The Hangover Part III

Comedy
3.5 stars
Good, but not as funny as the previous Hangover films.  The Wolfpack is back again, this time on a road trip to take Alan (Zack Galifianakis) to a clinic that goes, of course, horribly awry.  Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, and others return as well as couple of newcomers including John Goodman.  I have to say, there was one scene involving sheets and a rooftop that had me laughing so hard I had to practically stifle myself to stop.  Too bad the rest wasn’t as funny.  Good for a few laughs.

   

 

 

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s

Documentary, Fashion

3.5 stars
Interesting love letter to the elite Bergdorf Goodman store, including the history of the store, interviews with the entire who’s who in the fashion world who describe their first encounters there, and my favorite part, the window dressers.  Who knew their sales staff makes roughly a half mil a year?  A fun film for both fashionistas and those who can only dream of shopping in the world’s most elite department store.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Sci-Fi, Action
4 stars
Fun.   Chris Pine reprises his role as Captain Kirk and leads his crew after a bad guy (Benedict Cumberbatch) who wreaked havoc in London.  My husband says Trekkies will understand it better if I just say it’s a prequel to Wrath of Khan.  We saw the 3D version and it seemed worth it for the effects.  For non-Trekkies like me, it was still a fun film and a continuation from the previous J.J. Abrams Star Trek (2009).

The Great Gatsby

Drama
4.5 stars
Loved it!  The classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel is brought to life once again as Jay Gatsby (Leo DiCaprio) throws over-the-top parties hoping his long-ago love Daisy (Carey Mulligan) will find her way there so they can meet again.  As for director Baz Luhrmann, I absolutely hated his Moulin Rouge, and yes he still has outrageous set design for Gatsby, but this time it feels right, as Gatsby was an over-the-top character.  He has taken some minor liberties with the story, but the core plot remains the same.  I loved the wild parties, the beautiful mansions, the glamorous clothes and the essential love story.  I thought it was a strange choice to have Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) narrate the story to a shrink in a sanatorium.  I didn’t mind the mixture of modern music with era appropriate music, but some people found that to be a turn-off.  I watched the 3D version, but didn’t see any real benefit to pay extra for this feature.  I loved this film, I am going to see it again soon!

Iron Man 3

Sci-Fi, Action
3.5 stars
Fun film, not as good first in the series.  Robert Downey Jr. is again attacked by a really bad guy (Guy Pearce) and must save the world once more.  Don Cheadle and Gwyneth Paltrow resume their roles as Downey’s inner circle.  There’s lots of fun, action and humor as with the previous Iron Man films.  I have to believe that jumping into his Iron Man suit in midair has got to be painful!  Once again there is a bonus scene after the seemingly endless credits, and neither Jim nor I thought it was worth the incredibly long wait.  But fans of the comic book genre should love it. 

Mud

Indie, Drama
3.5 stars
Good film starring Mathew McConaughey as a man hiding on a small island who is discovered by two young boys.  Really, the boys (Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) are the true stars in this film as they try to help McConaughey in his quest to protect Reese Witherspoon from harm.  I really liked the coming of age aspect of this film.  The ending I suppose was appropriate, but I was left wondering “Now what?”.  Still, this is a good film.

Oblivion

Sci-Fi, Drama
4 stars
Good, but a little slow.  Tom Cruise stars in this futuristic film that feels like a combination of WALL-E and Total Recall.  Cruise and Andrea Riseborough are on Earth to maintain the machines that are sucking the ocean water from earth to be used in the spaceship the earthlings had been evacuated to after a war ruined the planet.   But things change when he meets the strangely familiar Olga Kurylenko as well as Morgan Freeman.  Then the movie feels like it steals a little from Star Wars chase scenes and a touch of 2001: A Space Odyssey.  But the combination of influences from other films works here.  I liked it.