Parker

Actors:  Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Nick Nolte, Wendell Pierce, Patti Lupone, Emma Booth
Rating:  8 out of 10, Jason Statham scowls his way through another movie – kicking ass and taking names.  He’s very Porteresque in a plot very similar to Payback.  This should have been enough but the filmmakers decided Jennifer Lopez needed to be in the movie in what should have been a small part. I’m guessing she was not content with that because her role is awkwardly expanded to include more of her than was necessary. The movie’s pace comes to a screeching halt whenever she appears on screen. Statham’s proven he can carry an entire action movie. They should have let him.
MVP:  Statham as the title character ,a good hearted thief who packs a punch

Immortal (Ad Vitam)

Actors:  Linda Hardy, Thomas Kretschmann, Charlotte Rampling, Thomas Pollard
Rating:  5 out of 10, A very, very French film shot in that same disconcerting fashion as Sky Captain where the actors are occasionally real but everything else is very rudimentary CGI.  You’ve got the ancient Egyptian gods hanging out over a future New York City in a floating pyramid that no one seems to care about whilst one of those gods in running around the city trying to impregnate a blue haired cyborg seeming gal with the assistance of the dad from Wanted.  It didn’t make a whole lot more sense watching it.  The story is sacrificed for cool seeming visuals which really aren’t that cool.  They were obviously aiming for Luc Besson territory but failed miserably.  What was I thinking?
MVP:  Hardy is very French and very hot as Jill the blue haired cyborg

Cloud Atlas

Actors:  Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D’Arcy, Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, David Gyasi
Rating:  10 out of 10, Against all odds, my favorite movie of 2012.  I know it’s been skewered by so many but, to a movie nut (guilty), this is nearly a perfect movie.  It has everything – a combination of all genres: a drama, a comedy, historical epic, romance, political thriller, science fiction, horror, and post apocalyptic disaster.  I think a lot of critics grew exasperated by the jumping between stories and genres and just gave up on it (probably because of how one literary critic is treated in the movie).  If you stay engaged with it you will be richly rewarded.  I watched it for the third time and am still picking up new things.  It is one of those movies best seen on the big screen because of its epic scope but the blu ray version does it justice.  The plot jumps back and forth in time over 500 years with stories intertwined and actors playing multiple parts, even across gender/racial lines. It all eventually makes sense and I appreciated the message of enduring love, redemption, how everything/body is connected, and the consequences of good and evil acts. The filmmakers took chances and I love it when that happens. Hanks and Berry are fantastic, as always (I swear I’d watch a movie with Hanks reading the phone book). Doona Bae, a Korean actress, was fantastic in multiple roles as well. While many people (like my wife) will condemn this movie – I loved it.  The only downside was the central music theme.  A song that was supposed to link souls across the ages just wasn’t that memorable.
MVP:  Hanks transformed into a 17^th century evil doctor, a 20^th century nuclear scientist, and a reluctant post-apocalyptic hero

That's Halle Berry on the Right

Cleanskin

Actors:  Sean Bean, Charlotte Rampling, Abhin Galaya, Tom Burke, Tuppence Middleton, Peter Polycarpou
Rating:  6 out of 10, I watched this because I saw some on line reviews saying it was a good political military thriller and I’ve always liked Sean Bean.  While he doesn’t get to perform his signature move (although he does give it the old college try a couple times) – a death scene – this is a pretty good flick.  It is so very British though and I can see why it didn’t make it over to the States.  It tries to serve as an apologist for Muslim radicals and that would never play here.  It reminded me a lot of 1970s movies where the big bad government was behind all evil perpetrated, even against itself.  This movie fails because of that.  You don’t try to explain evil – you wipe it out.  The action is well done although the pace is brought to a screeching halt with some overlong flashbacks. 
MVP:  Bean gets to live as a tired but effective operative

 

Lincoln

Actors:  Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon Leavitt, David Straithairn
Rating:  9 out of 10, I think only Spielberg could take a movie involving congressional politics and make it fascinating. This is a great movie because of the cast. Every single role had an accomplished actor playing the part. It was a constant stream of recognable actors under heavy period makeup. There are a lot of photographs from this era and the amount of historical accuracy portrayed is astounding. Tommy Lee Jones steals every scene he’s in, but you almost expect that. Daniel Day-Lewis is his usual amazing and portrays a Lincoln in keeping with the historical record of a shrewd but likable politician with an inner drive to do right. I was a huge Civil War nut when I was growing up so Lincoln was an immense presence in that fascination.  It is simply amazing to see that implacable face and presence brought to life with such humanity.  This most beloved icon of American history is made human with no loss of his heroic legacy.  Everything about this movie resonated – a great movie.
MVP:  Lewis may be the best actor ever and he "is" Abraham Lincoln

Frankenstein Created Woman 1967

Actors:  Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg, Thorley Walters, Robert Morris, Peter Blythe
Rating:  3 out of 10, Cushing is back as the diabolical Baron in this completely silly story that is played straight and an actually pretty well done horror flick.  The Baron is seemingly penniless and living in the upstairs loft of a friend where he freezes himself solid and shoots at champagne glasses in his spare time.  His trusted assistant is wrongly guillotined which gives the Baron a chance to reanimate his soul into the body of a comely young lady following some obligatory post mortem plastic surgery.  Of course the reanimated babe immediately goes on a vengeful killing spree instead of admiring his new female form.  You can see Hammer Studios starting to lose their way here.
MVP:  Morris as the soon to be headless hero Hans

The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires

Actors:  Peter Cushing, David Chiang, Julie Ege, Robin Stewart, John Forbes-Robinson and a bunch of Chinese Kung Fu fighters
Rating:  4 out of 10, One of those god-awful Hammer films after they lost their way following some initially very good and scary horror films.  By the early 1970s nothing good was coming out of them and I feel bad for Peter Cushing who finds himself as Doctor Van Helsing transported into a Chinese Kung Fu movie (all the rage in the 1970s).  Dracula has switched bodies with a Chinese dude who reanimates the seven decayed corpse like Chinese vampires whose signature move seems to be ripping the shirts off comely female villagers.  Cushing accompanied by his son, a stunning Norwegian visitor, and seven kung fu fighting brothers journey across feudal China to put paid to the count.  So bad that the unintentional comedy level is through the roof.
MVP:  Cushing as the suffering Dr Van Helsing