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‘The Diary of A Teenage Girl’ is a brilliant insightful film about what it’s like to be a teenage girl discovering for the first time her sexuality and LOVING every minute of it. The film is based on the graphic novel by Phoebe Gloeckner and was written and directed by Marielle Heller. This is her first film and she kills it.The incredible, Bel Powley plays Minnie, a 15 year old, would be cartoonist. Her style and her inspiration is Aline Kominsky, wife of Robert Crumb. One of the many cool things about this film, is that Minnie’ drawings come to life.

The year is 1976 and the place is San Francisco. Minnie lives with her mom, Charlotte (Kristen Wiig) who spends more time drinking and having sex with, Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) then she does mothering. It’s obvious from the start of the film, that Minnie is very attracted to Monroe and it doesn’t take long before she lets him know it.

In fact, Minnie seduces Monroe and despite a couple of weak protests, he’s more than happy to go along with it. Very quickly, they are in a hot sexual relationship unbeknownst to her mom, Charlotte.

We see Minnie in her most intimate moments. It’s memorizing watching her exploring and studying her body with curiosity and wonderment. Minnie is a girl totally in touch with who she is and it’s hard not to fall in love with her.

‘The Diary Of A Teenage Girl’ opens in theatres, Friday August 7th. It’s definitely a ‘must see’. Check out my review to see how many bagels I gave it…Okay, it’s 5 out of 5, but watch it anyway. Please SUBSCRIBE to our youtube channel and let me know what you think about this excellent film. Thanks everyone. Read more at: http://tr.im/tkbiP

If there’s anyone that fits the expression ‘triple threat’, it’s Joel Edgerton, who not only acts in ‘The Gift’ but wrote and directed it as well. I usually judge how good a thriller is by how many times I jump up from my seat. While watching ‘The Gift’ not only did I jump but to the dismay of the people sitting on either side of me, I let out three loud screams .

Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a married couple who seem to be living the ‘American Dream’ They have just moved from Chicago to sunny Los Angeles, where they have purchased a big beautiful glass house overlooking the city. Simon has a brand new job that he is excited about, especially when he finds out he’s up for a very big promotion. Robyn, a designer, seems content to work from home. One day while out shopping, the couple have a chance encounter with a guy from Simon’s past. His name is Gordo aka Gordon (Joel Edgerton) and he apparently went to high School with Simon. who can barely remember him. Gordo, however, remembers Simon only too well and seems eager to become BFF’S with the couple.

Grodo starts to leave gifts at Robyn and Simon’s house, but that’s not all. He thinks nothing of popping over to visit Robyn when Simon is at work. Robyn is much too sweet not to invite Gordo in for a cup of tea or even a meal. Afterall, Gordo is really going out of his way to bond with them. He even bought fish for the couple’s empty Koi pond. But, after a very strange dinner at Gordo’s house, Simon decides that’s it. He never wants to see his old high school acquaintance again. Unfortunately, Gordo seems to have a very different idea and it doesn’t take long before Robyn and Simon’s life goes into a harrowing tailspin. As a horrifying secret from the past is uncovered, Robyn learns some unsettling truth about what really happened between Simon and Gordo.. Thanks to Joel Edgeton’s tight direction, there is a sense of dread and discomforted throughout the film, as well as a couple of killer twists toward the end.. Edgerton has created a very smart, gripping psychological thriller and for that reason it received five bagels out of five.

‘The Gift’ opens in theatres Friday, August 7th Check out our Two Jews On Film video for more of my thoughts and to hear what my guest thought.

”Mission Impossible-Rogue Nation’ is the fifth installment in the ”Mission: Impossible” franchise and is it ever good. No, I take that back. It’s great. The film is everything you want in an action film…Great Plot, Likable and extremely unlikable characters, humor, suspense, surprises, on th edge of your seat car chases, and off the chart stunts performed by the film’s star, Mr. Tom Cruise. Let me just say some of these stunts are truly amazing and he trained for months to be able to perform them.. You can’t help admire that kind of commitment.

