A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him. (IMDb)

The dialogue (nay, the whole movie) is like 99% painfully cheesy exposition (with poor performances to boot), though somehow the opening act set-up still manages to confound and frustrate the viewer completely in its vague, contrived nature (so how does Charles Wallace know all these mysterious people again?). After all the fluffy mysticism of the Mrs. it eventually crafts a nice message about self-acceptance and the power of love over evil, but it’s still so damn cheesy. Pine is good though.

4.5/10 (Bad)

 

Wonder Woman (2017)

Before she was Wonder Woman she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained warrior. When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war to end all wars, discovering her full powers and true destiny. (IMDb)

An okay first act (woman saving man as the first big plot point is a highlight amongst the generic child flashback/training scenes) and a messy third act (the surprise villain is unfounded and weakly executed; same goes for WW’s love thing) are held up by a wonder-ful second act in which Diana’s touching mix of compassion, innocence, and magnificent strength breaks through patriarchal bullshit in spectacular fashion (I nearly cried when she said “no” to Steve and leapt out of the trench).

7/10 (Good)

Hell or High Water (2016)

A divorced father and his ex-con older brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family’s ranch in West Texas. (IMDb)

Aesthetically excellent, with its dusty, aching landscapes smoothly shot, rich soundtrack (a tense piano and strings theme alternates with melancholy folk tunes), charming small-town Texas sets, and Chris Pine with windswept hair. The story feels a little light in comparison (it would have been better to focus more on the compelling brothers and less on the at-times awkward cop duo) but it builds well and comes to a riveting climax (though the denouement leaves something to be desired).

7.5/10 (Really Good)

Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

Dale, Kurt and Nick decide to start their own business but things don’t go as planned because of a slick investor, prompting the trio to pull off a harebrained and misguided kidnapping scheme. (IMDb)

The three leads’ superb chemistry, shown most spectacularly in their spastic script delivery, saturates this sequel, with scene after scene of their escalating schemes loaded with their hilariously argumentative, expletive-filled dialogue (their whiteboard brainstorm session is an early highlight). Pine, meanwhile, brings even more crazy to the still solid supporting cast. The plot is capped off by a disappointingly happy ending, but it has enough outrageous mishaps throughout to make up for it.

7/10 (Good)