I purposefully waited for the furor to die down - and for at least two weeks after seeing the film, so I could come back at it more objectively - before reviewing this one. The Force Awakens is indeed better than any of the original trilogies' prequels, and revisiting characters like Luke (well, technically Luke is missing throughout the film, but you know what I mean), Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and the most lovable droids in the galaxy was awesome-sauce. Starting thirty years after Return of the Jedi, there is now a new evil - The First Order - determined to take over the galaxy, and only a scrappy, determined and rebellious loner with the heart of a fighter (Daisy Ridley), with the help of an eager companion of questionable ethics (John Boyega) and an older, battle-scarred sage who still has a lot of fight in him (Harrison Ford) can stop the dawn of the new evil in the form of an up-and-coming dark lord (Adam Driver). Sound familiar? Yeah, that's the set-up of the original Star Wars film, and indeed you'll feel a lot of familiarity with the plot (such as it is) here - but if you happen to LOVE that first film (and if not, why the HECK are you even watching this one??), it's all good. And in the details there are enough differences (and really cool battle sequences) to keep things damned entertaining. Maybe just a little hollowness - the film doesn't resonate as deeply as A New Hope by any means, the characters not yet as much like family as you felt Luke, Leia and Han to be in the first film (with the exception of BB-8, who you WILL fall in love with) - but The Force Awakens is the closest to right the series has gotten since Jedi. Heck, it may even make you forget how much Lucas screwed things up with the prequels. (rated PG-13) A-
I've always had a fascination with writer/director Nora Ephron. From the brilliant, important Silkwood to almost singlehandedly catapulting Meg Ryan to stardom via Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally, Ephron was a pioneer who - at heart - most often wrote about love gone both good and bad. This HBO documentary, co-directed and produced by Ephron's son (by famed Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein, her one-time husband) Jacob Bernstein, isn't so much a controversial tell-all but more of a loving tribute - maybe even a final goodbye - from son to mom that chronicles Ephron's growing up the daughter of semi-successful screenwriting parents, to her holding her own in both the entertainment industry and feminist movement. Interviews with those her knew her (including many famous faces), usually conducted by Jacob himself, add color to an already colorful life and show that, regardless of anything else, Ephron was much-loved and will be hugely missed by those who blessed to have known her. Nothing groundbreaking, but nicely done. (not rated) B
A small town in South Korea has a chance at prosperity via a redevelopment project that would bring a lot more business to their local establishments. It's a deal the entire town wants ... with the exception of 70-year-old Sun-chil, a grumpy old man working for the local supermarket who refuses to sell his home, allowing the deal to go through. Even Sun-chil's boss, the head of the project, can't persuade the old guy; nor can threats, pleading, or trying to play on the old man's sympathies. But when Sun-chil shows an interest in Geum-nim, the cute elderly lady who's just moved in across the road, his boss and the other local business owners all try to teach the him how to properly woo a woman again, hoping in his happiness he will at last relent and sell. So much more is happening than what's on the surface in this comedy-drama, and even if you guess what's coming (as I did, a little more than halfway through), it won't spoil for you the revelations, or emotional impact of this beautiful, unpretentious and impactful romance. (not rated)A-
Though a so-so fan of the TV series, I admit to being a huge fan of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and of the Pee-wee Herman character himself. Twenty-six years after the series' end, Netflix brings Pee-wee back, in style, in Pee-wee's Big Holiday - and even as you notice the character has aged a bit, the film is still a wonderfully nostalgic, funny (sometimes hilarious) throwback to all that made Pee-wee Herman awesome in the first place. The plot is overly simple: Magic Mike's Joe Manganiello, co-starring as himself, meets and becomes friends with Pee-wee before he talking the mild-mannered diner cook - who's never left his hometown - to break out and see the world by trekking to New York City for Joe's upcoming birthday party. Never wanting to disappoint a friend, Pee-wee - despite his fears - sets out on an awesome journey that will introduce him to many colorful characters along the way (the snake farm and a trio of female criminals being only a couple of highlights), and may even see him .. tie the knot? Nearly three decades after the height of his popularity, Pee-wee - God Bless him - is as fresh and funny as ever. (rated TV-PG)A-
Kind of like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation meets A Nightmare on Elm Street, Krampus starts out a comedy about a rowdy dysfunctional family getting together for Christmas, middle-class family set upon by their blue collar relatives ... until young son Max (Emjay Anthony), frustrated with the loopy proceedings, unknowingly summons a demon - the anti-Santa Claus - whose arrival turns Max's neighborhood into a desolate blizzard wasteland, and every member of his family into targets in need of being taught a lesson. Krampus works as both a funny comedy and a satisfyingly creepy horror film; only occasionally do the two not mesh well, for me most notably in an ending I felt could have been stronger. But in the narrow field of Christmas horror films, this one works well on both levels - without the bucketloads of blood and gore found in so many others of its genre, and with a lot more laughs. (rated PG-13)B
