In Theaters: January 29, 2016

There are three wide releases this weekend.

Fifty Shades of Black

The posters for this one have been deemed too suggestive for this blog.

Fifty Shades of Grey had it coming, and I'm glad Marlon Wayans has spoofed it.

It's a spoof of Fifty Shades of Grey, if you didn't catch that part.

Fifty Shades of Black is rated R for strong crude sexual content including some graphic nudity, and for language throughout.

The Finest Hours

This one is pretty straightforward.

The Finest Hours is based on the true story of what is reportedly the most heroic and daring Coast Guard mission ever undertaken by the United States Coast Guard.  Obviously this mission took more than one man hour of labor to perform, hence the title, "The Finest Hours".

Captain Kirk stars in thi- I mean Chris Pine stars in this Disney release

The Finest Hours is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of peril.

Kung Fu Panda 3

I've still never seen one or two.

People seem to like these movies well enough, so I'm okay with a third.  The trailer suggests that he reunites with his father Panda.

What impresses me most is the voice cast.  Talk about loaded!

Jack Black

Angelina Jolie

Dustin Hoffman

Jackie Chan

Seth Rogen

Lucy Liu

Bryan Cranston

Kate Hudson

J.K. Simmons

That's impressive.

Kung Fu Panda 3 is rated PG for martial arts action and some mild rude humor.

      Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: January 22, 2016

There are three wide releases this weekend!

The 5th Wave

These are teen movies now.  For the last eight years teen movies have been taken over and are now synonymous with YA novel adaptations.

The 5th Wave stars Chloe Moretz, who is easily the most interesting young actress right now.  She can act.  She's good.  We aren't worried about her.  She will have a bright career whether or not this film succeeds.

As I understand it this movie is about the end of a long term alien invasion of Earth.  There are waves, and each is designed to kill more of the native population (humans).

The 5th Wave is rated PG-13 for violence and destruction, some sci-fi thematic elements, language and brief teen partying.

Who doesn't like a good brief teen party every now and again?

The Boy

It's a horror movie and if you've read anything on this blog you know I think horror movies are 99% stupid.  This is not the 1%.

The boy is a doll and the doll is haunted and it torments/haunts/spooks/creeps out some people.  It's the same old stuff.

The Boy is rated PG-13 for violence and terror, and for some thematic material.

Dirty Grandpa

I really don't know what to say about this one.  It's a raunch comedy through and through, and I'm not into those either.  I don't find them funny.  Some of them look funny.  This one doesn't.  And I say that in spite of the fact that I actually approve of Zac Efron and I like Robert De Niro.

Dirty Grandpa is rated R for crude sexual content throughout, graphic nudity, and for language and drug use.

      Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: January 15, 2016

There are three wide releases this weekend.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Michael Bay's latest details the heroism of six men in their role at Benghazi in 2012.

For me personally, any movie that can possibly have a negative effect on the career of Hillary Clinton gets four out of four stars automatically.  Obviously Hillary Clinton was involved with the events portrayed in this movie - she was the Secretary of State at the time.  However, all involved insist that this movie is not political.  They say it focuses only on the heroic acts in the true account, not on any political action (or inaction).

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is rated R for strong combat violence throughout, bloody images and language.

Norm of the North

It doesn't look funny.  And the animation looks second rate.  This is one of those family films that was probably created by people who expected a direct to video release and somehow got a chance for a theatrical release.

Norm of the North is rated PG for mild rude humor and action.

Ride Along 2

Two years ago this very weekend the first Ride Along came out and topped the box office three weekends in a row.  This time around it might do the same or it might not.  I find it difficult to even guess if this will be a good sequel or a very not funny sequel.  But all the pieces are in place so, in theory, it should be as funny as the first!

For those who don't remember, the basic idea is that Ice Cube is a cop and Kevin Hart is engaged to Ice Cube's sister.

Ride Along 2 is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, sexual content, language and some drug material.

      Big Shot Critic

Editorial: If someone tells you they are a film connoisseur…

If someone tells you they are a film connoisseur, and they tell you all about how great…

…Christopher Nolan is: Tier 1.  This person is a noob.  A noob that likes Batman.

…Wes Anderson is: Tier 2.  This person actually pays attention to the film world, at least to some degree.

…Quinten Tarantino is: Tier 3.  This person has watched Pulp Fiction.  Probably recently.  This person could be a poser.

…The Coen Brothers are: Tier 4.  This person has been following and paying attention to movies for at least three years probably.  This person might even have good taste.

…Paul Thomas Anderson is: Tier 5.  This person is legit.  This person really likes film.  This person is not a poser.

…The Fast and the Furious franchise is: This person is David Pratt. You should listen closely.

      Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: January 8, 2016

There are two wide releases this weekend!

The Forest

Imagine a horror movie that doesn't know what a horror movie is supposed to be, so it watches the trailers of every other horror movie to find out.  That is The Forest.

The trailer does not inspire confidence, but at least it tells a bit of the premise.  The main character is Sarah, and she is looking for her twin sister.  Unfortunately for Sarah, her twin sister has entered a forest in Japan that is said to be evil.  Also, it's where people go to commit suicide.  Because, you know, horror movies!

The Forest is rated PG-13 for disturbing thematic content and images.

The Masked Saint

So it's a faith-based film.  That much is clear.  Beyond that, though, it's a bit hard to follow.  And if the trailer is hard to follow . . . well, that usually means the film will be a mess.

The title character is a wrestler and a pastor.  Apparently he faces some kind of conflict.  The trailer showed a particular wrestling opponent, a manager who told him to throw a fight, and some petty thieves whose victims he defended.

The Masked Saint is rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements.

      Big Shot Critic