Game of Thrones

It is difficult to review television without giving away something of the plot. Tread lightly if you haven't seen the series in its entirety.

Season 7 (2017)

As the threat from the White Walkers grows ever more imminent, Jon and Daenerys finally acquaint as they quarrel over patronage before coming to terms with an alliance and a potential love affair and Cersei and Jaime prepare for war at King’s Landing while the surviving stark siblings have a bitter reunion at Winterfell as Littlefinger’s presence ominously looms. As the end nears in this first half of the final season, the pace is quickened, the storylines converge, and the number of battle sequences increase, the series is still bogged down by unnecessary asides, woeful plotting and characters, absolutely insipid dialogue.

** 1/2 out of ****

Season 6 (2016)

Cersei plots revenge while sitting back helpless in humiliation as her son is taken in by the High Sparrow and the gods, Arya learns some harsh lessons in life and death, and Sansa, after being rescued by an unlikely source, reunites with an unsurprisingly resurrected and differently composed Jon as they gear up to retake Winterfell from the odious Ramsay Bolton. In this first season without George R.R. Martin as a writer and as the series eyes the finish line and moves all of its pawns into place, it is nice to see the pace finally pick up with so much finally happening in this multi-storied universe, with also some incredible set pieces to boot in the latter episodes. Still the quality of the dialogue seems the worst its ever been, some stories still seem stuck in limbo (i.e. Daenerys and Tyrion), while Arya's would be powerful tale comes off as insipid and disappointing.

*** out of ****

Season 4 (2014) and Season 5 (2015)

An act of treachery at the Royal Wedding sends Tyrion toward a new destiny and Sansa into greater peril. Daenerys learns how to rule over the recently liberated Meereen and Stannis provides relieve to the Night's Watch only to find more obstacles on his quest to the Iron Throne. The fourth season of Game of Thrones is a marked improvement over the previous one, with the intrigue at King's Landing exciting enough to cover for the dull wheel spinning that continues to go on elsewhere (i.e. The Wall, Meereen), only to return for a dreadful, monotonous fifth season that brings nothing closer to resolution except in killing off several major characters in the end, which surely will thrill many fans but seems a giant waste of their protracted storylines. Without having read the books, it almost seems as if George R.R. Martin crafted an excellent first entry, which was then adapted into a great first season, and then had absolutely no idea what he signed on for or where it was going after that. While watching the "previously on" segment for Sunday's finale I realized that I had never seen a show with so much going on where so little actually happens.

Season 4: *** out of ****

Season 5 ** out of ****

Season 3 (2013)

As the inhabitants of King’s Landing recover from the their costly victory at the Battle of Blackwater and Stannis and his few remaining followers lick their wounds on a remote island, war parties led by Rob Stark and Daenerys Targaryen continue their arduous march on the capital. I wanted to keep this short and sweet after feeling the ire from panning another highly popular show, but season three represents an even steeper decline for this beloved series and, even in the “Golden Age of Television” as many have dubbed it, provides further evidence of the difficulties of sustaining an extended serial, even one based on extensive source material. You can almost picture George R.R. Martin and the HBO execs sitting at their round table brainstorming their smoke and mirrors tactics saying, “You know, we could just go through with a long, boring, protracted season where things wind up basically where they started, so long as we kill off a few major players in the end, we’ll still have ‘em hooked.”

** out of ****

Season 2 (2012)

