Tomorrowland

Actors: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key

Rating: 7 out of 10, Tomorrowland immediately tapped into several pillars of my childhood fantasies. I actually attended the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City which is the starting point of this Disney vehicle although I think Clooney had more fun on his ride through It’s a Small World than I did. I wanted so much to love this movie because it did tap into those youthful dreams cultivated each Sunday night watching Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. It just misses though by effectively hiding the message of hope and imagination in an obscure plot. Clooney and the young female lead, Britt Robertson, are very good although they lose each scene they share with Athena (watch out for her in the future). The movie spends too little time in the fantastical Tomorrowland and too much getting the heroes there although it was instructive to learn where Gregory House ended up after his television show ended. The movie briefly soars with a siege at Clooney’s house and a glimpsed commercial but I wanted the whole thing to fly and it didn’t.

MVP: Raffey Cassidy emerges as Athena the conscience of Disney

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson

Rating: 9 out of 10, Josh Whedon was back at the helm for this sequel to one of my favorite movies of all time. He continues to do a fantastic job of melding all of the prodigious acting star power and plot lines he’s responsible for. It did lack the memorable gathering sequences of the first movie but the action was predictably non-stop and breathtaking at times. The Avengers must defeat an artificially intelligent uber-robot, voiced by the always droll James Spader, and his army of robots. At the same time a mind witch has all of them contemplating their navels for various reasons. While this did little to move the plot forward it did allow interesting insights into some of the origin stores. Whedon walks a delicate line of trying to do too much but accomplishes it through the talent of the actors and the sweet sometimes, amusing side comments and plot lines. It was everything I hoped for and that’s saying a lot.

MVP: Johansson as Natalia is sexy, dangerous, and complicated, in no particular order

Entourage

Actors: Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Jeremy Piven

Rating: 7 out of 10, I went in to this with a little restraint because the last couple seasons of the television show were horrible. It’s sad when a favorite shown descends into mediocrity and I was interested to see if the movie could recapture some of the whimsical charm of the first seasons. They did. The boys have all grown up a little, well except for Drama, and Ari was toned down a bit to save his marriage. The plot involves Vinny Chase directing his first movie using Ari’s money. The briefly clad females and most of the original characters are all back swirling in Vinnie Chase’s wake. This was a real cameo-a-palooza where virtually everybody in Hollywood stops by for a few seconds. Ronda Rousey has a bit part because that seems to be almost required nowadays. The best part of the recaptured charm though was the relentless attack on the overwhelming pretention of the movie business which rang so true. It was a nice escape for a couple hours with old friends.

MVP: Dillon as the always underappreciated older brother Johnny Drama

Spy

Actors: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, Jude Law
Rating: 9 out of 10, Downright hilarious, one of the funniest films I’ve seen in a very long time. McCarthy is tone perfect as an underutilized CIA employee whom the field agents rely on but who never gets her chance to shine. This changes with an unexpected death as she is thrust into the middle of a nuclear weapons crisis. I have not laughed this hard or continuously, while sober, in years. It’s obvious McCarthy adlibbed a number of her lines which are the strength of the hilarity; especially when she and Rose Byrne are playing off each other. The women dominate this flick with Allison Janney stealing some scenes as McCarthy’s boss. Jason Statham is outrageously funny doing a perfect send up of himself as a self-important yet ultimately clueless spy whom McCarthy has to rescue. The dialogue is unremittingly profane which I kind of liked, why can’t women swear like dock workers or male action stars. This film may actually be a game changer because it is a female driven action comedy that works on every level. Go see this, as long as your tolerance of the f-word is high, you won’t be disappointed
MVP:   McCarthy as Susan the wonder spy

Furious 7

Actors: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham

Rating: 9 out of 10, You don’t go into a Fast and Furious movie expecting grand thespian adventures. What you do get is a series of car stunts, beautiful women, totally impossible action sequences, and some real heart. This was strange on a couple levels. First and foremost was knowing Paul Walker died in the middle of filming. Wondering how they would handle it was in the background throughout. I won’t go into detail in case you haven’t seen it but I thought it was perfect. Understanding we’re not talking War and Peace here but it was classy, poignant, and true to the themes of the series. Nuff said. The other strange aspect was seeing my wife’s favorite boy toy, Jason Statham, as the villain. He’s so charismatic that it was tough reimagining him as truly evil, but he gave it a worthy effort. The film itself was a thoroughly enjoyable romp through the misadventures of the Furious gang, elevating their scams to the global terrorism arena. Needless to say there were the usual plot holes you could drive one of their souped up cars through but this is to be expected and almost reveled in. A lot of harmless fun if you go in sans your Oscar ballot and need for reality.
MVP:  Diesel as Toretta, because this will always be Diesel's show

 

Mad Max Fury Road

Actors: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton

Rating: 10 out of 10,  picks you up from the first scene of an unfortunate two headed lizard’s demise and deposits you two hours later absolutely spent from the unrelenting action. While this may have Tom Hardy billed at the title character this is Charlize Theron’s movie despite Hardy being a fantastic reboot of the character Mel Gibson lofted to iconic status. Max is making his way through the desolate landscape dodging marauders and memories when he’s accosted by the minions of a truly terrifying warlord. His subsequent road to escape and teaming up with Theron is amazing in the minute details, the horrific battles, and the stunning exterior shots. Make sure you see this movie and see it on the big screen to truly enjoy it. Be warned though, you may leave needing an oxygen mask – great movie!!!!!!

MVP:   Theron as Furiosa – dominates!

Insurgent

Actors: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, Suki Waterhouse, Rosa Salazar, Daniel Dae Kim, Jonny Weston, Emjay Anthony.

Rating: 8 out of 10,  I’d hazard to say this was even better than the first movie which is hard to do with a sequel. Shailene Woodley continues to blaze and carries the movie with ample help from a coldly evil Kate Winslet. Woodley as Tris and her boy toy have escaped the remains of walled in Chicago and are fomenting revolt against the very uptight Winslet. If you have trouble suspending disbelief it begs the question why Winslet armed with fabulous futuristic technology can’t find a bunch of teenagers running around inside the walled city with her. Miles Teller still hasn’t recovered from Whiplash because he couldn’t pick a side but plays a bigger part in this movie which was also welcome. The finale was highly predictable but satisfying and the special effects were dazzling. Go see this movie though for the interplay between Winslet and Woodley, two generations going head to head with the viewer as the winner.

MVP:   Woodley as Tris – carries the action and the emotion – will win an Oscar someday