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.
Mini Review - All Eyez On Me
All Eyez on Me (out Jun 15) appears to be a shallow, one-sided retelling of the life of hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur. It doesn't ask tough questions and it doesn't dig deep in terms of certain events. Grade: C+.
Mini Review - Rough Night
Rough Night (out Jun 15) is a low-brow comedy about 5 women at a bachelorette party who accidentally kill a stripper and then try to dispose of the body. I’ll freely admit that the premise here in stupid and the ending is ridiculously predicable. Still, this works as a comedy because of the cast and their hilarious conversations (particularly during the opening half). Grade: B.
Mini Review - Whitney: Can I Be Me
Whitney: Can I Be Me (out Jun 15) is a documentary that effectively uses archival footage to pay homage to the late singer Whitney Houston. We see what made her so great but also what helped destroy her career. Grade: B+.
