Elysium

Actors:  Matt Damon, Jody Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alicve Braga, Diego Luna, William Fichtner
Rating:  9 out of 10, A very smart science fiction flick that tries to expose the growing rift in today’s world - the separation between the have and the have-nots.  It’s a startlingly cold look at what could happen if technology is restricted to the rich.  Matt Damon is special as a dying car thief charged with saving the have-nots from a coolly immoral Jody Foster. Sharlto Copley is fast becoming my favorite guy in cinema.  He plays a very evil bad guy here but somehow he’s somehow kind of sneakily likable as well despite his seeming complete lack of redeeming values.  There are some huge plot holes but hey, this is science fiction and one of the best movies of the year.    
MVP:  Copley as the supremely evil bounty hunter, Kruger.

Trance

Actors:  Rosario Dawson, James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Tuppence Middleton
Rating:  6 out of 10, Danny Boyle’s latest effort is kind of a let down as he isn’t given much to work with and tries all sorts of gimmicks to make it special, not the least of which is Rosario’s full frontal and immensely impressive kibbles and bits.  McAvoy just didn’t seem committed to the central role but biggest problem was the lack of anybody worth rooting for.  The story revolves around an art heist and an amnesiac auctioneer (McAvoy) who is turned on his head by Dawson as a hypnotic shrink trying to recover his memory.  That last sentence made more sense than the entire movie but it does have that one scene.  By putting layers within layers with only some of them actually occurring in reality the final reveal is kind of wasted.
MVP:  Dawson (who else) as the manipulative shrink showing a whole new side

The Factory

Really?

Actors:  John Cusack, Jennifer Carpenter, Dallas Roberts, Mae Whitman, Sonya Walger, Mageina Tovah
Rating:  6 out of 10, A kind of uneven thriller that has Lloyd Dobler teaming up with Dexter’s sister to track down a serial killer who’s abducted George-Michael’s girlfriend who’s also Lloyd’s daughter.  Cusack kind of sleep walks through this and doesn’t have his usual spark, sardonic or otherwise. I think the movie was aiming to achieve fame for a stunning twist but it was more creepy than anything else and ultimately unsatisfying.  If nothing else this movie will prevent anybody from ever visiting Buffalo, N.Y.
 MVP:  Whitman as Abby the abducted and resourceful daughter

Cellular

Actors:  Chris Evans, Kim Bassinger, Jason Statham, William H Macy, Noah Emmerich, Jessica Biel
Rating:  7 out of 10, I’m not a big fan of Kim B. so I avoided seeing this when it came out a few years ago.  It turns out I missed a pretty good action/suspense flick.  This movie belongs to a young Chris Evans before he got all Capt America-ed on us.  He’s very good as a young surfer dude called upon to charge around L.A. trying to save a family from a gang of rogue cops.  Surprising, now at least, to see Statham as a down in the wool bad guy (my wife was upset at her hero’s descent to the dark side and the lack of shirtless scenes). William H Macy steals all of his scenes (but of course he did) as the one honest lawman in the movie.   
MVP:  Macy as SGT Mooney the dedicated if harried veteran cop

The Wolverine

Actors:  Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Svetlana Khodchenkova
Rating:  8 out of 10, The Wolverine which could be re-titled “Hugh Jackman Without his Shirt On”. This was indeed a pleasure for my wife who spent the entire movie sighing every of the multiple times Hugh was called upon to divest himself of his shirt. There’s even a scene of Hugh in a bath tub where he flashes his long admired (by my wife) posterior. I thought she would faint.  All this being said, this was a pretty good action flick. I’ve never been apprised of the X-Men mythology outside of my kids’ failed attempts to educate me. I’m sure there were lots of hidden meanings known only to the initiated but Jackman is an incredibly good actor. He defines the role and even I have to admit that he got himself in scarily good shape for the movie. (PED testing coming to the cinema?)  This movie was very Japanese and the supporting actors were uniformly good except for the female lead playing Mariko.  She just couldn’t hold her own, absolutely no screen presence.
MVP:  Jackman and his abs as Logan

Red 2

Actors:  Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malcovich, Mary Louise Parker, Anthony Hopkins, Byung-hun Lee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Neal McDonough, David Thewlis, Brian Cox
Rating:  8 out of 10, This was much better the second time seeing it and I liked the first viewing as well.   All the entertaining characters of the original return and are thrown into another outlandish adventure. The chemistry between Willis and Parker really works and Malcovich plays crazed assassin to the hilt. It seemed like every secondary character was a major star as well. Anthony Hopkins shows up and acts his ass off as usual. A great summer movie of excess without any message other than some good kick ass fun.
MVP:  Hopkins is so funny as the supposedly crazed scientist

