Delayed Reacion: Hotel Transylvania

The Pitch: I wonder if the saying "they're as afraid of us we are of them" could apply to monsters? Quick, Adam Sandler wants to be involved.

What Took Me So Long: You've heard this story before. I only see matinees. Animated movies mean children. I'm happy to wait for Netflix or DVD.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Adam Sandler sounds like he's having a good time and he's more engaged here than he's been in his recent live action movies. The angle of the monsters being equally afraid of humans doesn't make a ton of sense, but it is at least interesting. Oh, and the animation does look pretty good.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: This feels like the hundredth iteration of a "Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Mummy are all friends" story. I'm amazed how, even in a non-Happy Madison production like this, it still manages to come off as Adam Sandler hiring all his friends to voice the characters. You know, I respect the loyalty, but it's sometimes nice to see hear actors work with different people. A lot of the movie is about going for the easiest joke possible.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: French Kiss

The Pitch: Paris is a beautiful city. I want to shoot a Romantic Comedy in it. Someone get Meg Ryan!

What Took Me So Long: I've never found Meg Ryan that appealing and Kevin Kline's accent scared me away some.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) It's forgettable movie in a good way. It's a simple story. Boy dumps girl. Girl overcomes paralyzing fear of flight to win boy back in Paris. Girl meets French boy. French boy helps girl win boy back. Girl and French boy fall for each other along the way. Girl gives French boy life savings to open a vineyard. Oh, and French boy comes from a family with a vineyard but lost his inheritance. Yeah, and boy who dumped girl, dumped her for French girl. Ok, maybe it's not that simple. It makes good use of the setting. Meg Ryan is charming, even on auto-pilot. Kline has fun putting on a French accent and trying to find honesty in a character with such a big personality.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Let's see. I covered forgettable...not a big Meg Ryan fan...mentioned the accent. Pretty much covered my issues with it. I find it funny that this is from the same writer that penned The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Grand Canyon. Sorry, he wrote those and only directed this. I should've clarified.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: The Long Kiss Goodnight

The Pitch: Can Geena Davis be a badass? Give me $60 million and I'll prove to you that the answer is "yes".

What Took Me So Long: I had not idea this movie would be so fun.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I feel like I'm reminded almost weekly that Geena Davis is pretty great, but I haven't really sifted through her catalog. She is so enjoyable here. In fact, this whole damn movie is so damn enjoyable. It's filled with non-stop action, bad one-liners, and insane choreography. There's a sense of recklessness that isn't seen enough these days. If you told me it was originally developed for Arnold Schwazenegger in 1986, I would believe you. Then there's the perfectly cast Samuel L. Jackson, for whom, apparently, the role was completely rewritten when he showed interest (as is the case most times that you cast Samuel L. Jackson for anything).

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I would nit-pick at the plot, but the movie invites the absurdity too much to bother with a close examination. This is Renny Harlin's first movie after the disastrous Cutthroat Island, which makes me even more curious to see what kind of a bomb that movie was, since this works so surprisingly well.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Epic

The Pitch: What if you're not crazy and the underpants gnomes ARE real? Or something like that.

What Took Me So Long: Even Ice Age movies can't get me into theaters, so an off-brand Blue Sky production isn't likely to make me rush and see it. Oh, and they went way too big with that trailer.


Why I Saw It: (Club 50) This looked like it could be a very pretty movie, and I think a lot of the nature shots succeeded at that. It's got some entertaining voice casting. I find it funny that Aziz Ansari is basically slug-Aziz...

Why I Wish I Hadn't: This had some uncomfortable uncanny valley moments, especially when it's any regular sized people. The animation for the people was kind of lifeless, like they put all the effort into making sure the plants looked pretty then forgot about the rest of it. While I don't think an animated movie has to be believable, I like when they are at least clever and consistent. I didn't find the explanation of how this world is able to exist very interesting, and they weren't too consistent about the physics of the size of the people in both worlds (Yes, stompers talk slower, so how can MK's dad understand her super fast talking while she has to wait for his slow talking?). It's not a bad movie, but it is a lesser effort from the Ice Age and Rio studio.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Movie Reaction: St. Vincent

Formula: Mr. Holland's Opus / Bad Santa

Why I Saw It: It's been too long since Bill Murray led a movie.

Cast: Bill Murray is Bill -fuckin'- Murray, so what's left to be said about that? He's the eponymous Vincent and once you get used to his accent, he's great. Melissa McCarthy is less overly comedic than she normally is in movies, and after Tammy, that's a welcome change. Naomi Watts plays Vincent's stripper "girlfriend". She's not a highlight of the movie although it's hardly Watts' fault. Jaeden Lieberher is the kid at the center of the movie that moves in next door to Vincent. For a child actor in his first feature film role, you couldn't ask for much better. Chris O'Dowd has a small role as a priest/teacher at Lieberher's school and he may be the best thing in the movie.

Plot: Vincent is a man who lives along in New York. He's a degenerate drunk, a gambler, and a complete sonuvabitch. Or is he? Divorcee Maggie moves in a next door and Vincent starts babysitting her son, Oliver. He gets Oliver into all sorts of questionable stuff. There's a big falling out. Then, everything ends up fine when Oliver finds out all the good things Vincent has done in his life. I can only think of one place where the story zigs when you expect it to zag. That's not a bad thing. It just means that you aren't seeing this for the story.

Elephant in the Room: How broke is he really? The movie paints him as a guy who is very broke and overextending his funds. Somehow, he still has health insurance and can get drunk at bars repeatedly. Maybe I've just never been broke, but I have no idea how he can afford the things he does. It hurts the plausibility of the whole thing and distracted me a lot.

To Sum Things Up:
Bill Murray is worth the ticket and the closing credits are great. The story never gets fleshed out as much as I'd've liked, so the ending is a little forced/rushed. As familiar as it all was, I still got a little choked up at the end. I guess that's a sign of good casting or something. Whatever. This is a fine movie. Not a great one and definitely not a bad one. A fine movie. 

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: The Tourist

The Pitch: An American tourist Forest Gumps his way through a European spy movie.

What Took Me So Long: I remember a lot of people speaking negatively of it when it got a bunch of Golden Globe nominations and that was always enough to make me say "maybe later".

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) It's kind of surprising to see a movie with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie (btw, she took a four year acting break after this) get so little attention. I guess that plays to perceived vs. actual star power. There's are good moments of chaos for Depp to look flustered in and Jolie is perfect for the suave agent role.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Was there ever a moment of doubt for anyone who has seen this that Johnny Depp was actually Alexander Pearce? I'm not a particularly smart viewer. Realizations like that normally elude me up to the very end. So, if I could immediately assume that twist, I have to wonder if anyone was fooled. It also can't help that I confuse many of the beats in the movie with Knight & Day.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: It Could Happen to You

The Pitch: I read this story about a cop who split his lottery winnings with a waitress he made a promise to. Let's build an entire movie around that.

