Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning

Actors: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett.

Rating: 8 out of 10, If this truly is the last film in this series, it goes out with a bang. While that is predictable given the series DNA, somehow they’ve taken the stunts and sheer “impossibility” of some of Tom Cruise’s exploits to even higher levels. The run time is really, really long as they crammed as much as they possibly could into the nearly three hours. They spend a lot of time reconnecting to the prior movies, including an extremely cool reach back to one of the minor characters from the very first movie. They could have and probably should have trimmed some of the underwater work which dragged on way too long, stretching incredulity beyond even what a dedicated MI fan can accept. You have to go into these movies prepared to suspend disbelief but there were times I was just shaking my head as we left reality behind decisively. The final half of the movie, with the world on the brink of nuclear immolation (of course), makes anything leading up to it easy to forgive. A great, glossy, overblown, overlong, but completely entertaining epic, I loved it.

MVP: Cruise as Hunt (of course)

Working Man

Actors: Jason Statham, Michael Peña, David Harbour, Andrej Kaminsky, Jason Flemyng,  Ninidze

Rating: 8 out of 10, A Working Man is an excellent action flick with Statham’s once again playing the everyman blessed with a back story involving elite military skills. The bad guys, once again, fail to take that into account when they kidnap the daughter of a close family friend. The expected carnage follows but this is so well done and Statham is so believable in both his acting and his athleticism that it is a joy to sit through. You almost feel sorry for the bad guys as they make the mistakes leading to their eventual comeuppance and loss of body parts. David Harbour shines in a small role as a former military buddy. This is an excellent follow-up to last year’s Beekeeper and proves Statham is still at the top of his game.

MVP: Statham as Levon, lost nothing off his action creds

Fantastic 4 First Steps

Actors: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Ralph Ineson

Rating: 9 out of 10, They finally got the Fantastic Four right. Although I liked the Jessica Alba version, this newest outing was, well, fantastic. They set up the four in one of Marvels’ endless alternate earths with a 1960’s flavor which didn’t distract but added to the story. The extremely strong cast was tone perfect; they faced a seemingly impossible task of beating a world eating alien bent on devouring earth. Pedro Pascal can do anything and Vanessa Kirby is more than his match as his wife. The other two of the four were both excellent as well. Marvel seems to have gotten back on track with this latest outing, once again creating characters we can invest in. Another great summer epic.

MVP: Kirby as Sue Storm, heart of the movie

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

Actors: Gerard Butler, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad, Salvatore Esposito, Meadow Williams, Swen Temmel

Rating: 8 out of 10, A predictably good action flick. Predictable because of the Gerard Butler O’Shea Jackson pairing. Butler plays a disgraced cop who joins up with an international criminal ring, led by Jackson, the only one who got away in the first film, to rob a diamond market. There are some huge plot holes, like why the organized criminals so readily accept a former cop into their team, but with action movies you forgive a lot. The two leads make a very good buddy pairing, from opposite ends of the law enforcement spectrum. This is a lot less gritty than the original, but the robbery was great cinema keeping the audience on the proverbial edge of the seat. A great addition to the action genre.

MVP: Butler owns action hero roles

Thunderbolts

Actors: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Rating: 8 out of 10, This latest Marvel flick harkens back to their earlier films which were so entertaining. The blame for this return to quality lays squarely on Florence Pugh and David Harbour. They are standouts in a cast of misfits called upon to, you know, save the world. They’re not as well endowed with supe abilities as their preceding Avengers but they are a lot of fun, especially Pugh and Harbour who play a difunctional parent/daughter. The action is non-stop as is the lively dialogue. The only downside was the villain, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who’s only superpower was being obnoxious versus dangerous. Still, a welcome return to form for Marvel, a really enjoyable watch.

