Quick Movie Reviews

A monthly summary of newer movies I’ve seen

The Big Short (2015) – As one of the millions of Americans who lost money in the economic collapse of  2008, I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch this.  A great cast (Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt plus supporting cast members Marisa Tomei, Melissa Leo, Karen Gillan AND appearing as themselves to explain points in the movie Anthony Bourdain, Selena Gomes, and several others).  If you’re beginning to feel a little confused already, that’s OK.  I was too.  The movie plays as a comedy almost, except the subject matter is never funny.  The movie is tense and compelling.  It was touch reliving that time, but the movie was well worth it.

Rating **** Recommended

Deadpool (2015) – A thirteen-year-old boy’s sex/revenge/action pic.  A movie for people who find the “X-Men” movies too intellectually challenging.  It has several funny moments, Morena Baccarin, and an interesting take on action/superhero movies.  Sadly, it then takes Baccarin off the screen and beats that concept to death along the way.  It’s not as cute as it thinks it is.  And seriously, does anyone over the age of 15 really think that non-stop swearing is funny?  Eliminate the swearing, violence and sex and it’s twelve minutes long.  I’ve watched much worse, but my bet is that this movie doesn’t age well.

Rating – *** Worth A Look


Chappie (2015) – “Robocop” meets “Short Circuit” without retaining the best of either.  Lacking the sense of humor of either and none of the iconic visuals of “Robocop”, the movie can’t quite decide if it’s a serious science fiction flick about artificial intelligence and the question of when such an intelligence becomes “human”, or if it’s a fun sci-fi comedy with a heart.  What you end up with is a bit of a mess.  Call this the bottom level of this rating.

Rating – *** Worth A Look