Crash isn’t a movie I found all that great though my interest was mainly for some of the controversy and honestly as strange as the “plot” and characters were, it’s not that out of bounds at least nowadays.
Lucky Day at times feels like Tarantino-lite which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but much of this thin plot doesn’t quite work, although I did like Crispin Glover’s crazy performance that almost makes this worthy of a rental.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood may not be Tarantino’s strongest film though I did enjoy this experience more than The Hateful Eight thanks to his attention to detail for the era along with some fun performances by both DiCaprio and Pitt.
I never really watched the original run of Veronica Mars outside of a clip here and there, so going in I didn’t really have any warm memories though I know some avid fans didn’t care for this revival but for me, I found it passably entertaining.
The Vault had an interesting enough premise and respectable cast led by Francesca Eastwood who is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, alongside the always entertaining James Franco, but unfortunately was poorly executed.
The Mule isn’t some profound film and even as a character drama, not terrible exceptional, but seeing Clint Eastwood back in front of the camera and delivering a great performance is well worth the cost of admission.
Small Town Crime was one of the better films of this early 2018 year that excels thanks to a strong cast led way by John Hawkes with special note toward Robert Forster and Clifton Collins Jr. in smaller roles.
M.F.A. is a movie that was written and released at just the right time considering the climate today, but beyond that story, which was only okay, the performance from Francesca Eastwood was phenomenal and one can only hope she gets even more work in the future.
Westworld: Season One: The Maze isn’t perfect with some stretches meandering at times, but more than making up for it are some excellent performances from the likes of Hopkins, Harris, Newton and others.
Man Down does shine light on the important subject of PTSD for returning soldiers and as commendable as that is, it’s unfortunate the screenplay does it little justice but I will say Shia LaBeouf’s performance is amazing and it does feature a respectable supporting cast.
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.
Star Trek (2009) is an incredibly fun and innovative way to reboot the long-running franchise. The story is interesting enough but what makes the movie excel is with the ensemble Abrams and company put together from Pine to Quinto to Urban, who often steals the show.
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.
On the surface Transcendence had plenty going for it but thanks to an apparently butchered script and a novice director, it turned something that could’ve been memorable into a laborious and tepid bore of a film. The cast is mostly wasted from the Depp’s malaise and supporting characters who are one dimensional and unmemorable while a veteran like Morgan Freeman is wasted and had a character who could’ve been cut.