STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Grade: A-

**Currently in Theaters**

Starring: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and Carrie Fisher; with Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, and Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke

Premise: As the evil and destructive First Order seeks to rid the galaxy of all Jedi, members of the resistance band together to fight back.

Rated PG-13 for intense action violence and destruction, disturbing images, and some emotional content

If you’ve ever underestimated the power of The Force, I’m assuming the past three days have set you straight. Forget Harry Potter. Forget Middle Earth. Forget The Avengers. Forget even the prehistoric attractions of expensive dinosaur theme parks. With crowds massing for every showing at every theater, social media forums exploding, box-office records collapsing and “don’t you spoil it for me” threats being uttered everywhere from those who are climbing the walls in their anticipation to see it, it’s clear that the seventh Episode of the Star Wars saga, J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens, is the biggest movie of all time, if not yet in worldwide box office receipts then certainly in pop culture impact and “It-Film” status.

But how is it?

It took me a second viewing to figure that out. Nothing beats the marquee opening night showing with the huge crowds, the spontaneous mid-film ovations and the excitement of knowing you’re one of the first people to see a movie some have been waiting years to see. Thursday was a wonderful experience—waiting in line with a group of friends who were all excited for the movie and wearing franchise memorabilia, cheering and high-fiving complete strangers when the theater doors opened, miraculously sitting with my entire group together despite an obviously sold-out showing, the cheers for even the pre-film credits and the loud, lengthy ovation at the end. However, despite the Star Wars love-fest, I wasn’t entirely sold on the movie. I thought maybe the sheer anticipation and all the buzz kind of swallowed the film, not to mention I have a devil’s advocate Dark Side that can sometimes spring up when everyone I know unanimously loves or praises one particular thing. So I went to see it again. I had to buy my ticket in advance again, I had to wait in line again, I sat by one of my good friends again, and I clapped at the end again, but I came away with a significantly better overall impression. The Force Awakens is not a perfect movie nor would I call it the best movie I’ve ever seen, but, as far entertainment goes…I mean, come on, it’s freaking Star Wars.

(To give you an idea of what “freaking Star Wars” implies, I’ll have you know I’m sitting here writing this while wearing Star Wars themed pajama pants, drinking out of a Star Wars-themed glass, and kicking around a pair of Star Wars-themed slippers, and I’m not even the biggest or second-biggest Star Wars fan I know. It’s freaking Star Wars)

Plot

**I feel pretty ridiculous writing this, but if you somehow have little or no familiarity with the Star Wars universe—and I do mean universe—ask a friend. You need not have seen all six previous movies. Shoot, you really don’t have to have seen any of them—considering this movie, like all the others, is preceded by the caption a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, you can technically assume this is complete and utter made up stuff and you can therefore accept anything that comes onscreen. Then again, since this movie is loaded with characters who have previously appeared in movies at least three times, a complete novice may find themselves a little lost or disconnected.**

***On my honor, this is a very basic, spoiler-free synopsis. I’m actually quite proud of how it lays out the plot with minimal major details being revealed. Only minor spoilers ahead***

In the wake of the destruction of the Galactic Empire, a new dark-hearted, power-hungry legion, called The First Order, rose. Employing advanced, deadly weaponry, legions of highly-trained troopers and fronted by individuals with powers spawned by the all-encompassing Force, The First Order seeks to wipe out any trace of resistance in the galaxy. As the film opens, one of the First Order’s prime commanders, the dark-robed, lightsaber-wielding Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), leads an assault on a planet called Jakku in pursuit of one of the rising stars of the resistance, pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). Poe is captured, but he leaves some key information inside his droid sidekick, a rolling little number called BB-8. Once captured, Poe is subjected to torture and constant questioning. Meanwhile, BB-8 is discovered by a young woman named Rey (Daisy Ridley), a lonely scrap scavenger and budding mechanic. Alerted that the little droid contains some important information, Rey is soon further caught up in the intergalactic drama when she encounters that most unlikely of things, a First Order deserter, Stormtrooper-gone-straight Finn (John Boyega). When First Order troops and aircraft descend on the settlement in which Rey lives and works, she, Finn, and BB-8 are forced to flee, commandeer an old spaceship, and escape Jakku. Once in space, they cross paths with the resistance, meet some near-mythic individuals who fought the Empire back in the day, and separately and together fight to find their courage and unleash their true inner strength.

What Works?

I had to see The Force Awakens a second time to convince myself it wasn’t merely a Star Wars Greatest Hits compilation—working off some of the most iconic characters, storylines, and fake technologies in movie history, writer/director J.J. Abrams and co-writers Michael Arndt and Lawrence Kasdan (who wrote 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return of the Jedi), obviously couldn’t start from complete scratch or ignore all the content of the previous six films. Some have already quibbled and called this movie basically a re-do of A New Hope (the added-later subtitle to George Lucas’ original 1977 Star Wars film). But after a second viewing, I do think The Force Awakens is less an homage to the old series than just another intergalactic adventure made very much in the vein of the movies that so many love. Part of my initial impression likely came from the opening night crowd’s reactions to every familiar item that appeared onscreen—it got to the point that even very minor characters (like the fish-faced Admiral Ackbar), and completely inanimate objects (like the Millennium Falcon starship) were greeted with ovations. But after a second viewing...I mean, of course they were going to bring back C-3PO and R2D2, and of course they found ways to welcome Han Solo and General Leia back into the fold, but it’s not a complete remake. I mean, Star Wars is such a popular brand (Freaking Star Wars!!) that it’s hard not to evoke something the huge fanbase loves. Why not avoid some backlash and give it to them? Ultimately, The Force Awakens has only slightly more completely-identical elements to the original film than Creed has to the original Rocky.

That being said, there is a lot packed into The Force Awakens. The breakneck pace can be disorienting early on, but the movie starts to even out, and though it does ultimately feel like two-and-a-quarter hours, I’m sure many would gladly watch the next installment immediately afterward. There are at least four new villains who could have recurring appearances in future films, at least three new good guys, too (four if you count the enjoyably-precocious BB-8). Oh, and there are major roles for close to half-a-dozen returning favorites. Entire new planets and solar systems are introduced. There are exciting chases, spectacular aerial space battles, amiable new character alliances, giant laser cannons, good guys flying a Tie Fighter, a guy stopping a laser blast in mid-air with the power of the Force, and topsy-turvy scenes that beg to be seen in 3-D. There was always going to be a little downtime involving indecisive characters and search-your-feelings Force-related mumbo-jumbo, but the last third of the movie is, for the most part, top-of-the-line Star Wars stuff. A character learning to use The Force from scratch the way Marvel superheroes discover their powers? That’s exciting! Classic banter between Han Solo and non-English-speaking sidekick Chewie? Terrific! The best-choreographed and most brilliantly-filmed lightsaber duel of the entire series? You bet. And a gimme nominee for the year’s single most gripping scene? Yep...I mean, if that scene doesn’t absolutely quell all the noise in any theater, nothing will.

The effects are great, of course, the signature score that plays at the beginning and end will have anyone worth knowing humming or pretend-conducting with their hands, and a cast that looked so promising in all the build-up to the movie’s releases delivers. Harrison Ford reminds you why he became such a big star for playing Han Solo. Carrie Fisher’s less active than before but no less likable a screen presence. The beloved non-human characters like C-3PO, R2D2, and Chewbacca—bolstered by new addition BB-8—are as welcome as any people. Oscar Isaac, who’s tended toward moodier fare thus far in this career, brings classic swashbuckling charm to Poe Dameron. On the other side of the good guy/bad guy spectrum, Domhnall Gleeson looks primed and ready to take the snarling, pale-faced, nefarious baddie crown many have worn before him. New leading lady Daisy Ridley excitingly explores new territory as a budding Force warrior—even Luke Skywalker’s introduction to The Force didn’t seem as exciting and flat-out cool as it does here. Best of all is Kylo Ren, effectively embodied by the baritone-voiced Adam Driver as a boiling cauldron of undeniable power, hot temper, and rumbling insecurity that ensure the character registers as more than just a cool new, robed, masked figure with a B-A cross-guard lightsaber. It’s Ren you’re most anxious to see and learn about in the future.

What Doesn’t Work?

Most of the concerns I have involve the screenplay, which not only fires through about thirty minutes of character introductions and stage-setting plot points at a dizzying rate, but doesn’t quite delve into character psyches when it needs to. No one’s going to Star Wars for character development alone, of course, but where the film soars with the layered depiction of Kylo Ren, it short-circuits with a less-than-convincing set-up for Finn, the former Stormtrooper. John Boyega proves an open, likable presence, but not only is his desertion from the Order rather rushed, but he seems way too much of a chatty, energetic spark-plug then one would expect from someone previously brainwashed and trained only for mindless destruction. Star Wars isn’t always super serious, but it’s supposed to be a space opera, not an action-comedy. Another character sadly shortcut who was prominently featured in the movie’s marketing material is Captain Phasma, the silver-uniformed stormtrooper voiced by an appropriately-malevolent Gwendoline Christie, who has a mere handful of lines. There’s also a case of “how did so-and-so escape from the exploding such-and-such in such a short amount of time” implausibility that could have audience members scratching their heads. And then, despite featuring an appropriately exciting plug for the sequel, Abrams lets the film veer into Peter Jackson Movie territory at the end with a series of wordless, teary-eyed close-ups that seem like they may never end.

