The Spectacular Now (2013), R, 4 stars

Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller.

I have to confess that I have not seen a great teenage movie in a long time where it deals with a slowly revolving relationship that involves two mismatched people. Of course, we had bad comedies about it. But, a teenage drama. This is going to be high praise coming from me. I think this movie really ranks with the John Hughes movies with "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" and also with "Say Anything". It's that good. Sutter (Miles Teller) is a high school senior who works at a clothing store and has no plans for the future. After he was dumped by his girlfriend (Brie Larson), he goes into a depression which consumes him into alcoholism. He does not have great relationships with his sister, mother and father. (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyle Chandler). He is found on a lawn by Aimee (Shailene Woodley), a nice girl who has an outlook of her future. They both challenge each other on what's going on in their lives and they form an unusually romantic bond. It's not a light movie as the story goes into deeper and darker territories. Teller and Woodley are sensational as the two lead characters because both are real smart teenage characters with realistic problems and outlooks of life. And, the romance is not corny at all. This movie is a treasure and it is one of the best movies of the year.

****

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2015 Documentaries

I have only seen 6 documentaries this year which also includes Amy and I Am Chris Farley . But, I have to be honest, this has not been a particularly strong year for documentaries except for onethat got me emotionally and mentally as what I examine for when they uncover the truth or some facts from the people involved in these documentaries. But, here are the four I have seen this year: Listen To Me Marlon, Unrated, 4 stars This is the most insightful documentary of the year as we only hear Marlon Brando narrating his life and experiences what he has gone through regarding his family, his private life and his film experiences regarding The Godfather , Apocalypse Now , Last Tango in Paris , etc. It is like Marlon Brando came out of his grave to give us another profoundly moving movie only we hear his voice and scenery and nothing else. The Look of Silence, R, 3.5 stars Joshua Oppenheimer's follow-up documentary is a light-hearted but still-disturbing film regarding a ...

Daddy's Home 2 (2017), PG-13, ★1/2

The first Daddy's Home was surprisingly a financial success as I thought it was not as bad as many people thought. I thought it was a solid cable watch because it had enough laughs for that sort of mixed recommendation. I was not craving for a sequel for this movie because again, comedy sequels have a very bad record, however, the only difference is that it is not too late since the first movie came out a few years ago. But, this sequel is a reminder as to why we do not need a sequel to a hit comedy because this is a pretty much forgettable comedy, especially a holiday comedy...which I hade a guilty pleasure for. This did not work for me. Brad and Dusty (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) have become friends after the events of the first film and they set up a co-dad system where their two children, Megan and Dylan, spending time at each father's home. Dusty has re-married to writer Karen (Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio) and he is step-dad to Adrianna, Karen...

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), R, 4 stars

The stockbrokers worshipping Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) like a god. Wall Street. The clients, the adrenaline, the stocks, the money, the power, and the decadence. The former three pertains to the man's job, but the latter three pertains what any stockbroker wants in order to have the freedom to do whatever they want with the client's money. As Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) would say, "The name of the game is: move the money from your client's pocket into your pocket." We basically spend three hours seeing all of these Wall-Street scumbags steal the clients' money into their own pockets and spend it on booze, drugs, women, and other insane things in more insane activities. I have witnessed here is a great movie that I would not watch repetitively. The movie starts with Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) blowing cocaine onto a hooker's butt and he and his brokers throwing a little person onto a board with a dollar sign in the center. It'...

Caro the Movie Critic

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