ST. VINCENT * BIRDMAN * THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY * BAGGAGE CLAIM

It's getting cold here again, and I'm doing what I do when it gets cold. I've been doing it for almost 40 years now.....I head out to the movies. Specifically the matinees where the auditorium is pretty much empty and I have the whole screen and theater to myself, sitting front and center. My dad used to do the same thing, and my mom does it too. I stared when I was at Michigan and had an exam the next day. I couldn't cope with the overwhelming task of studying for something I didn't enjoy or particularly understand very well, so I'd head down the street to the theater on South U. What was it called? I've got to get to a city directory and look up some of those streets in A2. Maybe it was the University. Not sure and don't remember even one movie I saw there except perhaps Night of the Living Dead. Remember, Julie?

St. Vincent - Drop what you're doing right now and go see St. Vincent. (If you want to) It's the real deal. Edgy, funny, restrained, sweet, serious, sad and even happy. Bill Murray nailed it. Melissa McCarthy restrained herself, and the little boy is wonderful. That's it, just go.

Birdman - After St. Vincent, go see Birdman. It's about so many things that it's about nothing and everything. Existential, but don't let anything I write here cause you not to see it if you like a movie that's good and makes you think. Entertaining, vaguely threatening, but ultimately so good.  By the way, where's Michael Keaton been? And the fact that he's not been right in front of us....is that part of the reason why this is excellent?

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - Ben Stiller. I love the intelligence he brings to his roles, and the thoughtful way he plays a character.  Walter Mitty is no different, and the movie is fabulous. If you haven't seen it, it's on HBO right now, so you could record it and be watching in the comfort of your own space tonight!  

Baggage Claim - Watch this when you have nothing else to do or watch, and maybe not even then if you have something else to do. It's a sweet story with an old premise, but somehow, although individual performances and story lines are amusing, it doesn't add up to one of my top picks.