I watched a couple of movies this year:
Arrival
A good, serious sci-fi movie. Not Villeneuve's best work, but certainly worth watching if you don't need much action.
7.5 / 10
Sicario, by the same director
I found this one impressive. A cynical, somewhat realistic war against drugs. The structure is interesting. The scenes are played out carefully and then the film jumps ahead and leaves out the way from A to B. It feels slow, but the film has a lot of spectacular action. Very interesting, although not exactly mainstream.
Villeneuve's movies always look and sound great.
9
Rogue One
A lot has been written about the new Star Wars spin off. It's basically The Empire Strikes back plus a more harmless war movie and minus the jedi stuff. It's a bit uneven but it clearly delivers. Good entertainment. Hopefully Disney learns from it that mainstream franchises can have edgier products.
8
Allied
Pitt and Cotillard in a romantic thriller during WW2, directed by Robert Zemeckis. The first half tries to imitate Casablanca (-> still one of the greatest movies ever!), with as much success as could be expected. The second half is a spy thriller. The whole mix is uneven, with disconnected scenes, a weak script and an intentionally old-fashioned look. The actors are good, but they can't really save the movie. It's still mildly entertaining and has a few wonderful scenes for movie buffs, at points where you wouldn't expect them. Worth a one-time watch.
5-6
Fantastic Beasts ...
Simply put, a waste of time. Compared to this both Alice films, to name something with similarly high production values, are Oscar material.
The whole movie looks like 200M bucks, but the script simply doesn't work at all. It takes a whole hour until things take off. The main actors are terribly miscast. The weakest Harry Potter movies were leagues ahead of this.
2
Underworld: Blood Wars
Like the last couple of them. Switch off your brain and enjoy the ride.
5
The Jungle Book
A serious re-interpretation of the novel. This movie is a triumph! The kid is great, the animations superb and the film much darker than the classic disney version.
9.5
Deadpool
A superhero trash movie. Good job.
8
Doctor Strange
Not as good as expected, but certainly one of the better superhero movies out there. The visuals in the action scenes are inspired by Inception. The Cumberbatch does his usual things. I hope they make another one.
7.5
Batman V Superman (ext.)
The extended cut is okay in terms of script and character development, but the f/x orgie in the last act ruins everything. The only good news is that Affleck is a good Batman.
4
X-Men Apocalypse
It's like B v S (ext.), just without decent character development. Watch the Quicksilver scene on YT and forget about the rest.
3
Suicide Squad
Quite entertaining, although it's a below average movie. Nothing works as it should, but somehow time flies. Let's call it a
6
Jason Bourne
The new film makes a convincing 5th place on the list of the best Bourne movies. It's a by the numbers Bourne movie with even more action and less acting by Damon. Nice action film, not more.
5
Star Trek Beyond
The best of the new ones. And the commercially least successful.
8.5
Ghostbusters (ext.)
Not as bad as I feared. Let's be honest, the old films weren't so great either. The reboot has juvenile humor, some nice scenes and great 3D f/x. It's quite alright.
6
Independence Day 2
As expected the second ID was bashed by the critics. Undeservedly so, IMHO. It's once a gain a variation on the same story, and all actors under 50 suck. But so what? The old guys have some great scenes and the film delivers what you expect. I enjoyed it more than the average superhero movie.
7
The Magnificent Seven
More action than western. Pretty standard stuff. Watch and forget.
5
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Typical Tim Burton material. Looks interesting, moves a bit slowly, has good actors. Good if you're patient enough.
7.5
The Accountant
Decent thriller with some interesting twists. Above average,
6.5
The Purge trilogy
1) Small home-terror film. 5
2) Better action, less terror, more budget. 6
3) Even more budget. Now maybe almost 8M$
. 6
So the whole trilogy is nothing special. A solid B category product you can have fun with once.
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Weaker than the last one and much less Johnny Depp because the Mad Hatter has lost his muchness. Now Alice has to help him get it back. Just MOTS on a slightly lower level.
5-6
The Girl on the Train
This is a Hitchcock stlye thriller about a woman who seems to be losing her mind because things are happening. Slow and careful build-up, good actors. Definitely a genre product, although a good one if you like this kind of movie.
6.5
Hacksaw Ridge
I couldn't connect to this movie. The fight scenes are very intense. The rest somehow didn't reach me. Everybody else seems to think it's very good. So no rating.
Now You See Me 2
MOTS, but not as good. Still nice entertainment though.
6
London has Fallen
This is an effective little action film with the usual twists. Don't expect more.
5
Jack Reacher 2
Unfortunately a failure. Still reasonably entertaining despite a weak script.
4
The Shallows
The Shallows is a good example how genre movies should be made. It's compact, to the point, intense and well acted. Shark against woman. 75 minutes including intro. And when the story is over the movie ends instead of dragging it on.
7.5
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
This is a bit similar to Blackhawk Down. Just a bit more low-key. Michael Bay's best movie in many years, simply because he resists the temptation to do his typical Michael Bay stuff. Recommended.
7.5
The Huntsman: Winter's War
Soul-less fantasy schlock. Really no reason to watch this.
4
Kubo and the Two Strings
Interesting animation movie. Has a couple lengths but also some very nice scenes. Worth a look.
6.5
Warcraft
Better than expected. Not that much action. A couple of impressive scenes. Warcraft fans will probably love it.
6
The Nice Guys
The best buddy comedy in years. Crow & Gosling connect well. The action could be a bit harder, but the dialogs are very funny. It's a shame nobody watched it.
8
Inferno
Moves much faster than the other 2 movies. Solid entertainment, but not a keeper.
6-6.5
Hell or High Water
IMHO this movie is overrated. It's a very slow moving western-thriller thing with a lot of room for the actors. Yes, quality stuff. Could have been more entertaining though.
6
Mechanic: Resurrection
Mediocre action film. Not remarkable in any way.
4
Eye in the Sky
This a good political / moral thriller in a realistic scenario. A terrorist in the middle-east has been targeted by a satellite. There are civilists near him. Should they fire a Tomahawk or not? He is building a bomb. Where do you draw the line? Quality stuff with Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman.
8
The Infiltrator
Pretty good undercover crime movie in the spirit of Donnie Brasco.
7
Criminal
Costner plays the anti-hero in an action film with slight sci-fi ideas. It's more interesting than your typical action thriller, although it's not successful on all levels. Let's give it a small bonus for good intentions.
6
Nocturnal Animals
Too art-sy for my taste. Two different stories, clearly separated. One drama, one crime. Solid actors and production values. I'm not 100% convinced, although there's nothing obviously wrong. Add 1 or 2 points if this is your type of movie.
5
Hardcore Henry
Finally a FPS as a movie. It's an excessive 90 minute ride. Non-stop action in first person view. Funny and politically incorrect, but a bit exhausting. Imagine Crank on steroids and in first person view. I love it. YMMV.
8
Captain Fantastic
I so wanted to like it, because Mortensen is as good as always, but I couldn't connect to it. Maybe I wasn't in the mood.
(3)