Venom

Actors: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Reid Scott

Rating: 9 out of 10, I’m blissfully unaware of the Spiderman mythology surrounding this character which may or may not have helped. It started fairly slowly and initially the Eddie Brock character is really hard to root for. It’s a tribute to Tom Hardy that he eventually wins you over despite no discernible reason for doing so. For me the movie takes off once Brock is infected with the alien parasite that transforms him into Venom. The internal monologue between Brock and Venom is at times hilarious. This wasn’t up to Marvel’s usual standard but it was a lot of fun as Venom careens around San Francisco battling the inevitable evil corporation. Michelle Williams is a little underutilized but this movie belongs to Hardy and he redeems the focus. A very fun ride that never takes itself too seriously.

MVP: Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom

Peppermint

Actors: Jennifer Garner, John Ortiz, John Gallagher Jr., Juan Pablo Raba, Tyson Ritter

Rating: 8 out of 10, I know this is getting excoriated by critics but that seems almost sexist. This is John Wick with a female in the trigger pulling role. Most of the criticism of the movie is that Jennifer Garner shouldn’t be wasting her talent in such a genre. There have been numerous academy award level male actors who’ve indulged in a well-paid action genre, make that escapist, fare but you seldom see the same level of criticism leveled at them that Garner is enduring. This movie was fun, well as much as it could be with the tragic events that cause Garner’s character to go on her well executed rampage. Garner is superb embodying the sense of loss driving her motivation to end the people involved in that loss. She hasn’t lost anything off her fastball from Alias days and handles the action scenes flawlessly. So don’t listen to the critics. If you liked John Wick (guilty) you’ll like this.

MVP: Garner as the Wicklike Riley North

Equalizer 2

Actors: Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Melissa Leo, and Bill Pullman

Rating: 8 out of 10, Denzel is back in John Creasy mode as the semi-silent predator inflicting justice where needed. This sequel didn’t play as well as the original because it tried to jump into international espionage instead of keeping the equalizing local, which was the strength of the story. The action sequences were everything that could be hoped for although there was too much thoughtful consideration liberally spiced between them. I get it, watching Denzel operate can be mesmerizing, but the director seemed to forget all about pacing as he almost lovingly lingers on Denzel in pensive mode. This is a perfect role for Denzel because he brings the gravitas needed for vigilante justice to be acceptable. Despite all this it’s well worth the watch if only to see the pre-eminent actor of this generation in peak form.

MVP: Washington in his first ever sequel as the inevitable Robert McCall

Mission Impossible: Fallout

Actors: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, Henry Cavill, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett

Rating: 10 out of 10, Tom Cruise’s latest IMF mission actually does accomplish the impossible. It injects new life into a sixth sequel and I rarely use the word epic for this type genre but it certainly fits. The story is completely implausible but that is, of course, why the IMF team is needed. This time they’re chasing plutonium around the world and causing no end of traffic mishaps in Paris which must have sent insurance rates skyrocketing. Superman is along in a rare villainous turn which he handles adroitly. The movie also brings back some of the most beloved characters from earlier movies to either complete, or continue, their arcs. This was most notable in Rebecca Ferguson the only woman capable of keeping up with Ethan Hunt. I loved the movie with relentless action, characters you can invest in, and climatic scenes that will cause acrophobic fainting spells.

MVP: Cruise continues to own Ethan Hunt, surprisingly effective despite his diminutive size

Mile 22

Actors: Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, Ronda Rousey.

Rating: 7 out of 10, Mark Wahlberg is back in the manic mode last seen in The Departed. He plays a hyperactive leader of a clandestine CIA team tracking down some dirty bomb ingredients in a mythical Asian country also trying to stay a few steps ahead (and failing) of some pissed off Russians. They are charged with transporting a key witness to the airport while seemingly the entire country tries to kill them. Iko Uwais, the luminescent star of the Raid movies, is the best thing about the movie especially when he gets around to administer the obligatory beatings. Lauren Cohan, from the Walking Dead, is also very good as a tough member of Wahlberg’s team. The action is almost non-stop but I had a real problem with the editing which was so jumpy and flashing between cameras that it was impossible to keep track of who was fighting who. The director, Peter Berg, got a little too impressed with his artistic side because this would have been a much better picture, even with the Raid homages, if he hadn’t gotten carried away in the editing room.

