Robot & Frank
Disappointing independent film about an old man in the near future who is given a robot to help with his dementia. Langella is excellent, as always, but the narrative kind of veers around to nothing. Too bad. **

Secret
Enjoyable Korean thriller about a police detective investigating the murder of a gangster. When evidence points to his estranged wife as the murderer, he has to try to stay ahead of the investigation. Well done, some interesting twists, sub-plots, and revelations. Good distraction. **

Shoot the Piano Player
It had been nearly forty years since I had seen this Truffaut homage to noir films. A piano played gets involved with deadly criminals. Surprisingly enjoyable interplay of humor and violence. Not one of my favorites of Truffaut, but really enjoyed seeing it again. **

The Secret World of Arriety
Another delightfully accomplished anime from Studio Ghibli. This one is based on The Borrowers. Perfect graphics and a sweet plot. Want my grandson to see it. Wonderful. **

Pacific Rim
Absolutely delightful live-action homage to mech anime. del Torro got everything just right, as you would expect from him. Only problem was it was too short. Really enjoyed it. **

Stand Up Guys
Disappointingly shallow and poorly written movie about three old gangsters reunited when one of then finally gets out of prison. Incredible waste of superb acting talent. *

Spring Breakers
Excellent film about four young women who go to spring break in Florida to find who they really are. Well acted, very well directed, and an especially good job by James Franco as the incredibly creepy gansta. Surprisingly well done. ***

The Lone Ranger
Unbelievably bad film version of the wonderful 50s TV show. Horrible plot, incomprehensible tone, stupid, cartoonish action, and characters you end up despising. Really bad. *

Star Trek
Watched it again and still really enjoyed the way it builds the back-story of the TV characters. Lots of fun and very good action. ***

Mob Sister
Over-stylized and shallow Chinese movie about a woman dealing with the assassination of her Triad father. I doubt it could have been more adolescent and pretentious. Waste of time. *

Heartbreak Library
Sickly sweet Korean movie about a librarian who helps a man find the book he’s looking for to deal with his grief. Of course, they end up together in the end. Really shallow. *

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Really bad version of the fairy tale where the primary addition seems to be artificial use of the f word. Confused tone and plot, and a waste of excellent acting talent. Really dumb. *

A Good Day to Die Hard
Very disappointing installment in this Bruce Willis franchise. Just action that is primarily unconvincing and really lame dialogue. Too bad, I’ve enjoyed most of these. *

World War Z
Movie about a UN employee’s attempts to identify the source of the contagion turning everyone into zombies. Done well enough, but there is no gore, all the horrible violence is speedy and kept at a distance. So, there’s no real horror. As a result, kind of lifeless. **

Bedeviled
Brutal Korean movie about an abused woman on an isolated island who has finally had enough. Sub plot about the friend she tries to get to help her. Emotionally bleak and hopeless, but well done. **

Doomsday Book
A trilogy of short Korean films about the end of the world, at least as we know it: a robot achieves enlightenment, zombies take over, and a woman brings destruction through and online purchase. All done well enough to be entertaining. **