Grant Focus Features, director Colin Trevorrow, and debuting feature writer Gregg Hurwitz all the balls in the world for putting out a movie this daringly original during the summer marketplace. Ambition notwithstanding, the extreme tonal shifts, while effective at keeping you invested in The Book of Henry to see what happens next, only half work in totality.
Read MoreCreating entertaining biopics about a universally disgraced figure are a hard sell under that key word of "entertaining." If they attempt to create sympathy, a duel of alienation and bias can arise. A good, thought-provoking movie has to fearlessly dig deeper. As Van der Rohe is attributed to saying, "the devil is in the details." Exposing the sordid and untold details of what led to the subject's defamation is where your film gets interesting. The rise and fall of champion cyclist Lance Armstrong is fertile ground and a fresh wound that has yet to be solved. "The Program," directed "Philomena" and "The Queen" Oscar nominee Stephen Frears, pedals uphill in attempting to shine a light on the dark details.
Read MoreWith the arrival of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," we have made it to the payoff. This big story gets its ending, its tidy bow, and its cherry-on-top. Even if you think the movie studio was milking you for three movie tickets over three years out of a book that probably could have fit into a single film, you now get to see your patience rewarded and your virtue justified. You will realize it was worth it. You will feel like you stuck around to see "Superman" save the world, you survived the walk down those basement stairs in "Psycho," and you partied with the Ewoks and spirit Jedis in "Star Wars."
Read More"Guardians of the Galaxy," on paper, was supposed to be that movie that tested the studio's resilience and ability, yet it's aiming to be the big August hitter for the summer of 2014. Ladies and gentlemen, it will win that title and then some. As out-there as it is, this is the most flat-out fun a Marvel movie has ever been. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" might be the better overall film and "The Avengers" will always be the first cornerstone off this combined universe's monumental success, but "Guardians of the Galaxy" might be the movie you keep watching year after year as a new favorite. The catchy and entertaining trailers nearly don't do it justice.
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