47 METERS DOWN

(2017) On vacation in Mexico, adventurous sister Kate (Claire Holt) talks boring sister Lisa (Mandy Moore) into entering a shark cage to view underwater life. Everything is pretty awesome until the cable breaks, the cage falling 47 meters to the ocean floor, where the sisters find themselves suddenly stuck with limited oxygen and hungry great whites circling somewhere nearby. Very much a B-movie, where everything these women do gets them in even more trouble, but a few of the jump scares are brilliant; first time I've actually yelped watching a film in years, and did it a few times here! Otherwise a straightforward thriller/drama that manages to pack a few surprises, even if the characters themselves occasionally do something stupid - that no one would do in real life - making you want to slap them silly. Mindless fun with a few genuine thrills, Holt and Moore both terrific for being the only two actors on-screen for nearly the entire film and having to perform through oversized scuba masks throughout. The sharks are damned scary, too. (rated PG-13) 7/10 stars

(NOTE: while the trailer below doesn't exactly give away spoilers, I am glad I didn't watch/remember it before seeing the film - and suggest you do the same, if you intend seeing 47 Meters Down yourself!)

IRIS

(2014) Directed by documentary filmmaking legend Albert Maysles, Iris is the story of Iris Apfel, who along with her husband Carl already had long-held successful interior design and fabric businesses when, at the age of 90+, Iris's decades of collecting clothing and accessories from around the world jump-started her new career as fashion icon. Always a prominent figure in New York's fashion and social scenes due to her eclectic, one-of-a-kind style in mixing top designers with bargain basement accessories to create art, the film is a perfect showcase for the incredible energy, wit, passion, and love for life that turned a working-class girl from Queens into a much-emulated hometown celebrity. It took me all of maybe three minutes to fall in love with Iris's spirit and down-to-earth mindset; never once do you hear/see her critique what anyone else is wearing or saying, as first and foremost Iris believes everyone should be comfortable with and love themselves first; she's her own person, and respects the same in anyone else. A truly inspiring, funny lady beloved by so many, both in her industry and out, and after watching this documentary it's easy to see why. How wonderful it would be just to hang out with her, even for an hour. (rated PG-13)  8/10 stars

I DON'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE

(2017) So much about this quirky indie film feels like watching a condensed season of "Fargo" (and that's meant in the best way); star Melanie Lynskey not only resembles Allison Tolman from the series, but also has a similar grit, determination, yet childlike naivety that gets Lynskey's character here - Ruth - into a whole lot of trouble. Ruth is an assistant nurse at a care facility whose personality and personal life seem almost as bland as they come; she lets people cut her off on the freeway, duck ahead of her in line at the grocery even when she was there first; she'll even pick up something that another person knocked off a shelf in the store and put it back for them, with nary more than a look. She can't fathom people's ambivalence or lack of caring for each other, but lives in the middle of it all without upsetting the cart ... that is, until the day when she comes home to find her house burglarized and cops couldn't care less - and then, worse yet, finally finds the guy whose been walking his dog every day by her house and letting it poop in her yard, without picking it up again, even though Ruth has a no-poop sign on display (swear to God). Tony (Elijah Wood) thinks Ruth is a bit of a nut when she literally throws the poop at him soon after passing by her yard with his dog, but apologies without emotion - his life seemingly as "beige" as hers - and it's only when Ruth tracks down her stolen laptop through its GPS, then comes to Tony for help when the police won't do anything, that a pair of milquetoasts who've both let the world step on them one too many times have, at last, had it and fight back. Lynskey is just wonderful as the much-beleaguered Ruth, finally getting her Ripley on in a big way as she follows the trail to not just get her stuff back but also see justice done - Wood, as Tony, her perfect oddball foil as the nerd who throws ninja stars and firecrackers and loves a perfect froth on a cappuccino. The story travels in some bizarre, funny, even perplexing (and violent) directions, but its really easy to identify with a pair of heroes the world has stomped on; even easier to see why this film was a darling at Sundance. (rated TV-MA)  7.5/10 stars

