Downsizing

Actors: Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudekis, Udo Keir

Rating: 8 out of 10, A Matt Damon vehicle that was sold, at least in the previews, as a comedy about an everyman getting shrunk down to five inches in size. I really liked this movie on a second viewing; I must have been in a bad mood at the theater. Damon won me over this second time through as his performance is a lot more layered than I originally thought. The environmental message is just a vehicle and the importance of human connection transcends all. The quirky love story between Damon and Hong Chau is delightful. It perked up whenever Christoph Waltz or Hong Chau were on the screen.

MVP: Hong Chau as the irrepressible one legged Vietnamese Tran

Justice League

Actors: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K. Simmons

Rating: 9 out of 10, I loved it. I know it’s not getting a lot of love from the critics but this has everything you need from this type of popcorn action flick. Gal Gadot continues her luminescent turn as Wonder Woman and the movie takes off whenever she’s the focus. There’s a lot of subtle humor thrown in as the Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman make their debuts as well. The movie was fun for lack of a better term but as with anything that tries to achieve a dramatic arc while also introducing multiple story lines some things don’t work as well as possible. That doesn’t detract from the well-paced action and heroes you can care about and villains who needs vanquishing. Like I said – exactly what this type movie calls for.

MVP: Gadot truly wonderful as Wonder Woman

Thor: Ragnorak

Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins

Rating: 9 out of 10, This was a lot of fun. They decided to lighten things up in this latest Thor movie and Chris Hemsworth turns out to have a quite viable comedic turn in him. The movie is unremittingly funny throughout even as Asgard is getting seriously trashed when Thor’s older sister, unfortunately the goddess of death, arrives to shake things up. Loki is a little more understated this time out which was a good decision because it let the other actors have more, and there’s that word again – fun. Tessa Thompson as a drunken Valkyrie was particularly good and there’s liberal use of the Hulk which is never a bad thing. I’m not sure how Marvel keeps doing it but they’ve another hit on their hands – I loved this movie.

MVP: Hemsworth showing his comedic Thor

3 Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Actors: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage, Caleb Landry Jones, Kerry Condon, Darrell Britt-Gibson,  Lucas Hedges

Rating: 10 out of 10, One of the angriest movies I’ve ever seen and also one of the best. There is not a weak link in any of the acting performances and Frances McDormand is transcendent. You can feel the rage simmering within her as the mother of a murdered daughter trying to cajole the police department into solving the crime. This isn’t the usual black and white sides of a situation Hollywood revels in. All of the characters are multifaceted and flawed. There are some very poignant moments also, none better when than when the police chief coughs and McDormand’s icy steel façade drops for an instant. The easiest message to take from this is that life is complicated and to look beyond the surface of people – wise advice. There are no easy answers here but a lot of fun taking the ride along with this talented group of actors at the top of their game. I can’t recommend this movie highly enough. It can be tough at times but the dark comedy laced throughout makes it all worthwhile.

MVP: Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes

Dunkirk

Actors: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy

Rating: 9 out of 10, Chris Nolan does a fabulous job bringing the epic story of the miraculous survival of the British Army in the opening stages of World War 2. It wouldn’t be Nolan if he didn’t throw a few curve balls at the viewer though as the story is told through three intersecting story lines, each operating over a different time span, a week versus a day versus an hour. The bleak outlook for the remnants of the British Army at the outset are offset by simple heroic actions. Nolan exhibits his usual fine touch of not trying to pummel you into seeing his vision but allowing it to unfold. The cast, especially Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance, shine although the story of the Soldiers on the beach was a little confusing. I was brought up in a generation that venerated the significance of Dunkirk which allowed Britain to survive until the US could enter the fray. It would be a much different world today without Dunkirk and I’m glad such a fine film has been made so current and future generations can understand what we owe to the heroes of that conflict.

MVP: Hardy as heroic Spitfire pilot Farrier

Geostorm

Actors: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Abbie Cornish, Richard Schiff, Alexandra Maria Lara, Robert Sheehan, Daniel Wu, Eugenio Derbez, Andy García.

Rating: 7 out of 10, The latest in the genre where CGI artists get to wreak death and destruction over large parts of the globe. The two male leads struggle mightily to mask their British accents. Gerard Butler is the fiery inventor of the massive satellite system to control the weather that’s been hijacked by nefarious forces. His milksop of a brother recruits him to fix the problems before the earth is destroyed. The scenes up on the space station were very enjoyable but unfortunately the filmmakers decided to invest in the very earth bound and patently ridiculous goings on earth side. Abbie Cornish dominates as a secret service agent but she was the only thing remotely entertaining during the all too much time spent on the groundside melodrama. I enjoyed this a lot more on a second viewing, especially Miss Cornish

MVP: Abbie Cornish as Sarah, a very dangerous Secret Service Agent

Power Rangers

Actors: Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks

Rating: 7 out of 10, I went to see this mainly in ode to my son since I remember him raging about them when he was very young. I invested a lot of money in action figures without ever being brought into the mythology. Given that, I had no preconceived expectations about the movie which I found very entertaining. The group of teenagers drafted into roles in a galactic war were all appealing and well-conceived. Elizabeth Banks steals each and every scene as the “bad guy” named Rita Repulsa (I’m serious). It takes a while for the action to heat up but this movie works on a number of levels. The last thirty minutes are some of the loudest I’ve ever experienced in a movie theater which came in handy to drown out the annoying group of teenagers a couple rows back intent on demonstrating their immaturity.

MVP: Naomi Scott as the pink Ranger, obviously