Logan

Overall, I think it runs a little long in spots, but that's because it doesn't sacrifice characterizations for simply the brutal slice-n-dice action skirmishes sprinkled throughout the film's running time.  Fans wanting to see the use of Logan's claws in rapturous abundance when used to dispatch would-be threats to him, Prof. X and Lara, they got that in spades in this film, that R rating was well-deserved.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.  Would have scored higher if the pacing was better.

A Dog's Purpose

It starts out cutesy with chronicling the hijinks that come with owning a dog for a young boy, and through his teen years.  Then it shifts for a few more turns as the dog is reincarnated as a new dog until it comes full circle.  Lasse Hallstrom does a nice job keeping the pace brisk and it couldn't be easy to deal with filming with trained dogs for such a long time in the film.

I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B-.

The Great Wall

I'm not really sure what I watched, it was so... foreign in the telling of the story of a legend pertaining to the Great Wall of China that is just fantastical enough to make you scratch your head.

But it was directed by Zhang Yimou, so I checked it out.  It's kinda like the usual medieval fortress defense system on display against a swarm of would-be invaders against the Great Wall of China, but with Yimou's directorial flourishes.  I wasn't prepared for the amount of CGI on the screen, so it was just weird.  Matt Damon seemed to be sleep-walking through this role, though.  

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

Get Out

Never will you underestimate the TSA again!  A slow simmer of a twilight zone-esque horror flick with some race relations commentary (or not).

I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B-.

50 Shades Darker

This was simply terrible, worse than watching paint dry on the big screen.  The film plods and lumbers along with no plot progression of note, and only sprinkles in the abusive kinky side of Christian's relationship with Anastasia, who doesn't appear to have learned anything from the first movie.  The ending is so lame and limp.

I give it 1 star, or a grade of D.

Resident Evil 5

Lots of jump-scares and action sequences with nary a bit of characterization for the supporting casts, so it plays fairly close to its videogame roots for this final installment of the Resident Evil franchise.

I give it 2 stars, or a grade of C.

Lego Batman movie

It's a lot of fun for kids and parents alike.  Quite the family values film. :)

I give it 3 stars or a grade of B.

John Wick 2

This followup sequel to "John Wick" was a lot of fun in terms of flat-out brutal hand-to-hand combat, and gunplay, and pencil-play... LOL!  It's so over-the-top, you can't be help appreciate the commitment to this world of John Wick and company by the entire production team for this film.  Keanu Reeves is turning into this generation's Clint Eastwood (reminiscent of the Dirty Harry franchise in the 70s and 80s).

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

Moonlight

This artfully shot coming of age film featuring a black character, Chiron, at 3 points in his life, first as a child, second as a teenager, and lastly as a young man struggling to find his place in a world that otherwise expects specific life choices given his circumstances.  Director Barry Jenkins imbues this film with lingering, poetic sweeps while furtively building the character's arc through the film running time.  There is a nice use of color all throughout the film, bolstering the mood and tension.  I think it starts out strong, but gets a little narratively weak by the 3rd act. 

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B. 

Underworld: Blood Wars

Well, Kate Beckinsale is back for another installment of the Underworld franchise. All I can say is that when your films are reminding me of story beats from the "Twilight" franchise, it's probably time to put a fork in it. LOL!

I give it 2 stars, or a grade of C.

Elle

Paul Verhoeven is back with "Elle", mostly a psychological drama that kicks off with a middle-aged woman, Elle (Isabella Huppert) in the midst of being assaulted (physically and sexually) in her own home by a masked man. Then the story peels away the layers of this woman with details from her distant past, and the previous decades of her life. Lots of twisty windings in this tale. Very European in flavor (French-language film).

I give it 3 stars or a grade of B.

Hidden Figures

I enjoyed it. Math and Science > Racism.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

Patriots Day

I thought, ultimately, it was an engaging look at the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, and what was involved in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

La La Land

I thought there'd be more singing and dancing in the film, going by some reviews, but it was not so. I kinda wished Gosling and Stone were better singers, but their on-screen chemistry is good. The story was average. I kept asking myself, "Don't they text each other?" LOL! But it'll probably win a lot of technical awards.

I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B-.

Passengers

I was braced with some online outrage of the storyline, and upon seeing it, I can see why "eww..." was a common reaction, and it does rob some enjoyment factor from the plight of these early awokened "passengers".

Utterly forgettable film.

I give it 2 stars, or a grade of C.

Jackie

I found Natalie Portman's vocal performance distracting (Jackie's accent just seemed too forced), and it took a while for me to get used to her as "Jackie" in a film about Jackie's accounts of JFK's assassination and dealing with the funeral details and being shown the door from the White House (LOL!). But Portman gets better as the film rolls along, but "Jackie" is not a film I'd revisit.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

Office Christmas Party

Oddly enough, I liked the cast chemistry, but the film is okay, not great, not overly terrible. You pretty much get what you expect.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+. 

Rogue One

Star Wars Episode 3.5 was okay. Saggy midsection, character development was average (maybe applied to 1.5 characters at best), but a good cinematic gap-closer to expand upon what transpired in Episode 4.

I don't like how Gareth Edwards directs character interaction at times, so that why the character development feels more superficial and hollow, but he's good at the action sequences. The motivations of Jyn are too simplistic (perhaps to get the pacing back on track), but as with most prequels, the plotting is almost always done to reach a point where the audience is expecting already (in this case, Episode 4), so the story doesn't quite engage this particular movie viewer, but I knew that going in, and it's not an easy thing to surprise and still keep the storyline on track for the next installment.

The rest of the characters, san K2-SO (mainly for the laughs and basically being an "Iron Giant-inspired" droid with the personality of a Sheldon Cooper), didn't resonate with me at all. Pretty lackluster in the writing. They were all there to push the plot, not act in their own best interests, the "why" was too glossed over. One of the things that Episode 4 does well is lay out basic character motivations and build on them. Nowadays, that style of character development is lacking, I guess to me, it lacked a bit of cinematic soul, and feels like a cash-grab by Disney. Maybe it's just me, and I can accept that.

I saw the AMC Faux-MAX in 3D. The 3D presentation was average, not all that immersive, so I can't recommend the 3D, but the scale of the AT-AT's is where the IMAX footage helps in the presentation, but then you're stuck with the 3D part too. But you also get to see the 3rd act in a very large screen, so, eh, IMAX could be worth if you're a fan of the franchise.

I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B-.

Sully

At a running time of around 96 minutes, the meat of the story should have taken about 45 minutes to tell, to be honest. Just cut out all of the Laura Linney scenes. LOL!

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

The Accountant

If Bruce Wayne was Rain Man... Overall, I treat this like it is in the John Wick genre of suspending your disbelief in order to propel through the film's plot points, so I went with it.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.