Far From the Madding Crowd

Jean, This is a remake of the 1968 big production movie of the same name starring Julie Christie and Peter Finch and others. This one has Carey Mulligan and three male actors as the main characters in this Thomas Hardy novel. I found it so engaging, that it just draws you into the choices this head strong young gal has to make in 1870's England country side about the three men who want to marry her. It is shot in authentic English country locations and manor houses. It moves quite fast, at under two hours where the original was 171 minutes. The male actors are Matthias Schoenaerts, Belgian born actor, Michael Sheen and Tom Sturridge.  The clothing and the sets, with the real country background, make for a British film worthy of such past works as "Howard's End" or "A Room with a View". The final scenes had me near tears in a major way, as you do care about the main character and her dilemma and how she solves it.  Dad

The previews were:

I'll See You in my Dreams
Learning To Drive
Self/Less
Testament of Youth
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road (3D)

Jean, This is almost a non-stop chase movie across a desert terrain, with the bad guys chasing the good guys, of course. What is amazing is all the variations on this theme that George Miller has come up with. You think you have seen everything but he comes up with spectacular new ideas. There is a feminist theme here of saving the girls from a very bad chieftain but it soon gives way to everything is about the chase. Also you are in a very grim landscape. You know that when the opening sequence has a lone figure looking out on a desert and a Gecko appears. The figure steps on the Gecko and ...then eats it.
The hero (Tom Hardy) is all business as is the heroine (Charlize Theron). Do not expect any romance or even much dialogue. Hardy does not tell us his name (Max) until near the end of the movie. For a unbelievable frantic  and fast chase, then hold on to your seat as this is one  goes almost from start to finish. Dad

P.S. The previews are:

Crimson Peak
Entourage
The Walk
Ant Man
Terminator: Genesys
San Andres

Avengers - Age of Ultron

Jean, I saw it. The theater was  more than half full in the 2D showing  at Cinema I at 3:30. They clapped at the end of the film. You got a great credit at the end. Good for you. I did not realize it would have so much story. Also was impressed with the religious references and the history references.  I wonder where was the location of the "so-called safe house in the country" in real life. And where was the village that was used for a model somewhere in Hungary or someplace. Great visual effects and such things as the destruction of the skyscrapers in the battle between Hulk and ... Also the computer calculating scenes were great. They were so much better than 2001 movie in expressing the calculating going on. That was a very good villain in Ultron. That was really sold so well and he stood up against the Avengers in such a believeable manner. He was more than competitive  for them.  Dad

Danny Collins

Jean, This is supposed to be a comedy starring Al Pacino. There is some gentle humor in the movie but it also has some serious subjects such as a child with ADD and a leukemia patient. Al Pacino is fine, more subdued than you would expect but also quite charming. He is an aging singing star, who Pacino compares to Bruce Springsteen. I think his is closer to Barry Manilow. All the other cast are fine as well, such as Chris Plummer, Bobby Cannavale, Jennifer Garner. But the one to watch from the time she comes out to the hotel check-in counter as the hotel manager is Annette Bening. You see right away Al Pacino has met his acting match and then some. She is just terrific in that role. All his sweet talk and charm are not going to carry the day, here. You will find the movie well written with some real sharp dialogue. And the ending scene is one you will enjoy as it is so cleverly set up and then ....   Dad

P.S. The previews were:

Desert Dancer
While we're Young
Love and Mercy
I'll see you in my Dreams

while we're young

Jean, This movie starts out as a comedy, or a romantic comedy about a young couple (Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts) living in Brooklyn . They meet another young couple and seem to hit it off from the beginning. But the comedy soon ends and the movie becomes more serious and darkens. It turns out everyone is not as they appear. Along the way the writer/director, Noah Baumbach , gives us his views on many of the current social issues of the day. There are a number of side tracks taken including going to an encounter group where you have to bring your own bucket in which to vomit. That is due to the Peruvian drug you are required to take. I felt the movie was short on humor and too long on it's social commentary. Ben Stiller seems to be always whining and overly verbose about how he is mistreated by others in the movie.  Dad

The previews were:

I'll See You in my Dreams
Aloha
Southpaw
Ex Machina

Woman in Gold

Jean, This is a very interesting very well-produced movie, that is almost a factual documentary. (It is a BBC Film.) It is the story of the attempt to reclaim a famous portrait by the original owners. The painting is "Portrait of Adele" by Klimt, painted in the 1920's in Vienna. It was stolen by the Nazis and later held by the Austrian Government. The Altmann family or the last remaining member, played by Helen Mirren, starts to pursue her rights to the painting with the help of a cousin, played by Ryan Reynolds. Both do fine jobs but the trail from one court to the next, and the hurdles they have to overcome is the story. It can get a little legalistic but the clever ways they get over the legal barriers is quite interesting. (The painting was valued at $100 million while the court cases were going on and later it was sold for $135 million.) At the end you see the actual characters and the current home of the famous painting.  Dad

P.S. The previews were:

No Escape (Owen Wilson)
Mr. Holmes (Ian McKellen)
I'll See You In My Dreams
Southpaw

Ex Machina

Jean, This is one of the slickest, and smartest science fiction movie you will see in a long time. With only 4 characters and two of them being "robots" you have all you can handle when it comes to twists in a movie. It starts out with the subject of artificial intelligence and applying the "Turing Test" to the behavior of "state of the art robots." There are echoes of "Blade Runner" here but it goes beyond the ground covered in that movie. I found it quite engrossing as the pace picks up in the movie leading to a not to be guessed conclusion. At least I did not guess that last scene or two. Many outdoor scenes shot in Norway.   Dad

The Previews were:

The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Terminator: Genisys
AMY
Mad Max: Fury Road
Poltergeist
Sceptre 007