Dolemite Is My Name (2019) ***

“Dolemite is my name, and fuckin' up mother-fuckas is my game!” That's the motto of the funniest, most unlikely action hero you've never heard of. Rudy Ray Moore, from Ft.Smith, AR, is a man most people today, especially white people, have never heard of. In the world of blaxploitation films and ghetto comedy, however, not to mention rap music, he's considered something of a legend.

Moore started his career singing, dancing, and even preaching in the 1950's and 60's. He cut a few R&B singles, but never really got any traction in the music business. Then, in 1970, Moore had a revelation. He heard a wino spouting some foul-mouthed, bragging, poetry, and he liked the way it sounded. He made the rhymes his own and incorporated them into a pimp character called Dolemite. Dolemite was a hit on stage, leading to successful underground comedy records. These gave him the cash to make a self-financed Dolemite movie (1975), risking everything he had for the kind of fame that could only come with movie-stardom.

“Dolemite Is My Name” tells Moore's story, with Eddie Murphy playing Moore with a heart and humor that remind me of his outstanding performance in “Dreamgirls.” The film may be a bit hagiographic, painting Moore as an extremely sympathetic, good-hearted character, and his success as purely due to his determination and self-reliance. Still, it's an entertaining and sometimes hilarious ride.

It's a Netflix original, a helluva sight!

Eddie Murphy shines as Dol-em-ite!

3 stars out of 5

Us (2019) ***1/2

With 2017's "Get Out," Jordan Peele put the world on notice that he was a storyteller to be reckoned with. With his second feature, “Us,” he threatens to extend that into a streak.

The Wilsons are a typical, American family. Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o), Gabe (Winston Duke), Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph), and Jason (Evan Alex) are visiting a family vacation home. Everything is beautiful, but there is an undercurrent of dread. This is partly because the movie started with a scene about 25 years earlier of a young Adelaide having a terrifying experience of running into her exact double. This traumatic experience left the little girl temporarily mute, but she has clearly overcome the experience, as the grown-up Adelaide seems totally normal. Returning to the beach where she had that creepy run-in so long ago has her on edge, however. She asks to cut the vacation short, but before they can leave, Jason announces that “there's a family in the driveway.” There sure is, a family that looks identical to the Wilsons, and they aren't there to welcome them to the neighborhood.

Before this night of terrifying home invasions is over, we learn that everyone is America has a doppelganger. These speechless doubles have been living in underground tunnels, spending their lives crudely aping the actions of their twins on the surface. Now they have climbed out of their holes to claim their place in the sun.

The plot doesn't make much sense if you think about it at all, so it's best to just go with it. If you just accept what you see on the screen, it's a fun, scary film, with just the right amount of humor sprinkled in. The movie is paced right, and the performances are excellent. Shahadi Wright Joseph particularly stands out as a young actress to watch.

Most critics feel that “Us” isn't quite as good as “Get Out.” I would agree, but “Us” is still an excellent movie. Both films can be enjoyed as straight horror, but don't hold up well to literal analysis. They are best appreciated as allegory. “Get Out” was Jordan Peele's parody of black people's fear about white people, that even the most liberal of us are secret racists who want to enslave black people again. It's an exaggeration, but I imagine it draws from some real suspicions that some black people have. “Us” flips the script. It's cleverly done, because the main characters are black, but “Us” is clearly exploring the anxiety of white Americans. The allegory is that America is built on top of an exploited underclass, a class of people who may someday rise up and try to take what white people have. Once again, it's an exaggeration of existing fears. There's also the theme of class, the idea that living right near us are people very much like us, living in poverty. At one point, Adelaide asks her twin, “What are you?”, to which the twin replies, “We're Americans.” It's a somewhat heavy-handed way to say that even in this wealthy country, there are people living in squalor. Who are these people who have nothing? Jordan Peele says they are Us.

3.5 stars out of 5

Marriage Story (2019) *

This will be more of a warning than a review, because I only watched half the movie. Why did I bail? Because this film is miserable and depressing. If I want to see a realistic depiction of a nasty divorce, I'll just go on Facebook.

Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale”) wrote and directed this story of a writer/director's divorce from his actress wife, and the fight over their kid. Despite any denials the director may make, it's basically the story of his own divorce from actress Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Adam Driver plays Charlie, a talented theater director. He and his actress wife Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) are kind of a big deal in the New York theater scene, but Nicole's ambition is to get back to TV and movies, and this ambition rips their marriage apart. We meet them attempting to mediate a divorce, but, as tends to happen in divorce, things escalate. Nicole takes their son to L.A., gets a lawyer, and soon what started as an amicable “conscious decoupling” turns into as nasty a divorce as any.

What happens next? Maybe a giant asteroid menaces earth. Maybe aliens invade, and Charlie and Nicole are reunited as freedom fighters. Maybe they have a steamy threesome with cast-mate Laura Dern. I wouldn't know, because I couldn't watch the rest of this boring piece of crap. Do you remember how you felt the second or third time you watched “Kramer vs Kramer?” Me neither, because nobody watches divorce dramas a second time, which makes me question why we watch them the first time.

The sad thing is that “Marriage Story” is not “bad” in the sense that most bad movies are bad. The cast is excellent, and the dialogue is well-written. The problem is that I didn't like the characters or what was happening to them. I hated Nicole for being a ball-busting harpy, while passively-aggressively pretending not to be. I hated Charlie for letting a woman with such bad hair rake him over the coals. Then, of course, you have to remember that this is Noah Baumbach telling HIS version of his own divorce. That's his prerogative, but I can't think of a reason we should subject ourselves to it.

1 star out of 5

The Irishman (2019) ***1/2

Martin Scorcese has been telling stories about organized-crime his entire career, and his latest film, “The Irishman,” may be the apotheosis of that career. It isn't necessarily the best or most enjoyable of his films, but in its scope and ambition it is truly a celebration of the Mafia Movie. The story comes from the book I Heard You Paint Houses, which purports to be the memoir and death-bed confession of Frank (The Irishman) Sheeran, who claimed, among other things, to have killed Jimmy Hoffa. Sheeran's story has a lot of holes in it, however, and “The Irishman” is best viewed as historical fiction.

The film revolves around Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and his rise through the ranks as a mafia enforcer. Frank is a truck driver and member of the Teamster's union. When he gets caught selling beef off his truck to some Mafia-connected restauranteurs, he keeps his mouth shut, refusing to name names. That earns him respect and an intro to Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), a major Mafia player. Frank impresses Russell with his Italian, picked up in Italy in WWII, and he tells stories of following orders to execute POWs there. Frank is just the kind of guy Russell needs, and soon he is carrying out killings on Russell's orders.

Then we meet Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), big-time union leader. Jimmy has a lot of power and a lot of enemies. He also has friends in the Mafia, who value him because he does them shady favors like lending them money out of the Teamsters Pension Fund. Russell returns the favor by lending Frank to Jimmy as a bodyguard and catspaw? Russell and Jimmy become close, but when Jimmy starts to resist the Mob's demands, Russell is caught between his divided loyalties.

