Inside Llewyn Davis: Their first overtly musical film since "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", "Inside Llewyn Davis" throws us to another decade of music, specifically the 1961 folk scene of Greenwich Village. As Llewyn (Oscar Isaac) struggles through the longest week of his life to get a music career going, he's approached with an aggressive ex-fling (Carey Mulligan), an older traveler (John Goodman) and an elusive cat. Beautifully shot and with spot-on direction, "Inside" is the Coen Brothers most different yet best film. Smart, engrossing and with a great folk-y soundtrack to boot. Beautifully haunting and emotionally raw. Rating: A+
Saving Mr. Banks: As Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) tries to woo Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to sell him the rights to her book, a never-ending story of stubborness and acid-tongued dialogue ensues. Travers, as portrayed by Thompson, is a crotchety old bitch that is pleased by nothing, but eventually sells the rights to her book out of financial desperation. This is one movie that would have done better on the Hallmark Channel because it's ripe with cliche and that mean old hag that eventually turns nice by the end. Oh, and the constant flashbacks to Travers' childhood added nothing to the film. Rating: D
