The November Man

This revitalized cold war caper starring Pierce Brosnan, is about as flat as they come.  Director Roger Donaldson manages to put a Bourne style feel and pace and look to it and sustains it for the most part halfway through.  But all that doesn't matter, as the double crossing story-line is not carried out by the best of actors, particularly by those who are the antagonists.  From then on, it limps along with lack of character development, that you just can't really give a fuck about at that point.  Quite frankly, when all clips are expended it, it felt like Pierce was slumming in this production.  Like at any moment, we could see Steven Seagal or Van Damme come out and help him with the baddies.

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

In this second installment of the Frank Miller graphic novel movie adaptation and after 10 years, Miller and Rodriguez return and do an admirable job.  It doesn't have the groundbreaking freshness of the first one, but for those of us who appreciate exaggerated film noir, revisiting the one that started it all is a treat. Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, and Bruce Willis are all back.  But the series is also injected with new fusion from Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Dennis Haysbert, Josh Brolin, and especially the dynamite starring performance of Eva Green as Ava.  Where it suffers from, is probably some wasted performances and misuses of cast, including Bruce Willis who really didn't need to be in this installment and was badly distracting; or Gordon-Levitt with an amazingly wasted performance to the storyline.

Under The Skin

Most people know of Scarlett Johansson from the Avenger films, but we forget how really great of an actress she actually is. Under The Skin is that reminder and also for the director and co-writer Jonathan Glazer who's previous work included the unique film Birth. An alien takes up residence in a female body and consumes the bodies of men she subtly seduces.  Sounds straightforward enough in plot, but Under The Skin is far more complex and surprising than that.  It's also a gritty and visually stunning movie, equally balanced by Johansson's nuanced performance that speaks to humanity and how we see ourselves.

Selma

Selma is a phenomenal film and Ava DuVernay is a director of the first order. Taking a closer look into the life of Martin Luther King (played by David Oyelowo) and those around him as they journey towards the goal of voting rights leading up into the infamous Selma to Montgomery march, it's an expertly crafted film that really effectively documents the sheer complexity of the struggle. Oyelowo, a superb actor already, has never been better in inhabiting a character.  All accolades aside, the controversial and obvious snubs by the Academy Awards in the area of direction and best actor are a shame and a shameful truth, that the struggles of racism and sexism does indeed still exist in this age. However, that controversy also serves to elevate the film and more importantly the issues.