Content

Hmmm. Put it this way: The Force Awakens is a little more cutthroat than the average superhero movie. There’s almost no blood despite all the laser blasting and lightsaber swinging, but The First Order proves early on that they’re not averse to the average village massacre or planetary genocide. Kylo Ren’s tendency to use The Force to manipulate people’s bodies and/or force secret information out of them has a torture-scene quality that could be unsettling for the kiddies. There’s no sex or nudity, and no swearing, but there’s enough pell-mell action and destruction to make this a solid PG-13.

Bottom Line

I called it already—the biggest film of all-time right here. And it ain’t half-bad. J.J. Abrams has done George Lucas and his iconic series proud with The Force Awakens, an often-dazzling mix of action and imagination. Led by some intriguing new characters and a villain with real depth, extended cameos for returning favorites, and an ending that leaves you wanting more, Episode VII proves it’s not just a rehash of earlier elements but a new, exciting adventure. It’s not perfect, but it’s a kind of high-level entertainment even most Marvel movies can’t provide.

Oh, did I mention this movie’s climactic lightsaber battle is the best one in the series so far? Yeah, so there’s THAT...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, and Michael Arndt

Based on Characters Created by George Lucas

Rated PG-13

Length: 135 minutes

ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

Grade: B+

**Currently available at Redbox**

Starring: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Jon Bernthal, Nick Offerman, Molly Shannon, and Connie Britton; with Katherine Hughes as Madison

Premise: Self-deprecating slacker Greg finds his outlook on life altered when he befriends a classmate with cancer.

Rated PG-13 for language (including sexual references) and intense emotional content

Earlier this evening I read someone’s Twitter profile that featured an anonymous quote: it’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice.

That was the perfect sentiment to have in my head as I sat down to watch Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, a biting and sobering yet gentle movie about mortality, friendship, and what a person can mean to another person. One of this movie’s closing scenes features a character quietly looking over keepsakes of another character’s, some of which are related to him and some not, but almost all of which bring back memories, make him smile and tear up as he remembers the essence of that person. The relationship wasn’t always super lively, one of their last encounters was a blunt, ugly blow-up, and at their most recent encounter barely any words were spoken, but the scene reminds you of the truth of that quote: It’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice. After all, how do you want a person to think of you?

Adapted from a novel by Jesse Andrews by the author himself, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl just had too great a title for me to pass up. It’s a blunt and slightly morbid moniker, yet it’s undeniably-catchy. Turns out the film won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize for Drama at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, but it didn’t find much of an audience in theaters, failing to earn back its relatively small budget. It has sobering subject matter and, in the pattern of Jason Reitman’s Juno, so revels in its quirkiness that at times it threatens to overwhelm the movie, but it’s ultimately a touching story starring three young, relatively-unknown actors who all give great performances.

Plot

Gangly Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann), thinks himself mighty self-aware. Self-deprecating, aggressively-anti-social yet just social enough to not get on anyone’s bad side, and a lover of low-budget foreign films, Greg is just biding his time in life. His parents (Connie Britton and Nick Offerman) have begun to talk college, but he couldn't care less. All he really wants to do is keep making cheap parody movies with his friend Earl (RJ Cyler) and swap the occasional man story with his hip, macho history professor (Jon Bernthal).

Early in his senior year, Greg stumbles into the orbit of one of his high school classmates, soft-spoken, level-headed Rachel (Olivia Cooke). Rachel has recently been diagnosed with leukemia. It’s awkward and Greg’s awkward and he’d rather not, but he feels more than a hint of guilt—plus his mom is nagging him—so he keeps reaching out to Rachel and spending time with her. A lot of times he feels like he must be making a fool of himself, doing weird impressions and making goofy low-budget films and being awkward and sarcastic, but Rachel becomes a fixture in his life. There’s nothing romantic between them, but they keep spending time together—sometimes exclusively—even after Rachel begins treatment and her hair falls out, starts to grow back, and falls out again. Rumors about them abound, of course, and then one of Rachel’s friends, Madison (Katherine Hughes), asks Greg if he and Earl will make one of their little movies for Rachel. It will cheer her up, she thinks. It proves a long process, as Greg can’t decide what he wants to say to this person who he accidentally became close to, and whom he finds he doesn’t want to let go.

What Works?
Quirky indie comedies with particularly self-aware protagonists are nothing new, but Jesse Andrews’ script separates itself with some really clever touches. There’s a running gag about how, to supposedly “outcast” or “uncool” guys, hot girls approaching them is like a moose trampling on a chipmunk—the former is rocking the latter’s whole world and they don’t even know it—that becomes a meme-worthy little tradition of the movie’s, with brief stop-motion animated skits signaling when a certain character is about to appear. The titles of Greg and Earl’s parody movies--based off the classic movies that inspired them--are a hoot as well: ‘Anatomy of a Burger’ for Anatomy of a Murder, ‘The Complete Lack of Conversation’ for The Conversation, ‘Eyes Wide Butt’ for Eyes Wide Shut, ‘The 400 Bros’ for The 400 Blows, ‘The Rad Shoes’ for The Red Shoes, ‘Ate ½ (Of My Lunch)’ for 8 1/2, ‘Scabface’ for Scarface, ‘The Last Crustacean of Christ’ for The Last Temptation of Christ, etc… But the script isn’t all jokes and quips—Me and Earl largely steers clear of preaching, of the kind of forced romantic angles stories like this almost always have, and does its best in key moments to be simple and real rather than really, really witty.

Greg really is a wonderfully-written character, and it’d be tempting to call him “too weird” or “too awkward” if I didn’t know people who act like him (heck, with a little less inhibition in social situations, I could be Greg), and Thomas Mann plays him brilliantly. He’s funny and awkward and a little aloof, but when he begins to crack under the weight of this so-called “doomed friendship”, you really feel for him. You feel for Rachel, too, of course, played in a sincere yet unshowy performance by Olivia Cooke. Mann and Cooke are great together, often natural, sometimes awkward in a real, genuinely-awkward sort of way, but they also hit every high note in their characters' longest, most emotional argument, when they say all the meanest things they want to say to each other in light of her impending demise, a wrenching scene shot in one long take. RJ Cyler’s Earl isn’t fully explored, but Earl, even more than Greg, proves refreshingly frank and outspoken, saying the things everyone is thinking even if it’s not always the socially-acceptable thing to do.

Korean-born Cinematographer Chung-hoo Chung’s camera does some truly impressive work, livening up this mostly-level headed tale with the kind of aerial shots and wide-angle close-ups usually reserved for more prestige art films. Nico Muhly and Brian Eno’s score also does some wonderful things, especially when it takes over during the final three, mostly-wordless scenes. The score and the camerawork come together in a staggering climactic sequence you’ll be hard-pressed to forget.

What Doesn’t Work?

Like Juno and countless other snarky indies, Me and Earl wants to be really funny and really clever, and it shows. I suppose that’s the way to get noticed when you’re a tiny film struggling for recognition and production—to be something people haven’t seen before—but when an audience can tell you’re proud of yourself for being so quirky and different, it shows you're overdoing it. For instance, the movie’s slogan is “A Little Friendship Never Killed Anyone”—a clever pun, to be sure, but too much emphasis on the “killed” part becomes morbid and less likable. A late moment after the really cathartic finale in which Greg refers back to the fact that his friend Rachel died, Died, Died puts a damper on the thought-provoking, emotional closing, like he's joking about her death. Then there’s the character of Rachel’s mom, a boozy divorcee played fiercely by Molly Shannon, who has a ridiculously-uncomfortable character intro that belongs in a different film. And the film lingers a little long tying things up, exploring about five different scenes featuring little dialogue when the first few drove home their point.

I don’t wanna be too hard. Me and Earl could have been a tidier, neater, and deeper film, but it is very effective considering its proudly disaffected-protagonist, whose mindset dominates the proceedings early on. If you can’t tell from the whole It’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice tie-in, what will stick with you about this movie is not the negatives.

Content

Surprisingly-clean for an indie with teenage protagonists, Me and Earl doesn’t have any nudity or sexuality (though there are some spoken sexual references). There is a fair amount of swearing, including a big F-bomb, and our titular characters have a scene where they’re stoned, but, otherwise, this movie is minimally-offensive. Well…the movie does come with the “is it right for people suffering a terminal illness to thinking about giving up when people care about them” angle that could spark some conversation and debate. It's not an easy idea, as explored in the aforementioned lengthy argument between Rachel and Greg. The movie doesn't preach, but it will definitely get audience members thinking about their own opinions regarding "quality of life" and such.

Bottom Line

Like its slightly-morbid but undeniably-catchy title, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a quirky but undeniably-likable little movie. A winner of a couple big awards for Drama at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, this is a movie about a main character with cancer that is not a tearjerker teen romance but does remind you how you can affect someone’s life—even if you don’t feel like you matter that much—by being there when they need someone. Shoot, it reminds you how much you mean to someone even if they’re not sick, and the stakes aren’t that high, if you just give them your time and attention. Insightful, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and fronted by three great performances from little-known lead actors, this is a Little Engine That Could kind of movie that makes you want to be a better person.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Screenplay by Jesse Andrews; Based on his novel

Rated PG-13

Length: 105 minutes

EX MACHINA

Ex Machina (2015)

Grade: A

**Currently Available on Redbox**

Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander and Sonoya Mizuno

Premise: A shy computer programmer is awarded the chance to oversee the development of a fascinating new artificial intelligence that’s incredibly lifelike.

