Chronicle

Actors:  Dane Dehaan, Alex Russell, Michael B Jordan, Ashley Hinshaw, Michael Kelly
Rating:  8 out of 10, this movie was a lot of fun despite the annoying use of the documentary film motif where the characters are actually filming the action.  This is mitigated to a certain extent when they acquire their powers and can levitate the camera so it follows them.  I really liked how truthful it seemed.  If three adolescents suddenly acquired these superhuman abilities this is what they would do with them.  They’d blow girls’ skirts up, hit each other with rocks, and taken mediocre revenge against tormentors.  The three main leads were all very good and seemed to channel their high school years experience.  The special effects sneak up on you because they are played as nothing special – all of a sudden they’re flying- like it was no big thing.  That is the strength of the movie - the interplay between the young men as they struggle withier new god-like powers.  Jordan is someone to keep an eye on because he just oozed charisma which is what his character called for but all too often that comes across as arrogance – not here.  Dehaan is appropriately creepy as the one who eventually is corrupted by absolute power.  A movie I wasn’t expecting a lot from that delivered in spades – great watch. 
MVP:  Jordan as Steve Montgomery the charismatically doomed good guy

My Week with Marilyn

Actors:  Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Ormond, Emma Watson, Judi Dench

Rating:  6 out of 10, this was another Netflix rental and another definite not buy.  The acting is superb especially from Branagh and Williams.  My sole problem is that Williams is just not Marilyn when it comes to looks or to charisma.  She certainly gives it a game effort but the whole premise is based on the devastating charm and physical presence Monroe was capable of and that is severely lacking with Williams.  She expertly conveys the lost Marilyn and the supporting cast of her enablers are also top notch to a really creepy degree.  Branagh shines as Olivier and has some of the movie’s best moments as he struggles with Monroe’s unprofessionalism juxtaposed with her talent.  Redmayne is your typical English school boy but he is clearly out of his depth when he appears on the screen with either Branagh or Williams, not to mention Dench.  This was an interesting bit of supposedly true adventure of a young boy with the fatally flawed superstar and I liked what it had to say about the illusion of celebrity but it just misses on being likable.  I can’t believe how old Ormond got, all of a sudden.

MVP:  Branagh as the superbly talented yet put upon Lawrence Olivier

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Actors:  Dick Van Dyke, Sally Anne Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe, Benny Hill
Rating:  8 out of 10, the other beloved movie from my youth that I picked up in a recent Amazon foray.  This one held up a lot better than the other and I really enjoyed watching it.  The biggest surprise was re-discovering that the movie was based on a book from James Bond creator Ian Fleming and the film was made by Cubby Broccoli who made all the great early Bond movies.  A further connection includes the actor who played “Q” in a minor role and Auric Goldfinger himself, Gert Frobe, as a bumbling Bavarian baron.  This movie belongs to Van Dyke and Howes though and they are superb together.  This movie was made only 4 years after Mary Poppins but Van Dyke looked to have aged 15 years in the meantime or he was just a little bit out of shape.  He nails the part of crack pot inventor Caracatus Potts and is believable as the scatterbrained but loving father.  You have to ask yourself why he is the only one in the family without an English accent.  His equally crazy father is played by Jeffries who was actually four years younger than Van Dyke.  The first half of the movie is the best with the liveliest songs and action played against the budding love story of Potts and the aptly named Truly Scrumptious (Fleming had a way with names).  The second half drags just a little bit as we move to Bavaria and the truly inspiring castle (real life Neuschwanstein) of the baron.  The movie is supposed to be about the really cool car but the people don’t get lost and that makes all the difference.  This journey back to my youth was much more enjoyable and I’m in love with Howes all over again.
MVP:  Sally Anne Howes as the ethereal beauty Truly Scrumptious  

Mary Poppins

Actors:  Julie Andrews. Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Jane Darwell
Rating:  7 out of 10, this was one of the seminal movies from the time I first saw it when I was nine years old.  I had not seen it in decades, literally.  I bought it on a whim while I was cruising through Amazon and finally got around to watching it last night.  It’s funny what sticks with you from movies you saw as a child.  There were a lot of scenes that I clearly remember, the bank, scene, the chimney sweeps, and that supercalifragilouos song but there was so much more that I didn’t remember.  I certainly didn’t remember that there were so many songs and I marveled that this movie kept my attention because of that.  So many of these songs keep repeating in your mind after you hear them.  Andrews was perfect for the part and she made a great team with Van Dyke who was so much better that I remembered.  The biggest impression the movie made with me now was the astounding level of special effects achieved given that this was 1964.  It certainly spoke volumes about Disney’s creativity back then.  I especially remembered and was rewarded by the Feed the Birds segment which featured one of the great faces in movie history in her last role, Jane Darwell.  The movie was made for and still is for children but it was a nice visit to nostalgia land.  Now if I can just get that damned Chim Chiminee Chiminee song out of my head. 
MVP:  Van Dyke as the omnipresent Bert but also the aged bank president