As three challengers to the throne march upon King's Landing, an unexpected foe lays siege on Winterfell, causing more turmoil and heartache to the already beset Stark family. Tyrion has his hands full as Hand of the King in dealing with his treacherous sister and malevolent nephew. Daenerys, her dragons, and dwindling tribesman remain stranded across the Narrow Sea and Jon Snow begins his tour beyond the Wall as the dreaded Winter finally arrives. Following the spectacular first season of Game of Thrones, the followup series, while still maintaining a high level of interest, meanders and goes in circles for many of its story lines, and ones which were the top draw in season one (ie Daenerys, Jon Snow and the Wall, Rob Stark and his army) now seem to have lost their way and are stuck in standstill for virtually this entire round. Also, following the exit of Sean Bean, the show does not have a lead actor to anchor itself around and while Peter Dinklage (who went from Best Supporting Actor Emmy Winner to first billed in the credits) is excellent, he is not a leading man. I was still engaged with this season. The court intrigue and Arya's storyline worked best for me but the show seemed only interested in its primary story, which was made evident in the climactic Battle of Blackwater episode. "Game of Thrones" is a vast drama, and about as in depth as anything you can expect from television that still nonetheless needs to iron out its storytelling kinks.

*** out of ****

Season 1 (2011)

A long and brutal winter is approaching the kingdom of Westeros and treachery is afoul as the Hand of the King has been murdered. Surrounded by the cunning and powerful family of his duplicitous wife, King Robert Baratheon sends for his old friend and battle mate Eddard Stark to take up the position of the deceased and be unwillingly hurled into the deadly title scheme. The HBO adaptation of the George R.R. Martin novels is an excellent entry in the fantasy genre, simultaneously telling an involving, intelligent, violent, but grounded other worldly tale. Filmed throughout Northern Ireland and Scotland, as well as in parts of Morocco, the series features the most stunning visuals to be found in any television series. Its epic cast of mostly British players is uniformly excellent and if forced to select a handful as my favorite I would chose Iain Glen as a courageous exiled knight, Emilia Clarke as his queen and charge, samely exiled, Peter Dinklage as a witty and underestimated dwarf, and Sean Bean as the noble, sullen Eddard Stark. "Game of Thrones" is wonderfully engaging entertainment that isn't afraid to break the "rules" of television and has characterization and intelligence to match its harsh tone and violence.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Luther

Season 4 (2015)
Laying low on a leave of absence on the British countryside, John is implored to return to duty when a psychopathic killer of cannibalistic proportions begins to terrorize London. The plotline of Luther's fourth and supposed final season is stupid, staid TV crime stuff, and a mysterious subplot is dubious at best, but Elba still retains his appeal and the remaining cast is fun to watch.
*** out of ****

Season 3 (2013)
With both a fetishist and a revenge killer on the rampage, you would think John has enough on his plate. In addition, the dogged Chief Inspector must also grapple with a bogus Internal Affairs investigation which has roped in both his girl and his best mate, and also with the return of a certain wily psychopathic ally. After a considerable decline in quality for its second season and after noticing that its third season had been slashed to a four measly one-hour long episode outing, I was ready to write Luther off as just another tiresome, spent police procedural. Then, after deciding against my better judgement and breezing through an admittedly exciting and thoroughly ridiculous series, I realized how grateful I was for a program that doesn't overstay its welcome as many have a tendency to do. Although most developments this season were absolutely ludicrous and most of the acting continued to be embarrassingly exaggerated, I was nonetheless taken once more by Idris Elba's still commanding performance, the show's high energy, involving storyline, and its merciful brevity.
*** out of ****


Season 2 (2011)

The fallout from the events surrounding Zoe's death have left everyone reeling, except for John who remains too valuable to the force. Now under the command of DCI Schenk, Luther must contend with a former suspects wayward daughter while dealing with several incomprehensible psychopaths, first an ingenious, historically minded killer and then a pair of identical twins playing their own fathomed game of mayhem. The second season of "Luther" isn't quite as compelling of the first largely due to the absence of Ruth Wilson (who appears briefly). The storyline which replaces hers, Luther's guardianship of a 13 year old prostitute played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards, isn't nearly as intriguing. Still, Idris Elba towers over the material and continues to make the series worthwhile.

