Hail, Caesar for me was a major misstep for the Coen Brothers even with what certainly passion behind their love letter to 1950s Hollywood. Outside of George Clooney and Tilda Swinton, the other cast members were more or less cameo appearances.
London Has Fallen is an entertaining actioner, something that probably would’ve better served released back in the ‘80s, though it’s not exactly a necessary sequel since Olympus Has Fallen, while a nice time, didn’t need a follow-up. Having said that, this entry is at least worth a rental, just don’t expect any sort of depth.
Mr. Right is one of better surprises from 2016 from the screenplay written by Max Landis mixing romance with violence and featuring two charismatic performances from Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick who was absolutely adorable in her role.
Jeepers Creepers 2 isn’t anything great and doesn’t quite have the same atmosphere as the first half of the original, however on the whole it’s still an entertaining horror-thriller with more tinge of humor thrown in this go around. The cast, outside of Ray Wise, aren’t as memorable and a few are more than obnoxious (albeit purposefully).
Jeepers Creepers works as a decent creature feature, albeit an uneven one with a great first half (solid 4/5) but devolves in the second half to standard fare. That said, Victor Salva’s film offers some good scares, nice performances by Justin Long and Gina Philips who work well opposite one another and some respectable make-up work.
Triple 9 didn’t exactly fulfill its potential given the cast and a solid start yet still it’s very entertaining with some well shot action scenes and fine performances by Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie and Clifton Collins Jr. who at times steals the show.
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London isn’t a good movie and where the first at least had the fun factor, this one is left with bad writing and below average acting since it doesn’t have the benefit of featuring the likes of Angie Harmon, Ian McShane or even Darrell Hammond as presumably the studio wanted to cut costs.
Agent Cody Banks is hardly a good movie and probably on par with a Disney Original Movie, yet there’s some minor entertainment value and I at least did manage to chuckle a few times (more than I did with Zoolander 2) though the target audience is geared more toward the 12-16 range.
Zoolander No. 2 might’ve had good intentions behind the camera for Ben Stiller and its cast, but the jokes rarely landed leaving us with the stupidity of the original without any of comedy. I can’t say I had a displeasured experience while watching, merely indifference and counting down the time until it would finally end.
The Finest Hours is not a great movie but perfectly adequate that tells a compelling story that is utterly amazing. The performances by Chris Pine and Casey Affleck aren’t anything awe-inspiring yet decent enough to carry their respective roles and storylines. While it could’ve been better, this is a movie at least worth a rental.
The Zero Boys might have somewhat of a cult following but for me, it’s not very enjoyable even in the old so bad it’s good kind of way. The acting isn’t good and the horror elements never quite clicked either. I suppose it works as a time capsule from the 1980s as everyone tried to put their spin on the slasher genre but this one failed.
Cao Ballou is a well done and one hell of an entertaining, and oft funny, Western comedy. The movie excels with the performances by its two leads — Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin — and some catchy tunes to go along with a well written story and characters.
Hired to Kill is dumb, poorly written and terribly acted action film from the tail-end of the 1980s but even though it doesn’t measure up to the guilty pleasures like Cobra, Commando or Raw Deal, it still has some appeal thanks in part to a semi-hamfest performance from Oliver Reed.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is not a great movie, even by zombie standards, but the comedic moments work and the cast is nicely put together highlighted by Lily James and Sam Riley in the lead roles, though Lena Headey and Charles Dance aren’t used as effectively.
Eureka is a bit of a forgotten film from the 1980s, one that is doubtful to be mentioned amongst Gene Hackman’s greats with an uneven story that goes from an adventurous first half, the best part, to a Citizen Kane-like story for the second and a third act playing out like a bad episode of “Law & Order”.