Redemption

Actors:  Jason Statham, Agata Buzek, Vicky McClure, Benedict Wong, Ger Ryan
Rating:  6 out of 10, This should have been titled, Muddled.  A kind of strange and at times engaging Statham action flick that can’t seem to make up its mind.  Statham is a flawed hero this time although still capable of kicking ass and charming the ladies.  Even skinny nuns will drop their drawers when Statham comes a calling and that’s part of the problem.  This purports to be the story of Joey, an ex-military street person who emerges from the street for a summer to rescue people, exact revenge, and serve as a mob enforcer.  It’s all over the place and ultimately totally unbelievable; even given that believability is never one of a Statham movie’s abiding strengths.    
MVP:  Statham as the damaged Joey, trying to act but still kicking ass

Lovelace

Actors:  Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Adam Brody, Juno Temple, James Franco
Rating:  7 out of 10, A Netflix rental I hadn’t heard much about it but the cast looked amazing and it took on the story of one of the cultural icons of the 1970s (a real comment on that era).  Lovelace tells the story of the actress who achieved her fifteen minutes as a porn actress.  It’s more about her victimization by an abusive husband and the courage she eventually found to escape him.  I may be one of the few people from that era who never saw this flick (just a little too young at the time) (honest) but it was fascinating to see this back story.  The movie is almost like a documentary in form.  It was a little strange to see Sharon Stone as a cold, unrecognizable mother and the young dude form the O.C. as Harry Reems not to mention James Franco as Hugh Hefner. Seyfried is just a litle too good looking for this role but does well.
MVP:  Seyfried in a layered performance as the title character

The World’s End

Actors:  Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Rosamund Pike, and Eddie Marsan
Rating:  8 out of 10, the latest Simon Pegg/Nick Frost was very British.  Pegg plays the low life this time as he gathers childhood friends, including the young Bilbo Baggins, for a memorable pub crawl back in their hometown which has been inconveniently taken over by robotic aliens led by a retired James Bond. This leads to a hilarious chase towards an apocalyptic finish line. There are so many one line zingers that I know I’m going to see this again just to catch the ones I know I missed.  It also has some interesting things to say about the vanity of lost youth and the importance of friendship, but always very irreverently.   A very funny movie and very British.
 MVP:  Frost overtakes Pegg as the stolid yet dangerous Andy

2 Guns

Actors:  Denzell Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, Edward James Olmos, Bill Paxton, James Marsden
Rating:  8 out of 10, Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington; on the surface that sounds like a mismatch but Wahlberg is evolving into a very good actor and more than held his own with Denzel.  They play two undercover agents trying to survive after being double-crossed by everybody from a Mexican drug cartel to girlfriends, the US military and the CIA.   This was a very good, very funny movie as the two actors chewed up the scenery although it does feature some historically bad headgear - just really bad hats.  It’s a great example of a fairly mundane plot that’s elevated by the actors involved and included some very well staged action scenes.  In what has become his go to movie role – Marsden’s girl is cheating on him again and Ms Patton shows a completely new side (s) (worth the price of admission right there). Not a deep effort by any means but a lot of fun, especially the give and take between the two leads.
MVP:  Wahlberg as Stig, the hyperactive but dead shot foil

We're the Millers

Actors:  Jennifer Anniston, Jason Sudeikis, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Ed Helms
Rating:  8 out of 10, Jennifer Anniston in her underwear– I was all in. It turned out to be a very low brow, very unapologetic comedy that had my wife and I laughing out loud almost continually. I’m sure the critics will lambast the crude level of comedy but this was honestly very funny stuff.  I did mention Anniston in her underwear, right? She’s really carving out a niche as a middle aged hottie and whatever she’s paying her personal trainer is money well spent. Jason Sudekis  A movie about a drug dealer, a stripper, a street person, and a dork posing as a model family while smuggling several tons of weed out of Mexico doesn’t seem like fertile comedy ground. It was.
MVP:  Miss Anniston, in flagrante as Sarah/Rose