MVP: Iko Uwais as the hyper- fighter triple agent

Meg

Actors: Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Cliff Curtis

Rating: 8 out of 10, A movie about a huge shark and Jason Statham. I wasn’t going to miss that, even if it meant listening to my wife gasp appreciatively every time Statham took off his shirt. I’d read the book years ago and always wondered why they hadn’t made a movie about a huge prehistoric shark emerging to devour 21st century humans. The movie took itself a little too seriously at times and had to vanilla-ize to stay below an R rating but it still reveled in the summer monster flick traditions. It was truly unnerving to see a great white shark the size of a freight train cruising around indulging for a penchant for Chinese food. Some of the attacks were startling and even diverted my wife’s attention from Statham’s pecs for a while. This was formulaic but extremely well done as the meg ate his way through the supporting cast. The ending was a bit contrived but did you really think he stood a chance against Statham. A lot of fun.

MVP: Statham as Jonas, like the shark had a chance

The Spy Who Dumped Me

Actors: Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Justin Theroux, Sam Heughan, Hasan Minhaj, Gillian Anderson

Rating: 8 out of 10, This might have been a little too long but there can never be too much Kate McKinnon who’s back playing her usual character walking a thin line of sanity. Mila Kunis is playing her usual straight ”man” for McKinnon’s outlandishness and it works. There were several scenes where I was laughing out loud which is rare for me in a darkened theater. I really liked that the female characters were not victims although it would be easy to fall into that with plot of a gal (Kunis) literally dumped by a spy who has the entire intelligence world descending on her and her crazed gal pal. Instead they head out for Vienna and are soon bounding around the major cities of Europe one step ahead of assassins and smarmy operatives who consistently underestimate them. While most of their success is achieved accidently it is uniformly funny. Jane Curtin and Paul Reiser are hilarious in very small roles as completely inappropriate parents which makes sense since they spawned McKinnon. A good laugh when I needed one and Kunis thoroughly dominates an evening gown for climatic fight.

MVP: Kunis as the unsuspecting and lethal Audrey

Tag

Actors: Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Annabelle Wallis, Isla Fisher, Rashida Jones, Leslie Bibb

Rating: 7 out of 10, You wouldn’t think a movie about middle aged men continuing to play a game of tag each year would work. It does. In large part because of a very likable cast headed by Ed Helms as the game’s biggest proponent. There are some very funny moments as the gang of friends tries to tag the one friend, Jeremy Renner, who has successfully avoided being tagged in all the years the game has been played. Isla Fisher is back channeling her best Wedding Crasher craziness as Helms’ wife. An inch deep in weight but a lot of harmless fun this was based on an actual group of friends. The movie ends with a series of clips of some of their real world antics.

MVP: Fisher, once again in full crazed mode as loving wife Anna

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Actors: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly as Van Dyne, Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip "T.I." Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Douglas

Rating: 9 out of 10, This follows the trend of the earlier Antman movie which takes itself much less seriously than the normal Marvel fare. Paul Ruud is perfect as the hero beset with legal, familial, mechanical, business, and romantic issues not to mention a marauding ghost like villain. San Francisco, one of my favorite cities, plays a supporting role character as the action careens through many of the city’s most notable landmarks. Evangeline Lily is the true hero of the flick and steals every scene she’s in despite the always sneakily good Michael Pena’s similar attempts. It seemed like the entire cast had a lot of fun making this and a lot of that was transferable to the audience.

MVP: Evangeline Lilly as Van Dyne, very sexy and very dangerous

10 Cloverfield Lane

Actors: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.

Rating: 9 out of 10, Every bit as good as you’ve probably already heard. The tough part will be writing about it without revealing the plot which is the strength of the movie, along with standout performances by John Goodman (as usual) and Mary Beth Winstead. A young woman (Winstead) wakes up in an underground survivalist vault after a car accident. There was a supposed apocalypse of some undetermined manner occurring above their heads. The master of the vault, Goodman, veers between paternal to deep, deep left field. Both Winstead and the audience are left guessing as to whether the apocalypse really did occur and what the deal is with Goodman. The nonstop tension is almost intoxicating. The final Ripleyesque scenes have to be seen to be appreciated; I can say no more, other than go see this, fully prepared to leave fingernail impressions in the arms of the seat or your date.

