Shazam: Fury of the Gods is a perfectly entertaining time-waster (frankly, not unlike Black Adam) but it does lack the charm of its predecessor, however Zachary Levi still is great in the lead.
F9: The Fast Saga might have some insane scenes but not quite in the good way. There are some okay little moments like seeing some old character reunite, however this is missing the magic with the series’ height: the chemistry with Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker.
The Good Liar is a movie only worthwhile for excellent performances by two of the best actors around in Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen, it’s too bad the plotline, and third act specifically, wasn’t better.
Hobbs & Shaw is a weak entry within the franchise for sure and although I do like both Johnson and Statham and their respective characters, but having them bickering at one another reminded me that perhaps less is more.
Anna might not break new ground and could be considered a second-rate La Femme Nikita or, more recently, Atomic Blonde, but it still was rather entertaining and Sasha Luss in her first major role actually was pretty decent.
Hussy is a finely acted drama headlined by the amazing Helen Mirren to go along with John Shea, whom I will always know as Lex Luthor on Lois & Clark, makes a solid feature film debut.
Berlin, I Love You is hardly the worst interconnected ensemble dramas and at least one out of the ten vignettes was somewhat entertaining, one was peculiarly creepy and the other eight on the forgettable side.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is hardly terrible and I’d happily watch this over either of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland live-action films, but considering I hated both of those, that’s faint praise.
Gosford Park is a strong and finely acted ensemble drama from the king of the ensemble, Robert Altman and even though I don’t consider this his best film, it’s still well done.
This double feature release of Age of Consent, with Helen Mirren, and Cactus Flower starring a trio of great talents in Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn (who took home an Oscar for her role), makes for a fun time.
RED 2 isn’t as strong as its predecessor, but still incredibly entertaining thanks to is charming and likeable cast that work well together, even if the plot is a bit forced but that’s a sequel for you.
RED is an incredibly fun action-comedy that excels more on its likeable cast than the actual plot which isn’t that great, but a serviceable vehicle for the aging cast, headlined by Bruce Willis whose more at home in this role than his last couple outings of Die Hard.
The Fate of the Furious is a perfectly fine entry into the now long-running franchise that doesn’t really show signs of slowing down. The action scenes are well done and although none of the acting, or dialogue for that matter, will impress, I still found myself relatively entertained.
Collateral Beauty is the epitome of what is wrong with studios today, especially considering the outright dishonest trailer they put together for this which features really unlikeable characters.
Trumbo is a well made movie that probably will be more remembered for its performances, specifically by Bryan Cranston who received an Academy Award nomination for his great performance as Dalton Trumbo. Outside of the acting, though, I don’t think this was an especially memorable flick but well worth checking out.