Rapid Reviews: Movies, TV

Old and new movies and TV shows, in theatres and streaming. We've even borrowed a couple from the library. We're all over the board!

Malcolm & Marie: This Netflix original starring Zendaya and John David Washington is an emotional rollercoaster about a director and his girlfriend after returning from the premiere of his movie. But it’s waaaaay more than that. Set entirely in a glass-lined home (actually in Carmel, Calif.), this dialogue-driven masterwork (inside joke) never lets up from the opening scene, a 22-minute raging argument between the couple about a perceived slight earlier in the evening. Sharply written and directed by Sam Levinson (son of legendary Rain Man director Barry Levinson), this tour de force (inside joke) is a concise takedown of class, race, Hollywood, the media, men’s egos, women’s indecisiveness, every argument a man and woman have had … and on. The framing, the carefully casual lighting, the lively sound, the voyeuristic camera work and the stone-cold modern house are all subtly vibrant. Washington is tremendous, stunning, making me want to check out what else he’s done. Zendaya is very good, but her performance would have been helped by, uh, more clothing. Or maybe that’s an ironic poke by Levinson in reference to a setpiece from his own movie. And then there’s the dialogue, which is so compelling, so beautiful, so poetic, so real, so harsh, so vicious, so authentic (inside joke) that it feels like we’re peeping in on this battling and dysfunctional couple. What a thrill ride, from start to stop. It’s such a great and original movie that I wouldn’t want to watch it again until I forget the startling and original dialogue. A glass cage of emotion, indeed. Brilliant. Rating: 4 out of 5

Tiger: The HBO two-part documentary recounts the rise, downfall and personal redemption of Tiger Woods, the dominant golfer conditioned to take over the world. As with all tellings of hubris, Woods’ failings fall directly at the feet of a parent, in this case his father, Earl, who did his only son no favors by raising him to be a proto-athlete, forgetting to equip him with social skills, compassion, etc., which we see in painstaking detail. Interviewees include his first girlfriend, a family friend who became a failed role model, former caddie Stevie Williams and others who were close enough to Woods to give us an accurate sense of who he was and what he went through, plus earlier recorded interviews with Earl himself and some of Tiger (who did not participate in this doc). More importantly, this is not a puff piece, based partially on the 2018 biography by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian as well as supplemented with almost 60 hours of interviews. Thus, it doesn’t back off the race factor, the subsequent disappointment among some when Woods did not fully identify as African American, nor does it sugarcoat his addiction to pain killers (arrest footage is unvarnished), or his rampant infidelity that culminated in the infamous confrontation between Woods and wife Elin on Thanksgiving 2009. Heck, even Rachel Uchitel and the Perkins waitress appear. Overall, a solid and straightforward doc on one of American history’s more complicated figures. Rating: 4 out of 5

Soul: Joe is a middle-aged music teacher whose life has been middling. Then, through a connection made by a former student, he gets his big break to play piano with a beloved jazz performer. And he nails it, setting up his long-anticipated career as a jazz musician. On his way home from his successful audition, Joe … falls in an open sewer. Dead. Kaput. End of dream. But that’s not the end of the movie. This flick about second chances and living life to its fullest is a rare Pixar misfire. Slated to be a summer blockbuster, Soul was instead pushed to Disney+ by the pandemic. It offers up brilliant, brilliant animation, Pixar somehow raising the bar even further from what it had set in each of its previous films. And the jazz soundtrack of the real world and the Trent Reznor-Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails does a Disney soundtrack? The apocalypse is truly upon us) mix of the Great Before give you the feels in their own distinct way. But the movie suffers from a convoluted story that is probably too esoteric for kids (and lots of adults, too) and too bent on the existentialist question. A better movie in here focusing on Joe’s character and his drive for second chances and allowing him to show off his jazz chops would have more appealing. Rating: 3 out of 5

Ava: This shoot-em-up starring Jessica Chastain as the prototypical “deadly assassin” (as opposed to a “safe assassin”?) who works for a super-secret black ops organization is actually better than you’d expect. John Malkovich (playing the role you’d expect, but still good) is her mentor/protector/or-is-he while Colin Farrell is the supreme bad guy who just wants our Jessica to be dead already. The twist here is that Jessica has family (mom Geena Davis and sister Jess Weixler) and an old boyfriend (played by Common, because of course) with old debts to settle and old grudges to hold in fair Boston. The story feels trite talking about it but it actually all plays out in thrilling and entertaining fashion, with the requisite over-the-top action and body count, the bonus coming with the great performances and the relatively original dialogue (at no point during his battle with the much younger Farrell was I expecting a decidedly senior Malkovich to say, “I’m too old for this sh*t”, for instance). At barely over an hour and a half, this is a veritable breeze in today’s binge-dedicated world and an easy commitment. Points deducted for the overall genre. Rating: 3 out of 5

The Lady and the Dale: This HBO Max four-part docuseries about trans-sexual pioneer and conwoman Liz Carmichael is heartbreaking and revelatory. Carmichael rose to infamy as the strong businesswoman behind The Dale three-wheeled car that was set to revolutionize the American auto industry in the gas-thirsty 1970s. After an initial furor that drew hundreds to the California showroom to put down deposits, the reality of the goal exceeding the reach of the dream hit hard, and Carmichael and her five children and wife had to hit the road — which was not an unusual consequence for this family, as we learn. This story is as much about trans-gender rights as it is about a conwoman and her family, but it’s deftly told to the point where you feel a great deal of sympathy for her and her innocent family. In that same vein, it also deftly shows how a person’s public persona — in this case, a criminal considered to be a freak by the times — conflicts with that of the people who know her best — in this case, Carmichael being beloved unreservedly by her family as a dedicated and good mother. As with many documentaries, re-creating scenes for which there is no footage presented a problem, and I’m not sure the solution of animated photos and cutouts really worked, as they feel more cartoony than this serious subject matter requires. Nonetheless, The Lady and the Dale is a solid watch if you’re interested in the private lives of one of the country’s most interesting fugitives. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind: This effective and revelatory HBO doc uses interviews with his first wife, one of his children, several comedy peers (such as David Letterman, Billy Crystal) and footage of his standup routines, both polished and grainy, to give us an intimate glimpse of the twisted, brilliant and troubled mind of arguably the top comic genius of his time. The doc is more of a shade more tribute than objective, but that’s OK because enough warts are exposed to give us perhaps the truest sense of a comedian who changed the game. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Good Detective: This 16-episode (old school!) South Korean detective drama is sharp, funny and suspenseful. Each episode clocks in at an hour or more, but they don’t drag or make you feel like you should be checking your phone because they pack in so much action. Set in Incheon, the story follows a rebellious older detective, alongside an up-and-coming rookie, as he tries to exonerate a convict he put on death row after new evidence comes to light. That’s the basic storyline. Throw into the mix a young journalist investigating the case, a cagey businessman who just happens to be the rookie cop’s cousin, a crooked cop, a sort-of-crooked police chief, a suspicious newspaper editor, a conflicted internal affairs investigator, a funny group of supportive policemen, beautiful scenery and a glimpse into South Korean culture, and you’ve got an unabashed winner. Bring on Season 2! (Note: If you’re not fluent in Korean, best watched with subtitles, not dubbed.) Rating: 4 out of 5

American Murder: The Family Next Door: This accessible documentary about a murder in Colorado of a pregnant wife and her two kids is gripping while using Facebook video, TV news interviews, personal smartphone video, interrogation video, simulated text messages and security footage to tell the harrowing story of the mysterious disappearance of Shannan Watts and her two young daughters. No interviews with the principles involved are included; it’s all secondhand footage. The story pans out sort of the way you’d expect/fear, but the unraveling is compelling because of the nontraditional filmmaking style effectively employed by director Jenny Popplewell. This story hits a nerve for its brutality, which, along with its style, supersedes its predictability. Plus, at less than 90 minutes, it’s proof positive that murder documentaries don’t have to take a week and a half to watch to be effective. Only hit here is a lack of balance that makes the dad a little more sympathetic than you’d expect, as well as some details about the story that emerged later that would have changed that. Still, a worthy view. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Song Exploder: Dopey show title aside, this series on Netflix offers rare and honest insight into the creative process behind the creation of some of the most iconic and popular songs. Hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway and based on his podcast of the same name, Volume 1 of the series gets the inside scoop on songs by Alicia Keys, R.E.M., Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ty Dolla $ign, spending serious time with each of the singers, songwriters and bandmembers. Pretty cool stuff. Bring on the next batch! Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Ratched: Man, this Netflix original series was depraved and hard to get through. The sets and clothes were sharply stylish (look for the vibrant green in every scene), the acting was creepy and the storyline was unpredictable. All good things. But, lordy, so gruesome, so uneven and so painful that it took Coco and I a full week to watch all eight episodes, which is a lifetime for us. Yeah, yeah, it’s a psychological thriller, but we just did not want to finish this one. We could have driven to Burlington, Vermont, and back with those eight hours. Or watched the squirrels hide nuts in our backyard. Or watched The Irishman two and a half times. Or completed an entire mail-delivery shift for the U.S. Postal Service. Season 1 of the series, created by Evan Romansky and developed by Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story, among others), ostensibly provides an origin story to the legendarily crotchety Nurse Ratched created by Ken Kesey in his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and expertly played by eventual Oscar winner Louise Fletcher in the cinematic version from 1975. Talk about ruining an iconic character: I didn’t care about any of the deceitful and nasty characters, I wasn’t curious about their motivations, I wasn’t interested in the resolutions of any of the storylines, I laughed when I shouldn’t have, I cringed at the obvious gore. The film looked pretty, but oh, what a painful watch. Not gonna make it for Season 2. No idea how this rode along at No. 1 on Netflix for so long. People want this kind of thing in these troubled times? Really? Rating: 2.0 out of 5

Uncut Gems: Adam Sandler is great as the unlikeable, scheming New York jewelry dealer, but the rest of this movie is yelling, conniving, cheating and stealing by a cadre of reprehensible characters that I barely cared about. Had to pause this movie to get the taste out of my mouth and didn’t get back to it for a month. Pass. Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Unsolved Mysteries: This Netflix reboot of the eponymous series from the 1980s has lost a bit of its shock value because the original was so influential in how these documentaries were made thereafter. In other words, we’ve seen this over and over again since this series debuted with the canyon-voiced Robert Stack as host. This time around, we’re going without a host (can’t top the Stack), which would have been a differentiator but instead sets the stage for this being another series of well-produced 45-minute documentaries about true crimes. The heartbreaking stories are all interesting, horrific and mysterious. But I’d love to see some of them solved and then we could find out what really happened. I know that’s the point, that they’re unsolved, but with all these loose ends, it feels rather uncompleted. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

The Old Guard: I’m worried about Charlize Theron; the South African superstar has acting chops galore (see Monster) but has been in a lot of gory, violent shoot-em-ups lately (Atomic Blonde and Mad Max being the most noteworthy). The Old Guard is the latest, and it’s, yup, brutally violent, a tale about a force of four immortals who go around saving the world in their special violent, grouchy and bonding way. The hook this time around: The appearance of another immortal, an American soldier in Afghanistan. Which, as it happens, coincides with Theron’s sudden failure to heal (no one knows why the immortals suddenly stop healing, but it’s a thing and hangs over the story like a dark cloud of … mortality) and the threat of a British egomaniacal pharmaceutical CEO bent on capturing the immortal band of merry men and women to harvest their blood to sell in the name of ending worldwide suffering. But, really, we all know it’s about profits. This flick is fine, if you’re into that sort of thing, and the ending wasn’t an ending at all, setting up a series if the reception is decent. But the endless blood and guts and gore and body count and cheapness of life in these movies gets tiresome and predictable after a while, not gonna lie. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

The Baby-Sitters Club: Based on the best-selling book series of a group of young girls who form, you guessed it, a baby-sitting business, this is a decent watch but not really all that remarkably different from other similar kids’ shows in the stratosphere such as Just Add Magic, H2O or Kicks. Coco loved it way more than Dalts did. Rating: 2.5 out of 5 (higher if you’re a girl between 10-15)

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga: This Will Ferrell Netflix original has a decent number of laughs, a sweet Rachel McAdams and a scene-stealing Dan Stevens in a tale about a terrible duet from Iceland who competes in the prestigious singing competition in Europe. The movie is corny, charming and presents evidence Ferrell still has it. He doesn’t strip down to his underwear and run on the track like he did in Talladega Nights, nor does he bring the arrogant pompous like he did in Anchorman, but Ferrell does manage again to find the sweet spot between dopey and sympathetic. But be forewarned: This one has random dance numbers, original songs and an earnestness that borders on sycophantic. Still, it’s a nice little comedy that, while not an enduring classic like the aforementioned Ferrell movies, will have you smiling as you sing “Ya, Ya Ding Dong” in the days afterward. Rating: 3 out of 5

The Last Dance: This 10-episode look on Netflix at the 1997-98 season of the Chicago Bulls, juxtaposed with flashbacks to origin stories of key players on that team, is all about celebrating Michael Jordan’s greatness. Which is logical: his production company worked alongside ESPN and Netflix to produce it. Sure, a few warts are presented, such as the accusations of gambling addiction and the murder of his father, but make no mistake, this is very much a celebration of one of the greatest athletes of all time. And his pull bears out in gaining interviews with almost every key figure in the story, from Bulls owner Jerry Reisdorf to teammates Dennis Rodman to Scottie Pippen, to his mom (GM Jerry Krause, subject to much scorn, passed away before production but his viewpoint is presented in archival footage). Jordan’s notorious competitiveness is fully evident throughout, and we learn the perceived personal slight behind every legendary performance. The doc gets a bit rote after a while, and there’s not much here about Jordan’s personal life, but if you’ve got 10 hours to kill and you’re even a marginal sports fan, there are worse ways. Rating: 3 out of 5

Knives Out: This whodunit featuring an all-star cast is pretty great but not quite at the level of the hype. Christopher Plummer (always good) is an author found dead under suspicious circumstances in his glorious mansion the morning after a party featuring a raucous cast of family characters that includes Jamie Lee Curtis (solid-gold awesome), Don Johnson (also great; good to see him in something decent again), Chris Evans (reliable), Michael Shannon (dependable) and Toni Collete (good), all of whom have a motive. Private detective Daniel Craig (with a Southern accent, for some reason) is on the case, helping out the local constabulary (who, again for some reason, is letting him run things). Nurse Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049) finds herself at the center of the story, and the center of controversy, with a development that I won’t spoil, and the chase for truth is on. The movie doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of its first act, but it still holds together and feels like decent entertainment by the time we reach the denouement, which you can’t often say about productions with this kind of cast. Decent stream for a rainy summer’s day. Rating: 3 out of 5

Judy: Renee Zellweger’s Oscar-winning performance drives this movie and locks you into your seat with an utter habitation of Judy Garland in the last year of her life. The film itself falls short — it’s good, but it just feels like it could have been something more — but Zellweger’s performance is completely convincing and worth the price of admission. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Vice: Scary-good for the right reasons, this biopic starring a fattened Christian Bale as former Vice President Dick Cheney is a compelling study on how to portray an inaccessible and notoriously private public figure. We get the whole life gamut, from his days as a hell-raising teenager right through to Cheney’s time emerging from what has been described as being the most powerful Vice President in recent memory, if not ever. Written and directed by Adam McKay, he of the Will Ferrell comedies as well as the strong The Big Short, in which he simplified a complicated book to a respectful and excellent degree, Vice is just serious and tender enough for the subject, but whimsical enough to keep you from forgetting its roots. Bale owns the role of the despicable Cheney, of course, but when you add in Amy Adams (who also bulked up) as his wife, Lynne, Steve Carrell as a pitch-perfect Donald Rumsfeld, Sam Rockwell as the very body and image of George W. Bush and Jesse Plemons as the narrator Kurt, you have one scene after another of powerhouse subtle performances. Strongly done, even if the subject matter didn’t have people running to the theaters (back when people went to theaters). Rating: 3.25 out of 5

