But too much of Why Him? feels rushed and slapped together, the dramatic moments falling so flat caring about what happens to any of the characters or their respective problems is practically impossible. It’s all sound, all fury, the nothing at the center signifying a creative indifference no audience member should pay good money to experience.

Fences runs on that energy, bobbing and weaving as it rolls through the years in order to deliver universal truths that shout volumes no matter one’s race, background or age. Washington has done Wilson proud, the veteran actor swatting this one right out of the ballpark, knocking the cover off of the ball in the process.

Flashy Assassin’s Creed Another Video Game Adaptation Gone Wrong Instead of being executed by Texas for murdering a pimp, Cal Lynch (Michael Fassbender) has been secretly whisked away by the powerful Abstergo Industries to take part in their secret DNA experiments run by brilliant scientist Dr. Sofia Rikkin (Marion Cotillard). Under the direction of her […]

Absurdity and stupidity battle head-to-head with sexism and misogyny, each fighting for supremacy in a duel to the death where there are no victors and the losers are those sitting in the audience being asked to treat any of this seriously. Passengers is pretty bad, and as ambitious and as well-intentioned as it might be that doesn’t make its failure to entertain any less massive.

It’s a slow, delicate walk straight into the heart of darkness; the mirror image staring back so chilling it stops the blood cold. The Eyes of My Mother is a riveting, repugnant work of repellent art, Pesce crafting a gracefully unnerving calling card sure to be debated and discussed for some time to come.

There is something about director Pablo Larraín and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim’s deeply fascinating character study Jackie that allows it transcended melodramatic conventions and become something far more potent and enduring. The level of searing, unflinching insight is extraordinary, all of it anchored to a performance by star Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy that might be the best work of her entire career.

La La Land is magnificent, Chazelle delivering a musical that instantly ranks alongside my favorites of the genre and as such is a motion picture I’ll be almost certain to cherish and sing the praises of for decades to come.

Things to Come is astonishing, bringing delicate truths into the glaring light of day that are as timeless as they are universal, Hansen-Løve showing just how less can indeed be more when the hands sewing the pieces together into a seamless whole are as confident and as talented as hers are.

The problems with the script and its subsequent execution are readily apparent throughout, and as strong as the acting might be that wasn’t enough to warrant enduring this facile disaster any longer than was necessary. Collateral Beauty is a waste of time, and I just don’t see myself reassessing that verdict anytime soon.