Young Woman and the Sea

Let me spoil the drama for you: she makes it, eventually. That’s not really much of a spoiler, since Gertrude Ederle accomplished her famous swimming feat a hundred years ago; only the most historically ignorant will go in not knowing the outcome. So any suspense in this film must come from the journey to the moment of triumph. Really, though, there are no surprises here—it’s all very standard sports biopic stuff. There’s humble beginnings, family conflict, obstacles and doubts, allies and enemies, and ultimate success—all the beats you expect from this kind of movie. So why, then, does this seemingly run of the mill flick merit its positive purr? Two reasons: one, the extraordinary nature of Ederle‘s achievement (and its echoing legacy throughout the years and right up to this day in women’s sports); and two, the uplifting presence of daisy Ridley, who seems positioned to corner the market on the “heroic young woman” genre. She captures the essence of her character’s spirit, of the determination that helped her overcome long odds, cruel nature and social rigidity. It all makes for a great story. Dive in on this movie—your viewing experience will indeed go swimmingly.

Yoga Hosers

One of the most committed feature-length goofs you’ll ever encounter. Clearly, there was never any intent to make a serious film here, so the viewer has to match the spirit of the piece in order to get the most out of watching it. That calls for viewing this flick with a persistent smirk on your face and not much in the way of critical examination in your mind. For sure, the humor here runs the gamut from silly and clever to breathtakingly stupid, so you really can’t go in looking for greatness. And the missteps in the story, while gargantuan, are ultimately forgivable given the obvious lack of seriousness. (This movie would have played much better if it had been a simple ghost or monster story, or even just a straightforward slasher pic, but the actual backstory is just downright ridiculous and dumb—the sort of thing that happens when you’re overly dedicated to making movies while being totally baked.) All in all, though, if you play it loose and silly—as does everyone in the cast, including title protagonists Harley Quinn Smith and Lily-Rose Depp, who add beaucoup de cuteness to the mix—then you’ll find yourself having a lot of fun with this pic. That is, unless you’re Canadian, in which case you may be mortally offended by the film’s (mostly) gentle but relentless teasing. But the rest of us can just sit back and spend 90 or so minutes enjoying some entertaining if ultimately meaningless fun. And that’s aboot all there is to it.

You Only Live Twice

This is where it started to get silly. You can see how Connery would have wanted to get out after this piece. Every Bond cliche that was lovingly mocked in the Austin Powers movies has its provenance here, and it all suffers accordingly from the viewer’s memories of the parodies. The fact that Roald Dahl is listed as the scriptwriter only adds to the absurdity. Watch it if you’re a Bond fan, or a Powers fan for sure, but don’t have high expectations. (Viewed and reviewed as part of the 2017 "Watch all James Bond movies in sequence" project.)

Young Adult

I enjoyed watching Patton Oswalt play reluctant Sancho Panza to Charlize Theron's demented Don Quixote. And, with the exception of one major misstep towards the end, the movie remains refreshingly, brutally honest throughout. It certainly provides a fine meditation on who lives 'those lives,' if you know what I mean, so if you're prone to that sort of thinking anyway, check this one out.

Yojimbo

A wonderful movie, more than worthy of being the inspiration for one of the classic westerns, A Fistful Of Dollars. The best part has to be Toshiro Mifune's towering performance as the out of work samurai--the original man with no name--who plays the rival factions like a concert violin. Certainly a classic, probably would be a Best Of All inductee, were I truly equipped to judge the nuances of Japanese movie culture. Don't miss it.

You Can Count On Me

It has its moments, but most of it is fairly obvious. Laura Linney (Oscar-nominated) is good, but Mark Ruffalo is better. A "not quite" movie.

You've Got Mail

I'm tempted to write this thing off for being a blatant and obvious advertisement for AOL, but the combination of Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks and director Nora Ephron works well enough for forgiveness. Funny and charming, though ultimately a bit depressing in its "there's no room for the little guy" philosophy.