*** out of ****

Season 1 (2010)

Detective Chief Inspector John Luther is the most brilliant minds on the London police force, making wild yet flawless deductions that would make Sherlock Holmes proud. He is also an unstable ticking time bomb, dealing with marital problems with his wife, a psychological examination and internal affairs inquest following the death of a suspect, and the advances of a like-minded and beautiful murder suspect he was unable put away. Like "Prime Suspect", another series about a British DCI, "Luther" is a splash in the face compared to banal American cop programs. Idris Elba ("The Wire") is outstanding as the troubled inspector, projecting sadness and inner turmoil as well as being engaging as a detective. There are many implausible developments on the show, not the least being Elba's relationship with serial murder suspect Ruth Wilson (who is good here), but I don't really think it matters because the show plays like good theater. "Luther" is an intelligently written series that like most good cop shows founded on a great lead performance.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Blackfish

An expose on SeaWorld's practice of extracting killer whales from the wild and breeding them while confined to restrictive tanks that threaten the safety of both man and beast. Gabriela Cowperthwaite's documentary focuses largely on the story of Tilikum, an orca who has profitably propagated a profusion of progeny for parks worldwide and has killed three people during his time in captivity. Since its release, Blackfish has had a major impact on public opinion and SeaWorld's bottom line by creating immediacy not only with incredible, heart pounding footage but by bucking genre trends in crafting a succinct, well informed doc with perceptive commentators actually worth listening to.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Boardwalk Empire

Season 4 (2013) and 5 (2014)

As Nucky makes peace arrangements with Rothstein and Masseria, he pursues new business interests in Florida while being strong armed by a Harlem gangster, pursued by a crooked agent of the Justice Department, an targeted by an increasingly ambitious and ruthless Luciano. In a detached story, as his reign comes to an end, we learn Thompson's rags to riches tale of how he became Treasurer of Atlantic City. The 4th season of Boardwalk Empire is still watchable yet a far cry from where it stood in its first few runs. Wright is a disappointing and ineffectual villain, new cast additions either fall flat (Brian Geraghty, Eric Laden) or are poorly utilized (Patricia Arquette, Ron Livingston). Shea Whigham is a standout among the principal cast. The 5th and final, abbreviated outing marks a great disappointment with the showrunners appearing to take up a task (an admittedly difficult one) that was beyond them with no idea where to go. A leap forward in time meshed with a horrid backstory topped off with a pathetic, barely thought out finale was sadly where signs had been pointing for the drama and should serve as a lesson for anyone attempting to do serialized historical fiction.
Season 4 : *** out of ****
Season 5 : ** out of ****

Season 3 (2012)

As New Year's Eve 1922 is celebrated in Atlantic City, Nucky's (Steve Buscemi) decision to constrict his bootlegging practices offends a highly volatile (and easily offendable) gangster (Bobby Cannavale) who commandeers a nearby suburb and sets his sights on A.C. On other fronts, Margaret (Kelly Macdonald) enjoys her newly acquired duties at the local hospital, though her seeds of dissatisfaction will germinate through the course of an affair with her husband's subordinate (Charlie Cox). Gillian  (Gretchen Mol) continues to scheme and grieve following her loss, Van Alden (Michael Shannon) attempts to establish himself in an unfriendly Windy City, and Richard (Jack Huston) may have found a solace he could have never imagined since attaining his war injury. "Boardwalk Empire's" third go round features some of the most dazzling visuals and fancy camerawork the series has had to offer, but is the most slight in terms of plot. The aforementioned subplots, in addition to others, hold interest in their own right, but often feel like filler and as not contributing to the thrust of the plot. Newcomer Cannavale is excellent though, and his explosive presence offers many alternately humorous and terrifying moments to the series. Also a body ridden season finale is not nearly as satisfying as the pulse pounding episode that preceded it.
*** 1/2

Season 2 (2011)