The Insider: Al Pacino is 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman and Russell Crowe is a Big Tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand in this Michael Mann- (Ali, Miami Vice, Heat) helmed production that is worth every one of its seven Oscar nominations. Big Tobacco wants to keep the fired Wigand from spilling the beans about, shock of all shocks, cigarettes conditioned to be addictive. Pacino’s Bergman wants said beans to be spilled for his show. That’s pretty much the plot, but it’s a wild and thought-provoking ride that somehow doesn’t let up for its two-and-a-half-hour entirety. The true story, now legend, of CBS executives watering down the resulting story is told with heartbreaking alacrity and bitting bitterness, and watching Pacino and Crowe (Oscar-nominated for this role) take turns tearing up the verbal scenery is an acting master class. (And that dialogue is beyond compare.) Toss in gripping supporting turns by everyone from Bruce McGill (Animal House) to Colm Feore (Bon Cop, Bad Cop) to Christopher Plummer (as Mike Wallace) to Lindsay Crouse (Slap Shot!) to Gina Gershon (Bound) to Michael Gambon (Harry Potter) to Rip Torn (Men in Black) to Wings Houser (legendary TV villain) and … Gary Sandy (Andy Travis from WKRP!), and each scene boils. This flick is what happens when everyone is on their game at precisely the same time. One of the finest movies ever about journalism and corporate malfeasance. Rating 4.5 out of 5

The Nice Guys: Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe play private detectives who reluctantly team up to find a missing woman and, when that fails, spoiler, find out how she was killed. This Shane Black-helmed project was underappreciated/a bomb when it came out in 2016, even with the obvious similarities to Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, etc. But in a good way. As in, ripping dialogue, killer action scenes and very likable loser characters. Gosling’s wimpy single dad without a sense of smell and Crowe’s manly bouncer-type with more than a hint of his character from L.A. Confidential form a duo of rare compare. Angourie Rice as Gosling’s daughter is also no slouch, and props to Black for making her an equal. I don’t say this often, but I’d watch a sequel featuring these actors playing these same roles. Rating 4 out of 5

Enemy: This Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) vehicle stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a Toronto history professor who spots his doppelganger as a bit actor in a movie. There’s angst, there’s confrontation, there’s mental illness, there’s partner swapping, there’s a giant phantom spider. Uh, skip. Rating: 2 out of 5

The Ides of March: A stellar cast rips through this political thriller that tells the story of the back-stabbing and backroom deals behind the run of a governor (George Clooney) to become the Democratic nominee for President. Ryan Gosling stars as a staffer on Clooney’s campaign, reporting to campaign manager Philip Seymour Hoffman. Meanwhile, the opponent’s campaign manager (Paul Giamatti), has some funny business planned to get his candidate into the lead, including making a big promise to a key senator (Jeffrey Wright) to secure the backing of his delegates. Oh, and there’s bedroom business with an intern (Evan Rachel Wood) that throws the whole plan sideways, and a reporter (Marisa Tomei) keeping everyone honest. I wasn’t kidding about the cast. Smartly written, sharply acted and complete with actual twists, this 2011 flick is sadly relevant all these years later. Lo, if those were the worst of our political troubles. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Platoon: What is there to say that hasn’t already been said about director Oliver Stone’s breakout depiction of the hell that was the Vietnam War? Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe were all brilliant (the latter two were nominated for Oscars) as rugged combatants fighting a war within the war. The violence is gruesome (deftly in an off-camera way), the action feels real, the acting is solid and the dialogue feels authentic. Sure, it’s a riff off Apocolypse Now, complete with a young, disllusioned Sheen as a narrating protagonist falling into the trap of a disgusting and incompetent war, but Stone hits the mark with a supremely paced and shot anti-war film that holds up, even all these years later. Rating: 4 out of 5

Goalie: Moody and pensive, this film about the tragic life of legendary NHL goalie Terry Sawchuk is a mix of perfect notes and odd contradictions: The acting at its best is led by Mark O’Brien’s award-winning turn in the lead, Kevin Pollack as Jack Adams and Georgina Reilly as Pat Sawchuk, but other performances are ragged; the writing is mostly sharp, but occasionally veers off into the maudlin, trite and expected; and the story starts gripping and true, but feels unfairly truncated in the last half of the third act, arguably the most mysterious of Sawchuk’s life, when he passed from team to team while hanging on to the last vestiges of his storied career before his unexpected death. O’Brien, who has provided solid support in Arrival, Halt and Catch Fire, and Marriage Story, among others, is worth the price of admission, but hearing “Detroit Red Wings'“ and instead seeing uniforms that look like they’re from a cereal commercial takes a bit of bite off the slap shot, an ecapsulation of this movie as a whole. Rating: 3 out of 5

Private Life: This quiet little movie tackles the big topic of struggling to start a family, with the usual stunning performance turns by Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn as a couple doing everything they can to have a baby or adopt a child. And then their fertile niece comes along. Tightly written and acted, this is a nice flick when you’re tired of loud special effects and just need a dose of realistic situations, realistic people and authentic dialogue. Charming and effective. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Airplane!: The famously slapsticky original holds up just fine these days, and surely you would agree. (“But don’t call me …”) An almost scene-for-scene parody of the 1950s cardboard-serious Zero Hour!, Airplane! stars Robert Hays (in a part written for David Letterman) as a World War II veteran forced into landing a commercial airliner when the crew and many of the passengers fall ill. But that’s not important right now. What is important is that this ground-breaking script from the Zucker brothers and Jerry Abrahams shattered the parameters of Hollywood’s idea of comedy, bringing in super-serious actors Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack and Lloyd Bridges to shatter the ideal. Sure, some of the jokes are obvious, then and now, but others have become iconic. Either way, it all adds up to a fun ride of largely innocent humor that would relaunch Neilsen’s career with The Naked Gun series and be copied thereafter. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Mission Impossible: Fallout: Tom Cruise returns as Nathan Hunt in this 2018 sequel or whatever in the mega-sequel franchise. This time, it’s personal. Again. It’s all here: Tom Cruise running across buildings, streetscapes, cars, etc., bad guys shooting a million bullets and missing, good guys shooting everyone dead with one bullet, physically impossible narrow escapes, fatal wounds that become flesh wounds, gravity-defying helicopters, car scenes that somehow kill no pedestrians, countdown clocks on nuclear bombs that can in no possible scenario be disarmed but somehow are. Long but tense, so better than average if you’re into splosions and such. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

Paper Man: This quirky and cute movie stars Jeff Daniels as a struggling author. Big deal, right? After all, that topic is cliche fodder. But in Paper Man, Daniels’ Richard Dunn has an imaginary superhero friend (Ryan Reynolds is his usual sharp self) who helps him get through challenging times. While escaping to Montauk, N.Y., of all places, to write his second book, Daniels’ Dunn meets Abby, played with charm by the always dazzling Emma Stone, and his life goes on a detour. It’s funny and warm, and strikes the heart in an authentic way. Sprinkle in Lisa Kudrow as the supportive-but-on-the-edge wife who drops in on the writer’s retreat on weekends and Kieran Culkin as Abby’s creepy sidekick and you have a great, small cast that propels this into a nice little viewing. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Inception: The movie that set the standard for all other mind-bending thrillers, Inception stars a tormented Leonardo DiCaprio as an agent hired to enter a person’s dream for often nefarious ends. How many levels into a dream can you go? Am I dreaming that I’m dreaming? That I’m dreaming? Etc. Elliot Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine star in this fresh take questioning what dreams and the human psyche are really made of. The pace in this thriller is such that you barely feel its 2:28 running time (barely) and this Christopher Nolan (Interstellar, Dunkirk, The Dark Knight, etc.) classic is worth every laurel it received. Stunning, gripping, thrilling all in one entertaining wrapper, even all these years later. Rating: 4 out of 5

Groundhog Day: This iconic comedy from Harold Ramis and starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell is everything you remember it to be: charming, witty, dark, deep, shallow, funny. Weatherman Murray is somehow stuck repeating the same day over and over again, stuck in the endless loop. You just know finding yourself and love has something to do with the solution, but whatever. This remains a good watch and a nice commentary about celebrity, ego, the mundane everyday and old acquaintances, among other themes. Fun. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Star Wars: Original Trilogy: Star Wars (aka, A New Hope), Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are the best of the three trilogies, even if the dialogue is corny, the acting uneven and the angry teddy bears (aka, Ewoks) completely ruined the series capper. Brutal. But the chemistry between Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, R2D2 and C-3PO, plus the Force-ful presence of Obi-Wan Kenobi, puppet Yoda and, especially, Darth Vader, make this a wild ride that still holds up all these years later. Trilogy rating: 3.25 out of 5

Star Wars: Prequel Trilogy: A Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith represent the Hollywood-ification of Star Wars, the excess obvious in the enlisting of big-name and leading-edge actors of the day (Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson) to the bolstered CGI budget that includes the (in some quarters) contentious Yoda animation. The dialogue is still pretty corny, but the special effects are especially off the hook and the action is pretty tight and wall-to-wall in the second two movies. A Phantom Menace, on the other hand, lives down to its reputation: It is completely ruined by the incoherent (and somehow racist) Jar Jar Binks and a confusing and needless speeder race, which is too bad because Liam Neeson as a Jedi warrior is a thing that just makes sense. If you’re of a younger generation and followed George Lucas’ intended order of all the Star Wars movies by watching Phantom Menace first, props for getting through it and into the second movie, and beyond. Skip the painful Phantom entirely, and this is a decent and fairly engaging set for the franchise. Trilogy rating: 3 out of 5

Star Wars: Disney Sequels: So very long and disjointed, this trilogy (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker) were supposed to be supplements to the original trilogy but end up just being jarring reminders that creativity by committee just doesn’t work. Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega and Isaac Oscar do an admirable job with the material they are given, but all seem to be rehashes of Original Trilogy characters, just in different skins, roles, generations and genders. Not spending more time on Boyega/Finn’s backstory as a turncoat Storm Trooper is a wasted opportunity, and watching Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher (who died after The Last Jedi) bull their way through their roles wasn’t awesome. J.J. Abrams wrote and directed the bookends, but having a cohensive plan for all three and sticking with it would have surely resulted in a better trilogy. Bottom line is that Disney, in addition to the debacle Solo: A Star Wars Story, has ruined the franchise to the point where you’ve got to wonder what the next move is for the Mouse. Trilogy rating 2.75 out of 5

Space Force: Made it all the way through one episode, but barely. Steve Carrell is fine, I guess, but it seems like he’s taking a step back from what has been a pretty steady career progression. Not sure fans of The Office would even give this one a thumbs up. Oh, and John Malkovich is funny, if not revisiting familiar shtick. Otherwise, this Netflix sitcom about a career military guy (Carrell) being charged by a troublesome new president (the inference is obvious) to put “boots on the moon“ is a stitching together of awkward scenes. Why is it so hard to make good comedy? Rating: 2.25 out of 5

Trial by Media: This six-episode docuseries is more about sensational coverage than the subjects being tried in the media, although there is an element to that. From New York City “Subway Vigilante” Bernard Goetz to disgraced Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, the series aims to take a comprehensive look at how suspected criminals got a raw deal through their trial coverage. Ample perspective is presented from the families of the accused, just not so much from the media side of the topic. As in, why was the story popular? Why were decisions about coverage made? Etc. That, plus the odd decision to doctor the presentation of some of the newspaper articles used as B-roll added up to a miss. An admirable but, ultimately, failed mission. Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Jeffery Epstein: Filthy Rich: This Netflix original about the accused pedophile and accused sex trafficker is a quick binge (four hours) if you’re into documentaries, can stomach some of the details of the case and bear the frustration of learning how the system failed the many young girls (now women) caught up in the ring. But one can’t help come away from the doc still wondering why Epstein did it, who he was and who exactly let him get away with it for all those years. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Criminal: This stunning Netflix original series delivers on a simple idea: What does interrogation look like in four countries? Criminal is four series that each examine four different crimes in four countries: Spain, France, Germany and the U.K. And there are three settings within one police station (which is the same set for all four): The interrogation room, the room that overlooks the interrogation room and the hallway that surrounds the two. So, no shooting, no arrests, no court scenes, just suspects coming into the police station and trying to weasel out of their arrest while sweating it out under the microscope. The process around how different detectives in different countries do their job is fascinating, as are the character examinations and revelations, plus the subtle cultural differences in each country. The dialogue is sharp, the conflict within each of the characters palpable, the acting top-notch and the resolution to each crime believable. The France and German versions are the best of the four, but, truly, you can’t go wrong with any of them. This is what TV cop shows should be like. Season 2, with four episodes set in the U.K., is just as brilliant. More, please! We want Criminal Canada, Criminal Iceland, Criminal Turkey … Rating: 4 out of 5

Miami Vice, seasons 1-2: This groundbreaking NBC series from the mid-1980s was at its peak in its first two seasons, when the bad guys got away, the cops looked and behaved like crooks … and the soundtrack rocked, with hits obscure and popular alike, and all by the original artists. The dialogue was sharp and realistic, the criminals were nasty and the cops were human, susceptible to bribes and hubris, just like in real life. A comfort binge watch all these years later revealed the appeal is still there, and that the show actually stands up pretty well while representing the ‘80s in supreme fashion. Vice is at its best when Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) are chasing the bad guys, exchanging insults with the bad guys, providing poor protection for snitches and guilty drug runners from the bad guys, all while wearing really cool clothes, driving fast cars and looking good. The best episodes from the first two seasons, by far, are Out Where the Buses Don’t Run, with Bruce McGill, and Evan, with William Russ. Avoid episodes with non-acting guest stars, such as the ones with Danny Sullivan and Bill Russell. Overall, though, seasons 1-2 are leading-edge network TV that changed the art form forever. But we never find out how Sonny was able to run in loafers without socks on. Rating: 4.25 out of 5

Robbery: This one surprised me: A son enlists his aging and estranged crook of a dad for one last job. The challenge: The dad (the underrated Art Hindle) is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Expertly shot, deftly scripted, realistically drawn and compelling from beginning to end, with twists aplenty, this different kind of heist movie is well worth the journey. Rating: 4 out of 5

The Social Network: Brilliant dialogue, acting and subtext make this Oscar winner about the formative days of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg a truly rewarding cinematic experience. From Jesse Eisenberg’s note-perfect, no-craps-given Zuckerberg to Andrew Garfield’s budding CFO to Armie Hammer’s bombastic Olympian twins to Justin Timberlake’s charming troublemaker, everyone in this picture directed by the amazing David Fincher and penned by the brilliant Aaron Sorkin is a dynamo to behold. Stands up after several viewings. Rating: 4 out of 5

The Squid and the Whale: This earlier divorce-themed work by director and writer Noah Baumbach isn’t as refined or as taut or as volatile as his later smackdown Marriage Story, but it does offer a similar perspective and more subtle heartbreak. Jesse Eisenberg plays the older son (presumably Baumbach) to Jeff Daniels’ and Laura Linney’s egocentric and divorcing parents. Owen Kline plays the younger brother who is sent spinning into a downward spiral because of his parents’ separation and sets a new low of depravity while acting out. The movie does give a good take of what it’s like to co-parent two kids caught in the middle of the downfall of a marriage, but you could tell there was a better story in Baumbach about divorce. Good thing he got the chance to do it. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

