CUPCAKES (2013)

Six friends/neighbors in Tel Aviv - Ofer, a gay male who runs a daycare for kids, and his five best lady friends - get together every week to watch the UniverSong competitions on TV.  Bemoaning the lack of great tunes on the show (and to cheer up Anat, whose husband has just left her), the group comes up with an impromptu, upbeat song, which one of them records on her phone.  As a joke, Ofer sends the song into UniverSong, the group shocked beyond belief when it's chosen to represent Israel in the following year's competition!  Can they form a polished singing group, despite their jobs and the objections of family and friends, in time to ... maybe even win?  Cupcakes is so much fun, positive, life-affirming and colorful, full of characters that grow deeply on you and a life philosophy/theme running through the film it's too bad more people don't embrace.  A wonderful, funny film that will also tug at your heartstrings. (not rated)  A-

CUPCAKES trailer

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Directed by Guy Ritchie (who tends to make films that go fairly bonkers on-screen), the film version of the 1960's hit TV series stars Henry Cavill as ex-thief/current top CIA agent Napoleon Solo, who is sent into East Berlin to extract a young female mechanic (Alicia Vikander) whose scientist father may be helping an enemy organization build an atomic bomb.  Solo is greatly hindered in the escape by Russian KGB agent Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), though he makes it out with the girl - only to learn he must now team with Kuryakin (who has over-the-top anger issues) on a top-secret mission to rescue the doctor and retrieve all information on the bomb.  The film totally evokes 1963, from fashion to politics, and while Cavill still comes off a bit like a block of wood on-screen, Hammer is terrific as the conflicted Russian agent.  A top-notch spy film with touches of humor and chutzpah (a Guy Ritchie trademark), while not perfect it's a wonderful homage to both the era and the spy thriller, all done tongue very much in cheek - and more than worthy of a sequel. (rated PG-13)  B+

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015)

There is a lot going on in Avengers: Age of Ultron.  A LOT.  Director/writer Joss Whedon seems to throw everything but the kitchen sink into this one, starting with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)'s ambition to use Loki's recovered scepter (retrieved via an opening action sequence so saturated in CGI, it'll make you dizzy) to revive a peacekeeping program so the Avengers are no longer needed.  Things go belly up, of course, creating the evil Ultron and putting the world - and it's greatest superheroes - in more ka-ka than ever before.  Though not as good as the first (certainly not as brilliant as Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Whedon pushes all the right buttons here in regards the superhero flick - tons of action, bad guys who might be good guys, and CGI up the wazoo - and it's fun while it last, but in the end you're left with the sense of "seen it all before."  A must-see for any superhero film junkie, definitely; maybe not so much for those of us who seek something more beyond the visuals. (rated PG-13)  B

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON trailer

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920)

One of silent film era's most iconic masterpieces, to finally see The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in a restored version on Netflix (see the 71-minute version, if you can!) was a genuine treat.  The film opens with the handsome young Francis, sitting on a bench recounting to a friend the story behind the odd, near-ethereal behavior of his fiancee Jane; back to the annual fair in Holstenwall, when Francis and his friend Alan attended the sideshow-like attraction of Dr. Caligari and his somnambulist patient Cesare, who has been sleeping all his 20+ years in a cabinet, only awakening by Caligari long enough to predict the future.  That day, Cesare predicts Alan will die by morning - and when Alan is, in fact, murdered overnight, Francis is sure the madman Caligari and Cesare are behind it.  A dark, brooding "photo-play" filmed on exaggerated theatrical sets - giving it an extra sense of madness - make this German production an engrossing must-see, ... nearly a hundred years after it was made! (unrated)  A-

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (1988)

