I loved this, but then, I’m a Penn & Teller fan and a sucker for illusions and prestidigitation. Plus I love caper films. This is both. The illusions are brilliant and the plot is twisty and turny and, like all good magic tricks, full of misdirection. It may not be your cup of tea, but it’s mine.

FF=0

What a wacky horror flick. Plenty of gore and some off-the-wall surreal monsters. I’m not a fan of found footage films, but this one works. Very grim through the first act, wild and scary in act 2, but I sense tongue set in firmly cheek in act 3 where it’s not as overtly wise-cracky as Re-Animator (and sadly, no Barbara Crampton to offer relief from the all-male cast), but it’s got that vibe. Def worth a look – no CGI that I could see. My thumb didn’t stray to the FF button once.

FF=0

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 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

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

I’ve never paid attention to the NFL draft; never interested me. But I understand it – and all the backroom trading of rounds and picks involved – a little better after seeing this engaging film. The cast is good and natural – only Leary seems to be acting – and a ticking clock shows up every once in a while. And, if nothing else, it’s got the most innovative use of split screens I’ve ever seen. If you like football, you’ll like this film. If you hate Kevin Costner, you’ll hate this film because no one else is given anything to do.

FF=0

Black, black humor.  I loved it.  Very different, with a sneaky message.  Very much worth seeing and listening to every word.

FF=0

Fell asleep 30 minutes in on the first try.  Made it through on the second.  Good performances, an erratic pace, an odd structure (holding off showing the massacre of the athletes until near the end – why?) You wind up shaking your head at the final fade out: This will never end.

FF=0

The true story about a 20-year-old caddie who won the 1913 US Open as an amateur.  Chock full of the usual clichés of all underdog sports films, but it’s a charmer.

FF=0

Truly unique.  It’s based on the H.P. Lovecraft story published back in 1926 and made in the style and with the techniques available at that time.  This means it’s silent, with crude miniatures and even cruder stop-motion.  But somehow it works.  (I happen to love silent films so this wasn’t an impediment in my case.)  It’s very faithful to the source material.  It’s short so I watched it a second time because I was distracted during the first.

FF=0