BradWesley123's Movie Journal- November 2015

Z for Zachariah is so damn slow and low-key that it threats to drift into genuine tedium several times (it like does so full-on to some). Luckily, post-apocalyptic stories are inherently intriguing, and director Zobel shows a great grip on tone as to make nearly every scene eerie. The movie's strongest assets are its cast; each doing strong, subtle work (Ejiofor likely fares the strongest) that sells the films overall story. It might bore the hell out of you, but I'm giving it a marginal recommendation.

How do you fuck this one up? The plot should almost guarantee a certain level of fun, and yet Pixels some how drops the ball. It's a strong premise that get unfortunately Sandler-ized (i.e. made incredibly stupid and juvenile). The script is stupid, the direction shoddy, and the cast doesn't do much of anything; Sandler is, as usual, sleepwalking, though Dinklage is so odd that I'd love to see the character in a better film. The effects are solid, but really can't do much to save this clunker.

While it can be way too broad and cloying, Planes, Trains & Automobiles often works due to the efforts of the films leads. As mentioned, things can be too broad; screwball comedy can work, but PTA often goes for forced chaos rather than organic comedy. It's when the film stops forcing things and lets Candy and Martin do the heavy lifting that the movie really excels. Both create believable, human characters that ground the movie in something real.

Like all of the Moore-era 007 flicks, Moonraker is so damn campy and over-the-top that it's hard not to roll your eyes at least once every scene. Luckily, the film is easily one of the more watchable of Moore's time, and benefits from strong effects. It's not good, but's certainly fun.

While it does fall into one or two too many cliches, I'll See You in My Dreams is a charming dramedy that spotlights some solid insights on romance & going old, and features some superb performance, especially from Blythe Danner.

Uneven yet funny and surprisingly affecting, The Final Girls is a loving deconstruction of classic slasher flicks. The major issues that the film has are its story and tone, which both fluctuate as the movie goes along. Luckily, the film's inventive visuals, smart script, and excellent cast negate, mostly, the film's flaws.

The End of the Tour is a quiet, understated film that values characters over circumstance, leading to a richly observed picture. The script is incredibly intimate, as are the superb performances from Eisenberg and Segal (Segal in particular impresses in his first dramatic role). One of the most underrated of 2015 for sure.

While Unexpected does feature two excellent lead performances and a keen interest in the various factors that go into pregnancy, it's also incredibly dull at times, leading to something of a split-picture. Bean and Smulders are quite good, and they give their characters' relationship a real genuineness that carries most of the movie. It also does well when looking at the pregnancy itself; it's not exaggerated or trite, it's grounded and human. The problem is, it's all so damn small that there's not much to really be interested with. Small films can work, but there has to be something with a little energy to keep viewers in the flick, and Unexpected doesn't really have that.

Occasionally hilariously bad, but mostly dreadfully so, Trespass is yet another ludicrous Nic Cage mortage payment that also features Nicole Kidman. Both are pretty bad here, with Cage boiling into full on Deadfall mode at times (hearing him say the term "cuckold" is so fucking over the top) and Kidman, reverting to a stiffness that is lifeless. Really, really bad.

Its' pure mumblecore, but unlike many others of that ilk Digging for Fire has enough energy from its cast that the slight, though perceptive, story never really drags it down. The ensemble is really just a revolving door, and they all do well, though the film draws a lot from leads DeWitt and Johnson, who are quite strong. If you can handle the languid pace, I think you'll enjoy the mundane, yet wistful, story.

Love & Mercy is a stirring biopic that benefits from excellent performances and a respectful tone, but does hit way too many biopic cliches to really transcend the genre. Cusack is the best he's been in years here and Banks does her best with the supportive lover role, but the movie lives or dies by Dano's work, and he's outstanding. Had it not been for the performances and, to a lesser extent, the handling of the dual timelines, the movie would've a plodding experience. As is, it's a strong film about a struggling genius.

The Family Stone is an okay holiday movie that seems to go out of it's way to make it's characters as unlikable as possible, and make things as depressing and shrill as possible. Like most Christmas movies, I'm willing to overlook a lot of flaws if the film can, marginally, get me in the holiday spirit and this does, barely. There are enough funny moments and strong acting to make the movie mildly entertaining, but so many of them are undercut with a cringe-factor that took me out of the movie too many times. Not the right movie to watch around Christmas; try November.

A teen film with a bittersweet tone, Paper Towns excels when it focuses the mystery at the center of the film, and the road trip that follows, but flounders when it spends time with it's pixie dream girl. While it should get credit for trying to deconstruct the myth of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, the film never makes the Margo character anything more than a plot device, rendering all of that work, essentially, void. Even though the payoff lets it down, the mystery of the film gives it an energy that carries it throughout most of the first 2/3 of the film. It also helps that the film's trio at the center of the mystery (Wolff, Abrams and Smith) are charming enough to want to spend a road trip with.

A funny and surprisingly fresh take on the coming-of-age story, Dope works thanks to several excellent insights about growing up in the inner-city and a star making performance from Shameik Moore. While it does suffer from several of the same problems that plague many of it's ilk, the film is able to twist so many of the old cliches and wring something new and funny out of them.

Often as goofy as IV, but reined in enough to tell something of a coherent story, Rocky III is as corny and fun as you'd expect. There's nothing new here, but what it does it does well, and several of the boxing matches are expertly executed. There's still the strong doses of camp that would help the series' next entry earn several Razzies (the charity match between Rocky and Hulk Hogan is so damn odd). It's not the greatest film, but it's a lot of fun.

When you hear people use the phrase "White People Movie", The Holiday is what they're talking about. Both storylines are so cookie-cutter and skim that at 136 minutes, the movie is overlong by about an hour. If you can get past the lack of any sort of conflict, the film does have a couple of bright spots; the Diaz-Law story is dull as hell, but the Winslet-Black one is strong enough that it should've been the whole movie. The two have an easy, charming chemistry that, had the movie been interested in anything other than bland tropes, could've given us a solid, fun holiday romance. The scenery is also pretty damn lovely, as is Hans Zimmer's score. But, in the end, it's just too damn bland for its own good.