Rated R for language, graphic nudity, blood and disturbing images, and some violent content

For about ten minutes after I finished watching Ex Machina in my living room, I couldn’t stop saying the word wow. An effective Creation/Science hybrid fable, Ex Machina is a spooky thriller that weaves a slow but undeniable spell until it explodes with a third act that plays like a series of heavy punches to the gut…punches that somehow, incredibly, feel great almost as soon as they’ve landed. Deriving its title from the common Latin phrase deus-ex-machina—which is loosely translated “god from a machine”—this sci-fi think-piece is a well-written, well-acted work that, when all is said and done, registers as borderline-spectacular.

Plot

Shy but smart computer programmer Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) knows he’s landed the opportunity of a lifetime—a week-long stay with the heralded, super-smart, super-rich CEO of Bluetooth, the huge Google-esque internet software company he works for. Nathan (Oscar Isaac) doesn’t disappoint, either, a brilliant mind living an airy yet secret headquarters in the middle of a huge swath of land he owns. Turns out he’s a little lacking in social graces—sharp, a big drinker, definitely a little arrogant—but he invites Caleb to visit a new frontier he’s been exploring: artificial intelligence. It’s not just robots or smart computers, but a human-styled computer with a great deal of knowledge and a swiftly-evolving personality. She even has a face (that of Swedish actress Alicia Vikander), and a name, Ava. After signing a nondisclosure agreement and agreeing to pry and see just how lifelike the A.I. is, Caleb is able to sit down each day and communicate with Ava, who’s bright and inquisitive but sweet and soft-spoken. Caleb’s week starts to drag a little, what with the cabin fever (an atmosphere enhanced by Nathan’s mute mail-order wife, Kyoko [Sonoya Mizuno]), Nathan’s demanding interviews and awkward drunken spells, and random power outages that leave Caleb trapped in his room. But the huge bright spot is unquestionably Ava, who takes to Caleb like a duck to water, even if they’re only talking from opposite sides of a sheet of glass. She learns quickly, she wants to hear about his family, she wants him to see her dress up, she wants him to plan a fantasy date for them. She even has an undeniably-curvy figure. Caleb tries to fight his natural urges and his growing “crush”, but as he grows to like Ava more, he begins to sadly think of her as a hostage, and to wonder if, out in the real world, by his side, she could function.

What Works?

British-born Adam Garland, who wrote one of the great suspense/horror movies of the last decade-and-a-half in 28 Days Later, wrote Ex Machina and shepherded it into existence as his directorial debut. It’s a superb one, and I wonder if he might manage a nomination in the Oscars’ Original Screenplay Category for his work here. After all, his movie cuts right to the chase, and he explores in both dialogue and mere suggestion ideas like man playing God, the nature of attraction, and what makes humans human. There are some talky sections to the film, but most of the conversation can’t help but spark one’s interest. In some ways, this movie is like a cousin to Spike Jonze’s Her—if that film was about whether a man could fall in love with the rich female personality of his computer, Ex Machina wonders: if that rich female personality had a body and face to go with it, and was completely convincing as a person except for the fact you knew it was a computer, could you really love and trust it like you would a real person? Of course, in a story that bears more than a passing resemblance to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Ex Machina also asks: Should you?

With these juicy main topics and a living, in-the-moment musical score that takes over at the end, Ex Machina sounds great, and it looks great as well. The visual effects that render Ava’s robotic extremities and core are superb, and Nathan’s large mansion/research lab is both effectively posh and rather stale and forbidding, neatly underlining the when is too much Too Much narrative.

The three main actors are absolutely terrific, embodying every subtle nuance of a constantly-thinking story. Domhnall Gleeson, the British actor who’s everywhere lately, has arguably the least-interesting role but, like Joaquin Phoenix in Her, it’s his job to be so very, unmistakably human at the center of the story, and to make us understand what he’s feeling, and he does. When Caleb feels revulsion at the idea that he’s falling for a robot and tries to fight it, and yet can’t help being delighted in Ava’s presence, his masterful series of almost-unconscious little tics and posture changes are hugely-effective. He’s matched—and often-overshadowed—by Oscar Isaac, whose rich, charismatic portrayal encompasses a lot. One minute, he’s a Victor Frankenstein-esque mad scientist. The next, he’s a snooty, unsociable Social Network-style prig inventor. The next, he’s just one of the boys, throwing back beers. The next, he’s a perfectionist who’s created an incredible technology but won’t think of unveiling it until it’s absolutely what he wants it to be. And there’s a little bit of that man-playing-God thrown in there, with Nathan blowing his own horn and daring Caleb to understand his vision, but the genius of Isaac’s performance is that, we find out late in the proceedings, it may or may not have all been an act meant to seduce Caleb into letting his guard down. Then there’s Vikander, who parlayed this role and a few other turns into a huge breakout year in 2015. She’s wonderfully-beguiling and easy to love with her big brown eyes, innocent personality and soft voice—and there’s a beautifully-rendered scene in which she dons regular clothes and a wig and shyly shows herself off that speaks all kinds of volumes—and yet that same face proves to be stone-cold and inscrutable when Ava shows some mettle.

What Doesn’t Work?

Ex Machina might have one or two too many scenes that are either talky or all silent visuals, but not many. As long as you’re invested and have paid attention, this puppy packs a wallop.

Content

Ex Machina earns its R rating with some four-letter words and sexual references, plus some darker moments. There’s also an extended sequence featuring full frontal female nudity when Caleb reviews some old lab tapes of Nathan trying to fashion the most realistic-looking female figure for his A.I. Nathan’s mute wife loses her clothes in one scene as well, and a few confrontational scenes also get a bit bloody. Definitely keep the kiddies away for this one.

Bottom Line

Ex Machina, the directorial debut of British screenwriter Alex Garland, is both thought-provoking and superbly-suspenseful, at this point one of the very best movies I’ve seen this year. "Should man play God if he has the power to" is the question, and Garland’s great writing, some stunning visuals, some even more stunning third-act twists, and great performances from Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander (in a recently-Golden Globe-nominated performance) make this a tense, juicy study in humanity’s relationship with technology and all its faults.

Ex Machina (2015)

Written and Directed by Alex Garland

Rated R

Length: 108 minutes

SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight

Grade: A-

**Currently In Theatres**

Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Brian D'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Billy Cruddup, and Neil Huff

Premise: The Boston Globe's 'Spotlight' team uncovers a widespread scandal in which the Catholic Church deliberately covered up dozens of cases in which priests molested children.

Rated R for language and verbal depictions of child molestation

Some movies tell stories that need to be told. Spotlight is not one of those movies.

The central focus of Spotlight is a story—one that absolutely needed to be told—but the movie’s release comes some thirteen years after the story was published by a major newspaper and then widely distributed. On January 6, 2002, The Boston Globe published an article detailing a horrific scandal of child molestation within the local Catholic Church, one that had been swept under the rug by privileged members of the local Archdiocese. The name "Spotlight" comes from the four-person investigative team at The Globe that fronted the research and the writing of the story. The legacy comes from the 600+ additional stories that were published after the initial article was published and caught readers’ attention, and subsequently led many of them to share their own abuse stories. The Spotlight team's work was later awarded the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism. This movie is about them.

The process in which the four-person team conducted research, gathered facts, chased sources, and urged people to share their experiences is not always the stuff of a hugely-entertaining movie, but it has been rendered in an effective and memorable fashion by director Tom McCarthy, who also co-wrote the screenplay (with Josh Singer). In the tradition of the Academy Award-Winning All the President's Men—which depicted the unveiling of the Watergate scandal—this well-acted, well-paced, thought-provoking film is an engaging and non-exploitative flick about an earth-shaking journalistic revelation.

Plot

The staff of The Boston Globe is aware of new editor Marty Baron (Liev Shreiber) and his status as an outsider, someone not from Boston who's probably just taking over The Globe to cement his legacy. So it sets off a bit of eye-rolling and murmuring when one of the first things Marty does as editor is reassign the Spotlight team from a burgeoning Boston PD investigation to a barely-remembered story about a supposedly child-abusing priest who ducked the law years back. But the job's the job, so Spotlight—team leader Walter 'Robby' Robinson (Michael Keaton), ace reporter Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), no-nonsense Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and family man Matt Carroll (Brian D'Arcy James)—begins digging into the archives for information. The investigation initially seems so stale and archaic that deputy editor Ben Bradlee Jr. (John Slattery) is about to request their reassignment, but then they come across a victim of childhood abuse, the twitchy, emotionally-scarred Phil Salviano (Neil Huff). Salviano turns out to have names of a few fellow victims, names of a few offending priests, and information on two local attorneys who've had their hands in these kinds of cases, hotshot DA Eric Macleish (Billy Cruddup), who "really can't talk about that stuff", and browbeaten prosecutor Mitchell Garabedian (Stanley Tucci), who has gotten very unpopular from trying to push these controversial cases. "The church is watching me," is a phrase Spotlight hears from both, meaning Macleish will do whatever it takes to get rid of the cases quickly while Garabedian can rarely get his clients anything because of the church’s influence in Irish-Catholic Boston. Spotlight also hits the jackpot with a connection of Salviano's, a psychotherapist and former priest who’s spent years researching abuse and gives them mountains of information and stunning statistics.

