Kingsman: The Golden Circled (2017)

Kingsman was a pleasant surprise the first time. But it's much less fun the second go around. It's kind of tired. There's a handful of Oscar winners somehow. It was a miracle they got Colin Firth the first time, but now they've added Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges and Sir Elton John. Elton John is just wacky enough to make it work (he might be the strangest and best part of the movie) and Julianne Moore too, but Berry and Bridges are wasted. And I guess that's part of the farce. This movie is quite long. It's unnecessarily more vulgar without a payoff. The action scenes are very exciting. And the Americans are stereotyped maybe a little too on the nose for comfort.

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

In short, I didn't really like this movie. I fell asleep. It has its funny moments. There are some great scenes, like the one in which the religious leaders discuss the accuracy of the movie. There just aren't enough of them.  It really feels like a Coen Brothers movie. The humor is unusual and dry but fast and witty. But I just couldn't really get into it. The movie is loving depiction of Hollywood and the movie-making business. 

The Hateful Eight (2015)

I think the perfect word to describe this movie is self-indulgent. For one, it is way too long, clocking around three hours. And when your movie is so long, it can't be so slow--I kind of fell asleep a little in the middle. The story is told in several distinct chapters, which enhances the epic grandeur that Tarantino tries to evoke. And I understand that the first few set up the story, but they are too long for just setup.  There is the usual gratuitous amount of hyperbolic graphic violence and lots of inappropriate language. I'm all for free speech, but Tarantino  is a little too comfortable using the N-word. The most problematic aspect of the movie: no likable characters.

That being said the movie does some things very well. The storytelling is strong. I am surprised that Tarantino wasn't nominated for his screenplay. The story is mostly told linearly, but there is one chapter of flashback to make a crucial revelation that totally turns the story on its head. The last half of the movie is significantly better than the first. Most of the movie takes place in a single room, and we change perspectives in this one room. Some chapters also use narration, which is out of place since it is only present in some chapters, but it somehow works. The cinematography is also pretty incredible. The white snow is expansive and there is a great shot that is half pure white and half pure blue sky. But the very best aspect of this movie is Ennio Morricone's score. It is quintessentially western. 

22 Jump Street (2014)

This movie is surprisingly good.  The premise of the movie follows the movie's trajectory in the real world.  The first case worked out so well that the team got funding to do another case, "exactly the same."  Ice Cube repeats this line several times, and predictably the case turns out to not go exactly the same way despite their protestations.  What is so refreshing and funny is that everyone is in on the joke.  What is the same is the bromance between Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill that just works so well.  They have a relationship that is almost at a James Franco-Seth Rogen level.

The best part of the film is actually the end credits.  They aren't bloopers but rather we see clips of hypothetical sequels that become more and more ridiculous to the audience's delight.  There are plenty of cameos in the movie, and even some high profile actors who show up in just a couple of seconds of credits for a laugh.       

Foxcatcher (2014)

I was looking forward to this highly anticipated movie but was disappointed.  It was slow-paced and dare I say boring.  The characters, especially John DuPont and Mark Schultz, go through extreme transformations; however the movie fails to depict the process of transformation, only showing the before and after with very little transform-ing.   We never get inside the heads of these disturbed characters.  This doesn't make the movie any more difficult to follow, but it certainly makes for some sudden transitions coupled with some awkwardly fast cutaways.

That being said, all three leading men give excellent, gritty, dark and disturbing performances. Steve Carrell is unrecognizable in his breakout dramatic role behind loads of makeup.  Mark Ruffalo is perhaps even better than Carrell.  Some of the best scenes are when Ruffalo as David Schultz coaches his younger brother.  It is in these scenes, such as the silent sparring one, in which we see their relationship in its rawest form.