Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

LANDON ***
This one surprised me.  From a distance, it appears to be a cheap-knockoff of the original film, but upon viewing, it turns out that's a pretty fun film.  Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black all work really well off of each other, convincingly portraying teenagers stuck inside a video game.  It's funny, exciting, and, again, fun.  I give this one a solid recommendation.

LOGAN **1/2
To keep this one brief, I was only mildly entertained.  It was a better film than I originally anticipated, and it is well-casted, but I simply didn't find the movie that funny, and upon working it out in my head, I think they could've easily done this movie without the title "Jumanji."  I didn't like it as much as Landon did, but it is still a good movie when you look past the absurd concept.

BANGERANG SCORE: **1/2

The Greatest Showman

LANDON **
I imagine my reaction to this film is pretty similar to the reaction most people had with P.T. Barnum's own circus show.  I was a bit mixed.  It's certainly a pretty interesting spectacle.  Barnum's life is glamorized in a light-hearted musical.  It's actually an idea I somewhat appreciate, but it doesn't work very well.  On the one hand, the music and songs are all great.  They're written by the same writers of the "La La Land" soundtrack, so you know you have something good here.  It's a pretty remarkable soundtrack.  Everyone does a good job acting here as well, especially the always infectious Hugh Jackman.  The story on the other hand, brings the film down a few notches.  There's a couple of splitting narratives that are all clumped together into one form of entertainment.  The best word I can think of to describe it is "messy."  And while there's a good message by the end of it, it drags a lot of clutter to get to that point.  Plus, it's really historically inaccurate, which normally wouldn't bother me if there were a few things that weren't accurate, but there's a lot of inaccuracies.  Want my diagnosis?  Skip the movie and buy the soundtrack.  Great soundtrack, not a great movie.

LOGAN **1/2

BANGERANG SCORE: **

Darkest Hour

LOGAN ***1/2
The new Joe Wright movie focuses on the first month of Winston Churchill's prime ministry, and man, what a movie it is.  The clear star of this film is Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, who gives quite possibly the best performance this year.  Not only is the makeup impressive on him, but his raw, emotional performance grabs you by your collar and demands attention.  The other actors do good as well, the music is captivating, it is shot incredibly well and for the most part, it is paced very well, despite a couple of slow parts. It's interesting, it's technically well-made, it's one of my favorite movies this year.

BRYCE ***
CHASE ***
LANDON ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

The Man Who Invented Christmas

CHASE ***
This is one of the more interesting Christmas movies out there.  As much as we have seen many "A Christmas Carol" stories been told and retold, we never get to see the story behind the story.  Hence comes "The Man Who Invented Christmas," which follows Charles Dickens and how he wrote the famous "A Christmas Carol."  Everything that's done in the movie is done extremely well.  Everyone is well acted (especially Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens), the production is well-designed and the screenwriting is pretty solid.  It also helps that finding out the story behind the classic is inherently interesting, and it's fun to see the characters from the book who interact with Charles Dickens during his writing process.  The movie is done in such a way where we get to see how Charles' life had influenced his story.  My only criticism is that while everything is done well, there's not really anything that felt outstanding to me.  But overall, I enjoy "The Man Who Invented Christmas" and for those who love "A Christmas Carol" should definitely give this one a go.

LANDON **1/2
I agree with Chase on just about everything.  This film does a lot of good things, but not a lot of great things.  Dan Stevens is great and it's a pretty interesting narrative.  The reason why I teetered down to my current star rating is its ending, where everything just seems rather piled together in a similar fashion to Dickens' acclaimed  novel.  Instead of resonating, it comes off as pretty sappy.  Nevertheless, this is a very decent film and one I think audiences everywhere would like.

