Black Hat

Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei, Viola Davis, Holt McCallany, and Wang Leehom.

Rating:  7 out of 10,  The latest from Michael Mann starring Thor himself as a computer nerd – bit of a stretch there. The plot has a computer genius cyber attacking both the Chinese and US. They form a joint investigation team led by Thor’s college roommate from China. They have to get Thor out of prison to help out and some very intelligent, if at times confusing, sleuthing ensues. They shoehorn in a love story that doesn’t make sense at the time but indicates there may be hope for Sino-American relations after all. Thor does get to bash people around with some tables which was more believable than his keyboard stroking. I liked the movie but I thought they waited way too long to reveal the evil mastermind. Thor cuts a swath through a myriad of henchmen before we ever meet the bad guy directing them and then he’s barely developed character wise. This hurts a plot centered around the confrontation between he and the good guys. Mann does his usual extremely competent job of getting a stellar cast to shine and delivers some real shocking moments in the final third. Well worth the watch, a solid if not spectacular effort.

MVP:   Tang Wei as Thor’s love interest – smart and beautiful

Walk Among the Tombstones

Actors: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, Boyd Holbrook, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Brian "Astro" Bradley

Rating:  8 out of 10, The next in Liam Neeson’s middle aged renaissance of action parts.  He plays an alcoholic ex-NYC cop who is drawn into the search for a pair of serial killers stalking the high end of the city’s drug traffickers. This is an interesting movie that doesn’t fall into the usual Hollywood trap of making everything about the action.  It takes a withering look at the lives of the people involved and Neeson’s search for his own humanity.  He takes a young homeless African-American boy under his wing while trying to solve the ongoing series of murders.  The movie takes place in 1999 which is kind of scary because I get the impression the movie makers consider that a long time ago.  I truly enjoyed this movie on all levels as all the flawed characters and two really spooky villains  hurtle towards the inevitable confrontation.  I love reading detective novels set in New York City and watching this was like reading one – really fast.

MVP:   Neeson understatingly awesome as the flawed hero Matthew Scudder

Ex Machina

Actors: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, Sonoya Mizuno

Rating:  8 out of 10, Ex Machina was science fiction at its most intelligent. The special effects were impressive simply because they were understated and used to just support the plot instead of being the end all be all of the film. The plot of androids and artificial intelligence is well trod SF territory but this may be the smartest look at it in film history. A young man is selected for a mysterious task at the isolated home of an IT genius/billionaire. Upon arriving he’s introduced to Ava whom he must interview to assess the quality of her AI. There’s a lot of subtext as to who is playing who and what the ultimate rationale is for the entire exercise. The decisive resolution says a lot about the arrogance of intelligence and the very “human” need for freedom. Clearly one of the best films I’ve seen this year and well worth the road trip.

 As

MVP:   Isaac continues to impress as Nathan Bateman, the mysterious genius

Chappie

Actors:  Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Watkin Tudor Jones, Yolandi Visser

Rating: 6 out of 10, I liked this a lot better the second time through. I’ve been a big fan of South African director Neill Blomkamp since I saw District 9. He explores the well tread territory of a self-aware robot but the transition he chooses is so flawed as to defy adequate condemnation. The film includes his usual breathtaking special effects and gore spattered fire fights which are the only things making this watchable, well that and Dev Patel. Patel plays the inevitable brilliant scientist who creates Chappie only to run afoul of dastardly Hugh Jackman in one of his rare bad guy turns. Chappie’s education falls into the hands of what might be the two most annoying characters in cinema history. I guess they’re rock musicians trying to be actors and I truly hope their band is successful because they had no business being in this movie. Their turn as a pair of gangsters and the huge amount of time Blomkamp stays with them really sunk the movie for me. I know this is science fiction but the plot has to make some kind of sense and I could have looked beyond the gaping plot holes if not for the soul grating presence of Ninja and Yolandi.

MVP:  Patel as the brains behind Chappie 

The Gunman

Actors:  Sean Penn, Jasmine Trinca, Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, Mark Rylance, Idris Elba

Rating: 7 out of 10, A Sean Penn vehicle in which he tries to follow Neeson’s footprints into middle aged kick assery. Penn, one of the least likable actors around, struggles to be someone you can root for here. He obviously got himself in great shape for his role, obviously taking the Stallone process of heavy P.E.D. use. Unfortunately this meant he felt the need to take his shirt off in nearly every scene, even in the middle of a gun fight. We get it Sean, you worked your ass off but get over yourself. Meanwhile back in the slip shod plot Penn (also a co–writer) managed to shoe horn in the predictable ultra-evil multi-national corporation while he surfed the yet undiscovered beaches of the wartorn Congo. This film lacked the relentless pace which made the first Taken so enjoyable. Events would start build up and then come to a screeching halt as we had to let Penn emote about his choices in life and a recurring headache. He would have been better advised to not take himself so seriously, channel a little bit of his inner-Spicoli and have some fun with the role.

MVP:  Sean Penn as the angst ridden Jim Terrier 

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Actors:  Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Strong, Taron Egerton, Michael Caine.

Rating: 10 out of 10, The best word to describe this flick is fun – it’s a hoot from beginning to end. Colin Firth (who can do anything) is a senior and very lethal secret agent who recruits a young ne'er do well. The movie moves relentlessly but never loses its sense of fun (there’s that word again). Samuel L Jackson is in full camp mode as a lisping super villain ably assisted by a young lady with razor sharp prosthetics (you kind of get the idea). The movie is very violent but in a cartoonish way that makes it entertaining. Seeing the usually staid Firth clean out a church full of red necks followed by the biggest head exploding panorama in cinema history will give you an idea of what awaits you. The young lead actor, Taron Egerton, took a while to grow on me but he held his own with Firth, Mark Strong and Michael Caine – no mean task. Plant you tongue firmly in cheek and go see this movie – just so much FUN!!!

MVP:  Firth, as the staid but supremely deadly Galahad

Jupiter Ascending

Actors:  Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Tuppence Middleton, Douglas, Sean Bean

Rating: 9 out of 10, This hasn’t received a lot of love from the critics but it was a true attempt at science fiction on a colossal scale. Mila Kunis plays a contemporary Chicago cleaning woman who’s unwittingly heir to one of the great family fortunes in a galaxy spanning empire. She’s unaware of this until Channing Tatum, sporting elven ears as a disgraced genetically enhanced soldier, shows up to rescue her from a series of alien assassination attempts. (I know most of the ladies are now wondering how Tatum could possibly be “enhanced” any further) Since I’m a certified sci fi nerd I really liked the movie which focused, maybe a little too much on the technology of the hidden civilization which is several million years in advance of ours. The criticisms are valid as there’s a lot of stop and go and jumping around without fully fleshing out who all the players are. It’s a little bit of a mess but it’s a gloriously beautiful and textured mess. In a huge plot twist, Sean Bean doesn’t get killed.

MVP:  Channing Tatum as Caine Wise, shoe surfing the Chicago skyline