Incredibles 2

Naturally super sequel puts fam-tastic five in credible danger both from the gender role reversal of Holly job-Hunter and kid’s Coach Nelson and from timely manipulative machinations of the media. Heavy reliance on infantible insanity only mildly undermines maturity, while keenly cliched villain does cast doubts on sustainability of super-genre.

Captain Marvel

Law and Larson search for Lawson while Jackson and Coulson add more maleness to the mix in Marv-elle’s embarrassingly late, first female-centric film. Unfortunately, in this Star-Warsy epic, Brie fails to bring it despite ample room and support from Annette, bening over backwards to add depth to a shallow premise.

Glass

Lacks both shine and clarity of origin’s origins. Fractured characters are grafted together but rather than lending each other narrative strength, they take turns bashing holes in panefully fragile premise. Shyamalan’s characters fuse while he cracks open his neglected tank of tired twists and dramatically drowns his franchise in frivolity.

Kong: Skull Island

Sam Jurassic says hold onto your buts. So… Fascinating fights between King Kurtz and apocalizards BUT vfx get crushed by videogame aesthetic. Stellar cast are assembled BUT their running faces are their best contributions to two-dimensional characters. Reilly’s Hopping mad loon is outstanding BUT emotional final scene doesn’t fit in.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Eva’s Xavier raises mutant misfits in dark shadows of time while bland Butterfield mopes around and stares Woodily at everything. Bizarre mix of digital and practical effects is almost as disconcerting as Jackson’s eyes, and ultimately no amount of hot air can make this plot-heavy ship float to the surface.

The Hateful Eight

Tarantino’s voice literally resounds as he Russels up regulars for Western Thing.  Roth waltzes in to participate in the Quentiscential dialog that, along with perfect score and stunning cinematography keep slow-paced and awkwardly structured chamber piece from freezing to death.  Hateful title ignores characters, like pre-film attribution ignores full filmography.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Starts with a bang, ends with an ass, and provides a fun ride in between but James Bond: First Class kicks less ass than expected.  Vaughn gets it Wright occasionally but otherwise burns screen-time with tedious training, self-critical comedy, and a lead less compelling than any of his ample support.