Hello! I’ve been on the road this last week, seeing family and friends in Utah, so the full complement of reviews will be late. In the meantime, here’s the rundown:
– “The Shallows,” in which Blake Lively is pestered by a shark, is a solid, tight genre thriller. Bare-bones story, no frills, done quite well.
– “Free State of Jones” has Civil War-era Southern farmer Matthew McConaughey rebelling against the Rebels. Well-intentioned (probably … it’s not clear what the movie’s purpose is), but it feels like a miniseries crammed into one overlong movie.
– “Independence Day: Resurgence” was not screened for critics in the U.S. As far as I can recall, this is the most expensive, highest-profile movie to be released cold like that. Not a good sign, but who knows? I’ll catch it over the weekend.
