A Wrinkle in Time (2018) - 2/5

There’s nothing in this movie that’s particularly interesting. It has no reason to exist apart from the obvious cash grab. Chris Pine’s performance is the standout feature; it’s spectacular and almost makes the rest of the movie worth watching. Everyone else looks bored, and the extensive CGI effects don’t integrate well with the scenes they’re used in, which results in something that looks more like large-scale sci-fi channel effects than a Disney blockbuster. It’s bright and colorful, but that can’t make up for lack of acting, plot, and purpose.

Closest comparison: It’s a big budget Disney Channel movie.

Setting: Fantasy
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Family

Birdman - 3/5

This movie's strength is in its moviemaking. It is shot to look like it's all one continuous, unbroken take, using very clever invisible cuts to make it possible. There are also quite a few mirrors in the film but never the camera reflected in them, a feat which I'm still not sure how they were able to accomplish. The story is pretty weird, though, and there's a lot of sexual dialogue and situations that don't actually add anything to the film. Also the ending undercuts itself. The film could have been going one of two directions, basically, and has an unclear ending that doesn't come down on either side. Instead of making both interpretations meaningful and valid, it only serves to make neither of them interesting or satisfying. If you like dissecting film-making techniques it's really cool, but otherwise I'd skip it.