With a coup underway to oust Nucky, both Jimmy and the targeted treaurer's brother Eli walk a treacherous path, dealing not only with devious gangsters but also a crippling strike by the African-American community at the heart of the summer season. On top of his legal problems, Nucky faces personal problems as a discontented Margaret, now grief ridden after her daughter has been stricken with polio, finds solace with the local parish priest and in overly generous offerings to the Lord. The second season of "Boardwalk Empire" is an almost unfathomable continuation of excellence, somehow maintaining the same cinematic level of greatness achieved in season one. Steve Buscemi turns in a wonderful, nuanced performance which is unlike any other gangster portrayal, at least that I've ever seen. Michael Pitt contributes affecting award worthy work as the cheerless and deceitful Jimmy and Kelly Macdonald is still incredible in the complex role of Margaret. In an impeccable supporting cast, Michael Shannon stands out as the dogged federal agent whose story takes more than a few unexpected turns and Shea Whigham as Buscemi's frustrated, overlooked brother. With its alternately beautiful, brutal, and affecting methods, "Boardwalk Empire" achieves an excellence in television that no other series, with the exception of "Mad Men", even remotely approaches.

****

Season 1 (2010)

Usually I keep television shows out of the blog, but I feel Boardwalk Empire is a series that approaches great film and, while watching, it feels like a solid 12 hour movie. This should come as no surprise since the show is brought to us by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. He directed the first episode, offering the blueprint for the subsequent episodes. He also produces and consults on other aspects of the show. Boardwalk was created by Sopranos veteran Terrence Winter and he brings along other members of that great show. Again, we have a show set in New Jersey, this time in Atlantic City and again we follow professional criminals who drink, screw, curse, lie, cheat, steal, swindle, and murder. We follow several story threads and the main character is AC treasurer Nucky Thompson played by a finely tuned Steve Buscemi. This is not another Tony Soprano, as Thompson has more of a soft spot. This doesn't mean that he isn't capable of carrying out heinous acts. We meet a young Irish widow (Kelly McDonald) who comes into his life and also Jimmy (Michael Pitt) and young enforcer he sees as his own son. The story mixes real characters with fictional ones and all are played by fine actors: Michael Stuhlbarg plays Arnold Rothstein, the New York gangster who becomes at odds with Nucky and his crew. His segments are a highlight of the show and wonderfully acted by Stuhlbarg. Michael Shannon plays an agent and religious zealot on the hunt for bootleggers. We also meet characters such as a hot headed Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Warren G. Harding. Boardwalk Empire is also a visual success and a screenwriting success. In an era when ignorance passes for good television, this show is like a breath of fresh air. I urge you seek it out on DVD or on reruns on HBO.

****

The Hobbit Trilogy

Well into his later years, living in simple comfort on the Shire, Bilbo Baggins begins writing the tale of his epic journey when an old wizard recruited him to aid a gang of motley dwarves in reclaiming their once prestigious homestead, now completely obliterated by a treacherous and seemingly insurmountable dragon. Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" shares many of the positive attributes of the Lord of the Rings series including great scenery, musical score, elements of comradery, the presence of Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis in their now iconic roles, and even adds to the mix a more quickly paced plot line and an ideally cast Martin Freeman as the young Bilbo Baggins. It does though contain the same propensity for overblown all-inclusiveness, with Jackson never knowing when to quit, and promises to be just as protracted as the initial series (we barely even get a glimpse of Smaug here). Furthermore, although we thankfully see very little of the intolerable title creatures, the dwarves are more than happy to take up their headache inducing mantle. But these quibbles could be chalked up to a matter of my own personal taste and will surely be embraced by fans of J.R.R. Tolkein's book and the prior film installments. What certainly (and sadly) damages the film is Jackson's decision to shoot at 48 frames per second which adds very little, if anything to the 3D process (which was sighted as the reason for filming at that rate) and gives the film an ugly gloss and moves with the fluidity of a video game. This is all the more disappointing when reflecting on the first movies and that seamless blend of live-action and CGI,  and how we've only made a few strides on another bombastic excursion.
An Unexpected Journey (2012): ** 1/2 out of ****