Man of Steel

Actors:  Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Antje Traue, Christopher Meloni, Kevin Costner
Rating: 9 out of 10, It’s a much darker take on the Superman legend. My wife was really taken with the new actor playing the lead. She was emoting vigorously anytime he appeared on screen without his shirt on – I guess I‘ll have to start working out more. I know the film hasn’t been reviewed very well but I liked it. There was a little too much of fights between people who couldn’t hurt each other but the action was relentless and spirited.  The acting chops of the cast goes deep into the supporting actors.  I liked the take Shannon made with General Zod and Adams was her typical awesome.
MVP:  Adams as a much more believable and likable Lois Lane

Barney’s Version

Actors:  Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Scott Speedman, Dustin Hoffman
Rating: 7 out of 10, A fairly entertaining film chronicling the life of a Canadian television producer who fights well above his weight in the love department.  His story is told almost exclusively through flashbacks which can be tricky but handled well here.  He’s introduced as a complete creep but we learn about his journey through three marriages how he got to that point and we’re eventually allowed to see there was more, well concealed depth.  This is one of those movies you’ll be tempted to give up on, but if you hang in, you’ll be rewarded.
MVP:  Hoffman as Barney’s artless yet loyal cop father

White House Down

Actors:  Jaime Fox, Channing Tatum, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, Joey King, James Woods
Rating: 7 out of 10, The latest destruction of the White House with Channing Tatum once again establishing his action star credentials.  He even found ways to have his shirt ripped off a couple times (for the ladies).  There were some absolutely gaping holes in the plot but we’re talking popcorn fare here.  I had some serious problems with the ludicrous military scenarios which were obviously thought up in Hollywood and not Ft Bragg.  I ended up liking the flick because there are a lot of funny side comments while things are blowing up left and right.  Any movie with Maggie Gyllenhaal and a mini-gun in the oval office is worth a watch.
MVP:  Tatum as the Cale the shirtless savior

The Place Beyond the Pines

Actors:  Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelsohn, Rose Byrne
Rating:  6 out of 10, A very ambitious movie that features Gosling only rarely falling into his patented thousand mile stare method of acting.  He plays a low life, heavily tattooed crook trying to connect with an infant son.  He has a tragic encounter with Cooper as a wannabe good guy cop falling victim to his own ambition.  The female characters are kind of wasted here although Mendes wears the hell out of an early t-shirt. This movie had some lofty goals but gets in its own way with a very clunky pace that had my finger twitching towards the fast forward button.  A near miss but a clear one. 
MVP:  Bradley Cooper as Avery Cross the conflicted “good guy”

Mud

Actors:  Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon
Rating: 9 out of 10, A story about two Arkansas redneck kids living on the river and helping a fugitive they find in a boat stranded atop a tree doesn’t sound like the premise for a great movie.  It is.  This is due in large part to the completely authentic performances of all the actors but especially the young actors, led by Sheridan as Ellis, an oversexed 14 year old with a hair trigger right cross and a belief in true love.  He alongside his partner, Neckbone (I’m not kidding) help McConaghey figure out how to remove his “lucky” shirt – a cool inside joke.  A great look at a seldom seen underside of America where honor and love are just as important; maybe more so.  A great movie.
MVP:  Sheridan as Ellis, more than willing to fight well above his weight

RIPD

Actors:  Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, May-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, James Hong, Marisa Miller
Rating: 7  out of 10, Okay, but I held much bigger expectations given the concept of deceased cops policing the supernatural back on earth.  I liked it a lot more on a second viewing.  I thought going in that the casting was superb with Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as the leads.  This should be right up Reynolds’ alley where he could be at his smart ass, wisecracking best but for some reason he decided to play it straight and serious.  I don’t know if it was the writing, direction, or this movie was shot during his breakup with Scarlett, but he was pretty one dimensional which surprised me.  This movie just misses because they don’t mine the deep well of comedic possibilities the concept presents.  It’s tough to like a movie where the lead isn’t that likable.  On the up side Bridges obviously had a lot of fun with his over the top cowboy ghost with coyote issues, Mary Louise Parker was delightful in a supporting role, and Marissa Miller was, well Marissa Miller, nuff said..
MVP:  Bridges as Roy the elder RIPD cop with Coyote issues

Cleaner

Actors:  Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Eva Mendes, Luis Guzmán, Keke Palmer
Rating:  7 out of 10, Samuel L. Jackson in a departure role in which nary an M.F. is uttered.  The scenes between him and Ed Harris are worth watching the rest of the movie which is kind of formulaic and predictable.  Jackson plays an ex-cop who’s now a crime scene cleaner and finds himself pulled into a conspiracy challenging friendships and his future.  An interesting premise but it asks the audience for a little too much suspension of disbelief.  Guzman gets to play a serious part instead of his usual comic sidekick and is effective.  There’s a much better movie hiding somewhere inside this. 
MVP:  Samuel L. Jackson as Tom Cutler the cleaner who is played by everybody else

