Barry (2018-23)

Barry ushered in the era of the black comedy.  How do you pitch a comedy about a marine-with-PTSD-turned-hitman-turned-aspiring-actor? The premise is ridiculous but it works. Bill Hader is a tour de force. He is a good actor, playing a character who is a bad actor, improving as an actor. Yes, the Bill Hader from SNL known for Stefon. He does some serious acting. And as showrunner, he created a poignant existentialist story. And as a burgeoning director, he directed some of the series's best episodes. There are some masterful shots Hader directs himself. He's not just a sketch comedian. Henry Winkler is fabulous as the acting teacher Gene Cousineau. And my personal favorite is Anthony Carrigan who plays the gay Chechen mobster Noho Hank. His viciousness and sarcasm is matched with a heart of gold.

The BFG (2016)

I don't really remember the book very well, but I do recall that it was one of my favorites growing up because of its imaginative story. Roald Dahl was always very creative. On the whole though, I was kind of unimpressed by the film. It was alright, but I didn't think it was anything special. Didn't excite me. Children's movies nowadays are not so simple. Even family films have depth, and the BFG was sort of shallow.

Mark Rylance plays the BFG and the motion capture technology is quite incredible. Fresh off his Oscar-winning collaboration with Spielberg in Bridge of Spies, he continues to do fine work. It's a good thing that we can capture his expressions and likeness because he's a theater actor and he expresses a lot more than he did as the low-key spy.

Inside Out (2015)

Much like emotions themselves, this movie is quite complex. Perhaps a little too complex for children, but if you think the target audience is children, then you don't know Pixar, which has consistently made high quality animated films that resonate best with adults who might accompany children to the theater.  Pixar adds to its canon of masterpieces, and perhaps outdoes itself once and for all with this brilliant return to form after a year off.  As always, Pixar finds the right balance between comedy, drama and pure emotion, never failing to illicit a tearful response or two or .several from the audience.

The premise is so novel and creative and clever. It is pure genius.  It is at once a story about growing up, about memories and dreams, and about learning to grapple with our feelings, our emotions and personalities.  And it does so literally from the inside out, telling stories from inside Riley's mind.  It is a story that only the world of animation could bring to life.  It is very beautifully animated.  It uses imagination to envision what imagination looks like.  It envisions an expansive library of memories sitting in storage.

The characters are extreme caricatures, all cast perfectly.  Amy Poehler plays Joy, a hyped up version of Leslie Knope.  Likewise, Lewis Black plays Anger, an extreme version of his own persona.  But it is the character of Sadness voiced by Phyllis Smith that shares the spotlight with Joy, or stands in the shadow of Joy's aura.  I really appreciated Pete Docter's attention to sadness, an emotion for which the child-minded Joy sees no use; but our emotions are complex and sadness is not an inherently bad thing, and the real heart of the film is this interplay between these two characters learning what it means to be sad and learning to embrace it.

I also think that it is great that the main character is a little girl (a la Brave).  Perhaps girls are a little more in touch with their emotions at a young age. But in any case, it is important for girls to see themselves portrayed on screen, and in Pixar's fifteen productions, this is only the second to feature a female protagonist.  And she plays hockey!  Take that, gender stereotypes.

PS. Did you catch the reference to Chinatown? "Forget it, Jake. It's Cloudtown"
PPS. Did you see the film poster at Dream Productions referencing Vertigo?

Trainwreck (2015)

Judd Apatow takes his tried and true R-rated comedy formula, and refreshingly puts a female protagonist at the helm.  Amy Schumer pens this hilarious not-your-typical romantic comedy.  No, Schumer pokes fun at romantic comedy cliches in a satire of sorts.  Her self deprecating, biting, edgy, raunchy humor is exactly what we've come to expect from Schumer.  But at the same time, there is a good balance between humor and seriousness.

Amy Schumer and Bill Hader play great leads. They have good chemistry together, and they make each other funnier feeding off of each other's energy.  Tilda Swinton is unrecognizable in her tanned skin tone.  And the MVP award goes to LeBron James playing himself. Is there anything he can't do?  As the concerned friend and patient of Bill Hader, he is actually really funny.  

The Skeleton Twins (2014)

Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader play two suicidal siblings and breath comedy into a movie that is otherwise very depressing.  It is a refreshingly dark turn from the Bridesmaids-era Wiig.  The former SNL cast mates are at their best when they are alone on screen, seemingly improvising.  They feed off of each other, and sometimes they are on the verge of breaking--acceptable on SNL but usually not elsewhere, though it undeniably works with these two.  The most fun scene is a straight-forward lip syncing scene to Starship's "Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now."  It's simple, but Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig make it hilarious.  It is best when SNL alumni team up to make comedy...could Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader be the next Amy and Tina?

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

I'm a sucker for puns and this movie is just chock full of them, one after another.  The food that once rained down from the skies comes to life, each as a different appropriately named animal.  It's kind of like the animated food/animal version of Jurassic Park.  They create their own ecosystem and of course we can leave it to the evil corporations to destroy it.  There are some funny jokes but as far as animated flicks go, it does not have the emotion that you'd find in a Pixar movie or even in its predecessor.  The original was...well, original (though based on a book).  The sequel was less so, and not really necessary.