”Mission Impossible-Rogue Nation’ is written and directed by Christopher McQuarie, who definitely knows what his doing when it comes to this genre.

The plot is simple. The head of the CIA (the very funny Alex Baldwin) thinks the IMF has become reckless and dangerous. He’s left with no choice but to order them to disband. He thinks Ethan (Tom Cruise) and his buddies, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhimes and Jeremy Renner have gone off the deep end. Ethan believes that there is a group called THE SYNDICATE, a multinational group of ex-operatives, who are doing their best to create world chaos. This includes killing world leaders and setting off bombs whenever they feel like it. The head of the Syndicate is an ex-British spy known as Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) Baldwin think this is one big fantasy and he’s determined to bring Ethan and his guys in. If that doesn’t work, he order Ethan killed. Poor guy not only his the CIA hunting him, but Lane and the syndicate are out to get him as well.. What’s a guy to do? Well for thing team up with a gorgeous double agent, Ilsa Faust) who may or may not be bad. To say anything more about the plot isn’t necessary. Just go see ‘Mission Impossible-Rogue Nation’ which opens in theatres Friday July 31, 2015. You will not be disappointed. I gave the film five bagels out of five because it’s THAT good. Love to know what you think. Check out the Two Jews On Film video to see my guest star.

When Amy (Amy Schumer) and her sister were very young, they are taught by their father (Collin Quinn) that monogamy is totally impossible to achieve and completely unrealistic. He taught them this little lesson, a second before he left their mother.

Apparently her daddy’s words of wisdom has influenced Amy’s life big time. Unlike her sister, Kim (Brie Larson) who has a husband, stepson and a baby on the way, the thought of marriage, intimacy and commitment makes Amy cringe.. Amy’s idea of fun is smoking a lot of pot, getting blitz on alcohol and having one night stands…many one night stands. If a guy calls her more than once, he is deemed a stalker by her and her best friend, fellow co-worker, Vanessa Bayer (‘SNL’) Amy makes it a point to sleep with really dumb guys who are able to follow orders when it comes to pleasing her. Cuddling and sleeping over is totally out of the question. Amy does have one fellow (John Cena)that she sees casually.. He has over sized muscles and a brain the size of a pea.

The scenes between them, especially when Amy tries to get Mr. Muscles to talk dirty to her, are some of the funniest in the film. Amy has fooled herself into believing that she is happy but all that is about to change. Amy works for super cheesy magazine called S’Nuff. ‘Is he gay or just bored with you’? is a perfect example of the kind of stuff you’ll find in S’Nuff. During one pitch meeting, her boss Dianna, played by the unrecognizable Tilda Swinton decides to assign her a story about a very famous sports doctor named Aaron Connors (Bill Hader). Amy is freaked by the assignment. She knows absolutely nothing about sports, but Dianna assists she’s the girl for the job. When Amy shows up at the doctor’s office to interview him, it doesn’t take long for both of them to realize that they have major chemistry. Amy and Aaron start to see each other regularly and to Amy’s shock, she falls for him.

Now she has to question everything she’s ever believed about relationships and intimacy.”Trainwreck’ directed by Judd Apatow is definitely on my list of the top five funniest films I’ve ever seen. Not only will it have you laughing hard, but toward the end, you might even tear up a bit.

Oh, I must mention that one of the standouts in ‘Trainwreck’ is LeBron James. If he ever decides to give up his basketball career, he’ll definitely have a job in film. I gave ‘Trainwreck’ which opens in theatres Friday July 17th, five bagels out of five. Love to know what you think.

What is it to be ‘human?. That’s the issue that ‘Ted 2’ takes on. Of course, they take it on with the edgy, politically incorrect humor of Mr. Seth MacFarlane, who also wrote and directed the film.

