Corpse Bride

Corpse Bride; Artistry is unmistakably fantastic & beautiful but something about the script, characters & songs are regrettably unremarkable & easily forgettable. Very hard to get into & stay invested in. Never really establishes a reason to root for anyone or connect w/them; C+

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

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+

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald; Interesting enough, despite some odd cuts and transitions. Visual effects are top notch and the cast has fun with their roles, even if their motivations seem absent or irrelevant. A mixed bag but enjoyable to a degree; B

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Alice Through the Looking Glass; Would have been nice if closer to the book. Time and money spent on visuals. Needed more on the script; B-

Into the Woods

Into the Woods; Sondheim songs hit emotional depths of humour, horror and sadness. Perfectly cast and performed. Highly entertaining; A-

Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows; Familiar territory for Burton and Depp delivers exactly what you'd expect, like it or not. Polished yet pedestrian. B-

Donnie Brasco

Directed by:  Mike Newell
Starring:  Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, Anne Heche
Running Time:  2h 06min

A thespian lover's ideal pairing of one of today's greatest actors and tomorrow's best, as Pacino and Depp form an amazing relationship at the heart of what would be just another mob movie.  Now mob movies are generally interesting and the reason why they usually hold strong to their audience is the combination of a good script, interesting characters, excellent acting, talented direction, and the portrayal of a different set of morals and lifestyles.  This movie has all of that, as well as a constant presence of danger.  Depp plays the role spendidly, really intertwining his character's relationship with Pacino.  At first it seems forced, but as he grows in the movie you see that Depp purposely plays it that way.  There isn't room for all my praise.

Grade: A