The Big Short - 4/10 - I thought the performances were adequate but I really didn't like the "style" used to shoot this. I actually think "Too Big too Fail" is a much better acted & shot film with a better, clearer narrative and a better understanding of how to put across very complex ideas without resorting to Margo Robbie in a bath or other vacuous celebrities.
Black Mass - 3/10 - Johnny Depp is fantastic but thats the only good thing in this film and, with the lack of decent support from actors who are normally very good, he's just not strong enough to carry the whole film alone. I also thought the story was very poorly written with too many inaccuracies for a True Story where the people involved are still alive and the cinematography was bland (see "The Town" for how to shoot Boston).
Straight out of Compton - 7/10 - I'm a heavy metal fan with zero interest in Rap music but this film held my attention and managed to keep me focused on the people rather than the music, and it's the people/actors that made this story so gripping. I particularly thought that the actor playing Ice-Cube did a phenomenal job, mastering his facial ticks etc down to a T. Well shot with a good understanding of it's target audience, 75% of which I'd guess only know the bare minimum of NWA etc before seeing the movie.
Daddies Home - 2/10 - I don't like 'recent' Will Farrell movies (peaked with Talladega Nights for me) & Mark Wallberg can't do comedy so this film was a waste of 120 minutes of my life. The young girl was pretty good though and some of the physical gags (bike up the stairs) were OK but none of that could drag me away from hating this film.
Hear No Evil, See No Evil - 6/10 - I'm going through the Wilder and/or Pryor back catalogues and this one hasnt aged well. Most of the jokes are still great (fuzzy wuzzy was a woman?) and Joan Severance is still stunning but Richard Pryor looks awful throughout, the story wastes the talent of two comedy legends & the direction is pure 80's cheesey TV/Straight to VHS.
Brewsters Millions - 7/10 - This is still my favourite Pryor comedy film! The jokes are still great, the support acting is competent and the premise makes for a good story, although the forced in love story is pretty weak and un-necessary.
