Barbie (2023)

 

This felt more like an elaborate Broadway stage production, and possibly will be one day. The original songs were weak. Some bits and jokes land, but I wasn’t invested in the plot. Unsurprisingly, the characters are thinly written. It’s hard to get emotionally invested in a bunch of dolls. (except for rare exceptions like Toy Story) 

The third act fell completely flat. In different hands, this premise could have developed into an entertaining movie instead of one that people are just pretending to like. 

Rating: C-

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

It’s almost as if they built that pyramid specifically to be destroyed quite easily. Obviously, this latest installment starts out quite ridiculous and never comes back to Earth.

The special effects are quite amazing though. The Flash sequence was pretty cool. For me, I need a more grounded story-line based somewhat in reality. When every law of nature is thrown out the window and the screen is a blender of superpowers swirled together, I lose interest. It’s a shame everything went off the deep end after the first two X-Men.

Rating: C-

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

I’m a sucker for these music origin stories—Eight Mile, Hustle & Flow, etc. This film painted an entertaining historical picture of West Coast rap. The first half was fun and tightly written. The second half was lazier, and could have used some editing.

Rating: C