We glean this tale in flashbacks from an aged Frank, wheelchair-bound and in a nursing home. All of his Mob friends have died over the years, mostly from un-natural causes, and his kids don't visit him. He's left alone to ponder the life he led and the things he did.

It's a big story, and well-told, with great performances from an all-star cast. Joe Pesci, in particular, delivers the goods, underplaying his character in a way we haven't seen from him before. He gives a performance that shows he could have been doing dramatic roles all along, if he didn't happen to be so good at comedy. Al Pacino chews the scenery like he always does, but it's perfect for the outsized Jimmy Hoffa character. So what's not to like? The 3.5-hour run-time. “The Irishman” is long, and it feels long. I never exactly got bored, but I was definitely aware of time passing. Fortunately, it's on Netflix, so you can watch it over 2 nights, which is what I did. However you do it, if you are a fan of Scorcese, De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci, you should make the investment.

3.5 stars out of 5

Arctic (2019) ****

Mads Mikkelsen starred in two films that hit theaters in 2019, "Polar" and “Arctic.” You could be forgiven for being confused, but rest assured, these films could not be more different. “Polar” is a violent comic book come to life, full of blood and boobs. “Arctic” is a quiet, serious survival story, and definitely the better movie of the two.

Mikkelsen plays Overgard, a man stranded in the Arctic wilderness after a plane crash. We never learn exactly who he is or why he's up there, and I guess it doesn't matter. Overgard is a stand-in for anyone caught in a life-or-death situation. When we meet him, he is using the crashed plane as a shelter, and has a daily routine of ice-fishing and signaling for help. Circumstances eventually force him to abandon his camp and set out across the ice on an epic bid for safety.

There isn't really a lot of plot, and I don't want to give any more of it away. The story is rather simple, and might be too thin to support a feature film if not for a bravura, mostly-silent performance by Mikkelsen. Similar to Robert Redford in the excellent “All is Lost,” Mikkelsen has to carry the entire film, largely without speech. That he does it so well is even more remarkable given that Mikkelsen initially struck me as an actor with only one facial expression. By the end of “Arctic,” I could recognize all kinds of emotions on that wind-scarred face.

Writer/director Joe Penna originally wanted the story to take place on Mars, but he got scooped by "The Martian," starring Matt Damon, so adjustments were made. I think it's better this way. On Mars, there wouldn't have been a polar bear.

If you only watch one icy-themed Mads Mikkelsen movie this year, it should be “Arctic.” It's a beautifully-filmed story of stoicism and determination, and anyone who has ever spent time in the snowy wilderness will feel this story on a visceral level. As for the career wisdom of doing this film and “Polar” in the same year, I think Mikkelsen's manager has some explaining to do.

4 stars out of 5

My Cousin Vinny (1992) ****

This is another classic that most people have already seen, but since it dates back to 1992, there's a younger generation who may never have heard of it. Either way, if you haven't seen it, you should, and if you have seen it, it holds up really well to a repeat.

“My Cousin Vinny” features Joe Pesci in his prime. The New York Times recently had an article about Pesci and how he's a great dramatic actor who got pigeonholed into comedy for years. I don't know how Pesci feels about his career, but I feel like he would have been wasted in dramas when he does comedy this well. His energy, comic timing, and physicality keep the film moving hilariously. Then there's Marisa Tomei. Beautiful, expressive, and funny, she's the perfect foil for Pesci, and she won an Oscar for her efforts.

Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield play Bill and Stan, a couple of young, Brooklyn boys on a road trip who get mistakenly arrested for murder in a small, Alabama town. An array of eye-witnesses identify them as the killers, and there's no money for a seasoned, defense lawyer. Things look dire for the boys, until Bill recruits his cousin, Vinny Gambini (Pesci), to represent them. Vinny is fresh out of law school, with no criminal defense experience, but as Bill explains, “The Gambinis live to argue.”

Vinny shows up with his alligator boots and leather jacket, and the only person more out of place in rural Alabama than Vinny is his miniskirted, huge-haired fiance, Mona Lisa (Tomei). Vinny gets off to a bad start, irritating the judge with his leather jacket and ignorance of criminal procedure. As you can guess, he eventually puts up a great defense, with an assist from his girl.

As ridiculous as the movie is (they manage to wrap up a capital murder case over just a few days), some of the courtroom aspects are considered quite realistic, and “My Cousin Vinny” is actually taught in some law schools. The way Vinny interviews the witnesses and cross-examines them in court is considered textbook litigation, way more realistic than a lot of serious, legal thrillers. But you don't need to be a law student to love it. The dialogue, comedic timing, and Marisa Tomei's legs make this a turn-of-the-century classic that everyone can love!

4 stars out of 5

Scream (1996) ****

There was a time when Neve Campbell was every thinking man's dream girl. She was, for nerdy dudes in the 90s, what Molly Ringwald was in the 80s. In 1996's “Scream,” Campbell plays Sidney, a traumatized teen who lost her mother to a vicious murder. Now, one year after that tragedy, her small town is rocked by a new series of killings, perpetrated by a killer wearing a black robe and a twisted, ghost-face mask. The killer targets and taunts Sidney, while slaughtering a truckload of her classmates and friends.

“Scream” has a lot of fun with the concept of “meta.” The characters are movie junkies who constantly reference the “rules” of horror films while living out those rules within the movie itself. These rules include prohibitions against having sex, drinking, or doing drugs. Doing any of those makes it likely you won't survive the movie. Also, never say “I'll be right back.” You probably won't.

It could be easy, looking back, to remember “Scream” as one, big in-joke shared with the audience; meta self-awareness run amok. This is especially true if you also watched all the sequels, which, in true horror-movie fashion, got cheesier as they went. The original “Scream,” though, is actually a decent horror flick in its own right. Neve Campbell is excellent in her first leading role, and the supporting cast is mostly top-notch, including Courtney Cox as a pushy, tabloid reporter. It's a horror comedy that actually manages to be both.

The thing to remember about 1996 was that horror films had gotten really BAD. It was just one sequel after another, full of stupid one-liners. “Scream” was a breath of fresh, terrifying air. It was so unexpectedly good that word-of-mouth caused it to make more money in its second week in theaters than in its first, which is unheard-of for a horror flick. The film showed that a general audience existed for a quality horror movie with good writing and a good cast. Did this usher in a new age of quality horror films? Unfortunately, no. A bunch of directors tried to reverse-engineer Wes Craven's recipe, and all we got was a bunch of copycat films, like “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” It wasn't until the current era that we got a true Renaissance of decent horror movies (movies like "Green Room," "It Follows,"  and "Get Out"), partly supported by the growth of streaming services that allow genre films a better chance to find appreciative audiences. “Scream” was a one-off, but it was a lot of fun, and it made 1996 a better, funnier, and scarier time to live.

