APRIL 9, 2016
The first third of any movie year usually contains the dregs, movies that aren’t audience-friendly enough to thrive in the summertime or aren’t prestigious enough to release during the holidays. And this late winter/early spring period this year has contained some real dogs, but there are a few gems amongst the dross that could make for a worthwhile moviegoing weekend for you. As a public service, let’s check ’em out.
“10 CLOVERFIELD LANE” — For me, this is the spring’s major surprise. I had heard that it was some kind of sequel to the 2008 monster movie “Cloverfield,” but the link is in name only. This is a wholly original, three-character play (of sorts) with the trio locked in an underground bunker protecting them from an apocalypse outside. John Goodman is funny, frightening and brilliant, and you will not see coming what happens in Act 3. GRADE: A-
“BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE” — The punching bag of the spring. (Even Bernie Sanders made a pre-scripted joke about how bad the film is on Thursday’s “Late Night.”) To be fair, a few people whom I respect think that it’s not that awful. If you absolutely must decide for yourself, be my guest. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. GRADE: D
“DEADPOOL” — I know I’m in the minority on this one because so many people love it, but I found it smug and overwritten, using a barrage of jokes to hide its lack of character development. (“Guardians of the Galaxy” this ain’t.) Granted, it’s a wonderful vehicle for the talents of Ryan Reynolds, and it is the highest grossing film of the spring to date, so what do I know? GRADE: C-
“DEMOLITION” — Jake Gyllenhaal plays an investment banker who copes with the sudden death of his wife by taking a sledge hammer to everything in sight. Unfortunately, director Jean-Marc Vallée and writer Bryan Sipe take that very same sledge hammer and apply it to their film. Despite the film’s lack of subtlety, the cast, particularly Gyllenhaal, do their best to make something meaningful out of the material, but in the end all that’s left is rubble. GRADE: C-
“EYE IN THE SKY” — This is the smartest, most riveting thriller that I’ve seen in years. Not only does the film keep you on the edge of your seat, but it also causes you to think about the morality of using drones to kill scores of people in a faraway country, all from the safety of your armchair in America. This is Helen Mirren at her steeliest, and who would pass up the chance to see the final performance of the late Alan Rickman in a film that really matters? GRADE: A- (raised from January’s B+ because the more I think about “Eye in the Sky,” the more I admire it.)
“I SAW THE LIGHT” — This biography of country legend Hank Williams is a big swing and a miss. It’s not that Tom Hiddleston doesn’t do a creditable job of capturing Williams’ distinctive singing style or that Elizabeth Olsen isn’t up to the role of Williams’ long-suffering wife. But Marc Abraham’s film seems to have no idea what made Williams a country music legend. Sure, there’s plenty of time devoted to Williams’ drinking and philandering but hardly a precious moment to explain his creative genius. GRADE: D+
“MILES AHEAD” — Now this is a much better way to approach a musical biography, at least compared with “I Saw the Light,” simply because co-producer/co-writer/director/star Don Cheadle takes the time to show us the creative process that jazz legend Miles Davis took to conjure up his signature sound, so that when others say he’s a genius, we understand why. Cheadle indulges himself in the mid-1970s portion of the narrative that includes an entirely fictional car-chase/shootout that is unfortunate (to say the least), but “Miles Ahead” is certainly a worthy attempt to grapple with a mercurial personality. GRADE: B
“MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2” — The sequel to the 2002 megahit, the highest grossing romantic comedy in history, feels like it’s still stuck in 2002. Michael Constantine, 88, returns as the family patriarch, still clutching his bottle of Windex and insisting that all great things were originally Greek. Daughter Tula (writer Nia Vardalos) & her husband (a completely underutilized John Corbett) must deal with the fact that Tula’s mom & dad were never officially married. Yes, they built an entire film around this premise. GRADE: C-
“THE WITCH” — Set in the 1630s with lots of “thees” and “thous” thrown about, make no mistake — this Pilgrim-set film is one scary movie. It’s not a “Boo!” movie where you suddenly jump– it’s one where devout people conclude that God is not listening to them, so they turn against each other in terrifying ways. Some horror movies end with the audience relieved, the way you might feel after having survived a roller coaster ride. Coming out of “The Witch,” you feel unsettled, which is the most lasting kind of scary. GRADE: B+
“ZOOTOPIA” — If you have kids and they haven’t yet insisted on seeing this, what’s wrong with them? One of the very best non-Pixar films that Disney Animation has released in years, “Zootopia” gives kids some fun furry friends to bond with, but it also provides Mom and Dad something to think about, as it is perhaps the most sophisticated take on race relations this side of a Spike Lee movie. Top-notch voice work, particularly by Jason Bateman, is just a bonus. GRADE: B+
Have a great weekend at the movies!