The Heat

Actors:  Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demián Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport,  Jane Curtin
Rating:  8 out of 10, A movie was funny on so many levels – Lethal Weapon placed on estrogen therapy. Melissa McCarthy is a bona fide comedy star now and Sandra Bullock a truly capable foil. McCarthy plays a crazed, but effective Boston cop to Bullock’s uptight FBI agent. The bar scene should go down as a historically funny comedy skit. It was nice to see a female buddy flick because it opened up so many avenues for jokes. Female viewers laughed a lot harder than the males at most of this incredibly hilarious stuff. The trend of R rated female comedies started with Bridesmaids continues and it’s a great development. The torturing of Boston accents and the “locals” was also very funny.
MVP:  Bullock as the uptight but effective FBI agent

Pacific Rim

Actors:  Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Pearlman, Max Martini
Rating:  9 out of 10, Now this was action and CGI taken to the next level.  The impossibly massive robots are believable and just so immense.  Hunnam was a clear mistake in the lead but Elba comes through, as always, to lend gravitas and depth. The plucky humans are manning the massive robots to fight off an invasion of Godzilla type creatures.  The battle scenes are massive and spectacular and actually had me open mouthed a couple times (not easy for such a jaded moviegoer as myself).  You can actually feel the emotional impact of some of the scenes – again not easy in a sci-fi summer popcorn movie. 
MVP:  Elba as the Marshall – humanity’s best hope

Welcome to the Punch

Actors:  James McAvoy , Mark Strong, Andrea Riseborough, Elyes Gabel, Peter Mullan, David Morrissey
Rating:  7 out of 10, A very, very British cops and robbers piece with an attempt at dragging political intrigue in.  The cops and robbers were really well done while the political stuff was forced and unbelievable.  An extremely strong cast that were a bit overwrought at times and just plain cannot shoot straight.  After spending the entire movie unable to hit the ocean with their shooting the two “heroes” join forces and literally can’t miss.  I was laughing at their prowess after wondering at their earlier futility.  This was a tough one at times for a colonist to understand the thick accents but overall a well done police drama.
MVP:  Mark Strong as Jacob Sternwood the thief coming back to avenge his son, always a dominating screen presence

The Hangover Part III

Actors:  Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifinakis, Ken Jeong, Justin Bartha, John Goodman
Rating:  6 out of 10, – This story had to continue because there were so many unanswered questions after the first two.  While this is pretty entertaining the wolf pack has run its course.  There wasn’t a lot of room direction wise for this franchise to go.  It was a lot darker that the previous two but it wasn’t the normal rehash of the same plot again.  It was an appropriate send the boys off for as they literally walk off into the sunset before the franchise got too stale.  We get too much of Chow in this one and no picture montage.
MVP:  Goodman as a the bad guy always getting one upped by the indestructible Chow

Imposter

Actors:  Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, Vincent D'Onofrio, Tony Shalhoub, Mekhi Phifer
Rating:  6 out of 10, My wife claimed I had seen this before but I steadfastly maintained I had not, until the final five minutes.  I must have seen the ending somewhere because I correctly predicted the supposed twist, or maybe it was just that badly telegraphed.  This sci fi tale of the not too distant future where the ever reliable Sinise plays a government scientist who may or may not have been replaced by an enemy clone.  D’Onofrio plays what has to be the most incompetent police official in the future as he allows Sinise to escape from the middle of a detention cell and then spends the whole movie chasing him.  The movie starts fairly well, it even has some crowd shots stolen from Starship Troopers, but bogs down and ultimately fails because the ending is so pat. 
MVP:  Gary Sinise as Spencer Olham is the only thing watchable in this which in no means is a dig against Ms Stowe

Ondine

Actors:  Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Stephen Rea, Dervla Kirwan, Don Wycherley, Carrie Crowley, Alison Barry
Rating:  7 out of 10, I just kind of wandered into this movie.  I struggled at first with the thick Irish accents but they grow on you.  This is a side of Ireland rarely seen but still starkly and achingly beautiful despite the human wreckage strewn throughout.  The story centers around a woman fisherman Farrell hoists from the deep in his nets and whom his young, disabled daughter is convinced is a mythical creature.  There’s just enough doubt allowed, mainly through the superstitious fishing village, to make the story work.  I ended up really liking this.
MVP:  Bachleda in the title role keeps the answer to her true identity interestingly obscure