THE CRAFT

(1996) One of my goals for 2018 is to watch a dozen films, each at least a decade old, that I have heard so much good stuff about over the years but have yet to see myself. The Craft is first up - about a high school girl named Sarah (Robin Tunney) who, with her own dark past, moves from San Francisco to Los Angeles with her dad and step-mom, where she attends a Catholic prep school and immediately falls under the spell of both the token skirt-chasing jock (Skeet Ulrich), as well as a trio of fellow female classmates - led by gothette Nancy (Fairuza Balk) - who may or may not be practicing witches. Turns out Nancy, along with Rochelle (Rachel True) and Bonnie (Neve Campbell, just prior to breaking to film stardom with Scream) are indeed spellcasters ... but it's only when Sarah, with her own supernatural gifts, completes their circle do the quartet realize their potential, when each of them casts a spell that actually ends up working (the womanizing jock falls in love, a bully gets payback, long-term permanent scars are miraculously healed). As the girls grow in both power and ego, and Nancy's own spell finally comes to fruition, it becomes apparent that anyone who crosses these ladies will pay - even someone within their own ranks. Even Sarah herself. The Craft is a funny, wicked little film that's a lot of fun to watch if willing to sort of shut off your brain and enjoy. Balk, a bit bananas as Nancy, reins her performance in just short enough to not come off as hamming it up, and it was really cool to see both Ulrich and Campbell together in a film pre-Scream, though their characters don't really interact on-screen here. The witchcraft comes a bit easy to these young gals, and a subplot involving the owner of a local occult store goes nowhere, but The Craft still somehow feels fresh over two decades later. Think a low-budget The Lost Boys, only with witches instead of vampires. (rated R)  7.5/10 stars

KING COBRA

(2016) King Cobra is based on the true story of gay porn star Brent Corrigan, who started life as Sean Lockhart, living on his mom's couch in San Diego with a dream of being a film director one day when he meets photographer/film producer Stephen (Christian Slater) who realizes that the near-ethereal beauty of the young man could make them both a sh*tload of money. Nude photos start the proceedings, but before he can blink Sean - renamed Brent Corrigan by Sean himself - is talked into doing his first film ... and a star is born. Brent Corrigan instantly burns up the internet soon becoming the #1 attraction in the business - a fact not lost on a rival gay porn filmmaker, the mentally unstable control freak Joe (James Franco), and his own boyfriend/boy-toy protegee star Harlow (Keegan Allen). a kid with a great body and big appendage but the mentality of a child with his own dark secrets to bear. When Brent realizes how much Stephen is making off him while he gets chump change, his break from the producer causes a chain of events that end in nothing short of murder - not to mention what was, surprisingly, a watchable, enjoyable film! Definitely low budget, I wondered what might draw actors like Slater and Franco to such a project - even Molly Ringwald, playing Slater's unsuspecting sister (I LOVE YOU, MOLLY!) - prior to viewing, but watching the film I get it entirely. King Cobra, even without big dollars behind it, is a legitimately entertaining and fun expose. Sordid and decadent, yes, but here that's a great thing because the cast, writing, and writer/director Justin Kelly have perfectly captured the raw sexual edge and overall seediness of the business on-screen; the film purports to be nothing more than what it is, and does a brilliant job of portraying that world in all its "glory". I can totally see what would draw Slater and Franco - even Keegan - to the controversial subject matter/true story, and though still raw in spots the entire production is held together beautifully by Garrett Clayton as porn star-who-would-be-king Brent Corrigan himself. It should be illegal to be as good-looking as Clayton is, and fortunately for the film he embraces the role of Brent with abandon, giving his porn star layers that suggest maybe Sean - pre-Brent - wasn't so innocent a boy as the opening moments of the film would imply, either. Impressive and a nicely-packaged (shut up, yes of course I meant to do that) surprise. (not rated)  7.5/10 stars

