Reviews

Manchester by the Sea is a slice-of-life, straight drama set in Boston's suburban North Shore area. It is a tragedy as much about a place as the people living in it. Filmed on location, the nautical backdrop provides a realistic glimpse into the way of life in those parts, i.e. a fishing village culture. It's Good Will Hunting meets Young Adult.

Casey Affleck (Good Will Hunting, Gone Baby Gone) plays with type as the hotheaded janitor with a dark past. There are cameos from Matthew Broderick, Michelle Williams, Tate Donovan, and Gretchen Moll. Newcomer Lucas Hedges steals the show as the grieving ginger nephew forced onto Affleck's hands pursuant to the will of his deceased brother. Therein lies the plot, albeit deconstructionist.

The biggest drawback for me was the nonlinear storytelling. To be sure, Manchester is a slow burn. It has its moments of poignancy and dramatic irony. Like any good Boston picture, there are plenty of dropped Rs and local references. One mistake that got past the cutting room was the line "You're a janitor in Quincy." Quincy is a separate city from Boston, where the protagonist was supposed to be doing his janitorial penance. He is depressed.

Regret, loss, substance abuse, heartbreak, life going on, coming of age (getting laid), the awkwardness of forced small talk, replacement, boating, and family are the central themes. Some of the characters were needlessly introduced without developing their story arcs or serving as plot points. Fair warning, there is a lot of profanity. Manchester is about going back to your hometown, in this case, the titular town being a metaphor for facing the past. The future remained uncertain, leading up to the culmination, of what to do with the living situation and legal guardianship arrangements. The tone was wry. Like life, the story is messy. I think that was the point.

Beyond Darkness is a b horror picture about a haunted house. It's Poltergeist meets The Exorcist.

A reverend and his unsuspecting family move into a house with mysterious supernatural symptoms. Even more mysterious was why a married Protestant minister was a part of the Catholic Church, but these are details, just a minor technicality! The creepy ambient music was doled out with a heavy hand and it worked. The special effects were on point, and the tone was camp-free.

The acting was what you would want to see in this type of story. The hag and the Catholic exorcist killed it. The minister and his wife, not so much. The writing didn't make a whole lot of sense. It could have used more development, such as the backstory about the property being built on the sight of a mass witch lynching. The opening scene more than made up for the gaps in the narrative logic. Beyond Darkness is nobody's classic, but it delivers.

Central Intelligence is a studio feature film in the bromance/buddy comedy genre. It's The D Train meets The In-laws.

Kevin Hart (American History X, Kevin Hart) plays the straight man opposite Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (Scorpion King, Expendables), reprising his gentle giant role from Pain and Gain. Like much of the jokes, Central Intelligence falls flat--not that there are many to go around.

It's basically one joke repeated ad nauseam, a la Saturday Night Live. The Rock asks Kevin Hart "Are you in?" (a mad-cap adventure) to which Kevin Hart replies, "No, I am definitely not in." In a twist that outdid itself in stupidity, The Rock somehow becomes Kevin Hart and his clueless wife's marriage counselor.

Central Intelligence was very 2016 in that it dealt with the "body shaming." The Rock was bullied as a youth, yet inexplicably he is still stuck in high school nostalgically and can't wait to hit the reunion. The Rock's lines were delivered with the enthusiasm of Ferris Beuhler's teacher, with McLovin style. He was better in true crime story Snitch. Kevin Hart is better doing stand-up.

This is a good example of what the industry is buying in the comedy genre. Central Intelligence has themes of regaining lost youth with "inappropriate" behavior and finding redemption.

Central Intelligence can't hold a candle to the ultimate bullying movie: Carrie.

The Infiltrator is a feature film in the crime genre. It's the true story of US Customs Agent Robert Mazur, an uc who helped bring down notorious Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, with an elaborate sting. It's Donnie Brasco meets Miami Vice.

Nothing ruins a film more than bad casting. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Trumbo) plays Mazur, a Jew playing Italians. He was good in Breaking Brad, but this is "Tim Watley" we're talking about. Cranston is one of the most WASPy actors out there. John Leguizamo (Chef, Carlito's Way) would have been a much better choice, but he's relegated to the role of the crazy sidekick. He shines in it. Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone, Central Intelligence) makes a cameo as the tough-talking Commanding Officer. She's a great actress, but it was a bit part.

The plot was predictable and derivative. Deep cover, Mazur assumes an identity and lives it, all the while growing attached to his his new "friends" he is using to make the case. It's warmed over leftovers. Nor did I buy Cranston as a criminal. He worked as Walter White, because the character was supposed to be stiff and nerdy. Bryan Cranston comes off that way in everything he does.