What Took Me So Long: I'm a little Cage-y about Nic and not very Fond-a Bridget.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I laughed at how similar the development of this is to Safety Not Guaranteed. It's about a famous incident in which a cop promised half his earnings if he won the lottery to his waitress in lieu of a tip, then the officer goes on to win and split his earnings with her. That's one big coincidence and the movie decided to veer into that by making this a fable and adding coincidence after coincidence. When watched as a fable, Nic Cage and Bridget Fonda do a solid job of playing the nicest people on Earth. Rosie Perez and Stanley Tucci ham it up as the evil exes. Wendell Pierce is delightful as the sounding board best friend.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: There isn't much subtlety to it at all. Cage is the best person in the world. Fonda becomes the next best person in the world by knowing him. Perez and Tucci are monsters. Nothing has much shading to it. The intent is to make you feel good about humanity again, and it's a solid effort in that regard.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

DVR Purge: 10/16-10/19

So far, this Fall feels much more spread out than in years past. I have something every night [potentially] and only Tuesday is killer, as it's been for a while now.

Past Purges 

A to Z "C Is for Curiouser & Curiouser"
This week took a big step toward sustainability, giving someone other than Andrew and Zelda something to do. I was a huge fan of Lenora Crichlow in Back in the Game (RIP) so it's good to see her already back on TV. She doesn't have "chemistry" with Henry Zebrowski, but they can function well as the combative sidekicks. Ben Falcone as Howard is nearly softening Christina Kirk as Big Bird enough to work and Parvest Cheena and Hong Chau are fun as the IT duo. This is almost looking like a TV show cast. This week's dating milestone is cyber-stalking and it played out predictably.

Parenthood "A Potpourri of Freaks"
A lot of moving parts. Joel and Julia try to manage their awful daughter while leaving some hope for a reunion. Max likes a girl and Adam's smile at hearing this was the sweetest moment on TV this week. Crosby is being driven insane by who appears to be the only client they have at the Luncheonette. Hank has a shockingly easy time resolving Sandy's issues with Sarah. The heartstrings moment was Kristina convincing Zeek to start working on his recovery. After last week's tear-jerking, a simpler episode like this is for the best.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Flaws"
This might be the wrong takeaway from the episode, but Girl Meets World found black people this week. That's a bit reductive. Still, I couldn't help but notice that when Billy Ross is introduced into the class out of nowhere, the extras around the room got more diverse as well. I guess that having the only black student be the antagonist looks bad. Or, maybe I'm reading too much into this. We could really use a week off from the over-sentimental episodes. It is what Michael Jacobs does best. This is getting to be a bit much though. And, had you asked me for a list of characters from Boy Meets World who I'd expect to have a recurring status on Girl Meets World, Harley Kiener wouldn't've made my first 20. It's been effective though. He's been funny enough and I appreciate that they explained how he happened to end up at the same school as Corey despite being in a completely different state.

Brooklyn Nine Nine "Halloween II"
I can't think of a bad episode yet this season. They really committed to the absurd complexity of Peralta's and even more so Holt's plans. The sad thing is that Holt's plan isn't much more absurd than something from Now You See Me, only Brooklyn Nine Nine is playing it as a joke. It's fitting that Peralta got the team's help last year and Holt did this year.

The Walking Dead "Strangers"
Is it sad that as soon as Father Gabriel showed up I got very worried for Bob? We're way out of the days of "there can only be one" for black actors in the show. The one in, one out principle still applies comically often though. To be fair, Bob isn't dead yet. He could be saved. An entire missing leg is a tough thing to work around, especially cut as high as that was. Father Gabriel will be a fun addition. His sins certainly seem to be tied to cowardice, but it's hard seeing the group being too callous to a man of the cloth.
Did I mis-hear something or at the beginning of the episode, did Abraham tell Rosita "Right there is why we're waiting for our moment." Was that just about convincing everyone to join them to Washington, or is something bad to come?

Mulaney "Halloween"
I'm really trying to be patient with this since I like so many of the individual parts (casting, not characters). I'm hoping by some miracle that it comes together sooner than later. The best version of this show is one that I'd be happy to watch.
UPDATE: After writing this, I discovered that FOX announced it is reducing the episode order for Mulaney from 16 to 13. They just wrapped shooting episode 13. That means FOX has essentially halted production. I assume that means Mulaney is dead, so it's not likely that I'll continue watching.

Movie Reaction: Fury

Formula: Saving Private Ryan ^ Inglourious Basterds

Why I Saw It: I like Brad Pitt and war movies.

Cast: I like whenever I feel like the producers got their first choice for each of the roles. Collectively, there isn't a ton of star power, but it's a good mix of familiar faces, less familiar ones, and people who regularly make the most of any role. Brad Pitt isn't a far cry from his last Nazi killin' role. He's more tortured by his actions though. Shia LaBeouf plays against expectations as a deeply religious soldier who has come to terms with what he must do in wat. Logan Lerman is a trained clerical officer who finds himself a member of this unit. He's the new guy and the film traces his transformation from meek to hardened. Michael Pena is consistently one of my favorite actors to show up in anything. He doesn't have much to do in this but he does it well. Jon Bernthal is a bit of a loose cannon and certainly the most frustrating character. That is by design. Some people internalize what the war has done to them. He doesn't.

Plot: It's the tail end of WWII and Lerman finds himself part of a tank unit in a region of Germany that still has a lot of fighting going on. The Germans are ready to lose, but in the mean time, they are trying every desperation move they can, recruiting women, children, and anyone else they can to fight. The movie isn't focused on the macro story. It's just about this tank unit as they move through assorted strategic points. There's plenty of fighting and explosions, so fans of that won't be disappointed. The audience is very much playing catch up through Lerman learning the ways, and I think it's the speed of his transformation that's my biggest complaint. The movie takes place over a couple days at most and Lerman goes from weeping at the thought of killing someone to plowing Nazi down in droves. It's very quick.I was impressed by how lived in the whole movie was. Every camp looked haphazzardly put together and nothing was clean. Apparently, all of Germany is perpetually overcast and it just finished raining. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but that's the version they settled on.

Elephant in the Room: Boys will be boys. Look, no one is a saint in warfare. People are killing each other and no one speaking another language can be trusted. David Ayer is not trying to cover any of that up. He's taken the heroics out of most of this. There is one sequence though that I can only describe as a little bit rapey that was the hardest part to watch. After taking control of a German town, Pitt and Lerman (and eventually the others) find themselves in the house of a couple German women. Nothing bad exactly happens. It's all very tense. Needlessly tense. Pitt's character knows German. He could've easily set the women at ease by saying more. They are technically "the enemy" and the point is to show how we lose civility in times like this. But, boy is it uncomfortable to watch.

To Sum Things Up:
War is hell. However much you need to be reminded of that will determine your enjoyment of this. For some people, seeing Saving Private Ryan means you don't ever need to see this. I'm not in that group. It's a good World War 2 movie. The performances are solid. The fights are shot well and look pretty authentic. It has a couple points where it drags and Ayer definitely revels in the violence (i.e. it's a bit excessive). The end result is something that fans of the genre will certainly enjoy.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Meet the Robinsons

The Pitch: An orphan with a penchant for inventing travels to the future and meets the perfect family: his own. 

What Took Me So Long: This is one people have been telling me for years is a hidden gem (as much as any Disney movie that makes $97 million in the box office can be hidden).

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Disney knows how to tug at the heartstrings. It's a simple enough formula (Orphan + Family / Time) and they know how to use it. Anyone can figure out almost immediately that the Robinsons are Lewis' family from the future (in fact, as soon as I heard Laurie Metcalfe's voice, I assumed about 2/3s of the plot). That doesn't ruin anything though. You can't ruin beats like the Robinsons being happy to adopt Lewis or Lewis opting to not see his mom. It's a movie with a lot of heart. A good sense of humor too.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I thought it was a little stupid that the villain was a hat. I guess it would've been nice to not predict so much of the plot. That's all pretty nit-picky though. This is a delightful movie from that period in Disney Animation that I normally forget about.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend

DVR Purge: 10/9/10/15

The seasons are starting to take shape: some for the better (Blackish), some for the worse (Selfie). I'm pleased to announce a new old show to the mix in Arrow after accidentally binging and catching up on it this weekend.

