The Jungle Book

LANDON **1/2
Disney's latest live action adaptation is perhaps the most visually impressive film ever made.  The production and wild-life visuals had me absolutely floored.  There's some really good voice work here and some thrilling action sequences.  I just wish the film's plot wasn't so sporadic, with the gaps being filled with unnecessarily forced homages to the original animated film.  Plus, it's hard to connect emotionally with a film when it has no idea what it wants you to connect with.  Still, this is in its own right an entertaining film, and I'm sure plenty of people will enjoy it.

CHASE ***
This is a movie that really impressed me, not just because of the visuals, but because of how they were able to take the classic source material and reimagine it in a new and exciting way.  I felt that they were able to make enough changes that make it feel unique.  The only forced homages that I could think of were the two songs that they include randomly.  They felt a little bit out-of-place when compared to the rest of the movie.  I really liked the characters and thought the actors were able to bring them life in such a way that made them more enjoyable.  I really enjoyed this film and I think it's worth seeing.

BRYCE ***
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

Midnight Special

LANDON **1/2
I'm a big Jeff Nichols fan. I've only seen two of his previous three movies, but I loved both "Mud" and "Take Shelter."  I'm a little disappointed that "Midnight Special" doesn't quite join those ranks.  I was absolutely loving the first half of the film, with stellar performances from Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kiersten Dunst and Adam Driver.  As good as the second half still is, it gets pretty bizarre and loses some of the mysterious luster found in the first half.  Still a good film in it's own right. Just not as good as the fantastic "Mud" and "Take Shelter."

CHASE ***
One of the things that I applauded Jeff Nichols for is keeping me engaged throughout the majority of the movie.  There is a surprising number of sequences where it got really intense for me.  I feel like all the characters are very well rounded and Jaeden Lieberher, who played the gifted child, was just as good as any of the adult actors.  It's beautiful to look at and I like that this is something different than we're used to seeing Nichols do.  As for the second half of the movie, I think there are lot of good parts in it, the only thing that keeps me from loving it even more is the climax, which does feel a bit bizarre and it unfortunately reminded me too much of another movie.  Outside of that, it's really hard for me to fault the whole story and I still enjoyed it overall.

BRYCE **1/2

BANGERANG SCORE: **1/2

10 Cloverfield Lane

CHASE ***1/2
"10 Cloverfield Lane" is one of the most intense movies I've seen in recent memory.  It's about Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Wistead) who finds herself in a bomb shelter with two men who claim the outside world is dangerous and refuse to let her leave.  John Goodman is excellent as the owner of the bomb shelter as I could never get a grasp on whether or not he's trying to help or if he's planning something sinister.  The other two actors were good as well with Winstead as our main character and John Gallagher Jr. as the comedic relief.  This is a very intense movie that made me continually second guess myself as to what was actually going on.  I always had that feeling that something bad is going to happen to our main character and I'm always on the edge of my seat.  The only thing that kind of let me down is how it ended.  There are one or two moments in particular that went a little bit over the top.  Outside of that, I had a blast with this movie.

LANDON ***
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

LANDON **

I had an epiphany halfway through this movie.  What they should've done instead of this movie is made two separate movies, a "Man of Steel" sequel and a solo Batman movie.  I was fairly invested when these stories were told from separate standpoints, especially in the case of Batman.  Ben Affleck is surprisingly great as the caped crusader, offering a new and interesting style of Batman.  Jeremy Irons is equally, and typically, great as Alfred.  Plus, the music is awesome.  Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL do it again!  Unfortunately, we don't have two separate movies.  Instead, we have one big mess of a film.  Because it's told from so many standpoints, it makes it incredibly difficult to become fully engrossed in our characters.  They're trying so hard to hurry up and get to the "Justice League" film that they're losing the much desired emotional resonance.  On top of that, it's excruciatingly long, our main villain is way too over the top, and Wonder Woman is so forcefully shoe-horned in to the story it's embarrassing.  Marvel may be on the decline at this point (in my opinion), but at least they've had inclines.  This franchise has only had two movies, and it's already failing to live up to those supposed lofty standards.  Do not waste your money here.

BRYCE **
LOGAN **

BANGERANG SCORE: **