As the investigation deepens for Spotlight, so does the opposition, both from the church and its lawyers to some of their fellow Bostonians. "The church has done a lot of good in this city," some say, "you want to cause problems for the church just over a few bad apples?" "You want to sue the church?" Others demand angrily. Doors get slammed in their faces. Robby has a falling-out with a childhood friend and is brushed off by the staff of his old prep school. The number of guilty priests they find begins to pile up, as does the number of victims. And worst of all, lawyers and victims alike begin to accuse the staff of The Globe of negligence, with multiple sources saying they complained or forwarded information about the abuse to the paper years ago, only for the stories to receive minimal attention, or no ink at all.

What Works?

Spotlight should be lauded for its subtlety. Movies about fast-talking journalists conducting emotional interviews and chasing sources are not always subtle, but Singer and McCarthy’s screenplay is just about the facts, avoiding church-bashing political statements, making palpable the pain of abuse survivors without any flashback sequences, emotional hysterics, or forcibly graphic details, and only quietly conveying the sense of victory and closure at film’s end. There are no unnecessary high-suspense sequences, no romantic subplots or other unnecessary distractions; the movie leans on its harrowing subject matter and dramatic reveals to carry it, and it works. This is a talky film, but attentive viewers will be rewarded, as the names, places and even character-building hints dropped early on almost always come back to bolster the story’s revelations. To whit, an early meeting between new editor Baron and the ranking church Cardinal (Len Cariou) seems an amiable meeting in which the clergyman discusses how the Church and The Globe can work together, but his gentle presumptions of this partnership and his welcoming “gift” of a copy of the Catholic Church Catechism seem like a none-too-subtle power play, made all the more threatening given that the audience knows Baron A) is Jewish, and B) has already put his people on the church’s case.  Similarly, there are at least a half-dozen moments in which characters wordlessly react to being confronted with the honest truth of the scandal, whether as defensive lawyers/Bostonians or scarred former victims, and the pain, fear, amazement, anger or confusion—or some combination of these emotions—crawls slowly across their faces. Viewers will watch these moments with bated breath, as the screenplay has always built things up enough for the audience to eagerly-anticipate these crucial moments.

This is a procedural set mostly in the newsroom or on the fact-hunting trail, and even the main characters are given little or no back-story, but the large cast is rock-solid. Mark Ruffalo has the showiest role as the twitchy, assertive Rezendes, who lacks an abundance of social graces, but it was Rachel McAdams who, for me, hit the nail on the head the most often, her big eyes and expressive features perfectly conveying both the no-nonsense, professional reporter and the sympathetic and often-appalled human being as she learns the facts and hears the stories. The effortlessly-likable Keaton is a big asset, Mad Men’s Slattery brightens up a few scenes with his trademark bluster, and Schreiber’s low-key portrayal of the straight-arrow editor pays off when his quiet but sincere compliments to the Spotlight team near the end of their investigation proves one of the movie’s muted but undeniable emotional uplifts.

What Doesn’t Work?

Like numerous recent based-on-a-true-story films, Spotlight’s fact-based, this-is-how-it-happened approach does not lend itself easily to big emotional arcs or a particularly-entertaining theater-going experience. In fact, the one big, noisy confrontation feels like the one really “Hollywood” moment in the movie—gratifying, perhaps, for the audience that has stuck with this talky film, but a little unnecessary. For any real emotional pay-off, viewers must pay attention from the start. There are a lot of names mentioned, a lot of minor characters introduced, plenty of legal terms uttered and plenty of statistics presented, and yet, as stated previously, almost all of it will come back to mean something in the end. If you’ve paid attention and stuck with it, the closing scenes’ quiet, cathartic moments—and the informative and haunting end titles right before the credits—will pack a punch that allow you to leave the theatre on an engaged, mind-racing high.

Content

There’s no violence, no nudity, no blood and fairly-limited profanity, but Spotlight earns its R rating with a few four-letter words and the seriousness of its material. Some frank sexual terminology is used, though, of course, it’s always in the midst of relaying damaging abuse experiences and not used in a joking or would-be comedic manner. Some of the abuse victims cry when relaying their experiences to the Spotlight team, and others bear needle marks or clear physical, emotional and psychological scars. In addition, Catholics or other church-goers may feel uncomfortable pondering the true events described in the film.

In fact, in case there are any Catholics or other denominational Christians among my readers, I want to provide a word of clarity. I was raised Catholic and still regularly attend church (though for reasons of my own, I’ve become a Baptist since college—these reasons are entirely unrelated to abuse in the church, which I never encountered). Almost everyone in my immediate and extended family was baptized into the Catholic Church and regularly attended mass at some point in their lives. I hadn’t heard of The Boston Globe’s revelations until I began hearing about Spotlight, but, as an adult, I have been made aware of the sad real-life fact of abuse of boys (and girls) in the church by priests. In addition, I am usually quite able to separate movies and real life, even if the movies, like this one, are fact-based.

I say all this to let you know, whether you want to see this movie or not, I do not believe this movie was intended as a smear campaign against the Catholic Church, church in general, or any religion. It does not make any “labeling” statements about God or people who believe in God and make His work their life's work (God, in fact, is seldom mentioned). The Globe's pieces were simply pointing out condemnable acts committed by people in the institution of the church—acts non-religious people/non-church-affiliated people are surely every bit as likely to commit. If Spotlight’s story broke today, in 2015, it would probably be used as ammunition against the religious/Catholic/Christian community, and that community would probably react defensively. But this movie is merely re-enacting events—it is not making any kind of special statement except noting that, at the time, members of the Catholic Archdiosece were improperly using their power and positions of influence and covering up those who were caught misusing it. This movie doesn’t make me ashamed of my time in the Catholic Church nor does it make me look down on those who are still in it (of course, I absolutely look down on and do not tolerate anyone’s abuse of children, least of all people who are welcomed into people’s homes and families as role models and spiritual leaders). Like The Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles, I believe Spotlight was intended to open people’s eyes, and to make people aware of what sometimes does and should not happen in the church. It doesn’t soften the blow—the word “pedophile” is used more than once, sometimes as in “pedophile priests”—and there’s a montage set to a children’s choir singing a Christmas carol that generates a chill as you wonder if any of those children have been exposed to these kinds of acts. This is all a long way of saying Spotlight, like the real life investigation that inspired it, deals with some tough stuff, but if you’re interested in the movie and you’re a person of faith, you will be challenged by the stated harshness of acts committed by supposed people of faith, but you will not be insulted or demeaned or treated to a God-hating, religion-hating message.

Bottom Line

Chronicling a lengthy Boston Globe investigation that revealed a large-scale cover up of child abuse by priests in the Catholic Church—an investigation that won a Pulitzer Prize—Spotlight isn’t always an easy movie to watch, both because of some tough subject matter and a talky, information-heavy story. That said, it’s a smart, no-nonsense procedural boasting a strong cast (Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams) and a great script that have generated Oscar talk. It’s also a non-exploitative film that, to my mind, is not an aggressively God-hating or church-hating feature. Diligent, focused viewers will be rewarded with an affecting and very well-made film.

Spotlight (2015)

Directed by Tom McCarthy

Screenplay by Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer

Rated R

Length: 128 minutes 

LITTLE BOY

Little Boy

Grade: B+

**Currently on Redbox**

Starring: Jakob Salvati, Emily Watson, David Henrie, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Michael Rapaport, Tom Wilkinson, Ted Levine, and Kevin James

Premise: An 8-year-old boy prays and hopes his faith alone can bring his beloved father back from World War II.

Rated PG-13 for a few scenes of war violence, language (including racial slurs), some intense moments, and emotional content

It’s kind of hard for me to know exactly what to make of Little Boy because I was half-asleep by the time it ended. Indeed, I spent most of the movie wishing it would end because I wanted to go to bed. That being said, I’ve nursed a grudging admiration for this little movie since I watched it, and it just won’t go away. Even though my eyes were itching from tiredness by the time the credits came up, I was invested enough that I actually wanted to see a little bit more.

Little Boy is a fictional story rooted in a simpler time, a classic era of American-ness (if you will), a time of righteous patriotism, newspaper-brandishing townsfolk on street corners, square little houses, and kids playing in the streets of one-stoplight towns. It revisits a time when going off to war was seen as an honor, and a duty, and when churches were packed on Sundays with everyone you knew. That church aspect figures prominently, as Mexican director Alejandro Monteverde’s film (he also co-wrote the screenplay with Pepe Portillo) is also a message movie, about believing in the face of incredible doubt and odds, and making repeated references to a Bible passage, Matthew 17:20, which reads: “Jesus replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’” Appropriately for a movie that was written and marketed around the idea of that passage, Little Boy features a diminutive protagonist who’s looking to accomplish something huge—namely, willing his father home from the front lines of the Pacific War against the Japanese, and praying and working for God to pull off a miracle. Lovingly shot and performed with conviction, Little Boy is imperfect but it manages to not be silly.

It also manages to be memorable.