The second and third installment of The Hobbit trilogy checks in once again with Bilbo, Gandalf, an increasingly ego inflated Thorin Oakenshield, and the rest of the barely defined dwarfs as they gear up for a showdown with the destructive Smaug and the more dastardly prospect of all out war. The Desolation of Smaug drops the unnatural, video game feel of the first movie and thankfully returns to the faithful form of the LOTR movies, yet is still meandering, never getting to the point, and moreover, again leaves you questioning why the book deigned this mammoth treatment. The Battle of the Five Armies is very watchable but still feels very unnecessary with (spoiler) Smaug oddly meeting his demise before the opening credits role and the rest of the film revolving around the anticlimactic eponymous battle. Also, Martin Freeman is regrettably absent from most of film. To sum it up, what count have been a tidy little Tolkein victory lap for Peter Jackson was instead both a bizarre, bilious experimentation (at first) and a bloated, unending, and overblown journey.
The Desolation of Smaug (2013): ** 1/2 out of ****

The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) ** 1/2 out of ****

The Great Beauty

A has-been writer (Toni Servillo) living the fast life in Rome for many years reaches his 65th birthday and begans to take stock in himself and reexamine all the beauty and wonder that lies around him. Paolo Sorrentino's tribute to La Dolce Vita and the city of the seven hills borders a little too close to Fellini's classic but is strangely engrossing with several memorable sequences, great location shooting, and a fine performance from Servillo.
*** out of ****

Homeland

(Spoilers Ahead. This whole show is a series of spoilers, so be forewarned)

Season 5

We now find Carey living happily in Berlin, no longer with the agency and working for a private firm. Still her life remains in danger do a classified documents leak and the actions of a compromised agent, who also casts suspicion on Saul and places Quinn in direct contact with a terrorist cell who are planning an imminent strike. Season 5 represents a major setback for the series, one which has shown glimmers of rebounding but has never been able to consistently find its footing as storylines wear thin and fail to gain traction. Cast addition Miranda Otto is a highlight of the season , despite the ludicrosity of her far-fetched character.

** 1/2 out of ****

Seasons 3 and 4
Season three picks up with Carrie being the subject of Senate Investigation following the catastrophic attack on CIA headquarters, Brody seeking asylum in South America, and his family grappling with the horrific act. The fourth season sees Carrie named station chief in Kabul where she is faced with a Benghazi-like invasion and a hostage situation involving her mentor Saul. Following the outlandish second outing, Homeland returned with an intense, exciting, though still nonsensical third season, with superfluous domestic scenes at the Brody household taking away from the focus of the show. The fourth series is somewhat lacking and, due to the "terror threat at home" nature of the program, loses something by being set almost entirely overseas. Rupert Friend shines in support.
Season 3: *** 1/2 out of ****
Season 4: *** out of ****

Season 2
Following the botched attempt on the Vice President's life, Brody is now learning the ropes as a freshman U.S. Congressman while Carrie, teaching English as a second language and recovering from her stint in the booby hatch, is contracted by the CIA to lend her expertise to an expedition in Beirut. As Abu Nazir moves his pawns into place for his next terrorist attack, Carrie and Brody's stars align once more, placing their careers and lives into imminent danger. It becomes clear that the high-wire act done so well during the first season cannot be maintained, and while all the pieces don't quite come crashing down, preposterous plotting  has seized the day. Clare Danes character, where she was so effective before, has become nearly intolerable, going into hysterics several times an episode. Damian Lewis is doing what he can, and I think he should be commended for going through some of the things they put his character through with a straight face. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the show is how insipid Mandy Patinkin's Saul has become and the addition of Rupert Friend adds very little, if anything to the series. Most of these complaints can be chalked up to the writing. How could anyone seriously expect the show to maintain its momementum? And while the leads still maintain rooting interest, the second season plays its cards way too fast and serves them up in ways we can't possibly accept.
** 1/2
sidenote: As the "Homeland" season finale concludes the shows I watch for the year, I feel obliged to comment on the disappointment of nearly every series I've followed this year, especially one's in their sophomore season ("Homeland", "Games of Thrones", "Downton Abbey", "Sherlock"). In what has been termed as a "Golden Age of Television", these and other fan favorites such as "Boardwalk Empire" and "Breaking Bad" make it seem like a low karat era.