The End of the Tour: This surprising little flick about the visit of Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) to profile tortured but brilliant writer David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) was generally panned upon its release. However, I found it to be charming, informative, insightful and gripping for not only the portrayals of Wallace — disparaged in some quarters, Segel is actually very endearing — and Lipsky, but also for the smart dialogue and interesting window opened into a startlingly creative mind. This movie is also subtly about fitting in, society’s motives and fragility. Watch and learn. Rating: 4 out of 5

Indian Horse: This harrowing, heartbreaking and simply told tale of a young Indigenous boy taken to a residential school system after being abandoned by his parents is brilliantly adapted from the award-winning Richard Wagamese novel of the same name. We follow Saul Indian Horse, played over the course of his young life by three actors, as he witnesses, as a kid, the abuses of the Catholic school system before finding his passion in hockey. The game takes him to great places, aligns him on a team with fellow Native players, finds him a welcoming home and … breaks his heart, as you can imagine during the racist times of Canada in the 1970s and 1980s. Not light fare, for sure, but an important move to watch if you want to get a fuller picture of the history of Canada. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Bon Cop, Bad Cop; Bon Cop, Bad Cop II: This odd-couple buddy cop franchise has a nice twist: the reluctant partners are cops from straight-laced Toronto (Colm Feore) and European-biker-edged Montreal (Patrick Huard). Partially in French with English subtitles for the English audience and partially with English in French subtitles for the Quebecois audience, this is truly a collaborative dream come true for bilingualists in Canada. The plot of the first movie is an obvious revenge fantasy for the NHL’s seemingly disrespect of Quebec and Canada as a whole: a pro league’s commissioner is a short person with the name “Buttman’; a reviled former owner of the Quebec team that was sold and moved to Colorado is killed; and the agent of a No. 1 draft pick who wore No. 88 and refused to come to Quebec is also killed. Plus, the mascot of the “Montreal Patriots” plays a key part in the climax. The killer, once revealed, isn’t all that terrifying, just kind of a regular guy, in a perfect Canadian villain reveal. He’s just a pissed-off hockey fan. The second movie is more of the same, with Huard’s Bouchard going undercover to infiltrate a car-theft ring that has a nefarious purpose but not before attracting the attention of Feore’s Ward, now with the RCMP. The chemistry between Huard and Feore is fantastic, and both are deep into their characters, dishing out great lines and funny banter. The pairing is truly one of the best seen on the screen in a long time. Huard wrote and produced both movies, but doesn’t hog the screen time and is balanced in dishing out the French- and English-Canadian insults. The first movie is the better of the two, but they’re both sharply funny, smart and a treat to watch. Seeing movies like these two gives you hope that Canada can make decent character-driven films without subversively dark endings. We want numbre trois! Rating: 4/3.75 out of 5

Men With Brooms: It’s a curling movie, so of course it’s Canadian. Starring Paul Gross (Due South, Slings & Arrows), this story of four guys getting a second chance at the big bonspiel 10 years later is a nice little romp. At one time the highest-grossing English Canadian movie of all time, MWB offers some slapsticky humor, some decent laughs and sizzling chemistry between Gross and Molly Parker. Worth a viewing if you’re looking for something a little different that’s not a huge investment of time. Plus, the soundtrack kills. Hurray hard! Rating: 3 out of 5

Spenser Confidential: This Marky Mark Wahlberg Netflix vehicle based on a story from the John D. Macdonald thriller oeuvre is actually better than one would think. The plot is made more complicated than necessary, but essentially former Boston upstanding cop Wahlberg is now an ex-con after serving time for beating up a wife-beating police captain … who happens to be brutally murdered the very night ol’ Calvin Klein model boy gets out. From there, we deal with crooked cops we are originally led to believe are good, grieving widows helped out by our hero, a crazy stalking ex (Iliza Schlesinger), a forced partner (Winston Duke) who ends up buying in with one pivotal convincing moment, and an older mentor (Alan Arkin, always great) who is threatened by the bad guys only to be rescued by our hero in a suspended plausibility climax. It’s all very predictable but somehow is pulled off in an entertaining fashion by director Peter Berg. In short, not as awful as you might expect, especially considering the raft of negative reviews upon its debut. (Not to be confused with the mid-1980s ABC series starring Robert Urich.) Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Outbreak: Good but not great virus apocolypse directed by Das Boot’s Wolfgang Petersen and starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Cuba Gooding Jr., Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland is not the sum of its parts. Watch only if you want to see 1990s-era pseudo-cheese. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

Contagion: This Steven Soderbergh project starring Matt Damon, Gwenyth Paltrow, Jude Law and a bunch of other great actors is well-shot, well-directed and well-acted. Definitely the best of the viral apocolypse movies we watched, and terrifying when showing exactly how easily a fatal virus can start and quickly circulate the globe. Prescient. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Pandemic: The two-part Hallmark movie from 2007 was not great, even though it stars Faye Dunaway as the California governor and Eric Roberts as the mayor of L.A. Oh, and Tiffani Thiessen and French Stewart as CDC docs reacting to the crisis with much aplomb and unblemished makeup! Well written, but that’s it. If the virus apocolypse looks that good in sunny and warm in California, it might not be so bad. Pass. Rating: 2 out of 5

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness: This seven-episode Netflix original doc on the sordid times of big-cat keeper Joe Exotic is every bit as compelling as the subtitle makes it sound: murder-for-hire, polygamy, animal abuse, cultism, drug abuse, accidental death, a run for president, a bid to become governor … it’s a wild ride from credit roll to credit roll, and entices you perfectly at the end of each episode to jump to the next. The characters are so depraved and twisted that you have no choice but to believe in their inauthentic authenticity. And how they got all the major players to participate to fess up is testament alone to the filmmakers’ talents. Rating: 4 out of 5

Trailer Park Boys: Out of the Park, U.S.A.: The boys are sent to various cities in the States by Swearnet to perform audacious tasks in order to collect monetary rewards. The cities they get sent to — New Orleans, Nashville, Orlando, just to name a few — guarantee shenanigans of the highest order by our favourite drunk and high reprobate Canadians. This is a return to the peak-funny TPB from their earlier days. Rating: 3.75 out out 5

Tralier Park Boys: Out of the Park, Europe: Not as good as the U.S.A. series, but still worth watching if you’re a hardcore TPB fan. Rating: 3 out of 5

The Devil Next Door: This original Netflix docuseries about suspected Nazi concentration camp guard Ivan the Terrible is graphic in its archival footage of the death camps and heartw-wrenching in so many complicated but perhaps expected ways. Decent retelling of the story. Rating: 3 out of 5

American Factory: This Oscar-winning Netflix doc about a Chinese company buying up a shuttered American auto manufacturing plant and converting in into a glass factory is a rollercoaster of emotions, from the joy of futureless blue-collar workers getting a reprieve in their hometown to the lows of seemingly being taken advantage of by their new employers, who are trying to install Chinese standards (no union, no breaks, no paid overtime) on Ohio workers. Remember the Michael Keaton movie Gung Ho from the 1980s? This is it in real life and appropriate for our times. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great!: This Netflix standup is hilarious. Watch it. Rating: 4 out of 5

Steve Jobs: A great three-act-play presentation starring Michael Fassbender touching in on three key professional moments in the life and innovations of the notoriously flawed genius behind Apple’s successful products. Based on material from the great Walter Isaacson biography (reviewed in our books section) and drafted for the screen by dialogue-bomba writer Aaron Sorkin (West Wing, The Newsroom, The Social Network), this tale flies and yet manages to get in a lot of key moments from Jobs’ messy life. Worthy of the accolades. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Last Chance U: Seasons 1 & 2, EMCC: Great, compelling and intimate Netflix docuseries provides access to the desperate college football players who have, you guessed it, one last chance to keep their Division 1 aspirations alive by giving it their all for Eastern Mississippi Community College, about as far down the dream ladder as you can fall. Both of these seasons, starring the same coach and support staff but mostly different players in the same school, are in equal parts gripping for the tension but also for the I-can’t-believe-he-did-that factor of verbally abusive coaches and poor decision-making players. Season 1 is superior to Season 2, but largely because you’re just getting to know — and be shocked by — the coach. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Last Chance U: Season 1, Indy: More of the same approach but not nearly as effective, mainly because the head coach just seems to be playing a part, whereas you got the feeling the EMCC coach was actually like that, which made him more engaging to watch. Plus, the shock factor isn’t nearly as high (there’s more than one of these neandrathal coaches out there?). I didn’t make it to the second season because of that dislikeability factor. Rating: 2 out of 5

The Stranger: This Harlan Corben Netflix thriller promises more than it delivers, but it’s still fairly entertaining. A stranger tells a man his wife is up to no good; man doesn’t believe it; man tries to question his wife about; man’s wife disappears; and the mystery is on. For some reason this American thriller is filmed in smalltown England, but it does nothing to detract from the story. A decent ditty with a few forgettable moments, a few plot holes and a few twisted subplots. But a decent view if you have a surplus of time on your hands. Rating: 3 out of 5

Searching for Sugar Man: The 2012 doc that set the standard for this kind of fare, Sugar Man is a singer of mythical proportions who rose to fame with one album in the folky era and style of Bob Dylan, only to disappear without a trace somewhere in the American Midwest. Or did he? The rumors of what happened to him abound, until dedicated fans from South Africa, of all places, put on a heavy push to find out what really happened. The music is good, the story is rich and the characters are real. The unveil is worth the suspense and gives you hope for lost art. Rating: 4 out of 5

Marriage Story: Heartbreak of the first order, this Noah Baumbach Netflix tale riffing on his own divorce from actress Jennifer Jason Leigh is tense and superbly acted from the opening shot. Scarlett Johannson plays the confused and leaving Nicole, Adam Driver is Charlie, the confused and reluctant being-divorced dad. From the sharply written dialogue, to Driver’s subtle torment of being a dad afraid of being less-loved by a child, to Johannson’s fury and bottled resentment of sacrifices made, to the slow boil of the crippling and confrontational scene in the third act, this movie rings true on all levels of the quiet agony that is a family breaking apart. Marriage Story will rattle you down to your core, especially if you’ve been through a divorce or are a child of one. Rating: 4.25 out of 5

Mike Birbiglia: The Next One: Stand-up comedian Mike Birbiglia makes light of not wanting children by progressing through how he and his wife end up having one. That’s the short version. But, at its best moments, Birbiglia’s Netflixer hints at the hypocrisy of how our society sees people who don’t want children. Simply, a hilarious one-man show, whether you have kids or not. Rating 3.25 out of 5

Dolemite is My Name: Eddie Murphy is back in this Netflix original playing, depending on your perspective, either a cringe-worthy sweariffic B-movie guy along the same lines of James Franco’s Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist, or an underappreciated genius who was a pioneer in Blaxploitation culture and movies in the 1970s. Murphy admirably plays Rudy Ray Moore, a guy looking for an angle. Sure, the role isn’t really a stretch, but it’s good to see Murphy back and giving it a go at mainstream (albeit vulgar) comedy. Rating 2.5 out of 5

The Laundromat: This Steven Soderberg-helmed take on the Panama Papers is well-intentioned, ambitious, stylish and features a great cast (Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, Jeffrey Wright, to name a few), but is all sorts of convoluted and awkward. This is what happens when you try to make sense of a subject that is, at least on the surface, not easily translatable to retelling in visual form. An admirable attempt, but, yeah, not crazy about it. Rating: 2 out of 5

Ad Astra: Brad Pitt is an astronaut guy of the near future who has an impossibly low resting heart rate. Nothing fazes the dude. Thus, he’s the perfect candidate to travel to the far reaches of the galaxy, as in Neptune, to find his space pioneer dad (Tommy Lee Jones, because of course), who has lost him some marbles and is disrupting the universe with an anti-matter disrupter thingy. The turmoil must stop or else life will cease to exist, no pressure, and our boy Brad is just the hero to do it. Along the way, we have homages galore to sci-fi classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Blade Runner … and yet you don’t feel like you’ve seen this movie before or wish they hadn’t stolen scenes. Instead, it’s jaw-dropping from the action to the storyline to the amazeballs special effects to the stellar performances to the rib-rattling sound. Jet, don’t walk, to this one while it’s in theatres. Sure, it will still be glorious on your high-def wall-mounted Samsung, but this flick provides hope for those fearing the death of movie-house cinema. Moviemaking at its finest. Rating: 4 out of 5

Between Two Ferns: The Movie: It’s not really a movie, of course, more like a series of sketches like the Between Two Ferns sketches seen on Funny or Die, but it’s still pretty funny. Parts of it are hilarious, in fact, if nothing more than to see Hollywood make fun of itself and its pompousness. The bloopers at the end are worth the price of admission. (Plus, a Matt Berninger cameo!) A fun Netflix viewing on a slow night. Rating: 3 out of 5

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorcese: I’ve never been one to understand the fascination with Bob Dylan. Sure, I get his lyrical genius, but his singing was karaoke terrible. This Netflix doc by Scorcese … didn’t change my mind at all. This recounting of the 1975 tour with some fellow ragtag folkies (Joan Baez, Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg et al.) is the strongest when the focus is off stage (i.e., when Dylan isn’t singing), especially when giving us a glimpse of a troubled and changing American society, and the chemistry between Dylan and Baez. Otherwise, unless you’re a hardcore Dylan fan, the volume gets muted. Rating: 2 out of 5

Living With Yourself: Watched this Paul Rudd Netflix vehicle and I’m still not sure. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it supposed to be dark? Is it black comedy? Rudd plays a guy who goes to a spa to revitalize himself and comes back cloned. Dealing with two of himself proves confusing, to say the least, but not exactly slapstick. Not feeling this one. Rating: 2.25 out of 5

Goliath, season 3: Much better than the horrible car crash (did we really need that many amputations? see review way below) that was Season 2, which left me feeling Goliath wasn’t going to get another season out of me. But because we’re desperate for the familiar and because I liked Billy Bob Thornton in the title role, we gave it another shot. Bottom line: The story, in which Thornton’s Billy McBride tries to avenge the death of a friend by investigating and then suing a massive farming operation he suspects of stealing water and causing a widespread drought in Central Valley, California, is an improvement and more linear than Season 2. Whew. The colorful peripheral characters are back and help redeem the forced narrative, driven by the actions of rich farmer Dennis Quaid, his sister Amy Brenneman and their neighbor Beau Bridges. The elephant in the room: a preponderance of hallucinations caused by ingesting magic potions thrown together by Joe Littlecrow (an always adept Canadian Graham Greene) highlighted by Victorian dancers that included a heavy-makeup-wearing Billy Bob singing. Although this season was more linear and less weird, if you can believe it, it still had all sorts of Twin Peaks influence that seemed more showing off than relevant. Cut back some of that stuff as well as a few tangential characters (Shamier Anderson is Get Out creepy as the broken twin brothers but the characters weren’t really necessary) and you’ve got a four- or six-episode series that packs more punch. And give Nina Arianda’s Patty her own series or movie, please. We need more characters like hers to call out everyone’s b.s. Rating: 3 out of 5