Pablo Escobar is a name in criminology. They seemed to use that more as an attention grabber, as he is not really a character in the story. Diane Kruger plays Mazur's fake fiancé, but she looks like an actress. Her character talks out of turn and lays it on too thick, thereby calling attention to herself and almost blowing their covers. Yet, Mazur takes this surprisingly well for a man with his life on the line.

Customs comes off as heroic, bankers evil, natch. There was cliché odd couple cop-buddy pairing ("by the book" versus "loose cannon"). The "where are they now" segment indicated a lasting friendship between the partners, but they never really bond in the picture. You also wonder why with all of their resources, risk, and paranoia the drug dealers don't bother with background checks. I also didn't get why if you're doing some illegal business, you have to meet the top guy--unless you're an infiltrator. The juxtaposition during the climax scene was very Godfather ripoff and it's been done to death. The Infiltrator flopped like Escobar on Entourage. There was nothing original here.

American Sniper is a biopic based on the life and times of U.S. war hero Chris Kyle. It's Hurt Locker meets Silver Linings Playbook. Sniper was character-based with a lack of development.

Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, American Hustle) is Chris Kyle, a gifted marksman and good ol' boy from Texas. Inspired by love of country and war and hate terrorists, he does four tours in the Gulf War and racks up kills. Cooper is charismatic, but his character is one dimensional, like a human version of a loyal hunting dog. They even make him look stupid.

Sienna Miller (Foxcatcher, Factory Girl) is his nagging wife. She was annoying. You married a combat soldier! Don't break his chops for leaving you to go fight. That's what he does. In any case, Kyle doesn't come off as "husband of the year." That's the problem. It was yet another learning-to-be-a-better-father redemption arc.

First, Liar Liar taught us the importance of being a better father (hint: spend time with your kids and use the term "buddy."). Then Left Behind took it in dogmatic directions. Grownups 2 touched our hearts with a lesson in fatherhood, followed by Chef, Term Life, etc.

I recently caught up with the woman behind the learning-to-be-a-better-father movement, screenwriter Ashley Atkins. She said she could not explain the rising popularity of the theme/meme, but I couldn't help noticing a tattoo reading "Daddy's girl" on her lower back. When asked about her own father, she started crying.

The dramatic tension should have been from a mission, or sniper's adjustment to civilian life while coping with combat-related ptsd, how it was billed. Inmthree hours, they glossed over these elements and the conflict had to do with his strained marriage.

On another note, I didn't get why people were calling Jesse Ventura unpatriotic for suing Chris Kyle in real life. Just because the guy is a war hero, Ventura is supposed to let people think he beat him up?

The aforementioned notwithstanding, if you want a lesson in true patriotism, check out American Sniper. I read a review on here where the poster accused Chris Kyle of having no regard for the lives of innocent women and children. What we he supposed to do when they pointed a rocket launcher at American troops, throw them a birthday party?

On an even other note, what is with the constant "pulling your loved one into the shower or a pool with their clothes on" trope in romantic montages? Thanks a lot, Illuminati! Now us regular guys are going to be expected to bust that move in real life. Maybe some of us would rather bathe in peace, without soaking wet clothes.

Sniper is definitely a message movie. Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry; The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) directed and you can see his footprint on it. The storebought conservatism was a little too pat for me. Warning: this picture contains gratuitous use of the word "savage."

All in all, Chris Kyle was a bona fide war hero, but American Sniper was a one-trick pony.

Part heist picture, part mystery, Triple 9 delivers disappointment. The real mystery was what the hell was going on. There were too many characters and those characters were underdeveloped and unnecessary, with unresolved, interlocking backstories. An ensemble cast was wasted on this turkey.

It's Crash meets Heat. It's Antoine Fuqua meets a Nicholas Cage feature. In creating a world with rules of its own, Triple 9 fails. It wasn't realistic. The story is set in Atlanta, Georgia, standing in as a random big city. The only thing Southern about it was the accents of some of the characters. Other characters have no trace of an accent.

The antagonists were supposed to be Jewish, but were called "Russian" in an apparent effort to dance around the implications of the characterization. The Russian accents were drawled out with sinister impression, rather than naturally expressing thoughts. I got shades of the racist stock "Oriental" character from Hollywood's yesteryear.

The ATL isn't exactly a Russian Jew capital. The generation of Russian Jews who came over in the '80s and '90s were Sovietized away from religion. They wouldn't be dressed like religious Jews, with yarmulkes and black suits, like the goons in Triple 9. Mexican gang members wouldn't dressed like Pancho Villa.