Season 1

A Marine (Damian Lewis) is rescued after eight years of being held captive in an Iraqi compound, and returns home to much fanfare and great difficulty adjusting to domestic life. Meanwhile an ambitious, volatile, and surreptitiously bipolar CIA agent (Clare Danes), having been informed several months prior by an al-Qaeda bomb maker that an American POW has been turned, suspects the heralded Marine of being the conduit of the next terrorist plot against the United States. "Homeland" is an ingeniously plotted tightrope act, which seems doomed to fail but never looses its footing once. Developed from the Israeli series "Prisoners of War" by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, who take their unlikely story to an intense, sheerly believable level because they always prioritize the human elements. Ten years after his tremendous work on "Band of Brothers", Damian Lewis returns with another powerful performance in a uniquely American role. As the unorthodox agent running a one person operation, Clare Danes is excellent and has some heartbreaking, almost unbearable scenes later in the season. Mandy Patinkin also contributes tremendous, nuanced work as a veteran operative and mentor/counterbalance to Danes. The plot description for "Homeland" makes one think of something destined for a short-lived run on network television, but due to the intelligent and sensitive writing (I can't stress this enough) and its endearing, perfectly realized cast, the first season is something of a wonder.

****

Only Lovers Left Alive

A centuries old vampire (Tom Hiddleston) lives alone in his decrepit, isolated Detroit home, separately from his Mediterranean stationed wife (Tilda Swinton), where he composes popular rock ballads and relieves the local hospital of their choicest O-negative stock. When the couple senses sorrow in each others voices over the phone, they decide to reunite but find their visit interrupted by her reckless younger sister (Mia Wasikowska). Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive is well crafted, and a nice rebuke to the onslaught of vampire movies which seems to have cooled as of late, but wears thin and begins to plod after awhile. Hiddleston and Swinton are immensely appealing.

** 1/2 out of ****

Venus in Fur

An arrogant playwright (Mathieu Amalric) is about to lock the theater doors following a frustrating day of casting the female lead in his latest play when an disordered unwieldy blonde (Emmanuelle Seigner) arrives to read. Following great protest and many tears, the director finally concedes and, after being astonished that she knows the script like the back of her hand and is a natural for the part, finds himself falling under her spell. Based on the NYC based play by David Ives (who drew on Leopold's von Sacher-Masoch's 19th century novel Venus in Furs) and reset in Paris by Roman Polanski, Venus in Fur is intelligent, funny, and alluring with great acting from Amalric and  

Seigner, the director's real life wife.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Hannah Arendt

When Adolf Eichmann was captured by Israeli forces in Argentina and taken to Yagur to stand trial for war crimes, German Jew intellectual Hannah Arendt took a leave of absence from her teaching post  to cover the hearings for The New Yorker. Instead of the hateful, cunning monster most had painted in the press, Arendt viewed Eichmann as unassuming and even kindly, leading to her controversial Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. Margarethe von Trotta's Hannah Arendt is thought provoking, academic filmmaking although its story is slight and would have benefitted from expounding. Barbara Sukowa is impressive in the title role and trial scenes including actual footage are effective.

*** out of ****

JFK

The American Experience two part docuseries on the retracted life, trials, and triumphs of the 35th President is occasionally enlightening while covering well trodden territory, but is lifted through the use of tremendous footage.  Further, it is refreshing that director Susan Bellows and writer Mark Zwonitzer decided to gloss over the assassination and focus largely on Jack's early life.