DUNKIRK

(2017) Christopher Nolan's epic depiction of the evacuation of Dunkirk - when 400,000 soldiers from England, France, and Belgium were surrounded by the German army during WWII and herded to the open beaches of Dunkirk, France to be picked off - is a curiously bloodless war film that, by far, concentrates more on the war through the eyes of the young, inexperienced soldiers who lived (or didn't live) to tell about it. Fionn Whitehead is ideal in the lead role of Tommy, an idealistic and wide-eyed young British soldier losing more of his innocence every day, but in truth the film's strength lies in its exceptional ensemble cast: from Mark Rylance and Tom Glynn-Carney as a father-son duo hauling their asses - and small civilian cruiser - to Dunkirk to help with the evacuation; to Tom Hardy and Jack Lowden as RAF pilots heading to Dunkirk to keep the German Luftwaffe from picking off Allied soldiers, but find problems of their own on the way; to Kenneth Branagh and James D'Arcy as officers stuck in the middle of it all, having to make impossible decisions that will both save and cost lives - the screen is awash in top-tier talent sharing the screen with equally gifted newcomers who match them stride for stride. Even knowing how things turn out (if you know your history), and a lack of blood and guts normally found in war pictures, doesn't harm the emotional or visual impact of Nolan's vision on the viewer; in fact, quite the contrary. Somehow, again, the one-of-a-kind writer/director has tossed a bunch of balls in the air, juggling them with ease while creating a symphony of sight, sound and story on-screen - and never drops even one. (rated PG-13)  9.5/10 stars

30 DAYS OF NIGHT

(2007) Ten years after its initial release - and to celebrate that it's back on Netflix streaming (yay!) - this review of one of the best damned vampire films ever made is about a film that takes the sparkle out of the undead and any chance of insipid romance out of the equation by giving you vampires at their goriest, baddest-ass selves. True creatures of the night that, at the time of this film's release, hadn't been depicted so viscerally - so wonderfully - since the brilliant Near Dark. Josh Hartnett stars as Eben Oleson, a conscientious and caring small-time sheriff in the smaller-time isolated town of Barrow, Alaska, which as the film opens is in the midst of shuttering down as the area is about to fall under thirty days of wintry darkness. Most of the pipeline workers and their families, as well as some of the other residents, are flying out as the town closes up, with maybe thirty or so staying behind ... but that's not counting the gang of vicious vampires, led by Marlow (a genuinely frightening Danny Huston), slowly making their way toward the unsuspecting town to feast and kill and leave no one alive to tell about it. Can't stress it enough, these vamps are not of the Twilight variety, and exist only in the darkest dreams of Anne Rice; they speak their own guttural language, have zero empathy for their prey - often teasing and torturing before killing - and move with unprecedented speed, strength and agility. And as Eben's town falls around him, he rallies together his teenage brother Jake (Mark Rendall) and what few fellow citizens remain (including Eben's deputy/ex-wife Stella, played by Melissa George, who was supposed to have been on the last flight out but missed it) to figure out how to either fight the nightmarish monsters ... or, somehow, survive this darkest of months until the sun can rise again. One of the best in its genre, 30 Days of Night is a thrilling, high-octane, take-no-prisoners, bloody and relentless trip to hell, with an outstanding ending that, for once in Hollywood, truly and poignantly fits the film that came before it. So brilliant. (rated R)  9/10 stars

BABY DRIVER

(2017) Baby (Golden Globe-nominated Ansel Elgort) is a young, good-looking man with one particular talent: due to having tinnitus in both ears, after surviving a car accident as a child that killed both his parents, Baby is constantly plugged into his iPod so the music will drown it out ... and through that music, has become one hell of a getaway driver. He works for crime boss Doc (Kevin Spacey), to pay off a debt he owes him, by driving various members of Doc's crew to help commit their crimes and escape without capture - and damn, Baby is good, Atlanta authorities in an uproar with the gang's escapades. Baby's life only seems to finally be on track again when he meets a pretty waitress named Debora (Lily James) at around the same time finally paying off his debt to Doc ... until Doc comes back seeking Baby's help for yet another run, and vaguely threatens Debora's safety if Baby refuses. Worse, this time around Doc has put together a crew that includes the short-fused, hot-tempered Bats - a hyped-up, paranoid thug who lives up to his name, and whose dangerous mental state threatens to expose them all and kill off any chance of Baby's happiness for good. While the film has its moments (particularly the driving/chase sequences), I admit to not get all the hype behind Baby Driver. Most of it, to me, comes off as a cookie cutter compilation of everything we've already seen in similar films; the nice guy pulled into one "last" heist, the working class romance, rebellious teens breaking free to run away together, the highly-stylized robbery sequences and chase scenes - it's all not only been done before, but been done repeatedly before, to the point you already know, here, where things were going halfway through the film. Foxx is good but sometimes hams it up for the camera and spoils the effect - and while I've always liked Elgort, and this should (especially with the Golden Globe nomination) be his breakout role, I didn't find him a hundred percent believable as Baby, either. Not throughout the entire film. Aside from the whole tinnitus/obsession with music aspects of Baby's character, Baby Driver just feels like a retread of highway we've traveled - often - before. (rated R)  5/10 stars

