The actual Brawl in Cell Block 99 may only take up a few minutes of the two-hour film, yet I found it engrossing with a compelling plot and a main character played by Vince Vaughn you actually care about.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day might be one of the best science fiction movies ever made not named Star Wars but it is a shame that this was not the perfect 4K UHD release in terms of a DNR-riddled video, though the new featurette and audio were both great.
The Dark Knight Rises might be a slight step down from its predecessors in terms of story, but the performances from Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Anne Hathaway were all top notch and it was a satisfying enough conclusion to the trilogy.
The Dark Knight might just be the closest to superhero movie perfection as they come and although it might be mostly remembered for Heath Ledger’s amazing performance which garnered him an Oscar posthumously, the script is expertly written by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan.
Batman Begins is perhaps one of the best superhero origin movies ever made, maybe slightly behind Superman but ahead of Iron Man. The performances from (most) of the cast is solid and Bale was genius casting helped by a legendary supporting cast.
American Made is not a top shelf Tom Cruise drama-comedy and I don’t think he does the real Barry Seal injustice enough but despite that, it is entertaining and engaging despite its flaws and worth a rental.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a bit of a step down from the first film but thanks to the cast – primarily Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Julianne Moore – it does make for an entertaining enough sequel.
Dunkirk might not be Christopher Nolan’s strongest film, and given the subject it really should have been, and although it didn’t connect to me on an emotional level, both in terms of characters or suspense-thriller aspects, it is still a technically well made film worth watching.
mother! might’ve had some things going for it and there’s no doubt Aronofsky doesn’t fit into a box like other directors, but this allegorical movie was a complete misfire, particularly in the second half.
Interstellar very well may be my favorite Christopher Nolan movie, perhaps even edging out The Dark Knight which is saying something from a Batman fan. The performance from Matthew McConaughey was magnificent and powerful and the story itself captivating.
American Assassin doesn’t manage to standout amongst the numerous other espionage thrillers out there and yet I found it entertaining mostly for the cast, namely Dylan O’Brien and Michael Keaton, not to mention relative newcomer Shiva Negar, more so than the plot.
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.