Oblivion

Actors:  Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Andrea Riseborough
Rating:  8 out of 10, Science fiction on a very large scale, but done right, focusing on the stories of the people involved. That story was kind of predictable (the supposed big twist is just about revealed in the previews) but Cruise, for whatever else he is, can carry a movie like this effortlessly, even when he has to fight himself. He does get to make his trademark, head back sprinting scene a number of times, so you get that.  His interactions with other cast members were tone perfect and very believable. My only problem was the severe underuse of Morgan Freeman and the Jaime Lannister guy. I think there was a great movie hiding just under the surface of this very good flick.
MVP:  Cruise as the abused hero Jack

Dead Alive

Actors:  Timothy Balme, Diana Penalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin
Rating:  6 out of 10, Interesting that the same man behind the Lord of the Rings created this blood bath – literally.  Some great lines accompany this very low budget zombie flick of a young man caring for his zombified mother and quite possibly the most epic lawn mower in the history of cinema.  The last half of this movie is jaw droopingly awesome in sheer over the top, entertaining carnage.
MVP:  Balme as the wielder of the lawn mower

Solomon Kane

Actors:  James Purefoy, Pete Postlethwait, Alice Krige, Max Von Sydow, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Jason Flemyng
Rating:  7 out of 10, I didn’t have high expectations since this seemed to have gone straight to video (at least here in the US) but I was pleasantly surprised.  This is a really well done movie and it doesn't cut corners.  Purefoy has real presence although it’s extremely difficult to look tough and menacing in a Puritan hat. Kane is difficult to root for as a hero, at least in this incarnation, where he careens wildly between being epic and then damnable.  The action scenes are incredibly well staged, there's some great location shooting, and the special effects are top notch.  Again, though, wearing a huge buckle on your hat is a lot to overcome.    
MVP:  Purefoy in the title role, very interesting actor

G.I. Joe Retaliation

Actors:  Dwayne Johhnson, Jonathan Pryce, Adrianne Palicki, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, Channing Tatum
Rating:  7 out of 10, Pretty much what you would expect and I can see why it was delayed so long. It was kind of a fun mess. They obviously couldn’t figure out where to go with it and so it was all over the place. A couple of the big stars are just shoe horned into the plot for brief appearances while the newcomers, Rock and Adrienne Palicki, take on major roles. Luckily this kind of stuff is right down Rock’s alley and Palicki once again shows some real screen presence as well as wearing the hell out of a red dress. There were a couple of really memorable scenes (other than the red dress), like the ninja fight in the Himalayas(hey, we’re talking GI Joe here), but overall this comes out as kind of flat and formulaic.
MVP:  Rock as Roadblock, apt titling

Because I Made Such a Big Deal About it

Promised Land

Actors:  Matt Damon, Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt, John Krasinski, Hal Holbrook
Rating:  6 out of 10, I mean I get it, Damon hates big gas companies, but this was such an uneven story it was hard to figure out what was going on at times.  Damon starts out as a high priced “go to” guy for the gas company but after one night shooting vodka shots with the locals he seems to lose whatever ability he started the movie out with (well I guess that can happen).  A great cast, especially the females, McDormand and DeWitt, although they’re criminally underused.  Hal Holbrook looks to be about 180 yeas old but ably plays the conscience for Damon’s charachter.  There’s a twist at the end which is so obvious and heavy handed that it loses its power.  A vanity piece with some great actors poorly used.
MVP:  DeWitt as the love interest Alice

Battle For the Planet of the Apes

Actors:  Roddy McDowell, Natalie Trundy, Claude Akins, Paul Williams, Severn Darden
Rating:  6 out of 10, The final movie in my foray into the early Apes movies which points out eloquently why this series died out with this movie.  McDowell continues to shine but the plot and staging are exactly like an hourly TV show not a movie.  The battle with the scarred human remnants was laughably bad as was Akins’ Aldo the gorilla villain.  They could have done a lot with this, but chose to mail it in and it shows.
MVP:  McDowell as Caesar the only talking ape

Bullet to the Head

Actors:  Sylvester Stallone, Sarah Shahi, Jason Momoa, Christian Slater, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Rating:  7 out of 10, Rocky’s back, but that boy has had some serious plastic surgery done.  He can barely move his facial muscles anymore.  I think if he ever smiled (he doesn’t in this movie) his toes would curl.  He does get into a Viking axe death match with Conan which gives you a clue about the flick.  This film also marked the return of Walter Hill who directed some of the best action flicks of the 1980’s so his teaming with Stallone was appropriate.  I always liked Hill’s gritty style and over the top action which is once again present here.  Stallone plays a betrayed hit man who teams up with an Asian cop from Washington DC to hunt down his betrayers in New Orleans.  Somehow it all made sense and the action was almost non-stop and enjoyable.
MVP:  Stallone as Jimmy Bobo can still carry an action flick