LION

(2016) In a small village in central India, five-year-old Saroo (a remarkable Sunny Pawar) happily lives with his mother and sister, whom he loves, as well as his older brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate), whom he idolizes and wants to be like. Wide-eyed and innocent, Saroo can also be stubborn, pushing his brother to take him along to his overnight job ... and soon Saroo is separated from his brother and lost, trapped on an empty express train traveling thousand of miles across the country. Scared and alone, the boy ends up on the urban streets of Calcutta, surviving hunger and kidnappers and worse, until finally drawing the attention of a kindly female social worker who, when her efforts to find his family fail (illiterate and too young, Saroo doesn't know his mother's real name or family surname, and can only pronounce his village's name phonetically), sets up an adoption - and soon Saroo is whisked off to Tasmania where his new mother Sue (Nicole Kidman) and father John (David Wenham) await. But two decades later, the college-aged Saroo (Dev Patel) is haunted by memories of his home, his mother, and the brother who meant the world to him. Family he knows must still be haunted, as well, wondering what happened to him; if he is still even alive. So what starts as an online search becomes a years-long obsession, the adult Saroo giving up the present to find his past - to see his brother and beloved mother again - at all cost. To go home. Based on a true story, Lion was the best film I saw in 2017; a compassionate, heart-tugging, brilliantly (and beautifully) told story of finding where you belong in this world, no matter the odds. With a universally spot-on cast, A-listers like Kidman and Patel step aside to give young Sunny Pawar the film's spotlight all the way; he is the heart of the film, and one look at that kid's soulful gaze will both mend and break your heart, every time. Have tissues handy, lots of them, for this beautifully-rendered masterpiece. (rated PG-13)  10/10 stars

LOEV

(2015) Sahil (Dhruv Ganesh) is a gay music producer living with his handsome but immature slacker boyfriend Alex (Siddharth Menon) - whom Sahil treats rather more like his child than his partner - when he gets word that his old friend Jai (Shiv Pandit), now a big-shot Wall Street success living in New York, is coming to Mumbai on business. Dropping everything to spend time with his long-term buddy, Sahil takes Jai out to the country for a relaxing get-back to nature, prior to Jai's meetings, and it soon becomes apparent that, in the time they've been apart, an electricity - an attraction - between the two exists that is hard to ignore (and comes off very palpable on-screen). Jai knows Sahil is gay - has even met and knows Alex - but it's particularly obvious his teasings have turned to flirtations, and as the two spend time hiking and enjoy the beautiful countryside the tension builds with the question many of us have asked ourselves over time: can long-term friends turn that corner and become more? Should they? And if so, what might it cost the friendship? Loev answers the question slowly, building up the relationship of these two long-term best friends who know and care for each other, but also know how to push each other's buttons until an explosive, impetuous act changes things forever. Ganesh (who, tragically, died at age 29 just prior to the film's release) and Pandit are perfectly cast and have brilliant chemistry on-screen, in a love story that depicts "loev" very much as it is in real life: messy, imperfect, unpredictable - sometimes even devastating. (not rated)  8/10 stars

