Zombieland 2/Gemini Man/Jexi

Zombieland: Double Tap

There has been a pretty sketchy track record for long in the making sequels lately. For every Anchorman 2(which IS great, you heathens) there seems to be 4 or 5 Bad Santa 2s or Sin City 2s or Independence Day 2s. Thankfully, the long awaited Zombieland sequel is worthy. It's not AS great as the 1st, but it's a good follow-up. The key is the ensemble. It's just a really well put together core. Now of course Emma Stone and Woody Harrelson in particular are great in everything, and when he's not playing Lex Luthor Jesse Eisenberg is usually very good too. If I have a major quibble with the sequel it's that it introduces too many new characters. But how can I be mad when one is played by the deliriously cute and funny Zoey Deutch, who takes her ditzy blonde stereotype character and just knocks it out of the park. The plot is very episodic and meandering, but it was in the original too. Fun gore. Don't wait another 10 years for part 3 

Gemini Man

Okay, the gimmick of having the 2 Will Smiths mostly works. The younger Smith sometimes looks like a half realized CGI character, but at other times it's pretty seamless. I wish the plot were more ambitious. It's pretty standard spy/assassin movie stuff mostly, but done fairly well, and ably carried by Smith. Mary Elizabeth Winstead gets a big part, so that's always gonna be a positive. Clive Owen is wasted as a one note bad guy, who didn't need to be a one note bad guy(why not have him ACTUALLY care about the younger Smith?).

Jexi

So this one basically takes Her, but makes the A.I. a perverted stalker. Could be a decent enough frame to pin a raucous comedy onto, but this thing is just a tedious bore. Very few laughs. Adam Devine, an actor who I usually find quite unlikable, is really at his worst here. Maybe he can only pull off a believable romance with Rebel Wilson, cause his one here with Alexandra Shipp is one of the least convincing romances I have seen in a long time. Poor Michael Pena is asked to perform some of the most irritatingly unfunny scenes of the year. 

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