Recently seen

[jserraglio]

Get On Up - a star turn by Chadwick Boseman as rocker James Brown. A

Gone Girl - had the whole theater audience bitching about the ending - intermittently interesting but overwritten by the lady novelist and overwrought - maybe I need to see it again. B

St. Vincent - a Bill Murray vehicle - full of cliches but I liked it anyway - Murray plays against type, here he's a S.O.B. But he's funny, and the flick is worth seeing just for the acting of Jaeden Lieberher as Oliver Bronstein, the boy Murray befriends. Melissa McCarthy pleases as the mom and the lilting one-liners from Christian brother, Chris O'Dowd are the perfect foil to Murray's zingers. B+

The Judge - 2 Roberts in the lead roles - Duvall steals the show though Downey is very good. Shades of Eugene O'Neill in a father/son dance of death A-

Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaal, the creepiest screen villain I've seen in some time. Gyllenhall is on screen all the time, but you want his character to go away. I wanted to leave myself but was riveted to the seat. A+

Birdman a fantasy that keeps breaking out into reality. Life in a comic book world v. life in the theater. Echoes of Stoppard's Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern. Very strong performances from Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts and Edward Norton. A