Ebert Thoughts ‘15—Ida (2014) ****

PG-13, 82 min.

Director: Pawel Pawlikowski

Writers: Pawel Pawlikowski, Rebecca Lenkiewicz

Starring: Agata Trzebuchowska, Agata Kulesza, Dawid Ogrodnik, Jerzy TrelaAdam Szyszkowski, Halina Skoczynska

So, I’ve reviewed this film before. It’s easy to concentrate on the central character here, Anna, the nun who discovers she’s a Jew just before she takes her vows. This time I’d like to concentrate a little more on Wanda, her aunt. Wanda is a very interesting woman. This is the 1960s, and Wanda appears to be a fairly powerful woman as a state prosecutor. Wanda has as much of a journey to take as Anna here. It is Wanda who takes them on their search to find Anna’s parent’s graves. Of course, that journey leads to the revelation of a dark family secret, a secret Wanda must be very aware Anna will discover.

American Sniper / *** (R)

Chris Kyle: Bradley Cooper

Taya: Sienna Miller

Dauber: Kevin Lacz

Biggles: Jake McDorman

Dandridge: Cory Hardict

Marc Lee: Luke Grimes

Goat-Winston: Kyle Gallner

Jeff Kyle: Keir O’Donnell

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a film directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Jason Hall. Based on the memoir by Chris Kyle and Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. Running time: 132 min. Rated R (for strong and disturbing war violence, and language throughout including some sexual references).

I find myself approaching my review of Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” in much the same way I think the filmmakers approached the material themselves—vey carefully. “American Sniper” has been a runaway hit with audiences and grabbed a surprise 6 Oscar nominations after an awards season where it barely made an impression elsewhere. It tells the story of real life U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who is credited as the deadliest American sniper in history. It is based on his own memoir of the same name. A veteran he was trying to help killed Kyle on a shooting range in 2013.

The Imitation Game / **** (PG-13)

Alan Turing: Benedict Cumberbatch

Joan Clarke: Keira Knightley

Hugh Alexander: Matthew Goode

Detective Robert Nock: Rory Kinnear

John Craincross: Allen Leech

Commander Denniston: Charles Dance

Stewart Menzies: Mark Strong

The Weinstein Company presents a film directed by Morten Tyldum. Written by Graham Moore. Based on the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges. Running time: 114 min. Rated PG-13 (for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking).

There is a certain type of movie that has historically been a favorite of the voting body of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The Academy has always liked true stories with historical value about a real person. Movies about World War II and undermining the Nazis get some favor. They also seem to have a soft spot for topical issues, like homosexuality. While the more extravagant—and less typical—films “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Birdman: or (The Exquisite Virtue of Ignorance)” were busy racking up 9 nominations each for this year’s Oscars, the Weinstein Brothers quietly brought home 8 nominations for the more typical Oscar fare “The Imitation Game”. Always in the talk of the best movies of the year, but never really stirring up much passion from critics, “The Imitation Game” is a glowing example of the formula for bringing in Oscar nods. It tells an amazing story about a somewhat unknown figure who had a profound impact on the outcome of WWII and modern technology as we know it, and it tells it with layers of commentary more typical of genre films than your standard Oscar drama fare.

Unbroken / **½ (PG-13)

Louis Zamperini: Jack O’Connell

Wantanabe: Miyavi

Phil: Domhnall Gleeson

Fitzgerald: Garrett Hedlund

Mac: Finn Wittrock

Cup: Jai Courtney

Universal Pictures presents a film directed by Angelina Jolie. Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen and Richard LaGravenese and William Nicholson. Based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand. Running time: 137 min. Rated PG-13 (for war violence including intense sequences of brutality, and for brief language).

The story of Louis Zamperini, an Italian American Olympic athlete who served his country as a bombardier in the Pacific Theater of WWII and was captured after surviving for 47 days at sea only to suffer the torments of a prisoner of war camp in Japan, is certainly the stuff of Hollywood. His story and life are testaments to what Tom Brokaw called The Greatest Generation. Zamperini experienced more in the first quarter of his life than many ever experience in a lifetime. While the life is great, the movie leaves much of it unexplored in detail and emotions.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies / *** (PG-13)

Bilbo Baggins: Martin Freeman

Gandalf the Grey: Ian McKellen

Thorin Oakenshield: Richard Armitage

Thranduil: Lee Pace

Tauriel: Evangeline Lilly

Legolas: Orlando Bloom

Bard: Luke Evans

Alfrid: Ryan Gage

Kili: Aidan Turner

Fili: Dean O’Gorman

Balin: Ken Stott

Dwailin: Graham McTavish

New Line Cinema and MGM present a film directed by Peter Jackson. Written by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Jackson & Guilermo de Toro. Based on the novel “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien. Running time: 144 min. Rated PG-13 (for sequences of intense fantasy action violence, and frightening images).

