(3/10)

Although it is better than the first one, Out of the Shadows is still Transformers with a green coat of paint. The constant spinning of the camera and quick pointless cuts drove me nuts. Also, it feels like there wasn't even a script. Things just happen like Stockman has this alien device with no explanation, Krang is suddenly a thing, or the turtles suddenly have to go to Brazil, it was just ridiculous. When they introduce the turtles in the beginning of the movie they give each character short bio and all Mikey gets is "Pizza lover," how lazy is that? 

If I were to say one thing about the movie it is this, they spent millions of dollars on things like a CGI opening sequence where the turtles are skateboarding down the side of the building while the camera man is all coked out and I just felt nothing. Compare that to the original movie, which one is more epic to you?

  

It's movies like this that make me wanna ditch city life and live on the ranch.

5 stars!

6 or 7/10- Okay

(Non-spoiler review)

Covenant is a direct sequel to Prometheus but only answers one of the many questions we had and just focuses on who or what created the xenomorphs. Covenant's story is very choppy if not sloppy in parts and it not only requires the viewer to have seen Prometheus but it also pulls farther away from making the ends connect in Alien. Also, many of the scenes in the trailers/viral videos are NOT in the movie. Some of these scenes include essential character building and plot points.

As for the alien action it is a bit disappointing being neither scary nor really exciting. The heavy usage of CGI can't compete with an actual person in a suit or a facehugger made with organic material such as oysters. Also, Covenant doubles down on the human stupidity so we never really care about the people being killed onscreen. If you are dumb enough not to wear an a spacesuit on an uncharted planet, you kind of deserve to contract an alien pathogen.

David again is the highlight of the movie but the ethical dilemmas concerning synthetics feels more like Blade Runner territory than Alien. Also, be prepared for really ham-fisted religious references.

    

(Yes, that is James Franco channeling his inner Jesus in a rendition of the Last Supper)

I thought it was great, pretty much the same recipe as the first. Witty humor, action and all that. Awesome seeing Stallone and Russel in it. I'm giving it 3 stars though because it didn't surpass the first one which was fresh so the franchise will likely become stale. Even the new Thor movie is heavily borrowing similar elements.

3.5/5

It has a cold start but Sing Street is a feel-good movie about following your dreams. The story is set in 1980's Ireland, where a group of young kids in an impoverished neighbor start a band based on the likes of Duran Duran and Depeche Mode. Everything in this movie is earned, there is so much heart, and I'm shocked that it wasn't nominated for best picture.

9/10

Guardians 2 is smart, funny, and well-written! Loved every minute of it!

7/10

I really liked the first one, but I thought this one was just okay. I actually thought it was really funny, but it's not the same kind of funny as the original. It's kind of like Dumb and Dumber To: funny, but not the same kind of funny as the original. They repeat a lot of the same stuff from the original, but it instead comes off as uncontrolled and cringeworthy compared to the charm when it was first done. In the end, it kind of ruins the quality of the first one knowing this comes after it.

But hey, at least Bad Santa 2 didn't have Jim Carrey practically begging for people to laugh at him.

7/10