Pride

What I liked:

• It is an inspirational story that is well written and well told.
• It is based on a true story.
• The cast is wonderful: Ben Schnetzer, George MacKay, Monica Dolan, Andrew Scott, Joseph Gilgun, Faye Marsay, Freddie Fox, Chris Overton, Joshua Hill, Dominic West, Paddy Considine, Menna Trussler, Jessica Gunning, Imelda Stauton, Sophie Evans, Jack Baggs, Russell Tovey, and Bill Nighy.
• All of the set design, costume, and makeup are well done.
• It's funny, educational, and touching.

Tracks

What I liked:

• It's base on a true story.
• Mia Wasikowska is wonderful.
• Adam Driver lights up the screen whenever he is on.
• The cinematography is beautiful.

The One I Love

What I liked:

• The story is fun, interesting, intriguing, twisted, sad, and delightful.  It makes you think.
• Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss are wonderful as usual.  They have great chemistry on screen.
• Ted Danson!

Boyhood

What I liked:

• It opens to a Coldplay song and the soundtrack just gets better from there.
• It's the story of a boy from age 5 to age 18 and it was filmed in "real time" over 12 years with the same cast.  It's wonderful to see everyone age, naturally, without a makeup artist or special effects.
• Ellar Coltrane is fantastic as Mason.  To think that he started this film at such a young age, without acting experience, and with such a time commitment is pretty impressive.  
• Kudos to Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke for also agreeing to such a commitment and for seeing the beauty in it.
• Lorelei Linklater played the bratty sister very well.
• It was written and directed by Richard Linklater.
• The pop culture references from the early 2000's through 2012 are great.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

What I liked:

• Chris Pratt is awesome!  I am glad that people are finally noticing him now.
• Zoe Saldana kicks butt.
• Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper do some great voice over work.
• Groot and Rocket are adorable and funny.
• It also stars Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Djimon Hounsou, Karen Gillan, John C. Reily, Glen Close, Benicio Del Toro, and Sean Gunn.
• It was directed and co-written by James Gunn.
• It's funny, entertaining, and action packed.
• Fantastic soundtrack.  Pina Colada, anyone?
• The special effects are amazing.
• Some outstanding looking aliens were created.
• Kirk!
• Stay through the credits for a cute little clip with a special cameo.
  

Wish I Was Here

What I liked:

• Zach Braff co-wrote it, directed it, and stars in it.
• Braff got most of the money to make this film from a little over 46,000 of you/Kickstarter.
• It's a lovely story about life, love, and dreams.
• This is Kate Hudson's best performance since Almost Famous.
• Joey King and Pierce Gagnon are adorable.
• Mandy Patinkin is just delightful.
• It also stars Alexander Chaplin, Josh Gad, Ashley Greene, Donald Faison, Michael Weston, and Jim Parsons.
• Cameos by Stanley, Uncle Phil, and Tom/Dr. Zeltzer.
• It's a Turk and JD reunion!
• Of course, it has a great soundtrack.
• SoCal makes for a lovely backdrop.
• Game of Thrones pillow talk.

A Million Ways To Die In The West

What I liked:

• It is the brain child of triple threat (Actor, Writer, and Director) Seth MacFarlane.
• Charlize Theron is lovely and talented.
• Kudos to Amanda Seyfried for letting them make fun of her.
• Giovanni Ribisi plays weird so well.
• It also stars Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, and Sarah Silverman.
• Cameos by Mr. Belding, Ewan McGregor, Doc Brown, Gilbert Gottfried,, Django, and Ryan Reynolds.
• It's funny and entertaining if you like MacFarlane's sense of humor.

Chef

What I liked:

• Triple Threat (Actor, Writer, and Director), Jon Favreau, is fantastic.
• Great chemistry between Favreau and John Leguizamo.
• Emjay Anthony makes for a good son.
• It also stars Sofia Vergara, Bobby Cannavale, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Amy Sedaris, Robert Downey Jr., and Oliver Platt.
• The music compliments it very well.
• Delightful shots of food.
• The story is lighthearted but also heartfelt.
• Loved the way that they used social media and how they explained it.

Slingshot

What I liked:

• This is a very interesting documentary, not only on the importance of clean water for the entire world but it also about Dean Kamen, the inventor of the segway, the importance of science in kids lives, and the significance of women in the engineering field.
• Coca-Cola is trying to give back.
• It stresses that even in America, our water is not the best and will get worse.

Monk with a Camera

http://www.traileraddict.com/monk-with-a-camera/trailer 


 What I liked:

• It's a fascinating story.  
• It has great pictures and film from the past to help understand Nicholas Vreeland's journey and choices.
• There are appearances by The Dalai Lama and Richard Gere.
• The animation is really good.