BRYCE ***
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

CHASE ***1/2
The wait is finally over as we have the eigth episode of the "Star Wars" saga with "The Last Jedi."  The million dollar question is: is it any good?  The answer is a total yes.  Taking place directly after "The Force Awakens" we see the Resistance trying to escape from the First Order while Rey is trying to get Luke to join the fight.  The strongest points in the movie, by far, are any scenes that have to do with (coincidently enough) the Force users: Rey, Kylo Ren, and Luke.  Mark Hamill is excellent reprising his role as the aged Luke Skywalker and his performance feel raws and authentic and I think his character has a great arc.  The stuff with Rey and Kylo Ren is just great as we learn more about both of those characters and what their connection is.  It left me wanting to see what happens to both of them in the next one.  I love how they expand the universe of "Star Wars" in ways that feel surprising, yet right at the same time.  The space battles were exciting, and I like how Poe's character has his own arc in the story.  While I think there is a lot to love about it, it unfortunately doesn't live up to "The Force Awakens."  The first problem is the pacing which felt a little bit wonky.  This movie is probably a lot longer than it needs to be and it could benefit from shaving off a few minutes.  There are some moments that feel a little bit silly for me, even by "Star Wars" standards.  Especially in the Canto Bite part of the movie, where some parts are pretty enjoyable while others felt a little weird.  Lastly, I felt like that Finn and Rose's arcs didn't feel as satisfying as they should be.  Despite these complaints, however, the strong points are just too strong for me and I love a lot of it.  This is definitely one that is worth checking out.

BRYCE **1/2
LANDON ***1/2
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

Goodbye Christopher Robin

LOGAN **1/2
"Goodbye Christopher Robin" can be summed up in two words: It's nice.  That's basically all I can say about it.  The story focuses on the creation of the beloved children's story "Winnie-the-Pooh," and does so in a charming, innocent way.  The actors do a very good job portraying their roles both emotionally, and even in comical moments.  The film's editing, on the other hand, can sometimes come out of left field, especially with Domhnall Gleeson's character experiencing PTSD throughout the film.  It can suck you out of the experience pretty fast. Other than that, nothing really stood out to me very much.  It's your average run-of-the-mill biopic, but a nice one at that.  If that's your type of movie, you'll definitely enjoy this one.  It's nice.

CHASE ***

BANGERANG SCORE: **1/2

Wonder

LANDON **1/2
Based off the book by the same name, "Wonder" tells the story of a 10-year old boy born with Treacher Collins syndrome going to a public school for the first time and struggling to make friends and fit in.  At least that's what it's mostly about.  This is where the film loses a lot of steam for me.  It insists that it must also tell the story of the boy's older sister and her perspective of neglect from her parents.  And even a little of perspective from her best friend as well.  This all would've been fine if it had been wrapped together in a unified conclusion, but it never does.  It's pointless filler.  It's only purpose is to fill in time.  It also doesn't help that when it does focus on our young protagonist, it's usually very syrupy and aggressively-sweet.  I hate to make it sound like I'm ragging on this movie, because this is by no means a mediocre film.  It has a cast of very good actors and actresses (especially Jacob Tremblay, quickly becoming a star after his brilliant performance in "Room").  And even with the syrup, it does manage to bring out some pretty raw emotion.  It doesn't resonate as well as it should have, but you understand why most characters act the way they do.  I guess that is the goal of the filmmakers is to help audience understand these people, so they accomplished their goal.  This a very decent film honestly.  If you liked the book or if you want a wholesome movie to bring your family or a date to, this is probably a good choice.

BRYCE ***
Yeesh.  I'm surprised you gave it two and a half stars after that review!  To me, the fact that the story focused on other key people in the boy's life was actually a strength and not filler.  I think a typical movie in this vein would've focused entirely on the plight of the boy, with everyone else relegated to the periphery.  I think the film is effective in showing how having this kind of physical abnormality is really challenging not just for him, but for everyone close to him.  Some people handle it really well, some handle it terribly and most are somewhere in between.  That being said, I agree that it was a bit syrupy and trite at times, especially towards the end as is common in these kinds of family-friendly dramas.  It's nothing groundbreaking, but I thought it was engaging and sincere and definitely worth checking out.

BANGERANG SCORE: **1/2

Coco

LANDON ***
I don't know what it is about Pixar, but they seem totally incapable creating anything that's less than decent (save for "Cars 2").  "Coco" is no exception, and while it may not be one of the best the studio has to offer, it's a very good addition to their library.  Perhaps my favorite thing about it is its cast of lovable characters, especially Miguel, our young hero with a love for music and his family.  The animation is gorgeous.  There are shots in this film that will take your breath away.  It's fun to watch and it has a very good, touching story.  The things that keep it from being a great film, however, are mainly in the ways it presents itself.  It's very predictable.  Not to be confused with clichéd, but you can pretty easily guess what's going to happen next.  And there are some plot points that are placed very conveniently in important moments.  It unfortunately doesn't mesh with the overall picture very well.  With that being said, I really enjoyed this movie and would recommend it people of all ages.  It's a good movie.

