Colossal

Nacho dips into Kaufman-esque surrealism with this monstrous tale of alcoholism and manipulation. Hatheway’s devastating performance grounds what could have been a farcical film, and phenomenal character arcs are perfectly crafted to span half the globe. Comedy and drama trade blows in an entertaining tonal battle for far-flung emotional impact.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Elitist Hermione follows her hobbit father into a slightly less animated re-imagined adventure. Book-smarts bring beastiality to beauty’s brain, playing perfectly into Princely prick’s quest to pursue a tail as young as possible. Meanwhile no one sings like Gaston, though Gad spells disastter in Evans’ efforts to ring a Belle.

The Guest

Rambo meets Bourne as thriller/horror, but this super-cinematic experiment goes rogue as absentee plot leaves no motivation for seemingly deliberate behavior.  Weak expository cutaways eventually pay off in illogical firefight and increasingly senseless plot development. Culminates in a Halloween maze as contrived and difficult to understand as the film itself.