Forever on my to-be-watched list was My Neighbor Totoro.  Beautifully, simply animated, the film is the story of two young girls, Satsuki and her little sister Mei, who've just relocated to a small but cozy home in the country with their father, to be closer to their ailing mother (currently receiving care in a nearby hospital).  The father/daughters bond in the film is sweet and genuine, the girls happy and eager to explore their new surroundings - and it's when Mei discovers that the nearby forest is the home of mystical creatures who resemble the "Totoros" in one of her picture books do the girls discover a world full of wonder and adventure.  The film is short on plot - there are no "villains" to defeat, or violence or ticking clocks of doom - which makes this terrific, touching, and funny story so much more brilliant; none of that is needed in light of characters you care about, and the smile that wraps itself around your heart as you watch, whether child or adult. (rated G)  A

THE GREAT MAGICIAN (2011)

Set in the years after the 1911 revolution that deposed the Qing Dynasty, China is now divided among a group of bickering warlords constantly fighting with each other.  One of them, Bully Lei, has a second-in-command using magic to force convicts and the poor to joining their army ... even as he secretly plots to help bring back the Empire, himself.  Enter the mysterious stranger Chang Hsien (Tony Leung Chiu Wai, the "Clark Gable of China" and one of the finest actors in film ever), a master of magic somehow connected to Bully Lei's seventh (and most uncooperative) wife - a young, beautiful woman Bully originally kidnapped, whose icy veneer will only melt when Bully finds her missing father.  Great touches of comedy here, especially in the end, and the magic tricks/effects are superb.  A great cast makes things fun as well, and while I think the film runs a little long (could have been edited down just a bit), it's such fun to watch ... and Tony Leung Chiu Wai, as always, fascinates whenever he's on-screen. (not rated)  B-

THE RAVEN (1935)

Boris Karloff.  Bela Lugosi.  No other review really needed; even in their hokiest of B-movies, either of these horror icons is worth watching.  Here much more so - in a creepy, very atmospheric (even by today's standards), at times melodramatic film about a brilliant and famous surgeon obsessed with Edgar Allan  Poe, Dr. Richard Vollin (Lugosi), who is the only hope for a beautiful dancer (Irene Ware) who lies in a coma after a bad car accident.  Saving the girl, Vollin finds himself growing obsessed with her - regardless of the woman's finance and disapproving father - and when escaped killer Edmond Bateman (Karloff) shows up at his door seeking a new face to replace his ugly one, Vollin sees the man as his shot at getting the girl - and torturing and killing anyone who gets in his way.  The Raven was controversial in its day for its frank discussion of torture and death, and even now still has its elements of creepiness right up through the still-pulse-pounding last ten minutes.  Great film. (unrated)  B+

THE RAVEN trailer

SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD/MI-5 (2015)

Not having seen the series, I went into this one totally green (and mostly out of my fanboy love of Kit Harington).  So this review is strictly for the stand-alone film - a terrific spy thriller about the betrayals and machinations going on behind-the-scenes at London's MI-5, after known terrorist Qasim (the brilliant Elyes Gabel) escapes during a routine transport in the city.  The escape is seen as a huge goof to the American CIA, who were most after Qasim and want to oversee MI-5 as it is, and disgraced MI-5 head of counter-intelligence Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) even commits suicide over the gaffe.  Or does he?  Young, decommissioned (by Pearce) former agent Will Holloway (Harington), the only known connection to the now-in-hiding Pearce, is brought back in and talked into finding his former boss - at which time Holloway also learns that nothing, or no one, may be what it seems ... even Harry.  A first-rate, heart-racing spy movie with a great cast, made especially emotional for me as I saw it the day after the terrorist attacks in Paris.  Awesome, complex film. (rated R)  A-

THE ARISTOCATS (1970)

A rich French widow and former singer, totally enamored of her cat Duchess and Duchess's three kittens, rewrites her will so her beloved cats will always be cared for, her estate otherwise going to faithful butler Edgar when they're gone.  Problems arise when Edgar gets wind of his potential windfall and spirits the cats out of the house, taking them way into the countryside and dropping them off in a basket as they sleep.  There, Duchess and her children are discovered by worldly tomcat Thomas O'Malley, who along with a slew of other animals they meet along the way helps the cats return home, even as Edgar plots to cover his tracks.  Funny, sweet, and with some truly lovable characters (voiced by equally lovable character actors), along with some great jazz tunes and a quite funny final "chase" scene, The Aristocats is a great addition to Disney's classic animation (so cool, seeing hand-drawn animation again for first time in awhile!) - one I'm sorry it took this long for me to see. (rated G)  A-