MVP: Pugh is heart of the movie as anguished anti-hero

Accountant 2

Actors: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson and J. K. Simmons, Daniella Pineda

Rating: 8 out of 10, I loved the first Accountant movie with Affleck playing a lethal auditor operating at a high level of the autism scale. The lack of aspect the character requires leads perfectly into Affleck’s acting style an he delivers once again in this sequel. One of the best arts of the original was the relationship he had with his estranged brother, played by the latest Punisher, Jon Berthal, an assassin in his own right. Th filmmakers must have liked that also because the sequel is centered around that relationship. The very few moments bodies weren’t flying about were amply filled with the two reconnecting as brothers. The accountant is called in to identify a missing immigrant family which has also caught the attention of a dangerous female assassin. There are some neat twists at the end involving the climactic battle with the villains. They obviously set themselves up for another sequel which is welcome news. A great action flick with fully developed characters.

MVP: Affleck is perfect as the autistic assassin

Fight or Flight

Actors: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Julian Kostov, Katee Sackhoff, Marko Zaror, Rebecka Johnston

Rating: 9 out of 10, This movie truly surprised me. It’s a goofy action comedy with Josh Hartnett starring as a disgraced secret service agent who’s coaxed back into the business to capture a wanted cyber terrorist on a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. There are too many plot twists to describe other than to say Hartnett is awesome as he kills his way through the plane loaded with assassins. He’s ably assisted by Charithra Chandran as a spunky flight attendant; she manages to steal the majority of scenes that she’s in. I would hazard a guess that we’ll be hearing a lot more about this actress in the near future. She was great. As was the entire movie which had me laughing as well as cringing as the carnage unfolded. I texted my son as soon as I got home, telling him this was our kind of movie.

MVP: Hartnett as Reyes as an “excuse me” John Wick clone

Kraven the Hunter

Actors: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, Russell Crowe

Rating: 7 out of 10, I’m not sure why this is getting such bad press because I thought this was a fun super-hero movie. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who was so good in Bullet Train, proves he’s certainly grown up since his Kick Ass days. He’s a very watchable star and more than holds his own with Russell Crowe who plays his evil Russian dad. The action was top notch and Kraven is an interesting hero. My only problem was the ending which I think they botched, trying to ham-handedly set up a sequel. With current box office figures, I don’t think they’ll have to worry about that but I did truly enjoy this.

MVP: Taylor-Johnson once again nailing an action role as title character, so far from Kick Ass

Venom The Last Dance

Actors: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach

Rating: 8 out of 10, This is the final movie in Tom Hardy’s trilogy as Eddie Brock, host for the hilarious and deadly symbiont, Venom. The first movie will always be the best one in this series because it focused almost completely on the Hardy/Venom tandem. This movie is awesome as long as they were on screen. There are a couple sub-plots that bring the momentum and hilarity to a screeching halt. Juno Temple is wasted which should involve criminal charges against somebody. All that being said, it was a very fun ride, maybe the last with Hardy in this role and he dominates whenever he’s on the screen. The action for the final twenty minutes is non-stop and bewilderingly chaotic; but that’s what you get with Venom. A great last ride.

MVP: Hardy, of course, as the Eddie Brock/Venom tandem

Gladiator II

Actors: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington, Derek Jacobi

Rating: 8 out of 10, I loved this sequel to one of my favorite movies. They spend a lot of time and effort tying the characters back to Maximus, which I appreciated. The action was a lot more realistic due to the advances in CGI, but this let them wander into some silliness. I mean. Sharks in the Colosseum! Connie Neilson returns and lends appropriate gravity to the events along with Denzel, who, as always, steals every scene he’s in. The lead, Paul Mescal, is a revelation as the grown-up version of one of the original movie’s characters. He handles the action as well as the emotions almost as well as Crowe did. The film makers follow the same type plot line which again totally ignores the true history but this is Hollywood and they’ve delivered a great action movie again, almost on par with the original.

