The Boy and the Beast movie rating: yellow light
A few instances of gorgeous and magical imagery cannot make up for the lack of genuine emotion or a fresh story. Strictly for devoted anime fans.
dramedy
Oddball and the Penguins (aka Oddball) movie review: dogs and birds living together
Sweet, silly, charming. A true story about an unlikely canine-assisted project to protect endangered birds, goofily fictionalized to engage kids.
Rams (Hrútar) movie review: brothers in farms
Exists on the spectrum between “fascinating and unclassifiably odd” and “could almost be a parody of an arthouse film except it’s too moving to be a joke.”
Tumbledown movie review: letting go of the past
A portrait of grief that borrows the conventions of romantic comedies. There may not be a lot of passion here, but there is plenty of pleasant zing.
Naz & Maalik movie review: best friends, and more
The stakes feel lower than they should, but as a portrait of youngsters in a tough familial and social position, this is compassionate and engaging.
Jem and the Holograms movie review: rock ’n’ roll fantasy
Utterly implausible on every level, and ultimately rather insulting: a bit of glitter and lots of hugs are the sum total of its “girl power.”
Joy movie review: a mess to be mopped up
Even the miscasting of Jennifer Lawrence takes a backseat to the forced quirkiness, which David O. Russell cannot get his cast on the same page with.
The Night Before movie review: twas the bromance before Christmas
It’s bogged down by too many derailing tangents, but the three appealing leads have a wonderful chemistry, and it gets close to the spirit of the season.
Christmas with the Coopers (aka Love the Coopers) movie review: familial torture
Glossy Hollywood automatons sleepwalk through family dynamics full of forced quirkiness, excruciating cuteness, and phony emotion. Absolutely cringeworthy.
The Good Dinosaur movie review: bad dinosaur, bad
Shamefully banal; such a confused mess that I cannot even figure out what the title is supposed to mean. A slap in the face to Pixar fans after Inside Out.
