Review: "The Last Five Years" (****)

Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick star in "The Last Five Years." 

Richard LaGravenese’s adaptation of “The Last Five Years” opens with Cathy (the charming and endlessly talented Anna Kendrick) walking slowly through a nearly-abandoned New York City brownstone singing one of the films best and most poignant songs, “Still Hurting,” a deep and chilling number about the aftermath and heartbreak of a once dreamy relationship with Jamie (the dimpled and big-voiced Jeremy Jordon, Tony-nominated for his performance in "Newsies") that has now turned sour and cold. “The Last Five Years” the film was inspired by and derived from Jason Robert Brown’s off-Broadway production that had a short, successful run. I never saw the play (believe me, I wish I did), but let me tell you, this movie is wonderful.

Review: "Unbroken" (**½)

Jack O'Connell stars in "Unbroken"

Watching Jack O’Connell’s performance as the raffish, far-reaching World War II bombardier Louis Zamperini in Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken,” you can’t help but admire and relish in the unbreakable resilience of the human spirit. People are rather extraordinary, and this film is a testament to those people who push the boundaries of what’s possible. Because, at the heart of it, beyond the bawdy and often unforgivable wartime treatments and mistreatments, “Unbroken” is a story saturated with sincerity. O’Connell enlivens the material while still leaving room for periphery characters to hem themselves in. But, to me, the film itself often felt more angular than fluid, more forceful than purposeful, and more eager to embolden the highlights of Zamperini’s life than simply allow us explore them ourselves.