Blinded by the Light; There’s a gritty, gripping story here with as much lyricism as a Springsteen song but it never fully materializes due to shoddy execution and subpar performances. Subject matter and story idea would work in more gifted hands. Disappointing yet serviceable; C
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales; Actors, orchestral score & visual effects work overtime to try and redeem story beats that aren’t up to par. The fun is there but far from former heights of the franchise. New actors fail to entertain as well as old returnees; C+
Good Boys; Definitely exhibits the merits for a filthy tween age Superbad style film. Trio of young actors sell it well and earn every laugh while convincingly conveying the dramatic aspects underlying the insanity. Gags work more often than not. Sweet, not so innocent fun; B+
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!; Argument for veganism continues w/entertaining exposé of Big Chicken. Spurlock is entertaining to watch, elevating genre in a way Michael Moore did B4 him. The setup to the final punchline is well worth the journey. Doesn’t need the sequel tag; A-
Trolls World Tour; Serviceable sequel doesn’t hit the heights of the original in terms of catchy hits & emotional stakes but offers plenty of fun new characters to the Troll cornucopia. Bloom is particularly excellent in the limited screen time she has. Harmless frivolous fun; B
A Quiet Place; Eerily directed and paced to great effect. The family cast works so well together, so that we believe their interactions and the danger they are living with. Right amount of suspense balanced with timely threat reveals stemming from the actions of the characters; A