Stoker

Actors:  Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Nicole Kidman,  Dermot Mulroney
Rating:  6 out of 10,  I find any movie with Kidman in it hard to watch but she thankfully wasn’t allowed to diva up her role in this very odd, trying to be gothic, mystery.  Wasikowska may want to start thinking about moving beyond her waif like roles but this movie belongs to Goode who’s mesmerizingly evil couched behind startling good looks is fascinating.  There’s a little too much weirdness on display but his movie is beautifully shot and has texture to spare. 
MVP:  Goode as Charlie Stoker – we’ll be hearing more from him

Doomsday

Actors:  Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, David O’Hara, Craig Conway, Malcolm McDowell
Rating:  7 out of 10, A fairly big budgeted movie that just couldn’t figure out what it was.  It starts out as a biological apocalypse and then careens wildly from Escape from New York territory to medieval jousting to a Road Warrior finale.  I mean I’m all for wild men in flowing mohawks careening down the road but it has to make a little bit of sense – this doesn’t. All that being said Mitra is a kick ass heroine and uses her wandering eye to great effect.  This could have been epic but it just jumps around to much.  Even whacked out science fiction and fantasy such as this needs a base.  I still kind of sneakily liked it – what can I say – I’m a sucker for cannibalistic gladiator gals and you gotta love a guy who stays faithful to a beheaded girlfriend along for the ride.
MVP:  Rhona as Eden Sinclair, kicking ass and looking petulant whilst doing so

Ironman 3

Actors:  Robert Downey, Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Rebecca Hall
Rating:  9 out of 10, This was clearly the best movie of the three and that’s saying something since the first was excellent.  The director, Shane Black (former actor and member of Arnie’s gang from Predator), takes the story in a new direction.  While there are astonishing action scenes galore there’s a real attempt at exploring the personality and stress involved in being a mythical superhero.  That may sound far fetched or just plain idiotic but somehow it works in this movie and that’s pretty amazing.  I can’t think of another actor who could be supremely arrogant and still remain lovable but RDJ carries it off.   My somewhat morbid fascination with all things cinematic will tell you that I’m kind of jaded in my film watching expectations.  It is so rare for a movie to astonish me but I found my jaw actually dropping and saying “Wow” during the final battle.  This is a truly great movie.
MVP:  RDJ = Tony Stark – a match made in heaven

Perfect Sense

Actors:  Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Connie Nielson, Stephen Dillane, Ewen Bremner
Rating:  7 out of 10, A love story set in a biological apocalypse that focused more on the love story between two damaged people than the disaster which was refreshing.  I liked the simple story of a womanizing chef (McGregor) who finds the love of his life as the world descends into madness.  Ms Green has mastered a skeletal stare which makes her seem more creepy than the part called for but then she took off her shirt repeatedly and everything was okay.  Not really my type of flick but I enjoyed the acting and Ms Green’s abundant charms.  The desperation of the final scene was near perfect.
MVP:  McGregor once again dominates as a flawed man you can’t help liking

Death Hunt

Actors:  Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Andrew Stevens, Angie Dickinson
Rating:  7 out of 10, another movie from my distant past that hasn’t aged as well as others.  Bronson, one of the original monosyllabic heroes, a poor man’s Clint Eastwood, and his Dirty Dozen buddy Lee Marvin are too old to be chasing each other around the Canadian Rockies.  They both spend a lot of movie realistically out of breath. It’s also unexplained how Apollo Creed ended up in the great white north serving as machine gun fodder.  All that being said the scenes where either Bronson or Marvin are on the screen are worth the watch, the rest of the cast, not so much.
MVP:  Marvin as the world weary Mountie – Millen, could still dominate the screen

American Werewolf In London

Actors:  Jenny Agutter, David Naughton, Griffin Dunn
Rating:  8 out of 10, I couldn’t believe this wasn’t a part of my library.  It’s easy to forget how groundbreaking the special effects for this movie were at the time of its release.  It’s still a great mix of horror and comedy, especially the conversations between the two Americans, even after one of them is a rapidly decomposing undead.  I also want to check in to a hospital where you get to go home with Jessica 6.  While some of this does look dated because special effects have evolved so much since, this was still a lot of fun to watch.
MVP:  Agutter (I am consistent) as nurse Alix and the only real actor amongst the leads

