Fury

Actors:  Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal

Rating: 9 out of 10, A Brad Pitt vehicle set in the last days of World War 2 with Pitt as a tank commander fighting his way across the remnants of the 3rd Reich.  He and the rest of his veteran crew take on a fresh-faced newcomer, Logan Lerman, to replace a dead comrade.  The movie boasts some truly amazing battle scenes where some obvious effort went into realism.  The movie is more about the loss of humanity of the veteran crew (all excellent actors) caused by years of war.  You see Pitt trying to hang onto the last vestiges of his own humanity when he sees himself reflected back in Lerman’s reactions.  Despite their fragile existence living on the edge of barely retained sanity, fighting together establishes a bond that excuses their descent to a certain degree.  A really well done war movie, brutal to the extreme, but so is war.  I spent my entire career in light infantry and didn’t work a lot with tanks (they referred to us as “crunchies”).  Tankers were a strange, fatalistic breed which the movie does a great job of capturing.  Infantrymen have a healthy respect for tankers, probably dating back to the initial training where they have a sixty ton, armored beast come straight at you and do a couple pivot steers directly on top of your position.  A change of underwear is usually required afterwards.

MVP:  Pitt as Wardaddy balancing brutality and humanity

Vegas Vacation

Actors:  Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Ethan Embry, Marisol Nichols as

Rating: 6 out of 10, The worst of the bunch by far because Chase always managed to make Clark somewhat likable if extremely flawed. Here he’s just an A-hole undeserving of his family. The kids make a comeback and Cousin Eddie re-appears which is always welcome. Wayne Newton’s pursuit of Ellen doesn’t play well although D’Angelo still had “it” at this point. The best plot line has Ethan Embry as Rusty mirroring Chase’s futility at gambling with his own success. Time to send Chase out of pasture – he’s just not that funny and the material was too main stream, losing the edge of the earlier efforts.

MVP:  Embry as the very lucky Rusty

European Vacation

Actors: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Hill, Jason Lively, John Astin

Rating:  6 out of 10, Obviously made quickly to ride the success of the first film this is still somewhat funny as the Griswolds win a European vacation and all that entails. This might have been a much better film except for Dana Hill as the daughter Audrey. She is so grating that I wanted to mute the sound each time she came on screen. It was funny to hear Clark saying he hardly recognized his kids anymore since they changed with each movie. There were the obvious gags at British politeness, French rudeness, German beer drinking, and Italian fashion which was funny if a little too safe.

MVP:   Chase the ever oblivious Clark Griswold

Vacation

Actors: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron, Anthony Michael Hall, John Candy, Imogene Coca, Christie Brinkley, Jane Krakowski

Rating:  7 out of 10, This was much better and more edgy than I remembered as Clark Griswold savages his family across the USA on a family vacation. I had forgotten how attractive D’Angelo was in her prime and she is the best thing about this movie as the long suffering Ellen Griswold. The first of four sets of actors to play the Griswold children do a good job of capturing sibling distress in the car’s back seat. The movie’s best when it deals with the family and supporting characters as Chase isn’t funny when on the screen by himself. The movie has aged well though and still captured some heartfelt laughs.

MVP:   D’Angelo as Ellen Griswold 

The Drop

Actors: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini, Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz, James Frecheville

Rating:  9 out of 10, The Drop  is billed as James Gandolfini’s last movie.  In reality this is Tom Hardy’s movie and it is powerful.  It’s not an action packed thriller but a look at the gritty underside of organized crime in Brooklyn.  The plot jumps around a lot but in doing so provides the necessary clues for a fantastic climatic confrontation. Hardy is completely believable as a seemingly inept, but sweet hearted bartender for the devious Gandolfini.  They’re under pressure from Chechen mobsters to recover money stolen in a late night stick up while Hardy adopts a pit bull puppy and Noomi Rapace.  I can’t say too much because it would ruin the fantastic scene between Hardy and Rapace following the super bowl.  The movie ends with maybe the best line in cinema this year, “No one ever sees you coming, do they?”.  If you love character driven drama and great acting –go see The Drop.

MVP:   Hardy dominates as the very deep and well camouflaged Bob Saginowski

Lucy

Actors:  Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Amr Waked, Choi Min-sik.

Rating: 9 out of 10, Scarlett Johansson has an accidental drug induced ability to fully access her brain’s capacity (insert comment here about what an actor’s brain would really be capable of).  The enhancement turns her into a superhero and she starts globetrotting and time travelling to link up with Dr Morgan Freeman to preserve her knowledge before she burns out.  Old Boy himself, who was responsible for the enabling drug is hot on her heels with a seemingly endless supply of henchman.  Since this was a Luc Besson movie the climax takes place in Paris.  Since this was a Luc Besson movie the action is almost non-stop, filled with huge plot holes, and immensely entertaining.

MVP:  Johansson owns the movie transitioning from ditz to superhuman Lucy

Jaws

Actors:  Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Murray Hamilton, Lorraine Gary

Rating: 9 out of 10, I finally added this superb movie to my collection and was reminded again of Spielberg’s early genius. The tension he builds for the first half of the movie when you don’t even see the shark is palatable and makes the first true sighting that much more terrifying. The musical score is probably the most evocative in the history of cinema gets a big assist with the terror. The relationship he establishes between Scheider, Dreyfuss, and Shaw on the boat defines a “guys’ night out” comradery which then turns on a dime with the recounting of the Indianapolis disaster. The mechanical shark is kind of quaint by today’s CGI standards, its even missing its whole tail in one scene but this movie still works on so many levels. I was afraid to swim in even a pool after I saw this the first time and now it will take weeks to get Quint’s ditty-  “Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies, Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain” out of my mind.

