There's Something About Mary (1998)

Poor lovestruck loser Ted (Ben Stiller) never got over the girl of his dreams after an incident in his youth left him scarred. Years later, he hires a shady investigator to track her down and that's when matters get complicated.

This remains one of my most memorable theater experiences. Full of broad belly laughs, you hardly ever see this type of "swing for the fences" comedy anymore. It's refreshing to visit all these years later because it still has the same effect on me. It's the perfect marriage between gross-out humor and heart that really sticks the landing and cements it as a modern comedy classic.

4½ squirts of hair gel out of 5

BLACK MASS [2015]

After an extended string of crappy films, Johnny Depp returns to form in director Scott Cooper's American true crime film, Black Mass.
The film depicts the rise & fall of the infamous Irish-American crime boss, Whitey Bulger who became an FBI informant in order to get away with as much as he possibly could in Boston during the 70's and 80's.
Aided by an impressive cast, Depp gives a subtle yet empowering performance that kept me uncomfortably mesmerized.  However I couldn't help but feel the story needed a good extra hour of padding to really give it the impact it appeared to be aiming for.  There was so much going on that they briefly skimmed over, as a whole it never really explores anything we haven't seen before with a film like this.  In the end it's a slightly above average film with some really great performances.

3 confused doormen out of 5

WILD [2014]

Director Jean-Marc Vallée does the near impossible by turning Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail into a gracefully crafted contemplative film.
Reese Witherspoon does a wonderful job as Strayed who's walking the 2,633 miles long PCR as a way to gather her thoughts from the troubled life she hopes to leave behind.  It's a thoroughly captivating told story of a heart that opens up into the vast wilderness around it that's both dangerous and elegant.  Thankfully we're never quite sure what's around each bend and that's a rarity in such films.  Wild stumbles along here and there but Witherspoon and Laura Dern's underplayed performances make the journey well worth your time.

3½ female hobos out of 5

KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM [2013]

When you've collected Peter Dinklage, Summer Glau, Danny Pudi and Ryan Kwanten in one film you know you're in for some nerdy genre cinema.
Holliston's Joe Lynch directs Knights Of Badassdom, a horror-flavored comedy about a bunch of goofs who accidentally summon a Hell demon while LARPing in the woods.  It's not quite as good as it could have been but neither is it as bad.  It's a blast to see the cast ham it up like this but unfortunately some of the dialogue is pretty bland and is in dire need of some sprucing up.
However if you know the difference between doom, sludge & black metal and have rolled a twenty-sided die more than once in your life  then this might be the film for you.

2½ Manowar covers without the muscles out of 5