MVP: Goodman menacing yet almost lovable Howard

Cloverfield

Actors: Michael Stahl-David, Odette Yustman, T.J. Miller, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan, Mike Vogel

Rating: 8 out of 10, I was surprised when I saw this again. It was much better than I remembered. The cast is very good and the ongoing narration of the found footage by T.J. Miller is hilarious at times. The production values were also much better than I remembered. The plot follows a group of hipsters in New York City who have their social gathering interrupted by a seeming earth quake. They go outside and have to dodge the Statue of Liberty’s severed head followed soon by the perpetrator of the decapitation, a massive beast impervious to modern weapons. They try to make their way across the city in hopes of rescuing another of their group and unfortunately the monster is headed the same way. It was at times touching, funny, scary, and ultimately desolate but it catches your eye and refuses to let go. A very good horror movie.

MVP: Miller as Hud the Narrator

Skyscraper

Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Chin Han, Roland Møller, Noah Taylor, Byron Mann, Pablo Schreiber, Hannah Quinlivan

Rating: 7 out of 10, The usually explosive Rock was a seemingly perfect solution for the action starved in Skyscraper. This was a formulaic rip off of Die Hard without the needed edge or sly humor. This surprised me because Johnson is so good at this type role but he may be starting to take himself too seriously. He’s framed with starting a fire in the tallest building in the world that traps his family above the fire. The predictable demonstrations of the Rock’s upper body strength ensue as despicable bad guys pursue a laughably bad plan to destroy the building. Neve Campbell is a welcome addition as the competent wife and the Asian actors were particularly good. They couldn’t rescue this however as the Rock playing sensitive is not what we go to see a Rock movie for. There were a lot of acrophobic inducing stunts but this played more like a TV disaster movie versus a summer blockbuster. A rare miss for the Rock while playing in his strong suit.

MVP: Johnson is still an immense presence as Will Sawyer

Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Actors: Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Isabela Moner, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo,  Catherine Keener

Rating: 8 out of 10, I will first admit that I am an unrepentant lover of all things Christmas related and therefore have always held Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol as something approaching holy writ. This film offers a fascinating insight into Dickens’ life as he created this timeless classic. The book’s characters leap from his imagination to hold conversations with him as he puts together the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghostly redemption. It was akin to greeting old friends as the iconic characters appeared or classic lines were uttered. Dickens had to balance the emotional baggage of his own youth as the story evolves around his chaotic present day life. It evolves into a delightful swirl through Victorian London as the various inspirations for Dickens’ work emerge throughout. Old stalwarts Jonathan Pryce, as Dickens’ father, and Christopher Plummer, as Scrooge, are their usual perfection but the movie truly belongs to Dan Stevens in the lead role. He’s been so good in everything he’s done – someone to watch for the future. If you enjoy writing you should see this movie with its proper respect for this lion of literature but mostly for spirit of Christmas in all its unabashed sentimentality. If you can’t enjoy that consider yourself a humbug.

MVP: del Toro as the relentless Alejandro

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom

Actors: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, B. D. Wong, Jeff Goldblum, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, James Cromwell, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, Isabella Sermon, Geraldine Chaplin

Rating: 9 out of 10, I’ve always been a sucker for the movies in this series, even when they fail, call it my obsession with dinosaurs. We’re back on Isla Nubar for a very short period this time but it was action packed. I think the volcano eruption scene will go down in movie history as one of the most exciting ever filmed/created (although I’m sure there are some residents of the big island of Hawaii who wouldn’t be that enamored of it). The movie bogs down a little whenever the dinosaurs aren’t the focus except when Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are on screen. They share an undeniable chemistry. I missed the John Williams score which only crept in a couple times. In this latest movie the dinosaurs face extinction once again, from volcanic activity once again, and the every ready evil corporation once again is trying to profit by it all. It’s a Jurassic movie so there wasn’t any deep meaning but it was an extremely fun watch, but that could be the 12 year old trapped inside me talking. They certainly set themselves up for another sequel which has fantastic possibilities.