Kate Winslet (Titanic, The Reader) is the gang leader bound to the protagonist by the child of a mixed marriage. In real life, a girl brought a date from another race to a Russian-speaking club in South Brooklyn and they beat the hell out of him.

Race relations were a theme, though for some reason the cliché interracial cop buddy trope had the white partner with a Hitler haircut. Why? Major plot points were changed on a dime without explanation or apparent purpose. The protagonist first comes off as a cop. Then it is revealed that he is a civilian working with dirty cops. It doesn't tell you what his job is or how he came to be partners with them.

The premise was flawed. The characters are forced into crime and the pockets of the FSU femme fatales by way of extortion. If someone is going to whore out their badge, that means they're dishonest. Why would a dishonest public official just not simply take a bribe? They would. It would make more sense than an elaborate blackmail scheme. The Russian crime wave seems to be more evident in popular entertainment rather than in news reports. They laid a real egg with this one and it's not golden. Or an egg.

Imperium is an independent feature film in the thriller genre. It's Donnie Brasco meets The Black Legion. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, Swiss Army Man) stars as a nerdy undercover cop for the FBI. Toni Collette plays opposite as the mannish Sandra Bullock type lady cop, or agent, if you will. She kills in the role. His mission is to get to the bottom of a biological terrorist plot by infiltrating the underground world of white supremacist extremist groups. It was billed as being based on real events.

From a slow burn, Imperium succeeds in building dramatic tension underscored with ambient music. They tried fast scrolls of expository stills and broke the flow, giving it an internet look. Let the story tell the story.

The title refers the upper echelon of the Roman legion and also a propaganda book exchanged between characters to incite race war. According to one of the conspiratorial conspiracy theorists depicted, the bible was a Jewish plot to overthrow the Roman Empire. After all, why else would Jews invent the printing press? I never knew Guttenberg was a Jew. Well, his name does end in "berg." I'm not so sure about the historical accuracy of that fact, but Daniel Radcliffe is half-Jewish. It's just another ironic twist in this look at the warped psychology of domestic terrorists on the American Far Right.

The neo-Nazis have one guilty pleasure: liking Jewish creations because they can't help it! They don't live in a cave and come on, Jews listen to Wagner. However, it seems less likely that one like that would lament the "loss of rights" for American blacks and Arabs, which he identifies with, in one scene.

The characters are preoccupied with events from the 1990s, most of all Timothy McVeigh's attack on a federal building in Oklahoma City. The casting was mostly good. Radcliffe plays scared throughout this tense, inverted conspiracy thriller. I thought the redemption and character growth were cliché: a young skinhead somehow learns the error of his ways and Radcliffe's intellectual gains physical confidence.

Radcliffe's protagonist struggles with the frustration of how to change the mindset of someone who follows Napoleon and Adolph Hitler. I would try reasoning with them. The ideology isn't exactly based on a foundation of rock solid pillars. Radcliffe's protagonist doesn't even rebut it. He has a cover to maintain, but it bothers him inside because he grows to like the terrorists and connect with them mentally. He could relate to them as social misfits longing to lash out at the cruel world around them, society. It's nerd rage.

A tone is set in the first act about looking for something in the place where you least expect it. Yet the long arm of the law misses what is right in front of them the whole time by neglecting the obvious. Another theme was the power of words. When it comes to literary quotes, less is more. The memorable lines should be original and quotable from a film's dialogue. If there is some pithy philosophical, symbolic, or ironic point to make, it should be summed up in one borrowed quote to leave the audience with.

Imperium is not on equal footing with classics such as The Boys From Brazil and Marathon Man, but it's a solid thriller and an interesting exploration of the subject matter.

Style over substance is what you will get with Neon Demon. It's Black Swan meets Bladerunner. Nicolas Winding Refn, now "NWR," cultivates (savors?) his art deco sense of cinematography in his latest. Neon Demon follows the story of an anorexic ingenue with the "it" factor, set in the glitzy world of glamor. It's a classic innocence lost tale. The dialogue is mysteriously terse a la David Lynch. The plot bares a suspicious resemblance to a certain ballerina picture. It stars nobody.

I will say this for Neon Demon. It's visually stunning. You may find this interesting if you're a model, but if you find it relatable or realistic, seek help.

The Wave is a German foreign language film in the drama genre. It's Lord of the Flies meets The Stanford Prison Project. If you like foreign films for the nonformulaic content, this one is for you. The Wave is a must see for anyone interested in social studies, leadership, teaching, Nazism, or group psychology. It's a didactic cautionary tale.

