Review - Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Honestly at this point I’m losing track of the whole Jack Ryan / Jason Bourne thing. I literally can’t tell them apart. A big part of the problem is that each successive outing can be accurately reviewed by “action movie with international intrigue and blah blah blah.” So … action movie with international intrigue and blah blah blah. Mildly amusing

Review - Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

High tech McGuffin. Exotic locales. Expensive action sequences. Tom Cruise. Yep, the elements are all 
still here. Mildly amusing

Review - The Unborn

Gary Oldman, Idris Elba and several other familiar faces are squandered in this umpty-thousandth exorcism outing. By “squandered” I mean that their roles amounted to so little that they could easily have been played by thespians of far lesser renown. Once again a dybbuk is the agent of evil, poking an Auschwitz sidebar onto an otherwise well-trodden path. Mildly amusing

Review - Convergence

A cop gets blown up in a bombing and ends up in a state of near-death hallucinations or purgatory or two or three alternate realities or really it does’t make any difference. The picture rarely stays in the same plane of existence for more that a minute or two. The audience is asked to unravel a mystery without any reliable clues. So unless you’re easily entertained by random gore or odd religious ramblings, you’ll probably find this exceptionally dull. See if desperate

Review - Manson Family Vacation

Part dysfunctional family indie, part fanboy odyssey, all dull crap. A responsible family man gets a visit from his louche, Manson-obsessed brother. Their contrasting personalities create an endless parade of awkward moments as the plot meanders toward a conclusion viewers can easily predict in the first ten minutes. See if desperate

Review - Dream House

Around midway through this thriller I started to wonder what legal obligation a realtor might have to disclose to potential buyers a house’s history as the site of brutal murders. Looking up the answer (generally none, by the way) proved more entertaining than the movie itself. The producers spent the money to get Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, which apparently left them nothing in the budget for an original plot. I won’t spoil things for anyone who wants to take this on, even though it’s likely to prove a disappointment. See if desperate

Review - Zootopia

Cute. The world building is a big part of the fun, imagining what a metropolis where anthropomorphic animals live together in harmony. A believing-in-her-dreams rabbit becomes the first lagomorph on the Zootopia police force. With the help of a con artist fox, she unravels a plot to turn the predator species back to their ancient, prey-eating ways. Though aimed at kids – and maybe furries – this is still worth a look for anyone in the mood for some simple entertainment. Worth seeing