Bird Box

Bullock grasps Gravity of sightless situation as she struggles to accept children in The Even Blinder Side. Exceptionally eclectic cast gather in not so Quiet Place, instead filling it with clunky backstories while working out what’s Happening. Though the premise is outside the box, the payoff is for the birds.

Deepwater Horizon

Deepwater’s disaster is always on the horizon, but Berg bravely floats it out until the second half of the film. Deep-south accents are almost as difficult to decipher as the rig’s mechanics, but whereas the latter combusts horrifically, the former lends credibility to a crew’s worth of deeply touching performances.

Burn After Reading

Coens, Clooney, and Swinton agree this is No Movie for Michael Clayton as they revisit jovial O’ Lebowski days. Arsenal of Oscar nominees join silly fray while pursued by dude-like CIA and its Jonah Jameson leader. Surprisingly brilliant movie about stupid people including mad Malkovich, prettified Pitt and jealous McDormand.

Red

Intentionally quirky performances by venerated actors create necessary defining kitsch. Story is as vapid as Parker’s character and the otherwise well-shot fight scenes often degenerate into infinite ammo machine-gun fire. Basically an action party for Oscar winners and a film well worth watching when it reappears ad infinitum on TNT.