I Capture the Castle

Sweet and charming, if not all conquering. The greatest strength here is the performances, particularly from lead Romola Garai, who is thoroughly appealing in her role as narrator and lead character in a coming of age story that runs the full gamut of firsts. Rose Byrne and Henry Thomas are also good in supporting roles, the former as the pretty and vivacious older sister who is the object of everyone’s passion—well, almost everyone—while the latter provides a strong, understated performance that demonstrates that the talent he displayed in early roles was no fluke. Just as important to the appeal of the film is the English (or rather, Welsh) country setting, including an actual castle, which lends everything an air that is rustic, archaic and mildly magical all at the same time. The only quibble here is that the tale sinks into a bit too much heaviness towards the end; that weight dulls the sense of delight that permeates the rest of the story, though I suppose heartbreak is life’s invariable, inevitable result. Overall, the fun and charm are enough to achieve victory. To the winsome go the spoils. 

Bridesmaids

I was sure I'd give this movie a PURR after watching the first hour. Then things started to falter, and doubts crept in. Eventually, the story rallied, and enough laughs came in the final half-hour or so to hold the whole enterprise up in positive territory. But the unevenness is there, and worth noting, meaning this flick is not quite the perfect piece of work it is often made out to be. Still, this one is probably the best work from at least some of the principals involved, particularly Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and (maybe) Melissa McCarthy. It's definitely worth watching--I'm just saying maybe don't marry it.

Annie (2014)

It's tempting to view this "colorized" version of the old musical as something gimmicky and as an unwarranted attempt to "update" the look of what has long been considered a classic--but as you watch this film, it becomes clearer and clearer that this is a legitimate re-telling of the tale. Indeed, this is probably how the story should play in today's world; we should expect a modern-day Annie would be more Quvenzhané Wallis than Andrea McArdle. Having never seen the play or original movie (or even read the comic strip, for that matter), I have no opinion on how "true" to the original this version is; I can just testify that the story remains strong, its modern touches make sense and work within the plot, and the performances are mostly true and done well. This seems to have been an overlooked work when it came out, and unfairly so; I suspect most viewers will appreciate it greatly and enjoy it very much.

X-Men: First Class

Lots of fun. True, lots of silly, profoundly implausible fun, but for what it is--a backdrop that plays while you munch away at your grain-silo-sized tub of popcorn--the movie performs its task admirably. There's plenty of easy on the eyes--certainly for the male viewer; probably for the female viewer, too, though I'm not one to judge that--and a good dose of cool visuals (nice but not overbearing special effects included), and an easy, comfortable attitude about the materials that more than makes up for the profound absurdity of the base premise. And, of course, Nazis with submarines; you never go wrong with Nazis with submarines. Wrap it all up and it's worth a couple of your hours.