If “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” proves anything, it’s that we’re pretty much done with Middle Earth now. There are only so many times you can watch digitally created armies of humans, dwarves, elves, orcs and various other monsters come together in epic battle and still glean anything worthwhile from it. “The Hobbit” hasn’t exactly overstayed its welcome. Peter Jackson has once again crafted an exciting and visually stunning piece of cinema, but I think I’m done now; and I doubt I’m alone.

Holiday Thoughts ‘14—Kingdom of Heaven (2005) ****

R, 190 min. (director’s cut)

Director: Ridley Scott

Writer: William Monaghan

Starring: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Edward Norton, Velibor Topic, Alexander Siddig, Liam Neeson, Ghassan Massoud, Michael Sheen, Jouko Ahola, Kevin McKidd, Jon Finch

With “Exodus: Gods and Kings” in theaters for early preview screenings tomorrow, director Ridley Scott takes his shot at the biblical epic. This is hardly Scott’s first foray into Christian themes, however. Perhaps one of his most overlooked films, “Kingdom of Heaven”, takes a look at faith in the backdrop of the Crusades to restore the Christian lands around Jerusalem. It isn’t really a Christmas themed movie as it has little to do with Christ’s life on Earth, but I include it for this year’s Holiday Thoughts because it contains one of the best portraits of what it means to be a good Christian in times that most Christians lose sight of the teachings of Christ.

Penny Thoughts ‘14—The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) ****

PG-13, 251 min. (special extended edition)

Director: Peter Jackson

Writers: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, J.R.R. Tolkien (novel)

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Bernard Hill, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, John Noble, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, Alan Howard (voice), Sala Baker, Marton Csokas, Bruce Hopkins, Sean Bean, Brad Dourif, Christopher Lee, Bruce Spence

When you ask children to sit through a four-hour movie, it had better have a lot of action within it to keep them checked in. If anything, “The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King” accomplishes that task in spades. What’s really impressive is that it isn’t merely action. Jackson juggles several different storylines all filled with their own catharsis and depth and masterfully edited together in such a way that the action keeps things moving but never runs over the depth and sentiment.

Penny Thoughts ‘14—The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) ****

PG-13, 223 min. (special extended edition)

Director: Peter Jackson

Writers: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, J.R.R. Tolkien (novel)

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Christopher Lee, Brad Dourif, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Karl Urban, Bruce Hopkins, Sala Baker, Sean Bean, John Noble

OK. A little warning here. This ain’t gonna be much of a review. The Penny Thoughts format is supposed to be flexible in that way. Hopefully at some point I’ll get around to posting my original review of this movie to make up for it; but for now, I’m just going to tell a funny story. And frankly, I’m sure this story will be funnier to me than anyone else.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1 / *** (PG-13)

Katniss Everdeen: Jennifer Lawrence

Gale Hawthorne: Liam Hemsworth

Plutarch Heavensbee: Philip Seymour Hoffman

President Alma Coin: Julianne Moore

President Snow: Donald Sutherland

Peeta Mellark: Josh Hutcherson

Haymitch Abernathy: Woody Harrelson

Beetee: Jeffery Wright

Boggs: Mahershala Ali

Primrose Everdeen: Willow Shields

Finnick Odair: Sam Claflin

Effie Trinket: Elizabeth Banks

Caesar Flickerman: Stanley Tucci

Lionsgate Films presents a film directed by Francis Lawrence. Written by Peter Craig and Danny Strong and Suzanne Collins. Based on the novel “Mockingjay” by Collins. Running time: 123 min. Rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material).