Faster

Actors:  Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Gugino, Maggie Grace, Oliver Jackson Cohen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Rating:  7 out of 10, I couldn’t believe I didn’t buy this movie before now.  It’s right in my wheelhouse as a great action movie.  Johnson really comes into his own as an action star and actually displays some depth.  He carries the movie with ease and it only slows down when he’s not on the screen.  He’s always had the physical presence and wry humor but there’s none of that here as he is absolutely relentless as a just released con seeking revenge against the people who murdered his brother.  The script does a good job of setting up his victims – one is a telemarketer (who hasn’t wanted to put a round or two into one of them) and a child molester.  The movie slows down considerably with Thornton’s plot line as a junkie cop and a lot of his lines seem really contrived.  I do think the movie makers tried to stretch a little too far when they included a third plot line involving a bored millionaire hit man but Grace and Cohen do it superbly.  There’s a real edge to Cohen’s sanity and you keep waiting for him to off Grace even though he’s obviously deeply in love with her.  There’s a great scene near the end with the guy who played Mr. Eko on Lost – I wonder why he doesn’t get more work – he’s great.  This was a really fun action movie that tried to get a little too cute but still has the irresistible force of Johnson’s character – Driver. 
MVP:  Johnson as the relentless Driver just chews up scenery with physical presence

Underworld Awakening

Actors:  Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, India Eisley, Theo James, Michael Ealy

Rating:  8 out of 10, it is great to get Beckinsale back in her black lycra killing suit as the Vampire warrior Selene.  This film picks up shortly after the last one she appeared in and takes the story in a completely new direction – war with humans.  Selene wakes up after 12 years in deep freeze following her capture.  She quickly learns she now has a very dangerous daughter and new super-Lycans to deal with.  While this will never be an extremely deep film series, with any kind of socially redeeming quality – it sure is fun to watch.  The special effects are top notch and Beckinsale demonstrates real presence as she casually dispatches hordes of adversaries.  The story is an inch deep but the pace keeps you from noticing most of the time.  Ealy seems a little out of place as the helpful human but Rea is superb as the evil head Lycan.  The final battle is extremely well choreographed and Eisley is truly scary when she changes into her hybrid form.  A fun movie to watch and it sets itself up for another sequel which would be welcome.
MVP:  Beckinsale as the slinky but riveting Selene

Dream House

Actors:  Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas, Elias Koteas
Rating:  6 out of 10, I missed this when it came out in theaters but added it to my Netflix list.  It’s a psychological thriller that tries to get too cute and misses partly from being too predictable.  I knew coming in what the twist was because they revealed that in the trailers and it happens only halfway through the movie.  I think if they had done a better job of keeping the secret of who Craig’s character actually was then it would have been a much better picture.  I found myself looking for clues about the real versus fantasy world precisely because I knew what the secret was – poor decision to reveal this ahead of time.  The cast is top notch and all seemed to have been truly engaged in this film.  Craig is an interesting actor and does a superb job of switching between successful business man and mental patient.  He did seem to struggle with his American accent at times, none of the others did.   Csokas always makes a great villain and he steals every scene he’s in with the barely concealed rage of a divorced control freak.  I kind of liked this movie but found it too distracting to truly enjoy, another definite non-purchase.
MVP:  Csokas as Jack Patterson, the raging sociopath

Haywire

Actors:  Gina Carano, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton
Rating:  7 out of 10, I wasn’t too sure about this when it first came out but after seeing it again I decided I liked it.  Carano is an interesting choice.  She not movie star beautiful but is still very sexy and has real physical presence.  She’s very convincing in the fight scenes but, with the exception of Tatum, she’s called on to fight a bunch of wimps.  I think my little sister could beat up McGregor, Fassbender, and Banderas.  There’s a great plot with the usual Soderbergh jumping all over the place.  Carano plays a covert government contractor who’s double crossed by her former boyfriend and boss, McGregor.  This turns out to be a huge mistake.  The cast is incredibly solid, with the exception of Carano.  She just can not act, not even a little bit.  Unfortunately Soderbergh doesn’t choose to mask that, maybe he was afraid of getting his ass kicked.  She’s given the entire movie to carry despite the presence of some very gifted actors, who are totally believable, even Tatum, who is a better actor than he is usually given credit for.  The other actors are only given minor roles and scenes.  You end up just hanging on until the next fight scene, which are thankfully aplenty.   
MVP:  Carano as Mallory Kane, the incredibly gifted fighter who cannot act but is still fun to watch

Young Adult

Actors:  Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Oswalt Patton, Elizabeth Reasor
Rating:  6 out of 10, I missed this when it came out in theaters and really looked forward to it when it appeared on my Netflix list.  I really liked the previous efforts of the writer, Diablo Cody, so I guess I should have been set up for disappointment which I certainly was.  It was one of those movies where the trailer contained all the funny parts which were actually funnier in the trailer than when you saw them in the context of the movie.  Theron is very, very good but her character is so utterly irredeemable that there is nothing whatsoever sympathetic about her.  You hope she’s on an arc to a better place after her meltdown at the house of her high school sweetheart but then she meets another enabler and achieves nothing.  I think the problem is that Theron is the kind of actress that you want to root for and you just can’t here.  That may be why she chose this part and the one where she portrayed Aileen Wornos, to try to escape that likability.  The only problem here was that the entire movie falls victim as totally unlikable.  I liked that they show the illusion of Theron’s character’s spectacular good looks as a facade that required a lot of prep.  I also like the message that talent (even though just a modicum), good looks, and charisma don’t necessarily make you a nice person.  We get enough of that in real life that getting preached about it as entertainment is a waste of time.  I am definitely not buying this one.
MVP:  Theron luminously evil and totally oblivious as Mavis Gary trying to recapture the lost love of her high school years and missing all the clues to a better life