4 stars out of 5

Aquaman (2018) **

It's a cliché because it's true: the Marvel Comics Universe (MCU) movies are better than the DC Comics movies. Some may say it's the characters themselves, that guys like Batman and Superman are just too time-worn and hokey, but I don't buy it. One of my favorite characters from the MCU is Captain America. It doesn't get much more old-school and hokey than Cap, but the current film incarnation, as played by Chris Evans, is a complex man, with nuanced loyalties, and he's the moral center of the Avengers films. Batman, a DC character, should be even more complex and compelling, but I find that his screenwriters strain to push his dubious, repressed-rage storyline. They did hit a home run casting Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight,” and “Wonderwoman” was fairly entertaining,but DC remains the “poor man's” version of a comic movie universe.

“Aquaman” does nothing to change that dynamic. Jason Momoa has already appeared as Aquaman in “Batman vs. Superman” and “Justice League,” but this is his chance to take center stage in his own origin story. We learn how Arthur Curry was born of the union of a surface-swelling man and Princess Atlanna from the secret, underwater world of Atlantis. Yep, despite all the sea-faring and undersea exploring on the part of surface-dwelling humans, a massive society of underwater humanoids has managed to remain hidden into the modern day. Now their leader, King Orm (Patrick Wilson), has had enough of living in the watery shadows. He has hatched a plot to unite the seven underwater kingdoms to wage war on the surface.

Arthur, meanwhile, is somewhat aware of his Atlantean heritage. He grew up motherless, with stories from his lighthouse-keeping father, and with occasional visits from an Atlantan royal advisor named Vulko (Willem Dafoe.) Vulko taught Arthur about his aquatic powers, and now the adult Arthur spends his time fighting injustices at sea, where he makes an enemy of a pirate named Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Princess Mera (Amber Heard) sneaks out of Atlantis to recruit Arthur to come challenge Orm for the crown and prevent the war.

One thing I really loved about the series “Game of Thrones” is that it showed the inherent instability of a hereditary monarchy. Most films and movies like to romanticize the whole “one true king” idea. “Game of Thrones” showed what happens when you give one person absolute power. If you luck up, and they aren't corrupted by that power, and they rule wisely and justly, it's unlikely that a country will keep getting that lucky generation after generation. Eventually you get a despot, and meanwhile you've got relatives thinking they have a claim to the throne, starting wars and such. We shouldn't have needed GoT to remind us of this. It's in all the history books, but for some reason, Hollywood loves to go back to the idea of One who is destined to rule. “Aquaman” goes all in on monarchy. Ultimately, it's about who has the “right” to rule Atlantis, Arthur or Orm, and it has to be decided by single combat. Never once does the film question that dogma.

If you can get past the obsession with monarchy and suspend your disbelief over the idea of a hidden, undersea society, then you have to deal with the lame dialog and weak acting. Jason Momoa is very charismatic, but not quite enough to carry the entire movie on his wide shoulders. Amber Heard looks swell, but she can't act her way out of a wet paper sack. She looks like an Oscar contender, however, next to the wooden Patrick Wilson, whose stiff acting is the perfect match for his one-dimensional character. “Aquaman” manages to make even good actors like Willem Dafoe and Nicole Kidman look bad.

The one thing “Aquaman” has going for it is visual effects. The battle scenes and sea monsters look great (as does Amber Heard's cleavage). It's an okay movie to watch while working out, but once the blood starts flowing to your brain instead of your quads, you will want to turn it off.

2 stars out of 5

Shadow of the Vampire (2000) ****

Bram Stoker's 1897 novel “Dracula” has been adapted to screen many times, but the first film adaptation was not called “Dracula.” German filmmaker F.W. Murnau was unable to get the film rights from Stoker's estate, so he simply commissioned a screenplay with the names and a few details changed, including using the word “nosferatu” for “vampire” and changing “Count Dracula” to “Count Orlock.” The changes weren't enough. Stoker's estate sued and won, and the court ordered all copies of “Nosferatu: A Symphonie of Horrors” destroyed. Fortunately, some copies survived, and the expressionistic, silent film has come to be appreciated as a classic.

“Shadow of the Vampire” re-imagines the making of that film, with the central conceit being that Murnau (John Malkovich) achieved unparalleled realism not with special effects, but by recruiting an actual vampire to play the Count (Willem Dafoe). He introduces the beast as actor Max Schreck, and explains his unusual behavior on set as an early form of method acting: Schreck remains in character throughout filming and will only film at night. The ruse works, and the cast and crew are impressed by Schreck. Murnau, however, finds that his control over the creature is limited, and Schreck starts feeding on the crew.

If “Dracula” and “Nosferatu” were about erotic obsession, “Shadow of the Vampire” is about artistic obsession. Murnau will stop at nothing to make a great film, to the point where we ask, “Who is the real monster here?” (For the record, the real Murnau was not reportedly an obsessed beast of a director.)

Malkovich is in top form here, but it is Dafoe's award-winning portrayal of the vampire that really makes the film. He is a repulsive creature, but he occasionally forces us to see his underlying humanity, creating the most humorous and poignant scenes in the film. Trying to negotiate with Murnau to feed on some of the crew, Schreck suggests, “I think we could do without the writer.” Later, around a campfire, Schreck discusses the novel “Dracula” with other crew members. He points out that Count Dracula, once the proud King Vlad, would have had many servants during his mortal life. As a centuries-old revenant living in a ruined castle, he has no servants, and is embarrassed when his young visitor, Harker, catches him setting his own table. “It is the loneliest scene in the book.” Schreck is a killer, but we ultimately sympathize more with him than with Murnau.

This was a movie that I heard about and intended to see when it came out, but somehow it eluded me for 19 years. I'm glad I finally remedied that. I probably wouldn't call “Shadow of the Vampire” essential viewing. It doesn't seem to have had much impact on film or culture, and I never hear friends referring to it. It's a great movie, though, and you shouldn't wait 19 more years to check it out.

4 stars out of 5

Lenny (1974) ***

Everyone knows Lenny Bruce's name, but I never really knew anything about the famous comedian until he appeared as a character in the Amazon Prime show, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” On the show, Bruce befriends Mrs. Maisel, and Luke Kirby plays him as he reportedly was: a drug-using, foul-mouthed, iconoclastic sage. Bruce shook the comedy world of the 50's and 60's with his frank commentaries on sex, race, and politics. He was arrested many times for obscenity, and ultimately came to be seen as a First Amendment warrior.

Bob Fosse directed this 1974 Bruce biopic, and it's a hot mess! Based on a play by Julian Barry, the movie follows Lenny's career and tumultuous private life. The story picks up with Lenny (played by Dustin Hoffman) meeting his future wife, a stripper named Honey (Valerie Perrine). It follows his career as he gains success by leaving behind safe comedy to discuss taboo topics. Along the way, Lenny and Honey develop drug habits that complicate their lives. Ultimately, Lenny draws the attention of the Law, and thus begins the series of arrests that ruined him, but also made him famous.

As a film, “Lenny” is like the man, a beautiful failure. Director Bob Fosse probably knew he was making a mess of the story. His own autobiopic (“All That Jazz”) portrays Fosse as going crazy trying to edit a difficult movie, and that movie was “Lenny.” Still, the film won a lot of awards, and is generally critically acclaimed, with great performances by Dustin Hoffman and the adorable Valerie Perrine. The story is told like a documentary, with interviews with Honey and others from Lenny's life intercut with flashback scenes, including quite a few scenes of his standup shows. Unfortunately, it is overlong and, honestly, boring. Some of the standup is interesting, and Perrine's nude scenes are easy to look at, but many scenes just go on forever. One of Lenny's bad standup shows, where he is stoned out of his mind on heroin, goes on way after we have gotten the point. Even one sex scene falls flat. Lenny has bullied Honey into swinging with other girls, so there is a montage of threesomes. We know that Honey doesn't want to be there, and the whole thing is just uncomfortable rather than erotic.

Bob Fosse did a lot of things: dancing, choreography, directing for the stage, and directing films. Out of all his artistic endeavors, I don't know what he was best at, but I don't think it was film. I honestly think that with these actors and this subject, there's a great film here that just needed a better director to edit it down by about half an hour, making the scenes tighter and the story move along. As it is, it's still a worthwhile movie, but, like Lenny himself, it has some fatal flaws.

3 stars out of 5

Mean Streets (1973) **

1973's “Mean Streets” isn't director Martin Scorcese's first feature, but I would say it's his first well-known feature. It marks the first of many collaborations between him and Robert De Niro, and it stars another frequent Scorcese collaborator, Harvey Keitel.

Keitel plays Charlie, a well-dressed, young, Italian New Yorker who spends his days helping collect debts for the Mafia, and his nights partying with his friends, as any young man should. Charlie is a hard worker with good prospects, but he is held back by his best friend, Johnny Boy (De Niro). Johnny is irresponsible, self-destructive, and probably mentally ill. In the shady, violent world in which these boys move, Johnny's craziness doesn't automatically disqualify him as a player; his violent streak sometimes comes in handy. The problem is his habit of borrowing money he can't pay back. Charlie constantly has to beg his associates to give his friend one more chance. Charlie also has a secret lover, Johnny's cousin, Teresa. She's a pretty girl, but she has epilepsy. In Charlie's world, that marks Teresa as damaged goods, so he can't date her openly. As Charlie hustles to impress his loan-shark uncle, he ultimately has to chose between his career on one hand and Johnny and Teresa on the other.

“Mean Streets” has some vaguely interesting moments, in particular, Charlie's angst at the contrast between his Catholic faith and his street lifestyle, and his inner dialogue on the subject. (His quote about “The pain of hell. The burn from a lighted match increased a million times. Infinite.” is sampled in a version of the Shriekback song “Nemesis.”) Charlie is constantly holding his finger up to flames, testing himself against what he imagines is the pain of hell, seeing if he can scare himself into true belief. He is also conflicted in his relationship to Teresa. Like any good Catholic, he disrespects her because she sleeps with him. Underneath, though, he really loves her, and he needs to find the strength to stand up and say, “This is my girl.”

With Johnny, however, Charlie isn't conflicted. He is constantly loyal to his friend, no matter how many times Johnny screws up, and it's this loyalty that frankly gets tedious and makes “Mean Streets” a bit of a bore. Johnny is such a piece of crap that I was already rooting for somebody to put a bullet in his head halfway through the film, and it's just painful watching Charlie bail him out over and over.

The greatest weakness of this film , however, is its nihilism. As with another Scorcese film, “Taxi Driver,” there is this long, painfully-drawn-out buildup to violence, and then I was left wondering, “What was the point?” Nothing gets resolved, and this isn't really a complete story. It's more a sketch from which Scorcese built later, great gangster films like “Goodfellas.” I'm clearly in the minority on this one. Most film writers consider this one of the great films. I find that, like some of the French New Wave films, it may have been very groundbreaking and influential, but viewed on its own merits, “Mean Streets” is boring and pointless. Other than a chance to sample a great director and two great actors in their early years, I can't think of a reason to recommend it.

2 stars out of 5

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) ****

-Contains Spoilers for the original “Breaking Bad” series-

At the end of the amazing TV series, “Breaking Bad,” we saw Jessie Pinkman (Aaron Paul) driving away from the scene of his torture and imprisonment, having been liberated by his mentor/partner/frenemy Walter White. We are left to make up our own story about what happens next for Jessie, which I thought was a pretty perfect ending. Still, however satisfying the meal, dessert is always tempting. When I heard that series creator Vince Gilligan was giving us a Jessie Pinkman movie, I knew I would be on board.

“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” picks up where the series left off, with Jessie driving away from the compound. He isn't home-free, as it happens. It doesn't take the police long to connect him with the massacre of neo-nazis, and he is a wanted man in Albuquerque. Jessie has to scrape together enough money to make his escape with a new identity, and he does so in classic “Breaking Bad” fashion. Meanwhile, the movie is peppered with copious flashbacks to his time as a human slave for the neo-nazis, making even more explicit how how cruel his confinement was.

As much as I enjoyed “El Camino,” and I really loved it, it was probably unnecessary. The series' ending was narratively perfect, and I think fans were perfectly capable of imagining their own future for Jessie. The movie does allow a couple of comic-relief characters, Badger and Skinny Pete, to shine, and adds some depth to their friendship with Jessie. It also gives us a bigger idea of just how broken and traumatized Jessie was by his captivity. Otherwise, the film doesn't really manage to shed any new light on anything from the original series. Fortunately, it doesn't ruin anything, either. Gilligan is true to his characters here, and I think “Breaking Bad” fans will relish the chance to spend a little more time with them.

It's a ballsy move to tinker with perfection, and Vince Gilligan has done it twice. First, he created the prequel series, “Better Call Saul,” and now he has given us a coda to “Breaking Bad.” I would argue that it was even ballsier to give his movie a title with a precarious connection to “Breaking Bad,” which many fans might simply click right past on Netflix. The part that says “A Breaking Bad Movie” is in small print, and the ad otherwise looks like just another “Netflix original.” Besides the fans who might overlook the movie, there are bored people who might try to watch it without having seen the “Breaking Bad” series. Bad idea. Let me make it clear right now that “El Camino” is not meant to stand on its own. Watch the series first, then watch the movie.

4 stars out of 5

Juliet, Naked (2018)***1/2

There are a lot of ways to measure age, but if you are a member of Generation X, one way is to follow the film career of Ethan Hawke. He's pretty much the poster-boy of our cohort, and yeah, he's getting up there in years.

In “Juliet, Naked,” the graying Hawke play Tucker Crowe, a mysterious singer-songwriter who did one great album, called “Juliet,” then disappeared, leaving behind a small-but-dedicated cadre of fans. We learn the Crowe story from the website of one of these fans, Duncan (Chris O'Dowd). Duncan is in something of a state of arrested development, with a room plastered with Tucker Crowe posters and filled with bootlegs. When he gets a disc of raw demos of the songs from “Juliet,” he loves it as he loves all things Crowe, but his long-suffering girlfriend, Annie (Rose Byrne), isn't impressed. She puts a negative review of the album on Duncan's fan site, and draws the attention of Crowe, himself. Soon Crowe and Annie are having a secret, email correspondence that blossoms into friendship and flirtation.