We’ve seen to two Hunger Games now and it is time for the revolution of Panem. But, before we get to that let’s pause to consider just what we’ve done and what it is we are calling upon ourselves to do. It is rare that an action franchise will take the time to consider its own ramifications, however, this first part of the exciting franchise finale might just be more about making money from four movies instead of three. I believe if its final chapter weren’t split into two parts, Katniss probably wouldn’t have quite this much of a chance to prepare herself to be the symbol of change she becomes here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Penny Thoughts ‘14—Force 10 from Navarone (1978) ***

PG, 118 min.

Director: Guy Hamilton

Writers: Robin Chapman, Carl Foreman, Alistair MacLean (novel)

Starring: Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Edward Fox, Carl Weathers, Franco Nero, Richard Kiel, Barbara Bach, Alan Badel, Michael Byrne, Angus MacInnes, Philip Latham

My wife and I have always been pretty protective of our children when it comes to exposing them to mature content in movies. I believe it depends on the person as to what they can handle by which age. Some kids will handle things better at an earlier age than others. By this point both of our older boys (13 and 9) have long since been exposed to all sorts of violence through video games and playing with their friends. Seeing “Fury” recently, I was reminded how much war movies helped to form my tastes as a cineaste and I realized that I have never shown my boys a real war movie. So, I decided to start them on the one I believe my father started me on, Alistair MacLean’s follow up the “The Guns of Navarone” and early Harrison Ford flick “Force 10 from Navarone”.

Penny Thoughts ‘14—The Rocketeer (1991) ***

PG, 108 min.

Director: Joe Johnston

Writers: Danny Bilson, Paul de Meo, William Dear, Dave Stevens (graphic novel)

Starring: Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino, Terry O’Quinn, Ed Lauter, James Handy, Robert Guy Miranda, John Lavachielli, Jon Polito, Eddie Jones, William Sanderson, Don Pugsley, Nada Despotovich, Margo Martindale, America Martin

“The Rocketeer” is a rip roarin’ good time! That’s what I would imagine reviews of this movie would read like were it released during the golden age of Hollywood in which it takes place. It’s a fitting review. It doesn’t lie, and it could very well stand as my review of it in this day and age.

Fury / **** (R)

Don ‘Wardaddy’ Collier: Brad Pitt

Norman Ellison: Logan Lerman

Boyd ‘Bible’ Swan: Shia LaBeouf

Trini ‘Gordo’ Garcia: Michael Peña

Grady ‘Coon-Ass’ Travis: Jon Bernthal

Captain Waggoner: Jason Isaacs

Columbia Pictures presents a film written and directed by David Ayer. Running time: 134 min. Rated R (for strong sequences of war violence, some grisly images, and language).

“Ideals are peaceful. History is violent.”

                                   —Sgt. Don Collier, “Fury”

French filmmaker Francois Truffaut is often cited as having said, “There is no such thing as an anti-war film.” I’ve always had a problem with this notion. I’ve been a fan of war films almost my entire life. I suppose it’s a statement like that one that would inspire Truffaut’s belief that to make a war film is to glorify war. Most critics of war films cite Hollywood’s insistence upon some sort of sentiment as the glorifying factor. But it is sentiment that allows us an entry into the human aspect of war. While war films have given me an appreciation for what it takes to be a soldier and a pretty good appreciation of history, what they have never done is make me want to be a soldier or experience war in even the most peripheral way. There is a degree of sentiment to the new war film “Fury”, but it would be hard for anyone to argue that it glorifies war.

Penny Thoughts ‘14—The Unknown Known (2014) ***½

PG-13, 103 min.

Director/Writer: Errol Morris

Featuring: Donald Rumsfeld

Voice: Errol Morris

In his first feature, “Gates of Heaven”, documentarian Errol Morris interviews an old woman who just lets loose on his camera with a five minute monologue that goes from one end of the spectrum to the other in a way that sees her contradicting her own point by the time she reaches the end. “The Unknown Known” is a feature-length version of that same monologue, this time with former two-time U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as the interviewee.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes / **** (PG-13)

Caesar: Andy Serkis

Malcolm: Jason Clarke

Dreyfuss: Gary Oldman

Ellie: Kari Russell

Koba: Toby Kebbell

Alexander: Kodi Smit-McPhee

Carver: Kirk Acevedo

Blue Eyes: Nick Thurston

20^th Century Fox presents a film directed by Matt Reeves. Written by Mark Bomback and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver. Based on characters created by Jaffa & Silver and inspired by the novel “Le Planéte des Singes” by Pierre Boulle. Running time: 130 min. Rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief strong language).

