First Reformed

Hawkes’ wings are clipped in Taxi Driver’s tight, tense second re-formation, which manages to achieve an impressive intensity through simplistic cinematography (carpet ride, aside) and terrifying timeliness. Startlingly human realism keeps plain-spoken message from becoming too heavy-handed, while organ-ic religious elements feel appropriately barbed without binding themselves to cheap mockery.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Besson’s back in his Element with visually astounding sci-fi symphony. City of 1000 Effects Shots mashes together shiploads of spectacle to compensate for episodic plot, illogical ending and clunky emotional beats. Hawke hocks Rihanna, and Clive Owes more than this performance to albino Na’vi, but Cara’s character carries the film.

The Magnificent Seven

Aside from diversity, re-remake adds nothing and the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Irrelevant anecdotes can’t magnify seven enough to carry overabundance of action in a film that’s literally stunted. The peculiar performances peak well before Hawke and Washington give the town a Fuqed up Training.

The Purge

Character decisions and motivations perfectly match the premise because they too make no sense.  Well shot, and remarkably well cast, but Headey’s brain-dead wife and Hawke’s clipped doofus suggest that perhaps once a year, agents can force A-list actors to take C- roles.  A film worth purging from any collection.

Predestination

Hawke flies through time on violence-case broomstick, Folding the timeline into knots while Priming sneaky Snook for the face of her final …destination.  A clever, time-bender but too bad Hawke couldn’t leap back and accelerate the long first act or forward to foresee a complex timex climax that ultimately fizzles.