So far in 2015...

I have been slacking big time when it comes to blogging, and, honestly, I'm not really feeling it lately. Still, I am going to at least try to post at the end of the month so I can at least keep up to date in case the urge to return to blogging hits me. Here is a brief review of what I've seen this year so far.

Ex Machina
Stars: Domhnall Gleeson,  Oscar Isaac (a.k.a. current mega crushes!)
Plot: A genius invites an employee to his isolated estate to run the Turing test on an AI that he's created.
Thoughts: This is the sexy, creepy, smart Sci-fi movie you didn't know you needed in your life. Brilliantly acted and beautifully bizarre, this is a must see and one of the best things I've seen in a while.
Grade: A-

While We're Young
Stars: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried
Plot: A couple feeling ostracized from their friends because they don't have kids begin hanging out with a pair of 25 year olds.
Thoughts: I love director Noah Baumbach's movies but this disappointed me big time. It felt like a bad Woody Allen and was more pretentious and condescending than funny or enjoyable.
Grade: D+

It Follows
Stars: Miaka Monroe
Plot: A girl is followed by a demon (??) after being passed a sexuality transmitted curse.
Thoughts: *Sigh* Remind me to stop getting caught up in the fuss when Twitter decides something is the best horror movie in decades. It wasn't true of The Babadook (although that is better than this) and it's not true of It Follows. It's got great music, great atmosphere and a killer opening sequence, but a lot of it is cliche and full of plot holes and even sometimes laughably bad.
Grade: C+

Song One
Stars: Anne Hathaway
Plot: After her brother is hit by a car and put into a coma, a woman visits his favorite NYC spots and falls for his favorite musician.
Thoughts: Hathaway,  who usually annoys me, is pretty great, and parts of it are really cute, but it's mostly forgettable. Netflix Begin Again instead.
Grade: C

Black Sea
Stars: Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
Plot: A group of out of work submarine workers get hired to go in search of a missing Nazi sub filled with gold.
Thoughts: This movie got dumped in January for some reason, and barely anyone has heard of it, but it's totally worth checking out. It's a pretty solid thriller and a generally good way to spend 2 hours.
Grade: B

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

I'm not sure where exactly it happens - because, in the beginning, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is sort of boring and preposterous - but, somewhere along the line, it becomes a very good movie. In fact, it becomes one of the best movies I've seen this year. It's a movie that is smart and funny, adventurous and visually stunning.

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a forty-something daydreamer who works at Life Magazine in the photography department. Evil bearded Ted (Adam Scott, mean and hilarious) announces Life Magazine is moving online and will be publishing their final issue with a negative from famed photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn). The only problem? Walter seems to have lost the negative. So, with urging from a pretty co-worker he's crushing on (Kristen Wiig), Walter embarks on an actual adventure, instead of just one that plays in his head. He starts following a few very vague clues and ends up at a dive bar in Greenland where he soon heads on a helicopter to a boat in the middle of the ocean. I guess, this is where the movie finally gets good because, from there, it's nearly non-stop adventure as Walter travels the world, meets interesting people and does amazing things.

This film was also directed by Stiller, and is based on a story I haven't read. When I first saw the previews, I was truly excited to see this film. The redundancy of which I saw that trailer sort of made me start to groan every time I saw it after a while, but I was still excited for the movie. And it didn't disappoint. I read somewhere that Stiller nailed the comedic aspect of the film, but didn't really sell the more dramatic parts. I disagree with that. I thought Stiller nailed the shy, reticent, day dreamer. Actually, I thought all of the performances were great, especially since almost all of the actors in this movie are more well known for comedy than anything else. But, they all gave pretty well-rounded performances. Of course, I'm the biggest Sean Penn fan in the world, and I think his small scene near the end is, far and away, the highlight of the film. The moment between Sean and Walter near the end is an absolutely beautiful scene.

Another great thing about the movie is the visuals. I don't know if it had a lot to do with Stiller as a director, per se, or if he just managed to find truly beautiful places to shoot, but the cinematography is stunning. From the run down charm of Greenland to the majestic Himalayas to skateboarding through the rolling fields of Iceland, every scene on Walter's journey is gorgeous to look at.

Of course, the real theme of the movie has to do with finding someone to connect to (which has been in a theme in a lot of movies I've watched this year), and Stiller and Wiig sell that aspect of the film as well. They have great playful, awkward chemistry. The movie may start on the slow side, but it certainly picks up and becomes a truly great movie going experience. I'm not usually one for "nice" movies, but this is definitely a very sweet, very heartwarming, nice movie.

Grade: B+