Past Purges 

A to Z "B is for Big Glory"
I sure hope the show gets a full 26 episode order or else this naming convention is going to look awful foolish. Zelda and Andrew are still functioning as Tom and Summer clones from (500) Days of Summer so some differentiating there would be nice. As long as both of them stay this charming though, it's hard to see me dropping this. Oh, and there's no way he remembers her from a concert that long ago.

Parenthood "The Waiting Room"
The Parenthood team knows that the cast is always up for a good hospital scene, so there's a lot of worrying and fretting about Zeek's surgery this week. It's familiar but well done. I for one was never worried about if he'd make it, so I wasn't too concerned. What did concern me was the building up of Julia's new boyfriend. Perhaps it's just a case of building him up to look like actual competition for Joel. With their patience so far in this story, I'm beginning to wonder if the series is even going to end up with Julia and Joel together. I sure hope they are.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets the Forgotten"
I imagine the casting of an episode of Girl Meets World begins with "Who is available that was in Boy Meets World?". That's the only way to explain Harley Keiner showing up as the janitor. Just hearing him call Corey 'baboon' was enough to call this episode a success. I also laughed out loud at the cut to Lucas and Farkle during the elective presentations. Something about Lucas' thousand yard stare and Farkle curled up on the desk worked just right.

Saturday Night Live "Bill Hader/Hozier"
This is the best way to bring back an SNL alum. Bill Hader was incredibly prolific in his time on SNL. He had many recurring sketches. He's only been gone for a season. That means he comes with a cache of successful sketch ideas that are still relatively fresh in the audience's mind. The returns of Herb Welch, puppeteer Anthony Coleman, and especially Stefon were fantastic and would've been enough for me. To add to that though, it had two fantastic recorded sketches in The Group Hopper (a pitch perfect distillation of the current Young Adult movie adaptation craze) and Help Fund (challenging the notion that 39 cents a day could be enough to help African villagers). There were some duds, but aren't there always? This was still the strongest episode of the season so far.

Brooklyn Nine Nine "Jimmy Jab Games"
Yes, this is incredibly similar to "Office Olympics" from The Office (Guess who wrote that episode). I don't care much though, because funny trumps everything. Had it been a bad episode, I'd've cared more. Besides, Peralta and Santiago were downright adorable together. Elsewhere, Jeffords being trapped in the middle of Holt and Wuntch's rivalry was excellent. I particularly enjoyed everyone insulting how Jeffords was choosing to sit.

Mulaney "The Doula"
Oh god, this is so like Seinfeld that it hurts. Anyone who tries calling something like It's Always Sunny a Seinfeld ripoff, please watch this. So far, there's a delicate imbalance of dialogue that sounds like the characters are reciting a stand up routine, Martin Short acting silly, and broad physical comedy that isn't sitting well with me. I'm giving this at least one more episode.

The Walking Dead "No Sanctuary"
That was a short stint in Terminus. Given the normal Walking Dead style, I assumed we'd be getting at least half a season there, learning about the characters and trying to understand their warped worldview. That was not in the cards though. Carol came along and took the whole place down in rather spectacular badass fashion. I'm a little confused about the logistics of how this place that was so well organized, as introduced at the end of last season, got so easily taken down but I'll accept it because it was cool.

The Big Bang Theory "The Focus Attenuation"
The episode won me over with the discussion about the correct verb tense to use in the time travelling discussion. All the distractions were the exact sort of conversation that the guys would waste their time on and really was what the show was like before all the girls showed up. That said, I kept waiting for the moment when they actually did come up with an idea, which never happened. This would've been a perfect time to mention the app they made several seasons back which solved math questions, but that would've gotten in the way of the jokes they were trying to tell, something The Big Bang Theory can't have. The women in Vegas was much more of a time filler. The writers had the plan for the guys so...let's have the girls go to Vegas, but not actual Vegas. A sound stage Vegas with a bedroom suite set. It was an excuse, not a story, which I can forgive.

Gotham "Arkham"
I'm really having a hard time finding anything to say about this show and I'm not sure why. Is it odd that I come away from this episode having trouble recalling anything that the two leads did? Jim is angry with Barbara for her lesbian past, then chooses his job over her. I honestly don't recall anything happening with Harvey. No, this episode was one for the decay of Gotham. Cobblepot is working his way up the criminal ladder rather shrewdly. I would've thought he'd be well enough known to have been recognized by now, but I figure that will happen soon enough. Fish selects a new employee. I'm not sure for what position, but I'm reasonably sure she made the right choice. Sidenote: Did anyone else find it funny how hard they worked around showing the girl kissing Fish?

Scorpion "Shorthanded"
Was this Vegas night on CBS?
Regardless, I needed this episode of Scorpion. The first couple weeks have been about special government task force stuff, which is all good and well, but it's the stuff on the private side that allows for the team building. They specifically refer to the government aid being a safety net. I am a little disappointed that they still had to get government aid at the end. Until then, it was all about using the characters' specific strengths to accomplish the mission in a way the show hadn't done before. It was especially fun to see Toby in Vegas, home to all his vices. Simply put, this was a fun episode of a show that is quickly finding its voice, even if it isn't priority viewing.

Selfie "A Little Yelp from My Friends"
I can't tell if I'm not supposed to find Eliza this annoying or if it's all part of a "long con" which will make me appreciate her change by the end of the season. Right now though, there's no two ways about it. She's insufferable. The show hasn't figured out how to make her narcissism funny yet and I wonder if they can. Is there another show out there that puts the audience in the head of someone like this? Jenna Maroney is the nearest example I can come up with and she works because she's a supporting character. There's a chance that we are still meant to be at rock bottom and Emily Kapnek is about to give her the Dalia treatment. Who knows? Oh, and that opening music has to change.

Agents of SHIELD "Face My Enemy"
A low stakes episode that was all about bonding. Coulson and May get to do a mission together where they don't feel like administrators and do feel like spies. May gets to do a lot of fighting (never a bad thing). The rest of the gang have beers and reminisce. That's good in and of itself and even better when coupled with Fitz's internal debate about getting involved. I'm not sure that this imaginary Simmons thing won't wear on me. For now it's been very effective.

New Girl "Landline"
As stupid as it was, I could've listened to them marvel at the analog phone for the whole episode ("Whats the rope attached to it?" "It's like the movies."), even though, yes, they are all old enough to remember phones like that. The episode had plenty of other good gags like the sexy CPR board and Coach messing with Vice Principal Day's presentation.

The Mindy Project "The Devil Wears Lands' End"
I dislike stories based on misunderstandings, especially ones that could be easily fixed with about a line of dialogue. Luckily, The Mindy Project is consistently packed with enough jokes and great lines ("The bride was older than me and weighed more than me. Did you notice that?") that I still really enjoyed the episode. There's much worse things to be than a comedy that I only like because it makes me laugh.

