8/10 - The perfect conclusion to one of the best trilogies of all-time, Before Midnight continues the success of the first two films and somehow finds a way to yet again improve upon the formula. The direction from Richard Linklater is yet again spectacular and the acting from Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are once more perfection. Whereas the first two films, I believe, were largely optimistic, this one does paint quite a sad portrait of love as you age. Yet, in many respects, I think it is still a beautiful picture. It is a film that shows difficulties in relationships and leaves nothing out. However, the way in which it walks it back and shows the tender moments in the aftermath of war, it illustrates that though it can be messy and hurt, love is worth fighting for and the blood, sweat, and tears, spent in the pursuit of it are not in vein. For this, Before Midnight is the best of the trilogy, though they are hard to separate, since all three are such great films. Just as natural and brilliant as the first two, Before Midnight is incredibly satisfying.



4/10 - The Grifters ultimately left me feeling quite disappointed. The ending is quite intriguing and well done, but the first three quarters of the film are pretty terrible. Though John Cusack is strong and the premise is interesting, the premise winds up being the only interesting part for much of the film as it winds up just dragging along and never really feeling like anything ever happens. Anjelica Huston is terrible here (seriously, her pronunciation of Los Angeles made me question my decision to watch this one at all) and Annette Benning is alright, but her character is so poorly written and sexist, it is appalling. Honestly, her character is resigned to being nothing more than an object to have sex with, in spite of showing some serious talents as a "grifter". Anyways, the last little bit does save this one from being worse because it is interesting and the film itself is well made, though the direction from Stephen Frears was quite disappointing to say the least. Overall, The Grifters is a sub-par film that should have been way better than it was.



8/10 - Funny, heartwarming, touching, and heart wrenching, Me & Earl & the Dying Girl features hopefully breakout performances from new stars in Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, and Ronald Cyler II. In addition, the direction from sophomore director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is gentle and he is comfortable taking a backseat to his young stars here and letting them go, which is perfect. An honest look at both high school, friendships, and death, Me & Earl & the Dying Girl is funny from beginning to end and guaranteed to make you fight back tears (a fight you will more than likely lose). The film is also a film nerds wet dream with so many references and mentions of classic films that the film itself is as much as an homage to classic films as the amateur films made by the characters. Though there are better coming of age dramedies out there, Me & Earl & the Dying Girl is certainly one of the better ones I have seen thanks to great acting, directing, writing, and a heartfelt story that feels so relatable it almost hurts. It is hard to imagine this one not winding up as one of my favorite films of 2015.



8/10 - School of Rock is a film that has a phenomenal performance by Jack Black in a role he was born to play. In the sure hands of Richard Linklater, the film manages to avoid being too formulaic and is incredibly funny throughout. The film manages to not just be funny, however. Rather, it is also quite touching, entertaining, and moving, throughout as you see this man be "touched" by these kids and see the way he 'touches" them. Well-written and directed by Linklater, School of Rock also has a good performance from Joan Cusack and very impressive performances from the young kids who show tons of potential in this film. The main drawback is that some of the scenes are really hard to watch due to how uncomfortably awkward they are, but hey, that's just me. Coming into this one, I had pretty low expectations in spite of Linklater and came away quite impressed while also being quite entertained. A comedy film with heart.



9/10 - Featuring great acting from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, and Jeff Daniels, Looper is an incredibly original and bold film that you do not see made very often nowadays, so for this one, I am grateful. Blessed with a great concept and very interesting design for the future, Looper has some great direction and writing from Rian Johnson. Looper has some very good action sequences, but its real strengths are from its heady science fiction thrills and from the emotional impact it has on you. In addition, it also has some interesting things to say on the nature of evil in our world, as well as the importance of family and love. When it comes to the time travel feature of the film, it is not afraid to raise questions about what time travel really means. Do things keep repeating and we are powerless to stop them? Are we able to change our futures by altering our pasts? These questions are a few of many that come up, but for a major motion picture, Looper certainly is risky, not just in its willingness to test its audience, but in the fact that it was made at all. Thankfully, it paid off in spades and did quite well financially, but most importantly, it is a really great film. Fun, smart, and original, Looper is easily one of the best sci-fi films of the 2010s.



8/10 - Exciting, funny, and powerful, Cast Away features a killer performance from Tom Hanks. An incredibly well known film, there is not much new to be said about Cast Away other than to say that I really enjoyed it. It was brilliantly acted by Hanks and damn, the film made us care about a volleyball. Sure, it is a bit by-the-numbers in the way things happen and the film itself breaks little new ground, but that is just fine by me, as long as it is well done. In the case of Cast Away, that is certainly the case. It is very well directed by Robert Zemeckis and very well written. Other than Hanks, nothing about this film is excellent, but all of it is good all the same. The special effects here were also really well done and the crash sequence was brilliantly executed and packed with excitement. This one really puts you through every emotion possible, which ultimately, is what film is supposed to do. Overall, Cast Away is a very well made and brilliantly acted film that entertains in bunches.



3/10 - Unfunny, unromantic, unrealistic, and all around annoying, Moonstruck is a complete and utter failure in my book. Cher is annoying in the lead role, Danny Aiello is alright but his character is literally an idiot, leaving Nicolas Cage as the only good part of the film (though his character is quick to get attached, eh?). The film feels as if it was made by some teenager romanticizing about love, who has no idea what love really is. I would know because I am not too far removed from those days myself. Completely lacking any substance, believable romance, and jokes, Moonstruck falls flat from the very beginning and the longer it goes on, the more and more you get annoyed by its very presence. A shame really because Cage is great here, so he wasted a good performance on a terrible film, which I guess is pretty characteristic of him.



7/10 - As a whole, To Catch a Thief is yet another classic film directed by master director Alfred Hitchcock even if it is not one of my favorites by him. Though the plot itself is very intriguing, it lacks the thrills and suspense that Hitchcock is known for. In spite of that, it was directed very well and holds up pretty well though it has showed numerous signs of aging in the 60 years since its release. Cary Grant and Grace Kelly are great and have good chemistry together in the lead roles. The mise en scene is great, as is the costume design, both of which were the stars of this one to me. Finally, as I said, the plot is very interesting as Grant tries to discover who the jewel thief wreaking havoc on this picturesque French vacation destination is. Overall, To Catch a Thief is a good film that is aging relatively well and provides for really good entertainment.



7/10 - Though St. Vincent is not the most original film ever made and is quite safe on the whole, it is still very well made and quite entertaining. Featuring a stellar performance from Bill Murray, St. Vincent is quite a charming little film that manages to be both funny and moving as we watch the relationship between this jaded old man and a young kid come together. Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts are also both pretty good here. There is not a ton to say on this, because as I said, it does break much new ground when it comes to sentimental dramedies, other than to say that this one is quite well made and extremely entertaining. While not original, it does not stop it from being a good film featuring a great performance from Murray.



8/10 - Hilarious, hilarious, hilarious. Easily one of the best comedies ever made, Blazing Saddles holds up very well in spite of the fact it could never get made today due to the racist jokes. With only a few jokes falling flat, Blazing Saddles is funny from beginning to end as it gleefully deconstructs westerns and pokes fun at them, as well as the film industry as a whole. Though it can get a bit vulgar at times, it never stops the film from being great entertainment. Nobody is spared from being mocked by Blazing Saddles and in the end, that is what makes it great. Unafraid of taking risks, the film has aged well and still manages to entertain and create laughs in 2015.