HOWL (2015)

An indie British thriller hearkening back to the Hammer horror hey-days, Howl stars Ed Speleers as Joe, a good-guy train conductor just passed over for another promotion, who finds himself working a double shift when someone doesn't show for the midnight train heading out.  Oh well, at least the pretty female co-worker who sells the commuters food and drink on the train is working, too; a good thing, as the passengers are kind of surly.  But they're nothing compared to when the train hits something and is forced to a stop in the middle of some woods - the driver disappears - and Joe and the others soon realize there is something out there, something prowling under the light of a full moon and trying to find its way in.  Low budget and a bit schlocky in places, with some stereotypical horror film characters, Howl is still a crazy, quite fun ride through werewolf country, with decent performances and good effects and some truly nail-biting moments.  If nothing else, it will certainly make you think twice before taking another late-night commuter train home. (unrated)  B

HOWL trailer

FANTASTIC FOUR (2015)

So much hate against this film - the story of Reed Richards (Miles Teller), who as a child developed a prototype for a teleporter.  Now in high school and still working the dream with long-term buddy Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), Reed is recruited by Dr. Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey) and his daughter Sue (Kate Mara) for their school, where Reed furthers his research with fellow trailblazing student Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell), creating a teleporter large enough for human trials.  But an experiment that sends the gang (including Sue's brother Johnny, played by Michael B. Jordan) to another dimension ends in disaster, the friends infused with incredible mutations the government soon sees as assets to their military.  At 100 minutes, the problem with FF is it plays like a pre-opening credits prologue; it's nearly all set-up, nothing really happening until the last fifteen minutes (not to mention the unforgivably cornball final scene).  Not awful, just more like ... Mediocre Four. (rated PG-13)  C

LET US PREY (2014)

Let Us Prey is set in a small, desolate Scottish town that seems to have virtually been deserted.  It's Rachel's first night on the local police force there, one that becomes eventful when the station is visited by a mysterious bearded man whose arrival sets in motion a night of mind games and violence as he seems to purposeful bring out the absolute worst demons in those who come into contact with him.  While not particularly scary, the film is violent and bloody in a joyously over-the-top way, while building up the deeper meaning behind what's going on ... but the ending is a mess (literally and figuratively), and overall the film - for me - was seriously ugly and dour, without a single character worth caring or rooting for.  Very mixed feelings on this one, but overall - nah. (unrated)  C-

LET US PREY trailer (RedBand - Adult Language/Scenes)

MINIONS (2015)

Man, I love these little hellraisers; could only imagine the trouble they'd get into with their own film.  Sure enough, Minions begins chronicling the origins of these yellow buggers - from earth's beginnings, going up to 1968 New York City - and how, with each new evil master they come to serve, their over-anxious efforts to please cause said master serious trouble.  Finally making their home in an ice cave, minions Kevin, Bob and Stuart decide to break from the pack and seek out a new evil master to serve ... which they find in NYC via Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), whose new plan involves stealing the Queen of England's crown.  But things don't go off as planned (naturally), and indeed Bob ends up King of England - a plot twist even Overkill hadn't foreseen.  While the film is really funny and completely alive whenever minions are on-screen, somehow it left me feeling a bit let down (Scarlet is a pretty weak villain, as well).  Like it could have been so much more - packed so much more an "oomph" than it did - even though the ending tied things up sweetly. (rated PG)  B

MR. HOLMES (2015)

