Your Weekend Movie Guide for January 2015

My home away from home.   And this is the time of year to go to this industry-oriented movie complex in Hollywood.  The Oscar nominations are out.  The voters are out in droves.   And, while you might not necessarily recognize the faces around you, there is a sense that they all work in the film business.  And have Oscar ballots at home.

So, we're lucky these days because the Oscar nominees give us something to see.   But, count on it, there's also plenty of junk out there.  You know the drill, folks.  I'll sift through the LA Times entertainment pages and give you my knee-jerk reaction to what's playing.  A lot of it has already been reviewed on these blog pages.   But, then again, there are always new surprises.

And nightmares.

The Hobbit - The Battle of the Five Armies:   I am happily continuing my long standing tradition of avoiding any movies done from J.R.R. Tolkien books.

Exodus - Gods and Kings:  And it is written:  Thou shalt not see this.

Top Five:   Review coming.  I am backlogged after the holidays.  Please be patient.  Your readership is important to me.

Mr.  Turner:  See Top Five.

Big Eyes:  See Top Five and Mr. Turner.

Foxcatcher:   Reviewed here.  My eyelids have been drooping ever since.

Wild:  See Top Five, Mr. Turner, and Big Eyes.

The Gambler:  A remake of the 1974 film.   I didn't see that one either.

Still Alice:  Julianne Moore trying to remember how to win an Oscar as she portrays a woman who forgets her name.

A Most Violent Year:  I thought that was 1968, but these filmmakers apparently have other years in mind.

Annie:   Reviewed here recently.   Avoid it like it's the Ebola virus.

The Interview:   Reviewed here recently.  My e-mail address has not been hacked...yet.

Let's Kill Ward's Wife:   OMG.  June Cleaver??!!!

Selma:   And here I thought this was a documentary about the female comedy writer who worked for Sid Caesar.

Night at the Museum - Secret of the Tomb:   Is there a viable reason to continue this film franchise?   This movie is noteworthy because it includes the final screen appearances of Robin Williams and Mickey Rooney.

Taken 3:  Liam Neeson in another action thriller.   Surprise?   Anybody?

The Woman in Black 2 - Angel of Death:  You mean there was a first installment?  

Song of the Sea:   I have no clue what this is, but it reminds me that Disney still has not released Song of the South on DVD.

The Imitation Game:  Reviewed here recently.   A perfect, old-fashioned "let's get a leg up on the Nazis" thriller.

Into the Woods:  Still on my list to see.   At which time a review will be written and posted here.   Probably after I post my reviews of  Top Five, Mr. Turner, Big Eyes, and Wild.

American Sniper:  See what I just wrote for Into the Woods.  Ditto.

Paddington:  That damn bear.

Unbroken:   So you thought the North Koreans were an angry lot?   Wait till you hear what Japan did during WWII.

Inherent Vice:  Paul Thomas Anderson takes another look at 70s Los Angeles.   You get the impression he has access to a wardrobe department that has lots of bell bottom pants?

Little Accidents:  A mining disaster.   Which strikes me that the title is supposed to be ironic.

Blackhat:  A huge cyber crime.  Is this being released by Sony?

The Wedding Ringer:   Who is Kevin Hart and why does he get movie roles?

Match:  No clue, except I'd only be interested if it starred Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Fannie Flagg.

Loitering With Intent:  FYI, it's not a documentary about the occupy movement.

Zero Motivation:   What I feel about most of these movies listed here.

Black November:  A rebellion in Nigeria.  It stars Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, and Anne Heche who are all about as Nigerian as I am.

Diving Normal:  A graphic novelist fights for a beautiful woman.  Just how graphic does he get?

Druid Peak:   A teenager tracks wolves in Wyoming.  And you thought they were all glued to their Smart Phones?

Spare Parts:  Four Latino high school students battle MIT in a robotics competition.   Jamie Lee Curtis is listed in the cast.  Expect some product placement for Activia.

Three Night Stand:  Virtually never happens.

The Touch of an Angel:  This is a documentary about the German persecution of Jews during the 1930s.  In case you thought it had anything remotely to do with that old TV show.

Son of a Gun:   That would be a pistol.

Pretty Rosebud:  Paging the estate of Orson Welles.

Appropriate Behavior:   Rarely found on this blog, thank goodness.

Vice: The logline sounds like this is an updating of Westworld.   Bruce Willis is in it.  You've been warned.

Leviathan:  A Golden Globe winner from Russia.  That's enough to scare me away.

Predestination:  Ethan Hawke is a time traveler.   He's probably just happy to finish one movie that didn't take twelve years to film.

Two Days, One Night:  The French version of Up in the Air.   Marion Cotillard plays a woman who loses her job.  Je suis Unemployed.

The World Made Straight:  Looking at that title, you wouldn't expect that this is about some folks in a rural Appalachian community.

Dinner last night:  Pasta with broccoli, garlic, and olive oil.