BRYCE ***1/2
I think you're selling this one short.  This is absolutely among Pixar's best and the best film I've seen all year.  This is, as you point out, a gorgeous movie with a richness and depth of field you don't see very often in any movie, animated or otherwise.  But beyond that, this is a profound story about the bonds of family through the generations told with an uncommon amount of humor and heart.  It all culminates in an incredibly poignant conclusion that dares you to hold back the tears.  I agree that a couple of the plot points leading up to that conclusion were a little too convenient, but the final impact completely overshadowed that for me.  It's a fantastic movie.

CHASE ***
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

Justice League

LANDON **
Here we are.  The much-awaited (depending on who you talk to) "Justice League" film is here to counter Marvel's "The Avengers."  And what a counter.  Every film in this franchise save for the very good "Wonder Woman" has been mediocre.  And I am going to put most of the blame on Zack Snyder.  The man is apparently incapable of directing an engaging narrative.  Even his visual spectacle, which most audiences give him praise for, is totally cluttered and feels completely fake.  This movie is all kinds of boring.  It's flat story, monotonous villain, lack of character depth; all completely boring.  It does keep itself from being bad with, admittedly, some action scenes that can be pretty entertaining.  Nonetheless, this film is not worth it.  It's a whole lot of nothing.  I don't recommend it.  In fact, I recommend giving up on the franchise altogether because it's not going places anytime soon.

LOGAN *1/2
I have to say: even though I had my expectations low for this one, it was actually worse than I thought it would be.  I agree with everything Landon says except for the action, which I didn't find that entertaining.  The reason being that since the movie is so boring, and we don't know anything about most of these characters, there isn't any weight to the action that would have me invested in it.  I didn't care about hardly ANYTHING that was happening in "Justice League" for that reason.  Some technical aspects are pretty neat, but in terms of characters, action and story, I didn't care.  I have a feeling that DC is not going to impress again anytime soon.

CHASE **

BANGERANG SCORE: **

Murder on the Orient Express

LANDON ***

I must admit I've never seen the original "Murder on the Orient Express" film, nor have I read Agatha Christie's famous novel the movies are based off of.  So my knowledge of tale is fairly minimal, but I can tell you that I enjoyed my time watching this film.  Kenneth Branagh has crafted a surprisingly investing story about a mysterious murder and about a dozen possible suspects.  It's entertaining enough and Branagh is fantastic in the lead role.  Everything narrows down to a surprisingly emotional conclusion.  Not particularly surprising, but effective all the same.  Even with all of this though, Branagh has this strange method for telling the story.  He stylizes it, and not in a good way.  There's a fair amount of CGI that serves only as a means supplement lazy production.  It ends up making the film feel smaller than it really is.  It also doesn't help that the camerawork is overly ambitious, making the cinematography incredibly nauseating.  With all that said, this is a movie that's worth watching especially if you like murder-mysteries.

A United Kingdom

LANDON **1/2
One of the most fascinating stories in the sad history of racism (at least in my opinion) is presented in "A United Kingdom" starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike.  The film is about Seretse Khama, heir to the throne of Bechuanaland, who marries a simple, white, British woman, Ruth, and racism ensues.  This story is fascinating in the fact that both of the homelands of our two protagonists are furious at them for marrying not only outside of their nation, but outside of their skin color.  Oyelowo and Pike are fantastic in the lead roles.  They perform delicately and with a lot of emotion, expertly portraying the struggle in this real-life event.  Despite this, the movie does play out pretty generically.  It strikes all the beats you would come to expect from this type of film.  It also drags out its narrative a little too much.  The filmmakers could've easily cut this film down to half an hour shorter and could've been equally as effective.  Still, this is not a bad movie by any means, and if you enjoy a sweet love story and some interesting history, this movie might be worth checking out.

Thor: Ragnarok

LANDON **
I am without a doubt the dissenting opinion here.  Not just on this blog, I am probably the only dissenting opinion anywhere you look.  But I really don't get it.  Especially after the success of two really good Marvel movies in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming."  Where did this film go wrong for me?  In spite of roping in young indie-director Taika Waititi (who directed the hilarious "Hunt for the Wilderpeople"), his directing style just doesn't work for Thor.  It's Marvel's attempt at bringing a much more light-hearted approach to an otherwise (allegedly) boring character.  The switch doesn't work.  I wasn't laughing for a lot of it.  I found myself just staring at a screen with a pathetic narrative, terrible villain, trying hard to play for laughs.  That's not to say this film is bad though.  There is still plenty of that super spectacle Marvel is known for.  To its credit, I never found myself bored.  This new direction Marvel took is just not my cup of tea.

