Still Alice

Moore provides the only memorable part of a film whose title is better suited to paralysis than dementia.  Baldwin serves as Alice’s steady (30) rock, while Stewart provides additional support, helping her mother weather her twilight years.  Unfortunately this touching Alzheimer’s PSA is unable to overcome its degenerative story deficit.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Mel’s missing from post-apocalypto chase extravaganza, but Tom fills (at least one of) his shoes admirably.  Hard-E wanders the wasteland silently for one act before shedding his Bane mask and joining the glorious insanity.  Extensive dark night aside, proof that for Maximum results, studios should let their directors go Mad.

Big Hero 6

If Ghostbusters had imagined Stay Puft in an Iron Man suit… Fun fighting for kids, tragically exempt from Marvel-verse.  Many plot points and character evolutions appear out of nowhere, perhaps plucked through the Stargate.  Comedy?  Scott ads it.  Incredible microbots and sprawling San Fransokyo mark the film’s most original concept.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Hobbit: Worst of Six Movies has pacing problems of a battle where everyone has different length legs.  Overly simple de-Smaugging followed by over-complex and under-featured impromptu battle over nothing.  Jackson forgets most series characters (and G-rated tone) and executes the others.  Meanwhile a bearatrooper drops in while Legolas gets stoned/high.

Whiplash

Teller channels Zuckeisenberg in Mad About Sports home-life and plays pouty percussionist Peter Parker getting pounded into pulp at J.K. Jonah Genius’ School for Masochistic Musicians.  Incredible performances from both crass comic movie veterans.  Never have character beats been so literally and perfectly executed in one bloated but brilliant finale.

Exodus: Gods and Kings

After Jewish Bale is exiled for refusing to wear the family eyeliner, he rises out of dark desert night then enlists the aid of kinderGods and Kingsleys (just there managing Moses’ list) and sits back to passively enjoy a mediocre effects orgy crafted by Ridley Demille’s VFX crew of thousands!

Lucy

The Transcender.  Besson goes Luc-y goosey in wacky attempt to incept Nikita into  Earth Odyssey.  Freeman delivers expansive expository pseudo-scientific excrement and is punished by having to watch someone else play God.  Scarlett uses 10% of her talent to deliver poorly evolved performance.  Story falls apart even before she does.