Arrow "Sara"
So here's the story. I watched the first season over the summer because I reached critical mass of people saying "you should watch it"and I've wanted to add something CW into my rotation. The second season made it to Netflix recently. I quickly discovered why people were raving about that season and finished in about two days. The CW aren't dicks about posting episodes, so I could easily find the season 3 premiere. All of the sudden, I'm caught up on this show, Wednesdays aren't all that busy, and I want to know what happens next. So, now it's in my DVR.
Specific to this episode, there's a lot of fallout over Sara's death. Expressing emotions is not the biggest strength of the cast as a whole, but they handle it as well as could be hoped. The countdown has begun for how long before Brandon Routh is revealed to be a bad guy or ally or someone who is in a fight scene. I can't wait to see Thea being a badass in the coming weeks. That'll be fun.

Modern Family "Marco Polo"
What is going on with Modern Family this season? It has been a show I'm happy to watch each week. They found a way to have fun with Mitchell being bad luck while still having Cam realize that he wanted him there. Jay and Manny got to have a great talk at the end where Manny got to be a kid for a change. The eponymous  Marco Polo game was a sweet moment for Phil and the family. After five seasons, any audience is used to the beats of a show, so Modern Family won't make me laugh as much as it once did (although Lilly criticizing all the gifts was great). As long as they get the heart of the show right though, I'll happily continue on with it.

Blackish "Crazy Mom"
Another good episode. Dre chasing the "cupcake dad" high went predictably and entertainingly sour. Determining that Rainbow actually likes the "mom stuff" felt like a bit of a cop out. My big takeaway from the episode was actually a throwaway joke at the end. When Dre suggests roleplay and says "You be Harriet Tubman. I'll be Frederick Douglas", Tracee Ellis Ross' reaction is great. Something about it was so honest, it made me believe that was a riff by Anderson and that was the first time she'd heard the joke. It felt like a genuine moment.

Delayed Reaction: Made of Honor

The Pitch: Looking back, I think there was a directive to put as many people from Greys Anatomy in wedding movies as possible.

What Took Me So Long: If I was to break down the numbers, I'm sure they'd show that I've seem about as many Romantic Comedies as I have any kind of movie. They are simple movies that are enjoyable enough (not greatly, not minimally, just enough).

Why I Saw It: Would it be hard to believe that True Detective renewed my interest in Michelle Monaghan? Because that played a pretty big part. I like Patrick Dempsey as well as I can for someone I'm ambivalent about. Like all good RomComs it keeps up with the tradition of filling the supporting cast with reliable funny people to mask the comic limitations of the leads. That means, we get Whitney Cummings, who I still like despite not enjoying her TV show(s), Busy Philipps, who I always like, and Chris Messaina, who I didn't know in 2008 but like now.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: That title kept me away for a long time. Unless I'm completely oblivious about something, the title attempts clever wordplay without any follow-through. Like almost all RomComs, the beats are all familiar, yet I doubt anyone is watching this not prepared for it to be at least a little derivative.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Movie Reaction: The Judge

Formula: Any movie about a person coming back home to a small town + Any courtroom drama

The rest of the movie is as pretentious as this picture, so you know.

Why I Saw It: I showed up to the movie theater and it was the next movie showing.

Cast: This is clearly a vehicle meant for Robert Downey Jr. to shine and to a lesser extent for Robert Duvall. Beyond the fact that he is a producer, I have no idea what Downey is doing here. He's way too good for this yet he chose to do it. He's playing a cocky high-powered lawyer who realizes that he has a heart of gold. Duvall is Downey's dad: a judge on trial for murder. D'Onofrio is the older brother who was cut short of his potential due to an accident. Jeremy Strong goes "full retard" as the younger brother. Vera Farmiga is the conveniently single old flame who still lives in town. Dax Shepard is fun as Duvall's first lawyer, who is completely in over his head. Don't worry, none of them do anything you wouldn't expect.

Plot: Downey's mother dies. He comes back to the small Indiana town* that he grew up in for the funeral. We quickly and repeatedly learn that Downey doesn't get along with his father due to something he did when he was younger. Duvall gets arrested for a murder that he probably committed. Downey takes his defense, and I don't want to bore you with the rest. If you've ever seen a courtroom drama or a movie about a big city guy coming back to the small town he grew up in then you know exactly what happens.

*I understand that you film where the tax breaks are but the town in that movie couldn't be more New England is if they tried. Why do we have to call this Indiana?

Elephant in the Room: At least the direction is good though, right? Look, for all the movies I see, I still have a pretty limited film vocabulary and eye for things. Even still, this direction was ridiculous and obvious. The week before filming began, I can only assume the director read a book called How to Make Every Shot Look Cool. I'm not supposed to notice how hard the director is trying. Everything was either shot from the other side of a window, or titled , or changes the focus from something close to something far away, or some other trick. Too much.

To Sum Things Up: 
I can only imagine that Robert Downey Jr. assumed this would get him an Oscar. That's not happening, by the way. This as Oscar bait-y as it gets, but there's nothing special about it to make it anything other than a checklist of everything someone thinks a good movie needs. Like, literally, I don't know how Downey does this movie after playing that character in Tropic Thunder. I really disliked this movie. It rubbed me wrong in every imaginable way. 

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend

Movie Reaction: Gone Girl

Formula: Zodiac * Side Effects

Why I Saw It: Great director and cast. Possible awards player. Guaranteed box office hit. It has all the reasons I see things in theaters covered.

Cast: It's hard to see anyone other than Ben Affleck playing the lead role. He has that put upon handsome guy thing down and when the beats of the story shift, he's ready for it. Rosamund Pike is a force and it's hard to believe it's taken her this long to shine in a major role. Between The Leftovers and this, I'm officially in love with Carrie Coon. This is the most comfortable I've ever seen Tyler Perry and I'd be happy to see this version of him in more movies. Neil Patrick Harris is nice and creepy. Kim Dickens ads some shading to an otherwise generic lead investigator. Patrick Fugit has one of those characters who doesn't really need to be there, but I'm still glad he's in the movie. Very strong cast.

Plot: The mystery is part of the fun, so I'm not about spoilers here. The movie is sold as a mystery about a man who's wife goes missing and he is the primary suspect. That's more like act one. Pike as the wife gets plenty more to do beyond acting out diary entries and the movie becomes less about the mystery (because there is none by the mid-point) and more about how it all plays out. The shift in the story is a little jarring if you aren't prepared for it, although that's part of the fun.

Elephant in the Room: If it's not a mystery, then what is it? I'd lean toward calling it a dark comedy. I know I was chuckling through most of the third act but I was also clearly the person in the theater who was laughing the most. Most of the comedy has to do with irony, not punchlines. There's still plenty of dark, Zodiac-like imagery and it is very tense at times. There's a mix of tones.

To Sum Things Up:
I'm really not sure how this will play for people looking for What Lies Beneath. It's not that movie. Not by the end. The performances are top notch. David Fincher's direction is superb. The story takes you for a ride. I have no complaints.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend

DVR Purge: 10/2-10/8

So, I'm gone for six days and that's enough to completely overload me with shows on my DVR. It has taken two days just to get everything watched. This will not be a very detailed purge I'm sorry to say. Here it goes...

Past Purges 

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets World: Of Terror"
I'm not sure what it is about Halloween that lends itself to anthologies, but this was a solid collection of stories. I especially enjoyed Auggie's as a twist on the classic "monster under the bed" fear.
-So, Lucas and Farkle are friends to the extent that they go trick r' treating with each other? That friendship is a strange one and almost interests me more than Riley and Maya.

