Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams

Rating: 8 out of 10, This will go down as another Marvel win with the engaging cast taking the story in a number of different ways. There was a definite different tone with Sam Raimi at the helm which also meant the obligatory (and welcome) Bruce Campbell cameo. Dr Strange is called upon the save not only ours but a multitude of other dimensions as well. It was kind of weird that a newly introduced Latina character had a superpower of being able to cross borders but that’s for right wing to pick up and run with. She was very good as was the Scarlet Witch, Elizabeth Olsen. This could have been labeled as her movie every bit as much as the doctor’s as she takes her character in a wild new direction. Following up on the crossover-a-palooza of the last Spiderman movie, there are almost too many crossover characters from other movies to count; but that’s what you get when you open up the multiverse. A great summer movie ride that I thoroughly enjoyed.

MVP: Olsen as the uber-depressed witch

Jurassic World, Dominion

Actors: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, BD Wong, Omar Sy

Rating: 8 out of 10, This brings virtually all of the non-consumed characters from all the Jurassic movies together, including the very first with Sam Neill and Laura Dern. That might be a problematic as there were a lot of sub-plots competing with each other for attention. Each of the stories were compelling though and the action virtually non-stop. A kid and a dinosaur are kidnapped by the inevitable evil corporation which is also seeding bird sized locust herds on the planet, just in case the kidnapping wasn’t evil enough. The dinosaurs have evolved in the CGI world to where they’re not the stop and admire screen presence they used to be. They’re characters in themselves. My only reservation was the seeming acceptance of these apex predators as a normal part of life after the last movie. They kind of wish away what the real-world impact would be, I’m thinking helicopter gunships, but with the the Jurassic movies you forgive a lot. It is what it is supposed to be, a big, gnarly, epic sized, popcorn, summer movie, in all its glory. A great send off to the series.

MVP: Dern strikes the perfect note as returning icon Dr Sadler

Jungle Cruise

Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti

Rating: 8 out of 10, I didn’t think there was a movie in the Disney ride, Jungle Cruise, but I was wrong. The film is almost workmanlike but it works because of the screen presence of the two stars. The Rock flexes through his role as an Amazon River boat captain with his usual swagger and likability. The true star of the movie though is Emily Blunt as a spirited turn of the 19th century British adventuress. There’s a couple of well-conceived surprises along the way as they contend with a Kaiser’s son in search of a mythical tree deep in Amazonia. The special effects and CGI are up to the usual Disney standard but the most engaging part of the movie is the continual banter between the two stars as they argue their way deeper into danger. I hadn’t expected to like this movie half as much as I did. I blame Ms. Blunt.

MVP: Blunt, of course, as Professor Pants

Bullet Train

Actors: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Bad Bunny, Sandra Bullock

Rating: 9 out of 10, This received a lot of hype and I was afraid it was going to be one of those movies that had a great trailer but failed to deliver. This delivers. In spades, thanks to an incredible cast led by Brad Pitt. He is incredibly funny as a luck bereft hitman tangling with an bevy of his peers while spouting Zen phrases as he deals with some personal worth issues. All this occurs while hurtling along on a high-speed Japanese train. The characters are slowly revealed as the action builds to a truly incredible climactic battle royale. Pitt dominates as he tries to get his fellow assassins to talk things out instead of killing him. There are a couple of hilarious cameos as well which is always fun. It’s so hyper violent that you’re almost guilty at laughing but it’s too funny. I loved this movie.

MVP: Pitt as Ladybug, the assassin in search of a hug

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