THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

After Batman's appearance in The Lego Movie, and with the character's rich history in comic books, it's no surprise that the character became the focus of his own Lego movie.  The Lego Batman Movie is solid entertainment, with both lots of in-jokes for comic book fans and a couple of flaws as well.

The movie opens with Batman (Will Arnett, giving a nice comic exaggeration to the current gravelly-voiced character) single-handedly defeating almost his entire gallery of villains (including some new ones, obscure ones, and ones from the 1966 Batman TV show).  While everyone loves Batman, in private he's terribly alone -- watching romantic comedies by himself and wandering around an empty mansion, to the concern of Alfred (Ralph Fiennes).  His desire to be alone has Batman refusing to work with new Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) and not acknowledging the Joker (Zack Galifianakis) as his arch-enemy.  And when Bruce Wayne accidentally adopts orphan Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), Batman pretty much ignores him -- even when Dick becomes Robin.

The Joker, upset by Batman's slight, hatches a master plan that begins with getting himself and every other villain in Gotham City arrested, involves Harley Quinn (Jenny Slate), and winds up with a slew of amazingly powerful (and non-DC) villains taking over Gotham City.   Batman, meanwhile, keeps using or ignoring Robin, carelessly insulting Alfred, and refusing to work with Barbara.

As one might expect, there are innumerable elements from Batman's history, from the cartoons, TV shows, and movies to the obscure villains from the comics and black and white serials.  There are also plenty of other comic book and pop culture references, including the Super Friends, non-comic book characters (that aren't all Lego sets), and pop music.  The voice talent is terrific (including numerous celebrity voices) and there's plenty of action and humor through the movie.

The Lego Batman Movie also has a couple of problems.  The movie drags a lot in the middle and could have been a good deal shorter.  The story arc is pretty obvious, and there are several inconsistencies that pop up in the movie (that can't be explained away by the Lego universe).  But even with those, The Lego Batman Movie has lots of entertainment, for little kids and adult comic book fans.

Overall grade: B

Reviewed by James Lynch

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

There's a familiar comedy trope where an ordinary person discovers that someone close to them who seems normal is actually a spy: a spouse (Killers), both spouses (Mr. and Mrs. Smith), an old friend (Central Intelligence), a sibling (The Brothers Grimsby).  Keeping Up with the Joneses is the latest entry in this formula.

Jeff and Karen Gaffney (Zack Galifiakanis and Isla Fisher) are a happy, perfectly ordinary suburban married couple.  He works at human resources for an aerospace company, is friendly with everyone, knows everyone's name, and can't get anyone to join him for "indoors skydiving."  She's an interior designer working from home.  They live in a cul-de-sac where everyone's friendly, and when their two sons leave for camp Jeff and Karen feel a bit of empty nest syndrome.

Things pick up when the house next door is purchases by Tim and Natalie Jones (Jon Hamm and Gal Godot), a couple who seem almost too perfect.  They're both beautiful, talented, and live amazing lives: He's a travel writer, she writes a food blog and helps starving orphans overseas, and they both speak multiple languages.  Jeff wants to be Tim's best friend, while Karen thinks they're too perfect and starts snooping around.  Of course Tim and Natalie are spies, and soon Jeff and Karen are drawn into a world of shootouts, car chases, and international espionage.

There's not anything new in Keeping Up with the Joneses -- and not a whole lot done well.  The actors do as much as they can with the material they have, but many of the jokes fall flat and both the action scenes and physical comedy are uninspired.  There are a few chuckles here and there, but Keeping Up with the Joneses generally settles for mediocrity.

Overall grade: C-

Reviewed by James Lynch

BIRDMAN

 Here's an unusual mix of a movie.  Birdman: or, (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is part comedy, part drama, part roman a clef, part theater, part satire, and part insanity -- overlaid with a jazzy drumbeat.

