The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

When this came out, I figured I'd see it on my 40th birthday. I jumped the gun by two days, because a friend and I were perusing HBO Max, which puts numbers first in otherwise alphabetical lists. I wasn't big on the world of Judd Apatow, but it seemed appropriate. Besides, I tend to find comedies more enjoyable with company.

In chatting about their sex lives, three electronics store clerks (Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Romany Malco) see through a weak lie by stock supervisor Andy (Steve Carell) and correctly infer that he's, well, the title character. They then throw everything they have into changing his status, whether he likes it or not. Fortunately, he develops an interest in nearby vendor Trish (Catherine Keener), who has her eye on him too. But she's no virgin, and he's having trouble mustering the nerve to tell her he is.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

What kind of Marvel Cinematic Universe fan would I be if I didn't see this, of all entries, in the theater? My dad finally came back, too. The main complaint I've seen about it is that it's hard to talk about without spoiling. Well, I'll give my typical level of skirting the edge. Chances are, if you have enough interest to see Endgame, you either already saw key previous entries or won't mind learning some of what happened in them, most notably the ending of Infinity War.

I had expected most of the movie to consist of the remaining heroes seeking out and fighting Thanos for the Infinity Gauntlet so that they could undo his sudden annihilation of half the life in the universe. Actually, they don't take long to overpower him, but the gauntlet has been emptied of the Infinity Stones, and Thanos probably isn't lying when he says he destroyed them. (What, no periodic repetitions in his war on overpopulation?) For the next five years, they have no hope of reversal -- until Ant-Man returns from the Quantum Realm and reports that it offers a possibility for time travel. (Told you he had weird physics.)

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

I didn't review the first Ant-Man, partly because I'd watched with jet lag and partly because I didn't think there was much to say. It has a few entertaining action sequences, but the inane premise of giving a power suit to a recidivist criminal for the sake of a "second chance" makes it possibly my least favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe movie (and I've seen all to date). I wouldn't mind so much if it were more comedic, as the casting of Paul Rudd suggested it would be. Nevertheless, critics have liked the latest entry better, so I wasted little time in going out to see it.

In the wake of his rebellious aid to Captain America, Scott Lang (Rudd) has been under house arrest for nearly two years -- presumably much better than prison, especially when bonding with his young daughter during her joint-custody visits, but he has to get creative to fight boredom. Then he has a suspiciously realistic "dream" involving Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), wife of inventor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). Janet had not been heard from since she used Pym nanotech to shrink down into "the Quantum Realm" decades ago. Scott leaves a message for Hank, whose adult daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) then arranges for his surreptitious break from house arrest, against his wishes, so that they can puzzle out a way to bring Janet back, hopefully before the feds come to check on Scott. The solution will, of course, involve Scott donning the Ant-Man suit again, this time joined by Hope in the Wasp suit.

The Cider House Rules (1999)

I had expected not to write this review. It's not that I don't care strongly about this movie. It just features an extremely controversial subject that may very well make or break your opinion of and/or desire to watch it, and I'd hate to ostracize a good chunk of my readership by indicating my own position. Maybe that's why I never heard anyone talk about the movie outside the context of the 71st Annual Academy Awards. Still, it got me thinking, and those who haven't seen it ought to make an informed decision.

Based on a John Irving book, the story follows one Homer Wells from his infancy in a rural Maine orphanage to his young adulthood (when he's played by Tobey Maguire), ending shortly after World War II. He never gets adopted or formally educated, instead becoming an unofficial apprentice to orphanage director Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), who also serves as an obstetrician -- and abortionist. Tired of this claustrophobic life, he leaves with two friendly customers, Wally (Paul Rudd) and Candy (Charlize Theron), who help him gain employment as the only White laborer at a cider house. When Wally goes off to war, Candy strays toward Homer. But Dr. Larch won't accept that Homer will stay away for good.

The Little Prince (2015)

I never read the novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, tho a friend of mine loves it. All I had gleaned was the prince's appearance, his habitation of a tiny planetoid, and his sad parting from a talking fox. Further study confirms that it's quite solemn in spite of a whimsical, seemingly kid-friendly setup. But this animation isn't a direct adaptation; rather, it's a story about the story.

As in the novella, nobody has a stated name. The protagonist is an eight-year-old girl (Mackenzie Foy, who already starred in an animation connected to France) whose mother (Rachel McAdams), while affectionate, has way too strict a plan for her life. They move next door to an eccentric old pariah (Jeff Bridges) who turns out to be the novella's narrator and illustrator, eager to share his story with whoever will listen. The girl rebels against Mom's schedule to learn about the spacefaring boy (who doesn't seem to be a literal prince) whom the man claims to have met in a desert. What we get must be a highly capsulized version of the story -- leaving room for much more....

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

The comic book adaptations have been coming fast and furious, but this is the first 2016 entry I've seen. What can I say? My dad didn't feel like joining me for Deadpool, and the reviews for Batman v. Superman and X-Men: Apocalypse have been worryingly mixed. For this reason, I'm in no good position to compare CA:CW to BvS, and maybe that's just as well.

I had heard before that the theme of the infighting concerned new legislation that would put the Avengers under UN oversight, with Captain America leading the antis and Iron Man leading the pros. (Only Thor and the Hulk are sitting this one out.) But that conflict is rather incidental to the real reason: Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. the Winter Soldier, formerly Hydra's greatest brainwashed assassin, is the #1 suspect in a subsequent UN bombing. Cap wants to give his old friend Bucky more of a chance than the conventional authorities would. There's actually a third side: Newly minted hero Black Panther, wishing to avenge his father, would rather kill Bucky than let him get arrested. As it turns out, vengeance is a bit of a running theme....