Plot

Called “little boy” by almost everyone for a reason, undersized 8-year-old Pepper Busbee (3-foot-9-inch actor Jakob Salvati) has relatively few troubles in life. He’s an imaginative little boy, reading about magic and making up adventures along with his childlike father (Michael Rapaport). He helps his dad and older brother, London (David Henrie), at the family car repair shop. He obeys and loves his stoic mom (Emily Watson). His only real trouble is that he’s picked on for his size, especially by nasty, towering bully Freddy Fox (Matthew Scott Miller). There's also a Japanese man in the town, Mr. Hashimoto (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), one who’s become a pariah given that he looks like the enemy, the Japanese troops of the war’s Pacific Theatre. Pepper’s not a big fan of his, either.

But then his father has to go off to war. Pepper, who can’t imagine life without his father, intends to do whatever he can to get his dad home safely, whether that’s trying to use a comic book musician’s tricks to protect him from afar, trying to will his father back, or even praying really hard about it. The town priest (Tom Wilkinson) notes the latter and encourages Pepper in it, and, after Pepper and London get in a spot of trouble patronizing Mr. Hashimoto, the priest encourages Pepper to do a good thing and befriend the mysterious man. Pepper tries, but life is suddenly much more complicated. The townspeople look down on him for associating with Hashimoto, his brother is getting into trouble, a local wife-less doctor (Kevin James) is making eyes at Pepper’s mom, and news updates about the war across the sea are bad more often than not.

What Works?

Thinking back on the Little Boy, what stands out to me most is the clear, vivid imagery. The colors—of hair, of clothes, of the houses and buildings in town, of the sky and the nearby ocean, of the effectively lived-in characters—really pop, aiding the film in seeming more timeless. The screenplay is solid, too—while clearly a “message movie”, Little Boy doesn’t try to shove any one religion down your throat, but encourages the power of belief and kindness and love (overall, it reminded me more of small-town tales of boyhood in the mid-1900s--like My Dog Skip, Simon Birch and even A Christmas Story—than overtly-Christian movies like Fireproof and Facing the Giants). Also, for a film mostly about a child, both the screenplay and the direction aren’t afraid to venture into heavier territory. Excerpts of dad’s war-time experiences are relatively bloodless but gritty and terrifying in their depiction, and the nuisance of the prejudice against Mr. Hashimoto threatens, at times, to turn into real danger. This level-headed approach to drama lends realism to a movie with hopeful ending some might be tempted to criticize.

Like I said, Little Boy isn’t silly—a big accomplishment for a message movie about a child who tries a hand at both magic and prayer. The absolute conviction of all the actors is what makes the movie, starting with little Jakob Salvati. Sure, the performance relies a little on pure cuteness, but there’s also an astonishing scene, in which Pepper weeps uncontrollably over thoughts of his possibly-dead father, that cuts to the core—such real, uninhibited tears are rare, even in the world of dramatic movies. Similarly-strong performances are given by Emily Watson and David Henrie as the caring mom and conflicted brother, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa makes a good impression in the obviously clichéd part of a wise old foreigner. A scene where Hashimoto sits quietly with Pepper to comfort him is one of the movie’s best moments. Then there’s the big “faith” scene with Tom Wilkinson’s priest, who, despite some slightly corny writing, makes an earnest, effective statement about faith that you’ll remember.

What Doesn’t Work?

It’s a little corny, to be sure—you have to embrace the sun-splashed naivete that allows townspeople to celebrate a little boy who’s allegedly won a distant war with just the effort of his will, or the idea that one moment of standing up to a much bigger, more popular bully in the schoolyard leads to no repercussions. Also Kevin James, the movie’s biggest name, is distractingly-cast and visibly struggles to play it straight. The movie ends abruptly as well, having created a vivid little world of characters and feeling and then ending immediately after the big climax—that was when I was ready to see a little more of how the characters related in light of their life-changing experiences. It’s one of a few places where the mostly-effective screenplay could use a little more detail.

Content

A movie called Little Boy? Content? Are you kidding me? There’s no hint of sex or nudity, but, as mentioned, a couple cuts to dad’s time at war in the Pacific are surprisingly-intense, as are some of the hostile townspeople’s run-ins with Mr. Hashimoto as he becomes Pepper’s friend. As stated, the emotional content hits hard when it comes, and there’s some profanity including multiple derogatory uses of “Jap” and “Nip”.

Bottom Line

Little Boy is a quaint little story with a big heart, effectively depicting experiences on the home front during a war through the eyes of a child. It’s a message movie, but not distractingly-so, reminding us all that we should value one another and stick up for one another. The cast—including the little boy of the title—is rock-solid in what is, at times, a pretty hard-hitting drama, and moments of adventure, humor, and genuine emotion make this a rewarding film.

Little Boy (2015)

Directed by Alejandro Monteverde

Screenplay by Alejandro Monteverde and Pepe Portillo

Rated PG-13

Length: 106 minutes

CREED

Creed

Grade: A-

**Currently in Theaters**

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Bellew and Graham McTavish

Premise: Determined to write his own story, the son of late boxing legend Apollo Creed moves to Philadelphia and enlists the help of the legendary Rocky Balboa to whip him into fighting shape.

Rated PG-13 for boxing violence/blood, language, and a scene of sexuality

Revisiting legends of cinematic lore is clearly in vogue this year, with Jurassic World bringing to life the dinosaur theme park imagined in the 1993 original and Star Wars: The Force Awakens gearing up to take audiences back to a galaxy far, far away, with the original trilogy’s cast members. Creed probably won’t make as much money as either of those movies, but it drops into the middle of a movie season crowded with cheesy holiday comedies, art-house awards contenders, and big-budget blockbusters, with an equally-legitimate pedigreed franchise DNA of its own. After all, Creed is the sixth film directly tied to the 1976 hit Rocky, a boxing picture starring and written by then-unknown actor Sylvester Stallone that was a box office smash and received multiple year-end awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Sequels followed in 1979, 1981, 1985, 1990, and 2006. While none of the sequels achieved the same financial or awards-season success as the original, they cemented Rocky as an icon and a brand, made Stallone one of the richest and most successful men in Hollywood, and made Bill Conti’s theme “Gonna Fly Now” one of the most recognized pieces of music in pop culture.

While I wouldn’t consider myself a huge Rocky fan, I am versed enough in Rocky lore to appreciate Creed for its continuation of the saga as well as on its own merits (I have seen two of the films—the 1976 original and the most recent sequel, ‘06’s Rocky Balboa). Directed by Ryan Coogler and headlined by his Fruitvale Station star, Michael B. Jordan, Creed is a fresh, exciting entry into the Rocky canon that pays significant homage to the earlier films’ classic characters and settings but also manages to reinvigorate a series that had become the poster child for embarrassingly-drawn-out franchises, and this was before drawn-out franchises were a regular occurrence. Strong performances, thrilling fight scenes, a legitimate sense of realism, and some superb camerawork make this a noteworthy film that doesn’t deserve to get lost in the shuffle amidst the inferior James Bond and Hunger Games films currently in theaters. Hopefully it won’t.

PLOT

**I imagine someone could come into Creed having never seen any of the 6 prior movies and enjoy it just fine—provided they had some idea of who Rocky was—but I will briefly summarize what I think necessary**

Once just a working-class Joe with a gym membership and dreams of a boxing career, Rocky Balboa (Stallone) was given a once-in-a-generation chance to fight way outside his pay grade against the then-reigning heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), on the anniversary of the bicentennial. Coached by the weathered Mick (Burgess Meredith) and cantankerous Paulie (Burt Young), Rocky ultimately lost the bout, but, in the process, gained the champion’s respect, the people’s love, and the heart of Paulie’s sister, shy, working-class Adrian (Talia Shire). He went on to become one of the biggest stars in the sport, winning the championship belt in a rematch against Creed and then fighting a succession of celebrities (Mr. T, Hulk Hogan, Don King). He and Creed became close friends, but Rocky’s admiration for the fiery Creed backfired when, while serving in Creed’s corner as a trainer for another big fight, he failed to throw in the towel despite the fact that Creed was getting brutally beaten by a chemically-enhanced Russian juggernaut named Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). Creed died from his injuries in the fight, and Rocky was left to tearfully offer a eulogy at his funeral. Later in life, after watching his trainer and beloved wife both pass on, Rocky opened a restaurant in downtown Philly called Adrian’s.

Creed is focused on the person of Adonis Johnson-Creed (played as an adult by Jordan), the child of a woman with whom Apollo was having an affair shortly before he died. Having never met his father, Adonis was orphaned at a young age and later plucked from a children’s home by Creed’s widow, Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad), and raised as her own. Though his family name and money tended to put him ahead in life, “Donnie” wore a chip on his shoulder and sought to make his own living as a fighter, not wanting any fame or glory he didn’t earn himself. Having turned out an educated and clean-cut young man, Donnie shocks his adopted mother by quitting his job and moving from Los Angeles to Philadelphia following a bit of success in low-rent fighting bouts in Mexico. There, going by Donnie Johnson, he immediately seeks out the famous Rocky Balboa (again played by Stallone), with whom he knows his father was close, and asks for help training. Rocky is still known by name to almost everyone, but, with his grown children gone and now even Paulie dead, he’s living a quiet, low-maintenance life managing his restaurant. Donnie nabs a membership at Mick’s famed old gym, Mickey’s, and works out while stopping by regularly to visit Rocky and ask him for tips. Soon, Rocky can’t resist the young man’s tenacity, or his own desire to lessen his guilt over his old friend Creed's death.

