Blade Runner 2049: While it's definitely an improvement over its excruciatingly dull predecessor, Denis Villeneuve's (
Arrival, Sicario) follow-up to the 1982 cult classic is a completely unremarkable and strangely pretentious sci-fi flick that doesn't even come close to packing the thought-provoking wallop that it so desperately wants to achieve. Its stale central themes of machines and their ability to feel human emotions, the intricacies of the relationship between man and machine, etc. have been handled significantly better by other recent films (
Ex Machina, Ghost in the Shell) and the story doesn't have nearly enough intrigue or weight to warrant its insane 163-minute runtime. A stellar performance from Ryan Gosling in the leading role along with Roger Deakins' always stunning cinematography were enough to keep me from taking a mental vacation in the theater, but this film is too slow, hollow and emotionally-cold for me to get overly excited about.
3/5 Stars
Happy Death Day: Nearly eight months after the release of Get Out, Blumhouse and Universal have struck gold again with Happy Death Day. Happy Death Day is exactly the kind of campy, self-aware and absurdly fun horror-comedy that Hollywood hasn't pumped out since the Scream franchise crapped out almost 20 years ago. Utilizing the Groundhog Day-inspired "relive the same day over and over again" plot device in a slasher movie is a stroke of genius and up-and-comer Jessica Rothe (La La Land) is excellent as Tree, a self-absorbed sorority girl that is tasked with hunting down the person that keeps killing her on her birthday. If you're willing to overlook a few plot holes, the presence of some horror/teen movie genre clichés and its lack of blood/gore, you'll more than likely have a blast with Happy Death Day.
4/5 Stars
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