Film Reviews: November 2 and 9

Here is a look at the reviews featured on Sounds of Cinema on November 2nd and 9th:

John Wick is a satisfying action shoot-‘em-up. The story is pretty thin but the film is high on style and full of energy, and it makes for consistently engaging viewing.

The Book of Life is a fun animated film. It isn’t without its flaws but the picture tells an engaging story with compelling characters and unique visuals.

Ouija is a lazily made movie in which story and scares are all secondary to selling more of Hasbro’s board games. This movie is a cynical cash grab and little else.

Before I Go to Sleep has some good performances and an interesting premise but it isn’t quite able to give those performances or ideas the movie that they deserve.

The humor of Obvious Child will have a narrow appeal but the film has a humanity that transcends its other trappings and it features an impressive performance by Jenny Slate.

There isn’t much in Fury that is new and it’s unlikely that viewers are going to come away from the movie with any new understandings about World War II or warfare in general. However, the filmmakers tell this story very well and it’s an exciting, entertaining, and well-acted picture.

The only thing worse than a pretentious movie is a pretentious movie that has nothing to say. Men, Woman & Children is a movie whose makers think they are making a big important statement about big important issues but this movie contributes nothing to anyone’s understanding about life in the digital age while managing to trivialize much more immediate human struggles.

The Judge has some very good performances but the script has too much plot getting in the way of the story. The moviemakers keep diluting the central premise with a lot of extra nonsense that just inflates the length without creating substance.

They Came Together is not likely to be a broad hit with the romantic comedy audience but those who get it are really going to like it. The movie is smart and funny while managing an off-kilter tone and that’s enough to merit a recommendation.

You can find the full text of each review in the Sounds of Cinema review archive.