Donnie has been keeping his real surname on the down-low to avoid comparisons and favors, but when he wins a fight against a rising contender and his real name is leaked, it becomes a story. And, soon, the camp of a heavyweight champion fighter (Tony Bellew) who’s looking for one last fight becomes interested in the idea of their champ against the blood of an old champ. But Donnie isn’t sure he wants to be defined forever by his name.

What Works?

I was only particularly excited to see Creed once I had confirmed that the movie was neither written nor directed by Sylvester Stallone. I imagined this would save the movie both unbearable schmaltz and an air of pretentious ego-stroking (if you’ve seen Stallone’s Expendables films, you should understand the latter). Happily, as written by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington, Creed has its share of sentiment but is brisk and well-paced and builds to an exciting climax. Rocky is a famous-enough cinematic entity that there are plenty of nods to the original brand, all among the movie’s best moments, especially an unveiling of red, white and blue boxing shorts styled after Apollo’s, and the perfectly-timed unveiling of the signature “Gonna Fly Now” music.

The cinematography is another highlight. We get our share of training montages, of course, but Coogler and cinematographer Maryse Alberti put together a number of impressive, lengthy tracking shots, including one epic, instant-classic shot that lasts the entire duration of a key fight, with the camera swiveling back and forth to capture each fighter’s prowess. They also know when to keep their camera still and have it linger on an image, as it does during the very artistically-rendered fighter intros for the climactic bout.

Creed only has two fully-realized characters, Donnie and Rocky, and they’re well played by Jordan and Stallone. As he proved in his breakthrough role in Fruitvale Station, Jordan is a star in the making, a fine mix of toughness and likability, a bright smile, expressive face and easy charm nicely complementing an imposing physique and a street-bred glower. Despite his presence in the recently-stillborn Fantastic 4 remake, Jordan is almost certainly bound for long-term success, perhaps the kind of longevity achieved by his main costar. Stallone, 69, has been oft-mocked for his slurred speech, unique (probably altered) facial features and corny screenwriting, but he’s nicely understated here in the classic, irresistible aged mentor role. Rocky is in his twilight years and almost could not be bothered to get back into what is obviously a young man’s game, but he achieves a certain undeniable glow when he’s shouting encouragement to his young trainee during training sessions, when he’s giving the bag a go just for fun with his huge, weathered fists, or when he’s talking about the glory days or bantering with his young fighter. After quipping and winking through his increasingly-dumb Expendables movies, it’s a treat for the actor—who’s always tried to give his characters humanity no matter their action-y surroundings—to give a real, lived-in performance.

Jordan and Stallone are given able support by a cast that includes Tessa Thompson as Donnie’s charming girlfriend, Phylicia Rashad as his mother, Graham McTavish and Tony Bellew.

What Doesn’t Work?

There isn’t much about Creed that doesn’t work. Its 133 minutes feel like 133 minutes, with multiple training montages and fights, and the climactic bout lasts a long time, but, for the most part, the movie is well-paced, enough that some parts could be longer. In fact, I found Creed so interesting that I started the lose interest as the final bout went on and on (even though I knew it would) because what had come before was so engaging. Boxing movies are a tried-and-true type and this movie can’t avoid all the cliché dialogue it could, but with Jordan, Stallone, Thompson, and the brilliant camerawork, Creed is much more notable for what it does right than what it does wrong.

Content

Like most boxing movies, Creed doesn’t really try to glam up the actual fighting, in which eyes swell shut, foreheads and eyebrows split open, and blood mingles with spit and sweat in the midst of lengthy bouts. There is also your typical PG-13 slate of cusswords (one, very informatively and amusingly, is done in sign language). And there is one brief intimate scene between Jordan and Thompson’s characters, though little is seen, as they’re mostly covered by a blanket.

Bottom Line

Yeah, it’s another sequel/spinoff/reboot, but Creed is the liveliest, most exciting movie I’ve seen in theaters in at least a month, much more worthwhile than the most recent James Bond and Hunger Games films. It pays plenty of homage to the six Rocky films while livening things up with new characters, new fighters, and some brilliant cinematography. Plus, if it’s the last-ever big-screen go round for Rocky Balboa, one of the movies’ most revisited and enduring characters, it’s arguably the best go yet for Sylvester Stallone, whose Rocky is more likable and human than ever. And if you’ve ever doubted that “Gonna Fly Now”, the Rocky theme, could get you excited and amped up, this movie will remind you how wrong you were to doubt that music’s innate awesomeness.

Creed (2015)

Directed by Ryan Coogler

Screenplay by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington

Based on characters created by Sylvester Stallone

Rated PG-13

Length: 133 minutes

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

Grade: B-

**Currently in Theaters**

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland and Julianne Moore

Featuring Appearances by: Sam Claflin, Natalie Dormer, Willow Shields, Mahershala Ali, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci and Gwendoline Christie, with Paula Malcolmson as Katniss’ Mother and Patina Miller as Commander Paylor

PREMISE: The battle for the futuristic nation of Panem comes to a dark, violent end as poster girl Katniss Everdeen struggles to keep those she loves out of harm’s way even as she seeks to be the one who fires the last shot of the war.

Rated PG-13 for violence, scary moments, and some intense emotional content

When Mockingjay – Part 2 ended, and the screen went black just before the credits began, I glanced to my right, toward the friend with whom I saw the movie. Looking back at me, my friend shrugged and went “eh”.

That about sums it up. The Hunger Games movie series—adapted from the trilogy of dystopian Young Adult novels by Suzanne Collins—which began a very lucrative theatrical run with such fanfare and glamour on March 23, 2012 (Yours Truly’s 24^th birthday), ends with a muffled thud in this overly-sedate finale.

While it thankfully isn’t the embarrassingly overblown, video-game-meets-fan-fiction mess that was last December’s Hobbit trilogy finale, The Battle of Five Armies, Mockingjay Part 2 is so slow and uninspiring that, despite the promise of the characters’ world getting better in their long march to victory, you as the viewer yearn for the earlier days, when you were still getting to know the glossy, fantastical universe and then-rising-star Jennifer Lawrence, and still sitting on the edge of your seat during the electrifying titular arena conflicts. As was the case in Collins’ book series, with the titular Games went the series’ primary point of interest and excitement, and those ended with 2013’s outstanding Catching Fire. Part 2 might have more legitimately exciting moments than last year’s Mockingjay Part 1 but it’s still just dutifully putting together the last bits of the puzzle. Part 2, the third film in a row directed by Francis Lawrence after the Gary Ross-helmed original, isn’t a bad movie—it just largely seems like the director, screenwriters, and actors are going through the motions to finish things up, a sensation that’s way too familiar in this day and age of dragged-out cash grab franchises.

I daresay even the last Twilight film was more invigorating and ended its series on a note that made its audience more wistful.

Plot

**Viewing of Mockingjay - Part 1, if not all the other films, is strongly advised, as Part 2 picks things up right where the last film left off**

Still recovering physically and emotionally from a most unexpected assault by former fiancée and recently-rescued-POW Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), the face of the 13 districts’ rebellion against the oppressive Capitol, is in agreement with the heads of District 13 that the Capitol needs to be stopped and tyrannical dictator President Snow (Donald Sutherland) needs to be eliminated. The heads of 13, President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and right-hand lackey Plutarch Heavensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in a role he was sadly unable to finish before his death), are only too happy to let their star join the rebels’ armies in assaulting the Capitol, provided a team of well-known rebels goes with her, along with a camera crew that can capture images of their heroes that will further inspire the rebelling citizens of Panem. So, after saying her goodbyes to her sister, Prim (Willow Shields), and friends Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and Johanna (Jena Malone), Katniss heads to the ruins of the outer rim of the Capitol city. With her are head military honcho Boggs (Mahershala Ali), her weapon-savvy friend and potential love interest Gale (Liam Hemsworth), athletic Hunger Games winner Finnick (Sam Claflin), a pack of well-trained grunts, and a camera crew led by film director Cressida (Natalie Dormer).

While the rebels are now winning the war and breaking through the Capitol’s defenses—sending the pampered citizens fleeing in terror—President Snow isn’t going down without a fight. So, in addition to squads of trained, uniformed Peacekeepers, he fills the ruins of his city with lethal booby traps, including sensor-triggered bombs, mines, flamethrowers, and even wild beasts, meant to ambush and destroy the rebel troops hurrying to the center of the city to converge on the President’s mansion. For two-time Hunger Games veteran Katniss, it’s like a new round in the arena. And the stakes are raised when her squad is joined by Peeta, who’s a well-known face and is there for the cameras, but is obviously still not in his right mind. He might be a danger to all of them. The war is rigorous and costly, but the rebels approach victory. Even so, Katniss begins to sense that the new regime is too eager to take power, and that its reign may not be that much better than Snow’s.

What Works?

When Director Francis Lawrence (no relation to the lead actress) came onto the scene to direct Catching Fire, his arrival was an undeniable gust of fresh air, eliminating the first movie’s distracting shaky cam approach and giving us glossier, more epic action and consistently striking visuals. He’s at the helm again for Part 2, and, again, he does his best to entertain those who haven’t read the books as well as satisfy those who have. Like Mockingjay – Part 1, Part 2 is a faithful-enough adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ work that, if this film isn’t as good as the second film in the series—or even the first—it’s the author’s fault, because Lawrence and his cast and crew are clearly committed to bringing the words on the page to life.

