Vice

Bale’s Dick and Rockwell’s Bush don’t rock well enough to bail out Mckay’s Big concept which falls Short as present day politics Anchor down one Man’s character study. Stylistically opposed of its titular character, Vice’s vice is its reliance on heavy-handed set-pieces to set up its inherently obvious unitary message.

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Kong: Skull Island

Sam Jurassic says hold onto your buts. So… Fascinating fights between King Kurtz and apocalizards BUT vfx get crushed by videogame aesthetic. Stellar cast are assembled BUT their running faces are their best contributions to two-dimensional characters. Reilly’s Hopping mad loon is outstanding BUT emotional final scene doesn’t fit in.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Leo plays Gekko Gone Wild in the Goodfellas of the gadget age.  Epic over-long catalog of various debaucheries available to anyone good at greed.  Nails comedic beats with help from shirt clad McConaughey and Hill’s blinding teeth.  Pushes limits for runtime, T&A,and Fs while promoting the redemptive qualities of cocaine.

American Hustle

O’Hustle rallies Silver Fightings Castlist as a batch of unlikely and unlikeable grifters in the poorly-paced Decentfellas.  Impressive performances are weighed down by a structure more cumbersome than any pot-belly, voiceover worse than any comb-over, and an unsatisfying B-Sting climax.  Neither crime-caper clever nor comedy funny, but perhaps it’s con-artistic.   

The Conspirator

Redford’s post-Lincoln pic drowns its talent in the overly theatrical lighting, stagy direction, and tedious dialogue of a historical reenactment, and thus assassinates chances at cinematic success.  McAvoy’s underwhelming lead strives valiantly to accomplish nothing resulting in the most frustrating courtroom scenes ever filmed.  Plenty of potential seems suspiciously unrealized.

Take Shelter

Shannon remains go-to crazy guy in this brooding drama.  Feels like a co-directorial effort between Terrence Malick and Roland Emmerich.  Brilliant performances from the three leads and beautiful cinematography, lend the film a creepy, Hitchcocky feel.  Cleverly ambiguous and freaky on multiple levels, this may be Shannon’s best psycho yet.

Savages

Stone relies heavily on voiceover reading clever book he adapts in attempt to reclaim the violent crime throne stolen by Tarantino in the 90s.  Johnson proves versatility while Kitsch laments loss of business and career.  Hayek and Benicio are both two insincere to be truly savage.  Fun, but nothing new.

The Lincoln Lawyer

A film of firsts. Macy plays something other than a loser. McConaughey and Philipe deliver spectacular performances. Both keep shirts on. Non-Grisham lawyer movie is riveting and suspenseful. Very nearly perfect crime thriller with a stellar supporting cast. See if McConaughey and Lucas face-to-face doesn’t look like a mirror image.

Wristcutters: A Love Story

Odd meditation on the afterlife with perfect assortment of pensive characters. Enthusiastic leap into extraordinary premise makes accepting it easy, and Whigham’s Virgil to Fugit’s Dante makes the whole thing enjoyable. Where there’s a Will (Arnett) to distract there’s a Waits to perform sublimely and restore equilibrium. A lovely story.

Machete

Trejo finally gets lead role as Rodriguez realizes that his bad movies are his best. Simultaneously lampoons lost genre while actually analyzing current affairs issue. Beautifully incorporates footage from source trailer and provides caricature stereotype characters for Latino cast and wild ones for De Niro, Lohan, and surprising impressive Segal.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans

Herzog fills radical revision and substantial improvement of Ferrara’s drug-fest with quirkiest cast ever to not feature Ben Stiller. Kilmer and Cage are uncharacteristically good, reminding us that they are not action heroes. Mendes reprises role as Ghost Rider’s girlfriend and supporting cast provide excellent support. Especially those elusive iguanas.