The plot follows Rainer Wenger, the "cool teacher" at a modern German high school. Contrary to his rock 'n' roll, anarchist beliefs, he is assigned to teach a class on autocracy. The teacher uses the project to turn the classroom into a social experiment. Along with the natural momentum of the crowd, "Herr Wenger" forms and leads a "movement," by organizing the students into a single unit with militant discipline. What follows is a transformation of the students as they galvanize around the group mentality, sense of purpose, unity, belonging, structure, and mob mentality. They radically shift their personalities and become inspired. It's a study in groupthink versus individualism.

In all fairness, it's not a suspense film. The Wave features a large cast of well-developed characters. The acting was on point and you could see the fruits of the direction. Once again Europe proves that you don't need a fortune to produce quality entertainment.

As an aside, Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding, a Jew, as a commentary on the potential for the average person to get swept up in Nazism. As with Jewish social scientists Maslow and Milgram, they wanted to demonstrate that the Nazi menace could happen anywhere and was not exclusive to Germany because of a cultural predisposition to authoritarianism. Golding was also British and he wanted to challenge the notion of English cultural superiority.

Ironically, the Nazis at first lambasted psychology as the "Jewish medicine." Indeed, Freud and his disciples were Jewish, reflecting an historical interest in the subject dating back to Joseph, the biblical Israelite patriarch and dream interpreter. The psychoanalytic school had a token, "Aryan" Carl Gustav Jung.

Jung started out as a student and close friend of Freud. They broke over philosophical and personal differences. Jung, with his theory of the "Collective Unconscious," specialized in organizational psychology. When the Nazis took over, most of the top psychologists fled Germany because they were either Jews or friends with Jews. They saw the writing on the wall and were too intelligent to go along with the program. Ever the devoted German, Jung remained, with fateful consequences.

Hitler and Goebbles did an aboutface and realized the validity of psychology. Jung was recruited into the Nazi Party and became their top psychologist. He worked hand-in-hand with Propaganda Minister Goebbles in the Ministry of Information. The "Collective Unconscious" quickly became the "Racial Unconscious." Jung had a direct and responsible hand in designing Nazi rallies, for maximum impact. For example, there were torches used as decoration, the thinking being that it would inspire the rank-and-file by hearkening back to pagan roots--unconsciously.

Some people believe Jung's betrayal of humanity was motivated by a personal betrayal of Freud. He fell victim to his own programming. In one scene, Herr Wenger is seen wearing a T-shirt with the name Marie Curie depicted. Curie was the French scientist who discovered radium and later died from its poisoning. Wenger's character arc follows a similar path, not unlike the classic German fairytale of Frankenstein's Monster.

In the '80s, the Americans made a similar film to this one, but it drew the characters in stark contrast rather than shades of grey.

The Wave had many subtleties and complexities to it. The psychological phenomenon of the "lone gunman" is broached. There is criticism of the Left, as well as the Right. In one scene, the hippie character urges a school newspaper editor to manufacture news to the detriment of The Wave, because "the end justifies the means," echoing voices on the American Far Left. The Nazis were big believers in the ends justifying the means. As long as people hold fast to the notion, they can become capable of anything. The Wave illustrates this point beautifully. It's meaningful edutainment.

Steve Jobs is an Aaron Sorkin biopic. It stars Michael Fassbender in the titular role, playing kate opposite Kate Winslet as the long-suffering Russian Jew girl Friday. Seth Rogan costars as Steve Wosniak.

Aaron Sorkin (Social Network, Grey's Anatomy), the writer's writer, tells the nerd hero's life story through scenes coinciding with Apple product unveilings. It was deconstructionist. Fassbender plays Jobs unsympathetically. They pretty much tore the guy down.

Sorkin, never one to be accused of subtlety, portrays the supposed modern day Edison as a bad boss and a lousy father. It's like, "We get it already!" Mr. Sorkin beats you over the head with the message. The worst part about it was the cliché "becoming a better father" subplot. By all accounts, the real Steve Jobs was described by those closest to him, such as Steve Wosniak, as being a selfish jerk. Still, the guy is not around to defend himself.

It was a lot of talking with extended scenes. Those scenes were redundant. If you liked Social Network, you will probably like Steve Jobs the movie.

Crapola. Drek. If someone tells you to see this flick, check their shoes for dope. Someone told me this was good and I'll never forgive them. Hardcore Henry probably caused the Death of Roger Ebert, from extreme nausea. This picture was so bad, it almost makes you wonder if they set out to deliberately produce a flop, as some kind of Russian insurance scam? If so, than they succeeded at failing, because this piece of celluloid calling itself a feature film hardcore sucked.