MVP: Denzel as the devious Macrinus

Red One

Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J. K. Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Nick Kroll, Kristofer Hivju, Wesley Kimmel

Rating: 8 out of 10, Not as bad as you might be hearing from the critics. The cast is outstanding and the duo of the Rock and Captain America are perfect foils for each other. The Rock oversees security for Santa Claus and spends the movie trying to find him after a kidnapping, assisted by naughty lister Evans. I know, a silly premise but it works as they devote themselves to playing it straight, as if this could really happen. There’s also a less than subtle message about Christmas and family which is always welcome. I really enjoyed the movie and the action was credible, even when they’re fighting rogue snow men sent by the Christmas witch. I know. As I said, silly, but it works.

MVP: Evans as the naughty guy, Jack O’Malley

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Actors: Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer

Rating: 8 out of 10, I’m a huge fan of Guy Ritchie films and he really delivers here. It’s loosely (very loosely) based on a real WW2 commando raid, Operation Postmaster. They really nailed the casting with Superman, Reacher, and the very hot gal from Ambulance leading. There was plenty of the understated British humor I love in Ritchie films. The action was expertly woven into the plot as the commandos have to fight both the Germans and the British high command who wants to surrender to Germany (remember, highly fictionalized). I loved this movie.

MVP: Cavill as the well bearded leader Gus March-Phillipps

The Killer’s Game

Actors: Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, Pom Klementieff, Ben Kingsley

Rating: 7 out of 10, This was okay with some John Wickian type action and some funny moments as well. Strange to see Drax the Destroyer facing off against Mantis. Bautista plays a word class assassin (who, of course, only kills bad guys) who receives a mis-diagnosis that gives him only a few months to live. He takes out a contract to have himself killed. As luck would have it, he’s just fallen in love with a diminutive French dancer, played by the always watchable Sofia Boutella. After he learns he isn’t going to die, he now has to take on a bevy of fellow assassins while trying to protect his girlfriend. That very interesting concept is fully explored and this could have been a lot of fun if Bautista had taken it more seriously. He seems almost detached and just taking a payday while the rest of the cast is awesome. This surprised me as I’m a big fan of Bautista. Still, a nice, if very bloody, watch.

MVP: Boutella as the love interest Maize

Judgement at Nuremburg

Actors: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, William Shatner, Montgomery Clift

Rating: 9 out of 10, Couldn’t believe I had never seen this. A truly amazing collection of actors delivers a poignant message that feels all the more so nowadays with the travesties we see ongoing in Washington. The political ramifications with the cold war heating up at the time of the trials also had relevance to today’s justice system. It was strange to see the impossibly young Captain James T. Kirk and Colonel Klink in serious roles. The film is dominated by the amazing cast. Widmark is a little over the top, but Tracy is at his best serving as the chief judge of four German judges who enforced the Nazi regime’s inhuman justice system. Tracy’s judgement monologue should be required viewing.  I’m usually not that all in on a “message” film but this grabs you by the lapels and dares you to forget the atrocities. The value of a single human being!

MVP: Tracy as the head judge and conscience of the film

Furiosa A Mad Max Saga

Actors: Anya Taylor-Joy, Alyla Browne, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, John Howard, Nathan Jones, Angus Sampson

Rating: 8 out of 10, I really enjoyed this prequel of the amazing Fury Road. Anya Taylor-Jones is dynamite in the nearly non-stop action sequences which Miller does so well. My only problem was her lack of spoken lines. She only speaks occasionally while diving around her war rig, so it was hard to connect with her as a character. Chris Hemsworth speaks maybe a little too much as another in the long line of amazing Mad Max villains. This film tells the origin story of Imperator Furiosa and how she came to lose an arm and ended up hanging out with the war boys. It was always going to be tough to capture the magic of Fury Road and while they come close, they didn’t. Still, a very entertaining summer action movie worth seeing for Taylor-Jones and her duel with Hemsworth.

