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

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine; Dangerously strays into “so bad, it’s good” territory that used to be a hallmark of goofy comic book movies pre-Batman. The cast deserves better than this schlocky, hammy approach to what is one of the more compelling Marvel characters. C’mon! He’s more than his claws!; C-

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; There aren’t very many perfect films. This may very well be one of them. Gorgeously shot, capturing stunning vistas along with two ridiculously talented leads playing off each other with screen scorching charisma. Every minute is a cinematic masterpiece; A+

Unfaithful

Unfaithful; Erotic thriller of a tryst gone off the rails, spiralling into the dissolving of a long married couple. Excellent performances and solid directing elevate the material above its unexplained motivations of the characters so that it becomes watchable and enticing despite its flaws; C+

Petit Jésus

Petit Jésus; What has potential to be a clever, introspective family dramedy or a hilarious, farcical comedy of errors, or both, instead settles into benign, harmless trifle that neither produces any big laughs nor pulls on any serious heartstrings. Mildly funny, mildly moving, mostly boring; D

The Hunger Games:The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes; Better than expected, yet still suffers from trying to find sympathy in an irredeemable character. It’s neat to see earlier versions of the Games, with fun takes from new cast members. Still grossly centered around child slaughter for sport; B-

X2

X2; Sequel knows key to X-Men success lies in Wolverine, and maintains focus on him and his backstory, while offering up some new mutants that explode off the screen. Some excellent set pieces and character combinations make for poignant dialogue exchanges filled w/allegory. Storm still sucks; B+

X-Men

X-Men; Great start to the film series, giving us a sense of the characters and their motivations, while keeping the moral allegories intact and underlying throughout. Centres on Wolverine, which is understandable given he’s always been the most popular mutant and Jackman doesn’t disappoint; B+

Slap Shot

Slap Shot; A relic of a bygone era that oddly has echoes of influence in our time. Sexism, homophobia, and rampant misogyny aside, the film certainly informed future comedies like Anchorman and Dodgeball. Difficulty distinguishing what’s parody and what’s sincere makes it a fascinating watch; B-

Jurassic World Dominion

Jurassic World Dominion; Return to form for the franchise, delivering a greatest hits of the typical thrills of dinosaur inflicted peril. Howard continues to be a drag on the series, while the rest are admirably recreating the guilty delight for what should be the final time. Suitable diversion; B-

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare; Tells a fascinating true story of intense action derived from grim circumstances but fails to capture the momentous stakes by never quite presenting the key players as anything less than an invulnerable super squad. Entertaining but emotionally stunted; B
 

Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine; Fan service in a good way, delivering all the expectations plus many surprises. The fights are gratuitous, the cheeky asides hilarious and the meta moments glorious. A bromance for the ages that strangely maintains superhero cliches it simultaneously subverts. Great pairing; A-

The Holdovers

The Holdovers; Aesthetically breathing like a film made in the time it is set, from its production design, cinematography & pacing to its writing, acting & directing. The characters and their symbiotic interactions delight in their struggle for growth and self actualization. Solid holiday fare; A-

Kung Fu Panda 4

Kung Fu Panda 4; The fight scenes continue to be amazingly fun to watch & the characters will always have appeal to them, but the story itself has played out & sequels at this point seem unnecessary. New additions are fine but don’t quite have the magic of the first three films. Let the panda be; B
 

Drive-Away Dolls

Drive-Away Dolls; Salaciously subversive & bitingly satirical in a way only a Coen could craft. Cameos are fun but its leading ladies’ spirited performances that add heart amongst hilarity. Comic buffoonery, surprise gaffs, all in a rapturous road movie buddy film that plays & smashes tropes; B+

A Haunting in Venice

A Haunting in Venice; Creepy use of classic Venice setting plus a game cast makes for a great mix of sleuth and spooks. Dutch angles aplenty and some wicked lenses add to the atmosphere while highlighting the haunting history and beauty of the surroundings. A touch of humour rounds it out nicely; B