The Monuments Men (2014)

The Allied movement to save masterpiece artworks from Nazi theft or torch in the closing days of World War II already inspired 1964 classic “The Train.” That superb movie churned on tense action, ditched talk to the curb, and let the audience decide if a man’s life –- or that of an entire village -– was worth the price of a Renoir. Paint on canvas, or culture? George Clooney’s “The Monuments Men” takes the American view of the same mission with a deep love of square WWII dramas, and gives us a definitive answer that, yes, art is worth dying for. It’s spoken. Aloud. Repeatedly. Clooney directs and stars along with Matt Damon, Bill Murray, and Cate Blanchett, among others, and all are solid. Watch war-weary Murray listen to a home-made record from his daughter and try not to get goose bumps. But, man, we don’t much of a look at the art that these men and women are spending their lives on. The why. If you want to see the art at the dramatic center, hit the Web, Clooney’s camera is shy. My love of “Train” may be biased. Marvelous ending with Clooney’s real pop. B

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

I fell off the Wes Anderson Wagon years back. I loathed “Moonrise Kingdom,” having OD’d on his hipster bullshit. Now comes “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” and I’m back on board. Maybe because this WWII-ish (that is, everything here is fictional and with faux names) flick is pure caper, a 1940s-type adventure that plays like Tin-Tin for adults, but with a sharp political edge on violence and the act of needing a passport to travel our great world. But it never preaches. It’s a raunchy, clever comedy. Ralph Fiennes (seriously funny and edgy) is Gustave, the manager of the hotel of the title who obsesses every whim of his rich guests and happily screws old ladies. When one (Tilda Swinton in makeup) croaks, Gustave gets the blame. I won’t dish another word. Watch the story jump three hoops via flashbacks and rocket forward, with the required Bill Murray cameo, Willem Dafoe as a scar-faced killer, and a prison break better than the “Shawshank Redemption.” Anderson thankfully is no longer out to impress us with just how far out he can make a French movie reference, but is having pure, high fun. And it works. A-

Ghostbusters (1984)

I love “Ghostbusters” more now than when I was 10 and bowled over by special effects, action, and dirty jokes meant for adults. Sure, this is still a kid’s flick, but it’s brilliantly written and peppered with wicked satire. The plot relies on digs at the EPA and IRBs! Name another Hollywood movie that trusting of the audience to get the jokes? Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray are the heroes, fired academics who take to hunting the ghosts that plague New York City. And why not, it’s New York. Heaven for hell. And if they get laid along the way, go for it. Their proton pack arrival is perfectly timed as a Manhattan apartment high-rise with Sigourney Weaver as a tenant has just popped open a portal to a demonic realm. From the start in a library with book cards tossed all crazy right up to the finale with a white puffy giant ghoul with a grin, “Ghostbusters” rocks with never-better New York “F” the system eternal cool. Those days are gone. Conformity reigns now. Dig Murray riffing strong improve on the street, or Rick Moranis’ apartment geek king, and that dangling cigarette trick Aykroyd beautifully pulls… Classic! A+

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Ten minutes into “Moonrise Kingdom,” I realized I had my fill of Wes Anderson, the Gen X darling filmmaker who tells tales of quirky hipsters and outsiders using ironic air quotes peppered with hip art deco sets and hip costumes. I’m sick of all of Anderson’s hipness. The guy aims and fails for some aura of New Wave French film with a story about pre-teen love birds (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) on the run from parents, police, and Khaki Scout Troop leaders in 1960s New England. To woo youngsters, Anderson tosses in fires, floods, storms, impaled dogs, and so much forced acting from famous actors (Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, and Edward Norton among them), that it all feels like the over-the-top high school play that closed out “Rushmore,” a damn fine film. Yes, Jason Schwartzman appears. So does Bob Balaban as a narrator who changes camera lights. The obnoxious music score almost drowns out the realization that the central arc of Hayward as a beauty hip (again!) to Euro culture falling for a sad nerd is bullshit. Anderson’s kingdom of cool -– I loved “Fantastic Mr. Fox” -- has gone tepid. I’m out. C-

Get Low (2010)

Robert Duvall gets few parts worthy of his fierce, unlimited talent. “Get Low” is worthy. He plays Felix Bush, a 1930s Southern backwoods hermit, cantankerous and so feared by locals that little boys dare each other to step foot on his property. When he hears of a former friend’s death, Bush – ill, worn out, tired of being alone and haunted by a tragedy – opts for a unique send-off: He wants his funeral held before he dies. He wants to hear stories about himself, and tell one of his own, not to the townsfolk – all are invited – but to one woman (Sissy Spacek) from his past. Duvall tears into this role with the hellfire might he had in “Network.” This is his film, and the other actors – a hilarious Bill Murray as a likely ex-con turned legit undertaker – stand back in awe. Only Lucas Black as Murray’s trainee is out of his league, but his character is written as a dull Boy Scout unsuited to the dark brushes of comedy and pain on display. Director Aaron Schneider makes his debut here, and his work – cinematography, sound, music, cast, design – feels directed by a pro. Duvall is a national treasure. A-

