1956 - Inside Llewyn Davis

Before throwing down my own thoughts I read some awesomely varied reviews - people that love and hate the film.  I'm in the former category.  I'm not a Coen apologist - I hated Ladykillers, and I was meh on A Serious Man.  Everything else has been enjoyable for me, and many of them are among my favourite films.  Say what you will about the Coens - they've got a distinct voice, and in this particular film they know exactly how to use it.  In lesser hands a film like this would meander and be boring as shit.  If you described the plot to anyone I'm sure it would turn them off seeing the film (to be fair - there isn't much of a plot - that's not what this one is about) but it's the execution here and it gets top marks.  We spend time trying to get inside of the main character, and see what makes him tick, see what others see in him, why he annoys others (Carey Mulligan is goddamn fantastic here, every time she emphasizes a word here it makes me smile, and John Goodman's mocking of Lewis' genre of music of fantastic).  This is a film that's purely about the journey with little to no thought about the destination.  If you like the Coens and you like folk music - this one is a no brainer (I'd be remiss to not mention a sequence in the middle featuring Oscar Isaac recording a song with Justin Timberlake and Adam Driver that is comedy gold.  So delightful.).  I wasn't familiar with Isaac as an actor before but he's on my radar big time.
Not everyone will love this film - some will dislike it immensely.  As mentioned, I'm of the former mentality.  Give it a whirl yourselves!

1925 - The Hangover Part III

This film got shit on a whole lot when it came out.  I didn't mind it at all.  I didn't laugh a whole lot, but I was also curious what would happen with these characters and I liked the premise quite a bit and appreciated that they didn't go back to the well with trying to have the characters be drugged again.  It feels like a nice period to the story as well as it brings the story nicely full circle with events from the first film and a lot of really strong callbacks.  I have to admit, I was always disappointed that Stu never hooked up with Heather Graham following the first film.  Big shame.
It's around VOD now if you missed it in the theatres as I did.  I don't think it beats the original by any means, but it's worth checking out if you made the effort to see the second one, for sure.

1769 - Argo

I don't care what anyone says - nobody directs Ben Affleck better than Ben Affleck.  Hell, few direct as well as him period.  In three films Affleck has announced himself as a real talent behind the camera, and I hope he's not through yet.  I've always liked him well enough as an actor, but never been drawn to a film just because he's in it - but as a director - I'm there on opening night.
I didn't know about this story at all, and I went to see it with an American friend whom had heard about the 444 held in captivity, but not abbot the 6 that got away, and the story of what happened to them - even though it had been declassified over a decade ago.
It's the story of an American embassy overthrown and how six people who got away and were being searched for, got away.  Canada got all the credit for the mission originally, but in the film come off as little more than inn-keepers - I think that there's something in the middle that's most likely truer of the actual events and both sides involvements.  In addition, in the thrilling climax, I'm sure that the majority of it was invented for the sake of pure entertainment - and entertaining it is!!! 
Here's the bottom line - don't go to see the film as if it's history lesson - so to see it because it's a very entertaining thriller with some fantastic performances from Ben, Bryan Cranston, Alan Alda, John Goodman, and many others.  It's entertaining as hell, and despite some creative allowances gives you a pretty good glance into how fucked up some stuff has to be.  The bizarre issues between nations in this world of ours.  Highly recommend it. 

1670 - Frosty the Snowman

Got up this morning and Ephraim wanted to watch something, so I took the chance to introduce him to this.  I remember it from my own childhood, but... well... I guess some things age really well and some age just okay.  There are some cute little moments for the adults, but for some reason I just remember this seeming like a much more grand adventure.  Little things that drove me nuts were the inconsistency of what Frosty knew about and didn't.  He had no clue about traffic lights, etc... but he seems to be well aware that there's such a thing as a President of the United States.  I realize this is just a 'silly little kids film' but come on, have some consistency of character.
Ephraim seemed to like it, so by children's standards I think it still holds up just fine.  Not sure I ever need to revisit it again myself though.  If you've never seen it... I don't know... your call :)
The DVD we have features a sequel with the voice talents of John Goodman and Elisabeth Moss (way before Mad Men) so I might watch that just based on them being in it. 

1659 - Red State

I have to say that if I hadn't seen the credits for this film I would never guess that it was made by Kevin Smith.  Once you deconstruct it it starts to make sense to some degree - the religious commentary, the long-heavy handed speeches, but visually and performance wise this is nothing like a typical Kevin Smith film.  For those who don't know, it's the story of a Fred Phelps type cult and the random events that lead to them being taken down. 
There is an immediacy to this film that we haven't seen from his other work.  And it's refreshingly non-predictable.  It could go anywhere at any moment and it feels extremely true to life.  We're not following a character so much as we're following the details of a situation. 
The cast here is pretty damn impressive, and most of them are gone as quickly as they come.  We've got a lot of televisions best performers here in quick roles, but no one steals the show quite like Michael Parks (John Goodman isn't too damn shabby himself).  Parks is the character and as much as you despite him, you're enthralled.  The real beauty of this film is how you emotionally shift perspectives while watching it - no small feat. 
While completely different from most of Smith's work, it's something that really shows us how goddamn great he could be - especially coming off of such a stinker as Cop Out.  He's reportedly retiring in the very near future, which is sad considering how strong of a filmmaker he's becoming.
I wasn't expecting to like this film at all, but it's quite good.  It really grabs you and pulls you along for a ride.  Well done, Smitty.