Wasn't sure about this one, upon seeing the trailer (it seemed a huge downer of a film), but my love for both Sherlock Holmes and Ian McKellen pulled me in ... to what ended up being a moving, ,beautifully-acted drama, set in 1947, about a retired Sherlock Holmes, living in the countryside of Sussex with his housekeeper and her young son, who thirty years after it happened still reels from the effects of his last case - even as his failing memory refuses to allow him to remember why.  McKellen is incredible, the film leaping back and forth in time even as, in present day, Holmes forms a friendship with Roger, his housekeeper's young son (Milo Parker), who may be the key to helping him remember.  Simple, elegant, and quite moving, thanks to McKellen's understated performance and a remarkable cast, Mr. Holmes was a surprise - and a worthy addition to the Holmes canon that depicts the character in an entirely real, wonderfully vulnerable new light. (rated PG)  A-

TALES OF HALLOWEEN (2015)

When you compact ten short films about Halloween into just over an hour and a half's running time, you can expect the films themselves to be hit and miss.  That said, Tales of Halloween, from the beginning, felt like putting on your favorite set of pajamas and watching episodes of "Creepshow" or "Tales from the Darkside" as a kid - though with the gore factor ratcheted up.  Ghosts, ghouls, the devil, serial killers, witches, evil children, vengeful demons, and wonderful cameos from Lombardo Boyar to Barry Bostwick, Greg Grunberg (in full Big Ass Spider! uniform) to Sam Witwer, Booboo Stewart to John Landis, Lin Shaye to the late, great Ben Woolf to some sexy-wicked narration by Adrienne Barbeau, even with a few clunkers there is just something wonderful about the whole package of evil little short films here, it all feels somehow both nostalgic yet fresh at the same time.  So much so, am kind of hoping they'll produce another next Halloween. (rated R)  B+

THEY MET IN BOMBAY (1941)

Gerald Meldrick (Clark Gable) is a long-term professional jewel thief at the height of his career when he arrives in India, posing as an insurance inspector with Lloyd's of London as he prepares to steal a priceless necklace.  What he doesn't count on is a baroness staying in the same hotel, whose real name is Anya Von Duren (Rosalind Russell), a con artist who manages to get her hands on the necklace first.  When Gerald finesses the necklace from Anya, in the guise of a cop, she goes after him - and the two end up running from the authorities together, buying passage on a Chinese steamer, on the way to Hong Kong, led by Captain Chang (Peter Lorre) ... on the eve of Japan's invasion of China.  Light romantic comedy made worth watching by its cast, otherwise a stock story with no surprises, even though Gable and Russell make it fun. (not rated)  B-

INSIDE OUT (2015)

Of all the positive adjectives you could ever use to describe a Pixar film - and there are many, as their best films hold up both over time and to any live-action film ever made - the one I never considered was profound.  But that word best describes what I took away from Inside Out, a near-perfect film about a tween named Riley, relocating with her parents from Minnesota to San Francisco, who literally finds her inner emotions - Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust - in turmoil when Joy and Sadness are accidentally thrust from Headquarters and into the deep recesses of Riley's conflicted mind ... where, in their absence, things begin to go wrong.  Mixing laughs and tears in equally potent measure, kids will love Inside Out ... but it's the adults who will "get" the on-target way the film captures humanity/the human psyche in all its imperfections and glory.  It's hard to express the beauty, originality, and depth of this brilliant film in such a short, no-spoiler space, except to say it simply: SEE THIS MOVIE. (rated PG)  A+

THE VISIT (2015)

The Visit is the story of teenager Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and her young brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould), who have never met their estranged grandparents as their widowed mom (Kathryn Hahn) moved out of her house in anger long before they were born, over wanting to marry their father.  But the grandparents have reached out online to their only daughter, who begrudgingly puts her kids on a train to the country for a week, at the kids' insistence (especially Becca, who's filming a documentary about their family), to meet their grandparents.  But Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) prove not only a bit eccentric, but downright disturbing as they soon grow emotionally violent.  Disappointment awaits those expecting a horror movie; The Visit is actually a suspense drama, with a surprise twist you don't see coming ... though the twist itself isn't all that huge a reveal.  But even with a weak ending, it's a good thriller worth seeing - and, hopefully, a sign (no pun intended) that Shyamalan is back on track. (rated PG-13)  B