Despite the somewhat ridiculous premise, the film is actually quite good, largely on the strength of an excellent cast. The film is based on a book by Nick Hornby (“High Fidelity” “About a Boy”), who loves to write stories about music and musicians. Ethan Hawke relates in interviews that he has been a Hornby fan for years, and was chuffed to get to play one of his characters. It would be hard to imagine anyone other than Hugh Grant as the lead in “About a Boy” or John Cusack in “High Fidelity,” and the same can be said about Ethan Hawke in this film. (Although it must also be said that “Juliet, Naked” is not quite as good as those two films.) Hawke perfectly plays this earnest man-boy who has fathered children with four different women, and disappointed them all.

But “Juliet, Naked” isn't just Tucker Crowe's story. It is equally about Annie and her attempt to break out of her career and relationship inertia. She and Duncan are tired of each other, but each lacks the gumption to make a change without a solid push.

This isn't the greatest Nick Hornby adaptation, but it's a decent movie. I wish they had gone ahead and written full Tucker Crowe songs for the movie, John Carney-style. I also wish the characters had a little more depth to them, especially Annie. Still, this is good stuff if you like talky, funny movies about adults trying to find their way.

One more thing: We do not get to see Rose Byrne, or anyone else, nude in this film, despite the title's “naked” attempt to suggest otherwise.

3.5 stars out of 5

Kill the Irishman (2011) **

2011's “Kill the Irishman” starts out fairly strong, with the charismatic Ray Stevenson playing real-life,Cleveland gangster Danny Green in this rise-and-fall tale. The film dramatizes the story of Danny Green's rise from poor, Irish street urchin to union leader to disgraced union leader to mobbed-up crime figure in the 1960s and 70s. Danny eventually got involved in a historical Mob war that made car-bombings a regular fixture of late-1970s Cleveland, and which ultimately led to major shakeups and criminal convictions among the American Mafia. Danny was truly a part of history, and he gained a reputation, for a while, as being impossible to kill.

Unfortunately, the movie mirrors the depiction of Danny's love life. Early on, Danny meets and marries Joan, played by Linda Cardellini, whose is adorable and a solid enough actress to provide a convincing foil for the increasingly-criminal Danny. That part of the film is really compelling. After that marriage falls apart, Danny meets Ellie, played by Laura Ramsey, who hits her marks and recites her lines, but has no personality. This second half of the film steadily dwindles down into treacle and sentimentality.

Dramatizing the story of a real-life Mafia figure as it does, “Kill the Irishman” draws natural comparisons to Martin Scorcese's “Goodfellas,” but believe me, this movie is no “Goodfellas.” The film has a strong cast, including Val Kilmer and Christopher Walken, and it suffices as light entertainment, but the saccharine third act ruined it for me.

2 stars out of 5

A Simple Favor (2018) ***1/2

If you took all the mystery noir conventions collected over decades and blended them together, you might come up with “A Simple Favor,” a fun, mildly-flawed thriller directed by Paul Feig, based on the novel by Darcy Bell.

Anna Kendrick plays Stephanie, a struggling, single mom and Mommy-vlogger. When she isn't posting crafts and recipes on the internet, she is over-volunteering at her son's kindergarten. The perky nerd strikes up an unlikely friendship with the mother of one of the other kids. Emily (Blake Lively) is a glamorous career woman, head of PR for a fashion house. She has little time for family and is unapologetic about it. Stephanie is drawn to her beautiful, new friend's confidence and fancy martinis, and Emily is drawn to Stephanie's guilelessness. She increasingly uses Stephanie for free babysitting, ultimately asking that she take her son in for a couple of days while she goes on an emergency business trip. When Emily never returns from that trip, Stephanie starts peeling back the layers of her mysterious friend's secret life.

You should definitely watch “A Simple Favor.” It's a fun, twisty, ultimately somewhat bonkers crime thriller with a great cast and some Blake Lively nudity. I mentioned some mild flaws, which take the form of some plot holes. I suspect that Emily's actions and motivations are better developed and explained in the book. In the limited time-frame of the film, not everything makes sense. That doesn't ruin the fun of the film, though, you just have to go with it.

3.5 stars out of 5

Half Baked (1998) ***

If you don't smoke weed, you might think that the perfect “pot-smoking” movie would be something with lots of trippy, flashing lights and special effects. I've learned over the years, however, that what people who smoke pot really want to see in a movie is … people smoking pot. Just like the best kind of movie to watch if you want to have sex is, well you get the idea. This being the case, Dave Chappelle's 1998 classic “Half Baked” is the perfect stoner movie. If you aren't high, it's still a reasonably fun comedy as long as your expectations are low and you can access your 13-year-old sense of humor.

Chappelle plays Thurgood, a pot-smoking janitor sharing an apartment with his stoner buddies Scarface, Brian, and Kenny. Also, there's a random guy always sleeping on the couch, known simply as “the guy on the couch.” These buds toke up daily, living in a constant state of altered neurotransmitters and low expectations. They seem happy with their lives, until Kenny gets arrested. Nice guys like Kenny don't do well in prison, so the boys try to get themselves together enough to earn bail money for him. Meanwhile, Thurgood meets a ridiculously pretty girl (Rachel True,) who isn't into potheads.

There's never a moment when you believe a second of “Half Baked.” It's nonstop, broad, ridiculous comedy, and, oh yeah, the guys are constantly smoking weed. The only thing that makes it work (if it does) is Dave Chappelle's comedic talent. Besides playing Thurgood with insouciant charm, he plays a hilarious rapper who is reminiscent of some of the characters from “Chappelle's Show.” The Guy on the Couch (Steven Wright) also puts in a bravura performance. It's a low-budget movie, panned by critics, but appealing strongly to a niche audience - all the ingredients for a cult classic. It feels wrong to give such a dumb movie more than one star, but honestly, I enjoyed it, even sober. If you like Dave Chappelle, I think you have to watch “Half Baked.”

3 stars out of 5

Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse (2018) ***

I've honestly been done with Spider-man movies for a while. In my lifetime, they have cycled through 3 different actors to play him, just recycling the story over and over. And that's just the live-action movies. Add in the comics, where the real experimentation takes place. Versions of Spidey have been every race, gender,and species you can imagine. Comic writers get away with this by simply declaring that they are working in a different universe. They've been doing this since the '50s, the “Golden Age” of comics. A writer would decide that he wanted to write a story about, say, Superman. If his story was going to contradict something from all the previous Superman comics, then he could just declare that this took place in an alternate universe.

In the case of Spider-man, most people are familiar with Peter Parker, the teenager who develops superpowers after being bitten by a radioactive spider. In comics there's a parallel universe where Gwen Stacey, a Peter Parker love interest in the original universe, is the one bitten by the spider. There's a Spider-man Noir series about a version of spidey from the 1930's, and there's a Japanese anime comic where the hero and the spider work together to operate a mechanical spider robot. There's even a parody comic about Spider-ham, where the web-slinging hero is a pig.