Bad Judge "Pilot"
I missed the part where she was 'bad'. She's a good person who cares too much. Maybe she shouldn't be having sex in her chambers and she drinks a bit, but that's not so bad. I like Kate Walsh but the pilot is a toothless followthrough of the show's title.

A to Z "Pilot"
Cristin Milioti and Ben Feldman are going to carry me through on this one. This is staggeringly similar  to (500) Days of Summer. That's not bad or anything. I just would've thought that if it was going to be this much of a rip-off that Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber would get "inspired by" credits.

Parenthood "Happy Birthday, Zeek"
The shenanigans at the school are distracting and harmless. Sarah eventually nailed her response to Amber's pregnancy. Zeek came to his senses by the end. Joel and Julia are going to be frustrating until the finale. So much of the episode relied on everyone yelling over each other. Still, it's incredible how well they go from hating each other to loving each other. Few shows pull it off as well.

Saturday Night Live "Sarah Silverman/Maroon 5"
Based on how she stumbled over lines and relied on the cue cards, I can see why Silverman didn't last long as a featured player. It was an ok episode and Adam Levine didn't force himself into as many sketches as I expected.

Brooklyn Nine Nine "Chocolate Milk"
I'm kind of tired of vasectomy plots in sitcoms in general. This had enough laughs to make it still funny though.

Mulaney "Pilot"
Good god, John Mulaney can't talk to other people! That was so uncomfortable. He's funny and there's some interesting jokes in the pilot but he has a lot of polishing needed to his performance. I was ready to give this an entire season based on the talent involved. After seeing the pilot, I'll give it a few episodes before dropping it is a possibility.


The Big Bang Theory "The Hook-up Reverberation"
It's good to see they finally brought Raj's girlfriend back. Did anybody else feel cheated by all that talk of investing in the comic book store resulting in nothing? That had potential to be very funny in future episodes.

Gotham "The Balloonman"
This episode didn't try so hard to be "cute". It featured more of Bruce than I needed. Beyond that, solid. The balloonman idea was an interesting one and McKenzie and Logue keep playing up their archetypes.

Scorpion "A Cyclone"
They are pushing the cheese factor pretty early. These first episodes are all about making it clear what the purpose is of everyone on the team and they continue to do that.

Selfie "Un-tag My Heart"
I would love to see the version of this show that doesn't end with Eliza and Henry together. It's good to see they aren't pushing it too hard in that she's seeing other guy[s]. Eliza was far less annoying this time around and Henry proved to be more flawed than a know-it-all. The trick to the show will be about how it side-steps the premise and becomes its own show. The second episode was a good shift.

New Girl "Micro"
I'm all for having more classic Winston and CeCe messarounds. I'm losing track of how many episodes they've done about Jess dating a guy who turns out to be a mess. Still funny though.

Agents of SHIELD "Making Friends and Influencing People"
Simmons is back and that's all that matters. Fitz is starting to function again. Skye is becoming a real agent. Ward isn't getting thrown back into the group too quickly. The direction so far has been good.

The Mindy Project "I Slipped"
They got way more material out of Mindy and Danny's incident than I expected. I'm officially done caring about Jeremy until they get him and Peter out of this feud. Way to go having Morgan furthering himself professionally. That was pleasant and unexpected.

The Middle "Major Anxiety"
Absolutely wonderful episode. Frankie and Mike in the car, worrying about Brick. Sue and Axl bonding over their anxieties on the roof. Both were excellent scenes full of a lot of heart and weren't even ruined when it all devolved into zaniness.

Modern Family "The Cold"
I could not be more pleased with the start of this season. Another great episode. I can't point to a single weak part of the episode, partly because I don't care to. All the kids continue to be the stealth stars of the show.

Black-ish "The Nod"
My favorite episode yet. It still has the strongest voice of all the new comedies this season. It was also nice to break up the twins as individual entities.

Delayed Reaction: Parental Guidance

The Pitch: Parents these days. They're too soft on there kids. Oh, and I like baseball.

What Took Me So Long: Is it possible for a movie to be a more toothless version of Little Fockers?

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Billy Crystal is one of those likable guys in Hollywood, who you are glad to see settle into whatever age he is. I don't know if he was ever "hip" so a PG movie, in which he's the grandfather is a good fit. That it includes his well-documented love of baseball is even more fitting. I enjoy latter-day Bette Midler because she isn't always trying so hard. We know who she is. We know what she does. The audience can immediately fill in the blanks to her back story, and she can play the character honestly instead of big. I'm always happy to see Marisa Tomei in more than a bit part (and this is where I mention how great she look for someone pushing 50. My Cousin Vinny was 20 years ago and she looks virtually the same).

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Because if there's one thing I want to see as much as parents and kids not understanding each other, it's parents and grandparents not understanding each other. It's a completely amiable movie, but it feel like it was written by a grandparent that just learned how to use Final Draft. The modern references involve the conjugation of 'Tweet' and Tony Hawk, so it isn't exactly fresh. There's a certain contempt for modern parenting methods that I do share, but there isn't any original commentary about it. It's not a family film. It's a kids movie aimed to appease parents or grandparents. It's a weird mix.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Backdraft

The Pitch: Cops get all the attention. Where's the great Firefighter action movie? Someone get me a Baldwin!

What Took Me So Long: I tend to forget that Ron Howard has a long list of movies he's directed.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) For being such a ubiquitous service, firefighting is such a specific thing and not covered anywhere near as much as its cousins, medical care and policing. In fact, the last movie I saw about firefighters was Quarantine and fires weren't exactly the stars of that. The firefighting scenes are shot in an exciting way and Robert De Niro's fire investigator makes that job look as interesting as it ever will.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I'm not a fan of any time that the antagonist's motivations are related to budget cuts in his department. There's something so bureaucratic about it that sucks the fun out of the movie. It stars my third favorite Baldwin, so that's a bummer. Howard goes for every melodramatic beat he can find in the firefighting scenes, which gets a little tedious. There's a reason this movie did well but didn't set the box office ablaze. (I'm sorry, I had to say it)

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Over the Hedge

The Pitch: You know, I bet animals don't like the suburbs. I wonder how they'd get revenge.

What Took Me So Long: I think it's really as simple as I don't go out of my way for Dreamworks Movies.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Ben Folds did do the sound track. Listening to the lyric changes in "Rockin' the Suburbs" almost make the whole thing worth it. Dreamworks Animation, the constant starfuckers that they are actually put together a wonderfully eclectic voice cast. Gary Shandling is an underused voice in animation. A hungry Steve Carrell (still basking in the success of 40 Year Old Virgin) brings a lot of energy. Alison Janney livens up an otherwise generic antagonist role.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Dreamworks handles the extremes better. Either go for a joke a minute like Shrek or a ton of heart like How to Train Your Dragon. When it aims for the middle like this, it falls short on both ends. This is a nice movie, but there also a reason why I've never heard someone say "you really need to see Over the Hedge",

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Escape from Tomorrow

The Pitch: It was made in Disney World, without Disney's permission and it is somehow seeing the light of day. Does it even matter what it's about?

What Took Me So Long: I've been curious since I first heard about it, but I was afraid it would change my view of Disney World too much.

