Ashton Kutcher was quite convincing as Steve Jobs. To the film’s credit, it didn’t sugarcoat the man. I came out not liking him very much. I mean, he’s a lying, cheating narcissist with no sense of loyalty to the people who help him get where he is. Some pedantic, cringe-worthy dialogue, especially between Kutcher and James Woods in the draggy opening, but the pace picks up once they move into his father’s garage and start building home computers.

FF=1

Extremely well done French adaptation of a novel by my fellow USO traveler Harlan Coben. Coherent script, great cast (no, that’s not Dustin Hoffman in the lead), and well paced. Harlan even has a semi-threatening cameo. Great setup: a doctor gets a video email from his wife who was murdered 8 years ago. It will definitely keep you guessing.

FF=0

I’m always curious as to how groups with special chemistry happen to get together. No mystery about the Beach Boys – most of them share DNA. But guys from Texas, Detroit, Nebraska, and San Diego… how did that happen? I’m a fan of harmony. The cool kids disparage the Eagles, but I love their vocal blend, their instrumental skill and their perfectionism. Even when the song is icky-sticky mellow, their harmonies soar. Part I shows how they got together in the early 70s and broke up in 1980. Part II is about their 1990s reunion. Part I is far more interesting (I bailed during Part II) — how the original 4 all gravitated west and wound up together as Linda Ronstadt’s backup band. The early years, the huge successes, the fights over what kind of music to play, the personnel changes, the breakup after “The Long Run.” Be prepared for lots of self-congratulation. I’d always assumed that Henley was the group’s divisive member, but Glenn Frey reveals himself as the egomaniac.

FF=2

I don’t know how Chris Morgan keeps topping himself, but he does, with every installment. More over-the-top cars in more over-the-top crashes. He even adds a tank in this one. The final battle takes place in and around a Russian cargo plane accelerating down what has to be a twenty-mile-long runway. If you liked the preceding 5, you’ll love this.

FF=1

Thanks to comments from readers, I re-rented the disk and watched it all the way through. Plenty of plot, but much more character driven than I would have thought. Some nice twists (and they were right: Ben Kingsley was super).

FF=2

A gory black dramedy reminiscent of the slasher/spree-killer romps of the 70’s and 80s, with the twist that one of the intended victims knows how to fight back. Can’t say I recommend it. Except for the death-by-blender bit, you’ve probably seen it all before.

FF=3

I found this a complete delight. The characterizations and the backgrounds are perfect for the tone of the film. This time out they give more time (and rightly so) to those scene-stealing, ambulating Twinkies known as Minions.  Turn off your brain, lean back (preferably with a child) and simply enjoy.

FF=0

Totally stupid but lots of fun.  Left me with an urge to spend the day dropping 3rd-person epigrams. “Wilson don’t do Angry Birds” . . . “Wilson don’t do smileys”

FF=1

Wow.  Talk about a waste of time.  Been there, done that so many times.  Every plot turn (can’t even call them twists) is telegraphed in capital letters.

FF=3

I’m a sucker for this place and time in American music: the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 60s.  The Coens capture the ambiance, but their protag is such a dick. (I don’t use that term lightly, but the word captures his essence.)  He’s a decent singer but not particularly original. He’s waiting for something to happen while doing almost nothing to =make= it happen. He fobs off his inability to commit as artistic integrity, but we don’t see any integrity of any sort. In the background at the end there’s this young bushy-haired newcomer named Bob onstage for one of his first gigs. I guess I can sum up this ramble with I loved much about the film but wished I could have been rooting for Llewyn. (The FF is low because I was =sure= Llewyn would learn something.  Wrong.  But then, I figure that was the point.)

FF=0