There's also one where a Black/Latino teen named Miles Morales is the one who gets bitten by the radioactive spider and gets the superpowers, and that's where “Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse” picks up. There's already a Peter Parker/Spider-man in Miles's world, but he gets killed trying to stop a villain named Kingpin from opening a dangerous inter-dimensional window. The window gets opened, and spider-people from a bunch of different universes get sucked into Miles's 'verse. The dying Parker tasks Miles, who hasn't even learned to use his powers yet, with stopping Kingpin from opening the window again. Miles sets out to try, with help from the other spider-people.

As comic-book movies go, this isn't on the level of "Watchmen," but it's pretty fun. The animated format frees it up, and it's way more fun than any live-action Spider-man I've seen in a while. There's nothing particularly deep here, and your life will go along just fine if you miss it, but it's worth a watch, if you're into this kind of thing.

3 stars out of 5

Can You Ever Forgive Me (2018) ***

I had been looking forward to seeing this ever since I saw the trailer. The concept seemed delicious: A struggling writer discovers she can make money by forging colorful celebrity letters. And it's based on a true story! Turns out the movie is decent entertainment that doesn't quite live up to its concept.

Melissa McCarthy plays Lee Israel, a writer with some successful biographies under her belt. Unfortunately, when writing biographies, a successful book doesn't make you rich. Lee ekes out a living in a low-paying proof-reading job, which she loses for the same reason she has failed to break through in the publishing world: she is a misanthropic asshole. Her caustic wit is more caustic than witty, and people aren't willing to put up with that behavior from anyone who isn't rich and powerful. Desperate for cash, Lee stumbles upon a letter written by Fanny Bryce. She figures it's worth big bucks, but the bookseller she takes it to says it simply isn't interesting enough to sell for much. Lee decides she can improve on it, so she forges a pithy P.S. and the letter sells for enough to pay her rent. Lee's entrepreneurial spirit kicks in, and soon she has a collection of old typewriters, with which she forges colorful letters from a variety of dead celebs. The money flows in, but Lee gets addicted as much to the creativity as to the cash.

“Can You Ever Forgive Me” is based on Lee Israel's memoir of the same name, and to her credit, she whitewashes neither her toxic personality nor her crimes . She ultimately forged and sold over 400 letters, at least one of which found its way into a biography of the supposed author. She committed what is probably the literary crime of the century.

This is a case where a little artistic license might have been welcome. The film is funny at times and certainly fascinating, but it might have been a bit more fun to watch if they hadn't made Lee and her life so depressing. I think Melissa McCarthy does the best she can with the role, but Lee comes across as a drab person in drab clothes living in a drab apartment in, honestly, a drab version of New York City. Considering the outrageousness of the fraud Lee perpetrated, I feel like the filmmakers could have done better. Maybe they could have shared more of the apparently hilarious letters with us and focused less on Lee's cat. Still it's an interesting story and well-acted, including a terrific turn by Richard E. Grant as Lee's alcoholic, incorrigible confidant. As for the film's failings, I suppose we can forgive them.

3 stars out of 5

Barcelona (1994) **** and The Last Days of Disco (1998) ****

Like many directors, Whit Stillman likes to work repeatedly with a certain group of actors, and it's no wonder. If you find someone who is willing to recite the ridiculous lines that Stillman puts into his characters' mouths, you stick with them.

In Barcelona, Taylor Nichols (from Stillman's first film, “Metropolitan”) plays Ted, a stuffy American salesman in his company's Barcelona office. Ted's quiet life is disturbed when his free-loading cousin, Fred (Chris Eigeman, also a Stillman favorite) shows up. As part of his job, Ted gets to meet loads of pretty girls who work at a convention center, but he doesn't seem to get with any of them. Fred changes all that. Soon, the cousins are out on the town, meeting impossibly cute, sexually-liberated girls and falling in love, all to a backdrop of anti-American political sentiment.

Chris Eigeman returns for 1998's “The Last Days of Disco,” but the stars of the film are Chloe Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale. They play Alice and Charlotte respectively, a couple of college acquaintances, now junior book editors struggling on their low salaries to afford New York City rents and still enjoy the night life. Charlotte is hot, but as friends and roommates go, she's the worst. She says whatever mean thing comes into her head, oblivious to its effect on others. Here's a sample of conversation with Charlotte:

Charlotte: I'm sorry, it's just that you're so terrific, it makes me sick to think you might get in that terrible situation again where everyone hated you.

Alice: Hated me?

Charlotte: You're wonderful. Maybe in physical terms I'm a little cuter than you, but you should be much more popular than I am. It would be a shame if what happened in college should repeat itself.

These frenemies hit the club every night with a handful of friends. At the disco, they drink,do drugs, check out the freaky disco people, hook up, and talk. Especially, they talk, about subjects like “Do yuppies even exist?...I think for a group to exist, someone has to admit to be part of it.” They discuss the dark subtext of “Lady & the Tramp,” and the way “Bambi” turned an entire generation against hunting. Sex, romance, literature, they talk about everything, while in the background, the club gets raided for drug-dealing, and disco culture falls down around them. If Nero fiddled while Rome burned, this crew exchange aphorisms while disco burns.

This theme of self-involved young people chatting wittily while major events build in the background runs through both films. In Barcelona, Ted and Fred are busy falling in love, but this undercurrent of resentment against American imperialism keeps building, until it finally comes to an explosive climax. In “The Last Days of Disco,” the friends are self-absorbed, but totally un-self-aware. They don't see that they are helping destroy the thing they love. Disco started as something for the freaks and the gays, filled with people in elaborate costumes, and now it's being taken over by tourists in suits and ties. The sound and spirit that started in underground, French dance clubs has led to “Disco Duck.” The snake is swallowing its tail, and these yuppies' social life is about to be totally disrupted.

Whit Stillman films get some flack for being talky, but the thing is, they are hilarious! Listening to these nitwits pepper clueless aphorisms with occasional moments of self-realization is just good fun, if you can get into it. If you like Jane Austen, you'll probably like Stillman, and if you like both, then after watching these two gems, you need to check out "Love and Friendship," the unfinished Austen novel that Stillman finished and adapted into a movie.

4 stars for both.

The Favourite (2018) ****

As much as I hated Yorgos Lanthimos's film "The Lobster", that's how much I liked his latest feature, “The Favourite.” Based on historical events, it tells the story of Queen Anne, who ruled England from 1702-1714, and the two women who vied for her favor.

The tale begins with Lady Abigail, homeless and penniless after her alcoholic gambler of a father drove the family to ruin. With nowhere else to go, she flees to the royal residence, where her cousin, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) is the closest friend and adviser to Queen Anne (Olivia Colman). Abigail is hired as a scullery maid, and her position in life is almost unbearable. She is completely cast out of the upper class of her birth, but the other servants won't accept her. Desperate to improve her situation, she mixes up an herbal remedy for the Queen's gouty legs. Initially punished for her impertinence, she is rewarded when the remedy works. Lady Sarah makes Abigail her personal assistant, and Abigail begins maneuvering to gain the favor of the Queen herself.