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION (2015)

After really disliking Ghost Protocol I was a bit afraid to watch this latest entry in the Mission: Impossible series - but from the ridiculous to the sublime, over two hours later was thrilled to find the series back to its old form, as well as the old format of the beloved TV series I grew up with.  Here, yet again disgraced, Ethan Hunt is on the lam from is own government, while trying to shut down The Syndicate, an anti-IMF force bent on causing chaos and destruction instead of averting it.  Unable to go it wholly alone, Ethan eventually has to bring in his own team in, undercover, all while averting the new CIA director out to get him ... a rogue lady assassin who may or may not be British intelligence ... and the heartless Solomon Kane (Sean Harris) himself, who is set on Hunt's destruction.  Suspenseful, fun, with great action sequences, set pieces, and one way-cool ending, Rogue Nation was a fabulous ride, blissfully ever-mindful of fanboys like me who still hold the original series in our hearts. (rated PG-13)  A

TERMINATOR GENISYS (2015)

The rather convoluted storyline of the latest in the Terminator franchise involves John Connor (Jason Clarke) yet again sending his friend/second-in-command Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) - when an event Kyle witnesses, just as he's leaving the future, seems to incite a fracture in timelines that has Reese showing up in a new 1984, where the good Terminator (Schwarzenegger) has already been protecting Sarah for the years, the two of them working on a long-term plan stop the machines from taking over.  This is an incredibly lame, confusing and wasted effort to milk the franchise, with a woefully-miscast Courtney (one of my favorite actors) unbelievable from scene one, and one of the industry's best actors, Byung-hun Lee, wholly wasted in a stupid homage to the liquid-metal man Terminator just so producers can tie the first three films with this one.  A weak ending setting up yet another sequel doesn't help, but simply makes viewers realize that as long as they keep screwing with the timelines, this series - long in need of termination - could go on forever. (PG-13)  D

ENGLISH WITHOUT TEARS (1944)

English Without Tears (aka Her Man Gilbey) is a quirky British wartime romantic comedy starring Margaret Rutherford (the main reason I wanted to see this film) as Lady Christabel Beauclark, an eccentric bird lover who travels Europe fighting for the territorial rights of endangered British birds, even as her young niece Penny (Joan Heseltine) grows to fall in love with the family butler, Gilbey (Michael Wilding, always terrific in whatever he is in).  At last professing her love, Penny is rejected by the older family servant - just as war breaks out and a stint in the service allows Gilbey to see Penny in a new light even as she moves on to teaching English to a rather eccentric group of foreign soldiers taking refuge in England.  "Eccentric" is the best word to describe this comedy, which doesn't fully work if you engage your brain too much - but is sweet, fun, and funny if you simply watch to enjoy yourself (Note: the link below is for the FULL FILM, not just a trailer). (not rated)  B-

BLOODSUCKING BASTARDS (2015)

Mixing comedy and horror is always difficult to do well.  An office comedy where vampires take over, starring Fran Kranz (whom I am a fan of), seemed like it had potential, and Bloodsucking Bastards plays nicely off Kranz's character of Evan, a poor schmoo of an acting manager in a telemarketing office who lets his buddies/co-workers slack all day and just blew a good potential relationship with Amanda (Emma Fitzpatrick) in HR.  But worse is to come when Evan's boss passes him over for promotion to instead hire Evan's old college rival, Max (Pedro Pascal) - and Evan quickly, very graphically and bloodily soon realizes Max's management style is to turn the whole office into vampires.  The action and gore are fun and fast-paced, the ending nicely violent without assaulting the senses, but while a good cast gives it their best, some of the characters are just annoying and the film never quite gets off the ground as a comedy.  Average, worth seeing, but could have been better. (not rated)  C+

HELLO GHOST (2010)

