Categories: Movie and Series Reviews, Movie and Series Rating 3/5

Apocalypse Z, with its slower patient beginnings, makes you think it may offer unique insights. Those never come though and everything the movie does is completely predictable to even the most undiscerning of eyes. However, as a dumb zombie flick there is still something here. A lot of tired repeats of the genre are avoided and those that are there are fleeting, so it is not an offensive outing in a well worn path.

On the audio side, I feel the need to speak out against the use of pig sounds for zombies as it completely ruins any enjoyment of those moments. Visually it is up and down, with most sights being solid and others feeling like old Syfy channel flicks made on pocket change. The cast is great though, from little old ladies to our lead.

If the movie were a bit more clever and less by-the-numbers then maybe it would be more than middle of the road. However, I have read that this is a part 1 of a series, so perhaps we will get to see a bit more ambition in a sequel. I certainly have enough good will to watch another.

A Nightmare on Elm Street trips over a lot of rough acting and disproportional responses by characters. Also there is no way all *that part* happened in the span of 10 minutes.

Some effects do not work at all, like stepping into bowls of oatmeal or the terrible door-pull, but they are sparse. The worst offenders take place anytime anyone is running anywhere. I don’t think Wes Craven knew what running is supposed to look like or how silly it looked having supernatural Freddy sorta-trip over a trash can that wasn’t really in the way. The boobytrap stuff also feels silly and wrecks the tone a bit. That all being said, Freddy is a presence to be afraid of and genre defining moments shine even by modern expectations.

It is easy to see how A Nightmare on Elm Street is significant to film as a whole.

Deadpool coasts on the goodwill it gets from a few really funny scenes, but large parts of the movie are below average. Even a fourth wall breaking comic book character should have a solid story and interesting bad guys.

Everything is stretched a bit and nothing from beginning to end is a surprise, but it is very cute and sometimes you just want an easy movie. Frank Langella has a scene that takes the cake and is legitimately memorable.

Nothing is superb and nothing is awful. Solidly a middle of the road journey.

A subconscious roller coaster that is more interesting to ponder after the viewing.

I get why Deadpool & Wolverine has exploded, it is a fan-service and in-joke theme park ride. However, this also cuts out the legs from under it. Deadpool 2 did a lot to push more towards a plot and an accompanying tone shift from the first, and this latest outing undoes most of that while mixing the Marvel staples. What are the staples? Story and character motivations take a backseat to puns and cameos, like without spoiling anything consider how quick Wolverine’s motivation turns off at the end (literally zero response).

There are a lot of other issues I took but I don’t want to make this a spoiler review. Also it was weird for them to still make one character an integral part of the story while also being unable to get the original actor, at that point rewrite the part. It isn’t like the plot wasn’t already paper thin or had not already been sidelined numerous times by that point.

It is not a perfect, there is a scene that looks cool but moves nothing and a hint of romance crops up that is awkward, but I think anyone who enjoys Sci-Fi can find something here. I think the first half is a stronger movie, but thrill junkies may disagree. Seeing what the planet has to offer was fun, even if not surprising. Anthony Ramos was a solid lead.

It is a shame people are going to be so hard on this movie. I have zero regret watching Distant.

Undeniably entertaining, but Free State of Jones does not do so in any inspired way.

A swing at an epic that falls short when you start to feel the runtime.

Massive appreciation to director Gary Ross for trying to explain what is and is not real in the movie (http://freestateofjones.info/). I am amazed the site is still up and running all these years later.

A mediocre story, pulled beyond that by its cast. The first act is the best, a lot more methodical, but it gets a bit too loose at times. I think there was an opportunity to keep momentum with the two exchanging more tricks, but all is not lost even when it loses itself a bit.

Would I rewatch it? Probably not. I also don’t feel like I wasted time though.