John Wick: Chapter 4

John Wick: Chapter 4; The most epic of an already outstandingly epic action series. The locations are breathtaking, driving the fight scenes to reflect the surroundings in inspired fashion. The visual style is delectable and body count deplorably excessive, just how we like it; A

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts; Likeable leads plus a cadre of car, animal & machine robots make for fun, silly throwaway action punchy punch. Several movies in & it still manages to find a reason for tiny humans to be relevant & somehow integral, while not getting crushed; B-
 

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid; Suffers from lack of clear motivation for several characters and a skimpy storyline. Halle is a phenomenal Ariel, the true highlight amongst a decent recasting, many of whom don’t get to play around much w/their roles. New songs are awful or underwhelming; C+
 

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves; Imagine a LARPing community gaining full access to the visual effects suite and being allowed to craft any style of monster or creature of their choosing. The result is equally impressive as it is horrible. Same with the script; C-

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Another groundbreaking tour de force that builds on its predecessor while amplifying its core heart, humour & feast of animation excellence. Less satisfying since it’s an instalment starter, but a great launching point for what’s to come; A

Knock at the Cabin

Knock at the Cabin; A one note (supposed to be) thriller that ends up being exactly what it sets up from the outset. Offers little to no intrigue, dragging us along from start to finish. A cast deserving much more for the Herculean effort they give trying to prop up this flop; D+

The Mother

The Mother; JLo demonstrates her versatility by making a spy movie in the vein of 80s revenge flicks like Commando, with a mother’s perspective and the layered complications that brings. The drama is dragged out but the action is plentiful. A successful stab at genre tweaking; B

Scream VI

Scream VI; Switches up the locale, the leads and some of the typical moments, yet still seems to offer more of the same. This is fine if it’s your fare, but it’s becoming a bit of a bore despite the very decent cast and welcome change of scenery. Serviceable slasher sequel; B-

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Shazam! Fury of the Gods; Extremely likeable actors doing their best to make the most of a silly F/X stuffed super hero Greek mythology mash up. Innocent fun that outright tells motivations, more than it actually develops them. Some blatant product placement is shameless; C+