Category: Action
-
The Shallows (**1/2) doesn’t wade too far
The Shallows – 2016 Director Jaume Collet-Serra Screenplay Anthony Jaswinski Starring Blake Lively One would think Blake Lively in a movie called The Shallows is an asshole reviewers’ dream match. In truth, we can’t make this movie into more than it is: a scary movie with a shark. There is no way a shark that big could be…
-
Free State of Jones (****) – The rebellion to the rebellion
McConaughey is certainly uninterested in presenting himself as a movie star. His performance stands in direct contrast to, say, DiCaprio’s overly desperate attempts and dramatization in The Revenant. Whereas that film goes out of its way to change history in order to make its protagonist the only sympathetic figure in the story, we get more…
-
Jason Bourne (**1/2): It all ends tonight…until the next movie
“This is not like Bond. We aren’t just changing locales, women and suits here. It’s not as gadgetty or as funny as the Mission:Impossible films became after the 2nd one, either. While those film franchises used the intensity of the Bourne franchise to catapult into something better, Damon and Greengrass took the reputation well earned…
-
Divergent Series: Allegiant (***) gets worse than it gives
If they’d finished, the series, it likely would not have been improved much. The same can be said for every film set that tried the same gimmick outside of the last Harry Potter film. In that case, the first one was the let down. Still, there are worse ways to pass a rainy Sunday. The…
-
Suicide Squad (***) shall remain standing
Add up the positives, subtract the negatives and it’s an easy win for Suicide Squad. This movie, especially for Robbie and Smith’s performances, will be watchable for years. If you want to find stuff to hate about the story and film, you will have no problems doing so. If one is honest, the film is…
-
Star Trek Beyond (****) feels like films before
There is an old ship, that lay dormant for years that is discovered in the midst of the chaotic pace. That ship has a story that is only touched upon for purposes of pushing forward with the action at hand. How and why that ship was there for so long is what I wonder about…
-
Lights Out (**1/2) but no dance
There are a few scary moments in Lights Out (hint: they don’t include Bello), but overall, the film is like a first date movie. The kind you take a girl to when you aren’t sure where she is with the concept of a scary movie, but you wouldn’t mind having her jump into your arms…
-
The Purge Election Year (**) Trying to wedge social commentary into a horror film
If they really wanted to improve these films, they’d drop the politics and ramp up the creativity. Give it less a feel of government crackdown and more a sense of random chaos that can’t clean up after 12 hours.
-
Central Intelligence (**1/2): A measure of the Rock’s comedic flexing ability
Let’s be serious though. This isn’t mensa material. It’s a big dumb action comedy. There is nothing here as funny as Thurber’s Terry Tate, Office Linebacker and thank goodness there is nothing nearly as bad as We’re The Millers. It might get a few sequels, and that’s fine. I’m pretty sure I won’t remember one…
-
The Nice Guys (****) Don’t say and stuff
The Nice Guys – 2016 Director Shane Black Screenplay by Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Keith David, Kim Basinger, Beau Knapp Thus goes the career of Shane Black. He directs one of the top grossing films of the past decade (Iron Man 3) and immediately sets to making the movie he’s been wanting to…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 