Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2

Actors: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell

Rating: 9 out of 10, Every bit as good as I hoped. I loved the original and it’s always supremely difficult to follow up a surprise hit with a sequel that does the original justice. All of the cast is back and the director wisely went with additional comedic input from both Drax and Rocket. Pratt as Quill takes an almost rear seat as back stories become more important. Every time I felt it was veering a little too much in a certain direction I was expertly swung in a new one, usually in a very colorful manner. The story was new and kept the action floating through a serious body count. There might have been a little too much Baby Groot but he was kind of cute so hard to argue that. It’s a big, sprawling, very funny, and just plain awesome adventure.

MVP: Zoe Saldana as Gamora continues to dominate, even in green skin

Alien Covenant

Actors: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir

Rating: 8 out of 10, I really enjoyed the movie which picks up the plot line from Prometheus although it takes its sweet time getting to that. As with all Alien movies we have an unsuspecting space ship crew serving as the target rich environment for xenomorph consumption. The only plot hole (of the many present) that I found hard to take was the seeming incompetence of this crew entrusted with this deep space mission. Ridley Scott has his usual heroine in line to save the day, kind of. For the true geeks amongst us (guilty), this adds a lot to the Alien mythology as it takes place almost entirely on the Engineer planet the Prometheus survivors were headed towards. The movie felt like a transitional piece aimed at getting the audience towards a hopefully epic ultimate movie linking back to the original. That last sentence will not make sense to a casual viewer of this series. The ending twist was too easily forecast but there was the usual tension and body count. While I genuinely enjoyed it, the first two movies in the series (especially the second) are still the champs.

MVP: Waterston as the tragic yet capable commander 

Fate of the Furious

Actors: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron

Rating: 7 out of 10, Not exactly Shakespeare but still wildly entertaining as long as you understand going in what to expect. It delivers the usual breathtaking, completely unbelievable car chases and the bromantic musing of Vin Diesel. He’s taken to the dark side for most of the movie for well-hidden reasons while his merry band of misfits team up with the CIA to track him down. It’s confounding that the LA car thieves of the first movie have transitioned into international agents of mystery but with this franchise suspension of disbelief is requisite. Charlize is around to play another of her delicious villain roles and virtually everybody still alive from prior movies stop by to check in. It was a great ride and kickoff for the summer blockbuster season.

MVP: Russell as the enigmatic Mr Nobody

Ghost in the Shell

Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Takeshi Kitano, Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han, and Juliette Binoche

Rating: 8 out of 10, It’s always fun to watch Scarlett Johansson. I’m unfamiliar with the mythology surrounding the source material but this was a compelling story told in very uneven fashion. Johansson plays a female cyborg with the brain of a woman she’s told died in a tragic accident. She uses her superhuman strength and capabilities in tracking down super criminals. The latest task is going after a highly dangerous hacker who also holds some mysterious clues to her origin. The action is top notch and Johansson is perfect for the physical action sequences but it felt wildly uneven as stirring action is followed by deadening dramatis. I actually caught myself falling asleep a couple times during these interludes which is unheard of when Ms. Johansson is blessing the screen with her form. The whole story is told on a very impressive backdrop of an unnamed urban area of the near future. I liked it but it was more of a chore than I thought it would be.

MVP: Scarlett as the bionic but still hot Major

Kong - Skull Island

Actors: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, John C. Reilly

Rating: 7 out of 10, There are so many unanswered questions about the king of the chest beaters, so we needed a new one. It turned out to be a pretty good adventure flick although they got the vast majority of the military aspects wrong. We are transported back to the 1970s at the end of the Vietnam War and satellite imagery, the new thang at the time, reveals Kong’s hidden island. A mixed bag of scientists, Soldiers, and adventurers are soon wending their way to confront the big guy. The cast is top notch with Brie Larsen once again standing out as a much more capable lady than the unfortunate Fay Wray. Kong takes offense to having his home bombed which leads to a film long confrontation with Samuel L Jackson, in full psycho mode. There’s just enough comedy injected to lighten up the atmosphere, mainly in the form of John C. Reilly who categorically refuses to be bad in anything he does. Loki is along to provide eye candy for the ladies but little else. It’s not really a new take on the big ape but it is certainly entertaining and well worth the watch.

MVP: Reilly as the unfortunate WW2 flyer