Never Cry Wolf

Never Cry Wolf; Amazing display of northern scenery, stunningly filmed & lovingly captured. Too bad it’s wrapped in silly scenarios of a protagonist who elicits little empathy or interest. His plight is self-made so whether he survives or thrives, we could care less. The animals are the true stars; C

Transformers One

Transformers One; Surprisingly fun with some great vocal performances. Animation looked great and if you look past the sheer lunacy of this being an origin story (do Transformers grow up?), the jokes land well and the core story comes across with emotional resonance. More than meets the eye; B

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice; Does an excellent job respecting the original while providing decent justification for revisiting the themes and circumstances all over again. The new blood meshes seamlessly and fits right in perfectly. Ortega is a draw unto herself, but O’Hara and Keaton are legendary; B+

Lilo & Stitch

Lilo & Stitch; Surprisingly sweet tale of family comes out of a galactic science experiment gone wrong. The island setting and rocking soundtrack keeps the movie bouncing along, stopping for hi jinx that ends up hitting your heart as much as it attempts for humour. Leaves an impression on you; B

A Quiet Place: Day One

A Quiet Place: Day One; Doesn’t offer anything overly novel to the franchise, though the urban setting and characters are a fresh take worth exploring in this sequel. Satisfactorily provides thrills and narrow escapes from deathly predicaments alongside emotional moments from solid thespians; B