Michael Keaton plays Riggan Thomson, who's something of a dark parody of Keaton.  Riggan had been a blockbuster movie star playing Birdman in three movies over two decades ago.  Now he's a washed-up actor, staking everything -- his reputation, his finances, even his sanity -- on a Broadway production of  theRaymond Carver short story "What We Talk About When We Talk about Love"  that Riggan adapted, directs, produces, and stars in.

 Naturally, the play -- still in previews -- seems to have nothing but problems.  Riggan's lawyer and friend Jake (Zack Galifanakis) is working to keep everything working together.  Riggan's cynical daughter Sam (Emma Stone) is fresh out of rehab and wandering around as an assistant.  Laura (Andrea Riseborough) is one of the plays' stars, and tells Riggan that she's having their baby.  When a stage accident takes out an actor, Broadway newcomer Leslie (Naomi Watts) brings in her boyfriend Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), who's box office and critical gold; he's also amazingly hard to work with.  Oh, and when he's alone Riggan hallucinates that he has superpowers and that Birdman is talking to him to get him to do more Birdman movies.

Birdman is a whole lot of things, as it meanders from comedy to introspection to fantasy to drama as much as the (seemingly) single camera shot that jumps from characters to characters for the whole movie.   While it works, it's also disjointed and somewhat disorienting.  The movie has terrific acting, and there are plenty of laughs (especially the Times Square walk) and moments of tenderness and discovery.  But it's hard to settle in and enjoy or appreciate one scene or tone before the movie jumps into a new one.  Birdman is definitely unique and enjoyable, but I wish it had come together or held together a little bit tighter.

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch

THE CAMPAIGN

While politics has plenty of unintentional comedy -- especially in an election year -- there's always room for caricature. The Campaign is a comedy that dodges any philosophical or party differences to simply tackle the "win at all costs" approach to politics.

Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) is the Democratic congressman from North Carolina. He's experienced, popular, and about to run for his fifth term -- without an opposing candidate. He's also bigger on crowd-pleasing speeches than empty policies (when asked what his slogan "Freedom! Jesus! America!" means, he answers, "I don't know -- but people love it when I say it") and a tremendous womanizer. When his obscene phone call gets released after he misdialed and left it on a religious family's answering machine, the Republicans see a chance to take the district -- and more.

The Motch Brothers (John Lithgow and Dan Ackroyd, parodying the Republican billionaire kingmakers the Koch brothers) want to open a Chinese sweatshop in North Carolina, and they want a politician who'll waive any EPA and minimum wage requirements for their planned factory. They decide to go with Marty Huggins (Zack Galifianakis), a meek, slightly effeminate man who's happiest praying with his family and giving local tours.

Marty is initially unprepared for the cutthroat world of politics -- Cam's first attacks take place at a "civility brunch" for the two candidates -- but then the Motch brothers bring in Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott), a ruthless campaign manager who provides Marty with scripted talking points and remakes everything from his dogs to his family. Meanwhile, Cam's campaign keeps running into problems -- from drunk driving to punching a baby -- and Mitch (Jason Sudeikis), his campaign manager, is more and more upset about how extreme Cam is getting in order to win.

The Campaign largely steers clear of ideological differences between the parties (except for their Motch brothers and a commentary on the Citizens United ruling) to go for borderline slapstick humor and the old themes that politics is about image and the quest for victory can be corrupting. Fortunately, with all the profanity-filles silliness, Ferrell and Galifianakis are terrific guides through this absurdly over-the-top world of politics. Ferrell is a hoot as the slick, experienced candidate who can't keep control of himself, while Galifianakis is a hoot as the slightly pathetic nice guy forced to become a warrior for his side. I also really enjoyed McDermott as the "Mr. Fixit" sent in as an election specialist who is focused solely on victory.

Even with cameos from news folks from CNN and MSNBC, The Campaign inhabits a world closer to the Marx Brothers than our world. Still, goofy as the movie is, The Campaign is often funny as well.

Overall grade: B-

Reviewed by James Lynch