CHASE ***
I, for one, really enjoyed this film.  I really like the new direction that they took with the character of Thor.  They've taken a lot out of inspiration from "Guardians of the Galaxy" and I believe it ultimately paid off.  I found my myself laughing a lot throughout the movie and it was super entertaining.  It has a lot of energy and it's hard for me not to get swept up in it.  Even with all of that energy, I do feel like that it's a tad bit too long and it could've benefited from cutting a little bit.  Plus, as one would expect with a lot of attempted comedy, there are a few duds.  But despite all of this, "Thor: Ragnarok" is a really entertaining film and it's another mark on Marvel's admittedly impressive string of recent movies.

BRYCE ***
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE ***

Despicable Me 3

LANDON *
Allow me to set one thing straight.  I've never really enjoyed the "Despicable Me" movies.  The first outing was poor at best, and the sequel, while an improvement, is still pretty mediocre.  However, this one blows them all out of the water.  It's the worst one by a comfortable margin.  It maintains all the worst qualities of the other films in the series and then some.  It's not even a little funny, the villain is really bizarre, and it pathetically attempts to tug at your heart strings and completely fails to do so.  Plus, it plugs in a ridiculous character addition in the form of Gru's long lost (and utterly obnoxious) twin brother.  It not only feels like a desperate move on the filmmakers part, but they've also not managed to make him even a little likable.  This whole movie is ridiculous and doesn't deserve to be viewed in any setting.  It sucks.  Don't watch it.

LOGAN *

BANGERANG SCORE: *

Dunkirk

LOGAN ***1/2
Christopher Nolan returns for his latest outing which is probably his most ambitious movie yet.  "Dunkirk" is about the famous evacuation from Dunkirk in World War II, and I was absolutely enthralled by what I was watching.  From a technical standpoint, everything in this film creates this tension and realism that I've never experienced before.  Watching "Dunkirk" felt real.  The suspenseful music by Hans Zimmer, and the jaw-dropping cinematography from Hoyte Van Hoytema are big highlights of the film, and are a testament to how visually outstanding Nolan can be with his movies.  However, even though the technicality and tension are there, and I was invested in it, the writing is lackluster.  There was some dialogue between certain characters that, while well-acted, fell a little flat.  The movie is edited in a way that different timelines are happening simultaneously throughout the film, and it left me confused and not too invested with the personal side of the characters.  But if you know me, I am a geek for movies that are amazing from a technical standpoint, and this movie hits all of the right buttons.

CHASE ***
It’s not so much that the characters where lackluster, it’s more that there was no attempt to flesh any of them out.  Usually when I go into a war time movie like “Dunkirk”, I like to at least connect to one character that I want to root for and it doesn’t felt like they delivered on that.  Despite this major weakness however, almost everything else is really strong.  Throughout its entire runtime, there is a certain sense of unease in the story that is largely attributed to how the action scenes were directed as well as the unsettling music playing.  This helps create tension, but I think what would've made it even better is if there were at least a few characters that we wanted to pull for.  What potentially could’ve been a great movie is simply a really good movie.  It’s worth checking out, but I believe that there are better Nolan movies out there.

BRYCE ***
LANDON ***


BANGERANG SCORE: ***

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

CHASE **1/2
Out of all the movies that have come out so far this year, "Captain Underpants" has got to be the most difficult to get a grasp on.  Growing up, I was a huge fan of the books that it was based off of and Dreamwork's adaptation is surprisingly faithful. The best way that I can describe this movie is to imagine that it was written by some elementary school kids, and I mean that in a surprisingly positive way.  There is a 10-year-old part of me that enjoys and laughs at this movie, but there's also an adult side of me that felt like I'm too old for this story.  This leads me to the middle ground that, for what it's worth, had me kind of enjoying it.  It helps that the animation style really fits the tone of the movie and while I wasn't the biggest fan of having adult actors playing the kid characters, I got used to it after a while.  Overall, "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie" is an odd one, but I do think it has some merit that makes it kind of good.  If you want to feel like a kid again, this is probably good one to check out.

