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