10 Cloverfield Lane

Refuses to lock itself in with rules, and therefore avoids breaking any.  What could have been a claustrophobic chamber-piece has plenty of breathing room thanks to solid cinematography and performances that make it all good, man.   Peculiar franchise allusion and suspiciously spoiler-esque title make Signs 2 all the more surprising.

Green Room

Picard gets upset when Chekov refuses to ignore a red-shirt death. Shock rock romp provides solid violence and tension you can really sink your teeth into but seems envious of both the artistry and sincerity of its less yellow predecessor.  Plot holes and unjustified twists ruin simple but tense premise.

Black Mass

Hollywood’s obligatory annual crime movie is too broad to feel personal but too small to feel important, much like FBI’s investigation.  Underwhelming structure or lack thereof produces a mediocre mess despite great performances.  Depp’s first actual acting in years. Maybe if the Mass were #white he would’ve gotten the Oscar.

Hardcore Henry

Excessive cutting, terrible acting, and lack of finesse make Hard-to-watch Henry an ultimately failed experiment.  Still this stream of stuff includes a few interesting ideas, most of which are not Sharlto Copley. Clever concept and ambitious acrobatics, though not overly satisfying, might just produce a superior army of cinematic clones.