2015 MOVIE GUIDE
4 STARS聽
– Boston Globe reporters expose Catholic child abuse in modern ‘All the President’s Men’
– Brie Larson gives Oscar-worthy聽performance聽as abducted mother raising child in captivity
– Paul Dano & John Cusack show tortured genius聽of Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson
– Tale of 1950s Irish immigrant to New York is good, old-fashioned storytelling
– This masterful look at human emotions is one of Pixar’s all-time best animations
– Oscar Isaac & Alicia Vikander shine in Alex Garland’s unforgettable A.I. thriller
– Sundance champ is hilarious, heartbreaking look at teen cinephiles
– Marlon Brando’s lost tapes reveal the fatalistic cycle of fathers and sons
3 1/2 STARS 聽
– Matt Damon shines on the Red Planet in Ridley Scott’s space comedy-thriller
– Quentin Tarantino’s violent, vulgar Western Whodunit is聽bloody ballet
– Tom Hardy takes Mel Gibson’s role in high-octane George Miller reboot
– Director, star of “Fruitvale Station” turn this “Rocky” knockoff into a surprise knockout
– J.J. Abrams brings George Lucas’ vision roaring back to life
– German flick masters single-take technique聽with a great performance by Laia Costa
– Leo DiCaprio should finally win Oscar for role in “Birdman” director’s follow-up
– Boyle & Sorkin focus on the daughter that Apple’s founder refused to admit was his
– Compelling N.W.A. biopic is handled with urgency, social relevancy
– Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks build tension out of Cold War spy negotiations
– Hungarian Holocaust drama won Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film
– Cate Blanchett &聽Rooney Mara deliver in eloquently-directed tale of forbidden romance
– Oppenheimer doc provides powerful聽companion piece to “The Act of Killing”
– Harrowing Oscar-nominated documentary charts 2014 Ukrainian revolution
– Bryan Cranston masterfully plays blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo
– Johnny Depp stages chilling comeback as聽Whitey Bulger in聽true gangster tale
– The life, death and genius of Amy Winehouse is explored in this tragic documentary
– Davis Guggenheim doc tracks Pakistani girl’s famous fight for rights
– Kenneth Branagh’s old-fashioned flick聽is refreshing in a revisionist fairytale age
– Judd Apatow & Amy Schumer bring warmth to聽hilarious R-rated comedy
– Documentary explores rise and fall of Soviet hockey team as players jump to NHL
3 STARS聽
– Will Smith’s best聽role in a decade has the guts to take on the mighty NFL
– Star-studded flick聽breaks down 2008 financial crisis in laymen’s terms
– Spike Lee’s daring new joint聽adapts聽Aristophanes鈥� Ancient Greek play聽鈥淟ysistrata鈥�
– Guillermo del Toro’s twist is predictable, but gothic visuals are simply gorgeous
– Noah Baumbach & Greta Gerwig create screwball comedy in the Big Apple
– Feel-good doc of the summer about Make-A-Wish kid’s Batman for a day stunt
–聽聽Tom Cruise once again shines as action hero Ethan Hunt
“The Last Five Years” – Anna Kendrick musical tells both sides of breakup in opposite directions
– Fourth installment revives Spielberg’s dino classic from fossilized amber
– Robert Zemeckis recreates the 1974 high-wire walk across NYC’s Twin Towers
– Jonah Hill, James Franco get serious in true-crime tale of accused family murderer
– Sundance聽documentary favorite聽explores drug cartels on U.S.-Mexico border
– Eddie Redmayne is a convincing cross dresser, but it feels more like Oscar bait
– Bill Murray Netflix special is amusing, but more variety show than plot
– Jake Gyllenhaal transforms himself into boxer in Antoine Fuqua melodrama
– Daniel Craig’s likely last turn as Bond is solid, starting brilliant, but running too long
– Blake Lively is forever 29 in this fantasy-romance of an ageless woman
– M. Night Shyamalan gets his suspense groove back by eating grandma’s humble pie
– Jude Law turns ‘Das Boot’ into ‘Das Loot’ searching for sunken treasure on sub
– Cate Blanchett & Robert Redford give great performance in Dan Rather fall from grace
– The late Paul Walker takes one last ride in the franchise’s seventh installment
2 1/2 STARS
– Katniss’ final chapter exposes saga’s seven-year itch
– David O. Russell’s “American Hustle”聽mops floor with this tale of聽J-Law’s聽QVC聽entrepreneur
– Robert Redford & Nick Nolte carry a聽buddy-comedy hike on their backs
– Robert DeNiro & Anne Hathaway shine in above-average workplace comedy
– Jack Black charms as children’s聽author R.L. Stine as his book monsters come to life
– Script drags, but cool homeless experiment for Richard Gere and director
– Ellen Page & Julianne Moore play a same-sex couple聽fighting for pension benefits
– Owen Wilson & Lake Bell show serious side in family survival tale in Southeast Asia.
– Will Smith’s most suave, romantic role since “Hitch,” but too many ridiculous twists
– Jennifer Aniston tries hand at serious role by playing a grieving, hallucinating addict
– Brad Bird & Damon Lindelof team for a complex live-action Disney fantasy
– Won’t win any converts, but fans of the聽TV show聽will likely enjoy this聽movie version
– Scott Eastwood flick will please Nicholas Sparks fans, but聽won’t win聽converts
– Seth MacFarlane’s raunchy sequel pales to the original, but has its hilarious moments
– Marvel sequel will be a Hulk Smash, but this time, doesn’t deserve it
2 STARS 聽
– E.L. James’ erotic S&M novel not sexy enough聽on the聽silver聽screen
– Cameron Crowe’s Hawaiian romantic comedy gets lost in聽confusing vanilla sky
– Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart are funny, but the prison-rape premise is not
– Superhero flick wastes talented cast with too much setup, not enough payoff
– Neill Blomkamp’s latest sci-fi flick is confused in tone: cute robot in a cruel world
– Jennifer Lopez has dangerous,聽over-the-top affair with young neighbor
1 1/2 STARS
– Fifth installment proves the franchise needs to be terminated.
– Adam Sandler goes for “Ghostbusters” charm, but is eaten alive by arcade aliens
1 STAR
– Griswold family reboot misfires with jokes and聽lacks heart of Chevy Chase original
– Mila Kunis & Channing Tatum star in overblown Wachowski sci-fi flop
– Sixth installment “Ghost Dimension” ironically has no dimension at all
Review from Past Years:
