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