World War Z

Actors:  Brad Pitt, Daniella Kertesz, Mireille Enos
Rating:  9 out of 10, I’m a huge fan of the book which my daughter induced me to read as I’m not into this whole recent zombie craze. I was unsure how they would capture the broad strokes of the book in a movie however this was a great ride.  A singular movie that pushes tension to incredible heights, let’s you breath for a little bit and then ratchets up the stress again. It was a little light on the back story but Pitt was a perfect choice for the understated lead. He’s on a world wide tour to see different kinds of zombies and kill them.  This was definitely a new take on an overdone genre. One where you can clearly see the money spent up on the screen.  I know that’s overused but completely appropriate here; really scary stuff.
MVP:  Daniella Kertesz as the stoically brave Israeli soldier/hottie Segen

Star Trek Into Darkness

Actors:  John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Peter Weller, Anton Yelchin
Rating:  10 out of 10, I absolutely loved the first JJ Abrams Star Trek movie so I was prepared to be underwhelmed. Somehow he took it to another level because this was not just a better film but significantly better. The movie starts out with a bang and never lets up – it almost leaves you breathless. I loved the odes to the original series – many small and a couple of huge ones. It was so very cool to see all the subtle little connections thrown in.  The strength of this new incarnation is the truly ensemble cast instead of being just the Jim Kirk show.  I’m such a jaded movie goer that it’s rare that special effects blow me away – these did. 
MVP:  Cumberbatch as a truly creepy Khan

Movie 43

Actors:  Elizabeth Banks, Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, Leslie Bibb, Kate Bosworth, Gerard Butler, Kieran Culkin, Josh Duhamel, Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Hugh Jackman, Greg Kinnear, Johnny Knoxville, Justin Long, Julianne Moore, Chloë Grace Moretz, Chris Pratt, Dennis Quaid, Liev Schreiber, Seann William Scott, Tony Shalhoub, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet, Seth MacFarlane
Rating:  6 out of 10, Okay, I'm not proud of it, but I watched it.  This was billed as maybe the worst movie ever but I was intrigued by how so many Oscar caliber, A-List stars appeared so I rented it as a lark.  I’m still mystified but, honestly, it wasn’t as bad as the political correct police have ranted about.  It is incredibly, possibly even epically inappropriate comedy explored by some of today’s biggest stars.  Hugh Jackman with testicles hanging under his chin will give you an idea of the level.  To hear at least one of the Farrelly brothers, with no filter whatsoever, was involved completes the picture.  I have to guiltily, and somewhat ashamedly admit that I laughed out loud on several occasions.
MVP:  Sudekis as possibly the worst batman ever – so funny torturing the boy wonder

Now You See Me

Actors:  Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mélanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine
Rating:  8 out of 10, A really good movie about magicians, who thought that was possible.  Caine and Freeman are back together without the caped crusader and both playing villains which is a cool twist.  Jesse Isenberg is definitely moving beyond his typical geek roles and Isla Fisher is her usual awesome (in everything except off screen marital choices). It was neat to see two older, supremely competent actors like Freeman and Caine on the screen with young talent like Eisenberg, Fisher, and the peerless Mark Ruffalo who all more than held their own.  I was prepared to dislike this film but it drew me in. 
MVP:  Ruffalo as the harried, or is he, FBI agent Dylan

Lady in Cement

Actors:  Frank Sinatra, Raquel Welch, Dan Blocker, Richard Conte
Rating:  6 out of 10, Sinatra returns as the least tough private eye Tony Rome who is still too cool for school.  There is an incredibly slow car chase though Miami Beach, I guess they felt they had to obey traffic laws.  The eye candy this time out is Raquel Welch, at the height of her formidable looks.  She changes hair style with every scene and adequately flaunts her not inadequate charms throughout.  This was before she learned to act though.  Frank doesn’t seem as focused on this sequel and all the best scenes belong to Dan Blocker, Hoss from Bonanza.  He plays a man mountain who beats everybody in sight to a bloody pulp.  It’s sad we lost him at a young age – he was very watchable.  The rest of the movie, except for Ms Welch in a bikini, was not.
MVP:  Blocker as Gronsky, a very dangerous man

