U.S. Release Date: 2016-01-08
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Disturbing Images, Profanity)
Genre: Horror
Director: Jason Zada
Cast: Natalie Dormer, Taylor Kinney, Yukiyoshi Ozawa
There will be worse titles released in 2016 but mediocrity of this sort isn’t an inspired way to start the new year.
U.S. Release Date: 2015-12-25
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Ericson Core
Cast: Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramirez, Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer, Delroy Lindo
Analyzed on its own merits or in concert with the earlier film, "Point Break" doesn’t work.
U.S. Release Date: 2015-12-25
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity)
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Elizabeth Rohm, Edgar Ramirez, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd
The story is quirky and offbeat but the dialogue and acting set Joy up as an engaging late-year repast.
U.S. Release Date: 2015-12-25
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity)
Genre: Drama
Director: Peter Landesman
Cast: Will Smith, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, David Morse, Luke Wilson
"Concussion" isn’t always brilliant but it’s compelling enough that the lesser scenes are easily ignored.
U.S. Release Date: 2015-12-25
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Brief Nudity)
Genre: Adventure/Western
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck
"The Revenant" isn’t for everyone but for those to whom the subject matter appeals, this is among 2015’s most memorable theatrical options.
U.S. Release Date: 2015-12-25
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Nudity)
Genre: Western/Adventure
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Demian Bichir, Channing Tatum, Walton Goggins
A high-wire thriller, full of masterfully executed twists, captivating dialogue, and a wildly entertaining narrative that gallops along at a pace to make three hours evaporate in an instant.
U.S. Release Date: 2015-12-23
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Nudity)
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, John Magaro, Finn Wittrock, Brad Pitt, Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei, Jeremy Strong
Using gallows humor, likable protagonists, and a variety of nonstandard filmmaking techniques, director Adam McKay maintains a high level of energy for more than two hours.
U.S. Release Date: 2015-12-04
MPAA Rating: "R" (Nudity, Sexual Content, Profanity)
Genre: Drama
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Cast: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, Jane Fonda
Slow and dreamy but never boring - the acting is too good and the images too beguiling for that.
U.S. Release Date: 2015-12-18
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence)
Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure
Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Domhnall Gleeson, Peter Mayhew, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Andy Serkis
A solid space opera spectacle with enough nostalgia to overpower even the most hard-hearted child of the ‘70s and ‘80s but it relies a little too much on recycling old plot elements.
U.S. Release Date: 1983-05-25
MPAA Rating: "PG" (Violence)
Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure
Director: Richard Marquand
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Frank Oz (voice), Alec Guinness, David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice)
A case can be made that "Return of the Jedi" is the worst installment of the entire Lucas-helmed "Star Wars" series.