Why I Saw It: This easily tops the list of movies that I was more curious to see the "Making of" segment than the movie itself, in this case, because I don't know how they pulled it off. It sounds like at some point Disney had to not care, which is awesome in its own right. I'm not all that sure what the movie was about. To be fair, I'm not sure how much I'm meant to understand. It does a great job on a few levels of depicting a parent's feelings about being in Disney World with kids, and, given the restrictions in the staging, it looks surprisingly good and the acting far better than it had any right to be. For fans of The Americans, I'll save you the trouble and confirm that one of the french girls is in fact Annet Mahendru (Nina).

Why I Wish I Hadn't: At some point, the gimmick IS the movie. It's not that movie about a dad going through a mental breakdown during a family vacation. It's the movie that they filmed in secret at Disney World. If it was the same movie but they used sets (or probably even if they got Disney's permission beforehand) instead, I'm pretty certain no one would be seeing it.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

DVR Purge: 9/29-10/1

I'm about to go on vacation for a while. I wanted to get completely caught up on shows before I left and am realizing that this is a super-busy time to be letting my DVR build up. C'est la vie. Hopefully I'll have another one of these ready soon after I get back.

Past Purges 

The Big Bang Theory "The First Pitch Insufficiency"
An entertaining enough episode. I enjoyed Leonard immediately knowing what it meant when they said that Sheldon ordered game hen ("That poor waiter"). This was an episode that was a little too happy to shit on the characters, from Howard not getting his moment of triumph (seriously, that joke went on too long to be funny by the end) or Penny and Leonard's relationship issues ("Well that's not good. You being blindly infatuated with me was the rock we built this relationship on."). I think it's been established that this isn't my favorite shade of the show but one that is going to happen on occasion. We'll leave it at that.

Gotham "Selina Kyle"
I'm not sure why the episode was named after her. Episode two still featured numerous Penguin references and, of course Selina prefers the nickname "Cat". They are kind of beating us over the head with James supposedly killing the Penguin and everyone knowing about it. Ben McKenzie and Donald Logue are still putting on solid performances and there's some effective world building. Those people with the pins probably have a comic book explanation, don't they? We'll see.

Scorpion "Single Point of Failure"
Walter's got the sick sister. Toby has a gambling problem. Sylvester is so uncomfortable with money that he'd rather give it to charity. Paige is there only to be the polite one in the group. We're still building the group's rapport and figuring out why we should care. Nothing yet to commit me for the season and nothing to make me quit it either.

Selfie "Pilot"
They need to calm the fuck down. Eliza Dooley (Clever masking of Eliza Doolittle, right?) is an insufferable pop culture pastiche (pretty sure I used that world wrong). Every episode can't be this buzz-word heavy, can it? The Pygmalion angle is a great pitch, but not a sustainable series. I have to see how the ensemble rounds out. Karen Gillan and John Cho are enough for me to give it a few episodes. Little else in the pilot is working for it.
-I kind of doubt that future episodes will put down as much money for music. Backstreet Boys, Lady Gaga, Goo Goo Dolls. That can't be cheap.

Manhattan Love Story "Pilot"
One question kept coming to mind when I was watching this: What year is this? Peter is introduced as being obsessed with breasts. Dana is introduced as being obsessed with purses. She assumes he's gay because he cries. They did everything they could to make these two incredibly unlikable, which is a shame for Analeigh Tipton in particular, because I want to like her in her first big lead role. Maybe I'll check back in on this later. It's hard to say. There's a glut of new sitcoms this season about people in new relationships, and this lacks anyone in front of or behind the camera to warrant me trusting that it will get any better.

New Girl "Julie Berkman's Older Sister"
Rob Reiner is back! This time he brings along Kaitlin Olson. I wonder if Fox Tuesday is aware of the It's Always Sunny Bingo they are playing this season. It's been a while since we had a story about Schmidt at work and I enjoy that they found a way to involve Coach, Winston, and Nick in it. Entertaining episode with a healthy infusion of guest stars. Most importantly, they didn't wedge in an unneeded plot about Nick and Jess's breakup. Much more in line with the New Girl I like.

The Mindy Project "Crimes & Misdemeanors & ExBFs"
Yeah, this was definitely farce heavy. The awkward elevator ride was a great reminder of all of Mindy's relationships. In fact, I now want to see how many of her exes they can put in a single scene. Glen Howerton. Bill Hader. BJ Novak. Anders Holm. There's a long list. Something I could happily do without ever seeing again is this love triangle with Jeremy, Peter, and the lady doctor. I only have room for one dating storyline on this show. As always, plenty of good one liners. My favorite this week: "Clutter? This place is tidy like a serial killer's layer."

Agents of SHIELD "Heavy is the Heart"
I'm loving the new configuration of the team. Pretty much every character is improved upon from last season. The new characters like Lance and Mac are working out nicely. Best of all, they didn't force Ward into the episode if he isn't needed. Once Simmons comes back, I hope it doesn't all get too crowded. I'm curious to see if they keep building on the serial story or if it's going to settle back in to procedural stuff soon.

The Middle "The Loneliest Locker"
This had all the chaos we expect from the Hecks. There's call backs like the comforter in the oven. Running gags, like Frankie's alternatives to spoons and other furniture missing because of Axl. Sue's play is a mess but oddly, it's kind of a success. They sneak in an amusing explanation for how Brick got into reading. It even ends with a great little scene with Sue telling Mike and Frankie how much she appreciates what they do for her, which was a little heartbreaking. In short, it had all the elements of The Middle that I love, even if it wasn't an A+ episode.

Modern Family "Do Not Push"
Cam, Mitchell, and Lily: A very simple plot. Cam and Mitchell weren't fighting, so you know I loved that. Their pride over how melodramatic Lily is getting was adorable. The resolution was great too.

Claire and Alex: I love that we got the heartbreaking moment when Alex tells Claire that she wants to be further from home, then resolved the story without ruining that scene retroactively. It short sells Alex a bit that she would consider Cal. Tech for a boy, but they fit in enough reasoning beyond that to maintain the dignity in her decision.

Phil, Luke, and Haley: Did I know it wasn't all a big experiment? Yes. Did it matter? Not at all. Luke admitting that the "You're not mad a me. You're disappointed in yourself" accusation was a shot in the dark was hilarious, as was his attempt to use it again on Haley. Haley's fears of being a failure were handled seriously and the underwhelming result of hitting the button was great. That was a pitch-perfect B-story.

Jay, Gloria, and Manny: They're 0 for 2 for this third of the show so far. They try to make it a more touching story by having each other exchange the meaningful gifts, then regress back to still wanting the nice gifts. It's the only way the story could play out though, so I can't be too mad about it.

In short, this is the version of Modern Family that I like the most: the one where they all seem like loving family members and nice people. After five seasons, I don't expect this to last, but I'll make sure to think of this episode the next time they all start sniping at one another.

Black-ish "The Talk"
A solid second episode. Even though it's not required, it is nice to see the show tackling some topics that warrant the 9:30 time slot versus an earlier time. This early in a comedy series, it's hard to appreciate a lot of what is going on since we are still learning who the characters are. That said, the show has a very clear voice. There were numerous good jokes, like Dre and Junior taking of their shirts before having any sex talks or Pops revealing the trick to not listening but still giving good advice. The twins could easily be a liability, although they were funny this week in their attempts to also get "The Talk". Honestly, the best thing about this episode was that is didn't lean on "white vs. black" jokes to be good. Race is an aspect of the show, not the entire show. This is still easily the strongest new network show of the fall. Wednesdays are looking great right now.

The Bridge "Jubilex"
I know I said I was done talking about this show. I just wanted to say one thing:
Yay! Linder's not dead!

