Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
Short Term 12 – 5.5
This movie about troubled youths in…exactly what kind of facility?…exposed my lack of empathy, as I didn’t find myself caring about anyone on-screen. Brie Larson had a Cate Blanchett-type role, but as much as I enjoyed watching her I couldn’t believe her character. First, she was absurdly perfect and self-controlled as a counselor tending to […]
We’re the Millers – 6.5
Jennifer Anniston was way too good for Jason Sudeikis, let alone this movie, although she was seriously unconvincing as a stripper. Still, as spoofs go, there were plenty of cute, fun moments. I never looked at my watch, or worried that anything bad would actually happen.
The Spectacular Now – 5
I’m not wild for films about losers, and Miles Teller, besides being a 25-year-old high-school senior, was definitely a loser. Shailene Woodley was wonderful in the Molly Ringwald role, but instead of making me happy, their reunion at the end was disappointing: she could do better. All he had done was pick her up to […]
Blue Jasmine – 7
Woody Allen looks back, through Tennessee Williams to Shakespeare and the Greeks, to give us a classic tragical heroine. There is no story ‘arc,’ as is the Hollywood norm; instead, we are left to watch the inexorable, inevitable descent of Jasmine French from Hamptons high to homelessness. When she appears to have a chance to […]
In A World… – 6
The funniest part of this movie was the way it treated voice-over artists as major players in the Hollywood scene, culminating in the Golden Trailers ceremony. I mean, when was the last time you saw a trailer that even had a voice-over? Maybe it was a metaphor for Hollywood in general? Lake Bell, a better-looking […]