The Flash is an entertaining if not also flawed movie that is probably is one of the better offerings from DC in a while, though maybe that’s faint praise. I did like the humor and of course seeing Michael Keaton back again was the highlight.
Dazed and Confused doesn’t quite live up to what I’ve heard about the film and yet there is a cool factor and a certain sense of nostalgia that makes this liberally boundless story so damn enjoyable through and through.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is an okay, if not exceptional lengthy, film and well worth checking out, especially if you’re a DC fan or just curious, plus splitting it into parts does help if you don’t want to watch in one sitting.
Mallrats has found a new audience over the past 20+ years with home video media, and myself enjoyed it a bit more) and now 2.5 decades later, manages to get a complete Blu-ray release with a few new features and an upgraded video transfer.
The Jack Ryan Collection is a solid release from Paramount for what I consider a nice franchise, however there never was one that stoodout, each being fine filmmaking and storytelling and nice performances from the respective actors.
Even though I did find Justice League entertaining enough, there’s no denying there was a certain amount of disappointment leading to the build-up and not being able to see what was originally intended, not to mention the deleted footage seen in the various trailers. If you go in just expecting a insubstantial popcorn flick, it’s fine, but it certainly did not live up to the title.
Live by Night was Ben Affleck’s passion project that, ironically, lacked a whole lot of passion on screen mixed in with a hodgepodge of a plot, far too many side characters and performances that didn’t quite connect on screen despite the talent assembled.
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.
No Escape is an all around entertaining film perfect for a Saturday movie night. No, it doesn’t make you think or have any profound performances but the acting isn’t bad with Owen Wilson serving as a fine everyman type of character and Pierce Brosnan in his small part is a lot of fun. This is probably worthy of a rental.
The Town marks Ben Affleck’s sophomore effort following the excellent Gone Baby Gone and once again he makes a well crafted picture with some solid performances, an intense plotline and an all around finely paced movie that proves Affleck has talent in front and behind the camera
The Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition does plenty things to correct the hacked up theatrical version though if you didn’t like the plot the first go-around, the UE won’t change your mind. For myself, as a fan of Batman in particular, found it entertaining mainly for Ben Affleck’s portrayal as the Dark Knight and a nice glimpse of what’s to come for Gadot’s Wonder Woman.
Gone Girl is hardly David Fincher’s strongest film and arguably might not be in his top 5, but there’s much to admire in spite of a momentum killing third act from the performances by Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, the suspension early on and the atmosphere Fincher and company establish.
Boiler Room unabashedly takes its cues from Wall Street and Glengarry Glenn Ross with a clip from the former being shown and quoted by the characters, so kudos for at least not denying it and claiming to be original through and through. The performances are mostly solid but the screenplay and in particular, the ending needed work because it had potential to be memorable.
Argo has plenty of problems with regards to historical accuracies, but even when taking liberties with the story and characters, producer/director Ben Affleck highlights a story not many Americans know about and presents a suspense-thriller with greatly intense moments with a couple standout performances.
To the Wonder might be one of the most beautiful movies to put on film in the past decade, if not more, but the story and characters are so detached, we only get glimpses of people we are supposed to care about. Yeah, I understand the themes Malick wanted to present, since he practically smacks them over the viewer’s heads, but themes don’t make a good or compelling film.