*** 1/2 out ****

The Missing Picture

Rithy Panh, a Cambodian national who escaped the Khmer Rouge as a teen and lost family and friends to the mass genocide needed to have some form of physical proof to capture the unthinkable atrocities, such as a snapshot. After much scouring and no such record to be found, Panh recreated the wretched conditions of a work camp with clay figures and used them to tell his harrowing story. The Missing Picture is an innovative form of storytelling, which also makes fine use of excellent footage but is crippled by Panh's obtuse and pretentious narration.

*** out of ****

Short Term 12

At a reformatory for problematic youth, a dedicated counselor's (Brie Larson) painful past comes to the foray with the arrival of a similarly troubled teen. Short Term 12 is cut from the same cookie cutter mold that diminishes and decolorizes many indie movies and takes on a phony air beyond that. Larson tries too way hard in a role that garnered widespread acclaim.

** out of ****

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

When Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is passed over for the Nightly News position in favor of his wife (Christina Applegate), he is later tapped to head the newly created 24 hour news channel, news team (Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner) in tow. Anchorman 2 is surprising, stupid fun that patterns the original but improves on its hiccups (notably the battle sequence), and contains many belly laughs and memorable scenes. The cast is game, with additions James Marsden and Greg Kinnear thrown in for good measure and a hilarious cameo from John C. Reilly, except for Carell who is overused in a number of throwaway bits.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Tim's Vermeer

A successful innovator in the computer graphics industry, Tim Jenison seeks to understand how Vermeer was able to craft such photographic mirroring paintings in the 17th Century by attempting to create a perfect reproduction of the Flemish master's The Music Lesson. Directed by Penn and Teller, Tim's Vermeer is a fascinating documentary that, though coming in at a short clip, goes through equal painstaking measures to document its subject's mammoth quest, even if it does begin to lose steam during the painting process.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Like Father, Like Son

An emotionally closed off businessman and his wife learn the young son they have been parenting is not their own, having been switched at birth, the result of improper maternity ward tagging. Having been put in contact with the family raising their biological son (and thus the true parents of his own son), arrangements are made for each couple to spend time with each child on weekly basis until it is decided which boy will reside in which household. From Japanese director Hirokazy Koreeda, Like Father, Like Son is heartfelt, resonating material which boasts excellent performances and is told at a measured, perhaps a little too measured, pace

*** 1/2 out of ****

The Act of Killing

Small time hoods turned mass murderers, enlisted by the Suharto regime when the Indonesian government fell in 1965, reunite to reminisce and reenact their atrocities in the style of their favorite movies. The Act of Killing is a deeply disturbing, stomach churning, and bizarre, even comically absurd (and somewhat redundant) documentary as pardoned butchers smile into the camera, almost giddy at their parts of forgotten barbarities.

*** 1/2 out of ****

The Invisible Woman

A married woman (Felicity Jones) reminisces back to her love affair with Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes) during his latter years of success until his death. The Invisible Woman is a sumptuously mounted production with Fiennes, who also directed, contributing his usually commanding performance but the film is highly turgid with an aimless, threadbare plot detailing a relationship that is never explored and a leading turn from Jones who brings very little and offers even less insight into her character.

** 1/2 out of ****

The Hunt

A kindergarten teacher's assistant (Mads Mikkelsen) leads a quiet life in a small Danish and finds it severely and unjustly disrupted when the confused accusation of one of his students leads him to be branded as a sexual predator. The Hunt contains a threadbare, one strand plot but is carried by Mikkelsen's nuanced, sympathetic performance, Thomas Vinterberg's adept direction, and superb photography from Charlotte Bruus Christensen.

*** out of ****

Go for Sisters

When a parole officer's (LisaGay Hamilton) son goes missing in a probable drug deal gone awry, she enlists the help of one of her streetwise clients (Yolanda Ross), an old high school classmate in addition to the services of a half-blind private investigator (Edward James Olmos) to travel south of the border to investigate. The plot in John Sayles' Go For Sisters isn't always clear but the film is imbued with the humanity that marks most of his work, and the finale is excellent. Hamilton does not prove a strong lead but Olmos and Ross shine in support.

*** out of ****