Robinson Crusoe (aka The Wild Life) movie review: castaway… you know, for kids!
A bland electronic babysitter, suitable only for small children still distracted by bright colors, slapstick cartoon animals, and simplistic wordplay.
action
Morgan movie review: AI why?
Eschewing the compelling SF questions it raises, Morgan resorts to violence and would-be cleverness, and makes concrete what it should have left ambiguous.
Mechanic: Resurrection movie review: the Jessica Alba-centered fanfic that makes this work
It’s supposed to be intense, but it’s just silly. Unless it’s secretly about one woman ridding the world of notorious arms dealers through sly manipulation.
The Purge: Election Year movie review: soylent green is Donald Trump!
A few hints of stagnation aside, this franchise remains a terrifyingly trenchant dystopia. A brutal vision of an America not far removed from our own.
Black movie review: tragically bad
A facile riff on Romeo & Juliet amongst Brussels gangs. Banal, clichéd, and treats its teenage-girl protagonist in a spectacularly disgusting way.
War Dogs movie review: sob havoc over this gun fun run
A comedy only in the bleakest way, satire only in the sense that the whole world has become a parody of itself. Appalling and amusing in equal measure.
The Shallows movie review: she’s gonna need a bigger surfboard
Pure popcorn thrills. Whips up visceral suspense and maintains it till you’re breathless as it cements the arrival of “woman versus nature” as a subgenre.
Pete’s Dragon movie review: big friendly dragon
More like a pleasant walk in a redwood forest with a boy and his dragon than a rollicking adventure, but its serenity and warm heart are infectious.
Suicide Squad movie review: sh*t squad
Should be grim, bitter, and as horrifyingly alluring as Hannibal Lecter. But it’s nothing but a teen-friendly ad for toys, Ts, and other disposable merch.
The Legend of Tarzan and Free State of Jones movies review: enough with the white saviors
Filtering other people’s stories through the eyes of white men is tedious and offensive, and it feels like a desperate hedge against fresh perspectives.
