Fight Club is a disjointed novel told in swift, brutal jabs of black humor–at once a tribute to and a mockery of masculinity. Chuck Palahniuk wrote the book as a commentary on the basic need, in men, for ritual and tradition that is stifled by modern consumer culture. The book was a moderate success, but became much more well known in the wake of a controversial film adaptation starring one of the biggest stars in the world. 

Many films that end up being ostensibly about the process of film making itself and the passionate genius of directors often become bogged down in sentimentality or pomposity. Martin Scorsese’s latest film, Hugo, includes a sequence that could operate as a primer for a Film 101 class, in which two children sit in a library and read from a book of film history. The sequence could be stuffy, a perfunctory information dump, but in Scorsese’s hands it becomes one of the most visually striking moments in a film that contains dozens of gorgeous set pieces. 

It wouldn’t be fair for me to spend this entire review comparing the latest entry in the Muppet franchise to the 1979 classic The Muppet Movie, but let me just say: I really, really love The Muppet Movie. The new film, called simply The Muppets, is based more on the original television series The Muppet Show than any of the films – in fact, the entire plot of the movie is built around the Muppets needing to put on a telethon and perform an all-new Muppet show, which allows them to even re-create the classic opening number to the old show, a joyous bit of fan service that plays well.