Film Fight 2018: July

#FF18 Sicario 2: Soldado is a solid, if predictable, action thriller. Where the original was brutal and disorientating, this is fairly straightforward and generic, but moderately well executed.

There’s nothing new here, but it’s decidedly watchable.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 3, 2018

#FF18 Tau is a solid b-movie. It looks decent, has a dependable
cast, and only really falls down when it tries to hand wave crucial technological descriptions.

Worth seeing as a decent 90 minute sci-fi horror film.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 7, 2018

#FF18 Tag is a light but fun story about a (somewhat) true story.

It’s not going to be a classic but there are enough laughs and the cast are endearing enough as an ensemble, that it’s a solid watch. Enjoy.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 14, 2018

#FF18 How It Ends is a decent enough apocalyptic film. The acting is, at times, a little weak, and one character in particular is terribly written.

That said, the main thrust of the story works well enough to be entertaining. Okay.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 22, 2018

#FF18 Hotel Artemis is a solid, stylised action film. The dialogue is sometimes expositional, but the world-building is interesting enough.

The cold open, in particular, is pretty effective at getting the film going, and there’s little fat in the runtime. Worth seeing.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 22, 2018

#FF18 The First Purge delves into the series past to show how the whole mess came about.

It’s messy, a bit incoherent, with some awful lines and some poor acting. Decent enough action and some heavy-handed political commentary. If you’ve seen the others, you know what to expect.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 26, 2018

#FF18 The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter is about a somewhat famed hunter passing on his legacy to his uninterested kid. The premise is reasonable, but the execution is crude and one-note.

Despite a decent cast, it never really manages any big laughs. Meh.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 29, 2018

#FF18 Mission Impossible: Fallout continues the (recent) franchise’s impeccable stunt record, with some excellent set pieces and decent fight choreography.

You’ll see the twists coming, and be a little bored between the action, but it’s another solid film in the series. Good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 29, 2018

#FF18 Calibre is a good psychological horror. Through each turn, the tension ratchets up a little more. Well-shot, decent performances, and a good story. Definitely worth seeing.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 30, 2018

#FF18 Extinction tries to hit above its weight and fails. Michael Pena does a decent job, but isn’t given a lot to work with. The twists fail to connect because we don’t care about the characters. The action is lacklustre, at best.

I wanted to like this more than I did. Missable

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) July 30, 2018