Inside Bill’s Brain: Appealing to a slightly different demographic than, say, Between Two Ferns, this Netflix original limited documentary series nonetheless has equally ambitious goals. At the outset, it promises to be an in-depth examination of the life and times of one Bill Gates, worldly rich computer-guy-turned-philanthropist. The first episode is about the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation’s attempt to fund the building of a toilet system for developing countries that filters waste without plumbing, electricity, etc., into clean drinking water. But the doc isn’t a soft-pedal: the episode also deals with Bill’s contentious relationship with his mother while growing up, which ultimately resulted in counseling sessions for the entire family. With exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and what looks like relatively good access to the entire Gates clan, at the very least this series promises a rare glimpse into the life of one of the world’s — and smartest — richest men. And check out the books on those bookshelves! Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Unbelievable: This eight-episode Netflix series is heartbreaking for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is because it’s based on a true story. It starts off with an excruciating episode focusing on the rape and subsequent coldly horrific medical and legal processing of Marie Adler (a fantastic performance of inner turmoil by Kaitlyn Dever), a troubled Washington state youth. Then, further exacerbating the situation, well-intentioned but ultimately damaging actions by police, friends and foster parents doom Marie to recant her accusations, sending her spiraling down a path that ultimately results in job loss, friend loss, trust loss, status loss, sanity loss, etc. Juxtaposed is the story, three years later, of Detective Karen Duvall (Merritt Wever) partnering through happenstance with Detective Grace Rasmussen (a great but overpancaked Toni Collette) to find who’s committing sexual assaults in their respective Colorado districts. These dual storylines play out with precision, strong performances and palpable tension. Not secondarily, this is a story about women told largely by women, and you can tell: the victims’ stories are presented with respect and, most notably, the victims (and some cops) are portrayed as real people, not Hollywood’s versions, from appearance to weight to skin color to background to age. (Along the same lines, the only clear nudity is that of spoiler the strip search of the rapist after he is caught and held in jail.) This realism extends to Dever’s detective: her hair is rarely washed, her clothes are disheveled and ill-fitting, she’s usually got her arms crossed, she has doubts, she has a family, etc. In other words, true to how a dedicated detective would operate, regardless of gender. The final episode is a choker and a tad Hollywoodish, but it all comes together to make for one powerful package. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Yesterday: Everyone in the world has somehow forgetton the Beatles ever existed (and stuff connecting tangentially to the Beatles, such as Oasis, Harry Potter, Coca-Cola), except our protagonist musician, of course, after he was hit by a bus. Seeking a way out of his Costco-type career path, he sings Beatles songs as his own and becomes a raging inferno of a pop star. But there’s love, a conscience and money involved, so things turn complicated. Written by Richard Curtis, the genius behind Four Weddings and a Funeral and the dreadful Love, Actually, has penned a winner again, on so many levels. We find ourselves deep in the shoes of Jack Malik (a great and charming Himesh Patel) as he, well, takes advantage of the global amnesia. Ed Sheeran shows up as a version of Ed Sheeran to (accidentally) propel Jack’s career, there’s a sob-soaked scene near the end that pivots the climax and the music is wonderful to live through again, especially through the lens of our times. I was expecting Love, Actually schmaltz and instead got a heart-warming, funny, inspiring treatise of what music means to us all. Masterfully done. Rating: 4 out of 5

Rocketman: Elton John’s autobiography is trippy-dreamy, songs are out of chronological order, music bursts from the oddest scenes … but it somehow all comes together for an entertaining two hours. I dare say that if this had come out before Bohemian Rhapsody, we’d be singing similar praises. But the safe and pandering Rhapsody spoiled the musician bio, alas, with all its mainstream success and awards. John’s tale is warts and all, and he’s pretty much a pathetic dirtbag in the movie, no small feat when he’s standing over your shoulder as you’re acting, directing, gaffing, etc. (Husband David Furnish was a co-producer.) Lead Taron Egerton does all his own singing (so there, Rami Malik!), but tends to go a bit overwrought in spots with the acting. In his defense, that’s probably hard to avoid while portraying an over-the-top character who’s surrounded by and indulging in dancing, drinking, coking, shopping and sexing. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood: Ponderous. Pretentious. Painful. Quentin Tarantino’s homage to Hollywood — more precisely, workingman Hollywood of 1969 — was a great elevator pitch: Tarantino, DiCaprio, Pitt star in a retro-costumed thriller about brushes with death, the Manson family, fading stardom, etc. But it is long, directionless, gruesome, probably misogynistic and absent the sharp dialogue that made Tarantino’s early work so brilliant. Hard pass. Rating: 1 out of 5

The Art of Racing in the Rain: Dog narrates story (voiced by Kevin Costner). Dog’s owner (Milo Ventimiglia) is a cool guy, a driver who knows, as you might have guessed, a Jedi-mind-trick secret about how to race in the rain. Dog witnesses trials and tribulations of dog’s owner, which include a tragic end to a marriage and a set of in-laws borne by the devil himself. There’s a barrel of sap in this one — stunner! — but it’s a cool story if you’ve got kids, if you like dogs, if you like spiffy footage of racing, if you read the wonderful book. Basically, a nice night out with the family, especially if you’re a car-loving single dad and your posse includes three picky generations. Rating 3 out of 5

First Reformed: Hard, stark and beautiful. I was expecting a portrait of troubled small-town life, but instead got a painfully insightful message movie. Ostensibly about a troubled pastor in upstate New York, the plot takes a turn with a tragedy I won’t spoil that deeply affects Pastor Toller (Ethan Hawke, always good), whose life was upside down because of the death of a son, the resultant divorce and alcoholism. Amanda Seyfried and Cedric the Entertainer are great in supporting roles, but the real star is the script, written by director Paul Schrader. Religion, greed, capitalism, environmentalism are all in play here, all effectively laid bare through sparsely lit scenes, cameras lingering after actors have left the focal point of the scene, smart dialogue and wonderful performances. Sure, it’s hard to watch and, even though it gets a high rating below, it’s not the kind of thing you’d watch multiple times. In short, the perfect movie for our broken times. And if it doesn’t give you second thoughts about what we’re doing to the Earth, then you’ve no soul. Brilliant. Rating: 4 out of 5

Hyperdrive: I watched the first few episodes of this Netflix original and it’s durn thrilling: Drivers navigate their souped-up cars through a real-life video-game obstacle course that includes a massive fulcrum and rewards for drifting and donuts. What’s not to love? This being ‘Merica and all, it’s a competition, and the personalities get the shiny mini-profile features laying out why we should relate to them. But amid all that predictable filler, the action is thrilling in a American Gladiator Cars kind of way. However, I eventually got bored of it, but still neat mindless entertainment for the background at a rager. Rating: 3 out of 5

Rust Valley Restoration, seasons 1-2: Mike Hall (who’s a dead ringer for current-day Dee Schneider from Twisted Sister) has overspent building his dream restoration shop in the beautiful rural interior of British Columbia and needs to start restoring and selling some of the numerous wrecks he has on his property to keep his new business afloat. His cast of equally colorful characters add spice to the journey, with his son and best friend among those trying to keep Hall from overspending and, well, buying more cars to restore. Add various life calamities, incompetencies and arrogant actions to the mix, and you have high drama. This is restoration porn of the highest order that gets more compelling as it advances. My new favourite show. Will there be a season 2? Yes, there was, and it was just as great as the first. Recommend! Rating: 4 out of 5

21 Thunder: This sharply written CBC Original series about an under-21 men’s soccer team in Montreal has a great cast of characters, including: the lead prospect who has big things in his future, if he only can overcome the challenge of having a convicted murderer for a dad (Colm Feore) and an underworld childhood friend who wants his pal to run with the posse, thereby risking his promising soccer future; a goalkeeper with anxiety; the lovable lug who is having an affair with one of the trainers, who is engaged to an arrogant player on the big club; the former U.S. Women’s team Olympian trying to break through into coaching; the star African player who signed with Montreal solely to find his long-lost brother; the hard-drinking, foul-mouthed womanizing Scottish star signed for one last pro blast but has woeful financial management skills; the Argentinian coach with a dark secret and a homesick wife; and, not least, the training staffer scheming to throwing games to make money to help her family back in China who gets a star player and sideline coach involved in her nefarious plan. Whew. This was a crazy-good thrill ride from start to finish, with realistic soccer action, great dressing-room scenes, snappy dialogue and authentic character behavior. Run, don’t walk, to Netflix to find this one. We need a season 2! Rating: 4 out of 5

In the Dark: Murphy Mason (Perry Mattfeld) is a blind woman who finds her young, drug-dealing friend Tyson dead in an alley where she usually meets him when she goes for a smoke. From there, the series enfolds while the stubborn, determined and er, sexually active Murphy seeks Tyson’s killer. Was it Tyson’s drug-dealer cousin? Was it Tyson’s cousin’s friend? What do the cops, one of which is sleeping with Tyson’s cousin, have to do with it? Will Murphy actually find a boyfriend in the drug dealer’s money launderer, or will she push him away, as she always does with boys? And will the guide-dog training center Murphy’s parents own survive? Add a lesbian roommate and a lovable doofus colleague, and you’ve got an entertaining journey. Did we mention that Murphy is impossibly skinny and hot? (Oh, Hollywood.) The final episode was a bit disappointing for its intentional shock, but this series — which originally ran on the CW and is now available on Netflix — is car-crash worthy if you can stand the outrageous and, at times, offensive behavior of its protagonist. While we somehow love the despicable Murphy, it’s the original writing, dialogue and character development that make this a worthy ride. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

The Great Hack: This Netflix original documentary starts off focusing on the attempt on Professor David Carroll to get his data back from Cambridge Analytica but ends up being a scary deep dive into how tech giants Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc., mine our data for evil. This new kind of greed means data can be, as referred to in the doc, “weaponized.” A little draggy in parts, perhaps because it’s difficult to talk in a gripping fashion about data, this is nonetheless an important piece to view. Rating: 3 out of 5

At the Drive-In: This Alexander Monelli doc (found on Amazon Prime) from 2017 focuses on the efforts to save a dying drive-in in Lehighton, Pa. See, the drive-in is the passion of owner/operator Jeff Mattox, who has sacrificed and toiled over the years to barely make it all work. With the help of youngsters Virgil and Matt, who accidentally stumbled upon the drive-in and have helped foster a resurgence, new life has come to an ancient American ritual. The myriad colourful characters (quirky cook, reluctant legacy employee, pompous cinephile, eccentric theme-night organizer) who come to the drive-in every weekend make this more than a treatise on a dying art form. Worth the hour and 20 minutes. Rating: 3 out of 5

The Lion King (2019): This story and plot of this live-action version of the Disney classic was fine. The effects were dazzling (hearing, “How did they get the lions to do that?” bears that up), but the rest of the experience was meh. Disney seems to want to wring every last dollar out of anything in its arsenal that is successful, hence this latest version that started out way back as an animated classic, then morphed into the mega-successful musical. Coming soon, a Claymation adaptation! Rating: 2 out to 5

Captain Marvel: Frankly, I was expecting the same old superhero plot that Marvel has been churning out when it introduces new characters: origin story, foe’s origin story, conflict, resolution, teaser at the end that foretells of new sequels to come. Captain Marvel had that, sure (albeit in a jumbled order). But it’s the way that it was done that impressed me, and through some twists that I didn’t see coming, which is always a nice surprise in this formulaic genre. Through the miracle of absorption of energy from an accidental experimental weapons discharge, Carol Danvers becomes Vers (pronounced “Veers” somehow), the mega-hero of all heroes from another time and dimension or something who overcomes self-doubt, mysterious clues and traitorous behaviors to ultimately save the day. And don’t kid yourself: this is a message movie about beings who don’t look like us being locked up and separated from their families, about how to not judge a book by its cover. People, it’s a very politically charged movie! Brie Larson is sharp as Captain Marvel, Jude Law is mega-buff as her mentor, Samuel L. Jackson is great (although the skin-smoothing CGI is a little distracting), Annette Bening (Ikr?) is good as mentor/traitor/open-to-interpretation mentor, and other actors play other parts. Bottom line: Marvel keeps upping its game on the stories of its characters (Black Panther was also more than a superhero movie), so it will be hard to continue this trend. And as we learned in the traditional teaser during the credits, the next Avengers movie promises to be … another Avengers movie, but with Captain Marvel in it. Can she save the beaten-down Avengers? The suspense! Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Disappearance of Madeline McCann: This eight-part Netflix docuseries could have been a four-parter and been the definitive reconstruction of this story. But too many extended and repeated drone shots, too much reviewing of the same material, too much revisiting characters who could have been one-and-done make for a bloated piece, signifying perhaps the death of selective editing in this era of peak TV. The story — about the sensational disappearance of three-year-old Madeline McCann from a Portuguese coastal resort she was visiting with her British family — is fascinating in itself. Did the doctor parents really drug the kids so they would stay asleep while they ate dinner with friends at the nearby resort pool? Was the girl kidnapped? Why were the Portuguese police so slow to react? Why did it take so long for Scotland Yard to get involved? Was the nearby Brit neighbor, and eager participant in search efforts, truly innocent? But the retelling is, especially in this time of instant gratification, painfully protracted. Worth it if you skip every other episode. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

Abducted in Plain Sight: This Netflix doc is proof positive that truth is stranger than fiction. Parents letting their male neighbor sleep in the same bed with their young daughter as a cure for anxiety? Same parents letting that same adolescent daughter go away alone for vacations with that same male neighbor not once but twice, even after the first trip was considered a kidnapping? The dad giving said male neighbor “release”? The mom then having an affair with said male neighbor and seemingly, even all these years later, not feeling all that bad about it? If nothing else, this well-crafted doc gives judgy parents justification: that would never happen to me. Right? Rating: 3 out of 5

Benji (remake): Dog is orphaned as an adorable puppy. Dog travels miles seeking truth and purpose, eating garbage scraps along the way, somehow growing into a healthy, hyper-intelligent canine of a different breed. Dog meets boy who is lost, metaphorically. Dog saves boy, figuratively and literally. Story: fine for the kids and dog lovers. The usual. Rating: 2.25 out of 5

Bird Box: This Netflix original starring Sandra Botox, er, Bullock was thrilling, thrilling, thrilling. I was dubious, given all the hype — Netflix said it had been viewed something like 75 million times shortly after its release, whatever that means — but the ride was every bit as thrilling (there’s that word again) as billed. Bullock is extremely likable, as usual, even though she plays a bit of an arsehole as a disaffected artist who somehow gets preggers despite not seriously wanting to be a mom. Oh, and then there’s the whole end-of-the-world pox that forms the crux of the plot: mass suicides result, and don’t you dare go outside or look out the window or you’ll bleed painfully from frozen eyeballs before leaping in front of a garbage truck. Gross. Anyway, this is all juxtaposed in a suspenseful way with Bullock and her kids, blindfolded all, trying to escape to a safe compound somewhere up the river. This one is part zombie movie, part Apocalypse Now, part statement on race, social media or our treatment of the environment, depending on which silo you identify with. In short, a two-hour thrill ride that meets the hype. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Roma: People went kooky over this subtitled treatise about life in early 1970s Mexico, a semi-autobiographical black-and-white Netflix original directed by Children of Men maestro Alfonso Cuaron. Critics were ga-ga over the intimacy, the performances, the cinematography. Meanwhile, I just found it long and ponderous and uneventful. Sometimes complicated or overly simple movies get rave reviews because a few intelligent critics like them and everyone else who can’t figure them out goes along with the crowd because they’re afraid to admit they didn’t get it. Not this cowboy. Roma no doubt has its nice moments, and the performance by former teacher Yalitza Aparicio as the central character can be heart-wrenching in her expressions and body language, but it wasn’t enough for me. Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Widows: Now this was a heist movie we could get behind. The widows of criminals killed in a robbery are forced into committing a crime of their own to salvage … well, it’s best not to tell too much of the plot. Bottom line, Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Colin Farrell are dynamic while answering the call of director Steve McQueen, who continues to assert himself as a powerhouse presence in Hollywood. This movie is about class and race too, but it’s not preachy to the point of distraction. A couple of scenes don’t quite ring true, a twist or two feel telegraphed and some of the lines ache, but this overall was a joyride from start to finish. Rating 3.5 out of 5