It's the story of Henry--half man, half machine. His character is a mystery, (because it's unwritten, and because he doesn't talk), as is his mission, i.e. the plot, something vague about saving a girl. It's basically a live action version of a shoot 'em up video game. The gimmick is POV, right down to seeing the character's arms. Okay, they tried to do something experimental and there was nothing else to it, unless gratuitous, random action scenes are your cup of tea. It's not mine.

It's Robocop meets Total Recall. This is the latest in the amnesia subgenre (think Memento, Paycheck, Hangovers I-III), wherein the hero has to piece together his shattered memory in order to figure out what's going on. Usually those pictures have an intricate plot. Hardcore Henry was a little light on the details, such as making any sense.

To make matters worse, the storytelling incorporates magic realism sporadically, without defining the rules. They never locked down a premise to establish ground rules for the audience to follow along.

Henry is chased through the streets of Moscow by an army of mercenaries led by a cartoonish villain who looks like Kurt Cobain's evil twin. He's out to get Hardcore, yet every time he corners him, he takes his sweet time postulating, thereby allowing Henry time to escape, a la James Bond. Henry is supposed to be in love with a woman he can't remember, who is supposed to be "beautiful," and the audience is supposed to glean this, even though Henry doesn't talk. He leaves her behind in scene after scene, only to set up the next action sequence to near rescue her.

Tim Roth, hide your face in shame! Hardcore Henry was a monstrosity. Had I seen this in the theater, I would have asked for my money back.

Tom Hanks. Dreamworks Entertainment. Need I say more? This picture was corny.

Bridge of Spies follows the true story of a Cold War era insurance lawyer called upon by his country to first defend and then later negotiate the exchange of Soviet spy Rudolph Abel, who looks and sounds weirdly like Sean Connery. Hanks (Mr. Mom, Sully) reprises his reluctant hero role from the Dan Brown series as Jim Donovan, an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances. It had that True Lies if-they-only-knew element to it.

The KGB character was played sympathetically, replete with his own catch phrase (was that really necessary?). The closest thing this film has to an antagonist is Donovan's CIA handler. He's "mean," because he doesn't abuse the trust placed in him the way Donovan does, changing mission prerogatives on a personal whim because believes he knows better. The object is an American student being held for sedition by the East Germans. Hanks wants to take him back. The Americans don't value him. So, Hanks hijacks his own hostage swap to make the kid part of the deal. Patriotism is one of the themes, along with loyalty and reputation.

This film could have used more spycraft and intrigue. They could have done a lot more with the story. Suspense and courtroom drama were missing. The plot focuses on the character's personal life, without fleshing it out. Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone, Birdman) shines as the wife, but it's a bit part. Donovan's family bares the brunt of public scorn for his defense of an infamous foreign operative. Donovan seems to be stating nonverbally that they'll get over it, it's for the greater good, without bothering to even say as much, against the backdrop of 20th Century nuclear fear. He's sacrificing in strong silence. Or whatever.

Bridge of Spies wants to be a "message movie" but the didactic is fuzzy, at best. In defense of Abel, Hanks cites the US Constitution. This raises the question as to how the Constitution applies to the case at hand? I must have missed the part dealing with the rights of foreign nationals to spy on America. Donovan avoids the question by simply circulating back to the Constitution itself. It is because it is. Logic is not met with logic. Donovan is not a fighter for critical thinking.

Someone recently called Matt Damon the "Jimmy Stewart of the generation." I would nominate Tom Hanks for that dubious honor. Methinks Mr. Spielberg should get with the times. The classic formula is less relevant in today's marketplace of media and devoid of creativity. It's cheese with a side of schmaltz.

Inherent Vice is the auteur, Paul Thomas Anderson's film adaptation of the eponymous novel by Thomas Pynchon. It is a psychedelic, neo-noir, stoner mystery, with absurdist humor. This picture contains a star-studded cast.

The talented Joaquin Phoenix stars as Larry "Doc" Sportello, a hapless hippie private detective on a mission to locate the lost love of his life: Shasta Fay Hepworth. Phoenix gives authenticity to the world he comes from, having grown up in Hollywood. Josh Brolin finally hams it up, playing with type as cop Christian "Bigfoot" Bjornsen--a hippie's worst nightmare. The humorous dynamic between the two characters symbolizes the clash between the Nixon administration and the radical youth, playing out as a backdrop to the storytelling.

The novel was about a place, Pynchon's "Gordita Beach," supposedly based on real life Redondo Beach. The film is about a time, sending up the '60s the way Anderson satirized the '80s in Boogie Nights.

