[As] pure entertainment, Gracey’s energetic effort succeeds in a way that goes well beyond anything I antic pated before entering the theatre, The Greatest Showman a three-ring phenomenon the entire family is almost certain to enjoy.
War for the Planet of the Apes is one of the great summertime tentpole adventures in recent memory, Reeves delivering a science fiction epic almost certain to stand the test of time.
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.
Not to say I believe The Space Between Us is worth a viewer’s time and money, not even that of the teenage audience this story is so clearly targeted at, this interplanetary romance a rocket ship of schmaltz and cliché that’s impossible to take seriously.
Problem is, little of it is clear. Worse, most of it gets drowned in so much guts and gore, not to mention irredeemably abuse and sexism, listening to it is close to impossible. The Hateful Eight has lots to love, but just as much to abhor, making it something an elegant enigma that’s as frustrating as it is impressive.
[Magic Mike XXL] is a blast, an animated shot of bare-chested adrenaline that’s easy to drink and even more satisfying to savor, the sequel stripping inhibitions to the point they vanish leaving only pleasure behind.
In the case of this 169-minute 2001: A Space Odyssey meets Close Encounters of the Third Kind meets Contact epic, it is likely Nolan’s reach exceeded his grasp, much of this otherworldly adventure never gelling together in ways that are comfortable or satisfying. Yet Interstellar is unabashedly thrilling, euphoric and mesmerizing.
I Origins is a beautiful treatise on self, human understanding, religion, science and most of all faith. It moves, shifts and evolves in naturalistic fastidiousness, everything building to a magnificent conclusion.
But the central dynamics remain strong throughout, and when you add Peña’s magnificent performance and Luna’s concentrated direction in the equation Cesar Chavez ends up being a far more invigorating and informative biography than it probably should have been.