Indignation

First Hit:  Extremely well-acted, beautifully shot, thoughtful film about a serious young Jewish man exploring love, life, death and his understanding of the truth.

Marcus (Logan Lerman) is from a small New Jersey town where his family owns a small butcher shop. He works in his father store to earn some extra money before he goes off to school. The small college is located in Ohio.

Arriving at his dorm room he finds he's been assigned to room with two other Jewish students in a town and college that has few Jews. These upperclassmen tell him that the college tends to put Jews together for social reasons. Immediately, the audience sees that Marcus’ seriousness and introverted behavior may be in conflict with, at least, one of his roommates.

While studying in the library he sees and is bowled over by Olivia (Sarah Gadon) who is studying a couple tables away. He’s never had a relationship before and finally gets the nerve to ask her out.

His first date takes him extremely out of his comfort zone, while opening him up to feelings he’s never had before. Olivia is open and very direct and tells him about her difficult past. Marcus has never experienced anything like her before and it turns his world upside down.

All the students are required to attend church lectures given by Dean Caudwell (Tracy Letts) followed by Christian prayer. Marcus is offended by this as he is both Jewish and his developing belief structure doesn’t support a “God”. There are two meetings with the Dean that are phenomenal to watch.

The acting by the actors is both amazing in their characterizations and the content of their discussions. The film is book-ended by scenes of the Korean War and of a rest home, which pull the film together because this film is not just about the budding relationships and coming of age, but about the cycle of life, death, and love.

Lerman was wonderful in this role. He clearly embodied this role and made his struggles the audience’s. Gadon was sublime. When she was on the screen, she was all I could watch. The depth of her struggles and intelligence was obvious. Letts as the Dean was truly amazing. I so enjoyed his logic and conversation twists during the two meetings with Marcus. James Schamus’ writing and direction was outstanding. His interpretation of this Philip Roth novel was great.

Overall:  I was totally engaged with this film and story.

Equity

First Hit:  Although the story could have been interesting, the acting and execution didn’t stand up to the story that was available.

This film is about three of things:  It is about how a company goes public (IPO). It is about women and their place in Wall Street banks and investment companies. And lastly it is about the cheating, greed, and fraud on Wall Street and how money is the root of these issues.

Unfortunately, the drive from the main character Naomi Bishop (Anna Gunn) was a turn off. Not because of her aggressive behavior but there was little that was likable about her character. There was no charm and little compassion. She is supposed to be smart and wants to be a company “rainmaker” but she’s not people smart nor does she connect with others and it shows. She wasn’t likable.

Her part time lover Michael Conner (James Purefoy) is part of the same company but is in the brokerage area. He’s a ruthless broker, yet charming and has a way of coercing information through intelligence and charm. He does this to take advantage of ill begotten information and make money for himself and others.

When we see him trying to obtain information from Naomi’s phone while they sleep together, you get his deep seated lack of integrity. He never really cares about anyone in this film except about himself. Naomi’s right hand person Erin Manning (Sarah Megan Thomas) is being held back by Naomi. She continues to do excellent work for Naomi but is treated indifferently and oppressively by her boss.

This is where I began to dislike Naomi. She didn’t care about someone she was supposed to be mentoring. The film follows the IPO of a privacy software company run by a young arrogant guy named Ed (Samuel Roukin). He’s got a programmer who finds a hole in the security and he reacts poorly which puts his IPO in danger.

This could have been a very good film, but because the story was never set up to like anyone, nor to create an in-depth view of the characters, I was left to just watch poorly defined characters (except Samantha – Alysia Reiner) vie to one up each other in mediocre ways.

Gunn was unlikable. Yes, the role called for it, but as the main character it is important to find something to make me (and the audience) want to root for her, I couldn’t. Purefoy was charming and precisely the type of uncaring person you’d expect to find for a broker/banker. He was appropriately self-serving, just as he shared about how his kids only see him as an allowance giver. Thomas was one of the more interesting and better acted characters. Reiner as the Federal Attorney who wanted to find inappropriate and illegal collusion was engaging. She was the only one who seemed to have an interesting background and was allowed to grow in the film. Roukin was good enough in the arrogance department to be the kind of Silicon Valley company CEO. Amy Fox created a mediocre screenplay from a strong story by Thomas. Meera Menon didn’t bring this film to life very well. Despite the well intentioned ideas of the film, the execution was poor.

Overall:  I had high hopes for this film, but when there isn’t anyone to care about, I ended up not caring.

Anthropoid

First Hit:  This was a strong, well-presented, and interesting film about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich the architect of the holocaust.

The story follows a small group of men who parachute into Czechoslovakia with the goal of assassinating Reinhard Heydrich who had been sent to Czechoslovakia to ensure that the country supplies Germany with the war materials they expect.

There is a resistance movement in Prague which has been decimated by German soldiers publicly killing people who do not fall in line with German leader wishes. Heydrich had come up with the plan and process for killing all European Jews and was Hitler’s number 3 guy so he was Hitler's guy to get Czechoslovakia in line.

The film mainly follows two of the men, Jan Kubis and Josef Gabcik (Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy respectively) who parachuted into the republic, and find themselves in Prague being helped by the resistance led by Uncle Hajsky (Toby Jones). Both Jan and Josef are coupled with two women Marie Kovarnikova and Lenka Fafkova (Charlotte Le Bon and Anna Geislerova respectively) as a way to help them blend into Prague city life while they plan the assassination.

The film is graphic about the struggle and occasionally uses actual footage. The scene of the actual assassination was well staged in that it felt risky and real. The suspense was palpable.

