[7] Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling star as private detectives who team up to solve the mystery of a missing porn star in this comedy/action/buddy flick from writer/director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). Black does a terrific job showcasing the characters in a twisty-turny plot that could easily have bogged things down. Crowe and Gosling have enough charisma and chemistry to make me …
[6] Horror master Mario Bava tackles this James Bond-like action/adventure about a stealthy thief nicknamed Diabolik (John Phillip Law) who eludes a pursuing detective through a series of elaborate heists. I didn’t find the characters terribly interesting, but the film is awash in awesome 60s production design and music. Diabolik’s expansive underground lair is every bit as magnificent as anything from a Bond film. Diabolik’s love …
[6] Marginally the best entry in a franchise I never cared about. Some nicely staged action sequences – the Dubai tower scaling and dust storm chase are pretty wicked. I’d like to have been more invested in the characters. Part of the problem might be that Tom Cruise bugs me when he’s in a vanity role like this one (wish he’d do more stuff like …
[6] Marvel continues putting its superheroes in line, all leading toward its big Avengers free-for-all. This one focuses on the origins of the Avengers team leader, a weakling WWII soldier named Steve Rogers who volunteers to be part of an experimental ‘super soldier’ program that pumps him up into the shape of beefy Chris Evans. Evans endears you to Captain America more than the script or …
[5] I loathe Michael Bay, but to be fair, this movie wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The script pays little attention to logic and prays that you forget about certain plot elements until its convenient to resolve them, but the entire siege of Chicago sequence (really more of an entire act) is pretty nifty. Shia LaBeouf gives a bewildering, manic …
[4] Vin Diesel and Paul Walker star as hot dudes who drive fast cars, apparently for the third or fourth time. I would never have given this kind of movie a look if it weren’t for the unusually good notices it received, but the critics really led me astray on this one. Granted, I’ve never seen a Fast & Furious movie before this, so maybe …
[6] Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum go undercover at college to bust another drug lord in a sequel that is admittedly and unabashedly more of the same. But the sequel is even more bromantic than the first, playing the relationship so serious at times, it’s not even comedy anymore. I gotta give these 21 Jump Street movies credit for helping remove the stick from straight …
[6] Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill star in this big-screen adaptation of the Fox TV show, about two young cops who go undercover at a high school to help find the supplier for a new, deadly drug. Young directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie) do well with Michael Bacall’s (Manic, Scott Pilgrim vs the World) screenplay, keeping things light, irreverent, and even …
[6] While there are signs that Suicide Squad is a film rushed to completion and feels at times torn in different creative directions (sources report the studio made extensive revisions after the lukewarm reception of Batman vs Superman), the end product isn’t half bad. The first half of the film moves by very excitingly, as two-time Oscar nominee Viola Davis doles out backstory like it’s …
[7] Director Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity) does a better job than most others in the past ten years bringing a superhero franchise to the big screen. What makes The Avengers work are character and humor, the elements from which Whedon has constructed a downright rabid cult empire. None of the ensemble cast get slighted in screen-time and Whedon does an admirable job …
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