Bohemian Rhapsody: I really wanted to like this biopic about Queen, but even my best intentions and the fact that it was the second movie of a double dip didn’t raise it up to meet expectations. The music was great, of course, because it’s real rock n roll, not fabricated to fit. Although his performance was great and his physicality was close to that of Freddie Mercury, Rami Malek’s twitching on the fake teeth was distracting and the earnestness of the story felt more like it was made for TV than the big screen. Perhaps the involvement of bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor squeezed the tension out of it: Queen was brilliant! Queen met A&R reluctance! Queen broke up! Queen reunited! Freddie was a genius! Queen made Live Aid successful! Etc.! Director Bryan Singer has made some decent movies, The Usual Suspects being one of the best of his generation, but this one just didn’t strike the right chord for me. Rating 3 out of 5

Avengers: Infinity War: If you're into superhero movies, you'll be way into this one. And if the global receipts as of this writing ($1 billion) are any indication, you are! I'm not into these kinds of movies nearly as much as Coco is, so I'm not the best judge of this genre. The action is nonstop, there is whimsy, there is conflict, a hate-worthy hero portrayed by a solid actor (Josh Brolin as Thermos, darn autocorrect, Thanos), the main characters are all here, there is destruction, death, carnage, travel to other worlds, mind-scrambling dimension-twisting, there is a shocking ending that sets up another sequel in the series. At almost three hours of running time (count on that much with previews), it's a commitment. But if you crave to see Robert Downey Jr.'s wisecracking Iron Man blast off one more time, this is for you. Rating 3 out of 5

Quincy: No, this isn’t one of those TV revivals about a coroner — this is a Netflix doc about one of the greatest creative minds of our time. Directed and filmed in part by his daughter Rashida Jones (she was great in I Love You, Man), this intimate look at the long life and ribald times of legendary musician, producer and composer Quincy Jones is gripping and informative. Jones has influenced everyone from Sinatra to Snoop Dogg, but the heart of this story is how a man tries to reconcile his incredible creative drive with a body that can’t keep up, even while he was younger and in top shape. The biggest gap in the retelling is perhaps the most personal and therefore impossible for his filmmaker daughter to reveal: What was it like for her, being one of seven children from four different mothers? But that’s a quibble. Overall, this is a great glimpse inside the life of a talent we are unlikely to see the likes of again. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Battle Beyond the Stars: This sci-fi cheesefest starring John Boy, Hannibal from the A-Team and one of the men from U.N.C.L.E. is heavy on great special effects (largely due to a young model builder named James Cameron), is a valiant remake of the Seven Samurai and was part of the sudden influx of Star Wars-influenced movies in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Richard Thomas is coming from a peace-loving society threatened by a nasty warlord (John Saxon), see, and has to recruit mercenaries to defend his planet. You know how it ends, of course, but if you go into it with low expectations and don’t pause it when you go to the bathroom, you’ll be fine. Bottom line: Not an essential watch unless you’re feeling nostalgic for ‘80s cheese. Rating: 2 out of 5

The Shape of Things to Come: This Canadian-made sci-fi flick is equally as cheesy as Battle Beyond the Stars. A power-crazed Omus (Jack Palance, because of course) is determined to destroy the Earth colonies on the moon with his robot guys and spaceships, etc. The moon people fight back, led by Barry Morse, Carol Lynley and a very young Nicholas Campbell. The effects are awful (We can see the strings!) and the sets are wooden, with one scene shot at Ontario Place that’s supposed to be on the moon clearly having Lake Ontario glimmering through the windows in the background. Only watch it if you long for the nascent days of government-bankrolled Canadian cinema. Otherwise, read the H.G. Wells novel. Rating: 1.5 out of 5

The Incredibles 2: Fourteen years in the making! My daughters were excited to see it, the humidity was debilitating and we were looking for something decent to while away the ripening summer vacation. Perfect recipe for a Disney sequel! A sequel to a movie none of us had seen, of course, but that was immaterial -- we knew the general premise: good guys introduced, good guys challenged, good guys overcome. And the verdict is ... entertaining, especially bathed in air-conditioning while the feels-like temperature outside was “Venus.” But that prognosis didn't seem inevitable, especially when the tired can-the-dad-handle-the-kids, can-the-dad-handle-his-wife-being-more-successful tripe was being trotted out. This ain't 1954 anymore, Pixar. And empowering women doesn't have to come at the cost of the dad's competence; it’s not a zero-sum game. How about parents who are equal partners? Or don't die, Disney? But I digress. It's a kids' movie. And this one was complete with violence, destruction, funny lines both obvious for kids and hidden for adults, unbelievable coincidences, fortuitous rescues and generally a dialed-down version of the formula Disney big brother Marvel is pulling off regularly these days. Never too early to condition the wee ones for future productions. Rating: 3 out of 5  

Solo: A Star Wars Story: Sure, it's another blatant Disney attempt to cash in on the franchise name -- did we really need an origin story for one of the most iconic and mysterious characters in movie history? -- but despite that and all the other much-publicized preproduction problems (fired co-directors, acting lessons for the lead), this story actually works pretty well. Once you settle in and stop judging star Alden Ehrenreich's ability to be Harrison Ford, the piece becomes an interesting and suspenseful tale about how Han Solo met Chewbacca (disappointing) and Lando Calrissian (not disappointing), and became the rebel no-goodnik we've all grown to love. Woody Harrelson is the one mainstream Hollywood actor who has the chops to find a home in the Star Wars franchise as mentor/enemy Beckett and provides a nice thread through the entire movie. Donald (don't call me Danny) Glover is also smoothness personified as Lando, and should have a trilogy of his own when Disney realizes it doesn't need to make more Solo movies. Overall, this flick was much better than anticipated and definitely a decent summer outing, even for those tired of superhero and Star Wars movies. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

The Imitation Game: The story of World War II code cracker Alan Turing, a closeted homosexual in a time that persecuted gays, is riveting for its tension, the how-will-they-figure-it-out suspense, but also for Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as a tightly wound and mono-focused Turing, who is played with parts of Russell Crowe’s portrayal of John Nash from A Beautiful Mind and Ralph Finnes in The English Patient, a mix of genius and a man tortured by inner demons because of a deep secret. Good watch on a rainy fall day. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Good Night, and Good Luck: This six-time Oscar nominee directed by George Clooney about TV journalist Edward R. Murrow taking on Senator Joe McCarthy’s Communist witch hunt is gripping from start to finish. And even though the performances by the cast (Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., Frank Langella, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Ray Wise, to name a few) are all stellar, David Strathairn blows everyone out of the water as Murrow, the chain-smoking conscience of Communism-scared America in the 1950s. Love me some good journalism movies, and this one does not disappoint. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Network: A newscaster in the era of Walter Cronkite slowly loses his marbles in the closing weeks of his career, but instead of being shown the door, his low-rated network decides to keep him on the air and make the most of his unraveling. Peter Finch’s (Oscar-winning) Howard Beale is an iconic character and so convincingly played that you can’t help but believe this man’s sanity is escaping — and you can’t wait to hear what he’s going to say next. The secondary story, a love entanglement between married William Holden and upstart programming executive Faye Dunaway, is a great study on generational conflict, the lessons from which echo true even today. The script, sharply written by the brilliant Paddy Chayefsky and directed by the talented Sidney Lumet, spills out some of the smartest dialogue in movie history. Simply, this is the pinnacle moment of watching intelligent people yell at each other using piercing language that leaves you wishing this was the rule rather than the exception. Rating: 4.25 out of 5

Citizen Kane: Where to begin with this masterpiece that absolutely lives up to its lofty reputation? Orson Welles is Charles Foster Kane, the millionaire newspaper owner who had been taken away from his parents at a young age, before finding and losing love (twice), all while living life’s great adventure, trying to get elected and generally making a nuisance of himself to the establishment. Welles’ movie is legendary for a reason, what with the edgy character lighting (one main character is never seen in primary light), the low camera angles, the spitfire dialogue and the irritating yet lovable characters. Just brilliant on all levels, even almost 80 years later. Rating: 4.25 out of 5

Mystic River: This multilayered and seemingly authentic story about three boys, now men, from a tough part of Boston is a thrill-ride-a-minute. Sean Penn (neighborhood boss), Tim Robbins (neighborhood wanderer) and Kevin Bacon (neighborhood cop) play the grown-up versions dealing with life’s choices after Robbins’ Dave was abducted and abused for four days before escaping. When Penn’s daughter is murdered and Robbins’ Dave returns home covered in blood, it’s not long before suspicion and innuendo take over. This biting cast also includes Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden (who earned an Oscar nomination) and Laura Linney, plus some rock-solid performances by a supporting cast the likes of which have not been seen since. Directed by Clint Eastwood, this drama has you on edge practically from the get-go, and the third act is a master class of what filmmaking (that isn’t bothered about showing off) and acting (Oscar winners Penn and Robbins in particular) should be. Seemingly all good dramas come from books, and this adaptation of a Dennis Lehane novel falls right in line with that theory. Simply put, this flick is a gem from start to heartbreaking finish. Rating: 4 out of 5

A Bridge Too Far: This star-studded World War II epic is an amazing treat to behold on the small screen; one could only imagine what it would play out like on today’s mega screens. And you know it’s authentic because it was filmed in 1977 and there’s no CGI to lean on: those are real parachuters dropping out of real airplanes, real brick buildings tumbling into real streets, real troops pushing real boats into a real river while real explosions erupt around them. Be forewarned that it’s every bit of its almost three hours long, but seeing peak-era Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Dirk Bogarde, Ryan O’Neal, Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins, James Caan, Robert Redford and Liv Ullman all in the same movie should help with the numb-bum factor. Rating 3.25 out of 5

American Beauty: The great cost of the #MeToo movement in Hollywood is the moral conundrum created by watching movies starring actors or produced by studio execs accused of heinous crimes. No bigger such challenge is presented than by the career of Kevin Spacey, who dominates and somehow comes across as sympathetic as a creepy, high-school-student leering dad in American Beauty, even all these years later and even with all his current baggage. Watching this movie in 2019 doesn’t change how well this 2000 Best Picture winner is pulled together. And the powerhouse performances! From Spacey’s Oscar-winning spin to that of wandering real-estate agent wife Annette Bening (who lost out to Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry as Best Actress), to the breakout turn by Chris Cooper as the violent military dad who is seemingly stereotypical but has a fatal secret driving his caged rage, to his son, played hauntingly by Wes Bentley, who is charmingly creepy in his own right, to Thora Birch as the daughter who is struggling with growing up amid her parents’ circus, to Mena Suvari’s high school debutante who isn’t as she appears. This is real, everyday life, portrayed by Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road, Skyfall) spectacularly, heartbreakingly and simply. Great, from start to finish — if you can suspend the whole Kevin Spacey thing, that is. Rating: 4.25 out of 5

The Disaster Artist: This one, too, falls under the category of suspending judgment of the personal crimes of a performer. In this case, it’s James Franco, accused of abusive behavior, as Tommy Wiseau, an intensely flakey Hollywood personality (which is saying something) who tries to live his dream by starring in and producing what ends up being one of the worst movies of all time. Franco puts in a great turn, convincingly re-creating Wiseau’s distinctive accent and speech patterns. Dave Franco is charming as sidekick Greg Sestero, a fellow aspiring actor who falls under the spell and is swept away in his similar pursuit of the dream and tries to be the voice of reason along this ragged road. Seth Rogan and Zac Efron also pop in, but the film, even with all its sharp subtext aimed at Hollywood culture, seems somehow a little vacant by the credits. Rating: 3 out of 5

Wanderlust: Decent and at-times-funny flick about a New York couple (Paul Rudd and Jennifer Anniston) who, priced out of their fancy 200-square-foot-condo lifestyle, somehow end up living at an upstate commune that’s all love, peace and understanding. Warning, there’s male frontal nudity and a Rudd riff on preparing to have endorsed sex with a not-his-wife beauty that is hilarious but embarrassing to watch with your mother (don’t ask). Rating: 2.75 out of 5

The Snitch: Dwayne Johnson doesn’t have a lot of range, and this ditty does little to convince otherwise. Seems as if the only way truck magnate John Matthews (Johnson) can get his estranged son out of jail early (it was a trumped-up charge, man!) is to go undercover for the po-po and entrap the ruthless leader of a drug cartel. And he does it! Jon Bernthal assists as an ex-con employee bullied by the Rock into taking part, thus risking parole and his family’s health (way to go, Dwayne). Other thespians in this 2013 clip include Susan Sarandon (right?) as the devious prosecuting fed, a ridiculously bearded Barry Pepper as a deep-undercover cop and Benjamin Bratt as the drug overlord he probably told himself he’d never portray when he began his acting career. You know how it ends, but seeing the Rock muscle around a transport truck and charmingly smile his way around are probably worth the price of admission. If you’re watching on Netflix and watch a lot of movies per month, that is. Rating: 2.5 out of 5

The Glass Castle: Being a dad is the greatest job in the world. And one of the hardest. That’s what comes to mind while watching Woody Harrelson barrel his way through his performance as dysfunctional dad Rex in the screen adaptation of the Jeanette Walls novel. Harrelson crushes with cruelty and seduces with brilliant, heartfelt explanations of everyday mysteries to his young and alternating adoring/fearing children. Just when you want to hate him for yet again ripping the scab off the dreams of his three children, he makes the sacrifice of a super dad. The torment and chaos of this man, based on Walls’ dad, is palpable and leaves you affected for days. This film can be hard to watch, especially if you’re a dad with good intentions but doubts as to what kind of job you’re doing. As in, pretty much every significant dad these days. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

No Country For Old Men: This is the Coen brothers at their finest, weaving a villain for the ages (played with screen-busting, career-defining debut dominance by Javier Bardem) into a story about a cowpoke with a past (played with career-defining intensity by Josh Brolin) who stumbles upon serious cash from a broken drug deal, and it’s all being investigated by Texas-weathered Tommy Lee Jones. The pursuit is amazing, the tension is thick and the acting and dialogue are knife-edge smart. The writing and cinematography bring together a bull of a movie. This one should be studied in schools. Rating: 4 out of 5

Boyhood: This film, featuring the same cast filmed over the course of 12 real years, is fascinating to watch if for nothing more than seeing how much (or little) people change physically over that amount of time. The production easily could have been reduced to nothing more than a gimmick, but there is a thread of a story here and some decent acting. The plot revolves around Eller Coltrane as he grows up amid the bad boyfriend/husband/partner choices made by his mother (Patricia Arquette), interspersed with visits by his father (played with affable intent by Ethan Hawke). It’s a nice journey using a brilliant idea, the execution being an accomplishment in itself. Rating: 3 out of 5

Crocodile Dundee: Funny and entertaining, but not as funny and entertaining as I remembered. The pace was slower, the jokes more spread out, the shots a bit more ponderous than what you’d see today. But there is no denying the charisma of Paul Hogan in this crocodile-out-of-water story that was the second-biggest movie of 1986 and actually landed Hogan a co-hosting spot on the Oscars. (You can look it up.) The acting and bass-heavy soundtrack are full-on ‘80s, but the journey is still worth it. Rating: 3 out of 5

Gone in 60 Seconds: Pure car-chase porn — the dialogue is sparse and terrible, the acting pretty much an afterthought, the action out of this world — this 1974 flick is a worthy if you love car chases, muttonchop sideburns and flared collars that are authentic fashions of the day the movie was made. Plus, Gone opened the door for Smokey and the Bandit, Fast and Furious and every other car-chase franchise since (plus, the remake starring Nicolas Cage). The backstory of how the movie was made, its wrecked-cars total and its climactic 40-minute car chase are legendary. Watch this if you need a good laugh and are seeking a heavily influential movie that won’t take a lot of brain cells to follow. Rating: 3 out of 5