As was the case with the previous film, most of Mockingjay – Part 2 is competent—it works—but, for an action-packed finale, Part 2 is surprisingly underwhelming. That said, the director does engineer some large-scale action sequences that are grittier and more intense than anything in the earlier installments, and does his best to bring a real sense of art to the proceedings as well, with a camera that finds ways to capture quiet, lovely images. There’s a really spectacular chase scene that lasts about ten scintillating minutes that’s by far the best thing the movie has to offer, in addition to a quiet series of closing scenes of the main characters getting on with life that have a simple, lovely poetry to them. And to the filmmaker’s credit, by the end, there’s little attempt to cling to a glamorous, Hollywood-ized style that might please audiences more.

Even though the finale was split into two parts—as is in vogue with lucrative franchises these days—Part 2 still doesn’t have quite enough for its many significant cast members to do. A few who were major players in previous films (like Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks) are inserted wherever they can be but are largely afterthoughts. They still manage to be effective, though, especially in the case of Malone's chatty, cynical Johanna. But the MVP of the series remains Josh Hutcherson, who, once again, manages to bring legitimate feeling to his every line, even in this constantly-brooding atmosphere. Donald Sutherland remains a huge asset in the expanded villain role that was the best and most obvious change from the books to the movies. And you wouldn’t think the secret to making a moody actress like Jennifer Lawrence more impressive would be to get her to play even more low-key, but the overall lack of noise and hysterics in her performance in Part 2, compared to the previous films, makes her one big emotional blow-up here all the more searing.

What Doesn’t Work?

I re-watched Mockingjay – Part 1 the other night for a refresher, and then I watched Part 2 this afternoon, and I can safely say what I thought before—though dutiful in recounting the developments of the bestselling book that bears their names, these movies are, frankly, not very entertaining. Director Lawrence and his cast do what they can, but it’s not enough. There’s a lot of people standing around in dimly-lit interiors looking serious and muttering at each other. There’s a lot of the blank Jennifer Lawrence stare. There are obligatory, chemistry-free scenes between Lawrence and a disappointingly-bland Liam Hemsworth that are supposed to be fraught with romantic tension but instead remind you of the worst moments of the Twilight series. There are performances by Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson that cover the exact same notes as in previous films, only this time it’s with less interesting material (Moore, in particular, could almost be reading off a teleprompter).

Part 2’s worst sin, though, is not going all the way with its material. I understand this series’ box office is predicated on teenage girls and therefore can’t really afford to drive viewers sobbing from the theater, but this movie barely sniffs the rabbit hole Collins’ text went down. It’s ironic that I’m complaining about this when it was the “Mockingjay” book’s turn into pitch-black depressing territory that scared off a lot of the series’ readers, but Collins, for her other faults, at least refused to overlook the obvious, real effects of war and loss and emotional trauma. It made for a heavy read, sure, but it was respectable and memorable. I do understand it’s difficult to convey a lot of inner turmoil from a first-person book into a movie, but you have an actress in Lawrence who has proven, both in this series and other parts, that she is unafraid to play ugly or unpredictable or hysterical (as evidenced by the fact that her one aforementioned blow up in this movie is one of the few moments in Part 2 that really delivers). I also understand this is a PG-13 movie, but given the traumatic events depicted in this film and its three predecessors—not to mention the things PG-13 movies in general can get away with these days—the overt restraint in the second half of the movie is devastating to the film's impact. There may be those who didn’t read the books who think this movie packs a punch—boy, could it have packed one if it had cut Lawrence loose as Katniss’ life unravels in the late going, if it hinted at a little more of the burgeoning madness the book chronicled. Basically, it’s too tame, and it takes away that much of the effect this underwhelming flick could have had.

Content

The Hunger Games series has never been a fantastically family-friendly one, and it still isn’t in Part 2 when there’s more war and less adventure. There are a couple of big surprises, one just the scary beginning of a chase through dark, confined spaces by creepy, eye-less, tooth-gnashing zombies that try to kill our heroes (and get a couple of them). There are scenes of bombings and explosions that obviously kill and maim people, even if the gore isn’t directly shown. There’s a hint of blood, too, and, overall, just a dark, heavy-handed vibe.

Bottom Line

When Mockingjay – Part 2 ended, and the screen went black just before the credits began, I glanced to my right, toward the friend with whom I saw the movie. Looking back at me, my friend shrugged and went “eh”. That about sums it up.

Part 2 isn’t crap, but, like Part 1, it fails to capture the excitement of the earlier films in the series. Yes, a lot of this is author Suzanne Collins’ fault, since this movie adheres quite closely to her text—everyone knows the third book was just not as good as the others. There’s one spectacular chase scene, a couple surprises non-book-readers won’t see coming, and fans of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson and Elizabeth Banks won’t be disappointed, as their faves are back and doing what made them likable in the first place. But, overall, Part 2 isn’t very entertaining. Worse, it’s overly-restrained, seriously limiting the emotional impact this very affecting story could have had on the big screen. Its quiet closing scenes are touching, but, ultimately, this series lands with something of a thud.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)

Directed by Francis Lawrence

Screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong

Based on the novel “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins

Rated PG-13

Length: 137 minutes

Z FOR ZACHARIAH

Z for Zachariah

Grade: B

**Currently on Redbox**

Starring: Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Chris Pine

Premise: A love triangle forms between three survivors of a widespread radioactive disaster.

Rated PG-13 for a scene of sexuality and brief strong language

Z for Zachariah is a tasty little morsel of a movie, but it ultimately falls short of what it could have been..

I remember seeing the intriguing trailer for this movie back in the summer, and it came with the notice that it had been nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and then…I’m not sure what happened. I’m guessing the movie was never widely released, despite being based on a 1974 Robert C. O’Brien novel and starring three recognizable actors. In any case, it’s got an intriguing premise, is set to a gentle, lovely musical score and features three compelling performances, but it doesn’t feel like the total package. This is partly due to the very artsy flourishes from director Craig Zobel (based on a screenplay by Nissar Modi) that frustratingly limits the dialogue in places and forces the viewer to fill in the gaps.

It’s not the movie it could have been, but it’s an intriguing flick.

Plot

Busily caring for her family’s farm with no one but her dog for company, Ann Burden (Margot Robbie) has clearly survived some kind of widespread radioactive disaster, though, thankfully, this disaster didn’t ruin the natural beauty of the lush valley she lives in. There’s no one else around, though, so Ann goes about her regular routines of setting traps for game, milking the cows and collecting eggs from her chickens. Whenever she needs a break, she heads for the small wooden chapel in which her father used to preach and plays tunes on the piano.

One day, Ann sees another person, a person in a bulky anti-radiation suit of some kind who seems to have wandered into the valley almost by mistake. It turns out to be a scientist named John Loomis (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and after he is exposed to radioactive water, Ann takes him back to her house and cares for him. When he recovers, he begins helping Ann with her chores and begins pondering the possibility of creating a water wheel at a nearby waterfall to produce hydroelectricity and power the house. There’s a hint of a spark between them, too, but John seems very hesitant, as if he’s keeping a secret from her. Soon, however, another survivor of the disaster happens across the farm. Caleb (Chris Pine), a former miner, is eager to help with the creation of the water wheel and to capitalize on Ann’s hospitality and kindness. But friction develops when John senses Caleb and Ann making eyes at each other. Ann doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but long-repressed feelings are rising and she won’t think of sending anyone away, and yet there’s a clear battle of egos between the men, one which, in their limited circumstances, could turn violent.

What Works?

Z for Zachariah is a handsomely-filmed picture and, as mentioned, has a quietly-beautiful musical score, but its appeal is unquestionably wrapped up in the performances of its only three actors, all of whom should at least look familiar to audiences. The Australian-born Margot Robbie got her big breakthrough with 2013’s Oscar-nominated Wolf of Wall Street and her star will rise even higher after she plays Harley Quinn in next year’s Suicide Squad. Chiwetel Ejiofor has been around for a while, but he got his big break as the lead in 2013’s Best Picture Oscar Winner 12 Years A Slave and got wider exposure in the currently-in-theaters blockbuster The Martian. Chris Pine is probably the easiest to recognize after his two go-rounds as Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek films. Though they have fairly limited dialogue and some of Pine’s dialogue is unintelligible because of his country-boy accent, they’re all effective. Robbie comes off the best, playing down her naturally-striking looks and believably playing a sweet, naïve southern belle you just want to hug.

What Doesn’t Work?

As stated, despite an undeniably intriguing premise, Z for Zachariah is more artsy and ambiguous than it needs to be, what with limiting the dialogue and the running time and leaving the audience guessing. While the movie avoids soap-opera dramatics and Twilight-style moodiness, the actors and set-up are good enough that you wish they were given more to do. Though I guess I should give the filmmakers props for not getting "too Hollywood" with the ending of a film that did its best to avoid clichés and obvious plot contrivances.

Content

Z for Zachariah isn’t a post-apocalyptic zombie movie or alien movie, so there’s no action, but there are a few tense moments when one character gets drunk and unpredictable, and there is a heated but un-graphic sex scene.  

