Mini Review - Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth (out Jun 29) is a heavy drama based on the novel by Nikolai Leskov. A married woman has an affair and then goes to great lengths to protect her new way of life. It's slow in places but it's also strong, powerful when it needs to be. Grade: B.
Mini Review - Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (out Jun 29) is unoriginal flick about a family who go on a road trip where just about everything goes wrong. The jokes become repetitive and it's a bit too silly. Grade: C.
Mini Review - Monsieur Chocolat
Monsieur Chocolat (out Jun 29) is set in the early 20th Century France and follows a black circus performer who teamed up with a white comedian to “change the nature of comedy." Omar Sy and James Thierrée deliver fine performances that highlight the strengths and flaws of their respective characters. Grade: B+.
Mini Review - A Quiet Passion
A Quiet Passion (out Jun 22) takes us inside the world of 19th Century poet Emily Dickinson. Her blunt, direct nature rubbed some up the wrong way but the resulting conflict helped fuel her poetry. A fascinating person. Grade: B+.
Mini Review - Una
Una (out Jun 22) is the story of a woman who chooses to reconnect with a man who had sexually abused her more than a decade ago. Based on a 2005 play, it does feel a little "staged" but it's still a worthy exploration of abuse and how its effects stay with people forever. Grade: B.
Mini Review - Transformers: The Last Knight
Transformers: The Last Knight (out Jun 22) is a long, punishing struggle that offers very little in the way of entertainment. I’d given up by the final hour. I didn’t care what happened to these characters or how the narrative resolved itself. I just wanted it to end so I could return to a world where everything isn’t in slow motion and where the image in front of me doesn’t change every quarter of a second. Grade: C-.
Mini Review - Cars 3
Cars 3 (out Jun 22) is an improvement on the first sequence and follows Lightning McQueen as he struggles to stay competitive on the race track against much younger competition. While the story is slow at times, the messages are worthy and relevant. Animation incredible. Grade: B+.
Mini Review - Despicable Me 3
Despicable Me 3 (out Jun 15) is far from groundbreaking but has fun in introducing a new Steve Carell character - Gru's brother, Dru. The minions are pushed into the background (that's a good thing as they're generally boring) and the cute script sees Gru consider returning to life as a villain. Grade: B.
