Transformers: Age of Extinction is the latest from Michael Bay and to be honest, it very well may be the worst, even worse than Revenge of the Fallen if only because it clocks in at insanely ridiculous 165-minutes, 40+ minutes could’ve been cut and not have been missed.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is hardly the high point of action but I must admit that I actually mostly enjoyed this installment possibly because the previous sequel was so bad that it made this film look like Citizen Kane. In any case, once again the visual effects are incredible and the story was at least acceptable.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen takes the action up a notch as sequels do but, somehow, dumbs down the story and makes me not care on bit about any of these characters, mechanical or human.
Transformers is something I more or less hold the same opinion about when I watched it in theaters, 10 years later. It’s not terrible by any stretch and most of the action is well done, but the acting is subpar and the dialogue even worse.
Despicable Me 3 is a perfectly ‘fine’ CGI animated movie, though there’s nothing here that particularly stands out, but thanks to the Minions storyline and the scenes with Balthazar Bratt, I did manage to chuckle a few times.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a solid entry into the franchise, the first of the five from Mike Newell, and does a decent job balancing the dark elements with some brighter scenery, a departure from Alfonso Cuarón’s Prisoner of Azakban.
The most intriguing aspect of Steven Soderbergh’s latest heist film, Logan Lucky, was who exactly wrote it as “Rebecca Blunt” apparently doesn’t exist. Beyond that, the crime and comedy aspects didn’t appeal to me at all and I found the film to be a bit dull at times.
The Hitman’s Bodyguard is a bit uneven in terms of both the action and comedy, but with the dynamic between Reynolds and Jackson, it’s hard not to have a good time with the excessive violence and language, though the film hardly breaks new ground for the mixed-genre.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is perhaps one of my favorites of the series and kind of a shame director Alfonso Cuaron didn’t return to do more of these and it was a nice, and necessary, change-up as Harry’s storyline advances to darker territories.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is my least favorite of the series yet it’s still entertaining with a compelling enough mystery surrounding the plot and it was nice seeing the young cast becoming comfortable in their respective roles while the addition of Kenneth Branagh gives the darker tone, compared to Sorcerer’s Stone, some levity.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone might not be perfect, it was however the perfect way to introduce audiences to this world and characters we would follow for the next several years. Even so, I was thoroughly entertained and they really did a great job casting the three unknowns and surrounding them with some excellent talent.
Cars 3 is a fine conclusion to what I have found to be a lackluster series for Disney/Pixar that really shouldn’t have been a series to begin with. But as it is, and outside of the ridiculous and contrived finale, I did find this mostly entertaining.
Atomic Blonde might not have lived up to my expectations but it is still an entertaining Cold War spy thriller excelling both with some well done fight sequences and solid performances from Charlize Theron and James McAvoy.
The Emoji Movie is such a cynical, corporate movie with no genuine heart and a voice talent that is completely wasted, I’m honestly not sure how it even got made in the first place, but still managed to make over $200 million worldwide.
Westworld: Season One: The Maze isn’t perfect with some stretches meandering at times, but more than making up for it are some excellent performances from the likes of Hopkins, Harris, Newton and others.