At the start of ‘the movie, Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) marries Tami-Lynn, (Jessica Barth) his girlfriend from the first film. The wedding is a joyous affair and Ted’s BFF, Johnny (Mark Wahlberg) couldn’t be happier for him, despite the fact that he still hasn’t gotten over his own divorce from ex.wife of 6 years. Ted and and Tami-Lynn, like most couples start out madly in love, but it doesn’t take long for life to interfere. Ted’ is always complaining about all the money Tami spends on clothes. She defends her purchases but telling him that she’s trying to climb up the corporate ladder and needs to dress for success. Ted is not buying it. Tami is only a cashier at a super market, where Ted also works. The once happy couple is now fighting all the time, and after a year of marriage, things are not looking good, until a friend suggests they have a baby. And that’s exactly what Ted and Tami Lynn try to do. Of course, not having a penis doesn’t make Ted a good candidate. So the couple decide on artificial insemination. They guys go in search of sperm…but not just anyone’s sperm. The donor has to be an incredible athlete, smart, great looking… one that looks like Tom Brady. In fact, Tom Brady is their first choice and this is one of the funniest scenes in the film. Watching Johnny and Ted trying to steal Brady’s sperm.. Even Mark Whalberg contributes, but his little guys just don’t cut it. There’s nothing left for the couple to do except ADOPT. Unfortunately this puts Ted on the government radar and it doesn’t take long for his life to completely fall apart. He’s declared property, not a human, all his credit cards are cancelled, he loses his job, and of course the couples dream of adoption is now off the table. What to do? Find a lawyer of course, who will take on the case Pro Bono. And they find the perfect one..in the form of Samantha (Amanda Seifried) a beautiful pot smoking lawyer. What could be better? Well, there is the fact that she’s never tried a case before, but she is passionate about the case and determined to win Ted his rights.

‘Ted 2’ does tackle an interesting concept…What makes someone ‘human’. There’s lots of references to the ‘civil rights’ movement especially when Morgan Freeman, who plays a very high powered civil rights attorney, comes into the mix. Yes the film is very funny at times, but there’s something forced about the humor. It actually takes you at of the story…You become aware of here comes another Seth MacFarlane joke. For me, the comedy just didn’t feel all that organic to the story. Having said that, I did laugh and I was entertained. Fans of the first ‘Ted’ will definitely run out to see this sequel. I’m sure most of them will not be disappointed.

I gave ‘Ted 2’ which opens in theatres, June 26, four bagels out of five. check out our Two Jews On Film video for more of my thoughts and to see my guest.

‘Insidious Chapter 3′ is the third film in the terrifying horror franchise, created by Leigh Whannell and James Wan. This film which Leigh wrote and directed by himself, takes place several years before the haunting of the Lambert family and Elise’s (LinShaye) battle with the spirits from The Further, which we met in the first two movies.

In this prequel, teenager Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) senses that her late mother is trying to contact her. She seeks out the gifted psychic, Elsie to help her reach her mom.. Even though Elsie feels for the girl, she’s reluctant to use her abilities to contact the dead. Her last visit to the Further almost cost Elsie her life. She sends Quinn on her way.

Soon a shocking accident leaves Quinn recuperating at home with her widowed father Sean (Dermot Mulroney) who’s trying to help her recuperate. It is no easy task considering the fact that an evil supernatural entity is after the girl and has already attacked her several times.

Rounding out the cast are out favorite ghostbusters, Tucker (Angus Sampson) and Specs (Leigh Whannell).’Insidious: Chapter 3’ opens in theatres Friday June 5 and because it scared me silly, I gave it 5 bagels out of 5.

Check out the Two Jews On Film video for more of my thoughts and I’d love to know what you think.

‘Spy’ is without a doubt the funniest comedy of the year. This is not surprising considering it was written and directed by Paul Feig who brought us ‘Bridesmaids.

