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    ‘The Good Half’ Review: Only Half Good

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    Nick Jonas and Brittany Snow play siblings coordinating funeral logistics for their mom in this drama, a cross between “Terms of Endearment” and a Hallmark movie.“Grief turns out to be a place none of us know until we reach it,” Joan Didion once wrote. In “The Good Half,” that place is Cleveland, where 20-somethings with names like Renn, Leigh and Zoey frequent karaoke bars and banter about movies.Renn (Nick Jonas) is a struggling writer in Hollywood flying back for his mom’s funeral. He is prone to avoidant behavior, the screenplay, written by Brett Ryland, shows and tells us, and his homecoming is a big deal. On the plane, he meets Zoey (Alexandra Shipp), a ray of sunshine who likes ’90s action movies and quotes “Scarface.”In his fourth narrative feature, the director Robert Schwartzman (brother to Jason) takes us deep into young adult land. Over several days, Renn and his sister Leigh (Brittany Snow) coordinate post-loss logistics while rolling their eyes at Rick (David Arquette), their bellicose step-father. Breaking up the sibling repartee are periodic flashbacks to happier times with Mom (Elisabeth Shue).When, and to which female listener, Renn will confront his demons is the question that drives “The Good Half,” which feels caught between “Terms of Endearment” and a Hallmark movie. Wry gags, like a hoarder priest, butt up against heartfelt exchanges. Snow, as the daughter who always played second fiddle, brings real feeling to her role — suggesting that she may in fact be the good half of this insipid drama.The Good HalfNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. In theaters. More

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      ‘Asking for It’ Review: A Few Rude Men

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      An all-female gang of vigilantes pursue despicable men in this oppressive revenge fantasy.Subtle as a sledgehammer and shallow as a saucer, “Asking for It” is painted in such broad strokes that — with just a smidgen of humor — it would pass for satire. Yet this grim face-off between monstrous men and damaged women unspools with so much self-righteous swagger that the earnestness of its writer and director, Eamon O’Rourke, is never in doubt.After Joey (Kiersey Clemons), a sunny waitress, is sexually assaulted by an old friend, her shock is catnip to Regina (Alexandra Shipp) and the band of punk feminists — all survivors of some form of abuse — who have made it their business to punish errant males. Led by Sal (Radha Mitchell) and armed with grenades, guns and chemically castrating gas, these vengeful vigilantes roam their state (the movie was filmed in Oklahoma), meting out punishment to variously vile white men. Prominent among these is the repellent Mark Vanderhill (Ezra Miller), a top-hatted twerp whose Men First Movement preaches an ‘if you want it, take it’ philosophy to would-be alpha males.As the women battle fraternity bros, human traffickers and the racist police who enable them, this mirthless tale hinges on Joey’s unconvincing transformation from gentle homebody to violent avenger. On-the-nose dialogue (“Black and sweet, just like God made you,” responds one of Joey’s customers when asked how he likes his coffee) and distracting flash cuts substitute for back story in a film that cares little for differentiating one violated woman — or one pasty-faced jerk — from another. Instead, “Asking for It” is all about the trauma: Its heroines have nothing in common but suffering and nothing on their minds but revenge.Asking for ItRated R for racist attitudes and misogynist philosophy. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Vudu and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More