Her

What I liked:

• It was written and directed by Spike Jonze.
• Joaquin Phoenix is amazing.  His facial expressions are so in tune with his character.
• This story takes place in the future and the future looks pretty cool.  The video games that they have are awesome.  Perfect Mom is hysterical.
• The story of Theodore is honest, real, and natural.
• Relationships are relationships.  It doesn't matter if it is with an operating system or a human or an animal.  It is what it is.
• It is a beautiful emotional journey.
• Scarlet Johansson's voice work is wonderful.
• Amy Adams is perfect as Amy.
• It also stars Chris Pratt, Rooney Mara, Matt Letscher, Olivia Wilde, and Portia Doubleday.
• I love the way they used color and natural light.
• The costume design is interesting.  High waisted pants make a comeback!
• Fabulous soundtrack.
• Watch the credits to find out who the voice of Sexy Kitten is.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

What I liked:

• Ben Stiller was delightful as Walter Mitty.
• Stiller also directed it.
• Kristen Wiig is lovely.
• Wonderful supporting cast: Kathryn Hahn, Adam Scott, Adrian Martinez, Sean Penn, Patton Oswalt, and Shirley MacLaine.
• It's an enjoyable story with layers that all connect in the end.
• Fabulous soundtrack.
• Rupert Holmes' "Escape (If You Like Pina Coladas)"
• It was beautifully shot.  Great camera work and cinematography.
• Stay until the lights come on for a special version of "Escape".

The Book Thief

What I liked:

• Sophie Nelisse is beautiful and talented.  I can't wait to see what she does next.
• Nico Liersch is adorable as Rudy.
• Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush are fantastic as Liesel's parents.
• It also stars Heike Makatsch, Roger Allam, and Ben Schnetzer.
• The story is beautiful told.
• Hair, makeup, costume design, and the sets are all great.

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

What I liked:

• This movie is ridiculous and hysterical.  It had the entire theater roaring.
• Johnny Knoxville and Jackson Nicoll have great chemistry.
• The reactions from the unsuspecting people are great.

Gravity

What I liked:

• It has beautiful views of space.  
• The 3D effects show a lot of depth.  Things are not coming out at you.
• Sandra Bullock gives a fantastic performance.
• George Clooney is his usual suave self.
• Ed Harris has a great voice for radio.
• It's just the right length.  Any longer and you would have lost interest.
• It's action packed.

Don Jon

What I liked:

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one talented guy.  Not only can he act, sing and dance (see 500 Days of Summer) he can also write and direct.  You would never know that this was his first feature film as a writer and director.  It's very well done.  JGL also goes through a great physical transformation to become Jon.
• Scarlett Johansson is wonderful as Barbara.  
• Julianne Moore is her usual awesomeness.
• Tony Danza!
• Brie Larson crushes it with each look.
• It also stars Glenne Headly, Rob Brown, and Jeremy Luke.
• The story has many interesting layers to it.
• I love how it exposes the way that the media influences the way that we think about love, sex, and relationships.
• I like the way that Jon questions the church.
• The dialogue feels natural and organic.  It's honesty makes it funny.
• Love the cameos of Anne Hathaway and Channing Tatum.
• Keep an eye out for the Emily Blunt and John Krasinski cameo.  
• It has a lot of amusing and entertaining parts.
• I like the way that light and music are used to convey a point and sometimes even to manipulate you or to show you how other movies manipulate you.
  

Much Ado About Nothing

• I love the trailer.  They picked the perfect song to use in it: St. Germain's Rose Rouge.
• I love the poster.  Quirky.  Intriguing.  
• This may be one of the most beautiful casts ever assembled.  Eye candy for all.
• I didn't understand most of what the actors were saying but it didn't matter because they all acted it out so well that it just made sense.  Their use of facial expressions, hand gestures, body movement, and props made this so enjoyable.
• Written for the screen and directed by Joss Whedon.
• It was shot in only 12 days at Whedon's house. 
• Amazingly talented cast: Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Clark Gregg, Reed Diamond, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Spencer Treat Clark, Riki Lindhome, Sean Maher, Nathan Fillion, Ashley Johnson, Emma Bates, Tom Lenk, Nick Kocher, and Brian McElhaney.
• That's Chrissy from Growing Pains!  
• It has a beautiful ambiance about it.  You can't help but want to be apart of this world.
• Great music throughout.

Star Trek Into Darkness

What I liked:

• The opening sequence is creative and visually stunning.
• Chris Pine.
• Zachary Quinto.
• Benedict Cumberbatch.
• April Webster and Alyssa Weisberg did a great job casting the first movie and everyone was back for the second: Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, and Bruce Greenwood.
• Peter Weller and Alice Eve were nice additions to the cast.
• J.J. Abrams is a great director.
• Awesome set design and costumes.
• It's funny, witty, and charming.
• It's action packed.
• It has great 3D effects.

Mud

What I liked:

• This is Matthew McConaughey's best performance since A Time to Kill.  I can't imagine anyone else being Mud.
• Tye Sheridan is fantastic as Ellis.  I can't wait to see what he does next.
• It's a coming of age story about a boy who is in love with love.
• The supporting cast is wonderful: Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Paulson, Ray McKinnon, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon, Paul Sparks, Jacob Lofland and Bonnie Sturdivant.
• The cinematography was great.
• The use of natural light was beautiful.
• That's not Mickey Doyle's real voice?!
• The Beach Boys!

G-Dog

Who is G-Dog? from Freida Mock on Vimeo.

What I liked:

• Father Gregory Boyle (G-Dog) is inspiring.  What he has done to help people find an alternative to gang life is amazing.  Watch this documentary.  Read is book.  Get something to eat at Homegirl Cafe.  Volunteer.  Do something!