American Made

Bored airline pilot Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) finds himself running top secret missions for the CIA, in bed with the drug cartels, and swimming in cash until a fallout proves potentially deadly. Doug Liman's American Made patterns too closely to Goodfellas and whatever knockoff that classic has spawned (Blow comes to mind here). The narrative is messy, marred by undercharacterization, and almost too fast paced but is still watchable thanks to a typically charismatic Cruise.

** 1/2 out of ****

The Big Sick

A Pakistani Chicagoan (Kumail Nanjiani) pursues a stand-up comedy career against the wishes of his traditionalist family. This bond is strained even further when he begins dating an American grad student (Zoe Kazan) who undergoes a sudden, life threatening illness. Written by Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon (whose relationship is loosely represented), The Big Sick is amiable enough if unspectacular and overlong. Nanjiani's deadpan approach is both likable and amusing, and Holly Hunter and Ray Romano add flavor as Kazan's parents.

** 1/2 out of ****

Logan

In the not too distant future near the Texas border, a hardened and spent Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) spends his days providing a livery service in order to care for the aged and ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart). Soon he has custody of a young mutant girl with like powers being hunted by daunting forces and must escort her to a safe haven in North Dakota. James Mangold's Logan, the umpteenth entry in the X-Men series was praised in its attempts to match the vulgar, violent, and ruthless excesses of Deadpool, adult alterations that seem totally counterintuitive to the material. The movie has its moments, especially in its fleeting quieter scenes, but at the core of this needlessly brutal work, it's really just another hokey comic book movie. Stewart and Stephen Merchant are effective in supporting roles.

** 1/2 out of ****

Stronger

While waiting for his girlfriend (Tatiana Maslany) to complete the 2013 Boston Marathon, Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) lost his legs in the terrorist bombing. Struggling to rehabilitate and adjust to his now onerous and often very painful life, he finds himself unwillingly thrust into the spotlight while his ordeal wears heavily on those around him. David Gordon Green's treatment of this true to life story is all about the two excellent lead performances which get thwarted by stupid supporting characters, dumb comic relief bits, and the expected inspirational mushy fodder in the second act, all elements that would have proved completely dispensable to the story.

** 1/2 out of ****

Call Me by Your Name

At their summer home in Northern Italy, a precocious 17 year old musical prodigy (Timothee Chalamet) sees the arrival of his archaeologist father's (Michael Stuhlbarg) latest research assistant (Armie Hammer) and the two develop a bond that segues into a passionate physical relationship. Luca Guadagnino's realization of James Ivory's script (from a novel by Andre Aciman) is idyllically set and beautifully shot yet frustrating in an unambiguous way that never really lets you in as to what's going on and what the characters are feeling, leaving the central relationship seeming unworthy of the weight subscribed to it. Chalamet's touted performance is offbeat and unique but inconsistent and aloof.

** 1/2 out of ****

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Feeling trapped by her autocratic mother and sister, a young widow (Gene Tierney) longs to be on her own and jumps at the chance to rent a seaside cottage, even after being forewarned that it is haunted by the ghost of a surly sea captain (Rex Harrison) who met an untimely demise. Joseph L. Mankiewicz's The Ghost and Mrs. Muir strikes too light a tone before suddenly changing gears and turning somber. Tierney is consistent, Harrison's performance is grating at times and appealing at others, and George Sanders has a memorable supporting role. The black and white cinematography is exquisite.

** 1/2 out of ****

Quantum of Solace

While trying to corner the members of the shadowy organization responsible for Vesper's death, James (Daniel Craig) crosses paths with a beautiful secret agent (Olga Kuryleko) acting as a mistress to a ruthless entrepreneur (Mathieu Amalric) seeking to corner the Bolivian water market. Dominated by overblown kinetic action sequences in vogue a decade ago a la Jason Bourne, Quantum of Solace is lazily written which lends itself to a hard to follow 007 entry that clumsily follows up on storylines from Casino Royale, its superior predecessor. However, it doesn't overstay its welcome like many films in the series and contains a malignant villain in Amalric and one of the most stunning Bond girls in Kurylenko.

** 1/2 out of ****

Brawl in Cell Block 99

A tow truck driver (Vince Vaughn) with a vaguely explained violent past loses his job only to discover his wife (Jennifer Carpenter) is having an affair. They soon patch things up, and he begins drug running for a friend, a gig that quickly lands him a seven year stint in prison. When his now pregnant wife is kidnapped, he is extorted into fighting his way into the state maximum security unit and offing a prisoner wanted dead by her captors. Brawl in Cell Block 99 takes forever to get going and the dialogue is incredibly vacuous but the film becomes completely engrossing, in the same fashion as writer/director S. Craig Zahler's Bone Tomahawk did while sill relishing in the ever increasing, incessant violence. Vaughn delivers a commanding and empathetic performance and Don Johnson has a great walk-on role on a sadistic, no-nonsense prison warden.

** 1/2 out of ****

Planet of the Apes

An astronaut (Charlton Heston) exploring the vast reaches of space crash lands on a far off planet inhabited by a superior race of speech capable apes who keep primitive humans as slaves. Captured, tortured, and set for experimentation he now must prove his supremacy to his subjugators while discovering the horrible truth of this new land. Cheesy, shoddy looking, and carelessly directed by Franklin J. Schaffner with a hammy Heston performance, Planet of the Apes is still watchable and fun at first plus it contains the justifiably famous finale. Rod Serling’s dumb dialogue in a screenplay he cowrote from a Pierre Boulle novel belongs more so to his Twilight Zone than a full-length feature film.

