Movie review: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"

BEST NEW FEATURE
dir. by James Gunn
Despite their acclaim, the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are fundamentally corporate products. They're expensive, rarely challenging, and formulaic, and their more unique entries are usually only weird by the franchise's own standards, as was the case with the first Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. However, as it's become more and more reliably successful, the franchise has begun experimenting with its formula: Captain America: Civil War revolved its sprawling spectacle around a thoughtful storyline which bordered on autocritique, whereas Doctor Strange spruced up its familiar origin story with a pinch of psychedelia.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 doesn't have the first film's consistency of humour or momentum, but it retains much of what made its predecessor so charming, and adopts the strengths of both of its "phase 3" bretheren. If its character drama doesn't reach the heights of Civil War, it's still one of the thornier entries in the MCU, and its visuals even surpass the benchmark of Doctor Strange to set a new high point for the series. If sequels are expected to be bigger and bolder, Guardians 2 also takes the much more admirable route of being weirder.

Ghostbusters (2016) movie review

dir. by Paul Feig
BEST NEW FEATURE
Paul Feig's reboot of Ghostbusters was destined to be controversial from its very inception, not only because of Feig's already divisive style but also because of the expectations brought about by such a popular brand name, not to mention a smorgasbord of other factors, the worst of which being Sony's subpar trailers for the film. Thankfully, although it's not without its flaws, this new Ghostbusters, subtitled in some media as Answer the Call, is highly entertaining on its own merits, even if it doesn't quite meet the bar set by the franchise's legacy.

The Nice Guys movie review

dir. by Shane Black
Shane Black's third directorial effort, following cult hit Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and blockbuster Iron Man 3, and his first not starring Robert Downey Jr., built up a wave of anticipation off the backs of a few very promising trailers. The duo of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, alongside an irreverent tone, immediately sold The Nice Guys as a delightful action-comedy for the summer season. While the film certainly has its fair share of humour and charm, and while it gets more entertaining as it goes on, its jokes are disappointingly uneven, and a frustratingly high number of elements in the film aren't fully realised, up to and including its lead characters.

Keanu movie review

dir. by Peter Atencio
In the wake of the cancellation of Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key's brilliant sketch-comedy series Key & Peele, the comedy duo became primarily attached to their big-screen project Keanu, an action-comedy selling itself primarily on a very adorable cat which was at the centre of its thin but oddball premise. Considering the duo's talents, their initial feature film held a lot of promise, and the cat-based advertisements were a success. However, the 90-minute length of Keanu is a much larger endeavour than Key & Peele's five-minute maximum sketches, and as it turns out, the greater running time only results in the duo's latest comedic idea long outstaying its welcome.