Luis' thoughts on 2017 theatrical releases

Anabelle: Creation is one of the better horror films of the year/

The silly moments from IT aren't for everyone, but for me they elevate the movie! They reminded me of the classic 80s horror absurdities like Dream Warriors and Gremlins. Granted I wasn't alive back then, but I still grew up with a lot of 80s horror.

I've seen it 4 times. I was really looking for to this and for me it did not disappoint, obviously. Still singing the italian drinking song.

I like your review of IT. Really looking forward to that as well.

That's it for now but Holy crap I cant believe I've actually gone to the movies around 40 times this year

A film maker's dream.

I also grew up with a lot of horror, and I thought "IT" ushered in a new horror icon. I didn't care for Annabelle: Creation, however. Glad others have found something to enjoy about it, however.

I absolutely agree with the new horror icon statement.

I thought this did everything it set out to do to (almost) the best of its abilities. Thrilling from beginning to end, excellently acted, and a very suspenseful fun ride. The ending I had a problem with, I thought it was very out of left field.

Very thin plot but the movie effectively pulls out as much thread as possible from it. Great characters and a very interesting dynamic between them and the male lead. Production design is great. Apart from a very "meh" and abrupt ending and lack of impressive elements, I recommend checking this out.

This movie has charm and some good comedy parts. Characters are charming and easy to get behind. However, the storytelling is just very weak and the screenplay was so strategical and on-the-nose that I rolled my eyes on how everything turned out. Overall, since I enjoyed it and was entertained by it, I will say it's very middle of the road.

Definitely missing a lot of what made the other two clever. But this still has enough charm and wit to deliver an entertaining time. Good characters, some good humor that can definitely sit well with adults, and it is self aware enough to sugar coat some of its flaws.

I thought this was fantastic. It balances so many elements down to a tea. Well-written drama, edge-of-your-seat action, enthralling murder mystery and a fantastic performances from Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. Highly recommend this film if you get a chance to see it.

This was very fun and entertaining! It's not going to go down as one of the greats, and it's definitely not the freshest movie ever made but I did not have the desire to check the clock once in this movie. Charming, funny(surprisingly), well-acted, very well edited, very fun slumber party movie. Ending was a little "meh", but I'll take what I can get after the death of slasher films.

Release: October 6

Reviews were overwhelmingly positive for this sequel to the 1982 classic. I liked the original well enough, but not enough to rush out and see this new film. Even the trailers didn't do much for me. Though there wasn't much excitement in my part to see this, the film has fantastic sci-fi, jaw-dropping cinematography, interesting complexities within a story, which mostly overshadow its pace.

The sci-fi is outstanding, the best sci-fi is one that solidifies itself in the world, and never feels too flashy. This movie executes the latter flawlessly as the world around the characters feels grounded, yet fantastical. The cinematography is probably the best I've seen all year, mostly relying on wide shots with striking color palettes. The story is definitely not to the point, which I appreciate, the many turns keep this movie interesting and complex, a thinkers movie in other words. The gripe i have with the film is the pace, it definitely didn't need to be a near 3 hour film, for a while the movie had very good footing, but in the transition from the second act to the third, it dragged.

As a Pixar fan, it has been soul damaging walking out of their recent offerings with barely positive reviews. Inside Out was the last film I would consider fantastic, everything post 2010 has been underwhelming to say the least. So I and many other people have looked at Coco as the last glimmer of hope before discarding PIxar as just any other animation studio. So how was it?

Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Apart from the fact that this film is an extremely accurate representation of the Mexican culture, I would like to point out how well constructed it is. The narrative is structured very particularly and it felt like I was watching something new from Pixar. The Pixar formula is present, and the film finds the perfect balance of offering something new, while bathing it in something we are so familiar with and so fond of. Coco is emotionally rich and unapologetically mature; this time exploring the themes of death, remembrance, and family bonds; doing so with warmth and grace. The film does something I haven't seen Pixar do before, and it gives you a dissjointed story you have to piece together, and once you get to the end, the result is emotionally fulfilling. Overall, this movie did not disappoint. It is uplifting, heartwarming, poignant, beautiful, complex and a fantastic new entry into Pixar's near-flawless filmography.

