Logan Lucky

All-star cast goof their way through a redneck romp that feels like a Soderday Night Live skit gone long. Repeatedly slips off bizarrely farcical plot-line and ultimately fails by virtue of over-easy success. Unearned twists wreck into a weird wall when Little West Virginia kicks off Swanky mismatched final act.

The Giver

Despite divergence from slower, more philosophical source material, this underdeveloped dystopia could still have given more game to satisfy the viewers’ hunger.  Jeff’s mediocre mental montages barely Bridge the gap between surface silliness and deeper meaning while beautiful B&W cinematography further undermines premise through vast superiority to clichéd color counterpart.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Pseudo-Guillermo horror remake falls into achasm of lameness when homely Holmes and her Surigate daughter discover that shrink-rayed orcs are stealing their teeth.  A few scenes of graphic violence are fantastically executed but the plot has more holes than that shower curtain and those scissors are more piercing than Guy.

Batman Begins

The bat rises like a depressed phoenix in this gloomy resurrection of a previously kitschy saga.  Deep voiced Bateman, Caine’s Alfred, and Freeman’s Q provide performance highlights, while bad guys are bit underwhelming.  Phenomenal rendition of origin story overshadows weaker second act.  Clever twist, but not so clever realism-evaporating device.

Thank You For Smoking

Reitman captures Buckley’s wit beautifully with help from perfect cast. Exotic blend of clever humor with slapstick-esque hilarity, rolled into a perfect satiric cinematic joint. Eckhart makes himself a household name, and spends time in Holmes as well. X-Men Leech holds his own and doesn’t run scared from brilliant flick.