The Amazing Spider-Man 2
No.
Grade: D+
Belle
Showcasing a jaw-dropping star-is-born performance by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, this film is beautiful to look at and emotionally engaging, while offering perhaps the most fascinating historical story ever told in a British costume drama.
Grade: B+
Chef
So charming and sweet. Mouth-watering food. Solid performances from all-star cast plus a superb child performance. However, everything about this is familiar, predictable. And the protagonist gets everything he dreams of so damn easily.
Grade: B
Cold in July
Sensational pulpy thriller that defies expectations at every moment. Every time you think you know where it's heading, it takes another cray cray detour. Luxuriates in its '80s setting. Terrific lead performance from Michael C. Hall, who will make you forget he was David Fisher and Dexter Morgan. Don Johnson is a delight. Such a stupendously entertaining film.
Grade: B+
Dom Hemingway
Best performance of Jude Law's career. Tricky tone succeeds at making a despicable character sympathetic. Some supporting characters neither developed nor acted sufficiently. Amusing overall.
Grade: B-
The Double
Unexpectedly creepy and surreal. Terrific mood-building production design, cinematography, and music. Great performance(s) by Jesse Eisenberg. Intriguing premise and aesthetic, though the pieces never quite come together. Ultimately unconvincing, though worth a look if you like 'em weird.
Grade: C+
Fading Gigolo
I wasn't expecting anything from this one, but it was sweet and surprisingly emotional. Written and directed by John Turturro and starring him and Woody Allen as an unlikely pimp/prostitute duo, it takes an unexpected detour as it becomes an exploration of female agency and desire in the New York Hasidic community.
Grade: B
Filth
Another day, another superb lead performance in a British film that barely got released in North America. This time, it's James McAvoy giving the best performance of his career in this Irvine Welsh adaptation, where he plays a crooked, mentally ill cop who will do absolutely anything (laws and morals be damned) to land a promotion. See it.
Grade: B+
Locke
This is a film where Tom Hardy, the only actor ever seen on screen, spends the entire running time driving his car and making various phone calls. Despite the inherent claustrophobia of this premise, the film is really good at building tension and establishing how much is at stake. Hardy gives a superb performance (one of the best of the year) as a man trying to hold it together on the highway as both his personal and professional lives come crashing down.
Grade: B+
Night Moves
The latest from brilliant American auteur Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff, Wendy and Lucy). Not sure this one is as good, though to be honest I'm not that confident that I know how I feel yet. Good performances and interesting premise, but are characters developed enough to have believable motivations? Reichardt's relaxed, contemplative vision (and DP Christopher Blauvelt's camera) always finds beauty, depth, and emotion in stillness. Eager to view it again. Take this grade with a grain of salt.
Grade: B
Nymphomaniac
Von Trier's latest is very entertaining, often surprisingly funny, and not as shocking as one would expect.
Grade: B+
Oculus
Terrific horror film with some of the year's very best editing. Good acting, unsettling score.
Grade: B+
Only Lovers Left Alive
After a very slow first 40 minutes or so, this stylish portrait of vampire ennui relaxes into its rhythms as the central undead lovers Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston contemplate immortality and eternity. Apart from an energetic and exciting sequence involving Mia Wasikowska as Swinton's reckless younger sister, this film's pleasures are quiet and gentle. Exquisite production design.
Grade: B+
Under the Skin
So much to process. So many indelible images. So very strange. This is another must-see, my friends.
Grade: A
