Bad Moms; Why do these smart, funny actors have to wallow in male penned over the top stupidity? Devolves exponentially undeservedly; D-
Gifted; Exceptional acting elevates what could be a syrupy flick. Instead, characters are honest, real and fully formed. Enjoyable film; A-
The Circle; Stellar acting but too many ideas. Director can't find right tone or decide what the movie is. Compelling but unfulfilling; B-
Collateral Beauty; Telegraphingly predictable plot doesn't stop the amazing cast from tugging the heartstrings. Beautifully whimsical; B+
Logan; Brutal. Real. Jackman's fitting end. Stewart elevates it all. Raw. Violent. Earns the R rating and our emotional response. Dour; B+
Beauty & the Beast; Faithful, extravagant, cleverly cast feast for the eyes. More emotionally impacting & frightening. Missed Human Again; A-
Ballerina; Sweet animated film is devoted to its story of an orphan's spirited love of dance. Perfect film for its targeted age range; A-
The Lego Batman Movie; Sends up company properties w/love & affection but has more heart than humour surprisingly. Cast to best effect; B+
The Legend of Tarzan; Valiant attempt to modernize this tale, using F/X, great cast, colonial conscious script, to no avail. Let it die; C
A Dog's Purpose; A wonderful reminder of the joy & companionship that dogs bring to our lives. Sad that the trailer showed us everything; B
Ghostbusters; A lot of lines fall flat, but sign me up for any future films w/these ladies. Invoking franchise's name was unnecessary; B
Queen of Katwe; Chess stories are hard to make exciting. Succeeds in portrayals even though story beats are cliche, due to stellar acting; B
Lion; Fascinating story is > just a son's quest to relocate his family devastatingly powerful emotional depth despite thin bare direction; A
La La Land; Loving ode to LA works due to music & masterful direction, not so much the singing. Is there a more dreamy lead than Gosling? A
Spectre; Solid action & superb cinematography in what feels like Daniel Craig's most Moore like Bond film. Mixes Bond eras into its own; B
Interstellar; Nolan gives us a thought provoking, emotionally driven, visual tour de force. His vision is unmatched & trendsetting; A-
Hidden Figures; Important, fascinating reveal of unsung NASA heroines. Compelling despite its traditional, stale storytelling mechanisms; B
Cameraperson; Interesting way to present memoir, reflect our world & explore memory, PTSD, privilege & family all in a clip compilation; B+
Allegiant; Like watching a book be read aloud by boring characters. No. It IS a book spoken aloud with boring actors. Sci-fi FX are lame; D