What do these two women use to gain favor and influence with the Queen? Lesbian sex. Turns out the widowed Queen embraces the love that dare not speak its name. Sarah is Anne's secret lover, but their relationship is pretty pathological. Sarah plays the role of best friend, adviser, and protector, but she actively guards the queen from outside influences in order to manipulate her power. Anne, lonely and in poor health, needs her friend, but she realizes on some level that she is being used. Olivia Colman does a brilliant job portraying this, which is why she won the Best Actress Oscar. There's one scene where Sarah and Anne attend a dance, and Sarah starts to really cut loose, dancing and flirting with the men. She's being cruel to her friend and lover, and Colman reveals Anne's hurt slowly, through subtle changes in her face. It's really impressive acting.

Once Abigail discovers Sarah's secret, she begins scheming to move up the ladder. She's a conniver, but really she has no choice. In a regimented class system, there is none so low as one who has fallen. Abigail intelligently realizes that Lady Sarah could cast her back down to the kitchens on any whim, so she does what she has to.

Once Abigail inserts herself into palace life, she finds herself in the midst of some interesting politics. The Whigs are the party of the merchant class, and eager to continue a profitable war with France. Those profits come from land taxes, so the Tories, who represent the landowners, would like to see the war end. Sarah has kept the interests of the Whigs front and center, but the disruption wrought by Abigail gives the Tories a chance to win the Queen's ear.

It's an interesting story, beautifully filmed. “The Favourite” deserved the many Oscar nominations it received, and probably should have won more. It's an artsy film, but more accessible than most. In the genre of films about gay, British monarchs, it's in the top tier.

4 stars out of 5

Cruel Intentions (1999) ***

If there was ever a story ripe for a modern re-telling, it is “Dangerous Liaisons,” Pierre Chaderlos de Laclos's 1782 novel of a couple of French aristocrats one-upping each other in a series of cruel sexual games, leaving behind broken hearts and shattered lives. The tale, told in a series of letters, made a scandal in 1782, and some have suggested that its depiction of upper-class decadence helped fuel the French Revolution of 1789. The book has been adapted to stage and screen in numerous forms and languages, including the absolutely classic 1988 version starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. (If you haven't seen this,you need to remedy that, immediately!) There's also a terrific 1959 French version staring Jeanne Moreau.

Roger Kumble's 1999 telling, “Cruel Intentions,” brings the story into the privileged world of wealthy, modern-day, Manhattan teens. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe play Merteuil and Valmont, a couple of bored, beautiful step-siblings, whose parents seem to be completely absent. Living in a beautiful mansion, the two play out their attraction to each other by sharing tales of their sexual conquests. Valmont is widely known as a bad-boy, but Merteuil hides behind a screen of virtue, a trusted student-body president who serves as a mentor for younger girls. Merteuil is angry at a boy who has broken up with her, and unwilling to be seen publicly seeking revenge, she seeks to enlist Valmont to seduce and despoil the boy's new, freshman girlfriend, Cecile (Selma Blair). Valmont, however, is more interested in the challenge of seducing an incoming transfer student, the daughter of the school's new headmaster. Annette (Reese Witherspoon) is deeply Christian and an outspoken proponent of purity. Annette is the perfect challenge for the notorious ladies' man, and he has no time to waste on the horny airhead Cecile. Cecile's mother, however, sabotages Valmont by warning Annette about his reputation. Valmont decides to avenge himself by seducing the saboteur’s daughter, and Merteuil sweetens the deal by promising to sleep with Valmont if he successfully seduces both girls. Thus the stage is set for a classic tale of sexual terrorism.

“Cruel Intentions” very closely follows the 1988 “Dangerous Liaisons” film, and I enjoyed picking up on the modern versions of scenes from that movie. As a fan of the older film, I may have enjoyed “Cruel Intentions” more than I would have otherwise. Viewed strictly on its own merits, the newer film suffers in the acting department. Sarah Michelle Gellar does a fine job as the icy Merteuil, but Ryan Phillippe is his usual, wooden self. As good as Selma Blair and Reese Witherspoon have been in other movies, they are pretty weak here. Despite all that, I found the movie quite fun. The source material gives it a rich, layered plot, and Kumble mostly manages to sell the idea that these teens' sex lives are deadly serious. This film has somehow gotten a reputation as being full of sex, but I'm honestly not sure how it got its R rating. As opposed to the 1988 film, there's no nudity here, and most of the sexual activity is only alluded to. It's trashy fun, but it's no “Wild Things.”

3 stars out of 5

A Quiet Place (2018) ****

Jon Krasinski (Jim, from “The Office”-U.S.) directs and stars in this post-apocalyptic tale of a family surviving an alien invasion. Cleverly, the story skips all the explosions, military battles, President speeches and other Michael Bay-style end-of-the-world stuff (ironic, as Michael Bay is one of the producers). Instead, the film starts on day 89 of the End Times, in a world of necessary silence, where monstrous, blind aliens hunt by sound alone. The Abbott family has managed to survive, partly because their daughter, Regan (Millicent Simmonds), is deaf, so the whole family speaks sign language. They may be uniquely situated to adapt to this reality, but it's still a tenuous existence, even more so when we skip ahead a year to find Evelyn (Emily Blunt) pregnant. It's hard enough to keep older kids quiet; how will they keep a new baby from crying?

“A Quiet Place” works on many levels. First, it's a good monster movie. We slowly get introduced to the aliens, which are truly terrifying. They are massive, fast, and bulletproof. With no known manner of self-defense, humans live in fear of them the way rabbits fear coyotes. But the Abbotts don't merely cower in the shadows. In defiance of the day-to-day terror of making a single noise, they have pressed on with life, maintaining soft, dirt paths, making cloth gamepieces for their board games, and, of course, choosing to have another child. (Evelyn displays enough medical knowledge that we assume she could have induced an abortion if she chose.)

Krasinski does a really good job directing here, including choosing to go without a score for the first 30 minutes of the film, so we can truly appreciate the near-silence of the Abbotts' world. The small cast, including the child actors, is excellent. The story is compelling, and the ending is perfect. (Krasinski does borrow some cues from the “Aliens” movies and from Spielberg's “Jurassic Park,” but he does it well, and I'm not gonna count it against him.) “A Quiet Place” is a solid flick that will keep you on the edge of your seat, hand cupped to your ear.

4 stars out of 5

A Star Is Born (2018) **

They've been making and re-making this movie for over 85 years. It started with a 1932 film called “What Price Hollywood,” about an alcoholic movie star who takes an interest in a pretty waitress, giving her a shot in the movies. Her career rises while he continues to spiral downward. Then came 1937's “A Star is Born,” ripping off the exact same story. This title was re-made in 1954 with Judy Garland. They did it again in 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, this time making them musicians instead of actors.

This time around, Bradley Cooper directs and plays the central character, an alcoholic rock star named Jackson Maine. Jack has so much talent that even when he can barely stand, he can play a killer set for a packed house. Still, the liquor and pills are clearly taking a toll, as is his chronic tinnitus (ringing in the ears from long-term noise exposure.) Then he meets Ally (Lady Gaga), a waitress with a songwriting talent and a killer voice. Jack falls for Ally and gives her the exposure that makes her a star, but even her love can't keep him away from the pills and the bottle. His downward spiral coincides with her rise.