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

(2017) Fresh off his buzz of helping the Avengers save the world (Captain America: Civil War) - which he unobtrusively filmed as a video diary - 15-year-old Peter Parker (Tom Holland, in spidey-shoes already well-tread in by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield), returns home to Queens and his high school life with best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon, in a breakout performance) and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). But Peter's a restless little spider, anxious to help save the world even on a local level while awaiting the chance to pal up with his Avengers buddies again as soon as he's needed. The only problem is, the phone never rings. In fact, Peter seems to be a thorn in the side of Happy (Jon Favreau), head flunkie to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who has been assigned to keep an eye on the boy but ignores Peter's insistent calls; so much so that when Peter, as Spider-man, actually foils a string of ATM robberies and learns the crooks have sophisticated weaponry well beyond modern earth technology, Happy doesn't take Peter seriously - leaving the boy to dig deeper into the mystery himself, until eventually he gets a little too close to a very dangerous arms dealer (Michael Keaton), who realizes he needs to squash the spider if he's to keep doing business. Columbia was smart to team up with Marvel to reboot its franchise yet again, but at the same time the film is awash in typical (and stereotypical) Marvel-ocity of overblown action sequences, tons of CGI, and a plotline that comes off as yet another by-the-book Marvel movie blueprint (hero attains minor success, hero is pounded into the pavement by bad guys, at last minute hero rallies back for final confrontation). The truly successful, truly genuine moments in Spider-man: Homecoming are the quiet ones; Peter's scenes with Ned and at school, or trying awkwardly to speak to the girl he's crushing on (this is often where the funniest moments of the film can be found, as well). Michael Keaton, the film winking to his past incarnations as both Batman and Birdman, has his menacing moments as The Vulture, but tends to communicate more menace with a leering grin than dialogue that sounds anything but regurgitated from previous villains. Even Iron Man/Tony Stark, as Peter's mentor, seems to pop in and out as the plot warrants. While there is a lot of fun in the newest Spider-man, and Tom Holland does a good job in the role, Parker himself even comes off annoying at times in his "gee-whiz" boyishness the script overplays; there are more than a few times Peter Parker feels more like an adult's view of what a 15-year-old is like than the real thing. And the film itself, while near-perfect for the lexicon of Marvel and superhero flicks, at the same time feels like the same old superhero story that just keeps pumping out of the studio gates over and over again; inspired eye candy (if you can get past all the CGI), but essentially without soul. (rated PG-13)  6.5/10 stars

HOW TO STEAL A DOG

(2014) One of my favorite films seen in 2017 opens with a plucky (yeah, I used "plucky") little Korean, Ji-so, who is trying to fit in at school while hiding the secret that she, her little brother, and mom are all homeless, living out of her father's old pizza delivery van since the family went bankrupt and dad left home. Ji-so's mom is trying her best to hold onto a job that will enable her to keep the kids in a good school, while moving the van to a new location whenever their situation is close to being found out by the authorities; it's a tough life as Ji-so tries to keep hidden from everyone, until a classmate follows her "home" and instead of judging her the girls become best friends. But what Ji-so longs for most is a home; a home to have a party in for her upcoming birthday that she can invite her whole class to, like any other little girl - and a flyer on a telephone pole, advertising a local bigshot's dog gone missing, gives Ji-so a brilliant idea: she and her friend will lure away and hide dogs from rich people, wait for a reward to be posted for them, then miraculously "find" the dogs and return them to their owners ... all to raise the down payment for Ji-so's new house! After some scouring around town, Ji-so finds the perfect dog, and his perfect owner: a former boss of Ji-so's mom's, a cranky rich lady who owns a high-end cafe (that her unscrupulous nephew runs, only because he hopes to inherit it one day) and owns a dog she treats better than any human being, including the nephew. The girls' initial attempts at dog-napping are laugh-out-loud funny (and go awry, even after careful planning), but eventually the goal is achieved ... and that is when all heck breaks loose, when a shifty pizza delivery boy, a homeless man with missing fingers, the rich lady's crooked nephew, and Ji-so's annoying little brother all get in the way of the girls' already questionable plot. How I love this film, a  drama with a screwball comedy wrapped around it that had me weepy by the final scenes. I've said it before, and will say it again: I wish they made movies like this, that so touch your heart, on this side of the Pacific. (not rated)  10/10 stars

 

MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI

(2016) This Oscar-nominated stop-action animation film opens with a young French boy nicknamed Courgette (French for 'zucchini') flying a kite he has named after his long-gone father, as downstairs his mother sits in front of the TV, drinking and watching soap operas. A horrible accident leaves Zucchini an orphan, and a kind police officer who knows his story befriends the nine-year-old, taking him to a foster home where Zucchini - quiet, scared, and riddled with guilt - only slowly learns to live, laugh, trust, maybe even love again, with the help of the other orphaned children who live there. The look of Zucchini is very stylized yet simple, sets and props minimal and boxy and making the vivid colors, bulging eyes and marionette look of the characters stand out even more. It's also really sweet to see how, while Disney/Pixar, Dreamworks, and other computer animation giants abound in this industry, stop-motion animation is still not only a thing ... it's an Oscar-nominated thing (Zucchini was nominated last year for the Best Animated Film Oscar alongside its fellow stop-motion animation nominee Kubo and the Two Strings, which should have easily won the statue). At just 70 minutes in length, My Life as a Zucchini is short, sweet, and quite charming; a brief look into grief healed by love, trust earned with compassion, and one little boy's learning to let go of the past so that he may embrace his future. (rated PG-13)  8/10 stars