Along the way, the detective encounters harebrained conspiracies and a cast of oddball characters. Owen Wilson is the natural choice for the surf rocker government mole character. The timeless Reese Withersppon is well cast as the Deputy District Attorney. I swear, somewhere there is a portrait of the woman aging horribly! Benecio Del Torro puts on a good performance as the dorky lawyer/sidekick.

The book had a lot of characters and they tried to cram them into the feature. The result is a two and a half hour deconstructionist dreamscape with loose ends. It could have used some editing. The book had quirks which were included for their own sake, while losing sight of the plot. Key plot points were distilled into minimal exposition. It drags at times.

There was a rare female narrator. Lavish cinematography, extended classic rock scores, and blending of scenes creates an almost ethereal effect. I found it entertaining. I recommend seeing Inherent Vice. Coen brothers fans will like this one.

A Place Beyond the Pines is a crime drama with an unconventional timeline. It deals with the generational impact of crime. When a dirtbag dirtbike rider turned bankrobber has a run in with an ambitious hotshot cop, worlds collide. The story follows the situational fallout as their sons make friends at school and get into trouble together. It all goes down in Schenectady, New York, Mohawk for "The Place Beyond the Pines." It's an intriguing title and an intriguing concept.

This picture boasts an all-star cast of Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Drive) as the rebellious carny, real-life wife Eva Mendez (Training Day, Hitch) as the Hudson Valley heartbreaker, and Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook) as the political crime fighter, with Australian character actor Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight Rises, Animal Kingdom) as the grease monkey accomplice.

The cinematography was breathtaking, especially the scenes of the capital region. This picture was experimental in several ways. From the opening scene at a traveling show, we see the protagonist wheel around an enclosed dome, trick riding, and the momentum continues. As in Gosling's critically acclaimed Drive, there are prolonged car chase scenes with minimal cuts in the film. The visual effect blends events together and keeps the adrenalin pumping. Movement was a theme in the story. Events propel the story forward as they beget circumstances, much like the physical force going forward on screen. For every action there is a chain reaction, with consequences.

The choppiness of the plot was unique and accentuated by the blending of scenes. Several years span within the story, in keeping with the generational theme. This picture was well- written, with developed characters. When I saw the main character in a Ride the Lightning T- shirt in the opening scene, I was in, and along for the ride. Like the classic album by Metallica, the storytelling in The Place Beyond the Pines does not disappoint.

The actors gave good performances. Gosling was charismatic, Mendez smoldering, Cooper was suave and layered, and the kids were great.

It was a cool concept, flawless execution. The only thing I didn't like about it was the same old "learning to be a better father" subplot that for some reason has to be in every other major release these days (?!). Enough already with the daddy issues. I was surprised this one didn't do better at the box office, perhaps because it was more of a straight drama, as opposed to a genre picture. The drama is more about the characters' personal lives than a heist movie. Eva Mendez cuts a statuesque figure. The bankrobber's lust for her pushes him over the edge.

In a World . . . is the directorial debut of the star Lake Bell (How to Make it in America, Million Dollar Arm). Bell plays an aspiring voice-over artist competing against her own father played by Fred Melamed (A Serious Man, New Girl), to get the role of trailer announcer ("In a world . . . gone mad . . . ONE MAN, and so on). Ken Marino (The State, Wanderlust) is the alpha male narrator-for-hire. He can't act but he's a funny guy. Fred Melamed fills the scenes like his body fills a suit.

It's a film about feminism, family, and "the industry." It shows you a rarely seen world. The world of voice-over artistry is not all that exciting, but it has Nick Offerman (Parks and Rec, The Men Who Stare at Goats) and it's funny. In a World . . . definitely had it's moments.

Where it lost me was the hackneyed romantic subplot. This production was brought to you by the Silverlake clique, so it had hipster comic Demetri Martin as the dorky-sweetie love interest. I hate the way so many modern romcoms tell guys that pathetic nerds are "good guys" who get the girl. Is it so bad to be cool? I digress . . .

This picture made Sundance official selection. If you like independent film for the freshness and originality, or if you're a woman trying to make it in a man's world, if you can't get enough of Lake Bell, or if you dad is a niche Hollywood legend with a stereotypical shiksa goddess groupie, this is your film.

Wall Street is a true crime story in the drama genre. If you liked Wolf of Wall Street, you will love Wall Street! This is director Oliver Stone (Born on the Fourth of July, Colors) at his best. It stars Michael Douglas (The Game, A Perfect Murder) at his best also in the role that inspired a generation of clones, the Machiavellian villain Gordon Gecko.

