The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

Though Lord Miller supplied the building blocks, in the hands of less expert craftsman, the result feels piecemeal at best. Painfully disjointed opening vignettes could’ve used a bit of cohesive glue, and a few clever self-referential gags and reversals of cinematic expectation in third act don’t compensate for schizophrenic storytelling.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Sandberg votes himself off the Island in Spinal Rap, a mock/rockumentary that’s unflinching farcical while bizarrely believable. Ridiculous rhyme schemes and clever genre subversion compete for the spotlight against impressive lineup of cameos. Clever jokes come early, while later, longer set-pieces lack life. It’s no Mona Lisa, whatever that means.

Inherent Vice

Source material is film’s inherent vice.  Phoenix stays lit as latter day Lebowski amidst a stellar cast of coked-up costars while Anderson’s brilliant long-shots mark the highlight of an overly long and convoluted mockery of narrative.  Rainbow pallet lightens the gravity of what may be the brightest noire ever made.

Big Hero 6

If Ghostbusters had imagined Stay Puft in an Iron Man suit… Fun fighting for kids, tragically exempt from Marvel-verse.  Many plot points and character evolutions appear out of nowhere, perhaps plucked through the Stargate.  Comedy?  Scott ads it.  Incredible microbots and sprawling San Fransokyo mark the film’s most original concept.