This third entry manages to travel at warp speed when it comes to delivering a satisfying mix of action, exposition, effects and — here’s the real key — characterization.
Matt Brunson
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Review: Suicide Squad
While it stands to make a fortune at the box office, it’s unlikely to make much of a dent in the hearts of even its most ardent supporters, the sort who insist that critics are being handsomely paid off by Marvel to trash DC adaptations (chuckle over that one as I step away to fuel my private jet) or who start petitions to shut down Rotten Tomatoes because they don’t like seeing an abundance of poor reviews.
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Review: Ghostbusters
Is it better than the original? Not quite, although the distance between the two is a lot closer than anyone will care to admit.
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Review: The Legend of Tarzan
Like James Bond, Tarzan on screen has never gone away, but unlike the dapper double-oh agent, his movie appearances rarely generate much notice
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Review: Swiss Army Man
The fine performances by Paul Dano as a suicidal castaway and Daniel Radcliffe as the flatulent corpse who becomes his BFF (as opposed to his BFG) aren’t nearly enough compensation when matched against a screenplay that’s isn’t innovative as much as it’s simply idiotic
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Review: The BFG
Unlike that 1982 blockbuster, The BFG isn’t emotionally gripping or excitingly staged. It’s just … nice.
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Review: Independence Day: Resurgence
While the original ID contained characters who kept us entertained, this picture adds characters — and their attendant actors — who are so devoid of personality, they barely register as living organisms.
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Review: Central Intelligence
The spyjinks play like second-tier Mission: Impossible (though Amy Ryan is perfect as an ice-cold CIA boss), and director Rawson Marshall Thurber is no better than adequate in his staging of the action sequences. But as a comedy — and as a two-seater vehicle for a pair of highly charismatic actors — Central Intelligence is hard to resist.
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Review: Finding Dory
As with Finding Nemo, the animation employed to capture the look of life under the sea is absolutely staggering, even if it no longer registers as the revolutionary feat it was 13 years ago. But Dory’s odyssey is never as involving as Nemo’s.
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Review: Warcraft
With its mix of humans, orcs, dwarfs and even a Golem, one would be forgiven for mistaking this movie for The Lord of the Rings: The Bootleg Edition.
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Review: The Conjuring 2
It gets so much right that I’m willing to give it a generous thumbs-up in what’s proving to be a particularly dismal movie season (the films featuring the heroic Avengers and the nice guys excepted).
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Review: Alice Through the Looking Glass
The profiteers behind this picture prefer to lazily trigger memories of past hits rather than offer anything that might challenge or ruffle audiences.