Gecko is a Wall Street stock trader and a corporate raider. His personality has the bombastic swagger of Trump with the business ethics of Bernie Madoff. Budd Foxx is his protégé, played by Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men, Men at Work). A hostile takeover pits Fox against his father, the head of the union. The part of Fox's father is played by Sheen's real- life father Martin Sheen (The Departed, The Dead Zone). The love interest is played by actress Darryl Hannah (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Splash). She was big in the '80s, but I never got her look.

Wall Street is a morality play. The dialogue crackles with memorable, quotable lines. This picture was influential. It set fashion trends well into the '90s and to this day. Wall Street came to be associated with the greed of '80s culture.

The real-life "Gordon Gecko" was none other than Ivan Boesky. This guy was like the Bernie Madoff of the 1980s. Boesky was into insider trading, what they popped Martha Stewart for. "Budd Fox" was Michael Miliken, " The Junk Bond King." A "junk bond" is like swamp land in Florida. These guys were some pretty big scam artists.

Bottomline, Wall Street is one of the greatest films of all time. Prepare to be blown away.

Take a drink of Barfly, for a heady cocktail of the low life. Take a walk through the gutter and soak up the smells. Welcome to the world of Henry Chinaski, the alter ego of social realist writer Charles Bukowski. If you're a Bukowski fan, this is the ultimate picture for you!

Barfly is a love story in the light drama genre. It follows the trials and tribulations of a true drunken barfly, as he floats from place to place in the streets of East Hollywood. Chinaski is played by Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler, Angel Heart). Back in the '80s, Mickey Rourke was like a poor man's Bogart and he shines as the alcoholic writer. He's a flop and a loser starving artist type but despite all this, he has two women in his life. One is a high class publisher, the other is a depressed lush. They represent the two sides of Chinaski and his two lives. He would define himself by his habits: drinking and writing, but the world would remember him for his voice.

The story behind the story is told in the pages of Hollywood, Bukowski's recounting of the making of Barfly. Legend has it director Barbet Shroeder (Single White Female, Murder by Numbers) threatened to cut off his own finger to make this picture. It was hard to get funding for what was considered to be an art house picture. One of the producers was Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now). Barfly tells a small story. The plot is thin but it is more of a character study.

Barfly has style. It's based on the eponymous book by Bukowski. If you can't get enough of Chinaski, he's back in Factotum, as well as many of the novels of Charles Bukowski--the real life Barfly.

Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Alpha Dog) gives a final performance as a hunted man in this tense, low budget thriller. A punk band books a gig at a white supremacist compound in rural Oregon. Pressure mounts after they inadvertently become witnesses to a murder and lock themselves in a room as they plan an escape. This picture made official selection at Sundance.

It's Beaufort meets American History X. Imogen Poots (V for Vendetta, Filth) co-stars as a "good" Nazi on the wrong (or right) side of the door, with Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Search Party) as a hardcore musician in danger. They piece de resistance was Patrick Stewart (Star Trek, X-Men) as the leader of the neo-Nazi skinheads. That's good casting. Patrick Stewart has an unmistakable voice and a super-Anglo-Saxon way and he's great in everything he's in.

With tragic irony, the late actor was running from death. In real life, Yelchin was Russian Jew, hence the "Anton," which is less of a common name in the United States. It must have been super intense for him to act out being hunted by Nazis during production.

The plot definitely has its holes. The main one is the fact that the skins, who have the kids outnumbered and surrounded, opt to fall back and send in a few wannabe stormtroppers and dogs. There were half-baked subplots that didn't go anywhere. This film could have used a few rewrites. It's a twist on the panic room subgenre.

Places like this exist in real life, especially in the pacific northwest and the north. The best line was "I want him to die with the taste of meat in his teeth," or something like that, of an attack dog. In the ultimate punk rock move, the band opens with "Nazi Punks F--k Off!" by the Dead Kennedys in a room full of skinheads. Goons.

If your'e in the mood for an original indie romcom that's funny, I highly recommend New Low. Written and directed by Adam Bowers, who also stars as a lovelorn slacker, this no-budget, off-beat love story made official selection at Sundance. It was shot on location in Gainesville, a college town in northern Florida. It co-stars "youtube celebrity" Tobias and the ever lovely Jayme Ratzer. She's hot (holla!).

It's a string of one-liners woven around a plot. The plot is pretty creative. An underachiever has to choose between two women. One is a do-gooder who represents his potential to be a better person. The other one is a dumpster diver who represents who he thinks he really is. He has to decide who to be with and he has low self esteem.

New Low is romantic comedy for people who don't usually like romantic comedies, in other words, guys. Adam Bowers is distinguishing himself as a kind of WASPy Jerry Seinfeld. Tobuscus plays his wacky best friend. Every romantic comedy has to have one. The writing is fresh and the jokes fly fast, a la 30 Rock. People don't say hilarious things so frequently in real life and not stop to laugh at them, but it's a movie, go with it.