The end scene with the battle in the church was very well done and very heroic in nature. Watching this film was like watching an important piece of history, which means the filmmakers did an excellent job of bringing this story to life.

Dornan was wonderful as the guy who struggled to pull the trigger but when the chips were down he was a reliable member of the team. His romance and connection with Marie was palpable. Murphy was fantastic and the driver of the mission. His ability to be strong, yet apologize for his focus, was truly heartfelt. Jones was really good as the main contact and leader of the underground. Le Bon was really good in the way she was supportive of the mission and her love for Kubis. Geislerova was truly amazing. Her strength of character shone through in this role. Sean Ellis and Anthony Frewin wrote a very strong script and Ellis’ direction was spot on.

Overall:  This was a truly interesting and well-acted film about a historical event.

Bad Moms

First Hit:  Although it was quite crass at times, there were more than a few laughs, which made this film worth watching.

The story follows Amy (Mila Kunis) as she is taken advantage of by her young, uninformed, boy boss because she shows up each day although she only works their part time.

She has this demanding job, is a mom doing all the mom type running round, tries to stay active with the PTA, and wants to be a good wife. Her primary focus is to help her kids, including doing their school work, so her kids get good grades. After dropping the kids off at school, she shows up to work and is the only grown up in the company.

Her husband casually works, and Amy catches him, one day, having skype sex with a woman he’s never met. This online relationship has been going on for 10 months. She kicks him out.

The pressure to be a good mom and be active in the PTA, led by Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) is fierce. Amy meets and bonds with Carla (Kathryn Hahn) and Kiki (Kristen Bell), two other moms who struggle with the pressures of motherhood.

Carla is divorced and is man hungry. This is where most of the film’s crassness comes from. Carla is foul mouth and man hungry. This is the largest detriment to the film. It might have been better if this character was either cut or the role toned down somewhat.

Kiki, on the other hand becomes empowered through the film and this is nice to see. The three of them are fed up with the power that PTA President Gwendolyn and her henchwomen Stacy (Jada Pinkette Smith) and Vicky (Annie Mumolo) exude with prissiness and entitlement based on money and what they think is right for everyone.

The PTA is the battle ground and Amy decides to challenge Gwendolyn for the presidency of the organization. The film has lots of scenes that show the PTA in all its glory. It shows women deciding to take their lives into their own hands while juggling their children, and their lives outside of school.

I did think the crassness of Carla was overdone and had me wanting to cut her lines. I thought Amy’s relationship with her kids Jane and Dylan (Oona Laurence and Emjay Anthony respectively) was a strong part of the film. The most touching part of the film were the credits, as the actresses and their moms were revealingly interviewed.

Kunis was very good and her ability to carry multiple looks (mom, party girl, and responsible workmate) were strong. Hahn was good and I disliked the script for her. The man and sex hungry woman with a foul mouth didn’t work for me. It never works for me male or female. Bell was wonderful. She brings an engagement to her roles that is always watchable. Applegate was very good and she clearly knew this role. Laurence, for me, was the star of the film. It was a minor role, yet what she brought to it how she engaged each scene was wonderful. Anthony was good as the son trying to figure out his path now that dad was gone. Smith was strong as a henchwoman. Scott Moore and Jon Lucas, together, wrote and directed this film and outside of the overt crassness, it captured some of the life of moms.

Overall:  For the most part my experience was positive, but it wasn’t a great film.

Don't Think Twice

First Hit:  At times funny, occasionally awkward, and might have been better as a documentary.

The way this film begins it almost feels like a documentary, and there are segments that were documentary like, however it isn’t.

The Commune is a small group of improvisational comedians and this film follows them as they do performances that feel very authentic. Prior to each show the group riffs with each other, hug and reaffirm they have each other’s back, and touch a lucky charm before going on stage.

The theater is small and usually full and mostly because they are good and the seats are cheap. It is easy to see that this group loves improv and they are committed to each other. They barely make any money and live mostly together in shared housing and although one of the team might have access to family money, they take other jobs to keep themselves in food.

Their goal is to get on a television program called “Weekend Live” which is a takeoff of “Saturday Night Live”. Being on this program would mean fame and a regular, much larger, paycheck.

There is some competition among the group to get noticed by the Weekend Live staff. Some in the group are more talented, some are better bit writers, and some are more driven. However, there are others who just want to be in the cocoon of the group because it is where they fit.

The group consists of Miles (Mike Birbiglia) who is a teacher of improve at a school, Samantha (Gillian Jacobs) who loves the group and has a poor sense of time (in some ways), Allison (Kate Micucci) is one of the more introspective and talented member, Lindsay (Tami Sagher) is one who has access to money, but loves the bohemian lifestyle, Jack (Keegan-Michael Key) who wants fame the most and puts himself in place to make it happen, and Bill (Chris Gethard) who seems out of place, yet is a critical member.

The story is about how they react and support each other in finding a new place to create their form of art, how they act when someone gets noticed, and what they learn about themselves along the way.

Birbiglia wrote, directed and has a primary role in this film. Overall, his character is one that has to learn a lot about who he is and in this vein he was good. Jacobs is strong as the person who is clear about her wants, but has difficulty expressing them. Micucci, played a little like the character she has played on “Big Bang Theory”, which is the person unsure of her skills. Sagher is good as the girl who is trying to make her own way although the team knows her family has money. Gethard is good as the guy in the background who gets to express himself on stage. Key is very good as the big personality and the one who aggressively wants to make it big. He does well at showing his compassion for the others and engaging in his success. The writing was at times strong and other times seemed unclear of direction.

Overall:  This film didn’t seem quite focused enough to know where its strengths were.