Recent theatrical viewings

[Trevor]

LOGAN LUCKY: Two brothers and a sister, from a West Virginia family that considers itself cursed, develop a complicated scheme to rob a NASCAR racetrack. Pretty good entertainment that could have worked a lot better than it did; Hillary Swank's Clint Eastwood impersonation is a flop, and when Daniel Craig is the most believable Southerner in the cast there's a slight problem. 3/5.

The poster I saw had an introducing credit for Daniel Craig 

[Trevor]

I saw Murder On The Orient Express a week ago  and wanted to see Wind River until I realized it was produced by Harvey Weinstein. 

[dean]

I saw Murder On The Orient Express a week ago  and wanted to see Wind River until I realized it was produced by Harvey Weinstein. 

Wasn't produced by, it was only going to be distributed by, but If it makes you feel better the creators got the rights back off Weinstein/distributes through a different company (or at least so I heard). It's worth a watch!

[Rev. Powell]

THE DISASTER ARTIST: Struggling actor Greg Sestero befriends the odd, inept Tommy Wiseau---a mystery man of uncertain origins and bottomless wealth---who produces the disastrous self-indulgent drama THE ROOM (which, of course, goes on to be a camp classic). The "making of" scenes are very funny, but the core of the movie is the legitimate friendship between the two men---a call to stay loyal to those who show you loyalty, however weird they may be. 4/5.

THE SHAPE OF WATER: A mute cleaning woman forms a relationship with an aquatic creature she finds imprisoned in a military facility. Fun little bestiality-themed fairy tale from Guillermo del Toro, with Michael Shannon making for an excellent villain and the best musical number of the year. 4.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

It's time for me to vote in the Online Film Critics Society year end awards, so I'll be watching a lot of 2017 movies in the next 8 days.

JANE (2017): Compiled from over 100 hours of footage, this documentary covers the life and work of Jane Goodall, the amateur scientist who observed a tribe of chimps since 1960 and is personally responsible for almost everything we know about the species' behavior. Jane is almost as interesting as the chimps, but they naturally steal the show. Beautiful photography from Jane's eventual husband Hugo van Lavick and a score by Philip Glass make this a top-notch artifact. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

DARKEST HOUR (2017): The early days of hard-drinking, fist-thumping Winston Churchill's initial run as Prime Minister, from his unlikely nomination to the post to his rousing "right them on the beaches" speech. Gary Oldman probably secured a Best Actor nom in the casting stage, and he is indeed fine as the eccentric orator, but the movie's political intrigue is more involving than expected (and makes a great companion piece to DUNKIRK's action-oriented approach to the same era). 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE FLORIDA PROJECT (2017): Six-year old Mooney and her mother Halley (who acts like a child herself) live at a fleabag motel within walking distance of Disney World, where Mooney spends her days playing and getting into trouble with the other kids. Director Sean "Tangerine" Baker continues to specialize in people at the margins of society with this empathetic portrait of a girl who seems fated to follow in her mother's sad footsteps. 3.5/5.

THELMA (2017): A girl from a conservative Christian family goes to college where she's tempted by alcohol, drugs and sex, and finds herself suddenly suffering from epileptic fits that lead her to investigate events from her childhood she had forgotten. Stick with this Norwegian horror/drama through the unnecessarily slow first hour and you'll be rewarded with some powerful hallucinatory images and the gradual revelation of its Twilight Zone premise. 3.5/5.

[Svengoolie 3]

I saw bladerunner 2049 in a theater this year and was the ONLY  person in the theater. Personally l wasn't displeased by it. I was in fact pleasantly surprised after seeing what ridly Scott had done to is other masterpiece, Alien, in it's prequels.

[Rev. Powell]

I saw bladerunner 2049 in a theater this year and was the ONLY  person in the theater. Personally l wasn't displeased by it. I was in fact pleasantly surprised after seeing what ridly Scott had done to is other masterpiece, Alien, in it's prequels.

I liked it a lot. Deakins will almost certainly win the Oscar for cinematography.

[Rev. Powell]

I, TONYA (2017): The true (?) story of Olympic ice skater Tonya Harding, from her abusive upbringing to the famous Nancy Kerrigan kneecapping incident that effectively ended her career. A tragicomic female RAGING BULL ripped straight from the tabloids, it's unexpectedly entertaining, rich, and quintessentially American; chainsmoking stage mom Allison Janney for makes the year's most hateful and unrepentant villain. 4/5

[BoyScoutKevin]

MURDER AT THE ORIENT EXPRESS: Frankly, I don't quite see how this adds to the earlier movie...

Again, me neither, but it does appear to be the surprise hit at the domestic box office, taking in over $100 million, so far. Fueled by older couples who wanted to see a film, they could see together.
It has been successful enough, that a sequel Death on the Nile, has been green lighted. Though, when they expect this film to come out is anybody's guess, as the actor/director Kenneth Branagh, is involved in another film, as director/producer. A film which I have been waiting for, for a X number of years.

This surprise hit is one of the reasons that the combined domestic box office gross in December, to the run up to Christmas, for 20th Century Fox and the House of Mouse is 92%. The other films out, from both the major and minor studios, taking the rest of the domestic box office or 8%, or, so I have heard.

[Rev. Powell]

MUDBOUND (2017): The epic tale of two families--black sharecroppers and white landowners--in Jim Crow Mississippi, and the unlikely (and tragic) friendship between two sons who bond over their WWII service. Great historical detail, a fine ensemble cast, and a chilling ending are the high points in this excellent adaptation of Hillary Jordan's novel. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017): In episode two of the third STAR WARS trilogy, Rey tries to convince Luke Skywalker, now a reluctant hermit, to train her in the Force, while the Resistance is pinned down by the First Order fleet. At this point, the STAR WARS series runs according an epic blueprint, with very few surprises (other than superficial plot twists). The only question is: did they execute the formula satisfactorily? They did. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

PADDINGTON 2: Paddington finds himself in prison (!), framed for the theft of a pop-up book that hides a treasure map. All the good-natured comedy and action of the first movie, and Hugh Grant makes for a delightfully pompous villain (and sings a musical number over the credits). 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

PHANTOM THREAD: A waitress becomes the model and muse of a charming but fussy workaholic celebrity dressmaker, and falls in love with him. Like Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson can do great work in any genre, and does so here; but, if you gave any journeyman director this script and Daniel Day Lewis, the results would be the same. Here's hoping Anderson gets historical drama out of his system and returns to more ambitious fare soon. 3/5.