Midnight Special (2016)

This movie has a Steven Spielberg feel to it. It is his brand of science fiction. It is a little bit Close Encounters and a little bit Super 8--all very prominently feature the night. It is about a young boy with mysterious powers who needs to get to the right place at the right time for something. It is all shrouded in mystery. There are three parties who have competing stakes. One party is the FBI, joined by Adam Driver from the NSA. Adam Driver is a little subdued, he kind of under acts. It is the same bland delivery of lines as in Paterson and Star Wars. Sure, I guess it fits the role but it's always the same with him. Another party is a religious cult that reads prophecies from the boy's powers. And the third party is made up of Michael Shannon, Kirsten Dunst, and Joel Edgerton. All three of them are excellent. I particularly liked Shannon's intense performance as a concerned father. The movie is engaging and mysterious, not to mention visually striking. 

St. Vincent (2014)

This was a pleasant surprise.  Aside from being funny, it was charming.  There is something that audience's love about unlikely relationships--this time between a schoolboy and his elderly curmudgeon of a neighbor.  And of course the setting is Brooklyn; where else would this happen?  It is not your typical Melissa McCarthy fare.  There is a serious and sentimental side to this comedy.  The cast is outstanding with Bill Murray in the lead in fine form.  The movie is predictable but that doesn't detract from the quality of the movie.