Triangle of Sadness

Triangle of Sadness; A low key riot of class clashes that builds towards a stunning comeuppance in hilarious and horrifying fashion. The slow burn is sublime and satisfying, skewering the current lopsided circumstances with conviction and cunning. A delightful, sinister satire; A

Zombieland: Double Tap

Zombieland: Double Tap; Exactly what you’d expect from some fun, solid actors playing around in the zombie genre. Gory, gruesome kills and silly banter make it an enjoyable romp, though none too surprising or overly original. New cast additions are fun and mix in well; B+

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story; Continues the process of taking the classic beloved elements of films past and distilling them into an updated action adventure. The car chase, the train robbery, the poker showdown, all placed within the Star Wars universe. A fun, well cast film; B+

Now You See Me 2

Now You See Me 2; Over the top tricks makes this less enjoyable as plot spirals around the players too conveniently connected. Still fun; B

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Hunger Games:Mockingjay Pt. 2; Needlessly split second instalment misses emotional beats for action sequences. Too big for novel details; B-

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

The Hunger Games:Mockingjay Part 1; Slow moving cash grab prologue tries valiantly to film unfilmable mental horror & anguish of Katniss; B-

Free Birds

Free Birds; Offensive on so many levels, the worst of which is how criminally not funny it is. Only Takei and Poehler escape unsullied; F

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Hits all the right emotional notes while amping up the action from the first one. Cast delivers spot on; A

Now You See Me

Now You See Me; Fun film full of misdirection that isn't as clever as it wants to be. Cast is superb and elevates the drama and suspense; B

Seven Psychopaths

Seven Psychopaths; Cast makes indie cliche script a lot more fun to watch than it deserves. Actors deliver the right tone of humour/drama; B

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games; Like Potter, if you are only experiencing this through the movies, you are only getting a fraction of the enjoyment; B+

EDtv

Directed by:  Ron Howard
Starring:  Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harellson, Ellen DeGeneres, Elizabeth Hurley
Running Time:  2h 00min

An interesting depiction of what would happen if someone's life were broadcast live 24 hours a day.  The commentary on our hypermediated society is both thought provoking and entertaining.  Woody and Matthew appear to be brothers, and are cast well.  In fact, the whole casting is tremendous, apart from Hurley, who though great in her role, would have been better if her character was an unknown (or on the level of Elfman at least). Howard, as always, mixes humour, family, and drama into a tight slice of real life.  The take is both realistic yet reflexive, as camera for the film and in the film are edited together perfectly, never alienating the audience.  Some reactions to EDtv could have been different but I really enjoyed the path they did choose.

Grade: B