Delayed Reaction: Populaire

The Pitch: A secretary from a small town tries to become the world's greatest typer and finds love along the way.

What Took Me So Long: I hadn't even heard of it until recently and the description I got of it sounded like it would either be charming as hell or a complete train-wreck. I was bored enough to find out.

Why I Saw It: I always forget that foreign movies get away with a lot of beats that Hollywood doesn't allow. There's more plot jammed into less than two hours than I expected, which kept it moving at a brisk pace. The story of Rose Pamphyle going from a small town girl, aspiring only as high as being a secretary in 1950s France, to becoming the regional, no,  national, no, world champion typer is hard to fault. It's a feel good story about a competitive world I never even considered. Throw in the romance between her and her boss/coach, Louis Echard, and it's a real crowd-pleaser. Deborah Fracois and Romain Duris have fantastic chemistry and Berenice Bejo is repeatedly a scene stealer. With the exception of Bejo, everyone was new to me and they all make a great first impression.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: The exact thing that makes a crowd-pleaser like this work is that there is a formula, and you can't break the formula too much or it won't work. So, the movie doesn't do much to surprise me. Then again, I'm a huge fan of crowd-pleasers. I like movies that leave me feeling good. This is such a winning movie that's I'd rather not find fault in it.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: The Pacifier

The Pitch: This generation doesn't have a Kindergarten Cop. Let's fix that.

What Took Me So Long: It's taken me a very long time to come around on Vin Diesel.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) One of the most interesting things to track in Hollywood is how the action stars mellow out. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the master of it, be it straight comedy (Twins), stealth action (Kindergarten Cop), or action comedy (True Lies). The Rock either does something fun (The Rundown) or finds a movie to hook fans young (The Game Plan, Tooth Fairy). Sylvester Stallone does Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Enough said about that. Vin Diesel has only taken one foray into family fair (character voices aside) and he smartly choose to show off his action star moves without getting too intensive on delivering the funny lines (i.e. he accepts his limitations as a performer). I'm also never going to complain about Brittany Snow showing up in a movie either.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: What? Was I supposed to have high expectations for this? It was cute, not clever. Simple, not efficient. Accessible, not crowd-pleasing. There's nothing about it that was specific to Diesel. The Rock could've been in this and it would be exactly the same.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

October Movie Preview

September was pretty dire straits. Thankfully, October is coming back in a big way. There aren't any guaranteed blockbusters in the group, but it a month full of thrillers, horror movies, and Oscar players expanding. I've got several locks, multiple two-movie weekend opportunities, and a few that won't make it to my area but I wish they would.

January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September  

2013

March |  April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

10/3

The Lock: Gone Girl
Working For It: Directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network). Screenplay from the writer of the acclaimed book of the same name. Reportedly, powerful lead performances from Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. Supporting cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), and Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous).
Working Against It: I'm having trouble finding anything. Even Tyler Perry is said to be good in this.
Odds I'll See It: 95%

Other Options:

Men, Women & Children [Limited]
Working For It: Apparently, it's about parents and teenagers trying to navigate relationships in the internet age. That sounds hokey, but director Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Young Adult, Thank You For Smoking) has earned the benefit of the doubt. It looks like a rare dramatic turn for Adam Sandler (anything to get him out of the Happy Madison bubble I meet with open arms) to go along with a large and talented cast, including Jennifer Garner, Dean Norris, Judy Greer, and JK Simmons.
Working Against It: Reitman's most recent movie was the critically ignored Labor Day. I haven't seen it, so I can't make a judgment, but he is in need of a critical or commercial hit.
Odds I'll See It: 30%

Annabelle
Working For It: October means it's time for scary movies. Here's one about a creepy doll. Do you need much more than that?
Working Against It: I don't know the cast very well. The writer hasn't worked on much else. The director is known for sequels to The Butterfly Effect and Mortal Combat. That paints the picture of a very forgettable scary movie.
Odds I'll See It: 20%

The Good Lie
Working For It: I like seeing Reese Witherspoon showing up again. In this movie, she's helping out Sudanese refuges in Kansas.
Working Against It: I'm not familiar with the director, writer, or half the cast. More importantly, this is not the Reese Witherspoon movie that I'm excited to see this fall. That comes in December.
Odds I'll See It: 5%

Left Behind
Working For It: Uhhhhhhh, it's probably going to be more subtle than the Atlas Shrugged movies.
Working Against It: The poster looks like an internet meme that someone made on Reddit. I have enough issues with the internal logic of the books. Nic Cage is hell-bent on making sure no one ever accidentally takes him seriously. So many good reasons not to see this.
Odds I'll See It: .666%

The Hero of Color City [Limited]
Working For It: It's colorful.
Working Against It: Look at that poster. Do I need to explain why I won't be seeing this?
Odds I'll See It: -12%

10/10

The Lock: Despite being an incredibly busy weekend, nothing is required viewing.

Other Options:

Whiplash [Limited]
Working For It: It won people's choice at Sundance this year. Miles Teller stars as an aspiring drummer training at a competitive music conservatory, driven especially hard by JK Simmons. I won't pretend that the story is anything special, but the performances are what sell it. I've been looking forward to finally seeing it for most of the year.
Working Against It: As I said, the story isn't particularly special. It's hard to think that will matter in the end though.
Odds I'll See It: 58%

St. Vincent [Limited]
Working For It: A potential Oscar-worthy lead performance from Bill Murray. Melissa McCarthy in a supporting role (where I think she works better). A bunch of other actors that you like too. The story looks pretty simple: a young boy and a misanthropic older man become friends. I assume the performances make or break it.
Working Against It: When was the last time you really enjoyed a movie with Bill Murray in a lead role? Hyde Park on Hudson? Broken Flowers? Lost in Translation was over a decade ago. I'm not too worried, but Murray isn't without blemishes.
Odds I'll See It: 42%

The Judge
Working For It: Robert Downey Jr. not playing Iron Man. Instead, he's a lawyer trying to defend his father in a murder case, or something like that. They've been advertising the movie hard and I like a good courtroom drama.
Working Against It: The reviews have already been mixed and it has the look of something that is all polish and no substance. It doesn't even look like it will be the awards season player that it hoped to be, so I'm fine with taking my time to catch this one.
Odds I'll See It: 33%

Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day
Working For It: Based on a book that I sort of remember from my childhood, it's a family comedy from Disney starring Steve Carrell, Jennifer Garner, and a bunch of kids who probably are in shows like "Dog with a Blog". The X-factor is going to be in the bit parts that feature people like Dick Van Dyke, Jennifer Coolidge, Megan Mullaly, and Donald Glover. If this movie is a success, it will be in the small jokes in between the zaniness.
Working Against It: Honestly, the biggest thing hurting this for me is that it's awkward being the lonely guy in his 20s in a theater full of families. Oh, and that it probably won't be very good.
Odds I'll See It: 25%

Dracula Untold
Working For It: It's October and, thanks to Underworld and Resident Evil, another staple of the season is the action horror movie. I'm sure it will be loud and fun and action-packed.
Working Against It: There's rarely more to these movies than the face value. It's not a genre that I'm attracted to. If I wasn't considering I, Frankenstein, which at least had Aaron Eckhart and Yvonne Strahovski, what hope does this have?
Odds I'll See It: 6%

