Movie Reviews: Passengers, Assassin's Creed, Sing, Jackie, Why Him?, Fences, Lion | Buzz Blog

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Movie Reviews: Passengers, Assassin's Creed, Sing, Jackie, Why Him?, Fences, Lion

Posted By on December 21, 2016, 12:31 PM

  • Pin It
    Favorite
click to enlarge passengers_still.webp
The busy Christmas movie week brings a mix of would-be Oscar contenders and crowd-pleasers, representing nearly every possible genre.

The science-fiction romance Passengers  (pictured) opens with a strong concept, before collapsing in a conclusion that's morally indefensible. The fact-based drama Lion (opening Christmas day) works in its opening focused on an orphaned Indian boy, then loses all momentum during its final hour. The broad comedy of Why Him? (opening Friday) is wildly uneven, but offers the singular experience of James Franco dialed up to 11.

MaryAnn Johanson loves the charms of Sing, an animated musical that feels like it might have been produced in Zootopia.

Eric D. Snider bashes another pointless, dour, personality-free video-game adaptation in Assassin's Creed.

David Riedel praises Viola Davis, Denzel Washington and the impressive job of bringing August Wilson's brilliant play Fences (opening Christmas day) to the screen.

In this week's feature review, Jackie's story of the week after JFK's assassination has an interesting idea about turning people into icons, but hits that same idea over and over again.

About The Author

Scott Renshaw

Scott Renshaw

Bio:
Scott Renshaw has been a City Weekly staff member since 1999, including assuming the role of primary film critic in 2001 and Arts & Entertainment Editor in 2003. Scott has covered the Sundance Film Festival for 25 years, and provided coverage of local arts including theater, pop-culture conventions, comedy,... more

On Topic...

More by Scott Renshaw

Latest in Buzz Blog

© 2025 Salt Lake City Weekly

Website powered by Foundation