House of Dynamite

 The United States has an incoming ICBM heading for Chicago.....When Katheryn Bigelow gets behind the camera, you pay attention. Here we have a film that harkens back to cold war classics like Dr. Strangelove or On the Beach. HOD is a taunt, high-tension thriller that will grab and keep your attention throughout. An all star cast does a terrific job keeping this afloat and the production values are top end, unfortunately the ending of this film was and will be a huge disappointment for most people. I understand the purpose of the film is a cautionary one, but there isn't much more frustrating than an incomplete narrative. This went from an 8 to a 6 in 5 minutes....Still a solid film.

Lazarus

 After the apparent suicide of his psychiatrist father, his son starts seeing ghosts in his office which leads to an unraveling past and present. Typical Coben thriller starts off incredibly strong, but loses steam as it goes. The serpentine script makes maybe one turn too many and doesn't stand up to scrutiny. There was a great story in here somewhere, but the creators lost their way. The chase scene at the end was completely unnecessary and borderline ridiculous. Some of the performances were solid and other not so much. A real mixed bag. Still if this is the type of thing you're into, it may be worth a watch, but it's a near miss. I'd say the 6.2 IMDB ranking is right on the money.

 The Perfect Neighbor

A powerful and stunning documentary about a "Karen" who had non-stop issues with her neighbor's children which eventually leads to her shooting one of their mothers. A scathing look at Florida's stand your ground laws told through police body cam and interview footage works extraordinarily well. This is riveting from start to finish and is one of the best documentaries you will see this year. Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and how it didn't win is almost forcing me to seek out the winner Seeds. Regardless, this is a complete must see film.

Boots

 

2 closeted gay teens join the marines using the buddy system in the early 90's (when gay people weren't allowed to serve) and this show chronicles their experiences at boot camp in Paris Island. Extremely engaging and tastefully done coming of age drama is well worth the time. All the boxes get checked here and even more significantly, this was the last thing the great producer Norman Lear ever did and serves as the cherry on top of a career that saw him as arguably the greatest TV producer ever. Don't hesitate.

The Baltimorons 

Michael Strassner plays a newly-sober engaged man that has a dental accident on Christmas eve that leads to a May December romance with the dentist. A very nice Indy production and a very untraditional romantic comedy strikes a lot of right notes. I knew i was going to like this film as soon as I heard the score, Vincent Guaraldi Trio's Charlie Brown Christmas. The two leads are both great and the script and style are both quite charming. There is absolutely no reason to shy away from this little gem. A winner from start to finish.

Tina

Top-Notch film out of New Zealand about a Samoan women, Mareta, who losses her daughter during the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch and subsequently becomes a teacher at an affluent private school and introduces them to choir. Plenty to love here. Kind of like an opposite-form Dangerous minds meets Mr. Holland Opus. the films weaves in several themes through the narrative like racism, classism and coping with loss, so there is some depth here. Furthermore, even though it does have some "films-about-teachers" cliches in it, the films depth and the fact that its from NZ and Polynesia made the cliches feel not so egregious. I enjoyed this immensely. Highly recommended.

BTW: Tina is Samoan for mother. 

The Girlfriend

 Set in the UK American Robin Wright is the mother of Daniel and Olivia Cooke's new boyfriend, but she senses something off about her and a game of cat and mouse ensues with Daniel caught in the middle. Who doesn't like Olivia Cooke? She's utterly fabulous and Robin Wright is also her wonderful self. This is an enjoyable show, thats takes many interesting twist and turns and it ends up being a case of which one of these two women is the bigger psycho, but it takes one too many improbable plot turns to be a great show. It's still worth watching, but temper expectations. Solid.