Imitation Game

Innovators rarely get the credit they deserve. Innovators that fall under the female-minority-gay heading, well...their legacy becomes a footnote. Alan Turing's story is even more complicated because of his affiliation with MI6. Like the CIA, they can keep a secret--especially one they're ashamed of. Turing designed the first computer and used it to decode Nazi messages for the British. Cheers! But, he was gay...in the 1940s. Bollocks. He ends up being persecuted (grotesquely) by the government he helped to save. Like Japanese internment camps, it's not something countries want to remember, even 70 years later.

Exodus

Exodus is yet another 21st century Biblical adaptation. Like the Western, Bible stories depict a specific time period, but they are constantly being adapted to mirror the thoughts and concerns of the era. Stagecoach vs. Unforgiven. The 10 Commandments vs. Exodus. In Ridley Scott's adaptation, Moses is kind of an acekicker. He's a warrior and general who is banished, gets hit on the head, and starts talking to God. God is represented by an angry little boy whose tantrums embody the 10 plagues of Egypt. Moses argues with God, but ultimately listens and abides. I guess that's us now. 

Mocking Jay .5

When did we start cutting movies in half? Be honest, Hollywood, did you just shoot one movie, divide it up, and charge me twice? Going all the way back to Back to the Future 2 & 3, those so & sos were up to something. I can forgive Doc Brown and Neo's Matrices because, even though the sequels were bullspit, they were separate stories. Kill Bill was divided out of necessity, plus it kicks ace, so all is forgiven. But Mocking Jay is one book the way Hunger Games is one book. Give me one complete story, don't leave out...

Equalizer

Respected actresses get older and they play bitter divorcees, on the verge of a life changing moment. Respected actors get older and they play solitary bad aces, on the verge of shoving a corkscrew under a Russian mobster's chin. Denzel, Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan: they all seem to be starring in these (let's face it) upscale exploitation movies with "spy" or "thriller" attached to them. Here Denzel acts as an avenging angel, resourceful in his use of household items. Whether corkscrewed, barbwired, or nail gunned, he gives the mobsters that piercing, Glory stare. Ultra-violent and absurd, sure. But that stare...

Walk Among Tombstones

There's no disputing Liam Neeson kicks ace. Following the death of his wife, his movies are ultra-violent and dark, as he plays the brooding ex-mercenary/cop/spy. His characters are kind of broken, but "possess a particular set of skills" that allow him to...kill a whole bunch of people. I can go along for the ride because, in the end, it's fiction. But why do movies like Tombstones have to include torture and mutilation to set things in motion? It's become a necessity for thrillers and we're so numb to it, we just move on to the next one.

The Drop

Tom Hardy is the man. He's this generation's Marlon Brando. His character reminded me a lot of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront--subtle, sad, but with this undercurrent of rage. If you follow that movie template, James Gandolfini filled in for Charlie (smart & shiftless) and Noomi Rapace for Edie (noble & broken). The Drop has the same gritty blend of working class crime with a fallen protagonist. That's probably the character type I am most drawn to: the guy who knows there's something better, but doesn't quite know if he deserves it.

Calvary

A brutal, unflinching metaphor on how society punishes religious faith for the sins of the world. Cheese-and-rice. It's gonna take me a few episodes of Saved by the Bell to get over this one.