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.

Sorry to Bother You

It's a ringtone that gets your attention, for sure, and maybe even will get you to buy what it's selling. Maybe. I think this is a good movie, but I'm distracted by how it seems like it could have been substantially better. The best parts of the story are in roughly the first half, when protagonist Cassius is scuffling his way towards something that can resemble success. And then when he makes it...that's when things go off the rails. Again, maybe. Some viewers will be more tolerant of the second half's deep dives into absurdity (or, if you're more generous, not-so-subtle Swiftian satire). This viewer felt the movie, and its serious subject matter, had enough going for it to be fascinating with a more straightforward treatment. Lakeith Stanfield does strong work as Cassius, the young man who wants to do the right thing...eventually...perhaps. And the city of Oakland has a star turn as itself--a most realistic setting for this tale. All in all, it's good, and I'm probably being overly critical, but only because I was expecting this flick to be much better. You have to decide on your own if you're willing to take this call.

The Expendables

Sure it's stupid. Borderline retarded in many places. Long stretches of the film sound as though someone spent many hours taping random conversations in bars at 1:30 in the morning, then transcribed the recordings into a script. And there are plenty of "what the hell is going on?" moments throughout. So why no outright HISS? Because it delivers what it promises--plenty of satisfying "blow shit up" moments, and there are just a few touches of decent direction here and there. Stallone does know how to make a movie; he just doesn't always put that knowledge to good use. In this case, as long as you don't pay for it, he probably did just enough.