Deliverance: This 1972 tale of four buddies heading into the Georgia backcountry before a river is dammed is pure suspense from the scene with the creepy kid banjo-guitar duel right through to the jarring climax. And the suspense is delivered upon: there’s the infamous rape scene, the pulse-quickening rapid-running and … buff, tanned Burt Reynolds in a sleeveless wetsuit in perhaps the pinnacle role of his career. Terrifying from start to finish, this one is a statement about rural America, urban arrogance, friendship and what mankind is doing to nature. Brilliant, unforgiving, shocking and well worth a visit, even all these years later. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

The Last Movie Star: This Amazon original is obviously not the story of “Vic Edwards,” but rather the vehicle for decrepit star Burt Reynolds to express his real regrets about a life lived hard. It is maudlin and uneven, but watching it on very the day Reynolds was cremated gave it different gravity. Loved Burt as an actor; didn’t really love this movie. Rating: 2.25 out of 5

Sidewalks of New York: Hey, this story about young love in New York City was written and directed by Edward Burns (The Brothers McMullen, She’s the One), so that was enough for me. The dialogue feels authentic, the setting is believable, and the missed and made connections between people feel real. But the overall product is just kind of meh. Burns is great, but finding a way for him to change his game a bit since his impressive debuts has been a challenge. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

Anon: This Netflix sci-fi thriller starring Clive Owen is dazzling in its originality and scope. Owen plays a detective in a future that has little to no crime because memories are trackable and recordable. Someone commits a crime, just download their memories to convict them. But a killer has found a way to hack the system, and our man Clive has to stop her. There’s much more and some wild twists, and the premise is more than just a nice gimmick, thanks to strong writing by Andrew Niccol, he the brain behind two other great original stories, Gattaca and a top-10er, The Truman Show. Strong message movie for our times. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Children of Men: This iconic Clive Owen vehicle holds up, even all these years later. Our man Clive, who is good in pretty much everything (especially Closer), plays a reluctant civil servant somehow charged with getting a pregnant refugee to safety, all this in a near-future world facing extinction because there hasn’t been a birth in 18 years. Infertility is such a drag. Directed expertly by Alfonso Cuaron, he also of Gravity, Y Tu Mama Tambien and the lauded Roma, this film is an adrenaline charge: the extended take of Clive running, staggering and diving from bombed-out building to bombed-out building during a firefight between the government and soldiers of the uprising is one for the ages. Makes you feel like you’re there, man. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Mute: This Netflix original story about a mute in a Blade Runner-rip-off Berlin looking for his missing girlfriend probably sounded good in the pitch meeting but just feels fabricated, even with an appearance by Paul Rudd, some pretty cool sets, cinematography and special effects. One could surmise the multi-country production suffered from a lack of cohesive communication about what is good. Pass. Rating: 2 out of 5

Goliath, season I: Great characters, great writing, believable twists, Billy Bob Thornton as a lawyer who fights alcoholism while using unconventional methods. Sounds predictable but really isn’t. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Goliath, season II: Great characters, twisted villains, conflicted heroes, cool cinematography, Billy Bob Thornton, but … gruesome, confusing, contrived, weird, unevenly acted by the cursory players, gruesome again, so many amputations. Too bad. This was a True Detective-type second-season collapse; so much so that I’m out if there’s a third season. Rating: 2 out of 5

It’s Easy & Other Lies: This visual representation of Duff McKagen’s autobiography weaves together animation, concert-venue spoken-word performance and interviews to create a documentary worth your time, even if you’re not a Guns n Roses fan. The absence of any sort of acknowledgment of Axl Rose is a glaring hole, but it also speaks volumes about the chemistry in the band. Bonus points here for trying something different. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown: This Alex Gibney-directed doc is almost entirely dedicated to the early on-stage years and cultural effect of the hardest working man in show business. Despite the limitations, the piece is still a decent examination of the influences on and influence of one of the most innovative entertainers of our time (even with the seemingly random use of subtitles). But, man, there must have been a lot of material left unrealized about Brown’s personal life. Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: This Oscar-nominated beauty starring the always-formidable Frances McDormand, the colorful Sam Rockwell and the reliable Woody Harrelson pulls in many directions but doesn't really find a comfort zone. The film is filled with amazing performances and gripping scenes, but the piece isn't the sum of its parts. For some reason, even though the movie stayed with me for days after we saw it, I just didn't get a feeling of completion afterward. Was it a statement movie about rape? About racism? About equality? About police malfeasance? About small-town life? And homosexuality? About grown men living with their moms? Maybe I had high expectations going in because I saw it after the Oscar hype was pumped up; that might be why I liked but I didn't love it. Rating: 3 out of 5 

Wild Wild Country: This six-part Netflix doc is well worth the ride, so stick with it through an uneven beginning. Covering the controversial commune founded in rural Oregon by Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in the mid-1980s, this series examines, in-depth, how power and corruption can infiltrate and destroy even the most well-intended of ideas. Documentarians Mark and Jay Duplass made effective use of hours and hours of archival footage to lay out the founding, rise and eventual downfall of the Rajneeshpuram sexually liberated community located in Wasco County, Oregon, and its conflict with the nearby tiny and conservative town of Antelope. And the producers play it right down the middle, so that you feel sympathy for both sides of the conflict that calls into doubt the feasibility of truly having peace, love and harmony, or fitting into what society expects. Powerful and thought-provoking. Rating: 4 out of 5

Black Panther: The much-hyped super-hero movie with a virtually all-African-American cast was touted beyond belief before opening weekend, and seemed to have found a successful formula of character, plot, action, cinematography and stars. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) rules a far-off land in Africa that is heretofore unknown and/or underappreciated. But Wakanda has a secret: vibranium, a mineral that plummeted to earth millenniums ago where the country now sits and bears super magical fantastical powers that have enabled the citizens of the country to become independently wealthy and, more importantly, impervious to colonialism. The conflict comes in what that country's rulers want to do with this power in the modern age: use it to preserve what they have, or share it with the world. Further, do they share it for good or for evil? Slow to start, there's nonetheless a big message behind this movie, and that message resonates and is more important than anything else broached in any Marvel movie. And I hope this will pave the way for more movies that feature incredible casts (Michael B. Jordan was particularly awesome as the vengeful Erik Killmonger) in which the story is about character and not circumstances for African Americans. All that being said, at its essence it felt like just another blurred-action Marvel movie to me. Rating: 3 out of 5

Kodachrome: This quaint little comedy stars Jason Sudekis as the son who hates dying dad Ed Harris. The movie, based off a story from the New York Times, centers around the pair trying to get film to Kansas, where the last rolls are to be developed before the processing is discontinued. Sure, it's a subtle dig at technology in this iPhone age, but it's also a charming little ditty on fathers and sons, choosing a career over family, etc. For a softy like me, it was a nice confluence of statement, comedy and acting. Worthwhile. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

I, Tonya: Creatively edited and directed, this story about one of the most bizarre incidents of American sports history -- Tonya Harding and the infamous Nancy Kerrigan incident -- is full of memorable performances, especially between the award-winning Allison Janney as the car-crash, white-trash mom and Margot Robbie as the bargain-bin fury that is Tonya Harding. Sebastian Stan puts in a chameleon performance as jealous/spineless boyfriend Jeff Gilloly and Paul Walter Hauser is skeezy as bodyguard Shawn. This movie is about winning, losing and upbringing, of course, but it also has an underlying message about class structure in America. A solid flick to watch at home. Rating: 3 out of 5

Halt and Catch Fire, season I: This oddly appealing AMC 2014-17 drama about the race to design and build the first personal computer features complicated lead characters, uneven acting and scripting, and a whole lot of decent 1980s music. But, somehow, it works. I ended up binge-watching the entire first season after giving it three episodes to grab me. And then four. And then five ... and now I'm glad I hung on through the slow slog of the early going. The story, centered around former IBM sales shark Joe MacMillan (an intense Lee Pace), rebel coder Cameron Howe (Mackenzie Davis), engineer Gordon Clark (Scoot McNairy), his brilliant wife Donna Clark (Kelly Bishe) and upstart CEO John Bosworth (Toby Huss) is a wild mix of cliche and wildly unpredictable; at times you can really feel the writing. I've heard subsequent seasons are better, so I'm giving it an extension, even though the season finale felt an awful lot like a series finale, with the plot lines of the main characters wrapped in tiny bows. Rating: 3 out of 5

Halt and Catch Fire, season II: More of the same from the first season: the lead characters continue to be their own worst enemies as they struggle to survive in the increasingly cut-throat world of personal computers and the burgeoning industry of online gaming. Lee Pace as Joe MacMillan continues to steal scenes, sometimes verging on overwrought, but you still care enough about the characters and their influence over one another to keep watching. Rating: 3 out of 5

Halt and Catch Fire, season III: This season randomly cranks it up a notch by episode 6, with the stakes raised and the storylines taking unexpected turns. The entire crew is back for more self-immolation, but how they get through it all makes the journey more intense than the first two seasons. Lee Pace’s Steve Job-esque persona is virtually complete, perfect for the daunting idea of the Internet that is just on the horizon. Who will get there first? Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Halt and Catch Fire, season IV: This series hits its stride in its final season, with the characters fitting better into their own skins and the midseason cliffhangers and shocking episode endings feeling anything but forced or manipulative during the race to build what would ultimately be the search engine that would rule the Internet (read: Google). Lee Pace's brooding Joe MacMillan remains one of the more fascinating TV characters in recent memory, coming off as complicated, smart, prescient, unpredictable and worthy of attention. You know, sort of like everyday people. It's Toby Huss' John Bosworth turn to wear the beard this season, and he lives up to expectations by stealing scenes with his gentle angst and good ol' boy Southern charm, even as he faces mortality and the consequences of poor financial decisions. But the series' conclusion hinges on its strengths, which means on the fortunes of the two leading women: Mackenzie Davis as programming savant Cameron Howe and Kelly Bishe as programmer-turned-investment-guru Donna Clark, who is recently divorced and faces an intense life-changing crisis with her daughters near the end of the season that is utterly heartbreaking in its portrayal. We hate to let go of things we love, and nothing proves it more than season IV of Halt and Catch Fire. Rating: 4 out of 5

Icarus: This Netflix documentary starts off modestly -- how can a cyclist cheat his way to the top by doping it up -- before it explodes into a dynamic international thriller full of intrigue, espionage, double-crosses, mysterious deaths and, above all, palpable tension. The story follows Bryan Fogel as he enlists the help of Grigory Rodchenkov, who oversees the Russian anti-doping lab in Moscow, to help him get better. But suddenly the story turns and Rodchenkov becomes the pivot point for the potential downfall of the entire Russian doping program, not to mention the future of the country's hopped-up athletes at the Rio Olympic Games. Compelling, swift and informative, this Oscar-winning doc gives us a dramatic look behind the scenes of one of the biggest moments in modern sports history. Rating: 4 out of 5

Lion: Dev Patel (who was great in The Newsroom) plays the adult version of a lost Indian boy who is adopted by an Australian couple and tries years later to find his original family. Heartbreaking, beautifully filmed, tremendously acted (Patel and Nicole Kidman were both nominated for Oscars), wonderfully scored. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

The Commitments: This Alan Parker flick about the evolution and devolution of a Dublin soul band is so good that it feels like a documentary. The level of vitriol and disharmony and dialogue — not to mention the blue language — feels authentic. Worth a viewing, just not with your grandmother. Rating: 4 out of 5

The Doors: This trippy retelling of the rise and demise of Jim Morrison and his band is director Oliver Stone at his most twistedly cohesive. Val Kilmer channels Morrison like it was the role he was born to play. The tale gets a little ponderous and long in spots, just like some of the band’s songs, but even if you’re not a fan of The Doors (ahem), this biopic will, like, alter your reality, man. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Donnie Darko: On the surface, this is a disturbing and grim story about a troubled teenager (played creepily by a 20-year-old Jake Gyllenhaal) who talks to an evil, imaginary Halloween bunny. Deeper than that, it’s a thought-provoking analysis of fate, loneliness, diagnoses, love, parenting, politics and, most dramatically, being different. If you can get past Gyllenhaal’s overwrought we-get-it-he’s-having-an-episode glare, this is worth your time. Plus, the 1980s-influenced soundtrack kicks serious arse. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

My Left Foot: Daniel Day Lewis won the first of his six (!) Oscars for this portrayal of Christy Brown, the Irish artist born with cerebral palsy. But this story is about more than just overcoming the odds, it's also about overcoming class warfare in Ireland, overcoming abusive patriarchy and the fuel behind them all -- love of family. Hugh O'Conor also deserves props for his portrayal of young Christy Brown. Heartbreaking and brilliant, this one is worth rewatching. Rating: 3.5 out of 5  

The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, Parts 1-2: This magnificent HBO documentary directed and narrated by Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40-Year-Old Virgin) is an extremely intimate look at one of comedy's most tortured personalities (which is saying something for the world of comedy). And few would be as qualified to dive so deeply into the life of Shandling -- the brain behind It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show, two game-changing, seminal send-ups of TV itself -- than longtime friend Apatow, who was a young writer along for the ride on Shandling's shows and was entrusted with the late comedian's very personal journals. But it's not a puffy Hollywood postmortem: Apatow reveals the highs and lows of dealing with Shandling, including the cause behind his decidedly unfunny years and his seemingly petty firing of his girlfriend after she broke up with him, with the assistance of such comedy luminaries as Jim Carrey, Kevin Nealon, Sacha Baron Cohen and Bob Saget. The two parts are indeed a commitment, clocking in at more than four hours in total -- but it's well worth the journey if you're fascinated by the creative process and the price one has to pay to be ahead of your time. Rating: 4 out of 5 

Chris Rock: Tamborine: A long-awaited return by standup maestro Chris Rock starts a little on the horrific side — talking about wanting more white kids to be killed by cops to even the score seems harsh in the wake of endless school shootings — but, if nothing else, stick with it/fast-forward to the parts about relationships, competence and the painfully accurate depiction of men in the world of divorce. Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Seth Rogen's Hilarity for Charity: I like Seth Rogen. I didn't like this embarrassing Netflix variety show. It was for an admirable cause, otherwise no points for you. Rating: 1.25 out of 5

Ramblin’ Man, a.k.a. Concrete Cowboys: This random 1979 Tom Selleck-Jerry Reed buddy Amazon flick was a failed TV pilot that is all sorts of ‘70s. The image quality is poor, but the acting isn’t half bad, considering. In this tale, good ol’ boys Tom and Jerry (!) escape from a crooked card game in their native Montana in a boxcar and end up in Nashville, where they are mistaken for private detectives and enlisted by a woman (Morgan Fairchild) seeking her missing sister (Morgan Fairchild, yep). Explosions, fisticuffs, gunfire and case-load stress ensue. You could see how this would become a series: the boys ride the rails to a new city or town every week, where they run into a new adventure by solving a new crime or helping a lady with a cat/tree problem. Might have been clever. Anyway, the leads are their usual affable selves, and this is noteworthy for being a series that seemingly laid the groundwork for Selleck to become Magnum and Reed to be ... cast again as a good ol’ boy in Smokey and the Bandit II? Whatever. It’s fun if you can get past the TV-square screen and low-fi screen resolution. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

Arthur Miller: Writer: This HBO doc, filmed and assembled from interviews and home movies by Miller's daughter, Rebecca, is a deeply personal look at the life and philosophy of one of the greatest playwrights of all time. The story runs the gamut, starting with Miller's upbringing, the influence the Depression had on his greatest play, Death of a Salesman, through to his marriage to Marilyn Monroe, his movie work and his struggles later in life to remain relevant in the changing times. This intimate look is not exactly objective -- it ignores Miller’s late declaration of love for a 34-year-old painter, and the controversy that ensued (Rebecca Miller had been against the relationship) -- but it is an intimate glimpse behind the scenes of how real life acted as a muse for an incredibly creative mind. Rating: 4 out of 5

