If Beale Street Could Talk...

…it would say an awful lot in very few words. Unfortunately, images are so poetically effective that they convey content too quickly and much of movie feels redundant, sustained only by beautiful score. Though narratively too concise, cleverly illustrates conundrum of conflicting prejudices against victimized women and falsely accused men.

Rogue One

Rogue fits perfectly into franchise formation, forcefully awakening original trilogy’s tone while further diversifying the universe.  Felicitous casting features stellar Luna and K-2dyk’s robot reprisal, but Yen is underutilized and Desert Forest feels almost as out of place as Tarkin’s face. Against all odds, delivers hope of further franchise expansion.

Open Range

Dear Costner, just because Dances was four hours of awesome doesn’t mean you need to waste ninety minutes with glorious cloud shouts before transforming into an old fashioned western.  Predictable romance is saved by sensationally gritty showdown.  Half the film is vacuously open and then they reach the shooting range.

Casa de mi Padre

Brilliant idea gets lost in translation.  Ferrell’s Spanish is alarmingly good and the seriousness of his performance perfectly fits the premise, but the cinematic execution wavers between amusing and over the top.  Bernal y Luna tambien, have regular chemistry but weak roles and impress less than Aguillera’s awesome Bond song.