Mad Dog and Glory (1993)

In “Mad Dog and Glory,” Robert De Niro plays a detective so meek and insecure his co-workers call him “Mad Dog” out of ironic jaunting. One night investigating a murder, Sad Puppy Wayne stumbles into a store robbery. Almost by accident he saves the life of a low-level gangster named Frank (Bill Murray). Not a little amused, Frank – who moonlights as a standup comic who might send thugs to kill you for not laughing -- thanks Wayne by loaning him a “present,” Gloria (a young Uma Thurman). Here’s where “Dog” shits. I get that this comedy gets its spark from the anti-type-casting, De Niro as a doormat, and Murray as the heavy, but did Thurman have to play a cup of sugar in high heels? Much ink was spilled about reshoots and script changes. Apparently Gloria was interesting at one point. Not here. She’s the fantasy girl of all loser-loners – she’ll fuck you blue just for being smart enough to wipe your shoes after coming home. Cruelly sexist, I hated this film with righteous, liberal, progressive anger. It is Murray who saves it from a lesser grade. C-

Caddyshack (1980) and Caddyshack II (1988)

“Caddyshack” well may have been the first “R”-rated movie I ever saw, back in the early 1980s on HBO, then the only way a child got to see forbidden movies. I didn’t get 90 percent of the jokes, but I laughed hysterically at the gopher and Bill Murray’s grungy assistant groundskeeper. I’m older now, but I still adore that puppet and Murray’s stoner wiseass, and that random Baby Ruth incident. Heck, the entire film is random, packed with adlibs from Murray, Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, Brian Doyle-Murray and Rodney Dangerfield, plus a gaggle of horny youth. Its bare-bones plot tracks a series of characters in and around a snobby golf course and country club, focusing on balls of both the greens and sheets, and drugs and booze. Some scenes soar, others fail. I’ve known many rich, white, golf clubbing, country club bigots who love this fully and openly un-PC film, but have no idea they are the butt of every gag. B+

In “Caddyshack” everyone thought a Baby Ruth candy bar in a pool was a piece of shit. They bolted. No mistake about “Caddyshack II,” though. It is shit. Anyone with brains from the first film got out of the pool after reading the script to this laugh-free snoozer. Not Chase. He stayed. Idiot. Dan Aykroyd replaces Murray, while Jackie Mason tries to be Dangerfield. Both give performances too awful to discuss. A fiasco with a capital F.

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Wes Anderson's films are love letters to quirky people and to their messy lives and the lovely music that serves as their soundtrack. In "The Darjeeling Limited," we follow three estranged brothers (Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman) as they reunite on an Indian train for a so-called spiritual journey. Each is equally messed up, and carries an addiction to one drug or another, or many.

Not as brilliant as "Rushmore" or Anderson's earlier films, it's still a winner as we watch the messy noise and emotions of people who are related, but who can't relate, come together. Wilson, who normally tires me, nails the role of the tight-wad control freak eldest brother who has had his face smashed in. (That Wilson has always looked like he's had his face smashed in is perfect.) He uses his laconic laid-book coolness as weapon, as if he naturally knows what's best for everyone around him, and is shocked dumb that no one can figure it out.

The film is funny, sweet and when it takes a dramatic turn, soulful. It makes anyone who doesn't talk to his own brothers, long for a train ride. As always, the music, sights and performances all are top notch. Angelica Houston, another regular player of Anderson, appears, as does Bill Murray in a briefly funny and pointless role. B+

What About Bob? (1991)

Many folks blast the one-joke comedy "What About Bob?", but by I love it. Bill Murray plays a basket case, too scared to even venture outside his NYC apartment. He's scared of germs, strangers, the world in general. Richard Dreyfuss is Leo Marvin, his new psychiatrist. Marvin is on his way to a month-long vacation with his family, and new patient Bob Wiley (Murray) first stalks by phone and follows the man to New Hampshire. Chaos ensues. It's really that simple. I love how Murray, still playing the loon, gives the spotlight to Dreyfuss as the latter morphs from straight-laced professional who never gets angry, into a seething nut job. Dreyfuss is an ace actor. I love his laugh, it's so distinct. And Murray is just cool, Bob is annoying yet far smarter than anyone -- including himself -- thinks. This is a live action Warner Bros. cartoon short, with Murray playing Bugs, and Dreyfuss as Porky Pig. It's just a guilty pleasure giggle fit. B+