Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Actors: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin,

Rating: 9 out of 10, This is the best in the series with a well-constructed, intelligent plot and subtle humor poking fun at some of the earlier installments that doesn’t take away from the story. The IMF force is under attack from Washington bureaucrats as well as a mysterious crime organization that always seems one step ahead. The series is justifiably famous for daring stunt work but this film takes them to an entirely new level. Cruise starts the movie out riding on the outside of a cargo plane during takeoff and it’s obvious that he did the work and wasn’t CGI’d in. This is the first of many stunt sequences that shatter the jaw dropping barrier and even a jaded movie goer such as myself was left in awe. You go into one of these expecting to be dazzled but they go well beyond that. The real revelation though was the female lead, Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa. She was every bit the match for Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and was the reason this movie is clearly the best of the entire series and one of the best I’ve seen all year.

MVP: Ferguson as Ilsa, clearly the best cohort in the entire series so far

Ant Man

Actors: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip "T.I." Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian,

Rating: 9 out of 10, I really didn’t know what to make of this going in as I’m not inured in the intricacies of the Marvel universe but I’ll watch anything Paul Rudd does. This movie is a bit of a departure from the usual huge body blows of entertainment Marvel is justifiably famous for. It succeeds by raining a relentless series of entertaining rabbit punches though. Rudd plays a convict who is selected to become the next Antman by Michael Douglas. This allows the movie to reach back into the earlier Avenger timeline and some really startling CGI to make Douglas appear young. It took me a while to recognize Evangeline Lily as the female lead but she more than hold her own in the impressive ensemble. Corey Stoll abandoned his hairpiece and lends some great texture to the villain but this is Rudd’s movie and he delivers a new kind of hero who’s a lot more grounded than the usual godlike Avengers. Although he does let Michael Pena steal every single scene he appears in. Pena remains one of the most interesting actors currently working. This movie works precisely because it doesn’t aim for the usual overblown Avenger scenarios. It’s funny, smart, and a lot of fun while I do mourn the thousands of CGI ants who sacrificed their lives in the final battle.

MVP: Rudd as Ant Man stands out even in a very talented cast

American Ultra

Actors: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace, Connie Britton, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo, Bill Pullman, Tony Hale

Rating: 8 out of 10, An action comedy which had liberal doses of both. Jesse Eisenberg plays a stoned out loser in West Virginia who also happens to be a deadly secret agent that Eric Forman and Boyd Crowder are trying to kill. Coach Taylor’s wife comes to the rescue in time to semi-activate Eisenberg from his sleeper state and hijinks ensue. It was nice to see Kristen Stewart leave her Bella state of perpetual pout and truly engage as the girlfriend with real on screen chemistry with Eisenberg. This could have been something really special if they played up the comedy a little more but they got sucked into too much time with the bad guys instead of the Eisenberg-Stewart pairing. All in all though, a lot better than you’ve probably heard with some laugh out loud moments as Eisenberg keeps accidently killing highly trained assassins.

MVP: Eisenberg as the befuddled but very dangerous Mike

Ted 2

Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Jessica Barth, John Slattery, Morgan Freeman

Rating: 7 out of 10, Sequels are tough in comedies, especially given the first Ted wrung about as much humor as possible out of a self-aware and thoroughly foul mouthed teddy bear. I was therefore pleasantly surprised that this wasn’t a cheap grab for money by repeating all of the gags from the first movie. There are some incredibly funny one liners that keeps you on your toes as the totally inane “plot” unwinds. The inanity is to be accepted; let’s be honest, we’re dealing with a potty mouthed stuffed toy, you can’t approach this expecting Shakespeare. It remains what the original was, incredibly, if somewhat guiltily, funny. Amanda Seyfried is a welcome addition as the love interest for Wahlberg and even pokes some serious fun at her signature (Gollum) eyes throughout. There are some of the funniest cameos in recent cinema included, some of which come out of deep, deep left field. Liam Neeson buying Trix was funny on so many levels. The final loving send up a comic con with a gay Lt Worf stalking geeks alongside the Tick was too funny. You cannot take yourself too seriously and still enjoy a movie like Ted 2, which I did thoroughly.

MVP: Amanda Seyfried channeling Gollum as the new love interest

Layer Cake

Actors: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon, Tom Hardy

Rating: 9 out of 10, I’ve loved each of Matthew Vaugh’s directed films but had never seen this, his earliest. It’s an elegant British gangster movie with the usual almost incomprehensible cockney accents. Tom Hardy and Sienna Miller in minor parts before their careers took off are also interesting. It was similar to Lock, Stock, and Etc. with a lot more class and better photography. I got through the entire movie before realizing Craig’s character, whom the entire movie is about, is never actually named. Craig’s unnamed drug dealing gangster plays against type as kind of a softee caught up in the machinations of the more typical criminal types. That along with Vaughn’s usual pace and subtle special effects made this a very nice experience. It also cemented Vaughn’s status as my favorite current director.

MVP: Craig plays against rep as a fairly soft gangster XXX

Hitman: Agent 47

Actors: Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto, Ciarán Hinds, Thomas Kretschmann, Angelababy

Rating: 8 out of 10, I guess this is based on a popular video game of which I am blissfully unaware, a signature difference between baby boomers and millennials. Since this movie was about a bio-engineered super assassin there was the attendant carnage but it was practically bloodless, despite the state of the art CGI splatters. I liked the two lead actors, especially the title character. He was supposed to be an emotionless automaton but he was a good enough actor to add a bit of character which made him likable. Young Spock showed up to suck up bullets and knife thrusts in true Hero fashion. Despite the body count, this was harmless fun and I enjoyed the ride. Just check your need for a greater meaning at the door.

MVP: Friend in the title character role as the almost humorless assassin

Scorch Trials

Actors: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario, Patricia Clarkson, Rosa Salazar, Jacob Lofland, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Barry Pepper, Lili Taylor, Alan Tudyk.

Rating: 8 out of 10, The same bunch of fun loving teens that escaped the maze in the first picture now have to deal with a rapidly expanding world that is mostly destroyed. There’s a very convoluted plot as to why these teens are so important, especially since in the first movie the corporation who values them so much spent a lot of time and effort killing them off. What the hell, it’s science fiction, plot holes be damned! The group spends the entire movie running from a variety of threats ranging from said corporation, to zombies, to Gus Fring with his face grown back. That brings up a major problem I had with chase scenes. The trail runner would invariably stop to gaze back in wonder at the imminent and usually very deadly threat, pursuing them. This made no sense on any level, except for the dramatic effect of a close up for the actor. We get it – you’re being chased, turn around and run! Other than that minor, but very irritating point, I liked the action scenes which added a lot of tension. While this was obviously a set piece to get us to the third movie I liked it.

MVP: O’Brien as the ever doughty and running Thomas