Melissa McCarthy is at her comedic best as Susan Cooper, an insecure behind the scenes CIA agent. She works out of a dreary sub-basement office, serving as the eyes and ears of super agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law). Fine sees their relationship as purely platonic but no matter how hard Susan tries to hide it, it’s obvious she has deep feelings for him.

Susan’s best friend and co-worker, Nancy (Miranda Hart)feels her relationship with Fine is holding her back and we soon find out how true this is. Without wanting to give too much away, Susan persuades her boss, Elaine Crocker (Allison Janney to let her go into the field. Her mission is to find out what Rayna (Rose Byrne) the rich, beautiful, Oxford educated daughter of a recently deceased arms dealer is up to. Rayna has come into possession of an unusual inheritance: a small tactical nuclear weapon that can destroy a city. Rayna partner in this venture is a well-healed criminal, the egocentric Sergio De Luca (the always wonderful Bobby Cannavale who wants to sell the nuke to the Russians. Added to the mix is the hysterically funny Jason Statham who plays Agent Rick Ford. He is confident, incompetent, clueless, intense and .totally nuts. Back to Susan who against orders, befriends Rayna and gets invited into her inner circle. The brutally direct Rayna feels slightly sympathetic and curious about Susan who reminds her of a ‘sad Bulgarian clown’. ‘Spy’ which opens in theatres, Friday June 5th is a film that will make you laugh from start to finish. Melissa McCarthy has never been better. I absolutely loved this movie and for that reason I gave it five bagels out of five. Do not miss it and I’d love to know what you think.

‘Entourage’ is the big screen version of the hit HBO series and the gang, including, Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), Eric (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny Chase (Kevin Dillion) are back. New cast members include Billy Bob Thornton and Haley Joel Osment, who play father and son, Larsen and Travis McCredle.. They’re from Texas and big time investors in Ari’s new film. There’s also a couple of new love interests… UFC fighter, Rhonda Rousey who gets the attention of Turtle and model Emily Ratajkowki who Vince pursues..

When the film opens, we find out that Ari has come out of retirement to run a studio, and Vince has informed him he wants to direct as well as star in a $100 million dollar film called ‘Hyde. Vince is at the stage in his career where he gets what he wants.

Unfortunately, our mega movie star goes way over budget, which means Ari has to take a trip to Texas to get more money out of Larsen McCredle (Billy bob Thornton) who’s underwriting the studio’s slate. Before he’ll sign a check, however, Larsen dispatches his vulgar, semi-stupid, obnoxious son Travis (Haley Joel Osment) to Hollywood to get a look at Vince’s so called masterpiece. Vince refuses to show anyone a rough cut, but somehow the little Texas weasel gets a hold of the film and hands Ari a list of edits and inane notes he wants done or he’ll tell his daddy to pull his money. But that’s not all that’s going on. Eric’s on and off again girlfriend, Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui) is about to give birth and Ari’s wife (Perrey Reeves) is two steps away from leaving her self involved, egotistical hubby..

Of course what would ”Entourage” be without girls and sex. The film has plenty of the above which is one of the problems. There’s just too much of everything. The film felt like four half hour television episodes strung together with over-the-top opulence, perfect boobs and flashy cars. There really wasn’t anything new going on. Everything was just bigger.. Having said that, the cameos which included Mark Wallberg, Liam Neeson, Warren Buffett, Rapper T. I., Armand Hammond and several others were great fun. Ari is someone that you just can’t get enough of and in the end, it’s the guys friendship and their unbreakable bond to one another that you’ll remember most.

I gave ‘Entourage’ written and directed by the show’s creator, Doug Ellin 3 1/2 bagels out of 5. The film opens Wednesday, June 3rd.

Check out the Two Jews On Film video for more of my thoughts.

I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but this was one of the most enjoyable disaster pictures I’ve seen in a long time. Yes some of the CGI was so unbelievable, but a lot of it really worked and worked well. When it was over, I was exhausted, but in a good way.

Perhaps experiencing my first earthquake right after I moved to L. A. had something to do with it. It was freakin scary.

