Lady Bird, 11/8/16, BPM (Beats Per Minute), Last Flag Flying, A Bad Moms Christmas

Lady Bird

11/8/16

BPM (Beats Per Minute)

Last Flag Flying

A Bad Moms Christmas

Another relatively strong crop of films as we enter the season of Oscar hopefuls:

Jason Bourne, Star Trek Beyond, Bad Moms, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, Summertime, Phantom Boy, Under the Sun

Jason Bourne

Star Trek Beyond

Bad Moms

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie

Summertime (La Belle Saison)

Phantom Boy

Under the Sun

A lot to get to in a mixed week at the movies, so just a little analysis of each:

The D Train

"The D Train" stars Jack Black as Dan Landsman, a Pittsburgh __________ (it's not clear exactly what he does, just that he works for Jeffrey Tambor's underperforming company) who chairs his high school reunion committee even though nobody much liked him then or now.

The Top Ten Films of 2013: #8

#8

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller's update of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" achieves more of what it sets out to do than most of the better-pedigreed Christmas releases this year.

Afternoon Delight

Usually studios put all of a movie's funniest lines and most memorable moments into the trailer, so that by the time you get around to seeing it, you've already seen the best parts. Jill Soloway's "Afternoon Delight" exemplifies the opposite phenomenon: a great movie whose unfunny-chick-flick preview makes you want to avoid it like the plague. That's a shame, because this is one of the wisest films of the year, knowing and insightful on matters of the heart and the libido. 

We're the Millers

The fake-family comedy "We're the Millers," to the posters for which Warner Bros. has appended the very funny tag "(*if anybody asks)," is so schizophrenic it plays like two, sometimes three different movies.