“Young & Beautiful” lacks clarity about the life of a young prostitute

This reminded me of Shame in an interesting way: both are about troubling sexual behaviors, but neither is interested in the motivation behind those behaviors — or at least, not interested in explaining them to us.

“Fading Gigolo” has goofy premise, touching payoff

This is a very goofy premise: Woody Allen convinces his friend John Turturro (who wrote and directed), apropos of nothing, to become a male prostitute. Sounds like the start of slapstick or farce, but Turturro guides it in a much more interesting, more meaningful direction that is attentive to class, gender, and clashing cultures.

“Frozen” – Anna & Elsa rule, the rest is a mixed bag

Luckily, what works best about the film is the most important part: the relationship between Elsa and Anna. They’re the best characters, and the only songs I cared about in the soundtrack were their solos or duets with each other; I would have cut the trolls’ song right out, and though it has some charming moments, Olaf’s song about summer feels like filler too. One criticism: Idina Menzel does great voice work, but she has such a big distinctive voice that I often felt a disconnect between the visual of Elsa and the sound of her singing, especially during “Let It Go,” which looks like a cartoon lipsynching to a Menzel track.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is one of the better Marvel movies

I saw this without seeing the first Captain America movie; I haven’t committed to the whole Marvel films canon, just pick and choose those that interest me. I might go back and watch that one now that I’ve seen this, because this is probably my favorite of the Marvel franchise films alongside The Avengers and the first Iron Man. That’s actually kind of faint praise, though, because I haven’t truly loved any of them; that puts this one at around a solid “B.”