Trance

James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Vincent Cassel team up in Danny Boyle's new film about a stolen Goya, a hypnotherapist, a gang that uses torture, and twisty turns and backflashes and hocus pocus "is it real or isn't it" stuff. Now, I didn't like Inception because of all the stuff that could not POSSIBLY have happened and the crappy scene in the middle with all the fighting. I didn't like Memento because there were real cracks in the logic. REAL cracks. But if you liked those two movies, you'll probably like this one. We spent about a half hour after seeing this debating what really  happened and the order it happened in. Yep- it's that sort of movie. What really helps is the cast is great. So if you get lost, you just watch them act for a while until you can catch back up. I thought it was pretty good- I wouldn't have been sad to have missed it entirely though. I like thought provoking movies but not movies where I have to actually figure out what is happening. There is a difference.Some critics called it "sleek"- I would say it is more like a box of hidden trinkets, and it is up to you to dump it out and see what is there.  So go see it if you like disjointed movies- don't go see it if you don't. There. Ta da.

The Place Beyond The Pines

There's good, there's great and there's some not so good. But overall, this movie really should have a wide audience. First, the not so good- it is too long. The first half of the film takes too long to establish something the audience all ready figures out- that Luke (Ryan Gosling) is a big screw up and it won't end well for him. The good is that the director really knows how to make the audience sit on the edge of their seats, and since the movie is new, no one really knows what to expect so the tension is palpable in the theater.  The great part is that once Bradley Cooper (looking rather plain as Avery, a feat in itself) steps in, the whole thing ramps up. It has a generational plot- the fathers- Luke and Avery- both have sons of the same age. And when the movie skips ahead 15 years, the depth of loss for everyone unfolds. It is a pretty good movie, and though it is in limited release, it should gain some traction and do well. I'd recommend it.

OZ the Great and Powerful

You know what this movie needed? More charm and a different cast. Never has James Franco been more sadly miscast than in this movie. The problem is that we KNOW the Wizard- we've met him before at every Christmas season. We don't just SORT of know him, we reallllly know him. Just like we know Dorothy. And the wicked witch and Glinda, yada yada. These people are like our family- some are evil and some are sweet. So to drop Franco in here and have him act basically like he is NOT like the man we know as the wizard, well, we don't have to care about him, do we? The special effects are fun, but the movie suffers at times from very bad writing. I wanted to click my  heels together and repeat "there's no place like home" several times. But then I remembered- it was I who begged to see it asap; it was I who went online and bought the tickets; it was I who got all excited. I may have set my expectations a tad high - maybe no one could have done a better job. But alas- I have no one to berate but myself and Sam Raimi. Pitifully, the WRITING credits include L Frank Baum. Poor guy- he's not here to defend himself. He would not have come up with this poorly cast film. I'm sad. Go see it if you must.  I give it 2 stars because it is okay in a sentimental and technological way. It will not give you the warm fuzzies at all.

Side Effects

I love a well crafted thriller. I'll spare the personal suspense and tell you that this is, indeed, a well crafted thriller. For about the first hour, you just try to sort out some sort of truth. For the second hour, you are into the unraveling of the mystery. No matter how I'd try to explain the plot, it would ruin it for you because every detail means something- so pay attention!. So I'll say this- Jude Law and Rooney Mara just steal this movie. Catherine Zeta-Jones is just not that good here, but it doesn' t  matter one bit. Law and Rooney walk away with it. I was ready for a nap when I sat down in my IPic recliner,  just because I'd had a long day. The minute the movie started, it just grabbed me and continued to hold on to the very end. It was well scripted, well acted and well directed. I'd go see it again just to see if I missed anything. Go see it. Go. Right now.

Identity Thief

Well, evidently most of the reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes don't follow the cardinal rule of the Flickerchick: It is what it is.  Don't expect a comedy with Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman to rise to some level of sophistication. Don't expect it to not be predictable. But you can expect it to be raunchy, occasionally time wasting, silly, graphic, weakly scripted and HIGHLY DEPENDENT on the talent of its cast. Luckily for the audience, McCarthy's comedic skill combined with Bateman's deadpan and kindly delivery make for a fair amount of hilarity and some laugh out loud moments.  I had seen the 29% approval rating on rotten tomatoes, but the viewers gave it a 72% at last count- so something is rotten in tomatoland. There just shouldn't be that sort of discrepancy. And I was right. It will certainly entertain alot of people - alot more than 29%-who are just tired of the heavy dramas that have been out there. It entertained me and I am a tough audience. The theater was packed, too.  I'd say you should take the attitude of "do I think I should spend time watching silly comedy?" and if the answer is yes, them by all means go enjoy it. (If I could give an actor a star rating, I'd give McCarthy 4 of em).