November Man

I had a vision while watching this movie: a bunch of people getting together to make a mediocre, run-of-the-mill spy thriller. The first day of shooting, Pierce Brosnan inexplicably wanders on set and decides to be in the movie. "I say," Mr. Brosnan says in a cultured English accent. "Why don't I just play the lead?" And he does. Because he's awesome.

Sin City 2

Almost immediately after watching this movie I had to revisit the first Sin City to get back into the characters and their intertwining stories. I like the fact that the timeline isn't exactly clear from one movie to the next, or even from story to story. This movie had the same look, feel, and hard-boiled dialogue of the first, but it seemed to lack the same excitement and nuance. It almost felt like one of those animated Disney sequels released to DVD. They want to give you a little extra, without the same commitment they had the first time around. 

100 Foot Journey

I don't think you can necessarily use the term "food porn" if you're not crazy about the food. When it comes to Indian cuisine, for me, it's more like food dating. I'm interested in some of your sexier dishes, but I'm not sure about an uninhibited evening of curry-sutra. Let's get to know each other first; I can't be slutting it up like I do with French food. Ultimately, Journey depicts this balance: French & Indian cuisine, culture, and storytelling. You know there will be a clash from the onset, but this will lead to a delicious blend of feelgoodiness.

Get On Up

You gotta have a list of things to check off for a biopic of a musical legend:

Aged performer reflects before a show.
Troubled childhood haunts career.
Performer alienates loved ones.
Musical montages depict rise/fall.
Performer makes amends with loved ones.

This movie has all of that. But it also opens with a heavy set woman sitting on a toilet, prompting James Brown to fire a shotgun at the ceiling. It's his toilet, so he's edgy. Plus he's high. Then he looks into the camera. The audience becomes complicit to everything he does: good, bad, and worse. Sold.