LANDON **1/2
LOGAN **1/2

BANGERANG SCORE: **1/2

Cars 3

LOGAN ***
After the box office flop (and critically panned) "Cars 2," many people were wondering why Pixar was making a third movie in this franchise.  I didn't know what to think either, but I hoped the company would set the "Cars" franchise back on track.  Did it succeed?  The answer is yes.  While not as good as the first movie, it is a return back to form after the second installment.  In fact, "Cars 3" never acknowledges the existence of the second movie!  What it does have are themes of retirement and losing touch with what you have passion for.  The movie does start off a little slow, but it quickly picks up as soon as McQueen starts to rebuild himself.  The animation is stunning (which is to be expected from Pixar), the new characters are fun and interesting, and the overall message, while a bit predictable, is a good message nonetheless.  Some of the humor does fall flat though, and like I said before, there are some slow parts, but Pixar clearly learned from the mistakes of "Cars 2" and churned out a decently good movie.  A welcome addition for the company.

LANDON **1/2
CHASE **1/2

BANGERANG SCORE: **1/2

Power Rangers

LANDON **
These type of film adaptations are becoming so rampant, it's not even surprising anymore.  And almost none of them are actually good.  "Power Rangers" is no exception to this.  This origin story of the famed mighty morphin' team is filled with a mostly boring narrative and equally boring action scenes.  This is a obviously a huge problem.  You cannot have any film's explosive climax be even remotely boring, but this is just the case here.  The characters are decent enough.  The team itself is at least somewhat likable and you appreciate who they are and what they're going through.  But it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things if adventure they undertake is this dull.  Stick to the TV shows.  Nothing to see here.

Beauty and the Beast

CHASE *1/2
The original "Beauty and the Beast" from 1991 is widely considered as a classic.  It's one of my favorite Disney movies ever and it's nearly perfect in every way.  The remake, on the other hand, is nowhere near as good as the original.  Not even close.  But to start with the positives, I thought some of the actors, specifically Kevin Cline and Ewan McGregor as Maurice and Lumiere respectively, were really good in their roles.  They also maintained most of the great musical numbers from the original.  However, that's also part of the problem.  Because they borrowed so heavily from the previous film, I was constantly reminded of the original, and how it did the same scenes a whole lot better.  The majority of the movie felt aggressively average and there's barely anything that I found engaging.  There are some extra scenes they threw in, but I felt like they didn't really go anywhere and ultimately felt like padding.  I thought Emma Watson as Belle was just okay at best and the Beast felt very underwhelming as a character, making their relationship almost non-existent.  I never got the feeling that the filmmakers truly got what made the original so special.  Overall, "Beauty and the Beast" is a pale imitation of the original and only made me love the animated classic even more.

LANDON *1/2

LOGAN **

BANGERANG SCORE: *1/2

Before I Fall

LANDON **1/2
Lately these YA sci-fi flicks are treading the same dreadful tropes, consisting of ridiculous romances, a boring plot, and sappy dialogue.  And while "Before I Fall" isn't necessarily a good film, it is certainly better than the likes of the boring "The 5th Wave" or the awful "Divergent."  It surprised me.  Granted, the script comes off pretty lackluster.  When it hits, it nails some of the emotional elements really well.  When it misses, it becomes corny and overfilled.  It also doesn't help that most of the other actors cash in incredibly mediocre performances, making most of these other characters obnoxious or really boring.  Despite these flaws though, I was very impressed with the acting chops of lead actress Zoey Deutch.  She is a huge reason why this film doesn't dissolve into total mediocrity.  It also helps that the moral of the film is pretty resonant, especially with younger audiences, and that the ending is refreshingly bold and ambitious.  At the end of the day, "Before I Fall" is a decent YA film that soars above most others, which, again, is not saying a whole lot really, but it'll do.

Kong: Skull Island

BRYCE *1/2
Yet another shared cinematic universe is in the works as "Kong: Skull Island" hits theaters as a follow-up to 2014's "Godzilla."  That film had amazing special effects bogged down by boring characters.  This film has amazing special effects completely obliterated by horrible characters.  It honestly felt like a big budget Syfy Channel movie.  The story is non-sensical, the dialogue is cringe-worthy and it's all punctuated by a depressing sense of nihilism.  As a fan of the title character and the monster movie genre (the original 1933 film is one of my favorites and I liked a lot about Peter Jackson's version), I appreciated the scale of some of the action and a few scenes with really striking imagery.  Unfortunately it was ultimately lost in the mess of the narrative.  Head on over to YouTube and check out the trailer for some of the visual and stylistic highlights.  It's infinitely more entertaining than the actual movie.

