Criminal Minds: Season 11 still has some entertainment value mainly for its cast, though it is a letdown after a nice 10th season, but seeing the departure of another veteran cast member makes me wonder if next year will be its last which will be hurt once Thomas Gibson is gone following his much publicized dismissal.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows might’ve been an ever-so-slight improvement over its predecessor but that’s not saying a whole lot. It’s still too Bayish for my taste and the inordinate amount of visual effects makes it tiring, though the fan service at least makes it a tolerable enough experience.
Road House is another classic of the 1980s, a fun romp with a cheesy story and yet Patrick Swayze has more than enough charm to pull it off and make it all the more memorable.
James Wan’s The Conjuring 2 is the rare horror-sequel that at least matches the quality of the original with some genuine scares and well written character development for the Warrens in conjunction with fine performances by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
I so wanted to love and embrace the insanity of Urge, and yet with a few absolutely unlikeable characters and a story that devolves into zombie apocalypse territory, I can’t recommend it. However, it might be worth a rental.
Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Two is a strong entry into the series with some decent animation to go along with well written storylines and nice character development.
CSI: Cyber is the worst in the CSI franchise and beyond that, the performances were subpar and the stories contrived even by standards of CSI. I had hopes Ted Danson coming over would help but it didn’t appear his character had much to offer although any scene he was in brought much needed charisma.
Ratchet & Clank is a perfectly safe movie for younger viewers and passable enough for parents to watch with them, however between the animation and story, this probably better off as a direct-to-video release than something a studio spent millions to release to theaters.
While Castle: The Complete Eighth Season is one of the weaker seasons, there were still some entertaining episodes here and there even if the writing wasn’t as tight and the relationship between Castle and Beckett seemed… off. While it’s probably a good thing the studio pulled the plug, I wouldn’t have minded a 13-episode ninth season to nicely wrap things up
Now You See Me 2 is not the type of movie that will tax your mind but instead is a perfectly serviceable caper-comedy, one that succeeds more on the chemistry with the ensemble, with newcomer Lizzy Caplan being the highlight, rather than anything to do with the thin plot, though I did appreciate some of the magic even if it’s CGI-generated.
Paul Schrader’s drama is disturbing and excels both with the writing, also by Schrader, as well as powerful performances from George C. Scott and Peter Boyle, even if for the former it might not make the list of his top 5 roles, but it’s harrowing nevertheless.
Me Before You is a film adaptation that attempted to capitalize on the massive success of The Fault in Our Stars not to mention it’s the latest rom-drama in the vein of a Nicolas Sparks adaption sans an overabundance of sappiness, though the heavy-handedness doesn’t quite mesh with some of the more levity of light-hearted scenes that came before.
La Moglie Piu Bella is a haunting and disturbing movie featuring a strong, as well as incredible performance by Ornella Muti who was so young during the filming. Although I doubt I’ll ever revisit this movie, by all means it’s worth checking out especially if you’re a fan of Italian cinema.
Honey 3 isn’t a particularly ‘good’ movie but it’s perfectly harmless and should be satisfactory to fans of these types of dance dramas like Step Up and Center Stage. The acting is, at best, so-so but at least lead actress Cassie Ventura wasn’t bad and some of the music was decent.
The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Seventh Season is hardly terrible but it’s clear the writing and stories weren’t as strong and with Nina Dobrev’s departure, the series needs to end, which it will next season. Still, I’m sure hardcore fans might find it entertaining.