The Housemaid

How realistic is it that someone would accept total irrationality over a relatively stable—if sucky—situation? That’s another way of saying the truly preposterous character in this flick is not Amanda Seyfried’s lunatic wife and mother but Sydney Sweeney’s putative down-on-her-luck heroine. There are roughly 35,000 points at which a rational person would ask a pertinent question and figure out that the situation was one that recommended extraction ASAP. Instead we get a woman—check that, we get multiple women—who get themselves way too deep into an absurdity, and then all that follows follows. So be it. Given certain story parameters, this is obviously meant to be a female revenge fantasy, and from that perspective the film achieves its goal, and does so with an adequate amount of being entertaining (and amusing, if you really dig violent comeuppance). Plus you get ample opportunity to ogle Sweeney and her rather famous talents (the movie isn’t shy about the show-off factor), not to mention the still-quite-fetching Seyfried. So overall, it’s hardly a waste of your time, even if it isn’t a masterpiece. If nothing else, you will learn a valuable lesson: sometimes the help needs help.

Ted 2

In familiar Family Guy style, Seth MacFarlane is not about to let a joke go without making sure to beat it all the way into the ground. While the original Ted was comedy gold, this one's closer to a bronze medal: a fairly steady steam of good laughs, but with just enough stupidities woven in--and recycled bits from the first--to take the overall quality level down a notch. And of course, in keeping with the flavor of both films, it probably helps immensely if you watch it when you're stoned.

A Million Ways to Die in the West

This movie way wind up being Seth MacFarlane's Bananas or Sleeper; it is like one of those early Woody Allen vehicles in which its auteur carves out a unique niche for himself and tells a story (and jokes) that no other filmmaker working today would or could. The laughs come consistently--occasionally uproariously--and from such a skewed angle that they're entertaining in their idiosyncrasy alone. The other interesting thing here is the performance by Charlize Theron, who has previously been good but never this likeable and approachable before. This is must see stuff for comedy fans...maybe not so much for the wilting flowers (raunch dominates the humor here; few of the jokes are suitable for "polite company").

Les Misérables

Simply spectacular stuff. I was surprised by all the complaints I heard and read about this film; the issues raised never amounted to more than quibbles in my eyes. What I got out of it was a great viewing experience: tremendous performances from several of the cast members (Jackman, Hathaway, and Barks in particular), a lot of memorable music, and a rich visual presentation that truly enhanced the complex and deeply emotional story. I was especially intrigued by how Javert prefigures the soldiers of Nazi Germany, and by the moral contrast between Javert's failures and Valjean’s powerfully redemptive story. Not just bang-up entertainment, but heavy, interesting stuff to think about, too. A must see.