For the past two weeks we’ve watched as the Gaza Strip has once again blown up in conflict with innocents dying on both sides and both sides claiming the righteousness of their causes. I would not claim to know enough about either side of this never-ending conflict to judge whether anyone is right or not. I do believe that after a certain point the righteousness of such conflicts fades in comparison to the cost in human life. War is just war after a while. Is it just an inevitable aspect of the human existence? The new film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, in the same tradition of the original series of films inspired by Pierre Buolle’s novel “Le Planéte des Singes”, argues that it may be the nature of any dominant species, be it man or ape.

Penny Thoughts ‘14—24, season 2 (2002-2003) ****

TV-14, 24 45-min. episodes

Creators: Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran

Directors: Jon Cassar, James Whitmore Jr., Rodney Charters, Frederick K. Keller, Ian Toynton

Writers: Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Michael Loceff, Howard Gordon, Remi Aubuchon, Gil Grant, Elizabeth M. Cosin, Virgil Williams, David Ehrman, Evan Katz, Maurice Hurley, Neil Cohen, Duppy Demetrius

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Sarah Wynter, Elisha Cuthbert, Xander Berkley, Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert, Reiko Aylesworth, Michelle Forbes, Penny Johnson Jerald, Jude Ciccollela, Laura Harris, John Terry

Guest starring: Billy Burke, Timothy Carhart, Sara Gilbert, Skye Nicole Bartusiak, Tracy Middendorf, Phillip Rhys, Douglas O’Keefe, Jimmi Simpson, Gregory Sporleder, Michael Holden, Tamlyn Tomita, Jim Abele, Jon Gries, Innis Casey, Sarah Clarke, Nicholas Guilak, Bryan Rasmussen, John Eddins, Eric Christian Olsen, Michael Cudlitz, Michael McGrady, Anthony Azizi, Tony Wayne, Al Sapienza, Harris Yulin, Fred Toma, Marc Casabani, Francesco Quinn, Terry Bozeman, Daniel Dae Kim, Bernard White, Steven Culp, Kevin Dillon, Val Lauren, Randle Mell, Maximilian Martini, Lourdes Benedicto, Donnie Keshawarz, Dean Norris, Brent Sexton, Lombardo Boyar, Greg Henry, Alan Dale, Justin Louis, Sterling Macer Jr., Nick Offerman, Paul Schulze, Tobin Bell, Peter Outerbridge, Raymond Cruz, Maurice Compte, Glenn Morshower, Brian Goodman, Jeffery Wincott, Mark Ivanir, Peter Gregory, Alex Daniels, Thomas Kretschmann, Rick D. Wasserman, Scott Paulin, Chuti Tiu, Eugene Robert Glazer

“24” season 2 finds the stakes raised once more, in that seemingly impossible standard of the series where the stakes begin higher than any other thriller situation imagined and then continued to rise from that point throughout the season. With David Palmer now POTUS, what can the writers of this series throw at these characters to totally uproot every expectation they or the audience can imagine? They do it. It’s hard to believe, but they blow our minds again the second time around.

Penny Thoughts ‘14—A Field in England (2014) ***

NR, 90 min.

Director: Ben Wheatley

Writer: Amy Jump

Starring: Julian Barrett, Peter Ferdinando, Richard Glover, Reece Shearsmith, Michael Smiley, Ryan Pope

Voice: Sara Dee

“A Field in England” is one of those movies that is probably enhanced by watching under the influence of a serious hallucinogen. It’s shot in black & white so your mind can fill in the colors. That being said, it also takes place in a setting that seems very non-psychedelic. It takes place amid the Civil War in 17^th Century England. Before this film I knew nothing of any Civil War in England in the 17^th Century, and now I still don’t. I think the setting probably has some significance that would be lost on most Americans, myself included, but it is of little importance when all is said and done.

Edge of Tomorrow / *** (PG-13)

Major William Cage: Tom Cruise

Rita Vrataski: Emily Blunt

General Brigham: Brendan Gleeson

Master Sergeant Farell: Bill Paxton

Dr. Carter: Noah Taylor

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a film directed by Doug Liman. Written by Christopher McQuarrie and Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth. Running time: 113 min. Rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language and brief suggestive material).

“Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today.”

                                                                        —Phil Connors, “Groundhog Day”.

After seeing the trailers for the new sci-fi action flick “Edge of Tomorrow”, it seemed everyone on the internet was comparing the movie to other movies, saying it was a cross between “Groundhog Day” and “The Matrix”, or “Groundhog Day” and “Battle: Los Angeles”, or “Groundhog Day” and “insert alien invasion movie or your choice here.” The constant was “Groundhog Day” due to the notion made clear in the movie’s trailer that the hero of the flick would relive the same day over and over until he was able to stop the alien invasion. It’s a shame, however that the trailers were so intent on letting the audience in on this premise before actually seeing the movie. It would’ve been interesting to go into the movie without any knowledge of where the movie was going.

Penny Thoughts ’14—The Americans, season 2 (2014) ****

TV-MA, 13 50 min. episodes

Creator: Joseph Weisberg

Directors: Thomas Schlamme, Daniel Sackheim, Constantine Makris, Lodge Kerrigan, Dan Attias, Charlotte Sieling, Kevin Dowling, John Dahl, Alik Sakharov, Stefan Schwartz, Gregory Hoblit, Andrew Bernstein

Writers: Joseph Weisberg, Joel Fields, Stu Zicherman, Stephen Schiff, Angelina Burnett, Melissa James Gibson, Joshua Brand, Peter Ackerman, Tracey Scott Wilson, Oliver North

Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Alison Wright, Holly Taylor, Keidrich Sellati, Richard Thomas, Lev Gorn, Costa Ronin

Guest starring: Jeremy Davidson, Natalie Gold, Tim Hopper, John Carroll Lynch, Aimee Carrero, Erik Jensen, Anthony Arkin, Kathleen Chalfant, Owen Campbell, Michael Aronov, Jefferson White, Cliff Marc Simon, Cotter Smith, John Bedford Lloyd, Wrenn Schmidt, Lee Tergesen, Nick Bailey, Jeffrey Cantor, Reg Rogers, Kelly AuCoin, Gillian Alexy, Rahul Khanna, Zeljko Ivanek, Margo Martindale

FX’s “The Americans” continues to impress in its second season. Gone are the rough patches of trying to hold together a fake marriage while working deep undercover as Russian sleeper agents in the early 80s. The parents of the Jennings household are now a unified front. The trick is becoming keeping that front for their children.

Ebert Thoughts ‘14—Born on the Fourth of July (1989) ***

R, 145 min.

Director: Oliver Stone

Writers: Ron Kovic (also memoir), Oliver Stone

Starring: Tom Cruise, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava, Josh Evans, Samantha Larkin, Tom Berenger, Frank Whaley, Jerry Levine, Stephen Baldwin, Kyra Sedgwick, Karen Newman, Willem Dafoe, Tom Sizemore, Michael Wincott, Ed Lauter, Dale Dye, Oliver Stone, Bryan Larkin, John Getz, Willie Minor, Rocky Carroll, Billie Neal, Richard Poe, Bob Gunton, Lili Taylor

It’s interesting that “Do the Right Thing” and “Born on the Fourth of July” were invited to Ebertfest the same year. They were each released the same year. Both had Oscar implications. ’89 was one of the first years that I made a point to see the Oscar nominees. I was disappointed with both “Do the Right Thing” and “Born on the Fourth of July” at that time. I later watch them each again and totally changed my opinion of “Do the Right Thing”. I liked “Born on the Fourth of July” better upon a second screening as well, but I still never thought it was Oscar-level, especially considering Oliver Stone’s other Oscar-nominated films.

Penny Thoughts ‘14—The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life (2013) ***½

NR, 38 min.

Director: Malcolm Clarke

Writers: Malcolm Clarke, Carl Freed

Featuring: Aliza Sommer-Herz

The Best Documentary Short Oscar-winner for 2014 saved me from going 0-3 in the short categories of the Oscar pool this year. That movie was “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”. I don’t really know why I picked it. Perhaps I connected with its subtitle. Perhaps I just thought the Oscar voters couldn’t resist giving an award to a movie about a sweet elderly woman. I didn’t even know if she was sweet. I just assumed because—like all the films of the shorts categories—I hadn’t seen it; nor had most people who didn’t meet the strict voting criterion of the Academy rules on such films.