Style
over Substance?
This
Review Contains Spoilers
Behind Closed Doors.
Jackie is directed by Palo Larrain (The Club, Neruda) and stars Natalie Portman (Black Swan, V For Vendetta) and Billy Crudup (Rudderless, Almost Famous). "Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy". Jackie has earned 3 Oscar nominations - including Best Actress - at a time where the definition of your usual President is being challenged, will Jackie remind the world what it means to support your country?
Fight For What You Believe In.
In Dubious Battle is directed by James Franco who also happens to star in the film (127 Hours, Spring Breakers). Alongside Franco is Nat Wolff (Paper Towns, Stuck In Love), Vincent D'Onofrio (Men in Black, Jurassic World), Selena Gomez (Spring Breakers, The Fundamentals of Caring), Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down, The Right Stuff), Robert Duvall (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) and a string of other A-listers who have cameo sized roles. "An activist gets caught up in the labor movement for farm workers in California during the 1930s". James Franco has directed a ridiculous number of films but no-one cares about them - is In Dubious Battle about to change that or is it a waste of Steinbeck's material?
1700 years to build. 5500 miles long. What were they trying to keep out?
The Great Wall is directed by Yimou Zhang (House of Flying Daggers, The Flowers of War) and stars Matt Damon (The Martian, Jason Bourne), Tian Jing (Special ID, Police Story: Lockdown) and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man, John Wick). "European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures". The Great Wall is actually a pretty important film - it is a big step forward for the film industry as this was produced by a Chinese production company and is being distributed by a major US company - Universal. It may be a big deal in terms of its release, but is it a big deal in general?
What's Your Favourite Thing About Earth?
Reloaded.
This review contains Spoilers
John Wick: Chapter 2 is directed by Chad Stahelski (John Wick) and stars Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, Speed), Riccardo Scamarcio (Loose Cannons, Burnt), Ian McShane (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Kung Fu Panda), Ruby Rose (xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) and Common (Suicide Squad, Selma). "After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life". John Wick was a sleeper hit back in 2014 and really got a following - will John Wick: Chapter 2 be the sequel these fans want or will it be like Jack Reacher 2 - nobody really wanted it...?
Every Fairy Tale Has a Dark Side
This review contains Spoilers
This review contains Spoilers
Always be yourself. Unless you can be Batman.
The LEGO Batman Movie is directed by Chris McKay (Robot Chicken, Moral Orel) and stars Will Arnett (The LEGO Movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad), Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Seven Pounds), Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter, The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Due Date). "Bruce Wayne must not only deal with the criminals of Gotham City, but also the responsibility of raising a boy he adopted". The LEGO Batman Movie is the first of many spinoffs from the successful LEGO Movie - are these spin offs actually going to be good or are they simple cash grabs?
Evil will End.
What goes on by the sea?
This review contains Spoilers
Manchester by the Sea is directed and written by Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count On Me, Margaret) and stars Casey Affleck (Good Will Hunting, Gone Baby Gone), Lucas Hedges (Moonrise Kingdom, The Zero Theorem) and Michelle Williams (Shutter Island, Blue Valentine). "An uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies". Manchester by the Sea has earned 6 Oscar nominations - including nods in three of the big four - Picture, Director and Leading Actor. Are those nominations deserving? Should they become wins?
This review contains Spoilers
First You Watch it. Then You Die.
This review contains Spoilers
Rings is directed by F. Javier Gutierrez (Before the Fall) and stars Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz (Summertime, The Fifth Wheel), Alex Roe (The 5th Wave, The Cut), Vincent D'Onofrio (Men in Black, Jurassic World) and Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory, In Time). "A young woman finds herself on the receiving end of a terrifying curse that threatens to take her life in 7 days". Was Rings made to jump on the nostalgia bandwagon?, was it made because people are running out of ideas? or was it made because the creators thought it would add to the existing universe? Who knows...
Meet the Women you don't know, but the mission you do.
Hidden Figures is directed by Theodore Melfi (St Vincent) and stars Taraji P. Henson (Empire, Person of Interest), Octavia Spencer (The Help, The Divergent Series) and Janelle Monae (Moonlight, Rio 2). "The story of a team of African-American women mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space program". After a big win at the SAG awards, Hidden Figures became an even bigger awards contender. Is Hidden Figures Best Picture worthy or is it overrated Oscar bait?
