Mini-Reviews! (7 Reviews)

THE BOSS (2016) - (3/5 stars) Melissa McCarthy semi-saves an otherwise forgettable script/film playing Michelle Darnell, a Tony Robbins-type financial giant/motivational speaker who gets arrested for insider trading ... and, once out, proceeds to horn in on the life of her former assistant Claire (Kristen Bell), the only person who will have her.  Some high points and a quite-funny Peter Dinklage make it worth seeing, especially the slightly randier unrated version. (unrated)

THE BOSS R-RATED trailer

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) - (4.5/5) Fear and apprehension of the Avengers calls for some government mandate over how the team functions; or so the powers that be feel, and when Captain America (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) come down on either side of that coin, before long friends and loyalties become divided, even as an ancient enemy returns to the 21st-century with his own plans of annihilation.  Not The Winter Soldier, but terrific action and set pieces enhance timeless themes of betrayal and friendships tested.  And that airport fight is seriously amazing!  (rated PG-13)

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR trailer

HARDCORE HENRY (2015) - (4.5/5) Long as you won't collapse into seizures watching 96 minutes of one hell of an intense first-person videogame violently coming to life right before your eyes, Hardcore Henry is dynamite stuff.  Told in first-person entirely through Henry's eyes, the film opens with the poor guy (Sharlto Copley) waking up to his wife with no memory at all, only learning his name before the film blows up into action immediately, and Henry ends up going after a psychopathic maniac with telekinetic powers who's kidnapped his wife!  In a dangerous, seedy Moscow, Henry is both aided and attacked by strangers who seem to know him along the way, but if you can stick with the insanity this film (which I was sure I would hate within its first few minutes) it ends up kind of an amazing, killer ride.  (rated R)

HARDCORE HENRY trailer

THE REVENANT (2015) - (5/5) A genuine epic, The Revenant is a masterpiece of a film, about 1820's  frontiersman and single dad Hugh Glass (Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio), who is left for dead by a couple members of his fur trading team after he's mauled by a bear and becomes more burden than asset in the wild.  Fueled by his need for revenge, Glass fights to survive and remain alive against the odds of an untamed, unforgiving wilderness, as well as a group of seriously pissed Native American Indians with their own score to settle.  Tense and dramatic, without a frame wasted and featuring both incredible cinematography and a beautiful score, The Revenant kept my eyes glued to the screen for every single frame, practically without blinking, and is deserving of every award and accolade it's gotten.  Easily in my Top Five favorite films seen in 2016.  (rated R)

THE REVENANT trailer

THE NICE GUYS (2016) - (4/5) Nicely evoking Los Angeles in the late 1970s, The Nice Guys involves down-on-his-luck single dad and private eye Holland March (a wonderful Ryan Gosling) trying to solve the mysterious death of porn star Misty Mountains when his path crosses quite loudly and violently with hard-ass, not-quite-legit private eye Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe, good but at times feeling oddly miscast), a bruiser wrapped up in the same investigation.  A racy, often funny comedic buddy film that overall works quite nicely, even if Crowe does sometimes seem "off".  Gosling is terrific, as is Angourie Rice who plays his ballsy young daughter Holly.  (rated R)

THE NICE GUYS trailer

LOVE BETWEEN THE COVERS (2015) - (3/5) Simple, straightforward documentary about the billion-dollar business romance novels play in today's publishing industry, including interviews with romance novelists ranging from wannabes to bestsellers, and more than a few surprising stats and facts about the industry and just how huge it is.  The way the film sometimes depicts romance readers (and even aspiring romance writers) is less than flattering, but all told the film is an easy watch that provides enough insight into the money side of the industry, you may consider sitting down to write a romance yourself.  (not rated)

LOVE BETWEEN THE COVERS trailer

THE SHALLOWS (2016) - Possibly the best shark movie since Jaws was released in 1975, The Shallows stars Blake Lively as Nancy, a woman still dealing with her mother's death from cancer, who takes a trip to a secluded Mexican beach her mother once loved ... and, before long, finds herself stranded on a small outcropping of rock at low tide, just 200 yards from the beach, having discovered a great white in the water with her.  The entire film is shot in this one location, and quickly becomes an endurance of will and strength as Nancy seeks desperately for a way out before high tide arrives.  Suspenseful and unnerving, you almost feel the young woman's terror the whole way, and are with her 100% for the ride.  A brilliant thriller.  (rated PG-13)

THE SHALLOWS trailer