Logan Lucky: Who doesn’t love them a good heist flick? This quirky story from Steven Soderbergh (Oceans 11 franchise, Traffic, Solaris, Erin Brockovich) about a couple of brothers (Adam Driver, Channing Tatum) in the South trying for a big score at the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coco-Cola 600 tries hard to check the clever-heist boxes — funny, offbeat, hip, artsy, folksy, Oceans Elevensy, heartwarming and inspired — and even though it falls short on a couple of counts, the cumulative effect is a decent little ditty. And James Bond as a redneck! Rating: 3 out of 5

Empire Falls: This made-for-TV adaptation of the great Richard Russo book re-creates the characters of a sleepy but close-knit New England community deals with love, loss, mother issues, father issues, brother issues, diner issues, etc. You know, life. With the fantastic Ed Harris as Miles, the manager of the local diner pining for better things, the story makes you laugh, cry ... and think. The screenplay, also by Russo, does a great job of having the same spirit of the book (if you can ignore the cheesy Hallmark music). The characters are interesting, not cliches, and have complicated and intelligent conversations. You know, like life is supposed to be. Paul Newman (in his last on-screen appearance), Joanne Woodward, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Aidan Quinn and Robin Wright are among the standouts in this piece that leaves you wishing you lived in Empire Falls, warts and all. Rating: 4 out of 5

Men In Black: This iconic and trendsetting masterpiece from director Barry Sonnenfeld set the movie world afire with its clever premise: your weird-looking neighbor is actually an alien who needs keeping in line every now and then by, you guessed it, the men in black, a secret non-government force supervised by Rip Torn and his merry bunch of earthlings and otherworldlings. Tommy Lee Jones plays the savvy veteran to Will Smith's rookie, and the chemistry and dialogue are whip-smart and diamond-sharp. This movie made almost $600 million worldwide and spawned a series of substandard sequels and a series that's in preproduction, even all these years later. Funny, smart, scary-real and thrilling, this is part Ghostbusters, part Alien, part Lethal Weapon, part Independence Day, all rolled into one original thrill show. Oh, and Vincent D'Onofrio's portrayal of an alien in an earthling's stolen husk is the standard for such a role. If there ever will be such a role again. Rating: 4 out of 5 

The Fifth Element: I didn't like this Bruce Willis sci-fi flick when it came out in 1997, and it didn’t get better with age. Willis plays a cabbie in the 23rd century who stumbles upon a wayward refugee from another time and galaxy destined to save the world from … something untoward. Gary Oldman is campy-great as the villain Zorg, Milla Jovovich is fine as the escapee but Chris Tucker ruins any chance this movie had of being good with his shrill and irritating Ruby Rhod, some kind of reality-TV star. This is what happens when a studio throws too much money at a sci-fi movie: the sets are great, the costumes are original, the makeup is outlandish, the CGI is extraordinary, but the story and the acting are left in the dust. Is it camp? Is it sci-fi as subtle statement? Is it an action movie? Don’t worry about it; just don’t watch it. Rating: 2 out of 5

Training Day: Denzel Washington justifiably won an Oscar for his portrayal of a cop who boils over with fury at almost every turn. His bold performance is one for the ages and is worth the price of admission alone. Ethan Hawke does an admirable job of playing the rookie caught in the crossfire between crooks and crooked cops, but he's pretty much playing Ethan Hawke and left as a pounding board for the big dog: Washington dominates every scene with wildly unpredictable and angry action, playing what has to be one of the most evil characters in modern movie history. Does the end justify the means? Strap in and hang on. Rating: 4 out of 5  

Wonder Boys: Michael Douglas is iconic as a pot-smoking writing professor trying to hold it together amid the dysfunction brought on by students, fellow profs, his visiting book editor and stiff-arm-giving ex-wife over one memorable window of time. Tobey Maguire is great as the eccentric writing student, Robert Downey Jr. rings true as an eccentric editor, Frances McDormand is solid as the ex-wife, and they all find some way to push the buttons of Douglas’ Grady Tripp (subtle name for a pot-smoking prof, yeah?). The dialogue and scenes feel so good that they could be from a novel and that’s because they are, as the screenplay is based on the Michael Chabon book. Different characters take us on a memorable and thought-provoking journey, which is what movies are supposed to be all about. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Days of Thunder: Tom Cruise is a Jeff Gordon-esque NASCAR driver who comes from — gasp! — California and sets the series on its head with his car-razy wild abandon on the track. He wins, he crashes, he gets a concussion (?) and stages a miraculous comeback, all while holding off a stone-faced rival (who also gets a concussion! Huh.) and falling in love with a relatively towering and fresh-faced Nicole Kidman. Robert Duvall is great as the crew chief, there’s drama, there’s loud racing footage, there’s … a formulaic early-era Tom Cruise movie for you. If that’s your thing, you’ll love it. Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Inside Llewyn Davis: Awkward. Deliberate. Taxing. The Coen brothers gave the folkie-legend thing a valiant effort, but it just felt forced, even with the obligatory appearance by an always-reliable John Goodman. It has a few nice moments but I kept waiting for the first act to end. Pass. Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Se7en: Yes, I've got to write it that way because it doesn't show up in IMDb otherwise. So, we've got Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey (uncredited), Gwyneth Paltrow and David Fincher teaming up to create a story about a depraved serial killer (as opposed to?) whose victims are killed in line with the Seven Deadly Sins. The storyline is simple but the muted colors, the relentless rain, the soundtrack, the sets, the gore all add up to make this one sick puppy of a movie. Brilliant and worth every second, especially the creatively shot climax. What was in the box, anyway? *shudders* Rating: 4 out of 5

8 Mile: Top-notch performances all around make this Rap Rocky a strong choice to watch, even all these years later. A brooding and intense Eminem leads alongside a deep cast that includes Brittany Murphy, Kim Basinger, Michael Shannon and an endearing Mekhi Phifer in what's essentially an origin tale: young white guy rises up in the inner-city Detroit rap scene to become the MC with the most. The music is great, the characters feel real (not that I have a clue about an authentic rap battle) and the story doesn't drag in any of the acts. Solid and chill-inducing work here that leaves you wondering why Eminem hasn’t done more movies. Rating: 4 out of 5

Exit Through the Gift Shop: Is it a legit doc on street artists or is it performance art? The infamous Banksy was the impetus for this piece, but it ended up morphing into a larger piece on the street artist movement itself. Either way, the behind-the-scenes access given to these otherwise faceless authors is worth the hour and a half. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Up in the Air: This George Clooney vehicle is simply the best movie about the soul-crushing loneliness of business travel, full stop. While a tad different from the Walter Kirn novel, the spirit is roughly the same: Clooney (who was nominated for an Oscar) plays an executive whose company is hired by other companies to lay off employees and brings on a young upstart (Anna Kendrick, sharply great) who aims to change the game in this interpretation directed by Jason Reitman (who was nominated for an Oscar for directing and adapted screenplay). Not only is the 2009 film timelessly timely -- who hasn't felt the fear of being laid off? -- but it's also a tragically accurate depiction of the sameness and homogeneity of flying in the same airplanes with the same interchangeable people, driving the same nondescript rental cars, eating in the same awful restaurants and staying in the same bland hotels in cities all across the country. At its heart, however, it's a love story between Clooney's character (Ryan Bingham) and that of Vera Farmiga, who is dazzling (she was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Alex Goran) as a female counterpart on the caustic corporate carousel. The third act bogs a bit around the family drama (still love you, Danny McBride!), but overall the film is funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking and, above all, a cautionary tale for people who still think the company has their back. And parts of it were filmed in St. Louis! Rating: 4.25 out of 5  

Stranger Things, season I: Great. Suspenseful. Gory. Perfect throwback music for those who grew up in the '80s. Some of the acting is a little irregular, but overall an entertaining and worthwhile ride. All hail Eleven! Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Stranger Things, season II: Still pretty good, but not as good as the first season. The suspense factor isn't there as much, and the monster is sort of the same as the first season, but the lovable characters are all back and make it a nice sequel. On its own, not so much. Also: The infamous Episode 7 feels like a setup for a spinoff (or, *cough* filler) and doesn't really fit the rhythm of the series. It's OK to skip that one unless you're a diehard fan or interested in watching a Suicide Squad setup. Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Flint Town: I really wanted to like this Netflix single-season doc: shot in 2016, it covers the challenges faced by the police of the battered Michigan city best known for its poisonous water. Beautifully shot with high production values (as in, lots of drones), it bounces off the edges of journalism and gives us an intimate look at officers dealing every day and night with the effects of intense poverty and the crime it can bring. But the water issue is barely touched and the tension and stress of being a police officer somehow don’t come across consistently from one episode to the next. As a result, it comes across as an admirable but failed attempt at a highbrow Cops. Verdict: not binge-worthy. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

Blade Runner 2049: Long. Really, really long. And it’s also long. Face it, nothing will be as influential on modern cinema as Ridley Scott's Blade Runner in terms of cinematography, subtext and vague symbolism (Is Deckard a replicant? Are the replicants animals? Does mankind of the future have a God complex? Are we on an inescapable path to destroying the environment?) while, for context, released the same year as ET: The Extra Terrestrial. This very easily could have been a highly touted sequel that flopped or been a de facto remake (looking at you, The Force Awakens), but Denis Villeneuve's movie is unquestionably beautiful to look at, the sound editing is intimidating and the flick has its own entertainment value in the solid performances of Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto and, yes, Harrison Ford. On its own, it's a glorious movie worth watching in the theatre (even if the future is unreasonably clean and the colors are way too bright). As a sequel to a movie that was so ahead of its time it baffled people for years before becoming an influential cult favorite, it's a mere shadow of greatness. Rating: 4 out of 5

The Shape of Water: This piece by out-there director Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Pacific Rim) is lifted obviously by the powerhouse performance of government agent Michael Shannon, who is always an intimidating presence, but it will be the performance of protagonist Sally Hawkins that will stay with you long after the movie is over. Sure, the story is offbeat -- Hawkins falls in love with what essentially is the Creature from a Black Lagoon being held captive by the government in the draft of the Cold War -- but the humanity is real, especially in today's disaffected age. And it was filmed in Toronto! Edgy cinema at its disaffected best. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Darkest Hour: One of the best movies of 2017 and, in Gary Oldman's performance as Winston Churchill III, one of the finest performances of this age. Just really, really good stuff from the portrayal of the power struggle between Churchill and Lord Halifax through to the subtle (and accurate) speech impediment enacted by King George VI. And it's a movie about wartime that doesn't have to rely on blood and explosions to make its point or build the dramatic tension. This is a winner. Rating: 4.25 out of 5

L.A. Confidential: This double Oscar winner should probably have won as best picture over Titanic, as the story line was more original, the cinematography was more subtly beautiful, the dialogue was less forced and the characters were more complicated. This flick, starring a young and compressed Russell Crowe in his breakout (and career-defining) role, steals the show from fellow Aussie Guy Pearce, who is similarly stellar as the lead, but in a more subtle way. Their contrasting acting styles helped fortify the differences of their characters and bring tension to almost every scene, singularly or while appearing together. Kevin Spacey is also great, this being one of the great string of movies he put together in the 1990s that also included The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, the performances of which now are tainted, of course, by the accusations made against him. Curtis Hanson's directing was seamless and should have been given the Oscar, but his adapted screenplay was recognized, so there's that. And let's not forget Kim Basinger's Oscar-winning portrayal of high-class hooker Lynn Bracken, another career-defining role that a case could be made as the weakest of all the leads (James Cromwell as the crooked cop is also top-notch). This one is a top-10er of recent memory, for sure. Rating: 4.25 out of 5 

Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press: This 2017 Netflix doc is a must-see for people interested in free speech and the threat it faces these days. The lead (and most compelling) segment of the three deals in fascinating detail with the obsurd Hulk Hogan-Gawker Media lawsuit that was secretly backed by a mysterious tech billionaire with potentially ulterior motives in mind.  And it gets better. Find time to fit this into your schedule. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

The Trials of Muhammad Ali: This doc about Ali's life outside the ring was compelling and provided a few nuggets heretofore unknown by this reviewer (Ali starred in a Broadway musical while banned from fighting?), which is saying something when it comes to one of sports' most-covered personalities. One thing is for sure: Whether you liked him or not, Ali was a champion of change for blacks and for people of different religions, the legacy of which sustains to this day. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

A Walk in the Woods: I thought this was going to be dopey: Robert Redford as author Bill Bryson and Nick Nolte as his vagabond friend Katz decide to hike the Appalachian Trail. The whole freakin’ trail! Never mind that Redford and Nolte are no spring chickens and supposed to be playing two guys in their forties. Never mind that hiking the Appalachian Trail is wildly dangerous for even expert hikers. Disregard Emma Thompson randomly playing Redford’s wife. It all somehow holds up thanks to the chemistry between Redford and the worn-out Nolte, and some witty dialogue. This one is a good time killer on a Saturday night. Plus, loads of Lord Huron on the soundtrack! Rating: 3 out of 5

Jeff, Who Lives at Home: If you’ve seen Jason Segel in I Love You, Man and Ed Helms in The Hangover, then you’ve seen their characters in this movie. Segel plays the title character, who ... uh, lives at home. Helms plays his married brother, who is fed up looking after slacker Segel. That’s about it. The whole thing is all shades of awkward. Rating: 2 out of 5

Norm McDonald: Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery: Funny and insightful standup from one of the genre’s best minds, best known as the underappreciated former host of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update. His bit on "ID" is particularly brilliant. Worth the hour. Rating: 3 out of 5

All the President's Men: Journalists such as myself love any movie that glorifies journalists and the process of journalism. Do a journalism movie well, and you've enlisted a built-in influence machine to spread the word about how great your movie is. The classic example is All the President's Men, which tells the story of the formative days of the Watergate investigation by dogged Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward that eventually brought the resignation of President Nixon. After recently watching this again for the first time in about 20 years, I can say it felt a little draggy in spots, especially compared with recent favorites Spotlight and The Post. But that's more the result of the pace of today's movies, which spin quickly and move from scene to scene much more rapidly. Directed expertly by Alan Pakula and moodily shot by Gordon Willis (dark for outside, bright for the newsroom), this is an important movie that holds up well. As an aside, other movies released in 1976: Taxi Driver, Rocky, Logan's Run, Carrie, Network, King Kong, A Star is Born, Marathon Man, The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Bad News Bears, Silver Streak. Not too many dogs or sequels, is there? Rating: 3.25 out of 5

The Post: Speaking of The Post, starring Tom Hanks as editor Ben Bradlee and Meryl Streep as publisher Katherine Graham and directed by some guy named Spielberg, is the story of how the Washington Post reporters and editors managed to get the Pentagon Papers released, which is all part of the same Nixon mess. Well shot and well acted, The Post is an important movie at an important time for journalism. Begrudging props to Streep and Hanks, who were very believable in their roles. Given the mainstream parties behind it all, I was prepared to not like it, but came away with another journalism movie that struck me as fair, honest and a great glimpse behind the scenes of my chosen profession. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Spielberg: This HBO doc is comprehensive -- it clocks in at 2 hours and 28 minutes -- covering master director Steven Spielberg's career from his TV days right through to Bridge of Spies. His modern-day stuff doesn't get the big treatment, but the films he built his career around, namely Jaws, E.T., The Color Purple, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, are perhaps more worthy of the extensive treatment in terms of early influence on his career, not to mention filmmaking. As with most docs about living Hollywood people (who would dare say something negative about a potential future employer?), this piece feels a little on the authorized side, despite outside perspectives from TV critics (or maybe he is that good and that nice of a guy). But there's no arguing that filmmaker Susan Lacy and crew went deep, getting on-screen interview clips with everyone from Richard Dreyfus to Liam Neeson to Ralph Fiennes to Daniel Craig to Tom Cruise to Tom Hanks. Worth the journey if you're a fan of Spielberg and/or modern filmmaking. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Revolutionary Road: This adaptation directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Skyfall, Spectre) adds tuneful nostalgia, tans and grays and a world of toxic hurt to the dark Richard Yates novel. Powerhouse, punch-packing performances come from Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as Frank and April Wheeler, a young suburban couple discovering life isn't matching up with their dreams and expectations (Revolutionary Road = Rat Race?). A strong supporting cast of David Harbour (heartbreaking), Kathryn Hahn, Kathy Bates and a young, scene-chomping Michael Shannon make this a chair-gripping watch. "Who makes these rules, anyway?" Painful on so many levels for its incisiveness and relevance to the life we've all settled for. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

