After his Senegalese roommate falls ill, Ben Singer, a cynical failed entertainer, is pulled out of his normal isolated existence by the roommate’s beautiful sister, Khadi, who comes from Africa to nurse him back to health. This heartfelt comedy has a lovely, poignant script, but slow pacing in the middle.

Grade: B.

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Leonardo DiCaprio leads a very talented, very big budget cast in this new adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, complete with ridiculous dance parties incessantly featuring wobbly dubstep basslines. Toby Maguire’s Caraway character was painfully fawning and the entire movie was a garish teenage parody of a literary classic.

Grade: C-.

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Alan Moore’s fantastic graphic novel is realized here in a three-hour blockbuster that tells the story of retired superheroes trying to find out who killed one of their friends. This is a dark, twisted, violent story not appropriate for children, but shows the scummiest rung of the human ladder.

Grade: A-.

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This action-thriller stars Timothy Olyphant as a hitman, trained from birth to be a contract killer, who is tasked with knocking off dictatorial leaders and other bad guys. With a huge body count and lots of religious overtones and language, this just feels like a video game cut sequence.

Grade: B-.

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Jennifer Lawrence leads an all-star cast in this drama as a young woman who volunteers to enter a gladiatorial contest, in place of her sister, to represent her district in a fight to the death. This dystopian future is visceral and the danger in the contest is always palpable.

Grade: A.

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Will, an advertising executive in Philadelphia, has to return to his small Pennsylvania hometown to take care of affairs after his father’s passing and spends time with his family and interesting locals. This slice of life indie drama features a beautiful story and good acting performances from the principal cast.

Grade: B.

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This engrossing character study centers around a businessman who moves onto a fixer-upper sailboat to reboot his life. Joey Lucas shines in his role as Peter — quiet, contemplative, alone — and the interactions with other interesting characters like the local waitress and an old sailor make this independent drama unforgettable.

Grade: A-.

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Will Ferrell stars in this everyman comedy about a guy who gets fired from his job and dumped by his wife (who tosses his stuff to the lawn) on the same day. With lots of funny moments, this picture gives us someone to root for as he reboots his life.

Grade: B+.

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Carmine Famiglietti stars as Neil in this story about body image and addiction to food. Neil, a 315-pound food addict, decides to move to the country to force himself to lose weight. The actor lost 170 pounds, gained it back, and lost it again for this low-budget gem.

Grade: A-.

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Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright lead a spectacular cast in this Netflix original series about a Washington power couple, a South Carolina Congressman and his activist wife, using every dirty trick to keep moving up in the political arena. The acting performances are first rate and the storytelling is engrossing.

Grade: A++.

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