Marketed as a screwball comedy, Hello Ghost follows the downtrodden Sang-man (an amazing Tae-hyun Cha), a most unhappy man determined to kill himself - who, after his most recent attempt, finds himself with the ability to see ghosts.  Several entities, in fact (a portly smoker, a lustful older man, a woman who can't stop crying, and a precocious little boy), have literally attached themselves to Sang-man, and his only hope to send them to the other side is to make good on their final earthly wishes.  Mayhem ensues, as each ghost takes it upon himself or herself to possess Sang-man's body at will, leading to multiple misunderstandings and Sang-man's meeting a pretty hospice nurse he finds himself attracted to, even as she thinks he's a bit nuts.  As with many Korean films, Hello Ghost turns in its last third from oddball comedy into one of the most poignant, tears-inducing, loveliest films this reviewer has seen in some time.  Truly lovely, so much so I wish everyone could see this film. (not rated)  A

CURSED (2005)

After the loss of one of my favorite horror icons, Wes Craven, I wanted to catch one of his films I hadn't seen before ... and had always been curious about Cursed (which I heard wasn't good, but I'm a sucker for a werewolf story).  The film stars Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg as L.A.-based sister and brother Ellie and Jimmy, whose lives are changed forever when a night-time car accident in the Hollywood Hills ends with a woman dead - and Ellie and Jimmy both wounded by what appears to be a large wolf.  As Jimmy researches werewolf mythology, he and Ellie both start displaying symptoms that include heightened awareness, strength, and physical attractiveness, as something continues to stalk the siblings even as another night of the full moon arrives.  Living up to its name, Cursed was supposedly beset with re-shoots and both major script and cast changes, and the film shows it; disjointed, slow-moving, bland, and unfunny when its shooting for laughs, this was a misfire that - sadly - never gets off the ground. (rated PG-13)  C-

SAN ANDREAS (2015)

I love disaster flicks - which is why, even though 4 minutes into San Andreas I knew was going to hate this movie, I stuck with it anyway.  But from the first time we see Dwayne Johnson, the sun glinting off his manly features as he (badly) utters his first line, to the moment shortly after when he calls a woman he's about to rescue "honey" (setting back women's rights about 30 years), the film turns into cliche after cliche via a horrible script and some very bad acting.  The "plot" involves Johnson, as search-and-rescue worker Ray, ignoring the lives of absolutely everyone else when the San Andreas fault cracks open and levels Los Angeles (later San Francisco), in order to find and rescue his own wife in L.A. before flying his chopper blindly over the millions of injured to get to San Francisco, so he can get his own daughter out of a trapped town car in a parking garage (swear to God).  The ridiculousness doesn't stop there, and even with good special effects I can't imagine how this film ever even got made. (rated PG-13)  D-

CITIZENFOUR (2014)

The origins of Citizenfour began in January 2013, when filmmaker Laura Poitras began receiving anonymous, encrypted emails from someone claiming to have evidence of illegal surveillance programs being done by the NSA, often with the cooperation of foreign governments.  These emails would lead her, along with reporters Glenn Greenwald and Ewan MacAskill, to Hong Kong several months later, where holed up in a hotel room they would begin interviews with the young man determined to make the world aware of the illegal electronic prying on their private lives ... former NSA employee Edward Snowden.  You have to keep reminding yourself, while watching Citizenfour, that these aren't actors - that you're really watching Snowden; really seeing how this played out once the media got wind of it.  But in the end, while at times riveting and always important, the film isn't likely to change your opinion on Snowden himself; what you do get, instead, is a portrait of a man who just wanted his fellow citizens to know the truth, even at the cost of his own freedom. (rated R)  B

SPY (2015)

