Sully

I quite enjoyed the chronology employed in the retelling of this story, but overall the film felt somewhat inconsequential. It was a nice story, but something held this film back from any sort of emotional response from me.

7.25/10

13th

This documentary begins as an inspection of a particular clause in the thirteenth amendment that has far-reaching effects on our nation, but quickly blossoms into an examination of the minority experience in the US, as well as the epidemic of mass incarceration. This was one of the more depressing films I've seen as of late. It's hard watching so many humans be so real-life horrible to one another.

9.25/10

Krisha

KRISHA is one of those films that lives or dies solely on the strength of the lead role. And this film thrives because the breathtaking performance given by Krisha Fairchild that at times becomes a bit hard to stomach given the weight and nature of the narrative.

8.75/10

OJ: Made in America

This sprawling, exhaustive documentary clocks in at just under 8 hours, and covers one of the more surreal lives the public has been captivated by. The film supplements OJ's story with a great tangential examination of race issues in LA during the time. As someone who grew up during the time but wasn't familiar with many of the details of the case, it was transfixing.

9.5/10

Mad Max: Fury Road (Black and Chrome Edition)

Taking away the color from a film that used it to create such gorgeous set pieces only serves to highlight how tremendous every other aspect of this film truly is.

10/10

Sky High

This was a really fun film! The visual effects are quite dated (and probably not up to snuff in 2005), and the comedy and plot are very basic, but you can tell this film was made with a lot of love. The talent involved in the film is pretty incredible, as well, with big names popping up in a handful of cameo roles all throughout the film.

7/10

Passengers

Potentially troubling plot aside, I found this film to be fairly enjoyable. The somewhat overwrought melodrama was counterbalanced with a really interesting environment that was a lot of fun to slowly discover.

7/10

La La Land

A beautiful film that doesn't quite live up to the director's previous work for me, but features some great music and dance sequences. Act two drags a bit, but the final act is phenomenal and well-worth the price of admission.

9/10

Assassin's Creed

I knew nothing about the lore or games going in. The plot felt inconsequential and silly. But the largest crime this film commits is the cinematography. The colors are washed-out and dull, which is a shame, as there are some really interesting shots here that could look much better. Similarly, the camera-work for the many action scenes feels as if the director was begrudgingly showing the briefest bits of a set piece before cutting to a different part of the action. There is some cool stuff on display here, slow down and let your audience savor it! This felt like it should have been a better film, had a few crucial decisions been made differently.

5.5/10

Pacific Rim

Gorgeously shot gigantic monsters battle gargantuan robots with a healthy amount of world-building and a plethora of fun, charismatic characters. What's not to love?

8.25/10

Train to Busan

An extremely competent zombie-survival action film, TRAIN TO BUSAN knows exactly what it is trying to do, and does it quite well. The film is tense, and the characters act in an intelligent manner, which puts it leagues ahead similar competitors.

7.75/10

No Country For Old Men

A brilliant and visually gorgeous film featuring some incredible performances. This film doesn't shy away from anything, or hold the audience's hand, but it's more than worth the effort.

10/10

Central Intelligence

The Rock and Kevin Hart are entertaining and charismatic. The plot is somewhat rote, and a lot of the jokes didn't land for me, but the ones that did were quite funny.

6.5/10

Big Trouble in Little China

It's been more than 15 years since I last watched this film. I remember liking it then because it was funny and there were cool action sequences. Last night I got to revisit it, and immensely enjoyed it for the those same things, but also because it is a wonderful subversion of roles and focus in action films.

8.25/10

Bad Moms

A textbook example of a paint-by-numbers, just barely dipping its toes into R-rated territory comedy. I rarely laughed, and the plot was contrived and uninteresting. It wasn't offensively bad, but I doubt I'll be returning to this one in the future.

4/10

Prisoners (2013)

The acting is top-notch. The story manages to be thrilling and tense, even a second time. The cinematography is phenomenal. Aside from a few minor nit-picks, this film is a slam-dunk.

9.5/10

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

A few characters felt a bit underdeveloped, and the first act or two seemed a tad slow, but there is a lot to love here. Some of which I won't mention specifically, because, ya know, spoilers. But a wonderfully diverse cast and some fantastically fun action sequences add up to a solid entry to the Star Wars cinematic universe.

7.5/10

Manchester by the Sea

This movie is expertly written and acted. Almost every performance is award-worthy, and the narrative is devastating gut-punch after devastating gut-punch. It's hard to recommend the film, as it's quite the unrelenting, harrowing experience, but the film is simply tremendous.

9.75/10

Nocturnal Animals

This was an extremely complex narrative that I'm sure I didn't fully grasp, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the experience immensely. The visuals were wild and unique, with maybe only THE NEON DEMON topping them this year.

8/10

Office Christmas Party

This R-Rated comedy was only barely so, on both accounts. The comedy was lukewarm, and the mediocre, at-times-laughably bad plot took way too much attention from the very talented comedians onscreen. There are certainly some chuckles, but this could've been so much more.

4/10

Don't Think Twice

A couple of wonderful and surprising lead performances from Keegan-Michael Key and Gilian Jacobs headline this great little film about an improv troupe. It's not the funniest film in the world, but it accomplishes being funny and very emotionally resonant at the same time.

8.75/10

Weiner

It is rare for a documentary to illicit so many vastly different feelings about its subject, but this snapshot of Anthony Weiner's post-scandal political life manages this task with tremendous skill. This film produces so many moments that are filled to the brim with conflicting emotions and thoughts about the man's actions, it seems almost trivial to read the film in a way that lines up with your personal feelings on the matter. And for me, this yielded a touching, gloomy narrative that was expertly told.

9/10