Mini-Reviews! (8 Reviews)

EQUALS (2015) - (3/5 stars) I tend to stay away from anything labeled "dystopian" (to say the least), but thanks to Nicholas Hoult had to tune in.  Here he is Silas to Kristen Stewart's Nia, two robotic-like humans in a future where any show of emotion has been eradicated and forbidden, who - when some "infected" humans start showing signs of life, worthy of having them committed or killed - find themselves brought out of their blandness when they fall in love.  While the film feels fairly lifeless, due to the actors having to play it bland as the plot demands, on some level I felt engaged enough to care, and overall didn't exactly hate it by any means.  (rated PG-13)

EQUALS trailer

ME BEFORE YOU (2016) - (4.5/5) /Even as you think you can see where it's going, once the main plot point is revealed, there is something very engaging and wonderful about Me Before You - a lot of that, surely, thanks to the wonderful Emilia Clarke as Lou Clark, who, desperate for a job, takes on the caretaking of a handsome, once-active/athletic man named Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), made a paraplegic after being hit by a car.  Will is bitter; Lou is bubbly as a freshly-poured Sprite.  Clashing, then a possible romance eventually bloom - but rather than a run-of-the-mill romantic dramedy, Me Before You becomes a uniquely beautiful love story that stays with you long after the film ends.  (rated PG-13)

ME BEFORE YOU trailer

BUDDYMOON (2016) - (2.5/5) "Grimm" star David Giuntoli stars in this so-so comedy as David, a former child actor who had one big hit back in the day, who is dumped just before his wedding and wallowing in depression when his rather odd best buddy Flula (a sometimes-engaging, sometimes-annoying-as-hell Flula Borg) convinces him that the two of them should go on David's honeymoon (backpacking the mountains of Oregon) anyway - hence the title of the film.  Naturally, things don't go so smoothly on the trip, revealing some secrets and straining the friendship, but in all actuality the film is just more silly than funny; like Flula, at times engaging and at times irritating.  (not rated)

BUDDYMOON trailer

ENEMIES-IN-LAW (2015) - (3.5/5) Funny, sometimes silly South Korean comedy about a family of cops with a young daughter who falls in love with the haughty, privileged son of a pair of notorious con artists on the run from the law.  Years after they fall in love, the son still won't marry his love without the father's permission, and has in those years sought to prove himself by turning away from a life of privilege by even studying to become a cop.  But the girl's father isn't buying it; in fact, he and the family, along with the son's parents on their own end, are doing their best to sabotage the couple.  Loved the ending, and while it seemed a bit long overall I thought the movie was really sweet and often quite funny. (aka CLASH OF THE FAMILIES PART 2)  (not rated)

ENEMIES-IN-LAW trailer

THE CONJURING 2 (2016) - (5/5) It's 1977, and paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, back from the first film) are summoned to London to prove the presence of a malevolent spirit in the home of a lower-middle class single mom who swears her youngest daughter has been possessed.  Drawing similarities to the Amityville house, the spirit is seriously ticked off that new people reside in his space - but as the Warrens try to prove or disprove what's going on, new facts come to light and the Warrens themselves become the target.  One of the best horror films made in possibly the last decade, and (to me) even better than the original, with a truly satisfying story as well as good scares and characters you care about.  May want to avoid if you have a nun phobia, otherwise this is a truly brilliant sequel. (rated R)

THE CONJURING 2 trailer

SWISS ARMY MAN (2016) - (3/5) A suicidal Hank (Paul Dano), hopelessly lost on a deserted island and having just unsuccessfully tried to hang himself, is giving it a second go when he spots the dead body of a young man (Daniel Radcliffe) that's washed up on the shore.  The corpse, with a seemingly unending supply of body gas, helps Paul to actually get off the island via its constant farting (yes, you read that right) ... and so begins a very odd, surreal and honestly just plain bizarre journey as Hank adopts the corpse as his friend and before you know it we have a buddy picture.  It's gutsy to make a film that so many would hate for the lame fart jokes alone (many audience members at a Cannes screening actually walked out on the film), but if you stick it out with an open mind, there is actually something fairly charming in all this weirdness.  But there is a lot of weirdness.  (rated R)

SWISS ARMY MAN trailer (RED BAND/rated R)

GHOSTBUSTERS (2016) - (2.5/5) High, HIGH hopes for this one, once I saw the trailer; an update more than remake of the classic film, this time with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones as female ghostbusters out to save New York City while being harassed and ridiculed by politicians and non-believers alike ... until, of course, The Big Threat arrives.  Chris Hemsworth is freaking fantastic here, hilarious and by far the best part (he alone earns the film its extra half-star) of what is otherwise a weak imitation that has upped the special effects and action, but left behind all the heart and soul of the 1984 original, where you felt you really knew and cared about Venkman, Ray, Egon and Winston.  None of that here, as the four leads are never developed enough to even really distinguish one that much from another.  (rated PG-13)

GHOSTBUSTERS (2016) trailer

STAR TREK BEYOND (2016) - (3/5) Similar to the new Ghostbusters, Star Trek Beyond seemed - to me - to have left a lot of its heart and soul behind.  Awesome special effects and the coolest new character in ages via Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), the film otherwise is a pretty standard Trek tale about the Enterprise going on a rescue mission to the far reaches of the galaxy when an alien force literally destroys the snot out of their ship, and the crew must come together and find a way to save the Federation and even life as we know it.  Standard stuff, as said, though with some way-cool effects and action sequences ... and a bit of melancholy, watching Anton Yelchin play Chekov for the last time.  Otherwise, sadly, the film is all gloss; no real heartbeat.  (rated PG-13)

STAR TREK BEYOND trailer