Get Out (2017)

Get Out is a horror films about a black man (Daniel Kaluuya) who travels to the country with his white girlfriend (Allison Williams) to meet her wealthy parents for the first time, and that's about all the setup I feel I can give it. This race relations themed horror movie is creepy in a way I don't think I've ever encountered before, and that mood is what dominated my thinking throughout the viewing experience, I was just creeped out. However only after leaving the theater did I begin to see what a brilliant black comedy it was, along with being an unusually smart horror offering. A fitting directorial debut for funny man Jordan Peele. Worth seeing in the theater  ****

From Russia With Love (1963)

Well I finally got back on track somewhat with my plan to try and see all of the Bond movies by the end of the year. I'm only on number two chronologically but of the half dozen Bond films I've seen so far (3 Brosnan, 1 Craig, and now 2 Connery) I'd defiantly say From Russia With Love is my favorite. I really like these early Bond films, they are not so gadget centric, Bond's a more believable character then he would become, the pace is not in a hurray, and there is a supporting character who dies in this movie that I actually cared about. The teasers a misdirect and the opening music sequence probably the weakest I've seen, but after that I found it very satisfying. SPECTRE seems like a legitimate threat here, but not near godlike as in the most recent Bond movie. Daniela Bianchi may be my favorite Bond girl. I really look forward to seeing more Connery Bond. Loved this. ****

The Better Angels (2014)

Visually beautiful but generally quite boring film about a young Abraham Lincoln, from about ages 8 to 12 or so. Nice deep focus black and white cinematography, lovely wooded setting, one gets a sense of both the simplicity and the monotony that must have defined Lincolns boyhood years, and you can understand why a smarter then average boy would have been so driven to leave that world behind, he really came from nothing. If your curious about seeing it you might just want to view the last half hour or so, there's some good moments there, especially after young Abe finally gets to go to school. Brit Marling and Diane Kruger both good as Abraham's angel mother and step mother respectively. Jason Clarke nicely underplays Lincolns distant father, and Wes Bentley is intriguing as his teacher. This movie struck me as perhaps more suited to run in a continues loop at an art museum then something to sit down and watch on your couch. It wants so badly to be a Terrence Malick film. **

American Pastroral (2016)

I made a point of finally reading the novel that won Philip Roth his Pulitzer before this films release date last fall, ironically it never came to a theater here in the Salt Lake area, which combined with the films generally poor reviews kind of scared me a little, I've been burned by Roth adaptations before. However upon seeing this film I almost wonder if critics saw the same movie I did. I though it was wonderful, a good distillation of the novel if not quite on its level, which of course shouldn't be surprising with any adaptation. I though Ewan McGregor did a fine job of directing his first time out, and this wasn't a vanity exercise on his part either, he had wanted to play the lead role of Seymour "Swede" Levov for some time, but the films directors kept falling through so he took on the extra job primarily so that he could play that part, which he is also quite good in. Strong supporting performances from Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning, David Strathairn is great as Nathan Zuckerman and should really record some Roth audio books. Most of the film was true to the source material and I didn't even mind that they somewhat changed the ending to make it work better on film. I was impressed. ***1/2

My Cousian Vinny (1992)

This movie just turned 25 years old, seemed like a good enough reason to finally scratch it off my 'want to see' list. The first half of the film or so is more amusing then laugh out loud funny, but after Joe Pesci's Vinny Gambini starts arguing in front of the court the movie really gets going and all the build up more then pays off. Marisa Tomei of course won her best supporting actress Oscar for this, and its really what launched her career, hard to believe now that she was third billed behind Ralph Macchio here. Also Fred Gwynne is great as always, here playing the courtly southern judge in what would prove to be his last film role. This movie has a great charm to it and was very capably directed by Englishman Jonathan Lynn, who also created two of my favorite britcoms Yes Minister, and Yes, Prime Minister. Also I'm just kind of partial to early 90's comedies. Loved this, they couldn't have done it better. ****

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)

I actually liked this sequel to the raunchy 2014 comedy Neighbors slightly better then the original (which this movie largely repeats in format),owing in large part to how much I have grown to rather like the lead characters. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are of course good, and Chloë Grace Moretz works better then I thought she would, but Zac Effron's Teddy Sanders is the dominate force here, I really enjoy this character, even enough to be open to a Neighbors 3. ***

Logan (2017)

Intended as actor Hugh Jackman's swan song performance as Wolverine, the character he built his career on, Logan is easily the grittiest, most violent, and yet most reflective 'X-Men' movie yet. Based, apparently quite loosely, on 'the old man Logan' story line from the comic books, Logan is set in the year 2029, with mutants on the brink of extension owing to an as yet unexplained 100% drop off in their birthrates. Logan is living in northern Mexico where he is hiding a ninety-something year old Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who appears to be in the early stages of dementia. Leaving Charles in the care of and albino mutant named Caliban (unusual but effective casting of Stephen Merchant), Logan is working as a limo driver across the boarder in El Paso, hoping to raise enough money to buy a yacht so he and Charles can live safely out at sea.

Wanting above all not to be noticed Logan is annoyed when a desperate Mexican woman and her mysterious 'daughter' come to him for help, followed shortly thereafter by cyborg security personal from a multinational corporation in pursuit of the two. The 'daughter' turns out to be a young (12ish) mutant, and before long, Logan, Charles, and the girl are being persued across country and headed for reported sanctuary at the Canadian boarder. The bulk of the film is an unusual 'on the lamb'/ 'on the road' movie, though thematically its pretty much a western, something its director James Mangold is pretty upfront about, at one point Charles and the girl (new comer Dafne Keen, impressive) are shown watching the 1953 classic Shane.

This movie is quite different from earlier X-Men fair, with the exception of Mangold's pervious film in the franchise The Wolverine (2013), which this movie seems to combine tonally with Mangold's 2007 remake of 3:10 to Yuma. There is a rough, weather-beaten feel to the whole proceeding, from Jackman's slightly aged look, to the near future society in slow decline depicted around the characters. This is to Marvel what the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan Batman films were to DC. A satisfying benediction on Jackman's 17 years of playing Wolverine, a character who is much more interesting for having been played by him. ***1/2

Not for kids.