MVP: Anya Taylor-Jones is tone perfect as the iconic Furiosa

Fall Guy

Actors: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt,  Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke

Rating: 7 out of 10, This is a very enjoyable movie which shouldn’t be a problem but I guess I was expecting more of a punch, considering the cast. As it is, it is a devoted love letter to the Hollywood stuntman and the stunts, obviously not CGIed are truly epic. You would think the Blunt-Gosling pairing would be magic. They’re both very good in this, especially Gosling. He was back in the well remembered and loved type personae of The Nice Guys. He’s semi-bumbling but highly effective stunt man trying to win back Blunt’s love. There’s also a murder mystery involving the movie within the movie’s biggest star. I expected to be blown away and while I really enjoyed the movie I wasn’t. Considering the director’s past films I thought there would be non-stop action and a thrilling finale. The finale was awesome but the first part of the movie dragged a bit.

MVP: Gosling as the titular stunt man, Colt Seavers, so good

Deadpool and Wolverine

Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, Matthew Macfadyen

Rating: 9 out of 10, I was afraid there was no way Deadpool and Wolverine could deliver on expectations. The first two Deadpool movies were so good that there had to be a letdown. There wasn’t. I haven’t laughed this much at a movie in a very long time as Reynolds continues to shatter the 4th wall with a more than adequate straight man in Jackman. They spend most of the movie trying to kill each other, despite knowing that is impossible. There are too many cameos to highlight and they all work, sometimes hilariously so (think Channing Tatum). Reynolds takes his new bosses at Marvel to task throughout the movie and it is just too funny. My only complaint would be the lack of adequate screen time for Monica Baccarin but you could say that about every movie, whether she’s in it or not. If this is Deadpool’s last ride, he goes out firmly on top.

MVP: Jackman as the dangerous foil to Deadpool’s insanity

Boy Kills World

Actors: Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Yayan Ruhian, Andrew Koji, Sharlto Copley, Famke Janssen

Rating: 7 out of 10, The title is actually very descriptive as a young boy, having witnessed the killing of his family by a despotic city ruler is set on a course for revenge by a martial arts tutor. The latest Pennywise is cast as the adult version and he make the movie. He’s been rendered deaf/ mute and has an inner voice which lends some much needed comedy to the brutal action scenes. There are some superbly choreographed, cartoonish fight scenes leading up to the well set up twists and turns of the climatic battle. This was a great ride as long as the CGI blood spatter doesn’t offend. Again, a great ride.

MVP: Skarsgård as the very lethal Boy

Borderlands

Actors: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Rating: 8 out of 10, I don’t understand why this movie is getting so much hate thrown at it. That’s probably because I’ve never played the game the film was based upon so I had no expectations. I really liked it as it offered a smart sci-fi action comedy with a stalwart crew of actors. Cate Blanchette in a true endeavor outside her usual fare is awesome as a bounty hunter hired to find a lost daughter of the villain. She makes her way to her dystopian home planet where she teams up with a motley gang including Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and a very funny robot voiced by Jack Black. There is also a huge masked, mostly silent character who’s around the physically crush anybody threatening the young girl who is also extremely funny. Again, I don’t get the hate because this is a very good, big, summer action flick. Loved it.

MVP: Cate Blanchett as Lillith, the very dangerous lead

Alien Romulus

Actors: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu

Rating: 7 out of 10, The movie is pretty good although it follows what has become the standard alien formula. A plucky female lead is marked early on as the dedicated sole survivor while her plucky band of co-stars fall, one by one, at the hands of either the alien or a conniving corporate android. The evil Weyland-Yutani corporation is back as this actually serves as a direct sequel to the first Alien movie with the alien Ripley pushed out of the ship in the final moments serving as the progenitor for the latest squad of face huggers and chest bursters. While the plot was more than fairly predictable, there was genuine tension throughout and some really scary moments as the film winds towards the inevitable climatic battle which is very good. I liked it.

MVP: Jonsson as the befuddled android Andy