Spy

In case there was any doubt, Spy proves once and for all that writer/director Paul Feig brings out the best in Melissa McCarthy. Feig directed both Bridesmaids and The Heat, but Spy is his best film yet, and certainly the best showcase for McCarthy's talents we've seen thus far. As desk-jockey-turned-field-agent Susan Cooper, McCarthy is a whirling dervish of comedy, completely owning scene after scene with confidence that comes with the knowledge that she's playing a solid character with an excellent script as a foundation.

Spy
Writer/Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne

Aloha

Cameron Crowe, who hit it big with the one-two punch of Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous, has been relatively quiet over the past fifteen years, releasing only three features during that time: Vanilla Sky, Elizabethtown, and We Bought A Zoo. Aloha is his first film in four years, though it's been in development for much longer than that (Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon were initially going to play the leads). So the movie has finally arrived, but is it any good? Sadly, the answer is no.

Aloha
Writer/Director: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams

Pitch Perfect 2

There's a subculture that worships the first Pitch Perfect, and I am by no means a member of that group. I thought the original was fine, a nice underdog sports comedy in which the sport is singing — a cappella style. So I was almost shocked to discover that I actually like Pitch Perfect 2, a film I wasn't particularly excited about seeing in the first place. But that's the great thing about movies: sometimes they can surprise you.

Pitch Perfect 2
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld

True Story

When you think about Jonah Hill and James Franco starring in a movie together, there are certain expectations that come to mind: insult humor, dick jokes, maybe a bromance or two. True Story throws all of that out the window and casts the two Apatow alums in dramatic roles without a joke to be heard in the entire film. While each man has previously dipped his toe in dramatic waters independently from one another (Moneyball, The Wolf of Wall Street, 127 Hours, As I Lay Dying), this is the first time they've been cast as leads in a serious project opposite each other, and they both dive in with conviction.

True Story
Co-writer/Director: Rupert Goold
Starring: Jonah Hill, James Franco, Felicity Jones