NEW THIS WEEK
Based
on the popular video game series of the same name, Assassin’s Creed stars
Michael Fasbender as Cal Lynch, a convict in search of redemption. Under the
control of a futuristic tech program that traces genetic memories from your
DNA, Cal travels back in time to The Spanish Inquisition, where he lives as a
secretive mercenary in the league of Assassins. Using his experiences in the
past, Cal trains to save the future.
We Said: “Sadly, Assassin's
Creed, which is based on the long-running stealth action game
franchise, is bad totally independent from the [video game – movie] genre. It
is, in all of the worst ways, like the Hitman adaptations which were
unnecessarily dense and pretentious. If you're a fan you'll flip for seeing the
games' awesome action moves on the big screen, pulled off by a top notch actor
like Michael Fassbender, no less. But you'll also be left wondering why they
couldn't have tried to make the movie as enjoyable to watch as it is to play.” Rating: 2 out of 5
Buster
Moon, a Matthew McConaughey
Koala, runs a theater that has fallen on hard times. In an attempt to save his
historic venue, Moon plans a massive singing competition for all the other
celebrity voiced animals to participate in. The plan starts to work, as the
show becomes a phenomenon, enthralling audiences and giving purpose to its many
contestants. Featuring an all star cast including Reese Witherspoon, Seth
MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, and others and a top notch soundtrack, Sing is
another big hit for the whole family from Illumination Films.
We Said: “Sing
is a really great family movie that should entertain mostly everyone, and
picked some good songs to have the characters sing. One thing we’ve learned
about [animation studio] Illumination this year is that they can make really
great animated films that doesn’t have one minion in it.” Rating: 4 out of 5
In
1920’s Boston, Joe Coughlin (director Ben Affleck) is living large and fast as
a successful bootlegger during Prohibition. When Joe gets in trouble with the
mob, he has to use every trick he can think of to stay alive.
We Said: “Affleck's Live
by Night isn't a bad gangster film by any means, it's just overstuffed
with egregious flourishes and familiar recalls to just about every mobster
movie you've ever seen. At least in the early going, anyway. Affleck does end
up correcting course and the film spins into a rousing, entertaining crime yarn
full of cool hats, tough dames, and tommy guns. It just takes a while to get
there, and the opening act trots out one lousy hard-boiled cliché after another.”
Rating: 3 out of 5
Also Available: Miss Sloane, Bakery in Brooklyn, In Dubious Battle, The Alienators, Art Bastard, Happy Yummy Chicken, Julieta, Fire at Sea, A Kind of Murder, Tower, and
