25.) Gunman [3/30/15]

There were some unncessary plot devices that muddled the whole thing, but otherwise, The Gunman was a pretty predictable hitman-cum-politics movie; there were two surprises: 1) Sean Penn looks great (though his acting is not as well-developed as his musculature), and 2) Idris Alba was in that movie, though I don't know why. 

24.) Insurgent [3/24/2015 3D IMAX]

I liked Divergent well enough, though I have never read the books, but this sequel wasn't as tightly written or directed, feeling rushed at times and leaving a lot of questions unanswered without the benefit of narrative digressions which prose allows (like why the hell Viola Davis took a bit part in an uninteresting part of the movie);  though I did walk away feeling like it was mostly filler to get to the next, possibly more interesting part of the story, I have a soft-spot for dystopic fiction and Shailene Woodley, so I didn't hate the film.

23.) The DUFF [3/23/2015]

This film was at an unfair advantage, as I came of age during an era when the teenage romantic comedy (think, American Pie, Varsity Blues, Can't Hardly Wait, etc.) was at its artistic pinnacle; as a poor man's She's All That (itself a modern retelling of My Fair Lady), The DUFF added very little to that conversation, save allowing some of the pretty people to be decent, well-rounded humans, but Mae Whitman was engaging enough to make it worth a look if it ever comes on cable TV.

22.) CHAPPiE [3/11/2015 - IMAX]

The love-child of Robo-Cop and Short Circuit was a heaping pile of science-fiction tropes: artificial intelligence, government oppression, hopeful and idealistic scientist/engineer faces down bigger, stronger militarized force who wants to use the first's ideas to further oppress, and so on; it only brushed against most of these without fully delving into any one, leaving the film to feel unrealized, and what was left was essentially a two-hour music video for Die Antwoord that was still, somehow, better than Transcendence.

21.) McFarland USA [3/8/2015]

Finally, cross country gets the Remember the Titans treatment, where a scrappy team from the wrong side of the tracks surprises and warms America's heart; while utterly predictable and, at times, overly-dramatic, McFarland tells an interesting story about a community who needed a win, and the reluctant coach who gave it to them.

20.) Focus [3/5/2015]

This was a role outside the box for the generally squeaky-clean Will Smith, but he took to it well; the movie, an Oceans 11-style society of theives heist movie/Dirty Dancing-style female-driven coming-of-age film, was pretty enjoyable by being just clever enough to keep my interest, but not so clever as to be ridiculous.