Crude, lewd (especially the unrated cut - whew!), hilarious, and more entertaining than most of the espionage films it parodies, Spy is final proof that Melissa McCarthy can 1) headline a film; and 2) create a character, over caricature, from the ground up.  Here she's Susan Cooper, computer analyst for the CIA, backing up debonair agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law, channeling his best James Bond) until a disastrous mission sidelines Fine ... and has Susan, who's never been in the field before, volunteering for her first assignment: collecting intel on a possible nuclear weapons sale.  The film is brilliant, McCarthy never funnier than when forced to change her alias to become foul-mouthed bodyguard Amber Valentine, as she gets ever closer to cracking the case.  Avoid if you're prudish on things like foul language - otherwise wear something absorbent 'cause you might just wet yourself laughing.  OMG, and Jason Statham; who knew that rock of an action star could be so freaking funny?  (unrated)  A

BURYING THE EX (2014)

Burying the Ex stars Anton Yelchin as Max, a horror movie geek working at a Halloween/costume shop in L.A. who, one day, boinks his hot girlfriend Evelyn (Ashley Greene) in the back room there, after which Evelyn wishes on this weird devil statue that the two of them will remain together forever.  Flash forward to Evelyn now living with Max, and being such a control freak Max finally works up the nerve to break up with her ... until she is struck and killed by a bus on her way to their fateful meeting.  But a promise is a promise, and soon after Max starts getting involved with Olivia (Alexandra Daddario), zombie Evelyn digs herself out of her grave, determined she and Max will indeed be together forever - even if she has to make him a zombie to do it.  While Burying the Ex is a decent horror-comedy, it takes itself too seriously at times and suffers from the casting of Yelchin in the lead (he's just not that believable, or lovable-goofy enough).  Sadly, the film is just good enough to make you aware of how much better it could have been, if that makes sense ... (rated R)  C+

CHILD 44 (2015)

Glad my reviews are brief; keeps me from turning this write-up into a smarmy tribute to Tom Hardy - who, let's face it, may be the most talented actor working today.  Child 44 adds another formidable notch to his belt; here he plays Leo Demidov, a dedicated military police officer in Stalin's Soviet Union, circa 1953 ... until, disgraced over an incident involving his wife, Leo finds his safety further hampered when he sets his mind to solving a string of child murders in a land where such crimes don't exist, and are therefore written off as "accidents" in an all-is-well, pro-Stalin Russia.  Despite increasing threats, Leo works behind the scenes to solve the horrible crimes, even as the killer continues unabated, in a film that so perfectly captures the isolation, desperation, and rampant paranoia of the Soviet Union at the time, the suspense builds tight as piano wire as you watch Leo heading toward redemption ... or doom.  Incredible performances, led by the flawless Hardy, make this mesmerizing to watch. (rated R)  A-

UNFRIENDED (2014)

Taking place in real time on the desktop of popular high school girl Blaire (Shelley Hennig), Unfriended is off and running when Blaire and boyfriend Mitch (Moses Storm) have their flirty Skype session interrupted by friends Jess (Renee Olstead), Adam (Will Peltz), Ken (Jacob Wysocki) ... and a fourth person, sans Skype name or avatar, who claims to be fellow classmate Laura Barns, who killed herself a year ago.  First seen as a bad joke, it quickly becomes clear - as Laura's taunts become threatening - that whether human or supernatural, someone is out to expose the secrets of this group of friends ... and punish them for their deeds.  Unfriended works amazingly well; maybe because I actually watched it on my laptop, I loved the in-your-face intensity of the film; how it so connected you to what was going on, even the "unfriend" option gone missing from a Facebook profile page becomes unsettling.  Original, fun and genuinely creepy, this is a low budget thriller that feeds into our intimacy with the internet - and the fact that none of us has any real privacy on it. (rated R)  B

JURASSIC WORLD (2015)

Wanted to wait before reviewing this, as it's such an adrenaline-fueled film; one of those CGI wonders that gets you pumped up while watching it, caught up in the visuals ... but later on, when you think about the film itself, proves to have little substance.  While not as good as the first but better than the sequels, Jurassic World is the story of the never-ending pursuit of more profits, as yet another dinosaur theme park, built on the site of the original, is proving to be big business.  This time though, on-site scientists have created a brand new hybrid of dinosaur - one that, of course, ends up getting loose and causing a chain reaction of panic and problems.  Chris Pratt plays his two-dimensional raptor wrangler as best he can, while Bryce Dallas Howard feels miscast as the hard-boiled park exec whose own nephews become dino-bait.  The film is rousing, the effects good, the story pretty much the same as always - but ultimately it's all style and substance; a "popcorn" movie for the senses, even as it leaves nothing behind for the heart or soul to digest. (rated PG-13)  B-

