Multiple gangsters and assassins with varying motives are aboard the same shinkansen. Too-pleased-with-itself slapstick thriller, adapted from the novel Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka. Some early stuff works, but there’s little control over the premise, so it falls apart despite committed work from star Brad Pitt and others. A hack approach to Japan doesn’t help.
Here’s the trailer.
A princess must fight through her castle to save her family and her kingdom. Modest but broadly effective cod-medieval martial arts action comedy, with plenty of Nu Boyana stunt performers getting theirs. Joey King proves versatile in the lead, though the movie needs more Veronica Ngo.
Here’s the trailer:
Four teenagers invite an urban legend into their lives; disappearances soon begin. Autumnal and muted horror flick based on the meme character. A couple of OK performances and some directorial moments aside, there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done a hundred times before, and often better.
A misfit teen finds a Chinese puzzle box which can grant seven wishes. Pedestrian rehash of The Monkey’s Paw (plus shades of Hellraiser and Final Destination) which struggles to find new things to say, or novel ways to kill people. Weak sauce.
When their former employer reneges on their pension deals, three old men decide to rob the bank involved. Easy-going remake of a 1970s caper comedy. No surprises, but it coasts by on twinkly-eyed performances and some nice moments.
255 Review 