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

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