds she's the mother of an adorable, blue-eyed baby elephant son ... who happens to have humongous ears.  Named Jumbo, the boy is soon re-christened "Dumbo" based on those ears, and when the taunting and teasing prove enough for Mrs. Jumbo, she takes matters into her own ... hooves? ... and is summarily locked up as a rogue elephant.  The film is about accepting yourself for who you are - finding the special gifts you have that only you can give to the world - and in that, the film scores big.  Just having that pink elephant number dropped into the middle of everything like a bad acid trip was ... unsettling, at best. (not rated)  B-

THE HEAVENLY BODY (1944)

Classic romantic comedy starring the venerable William Powell (one of my all-time favorites) as Bill Whitley, a world-renowned astronomer who's seemingly putting his work ahead of his beautiful wife of two years, Vicky (the breathtaking Hedy Lamarr).  The two keep opposite schedules, and Vicky's feeling the loneliness; so much so, when her neighbor suggests a trip to see an astrologer, Madame Sibyll, Vicky takes things a bit too much to heart when the woman's predictions start coming true ... and, in the long-term, Sibyll predicts Vicky will meet a hunk of a worldly man she's going to leave Bill for!  When said hunk, Lloyd (James Craig), shows up for real, it becomes astronomy versus astrology as Vicky sinks deeper into her beliefs and the frazzled Bill sets out to prove astrology is the bunk - but his love for his wife is not.  The chemistry between Powell and Lamarr is sweet, Lamarr's character sometimes frustrating in her unshakable beliefs but the comedy just warm and fuzzy and funny enough to enjoy like a fizzy champagne. (not rated)  B

THE HEAVENLY BODY (full movie)

DAAWAT-E-ISHQ (2014)

Gulla (Parineeti Chopra), beautiful and headstrong, knows what she wants and won't settle for less - particularly in terms of a husband or career.  When her heart is broken one time too many, she concocts a scheme in which she and her father will go to another part of the country, pretend to be wealthy, and use a matrimonial site to set Gulla up with a potential husband from a well-off family ... only later to take advantage of a law in India which forbids a family from demanding any form of a dowry, along with a bride, for their son to marry (though it's a law commonly broken).  Enter Taru (Aditya Roy Kapoor), a middle-class chef, running his family's restaurant, whom Gulla and her father decide to ensnare ... if the handsome, kind-hearted, lovable Taru doesn't ensnare Gulla first.  Even if you know where this romantic comedy-drama is going, the joy is in getting there via the very likable cast, energetic music, and an ending that still manages a surprise or two; even this cynic loved it! (not rated)  A-

SPECTRE (2015)

James Bond (Daniel Craig) goes rogue in this, the 24th outing of the unending franchise, when a message from the past sends him on a mission that will lead Bond to a final run-in with an organization powerful enough to - literally - control the world.  The pre-credits chase scene, shot in Mexico City, is a breathtaking thrill ride hearkening back to the older, better Bond films - as are other aspects of Spectre, one of the best being a Jaws-like villain in the form of the larger-than-life Dave Bautista.  As M and the 007 arm of British intelligence are shut down for good to make way for modern technology, Bond must work alone to connect the dots of his past in time to stop SPECTRE, the criminal organization of unlimited power that holds some deeply personal stakes for 007 himself.  Not quite Skyfall (though topping that film would be tough), but an action-packed, thrilling, and quite dark installment of the series that more than satisfies. (rated PG-13)  A

THE DANISH GIRL (2015)

Based on a true story, The Danish Girl is the tale of married couple Einar (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerta (Alicia Vikander) Wegener, both painters enjoying Einar's moderate success and local celebrity in 1926 Copenhagen.  The couple are deeply-in-love young moderns with few boundaries, supporting each other fully; so much so, when Gerta wants the publicity-shy Einar to accompany her to a huge artist's ball, the pair concoct the idea of Einar going in drag, as his own cousin Lili, so they can attend together - which opens a floodgate of emotion when Gerta learns her husband has spent a lifetime suppressing the feeling he's actually a woman inside.  The film, as much about this love story of a marriage as it is about Lili Elba becoming a pioneer of transgender rights, hits all the right notes - but as nuanced/ideal a performance as Redmayne gives, I somehow never felt I really knew Einar/Lili ... in contrast to Vikander, whose Gerta is heartbreaking as the woman who will do anything for love.  Masterfully done, if a bit impersonal in the end. (rated R)  B+