As Seinfeldian as this picture is, another reference comes to mind. I got shades of Kevin Smith. It's ironic, it's sweet, and most of all, it's funny. I look forward to catching Paperback, Bowers' latest. It was paid for at least in part with a Kickstarter campaign. The industry should be investing in Adam Bowers. Why they're not is still a mystery to me. So, if you happen to be in charge of development at a major studio, please check this guy out.

Disclaimer: These views are of mine alone and I have no connection to the picture.

Fat encapsulates what is unique about Boston, or at least Alston, a cool indie scene of its own. This is apart from the slew of Boston pictures out there depicting the big city of the New England states as a kind of New York outer borough with Kennedy accents.

Leading man Melvin Rodriguez is a fixture in the Boston music world, you may remember from The Pixies music video for Greens and Blues, or Marco, Jimmy's hometown partner-in-con on Better Call Saul. He's also a stand-up comic and possibly the fattest hipster ever to walk the earth. WARNING: This film contains graphic depictions of obese male nudity.

If that's your thing, stay for the jokes. The plot follows the misadventures of an obese man who self-medicates with food until his overeating threatens his tenuous health. This light-hearted comedy never takes itself too seriously. It features character development and independent Boston alt rock. It's a novel and original story, woven around the performance of Mr. Rodriguez. Sometimes it's better to cast comics than pure d actors because they look like real people and bring charisma. I liked it.

This one is not for the feint of heart. Eat is a warped mutilation fantasy. What kind of twisted, depraved freak came up with the story of a self-inflicting cannibal?! Hopefully, thankfully, they are probably on some kind of watch list, I'm sure. Eat is the story of Novella McClure, a blonde bombshell with a rocking body. You may know her from such eating disorders as cannibalizing her own flesh. She's not a zombie, she's just a little confused. Your friendly neighborhood therapist Dr. Simon is there for her. He sees something in her. Did I mention she looks like Marilyn Monroe?

The opening scene is the same old "person waking up in the morning" bit, only Novella brings something new to the table: herself. Did I mention she's easy on the eyes? The story has character development and a dramatic plot. The main character is a struggling actress. She's got problems. Her bestie is violent, she's broke, she's being evicted, she's on suicide watch, and she's dating her therapist. When the pressures of life just get a little too bad to bare, Novella feasts on her own body parts. I could actually see this happening. It's not that different from cutting, which is a serious problem affecting young girls.

Eat definitely had its moments. It's Hannibal Lechter meets Rigoletto. You'll love it, unless, of course, you're a vegetarian.

Welcome to Charlestown, Boston (Ben Affleck's "Town" from the eponymous feature film), a place where the local "custom" of auto theft, robbery, and armored car heists are passed down from father to son and the locals don't talk to cops. Your average, which is to say normal American town has losing your virginity as a rite of passage. In Charlestown, you must commit auto theft before graduation. Allegedly. Nice place, huh?

Oxy-Morons is an indie crime drama starring David from Real World Seattle and the writer who lived it. The guy is a crook! That's what makes it realistic. It's a classic (typical?) redemption story, albeit there may have been some recidivism in real life.

This film tackles the issue from a social realist perspective, and touches on racism. The plot follows the crimes and punishment of an OxyContin addict, tracing the origins of the pill epidemic in Mass from the time it hit the market. This film is better than Reservoir For a Dream or Rush. There are lots of characters. The mother is a superb character actress also seen in Grownups 2.

The accents are real, the story is based on true events, and the settings are on location. They filmed some scenes in an abandoned prison.

What I liked about this film is the high level of realism, as compared with the vast majority of crime dramas. The anti-hero protagonist is an addict. This is what drives him to commit crimes, as in real life, rather than a swaggering outlaw or bigshot gangster like the rest of the crime pictures. Crime, like the addiction which begets it, is a bad habit, a compulsion. It's a way to make a quick buck for those at the end of their ropes. Oxy-Morons doesn't sugarcoat it. It's an epic tale.

Uncaged is the story of a college boy, forced to lock himself in a cage to protect the world from the beast within. The story follows three friends as they plunge into one wild weekend in the country. It has the classic supernatural metamorphosis element. The protagonist figures out how to use his dark power for good: to rescue a battered wife. The cast gave memorable performances as oddballs characters. It has high production value. The special effects are good. The plot moves with funny jokes. The comic book style animation was a nice touch. It's Teen Wolf meets an R. Kelly video. If you like werewolf pictures, you will like Uncaged.