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Harvey -- The proof that this is a fantastic movie? When the moment of crisis comes, the moment when Elwood P. Dowd is in danger of becoming just an ordinary guy--maybe--the viewer will most likely be moved, possibly even heartbroken. That’s quite a bit of work for what is a fairly restrained film, one that gives its comedy a lot of room to breathe and injects just enough pathos to give it all some heft. It’s been remade at least once, but that was a quixotic idea, for without Jimmy Stewart and his essential self, the role of Dowd and the entire story would be either too silly (and not in a good way) or absurd to the point of falling entirely flat. Thankfully, we have this one result of when Stewart and company teamed up to do it right.

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Dumb and Dumber To -- I went in wanting to hate this movie. It seems like such a no-brainer--pun intended--target for the reviewer's venom: a sequel to a movie that didn't need a second act, and a lengthily delayed sequel at that. Plus at least one of its stars, Jim Carrey, seems to be well past his expiration date. And yet...I have to admit, there are enough chuckles and outright belly-laughs in this flick to justify its existence. It's not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but for killing an otherwise empty two hours while watching it on cable? Sure, go for it.

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Ted 2 -- In familiar Family Guy style, Seth MacFarlane is not about to let a joke go without making sure to beat it all the way into the ground. While the original Ted was comedy gold, this one's closer to a bronze medal: a fairly steady steam of good laughs, but with just enough stupidities woven in--and recycled bits from the first--to take the overall quality level down a notch. And of course, in keeping with the flavor of both films, it probably helps immensely if you watch it when you're stoned.

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Trainwreck -- Amy Schumer is definitely having her moment. I'm not sure how long her ride will be, but at least for now, in that given moment, she's making the most of it. This film is a case in point: very funny with a lot of laugh out loud moments, mostly thanks to Schumer's particular outrageous sense of humor, but also coupled with a charming and sweet romance that takes just enough edge off to allow even the most uptight to forgive the crudities. Good work.

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Evolution -- How could a film with so much going for it be this stupid? A good cast--no meatheads a la Sandler or Diesel here--a good premise (with pretty good special effects) and a good director (Ivan Reitman, with one certifiable classic--Ghostbusters--on his resume)...where did it all go wrong? Well, the writing is stupid, without even an attempt to make the scientist characters anything near intelligent. (Yes, they’re supposed to be doofus junior college teachers, but then again Duchovny’s character is supposed to have a history with a more rigorous scientific background.) The humor indulges in “stupid fat guy” clichés (not something to get on my good side). And several of the characters (especially the villainous general and governor) are so cardboard cutout that they distract from the story, or the humor, or anything the film tries to achieve. No wonder this movie tanked at the box office; even the stupid multiplex crowd probably found it sub-par. Avoid it.

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The Interview -- You have to give Seth Rogan and James Franco credit for being willing to look really ridiculous for their art. The farce here is so broad that it’s probably stretching it to call this movie ‘art,’ but it delivers enough laughs that I suppose the guys should be given the benefit of the doubt. The only weird thing is, for all of its comedic intent, the film actually veers into some pretty violent territory now and then--a jarring lack of consistency which demerits the project overall (and may have been the reason that some people took the thing a little too seriously back when the movie was about to be released). Overall, this is a pretty good, funny movie; a little refinement would have gone a lot further.

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Into The Woods -- My hearing must be going. Once again I've watched a movie where I couldn't hear a lot of the dialogue--in this case, in musical form--over all the background noise and orchestration. Alas, the burden of getting old. The fact that that is my concern when thinking about this film is a warning sign; it's a movie that promises much but delivers not nearly enough. I'm not sure the "wisdom" of the fairy tale rewrites is all that wise; folk wisdom gets to be folk wisdom for a reason, and you coming along with your jaded worldview does not necessarily change everything. Oh well; at least you get to spend a chunk of a couple of hours with the awesomeness that is Anna Kendrick, so that's something.

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Birdman (or, The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) -- Hollywood loves Hollywood, more than anything else. Even when it's an adjunct of Hollywood, like Broadway. That's a big reason why this movie, like Argo and The Artist before it, won Best Picture. The rest of us would prefer to judge a film on its actual merits--but even that's hard to do here, because this one is so steeped in its appreciation for film-making and acting and creativity and artistic effort in general...From the ostentatious camera-work to the passionate soliloquies about doing "something meaningful" creatively, this story practically browbeats the viewer into loving (or at least respecting) the cinematic arts, to the point where it's almost annoying. Thankfully, there's enough humor, professional performances, and flights of fantasy to redeem the film's worst excesses. I'm not sure it's statuette quality on its plain merits, but it's at least worth checking out on the viewing medium of your choice.

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Annie (2014) -- It's tempting to view this "colorized" version of the old musical as something gimmicky and as an unwarranted attempt to "update" the look of what has long been considered a classic, but as you watch this film, it becomes clearer and clearer that this is a legitimate re-telling of the tale. Indeed, this is probably how the story should play in today's world; we should expect a modern-day Annie would be more Quvenzhané Wallis than Andrea McArdle. Having never seen the play or original movie (or even read the comic strip, for that matter), I have no opinion on how "true" to the original this version is; I just can testify that the story remains strong, its modern touches make sense and work within the plot, the cast of characters is well-represented here, and the performances are mostly true and done well. This seems to have been an overlooked work when it came out, and unfairly so; I suspect most viewers will appreciate it greatly and enjoy it very much.

