The whole thing feels as if it is stuck in second gear for the majority of the running time, the sheer avalanche of derivative content destroying all the stuff I was impressed with and liked in its belligerently unsympathetic rampage down the cinematic horror hill. The Axe Murders of Villisca never comes alive, and as such no matter how much potential as a filmmaker I think Valenzuela might possess, watching this film proves to be nothing more than a serious waste of time.

As ludicrous and as unfocused as it all might be, Kong: Skull Island kept me amused for practically every second of its two-hour running time. While not a great movie, it’s still an awfully fun one, and as big budget, visually resplendent monster mashes go I’m somewhat eager to give it another look relatively soon.

Moana is bright, beautiful and just a joy to watch. While the story is overly familiar and does little we haven’t seen before, it’s just so gosh darn entertaining that lack of originality isn’t nearly as big a deal as it should be. This is terrific stuff, and watching it brings a sense of joy to my heart and puts a smile on my face, two items that should not be underappreciated.

The emotional complexity of her work is stellar, and the way she travels through so many varying dramatic layers as she traverses through the narrative is even more so. Deutch is incredible, and even when Before I Fall comes perilously close to flying off the rails she continually keeps things watchable practically all by herself.

Peele’s ability to entertain and to edify, to produce laughter in the same instance that he slams his satirical points home with an unexpected sledgehammer, it’s all here and more. Get Out is a marvel of ingenuity and inspiration, a horror tale where the most frightening image is the mirror image of the audience realizing they’re the ones being so intimately examined.

In the end, Table 19 is a comedy I was glad I’d made the time for, and as blind dinner dates go this is one I’d go out with again a second time with few reservations whatsoever.

Logan isn’t just a great comic book movie, isn’t just a superb X-Men adventure, it’s a fantastic motion picture, period, and Mangold, Jackman and everyone else involved with its creation should be more than proud of what it is they’ve accomplished.

Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom is the filmmaker’s moving, intelligently authentic follow-up to her 2013 sensation Belle. Much like that superb motion picture, this one is crafted with precision and care, the filmmaker once again allowing her core actors, in this case Oyelowo and Pike, the freedom to move and evolve their respective characters in ways that feel entirely genuine.

Verbinski’s Cure a Chillingly Unsettling Treatment Ambitious Wall Street stockbroker Lockhart (Dane DeHaan), on the verge of a major promotion, is given an unusual assignment by the executives currently in charge of his firm. It seems their CEO, Pembroke (Harry Groener), has lost touch with reality, sending a letter claiming he has no intention to […]