The Lego Batman Movie

LANDON **1/2
With the wild success of the original and aptly named "The Lego Movie," Phil Lord and Christopher Miller figured it a good idea to expand into a film franchise, starting, of course, with the caped crusader himself receiving his very own Lego movie.  "The Lego Batman Movie" offers exactly what you would expect from a Lego movie: crazy situations and sequences that could only exist in a Lego universe.  This thing is filled to the brim with all kinds of characters and villains.  It retains that same chaos and style as seen from the original Lego movie, although everything is surprisingly toned down.  The first film was incredibly fast-paced and overly-chaotic.  This film seems to take things a bit slower, and the destructive moments are few and far in between.  This isn't necessarily a great thing.  It honestly gets a little uninteresting at times, especially when attempting to throw in an emotional arc that feels like its only purpose is for the movie to simply have one in the first place.  It doesn't feel quite right.  And while it is pretty funny at times, none of the jokes seem to land nearly as well or are nearly as funny as the jokes found in "The Lego Movie."  I don't mean to sell the film too short.  It's still plenty entertaining with its eye candy design, style, and animation.  I was never bored sitting through this one, which is a feat in and of itself.  In short, if you like the critically acclaimed original Lego movie, you're sure to like this one.  But just be warned, it's not as good.

Split

CHASE ***
The newest movie from M. Night Shyamalan, "Split," is actually a recall of what makes the famed director so great.  While I thought "The Visit" was a step in the right direction, "Split" is on the same level as the best films in M. Night Shyamalan's library.  Simply put, the story is about a deranged man with multiple personalities who has kidnapped 3 girls.  And one of them might have a chance of escaping.  This is very similar to last year's "10 Cloverfield Lane."  It's a claustrophobic psychological thriller.  The first thing to note is Jame McAvoy's brilliant performance as the main villain.  He's able to sell each personality with a sense of creepiness and without the feeling that he's trying to oversell it.  I thought the main actress was really good, although I find the other two girls a little bit underwhelming.  It is a great psychological movie and it has some good tension throughout.  The movie does have its slow moments, unfortunately, that make the film drag a bit in parts.  The most interesting thing, however, is the ending.  There were a lot of choices made by the filmmakers in the second half of the movie that I wasn't really getting into at the time, but by the final scene, it all clicked.  It made me view the rest of movie in a different light and gave me the itch to watch it a second time with new eyes.  I think that in itself is an accomplishment.  Overall, "Split" is a return to form for M. Night Shyamalan that I think deserves to be seen.

BRYCE **
It looks like I'm the dissenting opinion here.  James McAvoy was indeed brilliant in this movie, convincingly playing multiple characters to the point that they don't need to wear different clothes or announce their arrival for us to tell which one they are.  The rest of the performers were fine, but pale in comparison.  The mystery of the plot unravels slowly in classic Shyamalan fashion, but I felt where it ultimately led betrayed the set-up of the story.  The third act felt jarring, and not in a positive way.  I guess part of the problem for me was my expectations.  I went in expecting something akin to his early work (suspenseful thrillers with ultimately uplifting themes) but ended up getting more of a traditional horror film, which is by far my least favorite genre.  Listen to these guys if you're down for a gory slasher film.  But if you're like me, steer clear.

LANDON ***
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

Lion

CHASE ***
After getting a lot of nods from the Academy Awards, we had to check out this story of a young Indian boy who loses his family and gets adopted by other people.  This is a really interesting story that has a lot going for it.  The first third of the movie is absolutely brilliant.  It's super engaging.  The filmmakers tell a lot of the story without a whole lot of dialogue, which is something I commend them for.  However, as soon as we get to the second act, the momentum of the movie seems to take a dip, and while there are elements that are a moderately interesting, it's not able to match the quality of the first act until it reaches the climax of the movie.  It has really good performances and the story is pretty interesting for the most part.  Overall, "Lion" is a really good film that needs to be seen.