The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre released in 1974 impacted audiences all over the world and added much needed fuel to the slasher franchise craze started by Hitchcock's Psycho. With every new entry in this franchise, this story has become insufferable. The 2003 remake being the only decent spot in a slate of horrendous sequels. How did this prequel hold up?

I would say it gets halfway there. Nearly not as bad as the worst in the franchise, but also not nearly as good as the best. The main problem is the characters, they are all insufferable. Even the characters that we are supposed to "root for" are written in such a way that they don't give you reasons to care for their survival; if anything the main female lead kinda got there, but not the extent I was hoping for. The film is also brutal, it contains some truly gut twisting visuals. While this is something to expect from a movie like this, it exceeds a line were it fails to reach the mainstream like the first 1974 classic. This was an overall very decent effort, I can tell that whoever directed this cared about the material, and they somewhat establish the Leatherface character quite well, but it's just unnecessary and tiring at this point.

Once every few months comes a movie that is just so bad that you have to watch it; but you have to watch it illegally because you don't want to give your money to the kind of people who put together a film like this for a quick buck, so I waited until now. After a long streak of animated success, it was just a matter of time before we got a new stinker.

This film is just lifeless; I know it's colorful, and flamboyant, but even then it just feels like a zombie. The world building is so uninspired and they never take it anywhere interesting; for a movie like this I was hoping that at least they could do something cool with the world building; I was wrong. But we did get to see a bunch of product placement and viral memes on Youtube! Yay? The film takes elements from some of the better recent animated flicks like Wreck It Ralph and Inside Out and just absolutely poops on them. Even its dumb and simplistic plot has so many holes. Dialogue is horrendous. I'm not going to give this movie a 0 for the mere fact that it kind of entertained me seeing how bad it was.

Thor was never my favorite Avenger, not even close. And the Thor movies were underwhelming under Marvel's belt to say the least. However, with the genius comedic timing of Taika Waititi, this was the best chance to breathe new life to Thor's character and the Marvel Cinematic Universe overall. It is exactly this that makes Thor: Ragnarok a fresh addition to a formula that was starting to grow a bit tired.

Essentially, this picture is unapologetically fun from beginning to end, not once did I feel like the pace was lacking. This film, more so than any other Marvel offering, disregards the overwhelming pressure of constructing a perfect narrative, and just absolutely goes for the blockbuster fun with comedic undertones, and it delivers. The latter also surprisingly triggers a cohesive narrative, and one that finally injects the Thor world with some interesting background. The comedy in this film is spot on, it feels like a Marvel movie in the sense that they go for a lot of laughs, but Waitii constructs this particular offering in a way that even this aspect feels fresh, as opposed to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, which just felt forced. Overall, this is one of Marvel's absolute best popcorn flicks. While my favorite Marvel films are the ones that mix the lightheartedness with dramatic themes (Winter Soldier, Civil War), this is charming and exciting new ground for Marvel.

This film is another very good, yet soon forgettable entry in the year. I really don't have much to say about this, given that it is only one paragraph long as opposed to two. The directing was solid enough, but the tone is wildly inconsistent, sometimes it goes for lighthearted humor and others it wants to build on drama, but none never feel consequential due to the odd way both are mixed. Tom Cruise is great as always, however, the writing around his character wasn't bad per se, but it wasn't particularly interesting either; they didn't take his arc anywhere interesting. Overall, I was very entertained so I can't go negative, and I did find some sequences to be exciting and well directed.

Despite lukewarm reviews, I really enjoyed the first Bad Moms film and was charmed by it. My excitement for this was nonexistent but my curiosity was. I think this sequel has a handful of shortcomings, mostly found in the script, but in the end I found the comedy mostly effective and the characters charming.

Initially, the characters I found to be well realized. The comedy sometimes did feel a little forced and a bit out of the film's element, but it is the dialogue comedy that works the best. The film also tries to amplify some of its more dramatic beats, and it gets halfway there. Overall, while this is technically a very bumpy movie, I personally had a very fun time watching this and found the charming characters to shadow some of the film's most glaring flaws.