Tony Rome

Actors:  Frank Sinatra, Jill St. John, Sue Lyon, Gena Rowlands, Simon Oakland,  Richard Conte
Rating:  7 out of 10, A film from my pre-teen years when I didn’t fully appreciate just how cool Mr. Sinatra was.  He plays a gambling addicted Miami private eye helping out a rich family in blackmail plot.  Only Sinatra could make wearing a black suit and hat on the beach look normal. Frank was the man.  I had also almost forgotten how drop dead gorgeous the young Jill St John was – this movie helped rekindle that obsession.   A jarring, almost television quality soundtrack detracts from a fairly tight story. Mr. Sinatra should stay away from fight scenes but he does brandish a fiendishly effective karate chop to the back on several occasions.  There’s also the double entendre scene about female anatomy that is so, so funny.  A very nice stroll down memory lane.
MVP:  Frank in the title role owns the film

Cold Light of Day

Actors:  Henry Cavill, Sigourney Weaver, Bruce Willis, Verónica Echegui
Rating:  7 out of 10, This was billed as a Bruce Willis action flick but he’s only in it for a very short time.  I was pleasantly surprised by this very good action movie even with the fairly gaping plot holes. Why can’t a trained assassin who just shot someone from extremely long range kill the hero when firing from point blank distance, instead shooting at his feet so he can dance over the near misses (that always pisses me off). Cavill (Superman) is the lead and has definitely progressed since Immortals as far as acting – now only wooden instead of leaden. He does clueless well.  His family is kidnapped and as a businessman now finds himself caught in a vortex of violence between competing police, spy, and terrorist agents. If you can ignore the plot holes this was a very good flick that moves right along with an extremely engaging cast. Sigourney Weaver plays the villainess and is still so good at action and the one liners that you almost start rooting for her instead of the hero.
MVP:  Verónica Echegui as Lucia the newly discovered half-sister steals every scene

Headhunters

Actors:  Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Synnøve Macody Lund, Julie Ølgaard, Eivind Sander
Rating:  9 out of 10, I usually avoid sub-titles like the plague but was told by a person I trust implicitly that I had to see this.  Boy, was she right.  We have an undersized overachieving businessman/art thief with a trophy wife who makes the mistake of pissing off Jamie Lannister.  A move that lands him up to and then well over his eyes in crap, literally.  I loved this movie as we watch this guy become more and sympathetic as he endures one torturous debacle after another.  It’s a very smart thrill ride with some cool twists.  I can’t recommend this movie enough.  
MVP:  Aksel Hennie as the long suffering Roger Brown, there are Norwegians named Roger Brown?

The Straight Story

Actors:  Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz, Joseph A. Carpenter, Harry Dean Stanton, Everett McGill
Rating:  10 out of 10, I don’t know what surprised me more - that this was a David Lynch film or just how powerful the movie was.  The simple elegance of the story and the understated command with which the story is conveyed is almost mesmerizing.  Farnsworth plays Alvin Straight who decides upon hearing of his estranged brother’s stroke that he will jump on his riding lawn mower for the 300 mile journey.  This apparently is based on an actual event.  There is no flash or attempt to overly dramatize the journey.  Farnsworth was suffering from terminal cancer when this was shot but he delivers a performance for the ages.  Again, the simple dignity of a man confronting himself and doling out wisdom to those he encounters without preaching.  There are so many memorable scenes in which little is said but so much is conveyed.  The scene between Alvin and another aged World War 2 veteran sitting in a bar and revealing the pain they’ve each harbored for all the years since is heartrending.  Alvin tells the story of accidently killing a comrade in combat and reflects that as he gets older he doesn’t count the years he’d lived but the number of years he’d denied his comrade.  Again, that simple, but powerful elegance this whole film is permeated with.  The ending is perfect.  I find it hard to do justice to this film.  If you love films and you haven’t seen this – do yourself a favor.   
MVP:  Farnsworth as Alvin Straight, a fitting send off to a great character actor

Color of Night

Actors:  Bruce Willis, Jane March, Ruben Blades, Lesley Ann Warren, Scott Bakula, Brad Dourif, Lance Henricksen, Jeff Corey
Rating:  6 out of 10, A very long movie set back in the days Willis still had a hairline although you can see the beginning of its death throes.  He plays a traumatized psychologist called upon to take over group therapy for a bunch of complete wackos, one of which murdered his best friend, or so we think.  Everyone in the group as well as Willis and his deceased friends sample Ms March in one of her incantations although it’s never really explained where she got all the time (not to mention energy) accomplishing that.  March is not very convincing but she is very adept at shedding clothes which was what her part called for.  This film may have driven the stake into the heart of the post-Basic Instinct main stream crime-porn movies.  It’s also very, very long (but I already said that). 
MVP:  Willis is watchable even in a bad movie

