Actors: Chris
Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston,
Idris Elba
Rating: 9 out of 10, It
is exactly what you expect/hope for from a Marvel superhero flick. Non-stop action as the forces of Asgard
assisted by some plucky humans battle against some really coolly conceived dark
elves trying to plunge the universe into eternal darkness. Hemsworth is a really capable actor and had
the wife oooing and ahhing every time he found the need to remove his shirt. For those of us with a Y chromosome, the
action, almost all CGI, was the routinely jaw dropping quality this series of
films has produced. Natalie Portman is a
real reach as the braniac human love interest but the best lines and part in
the movie belong to Loki. Tom Hiddleston
steals every scene he’s in and keeps you guessing right up to the end which
side he’s on. A true trickster. You know going in what you’re going to get
with a Thor movie and that sets a film up for disappointment. It takes those expectations, runs with them,
and delivers. I don’t think there’ll be
any Oscar noms coming out of it but it is what it is and that is entertaining –
pure escapism. Right down my alley.
MVP: Hiddleston
continues to rule as Loki – what a great character
Actors: Sandra
Bullock, George Clooney
Rating: 10 out of 10,
This movie just blew me away with its simple, stark, unrelenting tension. The
plot has Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts struggling to survive
after a disaster in the unforgiving cold vacuum of space. The effects are so
real that suspending disbelief is automatic. This movie belongs to Bullock who
plays lead not as a superwoman type but on a simple human level that made it so
easy to relate to. This is one of those rare movie experiences where you
realize the full power of the medium. My wife and I looked at each other when
it was over and voiced a simultaneous “Wow!”. Do whatever you can to see this
movie on the big screen. It’s a taut individual human drama played out on a
massive canvas.
MVP: Bullock rules as
Astronaut Rian
Actors: Todd
Armstrong, Nancy Kovac, Gary Raymond, Laurence Naismith, Niall MacGinnis, Honor
Blackman, Nigel Green
Rating: 8 out of 10, the
signature Harryhousen movie for my generation.
There’s not a single boy who grew up in the 1960’s who didn’t marvel at
this movie. Seeing the giant brass man
Talos, the seven headed hydra, and most especially the army of skeleton
warriors was like seeing old friends.
The movie takes serious liberties with the Jason legend but there’s some
serious fun in this pure escapist fare.
While Harryhousen’s effects cannot compete with today’s CGI this was jaw
dropping stuff back in the 1960s and completely charmed an eight year old
version of myself.
MVP: Armstrong as
Jason, kind of strange he never amounted to much because he was really good in
this
Actors: William
Hopper, Joan Taylor, Frank Puglia, John Zaremba
Rating: 7 out of 10, stilted black and white sci fi tale
that has a 1950s rocket ship crashing off Sicily upon returning from Venus. A young Italian boy scavenges a glob from the
beach that grows into one of Ray Harryhousen’s creatures that ends up terrorizing
Rome and having
a knock down drag out fight with an elephant.
Plant your tongue firmly in your cheek at the cringe worthy dialogue and
enjoy some of Harrryhousen’s early work
MVP: Taylor as a strong woman in the chauvinistic fifties
Actors: Hugh Marlowe,
Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, John Zaremba, Gordon Rhodes
Rating: 8 out of 10, One of my longest held fascinations
from early film going. Harryhousen destroys
Washington in
this epic black and white sci fi classic that actually stands up pretty
well. Marlowe and Taylor as the lead couple
have a lot of chemistry and can actually act.
You can see the seed this movie planted bloom in many of the alien
invasion movies that have followed since. So funny to see the 1950s versions of
ourselves and so many familiar places.
MVP: Marlowe as the
heroic Doctor Russ Marvin
Actors: Kenneth
Tobey, Faith Domerge, Donald Curtis, Ian Keith, Dean Maddox Jr.
Rating: 7 out of 10, those dastardly Pacific
Ocean hydrogen bomb tests create yet another monster in this black
and white Harryhousen classic. In this
case it’s a huge octopus (with only six legs if you look closely). This is the slowest moving monster in cinema
history so it’s lucky the victims stop and scream long enough to be eaten or
the poor thing would have starved to death before it could take down the Golden Gate bridge.
Pure 1950’s schlock, I loved it.
MVP: Tobey as the
horny sub commander in hot pursuit of Domerge and the monster that tried to eat
his sub
Actors: Harrison Ford,
Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfield, Abigail Breslin, Viola DavisRating: 8 out of 10, This
is a long anticipated movie version of the classic sci fi novel that I loved
from my youth. Since it was such a good
book I was leery of expecting too much.
The cinema doesn’t allow the depth a book can explore and there were a
lot of (to me) important details glossed over.
That being said the movie is astounding in the realistic sets and
seamless CGI backgrounds. The viewer is
truly transported into deep space with Ender.
Hugo vets, Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley, reunite with Butterfield
dominating as Ender. A much more serious
Han Solo plays a critical role in molding Ender into the war winning strategist
and they handle the big twist at the end moderately well. They spend so much time in the training
leading up to the simulated battles that it seemed kind of rushed near the series
of battles at the end and through what was the meat of the message. Like I said, when you love a book it’s hard
to be fair when you see it on the big screen. Finally, someone should really teach Harrison Ford how to wear a military beret.