MVP:  Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody balancing small town politics, a fear of water, and a humongous shark

Gone Girl

Actors:  Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon

Rating: 9 out of 10, Fincher can do so much with a crime story and he brings a character here that will enter the cinema hall of fame for villains. The mystery is removed fairly early but that just permits the exploration of the depth of pure evil in this character. I won’t ruin it for you by saying more; other than you’ve got to see this movie. It’s the best thing Affleck’s ever done acting wise and Pike certainly left her Bond girl status well behind.  The story revolves around Affleck’s missing wife (Pike) and whether he killed her or not. Fincher offers a withering indictment of America’s penchant of rushing to judgment with empty headed, big mouthed “legal experts” assaulting the air waves with their theories. Definitely one of the best movies of the year, there were several gasp out load moments as well as nearly continuous tension. You’re almost out of breath by the end – don’t miss this one. Neil Patrick Harris is definitely going to stick to dudes after this experience.

MVP:  Carrie Coon as Margo, Affleck’s twin sister who nails the role and rthyms of siblinghood

Big Trouble in Little China

Actors:  Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong

Rating:  8 out of 10, I could not believe this beloved old movie was not part of my library – something that was recently rectified.  Re-watching it I was reminded how much fun it was, especially Russell channeling his inner John Wayne to play the bombastic, deeply flawed hero. This is John Carpenter at his best giving us too many unbelievable concepts to process while poking loving fun at the B-movie genre.  This film definitely belongs in the category of guilty pleasure but what a true pleasure it remains and Kim Cattrall was smoking hot before Sex in the City wrung all the joy out of her.     

MVP:   Russel as the blow hard, very imperfect hero Jack Burton

The November Man

Actors:  Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko, Wuill Patton, Bill Smitrovich

Rating:  8 out of 10, Brosnan has made an interesting late career out of playing retired spies after getting booted from his 007 gig. He’s back again as an ex-CIA operative who gets pulled back into the business where he has to confront old friends and a lethal protégé he trained. The movie had a lot of well-choreographed action as Brosnan kills his way from Moscow to Belgrade while romancing a couple of Russian beauties along the way. I did have some problems with the editing which jumped around a little too much. Red herrings are fine but only in moderation. The plot couldn’t decide what the real story was:  the confrontation or the underlying mission to discredit the Russian politician or rescue the damsel(s) in distress. When a movie tries to be everything to everybody it will fail due to its two hour life span.  All that being said the action and Brosnan lift this flick into the eminently watchable level; just suspend your disbelief upon entering.

MVP:  Brosnan gamely holding onto his 007 skills in the title role

The Equalizer

Actors:  Denzel Washington, Chloë Grace Moretz, Marton Csokas, David Harbour, Bill Pullman,  Melissa Leo

Rating:  8 out of 10, I was interested to see how they would transform Denzel Washington into a smartly dressed English ex-spy a la the 1980s TV show.  Since it is Washington he more than made this part his own.  He plays an insomniac ex-spy leading a mundane life working at a Boston area Home Depot like store.  In one of his late night sojourns at a local diner he befriends a young Russian hooker who eventually requires his assistance.  The first part of the movie is almost too slow but by the end you realize it was needed to set up the second half action.  Washington is perfect for this part as a lethal killing machine who starts mowing down the evil doers with a deadpan expression which eloquently states – “how could you be this stupid?”  Washington captures the humanity behind the violence which makes his character very compelling.  The climatic confrontation may cause you some nervous discomfort the next time you visit a Home Depot, so prepare yourself; great flick.  Seeing it a second time I can’t believe this didn’t make the top ten for the year.

MVP:  Washington, of course, as the very dangerous Robert McCall

Brick Mansions

Actors:  Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA, Catalina Dennis, Ayisha Issa

Rating:  7 out of 10, I think this movie would have gone directly to DVD instead of the theaters if not for Walker's death. It’s a Luc Besson (whom I love) product so there was a lot of action as well as French speaking actors trying unsuccessfully to hide their accents as Detroit politicians. Since this was set in the future maybe the Québécois migrated south to fill the vacuum that is Detroit since the Americans gave up on it. The nasty bits of Detroit are surrounded by a huge wall and the action involves Walker as a driven cop assisted by a parkour dude trying to take down RZA (who seems to be channeling Elmer Fudd with a pronounced lisp) who stumbled upon a neutron bomb (because those are just lying around). The plot is more than silly and boasts a fairly high unintentional comedy level but is rescued by David Belle. The movie is worth seeing just to see this guy bouncing all over the urban landscape with incredible parkour moves. It’s always a stretch for Walker to play a tough guy as it is here but Belle is mesmerizing to watch. It was like Cirque de Soleil on amphetamines cross bred with martial arts. It was also Besson so the action just rocked while not making a lot of sense, I loved it
MVP:  Belle, of course, as the nimble Lino