The Contractor is an okay suspense-thriller and does showcase Chris Pine’s charisma (the reason I liked him as Jack Ryan), however the plot is thin and the writing pretty standard and predictable.
The Punisher is probably a mid-tier comic book movie and while it’s certainly not great, I did find it mostly entertaining mainly for Thomas Jane rather than the plot or thinly written villain.
3:10 to Yuma is one of the best modern westerns that features precision direction from James Mangold and includes a stellar cast by Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and Peter Fonda not to mention Ben Foster, Alan Tudyk and Logan Lerman in supporting roles.
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.
Hell or High Water was one of the bigger surprises of a downtrodden 2016 and while I don’t think it’s perfect, as a character-driven, modern-day Western, it is fantastic with performances by Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster and Chris Pine (in that order).
On a technical level, Warcraft isn’t terrible but in today’s and age and the advancement in the visual effects realm, it’s should be a given especially with a big budget tentpole. Outside of the VFX, and as someone unfamiliar with the source material, I found the film to be dull and filled with thinly written characters.
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.
Hostage is an effective enough thriller with Willis fitting into his role of a worn out veteran cop like a glove, heck probably better than in Live Free or Die Hard even, but the story itself doesn’t quite past muster despite some decent performances from the supporting cast.