How can a story laden with this much betrayal and corruption feel this cheerful? Welcome to Hawaii. Bradley Cooper smiles his way through the shenanigans as the wounded hero (physically, morally, spiritually, professionally) who has to choose which parts are worth healing and which can be cut away. Happily, he gets help from a wide-eyed angel in uniform (Emma Stone), from his sweet-natured ex (Rachel McAdams) and her kids, from the sovereign King of Hawaii, and from the island's mythical-magical persons and powers. The nefarious machinations that surround our man are rather more convincing (and intelligible) than the personal dramatics, as if to indicate that director Cameron Crowe doesn't want us to take any of this too seriously. Or at least, not to let the bitter get in the way of the sweet. It's a pity: with a little more craft, this could have been a tropical noir with a heart. With Bill Murray, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski, Danny McBride. (2015) — Matthew Lickona