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

(2017) It's been several years since the deranged Koba started the war with humans in the second film of the trilogy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Now, the human population heavily decimated with the "Simian Flu" that helped the apes to evolve in the first place, leader Caesar (Andy Serkis) - who'd always advocated peace between the apes and mankind - leads what is left of the apes in what he hopes will remain a peaceful life in the jungle ... until some soldiers are sent in to attack and kill Caesar, slaughtering over 60 more apes by the time all the violence is over. Still believing in peace, Caesar spares the lives of the few surviving soldiers, sending them back with a message to their superior officer: "I did not start this war. I killed the ape who started this war. Leave us the jungle, leave us in peace." But when a follow-up attack leads to tragedy for Caesar, via a crazed colonel with an agenda (Woody Harrelson, doing his best crazy-eyed whackjob schtick), Caesar realizes that not only does he have to set his fellow apes on the path to a new home, for their own safety ... but that he also cannot go with them. Not yet. Not until the colonel is dead. So begins the final chapter of this trilogy, which updated the original Planet of the Apes films to modern-day, and as much as I loathe an over-abundance of CGI/special effects in today's films, I have always found the films in this series fascinating to watch because of the utter realism that often makes the simian characters infinitely more humane than the human ones. No exceptions here as we follow Caesar on his odyssey, the great leader having terrifying visions of the dead Koba as a warning of what may befall him should he keep on his path. Along his way, War for the Planet of the Apes has moments of drama, suspense, tragedy, humor, passion, pathos, frustration, fear, and you'll even shed a few tears before it's all over. Caesar and his story both deserved an epic final chapter - and while I'm not sure this finale was quite epic enough (most of the action takes place in a cold, abandoned military compound in the mountains, kind of a static and dismal backdrop), the evolution of visual storytelling between these and the original films alone is as stunning to watch as the evolution of the apes themselves. (rated PG-13)  9/10 stars

IT

(2017) Think "Stranger Things" meets Freddy Krueger in pancake makeup. Children in Derry, Maine are disappearing. It hangs over the town like a ghostly pallor no one will talk about, even as the "Missing" flyers go up ... and it becomes very personal to young teen Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher) when his kid brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) heads out during a rainstorm to try out a paper sailboat Bill has just made and sealed up with wax for him ... and also disappears. By far, one of the most disturbing scenes in It is when, in the opening minutes of the film, we as the viewers get to see what happens to Georgie, whose boat gets away from him, sailing in the dirty rainwater curbside until it sails through a sewer grating - and in his effort to get it back, Georgie learns that a delightful clown named Pennywise has found it for him. Pennywise lives in the sewer, you see, where - he assures Georgie - "We all float down here!" before literally snatching Georgie off the rainy street. A couple years later, still haunted by Georgie's absence and the disappearances of Derry kids (as well as the mutilated remains of those missing who are found), Bill and his close friends are all having visions, dreams, of the red-haired Pennywise (as well as other nightmarish creatures) out to get them - and Bill, refusing to let Georgie go, bands the group of "Losers" together to bring Georgie home. Based on the telephone book-sized Stephen King novel, the film version of It most assuredly ratchets up the action, suspense, violence and fear factor of the 1990 miniseries that starred Tim Curry as the infamously evil clown. Here, Bill Skarsgard tones down the mania from Curry's version, doling out his sinister creepiness with a simple "I dare you to 'f' with me" smile and eyes that could seemingly bore through granite. The CGI effects used for Pennywise's more outrageous manifestations distract a bit toward the end, but Skarsgard has no doubt picked up the gauntlet and makes the character his own. This is the first of two planned films - the second will take over with the kids as adults, when Pennywise proves he is not finished with them yet - and while the miniseries was well-made and had an excellent cast, as well as its share of chills (right up to the ridiculous final battle), this feature film version of It feels more mature; it's depths rooted in the pensive, beleaguered, yet oh-so-angry face of Bill Denbrough, who fights his fears to find his brother. The young cast is outstanding, Lieberher award-worthy - the film not so much about an evil clown as it is about the childhood fears that haunt us all ... often well into adulthood. (rated R)  9/10 stars