** ½ out of ****

Killer's Kiss

A washed-up boxer becomes involved with a troubled neighbor, herself currently mixed-up with the older, low-rent owner of a New York dance hall. Killer’s Kiss, an early noiry crisply shot production from Stanley Kubrick, feels like an underdeveloped student project with some really good parts (including an axe fight in a mannequin factory) that don’t really add up to a satisfying whole. It also feels long at 68 minutes, contains a whole lot of filler and an ill-advised happy ending.

** ½ out of ****

Scrooge

Perennial Charles Dickens Christmas classic received a musical makeover in this 1970 Ronald Neame version that tries to recapture the magic of Oliver! even though the material doesn’t really call for it or need it. Further, the music is mostly forgettable except for the “Thank You Very Much” number which memorably features a tap dance on Scrooge’s coffin and a rollicking funeral parade. Albert Finney plays a surprisingly shrill and somewhat disappointing Scrooge and Alec Guinness is also a letdown as a droll Jacob Marley.

** ½ out of ****

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

After proving a danger to the son he was supposed to replace, a cyborg (Haley Joel Osment), is cast out in the wilderness by the mother he was programmed to love and desperately seeks The Blue Fairy he learned of in Pinocchio lore in order to transform him into a real boy. Steven Spielberg's working of material developed by Stanley Kubrick is light sci-fi with an incomplete feel, often fascinating and always watchable while still arriving in an unsatisfying place. Some of this material seams ideally suited to the director and other, more darker parts of the story just don't. Osment is rightly cast and William Hurt is excellent as the Geppetto cipher.

** 1/2 out of ****

Wonder

After spending most of his young life in home schooling, a boy (Jacob Tremblay) with severe facial deformities adjusts to life in middle school while his overprotective parents (Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson) cope with his traumatizing trials, and his overlooked sister (Izabela Vidovic) undergoes her own rites of initiation at her private city school. Stephen Chbosky's adaptation of R.J. Palacio's bestselling novel is appealing, well-conceived, and likely to please but (expectedly) overly and cheaply sentimental.

** 1/2 out of ****

Lady Bird

A headstrong Sacramento high school student (Saoirse Ronan) butts heads with her forthright mother (Laurie Metcalf) while dreaming of being accepted at an out of state school while going through the highs and lows of senior year at her Catholic school. Greta Gerwig's ostensibly autobiographical Lady Bird is a run of the mill coming of age story that knows its territory and contains a few lovely moments. Ronan again brings her special presence (even if this performance is somewhat unexceptional) and Metcalf is noteworthy in support.

** 1/2 out of ****

Murder on the Orient Express

Called to London for a major case and desperately seeking rest, exacting and world famous detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) becomes involved in a murder mystery when the Orient Express becomes snowbound and derailed, a world class heel (Johnny Depp) is murdered in his cabin in the middle of the night, and all twelve of the car's passengers turn suspect. Director Branagh's sleepy, mostly unnecessary Agatha Christie remake with a star studded cast (also including Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, and Daisy Ridley) bringing little to the table resembles something that belongs moreso to Masterpiece Theatre than the big screen. Branagh's Poirot is strong and emotive and stands alongside Peter Ustinov and Albert Finney.

** 1/2 out of ****

Pale Flower

Just released from prison for murder, a Yakuza hitman escorts a beautiful, thrill seeking femme fatale through underground gambling parlors before tragically falling back into the life. Masahiro Shinoda's noirish Pale Flower seems directly inspired by the French New Wave with its quick cutting and cool, jazzy aura. Either way, with severe under-plotting, this is an unmistakable exercise in style over substance, although the ending is impactful.

** 1/2 out of ****

Senso

A torrid, tragic love affair develops between a vain, independent minded Italian countess (Alida Valli) and an arrogant and cowardly Austrian officer (Farley Granger) during a war between the two countries in 1860s occupied Venice. Overwrought Visconti melodrama with underwhelming romance and acting features drab Technicolor and production design (although it is touted for its opulent sets). The ending, however, is potent.

** 1/2 out of ****

The Death of Louis XIV

After basking in his gardens at Versailles, the Sun King (Jean-Pierre Leaud of Truffuat/Antoine Doinel fame) develops a misdiagnosed case of gangrene. and is attended to by servants. advisers, clergy, weeping women, and a team of doctors as he bids farewell to his young heir and settles in to join the ranks of the dead. Albert Serra's The Death of Louis XIV makes use of sustained shots and employs an extremely measured pace yielding a sometimes compelling but mostly dull and surprisingly drab looking (especially for a period piece) result.

** 1/2 out of ****

The Shallows

Still grieving the death of her mother, a med school dropout (Blake Lively) body surfs a secluded Mexican beach and finds herself trapped by a great white only a few hundred yards off shore with only a handful of buoys as her only point of refuge. The Shallows is effective in parts, containing some good scares, but the singular plot wears thin and grows tiresome quickly with the lovely Lively unable to carry the picture.

** 1/2 out of ****

Body Double

A struggling actor (Craig Wasson), after losing his job and walking in on his girlfriend with a another man, is set up by a friend (Gregg Henry) in a posh apartment with a fortuitous view of a beautiful married woman, who puts on a nightly striptease routine, becomes the object of the voyeur's obsession, and soon finds herself in perilous danger. Though its supposed to be another tip of the cap to Alfred Hitchcock, Body Double seems more like pilfering with Brian De Palma attempting to merge no less than Rear Window and Vertigo into one sleazy and cheap treatment. That's not to say its without entertainment value, being occasionally fun, intense, and provocative. Wasson is weak and his character inept, and Melanie Griffith is cute in a small, key role.

** 1/2 out of ****