The Godfather Part III (1990)
[7] While I enjoy parts two and three, I have the same general problem with both of them. Why do they exist? The first film tells a complete story, but part two (with its shuffling of prelude and epilogue) plays…
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)
[4] The old fraternity house next door to Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne has moved away... but now there's a sorority there -- and the girls are even worse than the boys were. Rogen and Byrne seek out their old…
Now You See Me 2 (2016)
[4] Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine all return for another game of magicians playing cat and mouse. (Isla Fisher is noticeably replaced with a new character played by Lizzy Caplan.) I enjoyed…
Pet Sematary Two (1992)
[4] Mary Lambert returns to direct the sloppy, uneven sequel about new characters who discover the burial ground with resurrection powers from the first film. She's working with a solid cast that includes uber-baddie Clancy Brown (Highlander, Carnivale), Anthony Edwards,…
Scream 4 (2011)
[6] You really aren't supposed to return to a well too many times. But in the case of the Scream franchise, I was still thirsty. So I drank... and the water's still good! Of course the novelty has worn off,…
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
[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…
Fast Five (2011)
[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…
22 Jump Street (2014)
[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…
Star Trek: Beyond (2016)
[8] J.J. Abrams hands the reigns to director Justin Lin (director of several Fast and Furious movies), working from a script co-written by Scotty (Simon Pegg). The result? A damn solid entry in the Star Trek franchise, possibly the best…
Rocky IV (1985)
[6] I know I'm being too kind to this over-produced piece of cheese, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it at least a little bit. It falls short of all previous installments primarily because the justification…