Nocturnal Animals (2016)

An art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband's novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a veiled threat and a symbolic revenge tale.

Outlaw King (2018)

A true David vs. Goliath story of how the 14th century Scottish 'Outlaw King' Robert the Bruce used cunning and bravery to defeat the much larger and better equipped occupying English army.

Professionally assembled history drama with a competent cast, some great landscape cinematography and lively battle scenes, but altogether not that exciting.

Savages (2012)

Pot growers face off against the Mexican drug cartel who kidnapped their shared girlfriend.

Basically a standard crime thriller with a highly contrived plot, but made with expertise and a capable cast; the double entendre ending is superfluous and disappointing.

Maltin**: "Stone encourages  his actors to go way over the top in this long, boring look at mostly scummy characters. Travolta comes off best as a corrupt DEA agent."

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

A wealthy art gallery owner receives a draft of her ex-husband's new novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a veiled threat and a symbolic revenge tale.

Brilliant direction and cinematography and an excellent cast can't quite conceal the inconsistency of embedding a fictitious thriller within a romantic revenge tale and making it its trigger; the ending therefore is more powerful than the novel and would work even without all the contrivance.

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

Following Kick-Ass' heroics, other citizens are inspired to become masked crusaders, but Red Mist leads his own group of evil supervillains to get revenge, kill Kick-Ass and destroy everything he stands for.

Lacklustre sequel comes along as a tired attempt (and miss) to revive the original's charm;  and there's a disagreeable, imbalanced mixture of humour and violence.

Maltin*1/2: "The purpose and momentum of the original film are gone, along with some of its most compelling characters. What's left is a vulgar, violent look at Hit Girl...and a lot of obnoxious posturing by egomaniacal villain Red Mist...Carrey is wasted as a newly introduced vigilante leader and Taylor-Johnson's role is reduced to meaninglessness. Comic-book moviemaking at its worst."

Godzilla (2014)

The world's most famous monster is pitted against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

Finally, a worthy Western Godzilla production with all the beloved ingredients, although the star of the movie has less than 10 minutes of screen time.



On second view: I still think so, but it's a pity that the movie is photographed so much in the dark that it's hard to watch; and in a monster movie I want to see the monster - a lot.

Maltin***: "Spectacular, and surprisingly good, story reintroduces the formidable Japanese monster - and some parasitic predators - in a genre film that doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, except in its cutting-edge visual effects...Director Edwards breathes new life into formulaic monster-movie moments, ultimately proving that Godzilla still rules."