Reel Reviews -- J

Jabberwocky (+) -- Probably one of the weirdest movies ever made. One of Terry Gilliam's early directorial efforts; it bares a familial resemblance to the earlier Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Darker and stranger than its older cousin, it's an oddly wry story punctuated by occasional moments of hilarity. Posted 6/15/02.

Jackie Brown (+) -- In many ways, a typically Tarantino movie. The crime, the oddballs, the hip dialogue--it's all there. Yet, it's also a quieter, almost softer movie than Q's other works. But don't worry--people still get shot. Oh, yeah, and the soundtrack is the bomb. Posted 7/30/05.

Jacob The Liar (+) -- Funny and sad at the same time; plenty of gallows humor to be found in the WWII Warsaw ghetto setting. Robin Williams does good work as Jacob, a lowly Jew who became the unlikely source of hope for those trapped in the Nazi nightmare. An unfairly overlooked movie.

Reel Reviews

Captain Phillips -- Predictability is not always a bad thing. Knowing the outcome, as with this story, actually helps get the viewer through a pretty intense film. Even so, this movie is loaded with surprises that help make it an engrossing experience: the surprising vulnerability of a giant cargo ship; the filmmakers’ treatment of the Somalis (who are not portrayed as cardboard cutouts, but have depth, humanity, and real character here); the hints that this problem (piracy) may be the unexpected by-product of other problems (including environmental degradation, specifically our collapsing fisheries). Lots of stuff to think about here, but that comes afterward, when all the gripping, gut-wrenching stuff has reached its denouement. Posted 4/27/14.