MVP: Butterfield
nails the complex character of Ender Wiggin
Actors: Jim Sturgess,
Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Saoirse Ronan, Mark Strong, Alexandru Potocean,
Gustaf Skarsgard
Rating: 7 out of 10, You’re
going to get epic scale any time Peter Weir is involved in a film and that’s certainly
present as we follow a group of escapees from a Russian World War 2 gulag. There’s a lot of walking involved as the
group moves from Siberia across Mongolia
and Tibet to India and the
necessary attendant drama. Weir also has
a talent for eliciting notable performances and both Sturgess and Harris shine
as the two leaders of the group. I know
they were going for authenticity but some of the accents were so deep as to
make the language indecipherable, especially whenever Farrell was talking. I’m not sure this ever really happened but it
was a great testament to the human need for freedom and what we’ll go through
to achieve it. The Siberian tourist agency (if one exists) however is not going to be
happy with this film.
MVP: Sturgiss as the
Polish POW walking his way home
Actors: Domnall
Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy,
Lydia Wilson,
Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery, Tom Hollander
Rating: 10 out of 10,
a very cute British romantic comedy about a father and son who can travel back
through time whenever they choose. The
movie doesn’t make a big deal about the earth shattering ramifications of such
talent as most time travel movies do. It
stays on a very human level as the guys use this talent for what a lot of us
would do, they go back to fix some of their social mistakes and help friends. I
liked this movie on so many levels. The characters were touchingly
lovable both in the lead actor’s (one of those Weasley boys from the Harry
Potter movies and son of Brendan Gleeson) adoringly awkward romantic life as
well as his relationship with his dad, the incomparable Bill Nighy. It
also raises serious questions about what you would do given the same
talent. Would you go back, how far, what would you fix? Would I go
back to college to fix that tentative brush of a first kiss with my college
sweetheart that turned out to be a signature moment for the relationship?
The night of – definitely; a week later, definitely not. This
is a movie that makes you think even while making you fall in love with the
story and the characters. It sends the timeless message of the fleeting
nature of time and the importance of savoring life as it inexorably marches
by. Don't let those special, yet barely recognized moments of pass by
without appreciation. Take some of your own time and wisely spend it
seeing this movie.
MVP: Nighy as Dad
with a lesson for all of us
Actors: Vin Diesel, Jordi
Molla, Matt Nable, Katie Sackoff, Dave Bautista
Rating: 9 out of 10, Vin Diesel returns to one of his
signature roles which is so much better than the second movie which got a little
out of hand. It was much closer to the
first film and has Riddick alone against a hostile planet and
platoons of bounty hunters. It’s not
really a fair fight for either the planet or the hunters but makes for a
very entertaining flick. There is great
attention to detail, sometimes painfully so, as Riddick tames both the planet
and the mercs. This also boasts the best
demon dog in recent cinema – so you get that as well. Of course Riddick domesticates it.
MVP: Diesel really
lives the part and delivers once again as the fugitive Furian
Actors: Joakim Natterquist, Sofia Helin, Stellan
Skarsgard, Bibi Anderson, Michael Nyquist
Rating: 7 out of 10, I guess this is Sweden’s answer
to Braveheart with the story of star crossed lovers separated at an early age
when she’s sent to a convent and he goes about crusading in the holy land. The movie switches between three or four
languages but the story is fairly compelling.
I later learned this was two movies that were combined for international
release and looking back that was kind of evident. Natterquist as Arn has real screen presence
and he evolves from a clueless teenager to a grizzled middle aged warrior over the
course of the film and is believable in each incarnation. The battle scenes started out impressively
staged but there wasn’t a follow through during the actual battles which
strained credulity. All that being said,
I really liked this.
MVP: Natterquist as Arn, a very dangerous man
Actors: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Jonah
Hill, Michael Cera, Craig Robertson, Danny McBride
Rating: 7 out of 10, Not one but two demon penises as
well as an f-word count well into the hundreds and peeing into one’s own mouth
- a true classic is born. The movie starts out incredibly funny as we see
actors portraying themselves in all their pretentious glory and poking
merciless fun at themselves. The
apocalypse arrives and they don’t handle it well. The movie founders badly in the middle but
rallies at the end. Literally dozens of
cameos, some of which are incredibly funny, especially Michael Cera and Magic
Mike himself.
MVP: Cera as himself in all his glory leaving his garage
light saber dueling persona far behine
Actors: Aubry
Plaza, Jake Johnson, Mark
Duplass, Karan Soni, Mary Jane Rajskub
Rating: 9 out of 10, I am so
grateful to my daughter for putting me onto this completely quirky but ultimately
redemptive movie. The combination of
Plaza, doe eyes ablaze, seeking out meaning in her life while working as an
undercover reporter with an apparent wacko (Duplass) who plans on time
travelling. Their arc of developing relationship
is so much fun to watch. The lead
reporter’s transition in a secondary plot line is skillfully woven in as
well. Jake Johnson does a great job with
a shallow man who finds depth in his young interns. The ending of this movie is now definitely in
the top five ending scenes of any movie I’ve ever seen, saying a lot about just
how well done this flick is. You want to
raise your fist with Johnson while howling in joy.
MVP: Duplass as the dedicated yet troubled genius
Kenneth
Actors: Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, Diane Lane, Thomas
Jane, Rosario Dawson
Rating: 7 out of 10, I can’t believe I hadn’t heard
of this, much less seen this 2008 movie.
On top of a cast boasting some of my favorite actors it was an Elmore
Leonard story which guaranteed some truly memorable characters. He doesn’t disappoint with Rourke playing an
aging amoral Indian hit man accompliced with a frenetic young hood in Leavitt
who steals every scene, something he’s making a habit of. His complete ineptness as a wannabe bad guy
is a great foil to Rouke’s cool deadliness.
They spend the movie trying to hunt down and kill Jane and Lane. This was every bit as fun as most of the now painfully
departed Leonard’s fare was. He’s going
to be missed.
MVP: Leavitt as the over the top, bumbling hood
appropriately named Richard Nix
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