WHY DON'T YOU PLAY IN HELL? (2013)

Imagine Quentin Tarantino going to an all-you-can-eat sushi bar, over-eating, then crashing into an insane dream ... and you have the film Why Don't You Play in Hell?, a bloody yakuza-thriller-comedy-romance about a Japanese crime boss who wants to make his wife's release from prison (after ten years) special by hiring a movie crew to make a film starring their teen daughter, who got famous as a little girl for a popular toothpaste commercial.  Enter the F*ck Bombers, a group of four gorilla filmmakers whose leader is determined to make his name in film history ... or die trying.  When that same leader gets the idea to film the actual raid of the crime boss and his gang on a rival yakuza gang, things go from nuts to insane, and words can't convey the sheer lunacy of the violent, bloody, off-its-hinges (and often hilarious) mayhem that follows.  While I wish it had a stronger ending, this is a great film, so original and nuts (and SO much fun) you can't help but appreciate it for that alone. (not rated)  A

PAINLESS (2012)

Saw this film on a recommend via one of my favorite horror writers, and while understanding comparisons to films like The Orphanage I felt this one lacked emotional depth.  Going back and forth between two time periods in Catalonia, first we see the effects of a fearful village, before and during the Spanish Civil War, on a small group of young children deemed to be impervious to pain; considered a danger to themselves and others, the children are sent to an old asylum for rehabilitation, though in truth no one knows how to "cure" them.  Meanwhile, in present day, a physician dying of bone cancer needs a marrow transplant, and when he learns his parents aren't really his parents, sets off on a journey to find his biological mother and father.  You can see the ending of Painless long before it comes, and even with the kids' horror story there is just a tonal coldness - a lack of emotional connection - here to make me want to recommend it. (not rated)  C-

STUNG (2015)

Stung is a fun homage to monster movies of the 1950's, where giant mutant ants or rabbits or frogs or whatever were always set on destroying our world.  Here the story revolves around a young caterer named Julia (Jessica Cook), who has taken over her father's business since his death, and her assistant Paul (Matt O'Leary), who drive out to an isolated country estate to cater a yearly garden party for an elderly widow and her creepy son Sydney (a wonderful Clifton Collins Jr.).  As the night goes on, we learn the deceased owner of the property was a guy whose business was pesticides - and that's about when the giant wasps start attacking, not only stinging the guests but using their bodies as hosts to grow more.  Stung is gory, fun, even funny - though I was hoping for "funnier"; had heard the film was sort of comedy-horror, but it takes itself a bit more seriously than that, to the film's detriment.  Still a truly fun, well-done monster movie fans of the genre will enjoy, no doubt; just wish it had pushed a little harder at poking fun at itself! (not rated)  B

THE TRUE COST (2015)

Though documentaries are often not "my thing," when the subject matter is close to my heart (animals, for instance) I can't resist.  What blew me away about The True Cost was how accurate the title was; from turning consumers into materialistic spendaholics, to the low-to-nothing slave wages paid to overseas factory workers living and working in deadly conditions in countries like Cambodia, Indonesia and India, to the environmental impact of genetically-enhanced cotton seeds potentially harming not only those who wear the clothing but also killing those who grow the cotton to make it, this film was a genuine, moving eye-opener to the high human cost paid to bring consumers the lowest clothing prices possible.  Also playing on the industry's constant feeding of the idea that we must buy more to be happier (when the opposite is true), The True Cost was a revelation to me ... and a film every person who likes to shop should see, hoping it will affect change. (rated PG-13)  B+