BRYCE ***1/2
Well, I liked it a little more than Chase did.  I thought there was only one element in the second act that made the story drag and it was the relationship between Saroo (Dev Patel) and his girlfriend (Rooney Mara).  I felt the film would've been much stronger if that element was eliminated or minimized.  It distracted from the real heart of the film which was Saroo's relationship with his adopted family and his longing to find his biological family.  There are terrific performances throughout the film (especially from Patel and Nicole Kidman, who plays his adopted mom) which culminates in one of the most powerful finales I've seen in a long time.  "Lion" deserves the recognition it's receiving.  It's one of the very best films of the year.

LANDON ***
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

Sing Street

BRYCE **1/2
"Sing Street" is not the type of movie I would normally be drawn to, but it's been receiving so much buzz this year that I figured I would give it a go.  After seeing it, I'm not quite sure what all the fuss is about.  It's a moderately charming, music-driven, coming-of-age story set in 1980's Ireland.  Some admittedly catchy, 80's-style original songs add some spunk to the proceedings, but the overall story doesn't do a whole lot to stand out from the litany of similar films.  The relationship between the protagonist and his older brother is pretty compelling, but virtually every other relationship in the film left something to be desired.  Even the love story, the centerpiece of the film, felt a bit juvenile and shallow.  I think the filmmakers were relying on the audience's ability to recall what it was like to be young, bright-eyed and in love, and I didn't (completely) take the bait.  Maybe I'm just a prude, but I don't think the universal praise is justified.  It's a decent movie, just not among the year's best.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

CHASE ***1/2
I'm not exactly sure why this is, but I absolutely loved "Hunt for the Wilderpeople."  Set in New Zealand, the film tells the story of a manhunt as a foster kid and his foster uncle are in the wilderness running from the police.  This movie is absolutely hilarious.  I can only think of a few comedies that made me laugh as hard and as consistently as this did.  Not only that, I thought the characters were relatable and extremely memorable.  I feel like that I really got to know each one of them.  It's one of those films that really grabbed me from the very beginning to the very end.  However, the only thing that's pulling me back is that while it can be really funny, I thought there were a few moments where it went a little bit over the top, even by its standards.  But overall, I absolutely loved this movie and I think a lot of people should check it out.  It's amazing.

BRYCE ***1/2
LANDON ***
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE: ***

Fences

BRYCE **1/2
Denzel Washington brings August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play to the big screen in "Fences," his third effort in the director's chair.  The film stars Washington and Viola Davis, two of my favorite actors, who predictably turn in tremendous performances (hopefully netting an Academy Award for Davis in yet another Oscar-worthy role).  Their presence and chemistry on screen really elevate what is otherwise a pretty static experience.  I've seen a few plays adapted into movies over the years and while some are able to expand upon the limitations of the stage, others feel like a taped performance of the play itself.  "Fences" falls in the latter category.  It doesn't feel very cinematic at all.  The fixed camera work and projected dialogue really took me out of the movie in a few instances.  Fortunately, the characters were engaging and well-written enough to keep me interested until the end.  Somewhat of a disappointment for sure, but may be worth seeing for the performances alone.

CHASE **1/2
LOGAN ***

BANGERANG SCORE: **1/2

Passengers

LANDON **1/2
For the first half-hour or so, I was completely floored by "Passengers."  The premise felt very similar to the brilliant "Cast Away."  Chris Pratt wakes 90 years too early from his hibernation pod and is left by himself on a massive expedition to a new planet.  This entire segment is funny, emotional and terrifically acted by Chris Pratt.  The minute Jennifer Lawrence comes on screen however, the narrative turns from engaging and interesting to boring and corny.  It's not Jennifer Lawrence's fault.  In fact, she gives a great performance here as well.  It's the notion of introducing a great concept and then suddenly shifting gears towards a new direction.  Granted, it does this all with breathtaking visuals and a fantastic score by Thomas Newman.  But one can't help but feel that behind all the clichés and dullness, there is a much more fascinating story to be told here.

CHASE **1/2
I actually think, without giving too much away, that how Jennifer Lawrence came into the picture is a great idea of moving the story forward.  I did like a lot of the second act even though it's not as interesting as the opening.  For me, the real problem is when we get to the third act.  I could feel the movie losing momentum.  It just seems like the story got less interesting as the it went along.  It's a shame that happens because I know there is great talent behind it.  But overall, I found "Passengers" a bit disappointing.

BANGERANG SCORE: **1/2