Her

Woe is the sad sack with too much technology on his hands! In the distant-ish future---considering all the high-waisted pants and mustaches, it seems the hipsters have won---Joaquin Phoenix is a guy named Theodore going through a divorce and finding himself very far away from humans. (In Spike Jonze’s LA, everyone seems to be far away, walking in singles and talking into their devices.) He buys an operating system programmed to be as human as possible, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Named Samantha, she soon begins to exceed her programming (or does she?) and develops feelings, specifically for Theodore (or does she?). As whenever machines become hyper-intelligent, it does not go well (or does it)? Though Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde and Rooney Mara pop up as friend, date and ex respectively, Her is essentially a one-hander (because Samantha has no hands) about love and relationships and what it all means. Which is fine, because even the Jonze films that miss (Where the Wild Things Are) are still nice to watch, as this is, but ultimately if you find Phoenix mad punchable (guilty), you’ll be wishing for Samantha to realize the real get is Chris Pratt. Viewer advisory: multiple ukulele appearances. —Tara Thorne