Ally, meanwhile, starts out as a soulful songwriter, but her new record company turns her into a dancing pop princess without a last name. Jack is bothered by the transformation, and we assume that, on some level, Ally must be as well. She doesn't say much about it, however, and what should be a major story line never gets resolved.

When a movie has been made five times you figure the story must be pretty timeless and compelling. Unfortunately, I found the latest iteration to be boring and half-baked, despite its significant star power. The first act is pretty good, with Jack and Ally getting to know each other and their music. We get treated to a taste of the songwriting process, or at least a movie version of it, and that's fun. Like Jack's health, however, the movie just gets worse as we go. For one thing, it's called “A Star is Born,” but it should have been called “A Star Burns Out.” The main focus is almost always on Jack, and Ally as a character just gets pushed more and more into the background. The songs in this one are apparently much better than in the 1976 version, but I still didn't find the music very compelling. I did like Jack's blues-folk song “Maybe It's Time,” but the feature song, “Shallow,” the one with the Oscar nomination, didn't do it for me. It has a nice melody, but the lyrics are stupid (are they “in the shallow” or “far from the shallow”?) and the repetition of syllables (sha-a-sha-a-llow) is lame.

With a better-written narrative and this cast (including Sam Elliott as Jack's brother and Andrew Dice Clay as Ally's dad) this could have been a great movie. As it is, running 2 hours 16 minutes, the movie manages to be long and boring, while still leaving out key parts of Ally's story. If it were shorter, a LOT shorter, I'd say watch it when you have nothing better to do, but at this length, I can't even recommend that.

2 stars out of 5

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) ***

This 90's dark comedy has aged remarkably well. John Cusack play Martin Blank, a hit man thinking of getting out of the business. His intended last job happens to be in his hometown, the week of his high school reunion. Martin has some unfinished business with a high school flame (Minnie Driver), so he figures he'll mix business with pleasure. Back in Grosse Pointe, Martin pursues Debi (Driver) while being pursued by a rival hit-man and a couple of rogue government agents.

“Gross Pointe Blank” is a noir comedy that gets the mix of noir and comedy right, and it can be enjoyed as such, but the movie does try to dig a little into deeper issues on the question of redemption. Martin didn't exactly set out to be a hired killer (the government selected and trained him), but he is obviously morally capable of it. After years of that life, the big question he now faces is, “Can he change?”

It's a fairly straightforward story, but well-told and perfectly paced. Cusack and Driver are excellent, with a great supporting cast including Jeremy Piven and Joan Cusack (John's sister). The only miscasting is Dan Akroyd, who never becomes convincing as the rival assassin.

My one complaint besides Akroyd is the soundtrack, not that it's bad, but that there's some revisionist history going on here. This is one of those movies that makes it look like we were all listening to nothing but cool-ass alternative and punk music in the '80s, stuff like “Echo and the Bunnymen,” “The Pixies,” and “The Cure.” I wish. My recollection of the decade is that most people were listening to either hair-metal or Paula Abdul. Still, I wouldn't want to watch a movie that featured the music that was actually on the radio back then, so I'll give them a pass.

“Grosse Pointe Blank” holds up great to a repeat viewing, and if the movie slipped by you the first time around, you might want to dip back into the '90s and check it out.

3 stars out of 5

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) ****1/2

Let's face it. It's been a while since Tarantino was Tarantino. Sure, “The Hateful Eight” wasn't bad, but it felt like it dragged on a bit long, and I honestly haven't felt any drive to re-watch it the way I have re-watched, multiple times, his early films like “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction.” The good news is, there's a new guy in town who can write and direct genre fiction with the kind of fresh, original energy that made Quentin Tarantino famous. Writer/director Drew Goddard is known for creating “The Cabin in the Woods,” and he also wrote the excellent found-footage monster movie "Cloverfield" and adapted the screenplay for  "The Martian."  These projects have given him the kind of Hollywood cred necessary to assemble a stellar cast for “Bad Times at the El Royale.”

This noir potboiler features a singer (Cynthia Erivo), a priest (Jeff Bridges), a vacuum salesman (Jon Hamm), and a hippie (Dakota Johnson) who converge at a faded California/Nevada border hotel one stormy, fateful night. They all have secrets, of course, as does the desk clerk (Lewis Pullman). It turns out the hotel has a secret corridor behind all the rooms that gives access to one-way mirrors and hidden microphones. From the corridor, the clerk films people's various private activities, and on this night, there is plenty of private stuff going on. As each pursues his own agenda, the storm builds, and so does the pressure.

Some have complained about the run-time of this film, and at 2 hours 21 minutes it does run a bit long. It's still shorter than “Pulp Fiction,” though, and like that movie, there is plenty to keep you on the edge of your seat. Even with some scenes going on for quite a while, the performances are so compelling and the story so good that I never got bored. Any one of these actors could carry a film on their own, and together they are dynamite. Cynthia Erivo, in particular, is a revelation, particularly when she coolly puts a murderous cult leader (Chris Hemsworth) in his place.

When you stay at the El Royale, you have to choose whether to stay on the California side or the Nevada side, but if you love a good, Hitchcockian, neo-noir potboiler, your choice is easy. Rent it, or catch it on HBOGo, but definitely check out “Bad Times at the El Royale.”

4.5 stars out of 5

63 Up (2019) *****

Has it really been seven years since the last "Up Series" documentary, “53 Up”? As Tony, one of the real people followed by the series puts it, “The time has just flown by.” For those not familiar with the series, the BBC made the first film in 1964 by interviewing a diverse group of 7-year-old children in England. They included children from wealthy, poor, and middle-class backgrounds. Seven years later, Michael Apted, a member of the original “Seven Up” team, followed up with the kids to see what they were like at 14, then again at 21, and so on, every 7 years. He interviews them to find out what is going on with them in terms of jobs, marriage, kids, and so on, and about how they feel about their lives, current events, and politics.

The project has bloomed into one of the most monumental TV series ever, really a sociological and artistic achievement. I will try to avoid gushing too much over it, but it has meant a great deal over the years to a great many people simply to look non-judgmentally at these subjects as they move through the seasons of their lives.

“63 Up” finds us, for the first time, missing one of the subjects because they have died. Apted interviews their family to honor them. Another subject is seriously ill. Many of the subjects are grandparents, and we get some glimpses of the next generation. I don't want to say any more and spoil any of the surprises.

I have mentioned in a previous review how getting into the “Up Series” makes you a part of the project. Once you are caught up on the series, you will have to wait 7 years for the next installment. The next time you meet these characters,you will be 7 years older yourself, and your view of them and their lives may be totally different. Watching “63 Up,” I considered for the first time how much a part of the experiment Michael Apted is. He asks one of the characters a question about aging, and they respond, “Well, you tell me, Michael.” It reminded me that if these people are 63, Apted must be at least in his late 70s or his 80s. Will there be a “70 Up,” and if so, will Apted be around to make it? If he isn't, how many of these characters would feel comfortable trusting their story to someone else? That's the power of this series. The decades-long format makes you care about the lives and mortality of people you have never met, on a much deeper level than a traditional program, fiction or nonfiction, ever could.

5 stars out of 5