American Mary

It’s a Dexter/Boxing Helena/Girl With a Dragon Tattoo hybrid. A violent revenge fantasy with some fine technique, but some jumbled themes. What are they saying? Don’t rape vindictive surgeons? It is ostensibly a piece of feminism, but when the protagonist is performing her back-alley operations in a gothy, black bustier one wonders if the filmmakers didn’t lose their own point in all the bloody pomp and circumstance.

The Great Gatsby

During the awful first hour, I kept asking myself, “What the hell is this piece of shit?” I was angry. I felt ripped off. There was not a single authentic moment. I thought it was going to be a miserable two and a half hours. But then, one hour in, it changed. Without spoiling it, there was a precise moment when Baz Luhrmann and company dropped the pretense, and a lot like Gatsby himself, became the most genuine version of itself. Then it became interesting. It seems as if the filmmakers intended for the first hour of decadence, partying, and phoney-baloney to be obnoxious and superficial to juxtapose who Gatsby really WAS and what he was really feeling. Risky. But it paid off. And I was drawn in after being repelled. Performances all around are first-class. Special props to Joel Edgerton (young Owen Lars) who might get nominations. If you can trust the filmmakers and withstand the first hour, the rest of the movie is worthwhile.

An Oversimplification of her Beauty

It’s a two-hour long YouTube video. A mixed-media essay about one failed relationship told from the point of view of a very narcissistic filmmaker. The opening credits are so short, they act as a warning: “this movie is made for people with short attention spans.” Then it begins: an annoying two-hour montage of unrelated images and a smug, voice-of-god narration. The movie discriminates against anyone who isn’t stoned. There is some filmmaking technique here, but it’s squandered by the filmmakers need to appear God-like, while his subjects are belittled. I don’t regret seeing it; I just wish it was better.

Kings of Summer

Three 15-year-old kids decide to run away from home for the summer and live in a home-made shed in the woods. But be careful, because one of them, Biaggio (Moises Arias), is in danger of upstaging the other actors and stealing the whole movie. Overall this is well-done adolescent escapism. Performances are all strong and the pace of the fantasy is never boring. Filmmakers lose track of their theme for a sequence or two in the second half, but they quickly recover. It’s a case of first time director jitters – force-feeding the audience something they were already enjoying; a sweet and agile John Hughes homage. Kudos to all for mastering the basics and making conflict, escapism and entertainment a priority.

Star Trek Into Darkness

This is an action movie, plain and simple. The 1960’s social commentary is all but gone except for a few mentions of super-soldiers and an arms race. I was slightly disappointed by the end because the filmmakers recall too much of the old Star Trek legacy. It’s more of a rehash, rather than a reboot. (In fact, it might compel me to look back at some of the old episodes.) But it’s exciting! Scene by scene, minute by minute, it’s never anything but completely fun and engrossing. For future sequels, here’s hoping producers and filmmakers come up with a new, original story for the intrepid cast.

Mud

Everyone’s talking about Matthew McConaughey in this. How good he is. What a revelation it is. But McConaughey has always been a good actor. His problem is his project choices have, for the most part, been lazy. He did too many rom-coms in too short of a time-span and he cheapened his brand. It’s his own fault. And while it’s true he is really good in this, the real revelation is the two kids played by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland. It’s THEIR movie and there’s almost never a false note from either of these guys. What helps, too, is the script is so perfectly structured, you could practically set your watch to it. This is the movie Beasts of the Southern Wild could have been. Recommended.

Iron Man 3

Pros: Bob Downey, lots of action, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth gets more to do, a bad dream with nifty Iron Man results. Cons: slow start, some rushed plot exposition, and, spoiler alert, sometimes Iron Man isn’t in the Iron Man suit. It's a fun night at the movies.

The Lords of Salem

** SPOILER TIME! **

Like a lot of movies, it all starts to go downhill after the dog disappears. Sheri Moon Zombie, aka Sheri Lyn Skurkis, wife of the director, Rob Zombie, aka Rob Cummings, builds a strong unique character in the first half of this spook-fest. She’s a single, working gal in love with her dog who notices some strange ghostly happenings in her old apartment building. The second half devolves into a typical horror movie, graphic flash-cut extravaganza when the main character, sans dog, finds out she’s the chosen one. Spoiler alert: It involves the devil, a baby, and spooky-sounding LP.