Playing God

Actors:  David Duchovny, Timothy Hutton, Angelina Jolie, Peter Stormare, Michael Massee, John Hawkes
Rating:  5 out of 10, I’m not sure what possessed me to keep watching this – incredibly bad movie.  I’m pretty sure it was partly due to the extremely high unintentional comedy level.  Duchovny plays a drug addled former doctor who’s called upon to perform emergency surgery in bars and hotel rooms.  Duchovny is okay, as is a pre-body sculpted Jolie but Hutton is a complete and utter disaster as a supposedly ruthless crime lord.  I’ve seen girl scouts that were more convincing villains.  Don’t waste your time with this.
MVP:  Duchovny as Dr Eugene Sands

Side Effects

Actors:  Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vinessa Shaw  
Rating:  8 out of 10, Wow, unbelievable – a really smart movie – huge surprise, although Channing Tatum as a Wall Street banker was a bit of a stretch.  A movie that grants the audience a modicum of intelligence and then runs with it.  I love movies that leave small early clues to the major late plot shift, basically giving you the tools the figure out the big surprise but not being obvious about it.  Mara is back in chameleon form seemingly a new character in each new scene. However this movie belongs to Jude Law in arguably his strongest role ever.  He plays the victimized psychiatrist who steadfastly pursues the truth.  He’s definitely moved beyond his pretty boy roles.  A great watch.
MVP:  Law as Dr Banks tortured but triumphant

Olympus Has Fallen

Actors:  Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Dylan McDermott, Rick Yune, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett
Rating:  8 out of 10, Gerard Butler in full Leonidas mode saving the day when terrorists seize the White House (again!). It pissed me off a little bit to see the White House taken down (again!) but the action was relentless and Butler can really do this kind of thing. It was like seeing a return of Jack Bauer, but with a sneaky Scottish accent. It was totally unbelievable and some of the plot holes taken to keep the story moving were laughably farfetched but I still loved the flick. The female actresses were a bit wasted but this was Butler's flick and he delivered.
MVP:  Butler as the Mike Banning the ultimate Secret Service agent

The Numbers Station

Actors:  John Cusack, Malin Akerman, Liam Cunningham
Rating: 6 out of 10, An interesting, if flawed, spy thriller with Cusack once again playing a wrung out has-been (carving out a real niche there).  I liked this because it was different; shot mostly in an underground bunker where a disgraced CIA killer is under siege while protecting Akerman with both sides urging him to kill her.  I know the director was aiming at some lofty comment on the insidious spy agencies but he accidently made a fairly good movie, thanks mostly to Cusack and Akerman.
MVP:  Cusack as Emerson the reluctant hero, a killer discovering his conscience

Help

Actors:  John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear
Rating:  8 out of 10, Since I hear Beatles music all the time I had forgotten just how charismatic the boys were at the height of their fame when this was shot.  The movie itself is a huge mess – as if a highly stoned member of the Monty Python tried to make a Bond picture.  It is still so much fun though, a real guilty pleasure.  The Beatles look impossibly young and the iconic music still stands by itself. 
MVP:  Ringo could actually act – a very little bit

Stand Up Guys

Actors:  Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Christopher Walken,  Julainna Margulies, Lucy Punch, Addison Timlin
Rating:  8 out of 10, Sometimes you just sit back and realize you’re watching genius at work.  The scenes between Walken and Pacino represent two master craftsmen at work.  There’s so much going on beyond the dialogue, which is a good thing since Walken is at his monosyllabic best.  You then throw in Alan Arkin and it ascends to another level.  Maybe I’m getting old myself but this story of some aged hoods grabbing one more night of their youth really struck a cord with me.  So good.
MVP:  Pacino as Val is luminous

The Full Monty

Actors:  Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Tom Wilkinson
Rating:  7 out of 10, I’d forgotten how downright funny this movie is.  Once I adjusted to the accents (about fifteen minutes in) there are so many just drop your beer and laugh out loud lines.  The story of semi-lovable losers contending with bleak employment opportunities and resorting to stripping only to find themselves is too funny.  One of the best scenes in cinema history has the lads waiting in line at the unemployment office and starting to subtly dance to the elevator music playing – classic.  The last scene before he heads out to drop trou between Mark Addy and his wife is incredibly touching.  While the concept is totally absurd it works because we can all see a town reacting this way to some of their own – too funny.
MVP:  Wilkinson as Gerald the unlikely choreographer of the boys