Morbius

Actors: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, Tyrese Gibson

Rating: 6 out of 10, I was excited to see Morbius but I shouldn’t have been. This was Marvel Lite with a great concept, an interesting cast, and a terrible plot. A crippled doctor seeks a cure and accidently turned himself into a vampire. Enter the rich but flawed friend to take advantage of the situation while our bloodthirsty hero tries to avoid killing more people and simultaneously wooing his lady love. The first half of the movie really caught me but it sputtered and utterly failed in the last half. I felt it was one of those movies that could have been really special but somewhere or someone lost their way at a critical point.

MVP: Arjona as Dr Bancroft, hot and smart

The Batman

Actors: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell

Rating: 8 out of 10, is yet another in the seemingly endless series of caped crusader reboots and while the characters are old hat, this one takes you in a different direction. It doesn’t go into the cosmic level events of recent DC universe goings on. It’s basically a police procedural about the always morally challenged Gotham City and a pair of orphans. This is a new take on the Batman origin story and Pattinson really surprised me in the title role. I thought he was too metrosexual to sell the needed Y-chromosome aspects of the hero but he does it. He reminded me of the surprise Michael Keaton achieved when he was so effective despite the lack of physicality (at that time). Pattinson transforms from a waif-like Bruce Wayne into a supremely dangerous superhero. The movie is long but I hardly noticed the time because of the relentless pace. The rest of the cast was equally good especially Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman and Paul Dano, who always plays an awesome psycho, as the Riddler. I also heard Colin Ferrell was in the movie but I never saw him. I checked afterwards and he played a major role as the Penguin but was unrecognizable underneath a veritable mountain of makeup. There were also some very subtle odes to the prior Batman incarnations that you’d have to be a real fan (guilty) to catch. I always love it when a series film reboot does that. So, at least for this film, the hype was redeemed. I loved the movie.

MVP: Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman

Uncharted

Actors: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Antonio Banderas

Rating: 7 out of 10, Uncharted is a big hit but I was surprised by how shallow it turned out to be. It was as if the filmmakers tried to bring to life a love child between National Treasure and some sort of video game. The story made no sense and only served to move the film to the next set of very entertaining stunts. The movie is saved by Spidey as Tom Holland demonstrates real star power and effortlessly carries the film while a very generous Mark Wahlberg lets him do so. They make an interesting set of buddies. What made the National Treasure movies so good was keeping the plot, while wildly impossible, at least credible. That thought goes out early on in this movie but the very engaging cast rescues it and makes this movie at least very watchable, if a bit frustrating if you look beyond the stunts. But, hey, at least it was honest and didn’t try to be anything it wasn’t, a big dumb action flick, so, of course, I liked it.

MVP: Holland as Nathan Drake

Infinite

Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Cookson, Jason Mantzoukas, Rupert Friend, Toby Jones, Dylan O'Brien

Rating: 7 out of 10, Infinite has a terrible reputation, its release a victim of the covid epidemic. It never made it to the theaters here in the US. I hadn’t heard anything about it until it appeared on a list of recent releases on Blu-ray. I really enjoyed the film which kept it’s high priced CGI effects intact. Mark Wahlberg was very effective as the central character being sought by two groups of competing immortals. They are immortal only because they retain perfect memories of prior lives. It was an interesting concept that  could have been fleshed out more but this was a nicely paced action movie that moved around the globe with interesting confrontations and action sequences. I heard it was nominated for a bunch of raspberries but this will go down as one of the movies critics dismiss but can be enjoyed by garden variety movie goers. Guilty. Good flick.

MVP: Mantzoukas as the crazed Artisan

Moonfall

Actors: Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Donald Sutherland

Rating: 7 out of 10, I am still trying to figure out how they made this outlandish concept work, but it does, does mainly through the efforts of a first rate cast and stunning special effects. Wilson plays a disgraced astronaut who’s fall from grace was actually a warning side that an evil entity was eventually going to crash the moon into the earth which might just leave a mark. He’s assisted by Samwell Tarly who plays a highly educated janitor who’s predicts the crash but is dismissed as a looney conspiracy theorist. Bradley (Sam’s alter ego) does a great job of straddling the seemingly nutjob janitor with a startling intellect and a touch of nobility. I won’t ruin the incredible surprise of why the moon is descending but that where the concept might have lost me if it wasn’t so well done. It was a crazy ride but a nice bit of pure escapism.

MVP: John Bradley as the seemingly crazed but noble janitor

Spacehunter Adventures in the Forbidden Zone

Actors: stars Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson, Andrea Marcovicci, Michael Ironside

Rating: 6 out of 10, I bought this on a lark having vaguely remembered it as a typical 1980s sci fi flick trying to cash in on the Star Wars craze. You really had to have been around during that time to realize what a big deal that was. Strauss plays a fringe dwelling bounty hunter looking for a big score rescuing three ladies from the clutches of Overdog (I’m not kidding). Michael Ironside as a cyborg attached to some sort of gantry and brandishing oversized claws (it was the 80s). This hasn’t aged all that badly although the special effects are laughable by today’s standards. Ringwald is initially annoying but eventually grows on you as Wolff’s erstwhile partner. A nice ride through 1980s sci fi nostalgia.

MVP: Strauss as the embattled bounty hunter Wolff

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Actors: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire

Rating: 10 out of 10, It lives up to the Marvel standard which is lofty and cements Spiderman’s legacy in the Marvel Universe. It will also go down in movie history as the crossover event to end all crossovers. While the movie is excellent in its own right, with a tremendous amount of heart, the crossovers from prior versions of Spiderman were incredibly funny and in a couple of situations, painfully poignant. It will be hard to describe without revealing too many details but if you’ve seen the prior incarnations of Spiderman than you have to see this, just for a well made walk to memory lane. Tom Holland can be a bit annoying but it’s hard to not fall under his spell as a truly young Spiderman. He’s faced with his secret identity being outed by the last movie’s villain and that leads to some very funny moments. He teams up with Dr Strange, who predictably steals every scene he’s forced to deal with the teenagers in. Speaking of scene stealing, Zendaya is pitch perfect as MJ teaming up with Peter and Ned to thwart a veritable legion of reincarnated bad guys. There are some tough moments and it will be interesting to see where Marvel takes this character next but if this is Holland’s last turn, at least he went out on top. One of my favorite movies of the year.

MVP: Holland/Gafield/Maguire as three versions of Spidey, best cross over event ever