Jackie

Honestly, this was barely a 3-star movie. The plot was very scattered, the characters lacked depth, the direction felt canned and stale. In my mind, it was the acting that pushed it barely over to 3 stars. Portman was quite compelling - she looked and sounded as I remember Jackie Kennedy, albeit a bit colder. Billy Crudup and Peter Sarsgaard were both quite good as well. I just never felt pulled into the story or feeling deeply for the characters, which is why this fell flat for me. 3/5

Jackie on Netflix

Pawn Sacrifice

I grew up in a chess household, and thus with the name Bobby Fischer. I knew of his genius and his struggles with mental health when I was very young and have always followed his life with great interest. "Pawn Sacrifice" is a fairly accurate portrait of his mental illness but left too many of the details of his life open for question. There was a lot of interesting story left out, which made me rather sad. However, Wood was brilliant in this, and gained it back half of a star. And, just for the record, I believe Kasparov would have beaten Fischer had they met in their prime. 3.5/5

Pawn Sacrifice on Netflix

Black Mass

I've seen quite a few films about Whitey Bulger in the last few years, so, plot-wise, I didn't feel like this film necessarily added anything new to the subject. However, the acting in this was absolutely top-notch. It's been a lot of years since I've seen Johnny Depp really sink deep into a role, long enough that I'd forgotten how good he can be. He is at his best in this film, where he seems to inhabit Bulger heart and soul. The whole of the cast was really on their game, and the direction and script were solid. A well done film about a well known subject. 4/5

Black Mass on Netflix

Experimenter

I can't fault this too much as a film - the acting was adequate, and the direction was different and interesting. But, as a student of psychology, I found the factual content at best misleading, at worst inaccurate. Just okay for me. 3/5

Experimenter on Netflix

Jarhead

I feel this is the true inheritor to "Full Metal Jacket", a dark, tense & blackly comic portrait of the state of war. 4.5/5

Jarhead on Netflix 

Blue Jasmine

This is the first Woody Allen movie I've truly loved - darkly poignant & beautifully acted - tragically lovely. 5/5

Blue Jasmine on Netflix

Lovelace

Seyfried is great in the lead role of this bio-pic that heavily favors Linda's version of events. Interesting take. 3.5/5

Lovelace on Netflix