Bottom Line

Z for Zachariah is a good movie that could have been better. It’s got a very intriguing premise, some great visuals, and effective performances by Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine, but it’s a little short on dialogue and entertainment value.

Z for Zachariah (2015)

Directed by Craig Zobel

Screenplay by Nissar Modi

Based on the novel by Robert C. O’Brien

Rated PG-13

Length: 98 minutes

SPECTRE

Spectre

Grade: B

**Currently in Theaters**

Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Rory Kinnear and Monica Bellucci, and Featuring Andrew Scott as ‘C’ and Jesper Christensen as Mr. White

Premise: James Bond begins uncovering clues that hint at a super-secret terrorist intelligence agency on the verge of seizing power on a global scale, which is led by a major figure from Bond’s past.

Rated PG-13 for intense action, sexuality, disturbing images and a scene of torture

Skyfall was always going to be a tough act to follow.

The 23^rd installment in the James Bond saga, which came out in 2012 under the steady hand of Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes, was a new highpoint for the saga, arguably one of the top Bond films to date. Helping the Daniel Craig era recover nicely from the doldrums of 2008’s Quantum of Solace, Skyfall gave audiences intriguing hints about Bond’s past, brought Judi Dench’s seven-film run as M to a meaningful close, introduced three likable MI6 supporting characters and an uber-charismatic villain played by a brilliant Javier Bardem. As soon as that film was over, I couldn’t wait for the next installment, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.

Spectre, the 24^th Bond film, which is also directed by Mendes, doesn’t reach those lofty heights. Some would argue it couldn’t.  Given that Spectre drops strong hints that this is Daniel Craig’s last go-round as 007, that likens its finale-that's-not-as-good-as-the-amazing-middle-installment-of-the-series effect to the final film in another recent epic saga...Spectre is basically the Daniel Craig Bond films' Dark Knight Rises. It’s a solid film and brings back a lot of the likable elements of the last film and builds on them, but it’s a little more formulaic and, bottom line, just can’t reach the dizzying heights of its all-time great predecessor. Dark Knight Rises, with its sprawling cast, time-jump plot and somewhat ambiguous ending, couldn’t match the hair-raising dread and Joker-induced wow factor of 2008’s Dark Knight. Likewise, Spectre, despite a great cast, tons of action and exciting intrigue, just doesn’t pack the punch of Skyfall. But even as it probably signals the end of an era, it’s enough of a classic Bond that you look forward to the next one, no matter who’s playing 007 when it comes.

Plot

After a self-initiated excursion to Mexico City to track a baddie, James Bond (Craig) is raising red flags at MI6 again. As the new M (Ralph Fiennes) reminds him, MI6 is still under investigation by government bigwigs believing “secret agencies” are antiquated and out of touch—the same government that is quickly moving toward shutting down such agencies in favor of internationally-connected digital information bureaus. Thus, with a government intel operative Bond calls C (Andrew Scott) seemingly watching MI6’s every move, the last thing the agency can afford is its resident devil-may-care problem child causing international incidents that could lose them all their jobs. But Bond, who’s still dealing with the after-effects of losing the previous M (Dench)--his longtime supervisor and sometime mother figure--believes he’s onto something. A trip to Rome and the wooing of a mysterious woman (Monica Bellucci) brings him information about Spectre, a super-secret terrorist organization that may or may not be related to the government movement to render MI6 obsolete.

Getting reluctant assistance from his pressured MI6 fellows Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Bond sneaks to a meeting of Spectre personnel and is alarmed to recognize the head honcho (Christoph Waltz) as someone he once knew personally. This person, it turns out, nurses a grudge against Bond, and he sends his hulking, inscrutable henchman (Dave Bautista) to give him closure. But Bond escapes, and, having recognized one of the names MI6 has that’s associated with Spectre, follows a trail of clues to Madeline (Lea Seydoux), the daughter of a disgraced, now-dead Spectre operative who wants to meet the organization that exiled her father and made an attempt on her life. With the henchman hot on their tails and the mastermind of Spectre lurking, Madeline and Bond seek to put the pieces of the puzzle together to find out what Spectre is and just why it’s after them.

What Works?

Though there are more clearly-obvious throwback elements to the older Bond films this time around, Spectre is directed with same surety as its predecessor by Mendes, and it brings the same no-nonsense, this-is-Bond-in-the-21^st-century spark. The action is exciting but gritty (the spectacular pre-credits action sequence may be the best one ever in a Bond flick), the technology is cool and, in this day and age, doesn’t seem that farfetched or unreal, and the ending, which strongly hints that Craig’s time in the tux is done, is exciting and provides a fitting potentially-final chapter without descending into schmaltz.

If Spectre is Craig’s final go-round (which it probably should be given the refreshing sense of closure afforded by this film’s ending), I will say Craig has easily been my favorite Bond actor. Yes, I’ve seen a couple of the Connery films, and I understand the he-was-the-original sentiment most “Connery people” argue, but, to me, Craig perfectly embodied the carelessly-charming ladies’ man, the mortal but relentless and cunning action hero, and the wounded man with a painful past. He made Bond a fully-realized person. His run started with the sensational Casino Royale, which gave us several all-time Bond moments and characters, stumbled with the mediocre Quantum of Solace, then roared with the spectacular, meaty Skyfall and doesn’t exactly fall flat with Spectre, even if this one is a little cheesier (see below). In this one, Craig’s performance brings all the roguish charm and never-say-die grit I’ve enjoyed about his stint, even if I kind of hope, for neatness’ sake, that this is his last hurrah as Bond.

Though if this is Craig’s last run, what’s to become of the quartet of likable actors who’ve played his supporting characters at MI6, all of whom were introduced in Skyfall and cement themselves here? It would be a shame to switch up Q from the marvelously-likable Ben Whishaw so soon, ditto for the appealing Naomie Harris as Moneypenny. Fiennes makes a great antithesis/secondary hero once again as Mallory/M. Even Rory Kinnear, who has now been one of the talking heads of the series as M’s assistant, Tanner, the last two times around, would be welcome back. Whether it’s rumored front-runners Tom Hardy or Idris Elba in the tux next time, or somebody else, I hope some if not all of this MI6 team comes back as their support.

The key new roles in Spectre are played by Lea Seydoux—who might look familiar to audiences from her time as an assassin in 2011’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol—and Academy-Award winner Christoph Waltz, easily recognizable for his two go-rounds as charming but lethal chatterboxes in Quentin Tarantino films. In addition to being attractive, Seydoux has a built-in toughness that’s easy to like for a potential partner for Bond—someone who is her own person (not just eye/arm candy) and who could have his back, not just a spot in his bed. Waltz has some nice moments but is somewhat underwritten (see below). Meanwhile, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista has some fun scenes as an old-school, nearly-indestructible henchman.

What Doesn’t Work?

It must be said that, in 2015, we’ve already had a spy-based franchise film that was 21^st-century gritty, had cool gadgets and gizmos, death-defying stunts and eye-popping action sequences, familiar faces and likable new ones, a mysterious, glowering villain, and was focused on the earth-saving derring-do of the agents of an elite espionage agency under fire from government bigwigs who think the agency is a risk and is outdated and could be shut down. Yep, we already have. It was called Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Bond is its own brand, of course, but I couldn’t help thinking back to Mission Impossible and thinking how that film, at least, managed to truly surprise and impress me with some of its many twists and turns.

Some of the things I didn’t quite love about Spectre: the impending installation of a new, all-communications-connected technological system that’s supposed to be a fail-safe—a villainous idea that’s already been suggested in multiple recent thrillers including Rogue Nation and Terminator: Genisys; Christoph Waltz’s underwritten villain—Waltz has shown in past roles that he can out-charisma anybody, and not only does he get limited screen time but his motivation for going after Bond seems kind of puny; Monica Bellucci draws the typical short straw as the Bond girl who’s only around for a couple superfluous scenes that mostly revolve around her hopping in James’ bed; there’s an ultimate torture device that for some reason doesn’t work on Bond the way it’s scientifically supposed to (at least according to the villain using it) even when it's used on him correctly; a couple of key bad guys die way too quickly and conveniently. And the confusing, seemingly-implausible idea that all the plots in all of the Craig Bond films were connected and orchestrated deliberately by one agency...I didn't like that, put it that way.

Spectre isn’t bad. It just feels a little too formulaic and a little too tidy considering the gritty, unpredictably-dramatic events of Skyfall.

Content

Like most Bond films, Spectre is light on swearing and nudity, but there’s heated sensuality/obvious sexual overtures, plenty of action that includes a few grisly deaths for baddies, and a torture device that makes our hero scream in agony. It earns its PG-13 with material that’s heavier and more realistic than your average Marvel superhero flick, but it probably won’t shock anyone who’s seen the other Craig Bonds.

Bottom Line

For me, Spectre is The Dark Knight Rises to Skyfall’s Dark Knight—it’s a solid movie, even if it can’t reach the spectacular heights of its predecessor. It’s a little more of a formulaic Bond film and the great Christoph Waltz is unfortunately underutilized as the villain. That said, the likely final Bond film to star Daniel Craig in the title role has a great cast, some terrific action, and a refreshing, upbeat ending. Until next time, Mr. Bond.

Spectre (2015)

Directed by Sam Mendes

Screenplay by John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth

Based on characters created by Ian Fleming

Rated PG-13

Length: 148 minutes