Third acts are tough. Most of my film-going experience has seen plot propelled by premise, launched by first acts and relying on an agreement with the audience that the filmmaker makes an opening deposit on engagement. In a world where nothing is original, and everything has been done before, we settle for predictability (sometimes, but less frequently, in hindsight) because "the journey is more important than the destination" has been hammered into us as a bulwark against criticism that escapism…

Clearly a labor of love yet also a feature debut, The Witch deserves accolades for its attention to scenic and historical atmosphere, but falls short of becoming the archetype director Eggers strived to make it. The pacing alternates between scattered breadcrumbs and bloody sinew, never quite making up its mind whether this is a nightmare or real life. While this is no doubt intentional according to the film's subtitle, it breaks immersion too often trying to figure out which side…

Assemble, if you will, the humor and charm of The First Avenger, the action and intrigue of The Winter Soldier, and a cast list that makes me wonder how many of Chris Evans' future lives he had to sell to the devil to get top billing on the real Avengers 3. What you come up with is Marvel's best film yet, finally beating Johnston's classic origin story and Whedon's winking homage to golden age gusto. I'm still scratching my head…

Visual enthralling - I mean with all the hyperbole I can muster that The Good Dinosaur is the film that proves digital landscapes have not only cleared, but have catapulted across the uncanny valley of our natural world. Unfortunately, while the vignette-based adventure story is mostly uplifting without being mawkish as is Pixar's recent wont, the narrative doesn't flow and would have been - had the studio been brave enough to make a film without dialogue - an easy masterpiece…

Unexpectedly and refreshingly not a remake of Robinson Crusoe on Mars; the fact that Scott focuses as much (if not more) on the Earthbound rescuers than our titular space pirate makes for a fast-paced and sufficiently complex narrative focus. It's a blessing and a curse, as the cool science shit Damon does far overshadows the boring science shit trained NASA professionals do yet we're denied some of the former to make room for the latter, even if the pacing overall…

Colin Trevorrow hates you.

He hates that you'll lap up any shit that Hollywood spits out and break box office records in the process. He hates that you don't give a shit about filmic legacies and regurgitated (sometimes shot-for-shot) scenes that neither hold a candle to the original or are purposely derisive to it. He hates that you'll take any non-sensical, lazy plot and keep coming back, even after being burned so many times before. He hates you so much…