The Road: This grim tale of a man and his son trying to survive in post-apocalyptic America is not something you'd want to watch with the kiddies on a Sunday afternoon, but nonetheless the rendering of the great Cormac McCarthy novel is compelling, from the always-solid Viggo Mortensen as the dad through to the occasional characters who cross the pair's path, including Robert Duvall with a haunting performance as an old man barely surviving in the ashen world. Good viewing as a reminder of what we're doing to our planet. And Charize Theron is in it too! Rating: 3 out of 5

Serpico: Al Pacino is a cop fighting corruption in early 1970s New York in this gritty tale that rings true in character, setting and plot. The typical slower pace of movies of the era takes some getting used to when conditioned to quick cuts and shorter scenes of today, but this is nonetheless a worthwhile journey helmed by the legendary Sydney Pollack. Rating: 3 out of 5

Magnum P.I., season I: The first season of the original series is lame on cases but large on scenery, chemistry and character development between Tom Selleck (Magnum), John Hillerman (Higgins), Roger E. Mosley (T.C.) and Larry Manetti (Rick). If you’re a fan of funny, palsy dialogue and Selleck’s charmingly fallible Magnum (and guest stars such as Erin Gray and pre-Cheers Ted Danson), tune in. Otherwise, this season is pretty skippable. If memory recalls correctly, the series starts to get good when Magnum and his pals get into Vietnam War flashbacks. Rating: 3 out of 5

Taxi Driver: Robert DeNiro plays the role of a lifetime as a mentally sliding cabdriver with a plan to clean up the scum and vermin of the streets of New York after being ghosted by a woman. Martin Scorsese’s flick is considered a masterpiece in many circles and was nominated for four Oscars in 1976, including Best Picture. Upon a first viewing 43 years after it was made, it comes across as a deliberate but worthwhile psycho thriller. The ambient street sounds, the dim lighting, the long shots, the dirty, old New York streets all add to the cruelty of the narrative. DeNiro’s Oscar-nominated portrayal of Travis Bickle is iconic and a now an archetype for a reason; his performance is standout for its wealth of creepiness. Cybill Shepherd, Jodie Foster (also nominated for an Oscar), Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, Harvey Keitel and even Scorsese himself round out the gritty and solid cast. The ending feels a little tacked-on and Hollywoody, but overall this film lives up to the hype. Rating: 3 out of 5

The Pope of Greenwich Village: “Charlie, they stole my thumb! Charlie!” This adapted Vincent Patrick novel about two New York losers who team with an old safe cracker to mistakenly (maybe) steal from a mobster is bizarre but great in a 1984-era kind of way. A fresh-faced Mickey Rourke plays Charlie, a dapper but misbegotten everyman who just needs a break to get over the hump and impress out-of-his-league fitness instructor girlfriend Daryl Hannah. A permed Eric Roberts is beyond over the top as his well-meaning but dopey cousin Paulie, bringing a brilliant performance you won’t ever forget that absolutely propels the movie. This is a great study of two young actors working off each other in a workshoppy kind of way that pays off and leaves you satisfied by the time the credits roll. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

The Conversation: This tale about a paranoid surveillance expert who suspects he’s about to witness a murder is highly regarded by critics and the Academy, but the Francis Ford Coppola-helmed ditty is all talk and no action. The hype has no currency today. Rating: 2 out of 5

The Big Lebowski: One of the best comedies of the modern era. Seriously. It’s also one of the reasons the Coen brothers were considered so brilliant in the formative portion of their careers. Jeff Bridges and John Goodman put in the performances of their lives, performances that have become iconic. (Julianne Moore, John Turturro and Steve Buscehmi played great against type, too.) So many great lines, so many great scenes. The characters behave in unexpected ways and say wild but conceivable things. Bowling and a Folger’s can will never be the same. Rating: 4 out of 5

Dallas Buyers Club: Matthew McConaughey puts in one of the most uncomfortable physical commitments in recent movie history. Dude truly looks like he’s got HIV. Add in the Oscar-winning spin by Jared Leto and you’ve got a whale of a tale about a scamming rodeo cowboy fighting the system and making the most of the days he’s told he has left. Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Caddyshack: A comedy classic for a reason. Great gags, slapstick scenes, a fantastic cast and a raft of repeatable lines make this one for the ages. Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield and especially Ted Knight put in performances that were iconic for their careers, as did the directing and writing of SCTV alumnus Harold Ramis. The gopher-puppet stuff is dumb, sure, but this is otherwise a fun ride. All this and Kenny Loggins too! Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Ghostbusters: Yeah, it didn’t really hold up. Too bad; it was a blast when it came out. Rating: 2 out of 5

Logan’s Run: Let’s hear it for Michael York! This 1976 classic could easily have regressed into major cheese upon hindsight, but its underlying theme still holds: beware ageism! The basic plot: Everyone is terminated, exploded in a wild gravity-defying ceremony, when they turn 30. Michael York and Richard Jordan are the guys who chase down the people who aren’t playing and try to escape the underworld to the surface. Farrah Fawcett makes a brief appearance, but Jenny Agutter is the main romantic interest and holds her own. If you can suspend prejudice against 1970s pre-Star Wars sci-fi flicks, you’ll get a kick out of this retro romp. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Bonnie and Clyde: This 1967 crime thriller stars two of the most beautiful actors of their era in a wild ride through history. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are the title characters who accidentally start a Texas crime spree that gets wildly out of control. But the surprising component here is that the subtext is about what it takes to be a man, not just in the 1930s, but also in the modern era. (Who knew erectile dysfunction was a thing in the 1960s?) Nonetheless, this is a jaunty little ditty that will give you new appreciation for the peak-era work of Beatty, Dunaway and director Arthur Penn. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

A Clockwork Orange: This depraved Stanley Kubrick flick is a treasure to behold on so many levels, from Malcolm McDowell’s performance as a cheeky gang leader in an ultra-violent near future to the fantastic cinematography to the forward-thinking juxtaposition of classical music with horrific violence. And there’s those horrific scenes. You’re thinking of McDowell in the theater being conditioned to abhor violence, eyes held open by metal pincers, aren’t you? When you think of the lasting power of other movies released in 1971, nothing compares for originality and influence. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Dances With Wolves: Simply one of the best movies of its era, this Kevin Costner-directed 1991 Best Picture Oscar-winning epic still has currency. Costner plays John Dunbar, a Civil War lieutenant who finds himself assigned to man a remote post in the West. All by his lonesome, he encounters hostile and friendly Native Americans, feeds chow to a two-stepping wolf, all while executing a great statement about the equality of man. The narration is intentionally stilted and the story might be considered deliberate (three hours!) by some, but it’s been a long, long time since a movie played with your emotions like this does. Epic in cinematography and story, this film has great performances by Costner, a then-unknown Mary McDonnell, a fierce and intimidating Rodney Grant and, most of all, a dazzling Graham Greene as Dunbar’s new bestie, Kicking Bird. The Sioux are presented as people with the same priorities many of us have: wanting to feed, protect and nurture family. You know, human. The villains in this story are the white men, appropriately, and the message is clear: Our ancestors have a lot to be ashamed of. Rating: 4.25 out of 5

Bull Durham: Ron Shelton wrote and directed this sports and baseball masterpiece about an aging catcher (Kevin Costner, in a role that made his career) brought in to play for the minor-league Durham Bulls to help mentor a young fireballer (Tim Robbins in another career-defining role). The conflict between them is because of their age, positions on the team and long-term prospects, but also because they are caught in a triangle with Susan Sarandon, who plays baseball groupie Annie Savoy like it was her destiny. The real heart of this movie, of course, is the love of baseball, from the romanticization of the complete anonymity of the riding the buses to the players hanging on every word Costner’s Crash Davis says about once, years ago, for 21 games, playing in the Show. Shelton’s script and directing are such that you have to pay attention in order to appreciate it all — no deliberate shots of actors setting up a joke you’ll have to remember later, no introducing characters with obvious ploys, no (at the time, anyway) stereotypes about minor league players and the characters therein, dialogue that is razor-sharp and not always about baseball, characters heretofore unseen — which isn’t really a common thing anymore. Without this movie, there is no Major League (some of the characters of which are pure rip-offs of the Bulls) and its ilk, not even a Field of Dreams. Everything came together at the right time for this home run of a movie. Rating: 4 out of 5

Wayne’s World: This one holds up better than you’d expect. Wayne and Garth are two original (well, for the movies; the Saturday Night Live skit was first, of course) characters who break the fourth wall, fall on their keys, talk about deep life moments underneath jet wash and fall for pretty but strong women. Watched all these years later, the lines are still funny, the scenes still feel original and the timing is on. Never mind that Mike Myers turned suburban Toronto into suburban Chicago for the setting or that some of the band stuff is rockward; he, Dana Carvey and Rob Lowe keep this one real. Party on, dude. Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Some Kind of Monster: You could say I'm not a Metallica fan; they lost me at Enter Sandman. But there's no questioning the musicianship of the metal band that has been popular lo these three-plus decades. However, I've seen Some Kind of Monster twice now, and it remains one of the best behind-the-scenes music docs around. You get to see everything that goes on behind the scenes of the band's 2003 release St. Anger, including in-fighting, acrimony, rehab fallout, former members slagging the current members, etc. It's all out there for everyone to see; no censorship, no hiding the facts, no shiny happy puffy promo reel for the fan club. Seeing the struggle lead singer James Hetfield endures with not only addiction but also writer's block as well as being a rockstar with a family is humanizing, humbling and revelatory. Throw in a band therapist, egomaniac drummer Lars Ulrich, a producer (Canadian Bob Rock of Payolas fame) being strung along on a seemingly interminable assignment and, oh, integrating a new member into this beast makes for an enthralling stew of suspense and transparency. This is the rock doc that everyone else since has tried to replicate. Rating: 4 out of 5  

Manhunter: First off, director Michael Mann is a genius. He is, after all, the mastermind behind Miami Vice, one of the most influential TV shows of all time. He brought style, original dialogue, a music-video sensitivity and all-around different when television desperately needed it. His first theatrical release, Manhunter, feels like more of the same. But that’s a good thing. Lots of style, lots of unconventional camera angles, lots of art, lots of realistic characters, lots of bright colors on cops. In some ways, the Coen brothers before the Coen brothers. The story, based on Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon, is grim but compelling. Be prepared for lots of ambient sound, stark shots and the controlled intensity of William Peterson! Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Chinatown: Writer Robert Towne is a genius (Tequila Sunrise, Shampoo, The Missouri Breaks, Mission Impossible franchise), and this classic is a essential part of his legacy. Jack Nicholson was at his earliest snark and Faye Dunaway was riding high on her amazing string of 1970s lynchpins (Network, Bonnie and Clyde, King Kong), and the story was compelling, if not a little confusing in spots, but it didn’t live up to the hype. Or maybe it’s just because I don’t have adulation for Nicholson like others. Decent. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

The Place Beyond the Pines: This trio of stories interwoven to great effect stars Ryan Gosling as a rebel ne'er-do-well and Bradley Cooper as a cop who is the son of a judge and wants his force to go on the straight and narrow, all taking place in a downtrodden upstate Schenectady, New York. There are also other connections between the two that I won't spoil, but suffice to say Gosling's son provides a key thread. The storyline that connects them all feels strong, the plot is populated with interesting and different characters (Eva Mendes is a key link), and a Bon Iver song plays over the credits! The pace drags a bit at times, and the movie could have been shorter, but the solid acting, the heart-thumping bike chases and some dazzling cinematography make this a worthwhile journey. Rating: 2.75 out of 5

Glengarry Glen Ross: The powerful and testosterone-jacked play by David Mamet is a different kind of abrasive in movie form, with lighting, weather and rumbling commuter trains adding to the tension and aggression. The story, about salesmen (who are cheats and liars) trying their best to sell Florida swampland to unsuspecting marks, is a kick in the crotch from start to finish. The realistic and thoughtful dialogue is exasperating in its energy, vulgarity and offensiveness, delivered at volumes better suited for talking at concerts. But it fits. In an early scene, the salesmen are castigated/motived by a career-best Alec Baldwin in a part created specially for him for the movie (his character does not exist in the stage version), with first prize being a Cadillac, second prize being a set of steak knives and third prize being "you're fired." From there, the plot weaves through men fighting for their livelihood and we're left to gawk at all the desperate things they do to survive. The cast stokes the fire, with Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin and Kevin Spacey all taking turns exploding into each other's faces. This is intended for a man's man; don't expect hugs or high-fives. The movie is the modern-day equivalent to tearing into raw meat, 1980s man backed into a corner. (Which makes an all-female cast version of the play, as has been making the rounds recently, even more brilliant.) Spectacular. Rating: 4 out of 5 

Jaws: Another viewing of this 1975 classic shows just how awesome Steven Spielberg was, even when he was a wee lad. Essentially, he made a horror movie that was so good it became mainstream, just like he would later do with Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The movie still holds up; even the fake shark doesn't look 1975-fake, like some of the special effects of the day look today. And having the protagonist of the story, played by Roy Scheider, be afraid of the water is the perfect flawed character to drive the story. And could we just get a shoutout for Scheider? Dude was also in All That Jazz and the French Connection. Nails. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Blazing Saddles: Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little are great, but this doesn’t really hold up. Maybe that’s because this was leading edge at the time but has been done better in the 40-plus years since. Or maybe the liberal use of the n-word is just so repugnant (even in a movie that is obviously a statement against racism) that everything else around it gets tainted. A worthy watch, though, if you’re studying the roots of modern comedy. Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Spaceballs: Yeah, no. Also a Mel Brooks production, this send-up of the Star Wars movies was lame on whole a different level. If it wasn’t for John Candy, it would have been several more degrees of awful. No, the Schwartz is not with you. Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Cloud Atlas: This epic novel was turned into an epic movie of almost three years, er, hours in duration starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving and Hugh Grant as pretty much all the key characters in a tale that covers centuries and dwells overtly on fate and connections between past and future lives. The brilliant novel by David Mitchell was difficult to convert into a visual form, which makes for a long-arse movie. The visuals are pretty cool and it’s good to see Berry in something decent again. And, actually, Grant is really good underneath all that makeup and prosthetics. A worthwhile viewing for a rainy day but the book, while requiring a much larger (not that much larger) commitment, is a more fulfilling investment. Rating: 2 out of 5

Darkon: This doc found on Amazon was touted by the New York Times, so I watched it. Bad call. A look inside the role-playing fad of the early 2000s, epitomized by one group in Baltimore, the film is a little too earnest in its filming of the battles. The best parts are the glimpses of the lives the warriors have outside the game, the wicked monotony juxtaposed with the foam-weapon battles. But those moments are too brief. Otherwise, it just feels like a wannabe epic movie. Pass. Rating: 1.5 out of 5