Masterminds is a poorly made comedy-caper that has a respectable cast in Galifianakis, Wilson, Wiig and, in a limited role, Sudeikis but both director Jared Hess and the trio of writers can’t make use of any of them with the majority of the jokes failing miserably.
Ballers: The Complete Second Season is a lot of fun especially if you’re either a fan of the NFL or Dwayne Johnson. The stories generally are compelling and this kind of material, given he was a player for the semi-professional Miami U, is right in Johnson’s wheelhouse.
Battle for Incheon: Operation Chromite is a well made and interesting story from a war that hasn’t been well represented in film form. The performances seem fine though Liam Neeson did tend to chew the scenery.
Inferno isn’t terrible but it was an underwhelming addition to an otherwise entertaining, if not flawed, franchise. The saving grace, as usual, is with Tom Hanks who makes this entry watchable, otherwise it was a rather forgettable viewing experience.
The Whole Truth is more or less a Law & Order: SVU episode that somehow became a feature-length film. But even so, the acting, albeit nothing profound, was solid enough led way by Keanu Reeves and enough courtroom tension to make this a worthwhile watch.
Bad Day at Black Rock is a wonderful gem of a crime-drama featuring a fantastic cast from Spencer Tracy to Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin not to mention a taut screenplay and conspiratorial plot.
The Lair of the White Worm is a fun and uber-campy horror-comedy from the 1980s that might not be well written, even for camp, and could’ve used some tightening of the story, yet it’s hard to say it wasn’t at least entertaining.
Poltergeist III actually has some interesting ideas and that, like its predecessor, wasn’t executed very well but as third movies go, especially in the horror genre, this wasn’t half bad with Heather O’Rourke, when she was in it, delivers a fine performance right alongside Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen.
Poltergeist II isn’t as good as the original, no surprise there, but there’s still some fun entertainment value amongst some truly creepy scenes even if the tone isn’t exactly consistent.
The Accountant is a well done, albeit short of greatness, suspense-thriller from director Gavin O’Connor featuring a great performance from Ben Affleck with honorable mention for J.K. Simmons.
I can’t say I was entirely disappointed in Keeping Up with the Joneses but for the talent they had, Galifianakis, Hamm and Fisher in particular, the script does them no justice with humor that doesn’t quite land and a thin plot that can’t compensate for the lack of laugh-out-loud jokes.
xXx now going on 15 years later still is as dumb and ridiculous as ever… and entertaining as all hell. The stunt work is rather impressive and while Vin Diesel may not be some thespian actor, movies like this and Fast and the Furious is right in his wheelhouse.
Cheesy and utterly dumb, Jack Frost still is a funny little fantasy-horror that might not be some classic, even by cult standards, but I did manage to laugh until the end with just how ridiculous the concept was.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back wasn’t quite an ill-advised sequel but it certainly was unnecessary. As someone who hasn’t read a single Lee Child novel, I never had a problem with Cruise’s casting but here this was a forgettable action-thriller that is worth a rental but nothing more.
Comes a Horseman is an oft forgotten western-thriller that features three amazing performances, particularly by Jason Robards, with beautiful cinematography from the late Gordon C. Willis (The Godfather Trilogy).