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.