Addicted
Working For It: It's a Thriller. It looks a lot like No Good Deed, as far as I can tell.
Working Against It: I don't recognize the cast. I don't trust the director. Most importantly, I don't care for the genre very much. I'll admit, I know almost nothing about the movie, so my opinion could change. That's unlikely though.
Odds I'll See It: 4%

Kill the Messenger [Limited]
Working For It: A crime drama about some sort of whistle-blower with the CIA or something. Jeremy Renner, Robert Patrick, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Sheen, Michael K. Williams, Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia. I like a lot of these people.
Working Against It: A paycheck movie is one that no one remembers and is filled with a lot of familiar actors who appear to be filling time in between other projects.
Odds I'll See It: 3%

I Am Ali [Limited]
Working For It: Muhammad Ali is an icon and it could never hurt to learn a little more about him in a documentary.
Working Against It: I live in Louisville. I think I get enough of the guy.
Odds I'll See It: 2%

One Chance [Limited]
Working For It: This again. Haven't I talked about this enough?
Working Against It: Look. One big delay in release (The Great Gatsby, Jupiter Ascending) isn't such a big deal. Repeatedly moving a finished project a month or two at a time for nearly a year is damning. Short of this becoming a Big Fat Greek Wedding sleeper hit, I'm not sure what could get me to see this in theaters.
Odds I'll See It: 1%

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead [Limited]
Working For It: Horror comedies can be pretty good in the right circumstances. I like Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks, Knocked Up).
Working Against It: Was there a Dead Snow 1? Is this a foreign movie? Is there even a chance it will expand anywhere close to me? These questions lead me to believe that I won't be seeing this.
Odds I'll See It: null%

10/17

The Lock: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) [Limited]
Working For It: I am excited about this one. Michael Keaton is reportedly putting on a career-defining performance. The previews for it, a story about a washed up movie star trying to make a comeback, look positively strange. The cast, including Emma Stone, Edward Norton, and Naomi Watts look game for whatever. Even if all it is is one great performance and a middling movie around it, I'm completely interested.
Working Against It: Occasionally, a movie will come out that's about the movie industry and all the critic love it because they understand the movie industry. The problem is that it's a little too inside and is completely inaccessible for normal audiences. I don't think that's what's going on here, but I recognize the possibility.
Odds I'll See It: 80% (although I'll be stuck waiting for expansion)

Other Options:

Fury
Working For It: As far as I can tell, this is Behind Enemy Lines with a tank. Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeeouf, and Logan Lerman (Perks of Being a Wallflower) along with several others make for an interesting cast. I love what Writer/Director David Ayer did with End of Watch.
Working Against It: He also did Sabotage, so...make of it what you will. This is looking more like another Lone Survivor: A solid war movie but not the awards contender they hoped it would be. I'm curious to see if Brad Pitt's name alone can propel this to a strong box office performance.
Odds I'll See It: 49%

The Book of Life
Working For It: It looks like a Latin American Nightmare Before Christmas. A voice cast including Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Danny Trejo, and Ron Perlman sounds like a great action movie. I'm sure they'll be good here too.
Working Against It: Fox Animation isn't at the level of Pixar or Dreamworks, or even of Blue Sky (Ice Age) or Illumination (Despicable Me). It's hard to see this making much of an impact in the box office. Of course, the x-factor is the Latino audience which has made modest hits of much smaller productions.
Odds I'll See It: 29%

The Best of Me
Working For It: It's a Nicholas Sparks adaptation and it sounds like it could be onto something by following two timelines. You have James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan, established Hollywood vets to play the older editions of the lead, star-crossed lovers. Then Liana Liberato and Luke Bracey, relative unknowns, get to play the younger, sexier versions of them. I don't know. It could work.
Working Against It: Of course, it's all about if you've tired of the Nicholas Sparks model yet. Unsurprisingly, I've never been much of a fan and I don't see anything about this that is new or different from what's been done before.
Odds I'll See It: 16%

Dear White People [Limited]
Working For It: The only actor I recognize is the kid from Everybody Hates Chris. It's a satire about racial politics in today's society. It's the feature debut by writer/director Justin Simien, so it's a real wild card.
Working Against It: I'm not sure if that title is meant to scare me or attract me.
Odds I'll See It: 7%

Camp X-Ray [Limited]
Working For It: Kristen Steward plays a Guantanamo Bay soldier who befriends one of the prisoners. I don't hate Stewart as much as a lot of people do, so I want to believe she could pull a good performance out of this.
Working Against It: Maybe this is a gender bias that I'm having trouble suppressing, but it seems odd to cast Stewart as a soldier at a place as associated with harden terrorists as Guantanamo Bay. Right now, it looks like dress up. With any luck, once I see it, I'll be able to look past that.
Odds I'll See It: 2%

10/24

The Lock: Waiting only movie expansions.

Other Options:

Ouija
Working For It: A movie based on Ouija boards. Somehow, I don't think it will play like Jumanji though. The premise is not very limiting so this could really be about anything.
Working Against It: First time director. A horror movie with a PG-13 rating. A cast full of CW and ABC Family types. Take your pick. A lot of things could go wrong.
Odds I'll See It: 40%

Laggies
Working For It: Kiera Knightley, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Sam Rockwell is a great set of names at the top of a cast list. Knightley plays a woman in arrested development who befriends a high school girl (Moretz) and falls for her dad (Rockwell). The release date keeps getting pushed around, but the previews I've seen look good.
Working Against It: The change of the release date is a bad sign. It looks like a fun indie movie and not much more than that.
Odds I'll See It: 39%

White Bird in a Blizzard [Limited]
Working For It: Shailene Woodley. I can stop there...oh, you need more? Ok. Eva Green. Chris Meloni. Gabourey Sidibe. The directory of Mysterious Skin.
Working Against It: Most of you aren't familiar with Mysterious Skin and there's a reason for that. It's not an easy film. If this is anything like that, it may be a little too intense to see in theaters.
Odds I'll See It: 38%

John Wick
Working For It: Keanu Reeves is a hit man who comes out of retirement after mobsters kill his dog.
Working Against It: No, really. That's the story. And, to my knowledge, it's not a comedy.
Odds I'll See It: 1%

10/31

The Lock: Nightcrawler
Working For It: Jake Gyllenhaal plays a creepy guy in L.A. working as a freelance crime photographer. It's a crime thriller, not a horror movie, but I can understand your confusion.
Working Against It: This time of year is generally all about the blockbusters or Oscar hopefuls. I doubt this will be either, but reviews from the festival circuit have been so favorable that I don't care.
Odds I'll See It: 79%

Other Options:

ABCs of Death 2 [Limited]
Working For It: A horror anthology sequel. I enjoy horror anthologies and V/H/S 2 has me high on their sequels. I hope to see the first ABC sometime this month, so that wouldn't be in the way of me seeing this.
Working Against It: There's no way this is coming to Louisville. Also, after my Evil Dead experience, I'm cautious about what I see in theaters.
Odds I'll See It: 50%

Horns [Limited]
Working For It: Daniel Radcliffe wakes up one morning and has horns on his head. That's about all I know and that's enough for consideration.
Working Against It: It just may not be enough for theaters.
Odds I'll See It: 38%

Before I Go to Sleep
Working For It: Nicole Kidman plays the Drew Barrymore character from 50 First Dates, only in a thriller in which she starts remembering things. It looks like a fringe enough Halloween release to benefit from coming out on Halloween but won't disappear after opening night.
Working Against It: I'll have to see more previews and hear more about it before I can start making guesses about it.
Odds I'll See It: 3%