Louis Leterrier directs Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher and Mark Ruffalo in this magicians-do-heists caper.

This was a surprisingly good blast at the cinema but doesn’t really hold up on rewatch. Glossy, silly but way too beholden to the big twist reveal. There’s a point at the midway mark where it either gets bored of, or can’t figure out a way to allow us to stay with, the main set of criminal conjurors. Which is a mistake in my mind. Everyone is on form in a fantastic ensemble yet it is all just smoke and mirrors by the end credits.

6

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Wes Craven directs Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg and Joshua Jackson in this werewolf horror where to siblings are infected by the beast.

Did you hear about Cursed? The horror film that took two and half years and $40 million to make? Why? Because the Weinsteins had a 90% complete film in the can and decided to completely rewrite and majorly recast it… then they did that again… and then they had a fourth reshoot that took out all the gore. Gone are Rick Barker’s practical creature FX. Gone are any of Kevin Williamson self aware jokes or well executed twists. It pretty much stalled rising star Ricci’s career and slowed Craven down when he could have churned out two or three lower budgeted gems before his death. What we are left with is formless, bloodless and clinical. It goes through the motions with zero imagination and thrills. You can spot scenes and shots where dialogue has been overdubbed, old subplots have been pruned and characters are far younger. Eisenberg manages to hit his now standard acerbic geek schtick well, no matter what obvious wig he is wearing. Ricci has less freedom and the occasional glimpse of her as curvaceous teen jar with the dominant third gen sequences where she is stick thin and an adult. A scarred yet unexceptional film this gets by on the likeability of its exhausted cast and one goofy shot where a werewolf flips us the finger.

4

Check out my wife Natalie’s Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Ben Affleck directs himself, Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Hall in this heist drama where a bank robber falls for one of his hostages but she in unaware of his involvement in their previous encounter.

Pretty run of the mill cops and robbers stuff. But fuck me, do I crave that shit! The ‘jobs’ themselves have a visceral thrill. They are kinetic, immersive and authentic. The romance and drama built around them is a bit more basic and overplayed. Affleck and Hall have nice chemistry but their dating seems to solely consist of miserable monologues. As a classy rehash of dusty themes and well traipsed plots The Town just about gets away with it but it is not of the Gone Baby Gone gold standard.

7

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Josh Whedon directs Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Chris Evans in this Marvel superhero sequel where a rogue A.I. threatens humanity.

God! This has aged awfully in just half a decade. Wafer thin CGI stuntmen, inconsequential infighting, what seems like an hour given over to teases for future films. The ending does get the pulse racing and Elisabeth Olsen looks fetching as an “enhanced” witch. Anything with Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson sharing scenes is never going to be unwatchable. But this is not a standalone movie experience… it is just mega-bugeted episodic telly in both frustrating form and limited scope.

5

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/