The Big Sick

The trailer for this movie is deceiving. I expected a basic run-of-the-mill Apatow comedy, but this was something different. This was far more a drama than a comedy, with a decidedly dark tone to the whole film. I don't mean dark as in black comedy... I mean dark as in "oh shit, is the main character going to die???" kind of dark. I wasn't expecting it but it worked really well, and I felt the balance of the lighter scenes to the much heavier scenes to be just right for this story. The film was co-written by one of the leads, Kumail Nanjiani, who turned in a strong acting performance as well. The acting was extremely solid all the way through. especially Ray Romano's great performance. I enjoyed this, it hit me in the feels. 4/5

The Big Sick on Netflix

Manglehorn

About halfway through this film, the titular character of A.J. Manglehorn utters the sentence "She was like a great ball of fire, and I was so very small in comparison". It's a beautiful line that evokes a specific and poignant image of this man. The problem comes in that this character is played by Al Pacino, who, even when he is desperately trying to be very small, as he is for most of this film, is, in fact, a great ball of fire himself. And because he burns so very brightly no matter how small he tries to be, his inability to sink into this lush and well-written role takes a wrecking ball to the central themes of this film. I spent most of the movie wondering how Dustin Hoffman would have played this character. I also thought a lot about how another actor, Nicolas Cage, who is also known for being very large, managed to pull off a role of extreme subtlety very recently in a little film called "Joe", which, as it turns out, was directed by the same man as "Manglehorn", David Gordon Green.  I never thought I would see the day when Cage could play small better than Pacino, but that day is here it seems. A beautiful script, but I could never sink into it. 3/5

Manglehorn on Netflix

The Incredibles

Seriously, has Pixar ever missed? This was funny, exciting, & heartwarming. Another winner - excellent. 5/5

The Incredibles on Netflix

Miss Firecracker

Filled with caricatures instead of characters, this film was tedious & shallow instead of deep & meaningful. 2/5

Miss Firecracker on Netflix