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The LEGO Movie -- There's no way that this movie would have been given nearly the high appreciation it received upon release had it not been for the fact that the animation involved all those billions of blocks. Everything in the film is formulaic; we've seen it all before--the misfit hero, the vaguely inaccessible love interest, the odd mentor(s), the cliches about belief and everyone's intrinsic value, all set in a fantasy world. If the visuals were not as impressive as they are, this brick flick would have passed by without nearly as much praise. But the blocks have a following, to be sure, and that almost guaranteed success regardless of the script. I guess it's not awful, but this one never really grabbed me at any deep level. Chances are you could entertain yourself more with a few buckets of bricks and a free afternoon.

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A Million Ways to Die in the West -- This movie way wind up being Seth MacFarlane's Bananas or Sleeper; it is like one of those early Woody Allen vehicles in which its auteur carves out a unique niche for himself and tells a story (and jokes) that no other filmmaker working today would or could. The laughs come consistently--occasionally uproariously--and from such a skewed angle that they're entertaining in their idiosyncrasy alone. The other interesting thing here is the performance by Charlize Theron, who has previously been good but never this likeable and approachable before. This is must see stuff for comedy fans...maybe not so much for the wilting flowers (raunch dominates the humor here; few of the jokes are suitable for "polite company").

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Afternoon Delight -- Not sure what to make of this one. Sure, there’s all kinds of indie cred here, but that does not necessarily make for a good movie. If this is meant to be a statement on the plus side for women, the effect is quite the opposite; all chauvinistic claims of female craziness seem verified here (in a movie written and directed by a woman, Jill Soloway, it should be noted). As a comedy, it’s not particularly funny; as a drama, the repercussions of the plot seem too minor to have much impact. I didn’t hate it, stayed mostly interested all the way through…but I suspect most people wouldn’t find this one all that interesting.

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Guardians of the Galaxy -- This movie gets a huge leg up in generating goodwill from its audience through its amazing soundtrack. The music nails it for appealing to viewers of a certain age, who most likely already have these songs on their preferred listening device--people like yours truly. Then again, it probably does some damage if those viewers recognize the soundtrack as a cynical ploy to appeal to said demographic, and thus boost ticket and home viewing sales. Call all that a wash, and thus we're stuck with trying to judge this film on its own merits--and that is a hit and miss proposition. For every space opera element that is derivative, predictable, and stale, there's also a piece of cleverness, good humor, and just sheer entertainment that offsets the problems. If we do the math, I think the whole thing winds up in the plus column; not by much, but enough that this one gets a passing grade, something just high enough to keep that goodwill going for the inevitable sequel.

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Million Dollar Arm -- Damn, those Disney people sure know how to make a movie. There's absolutely nothing surprising about this flick; everything is utterly predictable, you can see every twist and turn coming a mile away. And yet it's still an enjoyable, entertaining film to watch. Twenty years ago I would have cynically dismissed a movie like this, and that may be your reaction to this one; but having lived a little and come to recognize the value of sweet, simple, charming entertainment, I can see a work like this for what it is: perhaps not something impressive, but still worthy of our attention, and worth rooting for. Also, it's nice to be reminded that people in other countries love their children, too; we don't get enough of that here in the U.S. Bottom line: no home run, but a solid single up the middle.

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Bad Words -- Here's a mean one, and delightfully so. Jason Bateman's character is exactly what I wish I could be; alas, some touch of diplomacy is necessary in this world. In a movie, though, a guy that dickish can be hilarious, and Bateman's Guy is just that. I'm wavering only slightly in this review, because one can argue that the movie does pull its punches a bit--but not in any significant way that pulls any of the principals out of character. Also, there's a minor fallacy in the movie's premise: there's no particular need to have rules keeping adults out of spelling bees, as most adults are atrocious spellers. Regardless, this film is a ton of fun, as long as you're not a wilting flower about the language. Check it out.

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Mr. Peabody and Sherman -- Here's a cautionary tale about all these nostalgia based remakes we've seen these past several years: if you don't get everything just right when you're competing with someone's memories, the memories win. So it goes with this film. A lot of what's here is good, but when the movie misses the mark--for example: the voice for Sherman is nowhere close to the original--the discrepancy takes the viewer right out of the moment. That's a tough tightrope to walk, and why most nostalgia movies don't succeed. On its own merits, this flick tends to be very clever--they seem to get all the historical facts right--but there's a lot of dumb sprinkled in, too. If not for its attachment to an already known property, I'm not sure this script would have been produced. Put it all together and the ultimate product merits the so-so mark--as much for unfulfilled potential as anything else.

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The Grand Budapest Hotel -- As with every Wes Anderson film, you get quite the avalanche of quirky here. The effect is almost overwhelming at first, but eventually the film settles into its own little groove and winds up telling a story that’s clever, engaging, and ultimately both satisfying and a little bit heartbreaking. I don’t know if this movie would actually pull in anyone who isn’t already an Anderson fan, but for those who appreciate his oeuvre, this one is certainly worth a look.

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The A-Team -- Stupid fun. I can't really say it's a good movie, per se; it has its faults, not the least of which is a muddled scenario with one too many villains. But I must admit that it's more artfully crafted than I would have expected, and the players are all appealing in filling their respective, very well-known roles. Don't expect anything epically great, and you'll do all right with this one. Posted 9/26/11.

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Zero Effect -- Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller as a postmodern Holmes and Watson. Most of this movie flies below the radar; things get confused and unfocused when the narrative tries to take a drastic dramatic turn, but most of the movie sticks to providing a healthy dose of knowing smirks. Give it a chance and let it do its work. Posted 3/28/04.

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About A Boy -- Kind of a disappointment. Technically, it's good, and a lot of the humor hits the mark in a "below the radar" sort of way. But parts of the story--particularly the ending--rang false for me. And the dual first-person narrations were annoying. Posted 2/10/04.