HeadhuntersThis Norwegian thriller pits an full-time corporate recruiter and part-time art thief against a very angry and implacable would-be victim, Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. It's taught, surprising, and altogether effective - this movie literally had me on the edge of my seat.
The Dictator
There's a comic bit in Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator involving a severed head, a henchman with rather vague loyalties, and remarkably bad taste. A masterpiece of timing, the bit took me from incredulous disgust to full-throated laughter to intellectual admiration, all in the stretch of about five minutes. If I lost you at "severed head," so will the movie. If I piqued your interest, invest ten minutes: that's all you need to decide whether this film is for you.
Moonrise Kingdom
This seems like the film for which the word "charming" was invented. Moonrise Kingdom is about basically good people trying to behave basically well, and I found myself rooting for everyone. The production design is pleasingly eye-catching, the locales beautiful (this one was filmed near my current home in Newport, RI), and the story engaging. I loved it.
The Expendables 2
The Expendables 2: better than the first, with better action choreography and a more comprehensible sense of the battlespace. Filled with 'splosions, gunfire, and bad jokes, this movie won me over when it devoted a good five minutes to what was essentially one long Chuck Norris joke, punctuated by Chuck Norris telling an actual Chuck Norris joke.