THE FALCON IN HOLLYWOOD

(1944) World-famous detective The Falcon (Tom Conway) is on holiday in Hollywood, California when the pursuit of a swiped purse leads him to the fresh corpse of an actor on the lot of a film studio - a body that disappears in time to get The Falcon and his newest buddy, lady cab driver Billie (the very funny Veda Ann Borg) into a mess of trouble that sets The Falcon on solving the murder. Clues lead him to the dead man's apartment, the actor's widow (a costume designer who was having an affair with the director of the very film she and her husband had been working on), and of course the director himself, whose film feels cursed once the body is indeed found. A talented "B" cast turns this film into grade-A material, complete with a decent mystery puzzle and a tongue-in-cheek levity/sense of humor that works every time. Conway, dapper as always, shares some brilliant (and quite funny) on-screen chemistry with Borg, and if nothing else this makes The Falcon in Hollywood one of the best, most entertaining of its genre - one of those pleasant Sunday afternoon movies that will leave you with a smile on your face after catching it on TCM. (not rated)  8/10 stars

**Sorry, could find no trailer availabe**

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

(2017) Heroes-for-hire after the events of the first film, the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel opens up with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) - aka Star Lord - and his motley band of friends protecting some very important batteries, in a really cool opening title sequence that completely plays on the sardonic humor the first film set up. Sadly, Rocket (Bradley Cooper), being one bitter and feisty raccoon, can't stop himself from a little thievery on the way out, leading to a battle where the Guardians are saved by none other than ... Peter's dad? The film is essentially Peter dealing with his roots and daddy issues, once meeting Ego (Kurt Russell) and learning his father is actually a god who wants to teach Peter the total capacity of the powers he holds. But something is decidedly rotten on the planet of Ego, and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) has her spidey-sense a-tingling,even as she has her own issues in dealing with a sister (Karen Gillan) determined to kill ... while Yondu (Michael Rooker), still trying to fit in with his old brethren, has his own crew mutiny on him, and - egad - has to rely on none other than Rocket and Baby Groot to fix the problem! There is a lot - yet not a lot - going on in this sequel, at least until the final battle sequence, but while some very funny humor sprouting up throughout the film (and Baby Groot; man, I want me a Baby Groot) kept reminding me of how much I loved the first one (comparing it, in a review, to Star Wars in its depiction of a crew of misfit strangers coming together to save the galaxy), I couldn't pour my heart into Vol. 2 the way I did for part one. For me the whole Ego storyline fell flat - felt like bad/weak writing, in particular because its very set-up told you precisely how things were going to go; would rather have seen more of the story (and golden people) that opened the film, as well as played out a bit more in the teaser shown during the credits; those regal beings were far more interesting than Ego and his beautiful, bland world any day. In no way did I hate this sequel; everything outside the Ego storyline felt like old (and funny) times with good friends. Everything else - until the Guardians were reunited for the final battle, at least - felt like the planet Ego itself: pretty, but lacking life. Well, the soundtrack is amazeballs, as in the first film! (rated PG-13)  6.5/10 stars

BAKUMAN

(2015) Moritaka Mashiro (Takeru Satoh) is a junior high student kind of just floating through life with little ambition beyond constantly drawing in his sketchbook. When he leaves said book behind in class one day, it's found by fellow student Akito Takagi (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a writer who seeks an artist for a new series of manga he wants to put together. Mashiro refuses (his uncle was a world-famous mangaka, and the toll of the work killed him), that is until Takagi encourages the directionless young man to speak to the classmate he's in love with ... who, in turn, reveals her plans to one day be a voiceover artist, giving Mashiro the strength to reveal his (really Takagi's) plans to be a manga artist, to impress her. The two vow to meet again - even marry - when Mashiro's manga comes to TV and he can hire her to voice the lead character. In other words, when both have reached their dreams. Mashiro and Takagi begin immediately, seeking national serialization with the #1 producers of manga, Shonen Jump ... and what Bakuman showcases perfectly is the incredible talent, dedication, time and extremely hard work it is for young artists and writers to keep up the pace of producing a top-rated manga week after week, day after day, for years at a time - all for little to no pay unless fame strikes, and going without sleep to make a deadline, sometimes for days at a time. My own knowledge of manga is pretty limited, but I have a complete and total appreciation, after seeing this film, of what these artists and writers go through; the utter discipline and commitment so necessary when it all may be for nothing. We're treated to both progress and pain with Mashiro and Takagi, in their bid to make it big, rooting for them all the way in this comedy-drama from Japan that gives you a behind-the-scenes peek at how some of the most popular reading material in the world comes to life - and the intense, and lack of food and rest, it takes to get it there. Oh, and the manga-style animated sequences are brilliant. (not rated)  7.5/10 stars

