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