‘San Andreas’ begins with the best car crash I’ve ever seen. In fact, I felt like I was in the car. From here it just doesn’t let up.

Dwayne Johnson aka the Rock, who has only one facial expression throughout the film plays Ray a fearless helicopter pilot who went from flying missions in Afghanistan to rescuing people here in the states. His divorced from his wife, Emma (Carla Gugino) who is about to marry a very rich jerk, a building developer Daniel (Ioan Gruffudd). You know from the beginning, this dude is going to prove just how jerky he is as the film goes on. We also get to meet Rock’s daughter, Blake (Alexander Daddario) a college student

Needless to say Mr. Muscles is very unhappy that his ex-wife is about to move in with Mr. Rich guy.

Moving along, we meet a Cal Tech seismologist (Paul Giamatti) who is in Nevada trying to prove that he has found a way to predict earthquakes. Before he can say ‘eureka) there’s a big trembler that takes out the Hoover Dam.

I don’t really need to say anything else about the plot, except as we all know from the trailers, Los Angeles and San Francisco has ‘the big big one’ and Blake is caught up in it. Lucky for her she meets two really cool British guys, who just happen to be my two favorite characters in the film…Ben (Hugo Johnstone-Burt and his adorable little brother, Ollie (Art Parkinson) who help her out of a jam.

I gave ‘San Andreas’ directed by Brad Peyton 4 bagels out of five because I really enjoyed the ride and I think you will too.

The film opens Friday, April 30th. Check out my video and let me know what you think of this new disaster movie.

In 1979 an unknown director, with a shoestring budget, cast an unknown actor in a film called ‘Mad Max’. The director was George Miller and the actor…Mel Gibson. The rest is history. No one had seen a film like ‘Mad Max and the franchise became a huge hit. And now, George Miller has done it again. Only this time, it’s bigger and absolutely incredible. Not only is it visually beautiful but the action, except for 5 minutes is non-stop and the story is very timely considering what’s going on in the world today. ‘Mad Max Fury Road’ takes place once again in Australia, 45 years after the fall of the world. There is no law, no power grids, no water, and very few nice people. Civilization is but a memory to a only a few. The world’s economies have fallen and the coastal cities no longer exist. If that isn’t bad enough, food is scarce and the air is poison.

When we meet Max (the wonderful Tom Hardy) he is wandering through the wasteland barely surviving and haunted by his past. He gets captured by these SUB human dudes known as the War Boys. They drag him back to the Citadel, a fortress stronghold in the Wasteland. Max is considered livestock, needed for one thing…his blood. Apparently Max is a universal donor. The War Boys shackle him, lock his face in an iron mask, hang him upside down and drain his blood. In this warped culture ‘fill her up’ means you’re filling up the War Boys with high-octane blood. The head of the Citadel is a diseased, barely human called, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), Besides having a distorted body filled with really disgusting sores, he wears this freaky looking mask over his face so he can breath. Joe’s passion is impregnating woman with his seed. Haven’t sex with this guy, has to be a fate worth than death. Joe is determined to have a perfect child, so at first you don’t succeed…You know the rest.

Anyway, Max’s future really looks bleak, until Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) comes into the picture. Pretending she’s making a gas run, Furiosa is actually escaping the Citadel and taking with her five beautiful half naked women. Two have already been impregnated by this beastly man. She tells the girls about this ‘green place’ and that’s where they are headed. Unfortunately it doesn’t take long, before the war lord finds out about her plan and along with his marshals and war boys head out into the Wasteland to stop Furiosa. Oh, they also bring along a guitar player, who enjoys heavy metal music.

George Miller dropped out of medical school to become a filmmaker and what a great filmmaker he is. ‘Mad Max Fury Road’ opens in theatres May 15, 2014 and is totally deserving of my five out of five bagel score. Don’t miss it. Check out our Two Jews On Film video for more of my thoughts and I’d love to know what you think.