SILENT HILL

(2006) Not a gamer myself, many a time would watch my friend Kye play Silent Hill, and right off found myself intrigued by the darkness of the game - not just literal darkness, but also the darkness of the story and characters, not the least of which were a bulky dude with what looked like a pyramid for a head, and a gaggle of nurses in bloodstained uniforms, whose faces ... well, with no faces technically. Gruesome stuff. All that and more can be found in the film version, which begins when Rose Da Silva (Radha Mitchell) can no longer handle seeing her adopted daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) suffer with nightmares and sleepwalking jaunts, the young girl waking up screaming "Silent Hill!", so against the wishes of her husband (an under-utilized Sean Bean) grabs up Sharon and takes off in her SUV for the small town, determined to find answers. But when a female deputy (Laurie Holden) finds Rose's attitude suspicious and beings pursuing the mother and daughter, in her attempts to get away Rose crashes her vehicle ... and awakens the next morning virtually under the huge sign welcoming her to Silent Hill, still slumped behind the wheel, the passenger door wide open and Sharon nowhere to be seen, as a thick gray fog encompasses everything in sight. When Rose steps out of the car to what appears to be snowfall raining on the town, she quickly realizes it is ash ... and Rose's trip to an alternate universe and the creepy, too-quiet town known as Silent Hill that has seemed to swallow up her only child, has begun. First off, having finally watched this film uncut and all the way through, I am still bowled over by how much it actually looks like the game; the filmmakers took great care to create very nearly the same world, tense and quiet as death (well, until the horns begin to blow and the skies turn black ...) and sinister as all get-out. But beyond the visuals, the film is also quite creepy in its execution of story - the whys and whats of Sharon's connection to the town, and Rose's struggles to find her before the town itself (or its denizens) swallows either or both of them alive. Creepy and inventive, Silent Hill has its graphic moments, but also relies equally on atmosphere and building tension to bring you the chills. (rated R)  8/10 stars

1922

(2017) Based on the Stephen King novella, 1922 stars a nearly unrecognizable Thomas Jane as farmer Wilfred James, a prideful man struggling to keep his meager farm afloat with the help of his devoted teenaged son Henry (Dylan Schmid), even as wife Arlette (Molly Parker) has grown tired of living this life, and informs Wilfred one night that she wants to sell off some of their farmland - her inheritance - to Wilfred's biggest competitor and neighbor, and have the family start anew in the city. When Wilfred says no way, Arlette shocks him further by saying that she's fine with that ... but is going anyway and taking Henry with her, whether he likes it or not, using the money from the sale of her land (which Wilfred can't afford to buy, himself) to open up a dress shop. Needless to say, Wilfred doesn't like it, and after mulling things over decides on what he feels is his only option: killing Arlette. Working to slowly poison Henry's mind against his mother, the evil woman trying to take the boy from the farm/home he loves to the corruption of the big city, Wilfred does indeed convince a horrified, terrified Henry to help, and the fumbled murder ends up with Arlette in a dried-out well, Henry filled with guilt, and Wilfred telling tales of Arlette running off to the city and abandoning her family. That is, until everything begins to unravel, and Wilfred begins to start seeing and hearing things. I expected just a bit more ... Pet Sematary-ish weirdness from this film (the trailer is a bit misleading, I fear), and while certainly supernatural elements are present in the final thirty minutes of runtime, what felt like a horror story coming turned out to be more of the story of how an act of evil curses a man and his entire family. Jane is brilliant, Dylan Schmid equally worthy of praise in what should be a breakout role for the young actor. Just wished the film had packed a better, more satisfying punch, going out with a bang instead of a whimper. (rated TV-MA)  6/10 stars