I saw this at an advance screening and I'm proud to say it's the first movie that I have ever walked out on early. You don't have to trust my opinion because I didn't finish the movie, but I promise it is absolutely horrible. It's a buddy cop movie from Bridesmaid director Paul Feig, but this time around it's not written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo so the two movies couldn't be more different. Melissa McCarthy, who is generally the highlight of every movie she's in, plays an unlikeable and completely obnoxious character that takes the term 'bad cop' to a whole new level. I realize that calling a Melissa McCarthy character obnoxious isn't really saying much because funny but obnoxious characters are her specialty, but in this case it is just not funny at all. In her defense, the script is as bad as bad gets for a comedy, and relies primarily on McCarthy's character dropping at least 2-3 F-bombs per sentence for its humor. It's pretty lowbrow stuff. Sandra Bullock does an okay job in her role, but neither actress really shines thanks to this humorless script. The plot is entirely formulaic for a buddy cop movie; two officers who don't play well with others are forced to work together to complete an assignment and along the way they learn to be better people and they discover the majesty of friendship. There isn't anything to separate this from any other buddy cop comedy, except possibly (and I'm completely serious about this) if it has the most F-words in a comedy. I wish I had more nice things to say, but The Heat is just very bad. It's a movie without a purpose and I genuinely hope that not too people have to suffer through all two hours of it.

Before Midnight is perfect. I just want to start off with that so you don't have to waste your time reading the rest of this. It's hard to decide whether it's my favorite in Richard Linklater's Before trilogy, especially because all three movies are incredibly different thematically and tonally, but it's an absolutely astounding movie in just about every way. While Before Sunrise was an idealistic look at falling in love and Before Sunset was a more realistic and harsh look at love, Before Midnight deals with commitment and the rough patches in relationships. Before Midnight, like its predecessors, primarily revolves around near-constant dialogue. However, it does follow a more traditional storytelling structure in the sense that there are more than two characters and it has a somewhat identifiable exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution. In this final entry in the trilogy, Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) are now a couple with two young daughters. It's been eighteen years since they first met in Vienna and nine years since they reconnected in Paris, and now they are on vacation in Greece with their daughters. However, their relationship is tested by a lengthy argument and they are left them questioning whether they are right for each other. The movie is brutally honest in its depiction of the characters' flaws, especially when compared to the bright-eyed, inseparable lovers they were when they first met in Before Sunrise, but that isn't to say it's any less romantic and enjoyable than the first two movies. There are a number of beautiful moments, most notably the poignant finale which has easily become my all-time favorite ending to a movie. Like its predecessors, Before Midnight is a masterpiece of minimalism and brilliant screenwriting and acting, and it not only satisfies but amazes as the spectacular but bittersweet ending to three of the best movies of the last twenty years. It's normal to feel like crying afterwards by the way.