MVP: Pratt as the ever resourceful Owen

Ocean’s Eight

Actors: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Awkwafina

Rating: 8 out of 10, The latest feminization of cinema worlds works elegantly. Sandra Bullock plays Clooney’s sister and embarks on an intricate diamond heist with a gang of high powered, female accomplices. There was some serious acting talent on display and they all meshed perfectly with the serial infusions of humor throughout. Bullock is serene as the gang leader and Ann Hathaway is a delight. It’s a little less suave than the Vegas setting of the earlier Ocean’s settings but that’s a good thing. Each actress gets a chance to shine and there are the obligatory surprises in the last act that makes the story enjoyable. In the end a very smooth and sophisticated, and decidedly female, take on the heist flick that works very well due to the talent employed.

MVP: Bullock as the extremely cool Debbie Ocean

Solo

Actors: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Paul Bettany.

Rating: 9 out of 10, Han Solo emerged in the original trilogy as the surprising star, out shining both of the Skywalkers, for most fans. This was due mainly from the undeniable screen presence of Harrison Ford. Alden Ehrenreich is certainly no Ford but is serviceable although I found myself searching for the sparkle you expect from Han. The film labors to establish Solo’s origins and I found myself squinting at the screen for the first fifteen minutes which were murky for some, I’m sure artistic, reason. We had a group of Star Wars fanatics in the row in front of us who would clap excitedly whenever a piece of Star Wars lore appeared, such as Han’s blaster. I guess that makes me a geek also because I understood each time what they were clapping for. The film truly takes off when Han and Chewbacca meet, hilariously. This was a true action adventure with some startlingly effective action scenes. The cast was uniformly awesome especially Donald Glover as Llando. I could truly imagine him evolving into Billy Dee Williams. I’m sure they’ll be some who will pick at this for a variety of obscure reasons but it was a lot of fun as I found myself silently clapping along with my fellow geeks in that row in front of us.

MVP: Ehrenreich gamely trying to capture a superstar’s essence as Han

Quiet Place

Actors: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jup

Rating: 9 out of 10, A very interesting and tension filled (in a good way) experience. Real life husband and wife John Krasinski and Emily Blunt portray a couple with three small children trying to survive by staying absolutely quiet because incredibly vicious, indestructible monsters hunt by sound alone and have already killed off most of the human population, not to mention racoons. The movie opens in drug store in a deserted town as the family is scavenging needed drugs before tip toeing home on carefully laid out sand paths. They should have stopped by the birth control aisle because the movie jumps forward in time as Blunt is preparing to give birth under these silent conditions. We all know the one thing never associated with that process and the aftermath is silence. It was weird sitting through a movie in almost complete quiet and this draws the viewer into the world this family is confronting. A great horror movie with unrelenting tension and a very satisfying conclusion, well worth a watch.

MVP: Emily Blunt as Evelyn Abbott at the top of her game during the birth scenes

The Man Who Invented Christmas

Actors: Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Callow, Donald Sumpter, Miriam Margolyes, Morfydd Clark

Rating: 9 out of 10, I will first admit that I am an unrepentant lover of all things Christmas related and therefore have always held Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol as something approaching holy writ. This film offers a fascinating insight into Dickens’ life as he created this timeless classic. The book’s characters leap from his imagination to hold conversations with him as he puts together the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghostly redemption. It was akin to greeting old friends as the iconic characters appeared or classic lines were uttered. Dickens had to balance the emotional baggage of his own youth as the story evolves around his chaotic present day life. It evolves into a delightful swirl through Victorian London as the various inspirations for Dickens’ work emerge throughout. Old stalwarts Jonathan Pryce, as Dickens’ father, and Christopher Plummer, as Scrooge, are their usual perfection but the movie truly belongs to Dan Stevens in the lead role. He’s been so good in everything he’s done – someone to watch for the future. If you enjoy writing you should see this movie with its proper respect for this lion of literature but mostly for spirit of Christmas in all its unabashed sentimentality. If you can’t enjoy that consider yourself a humbug.

MVP: Stevens as the irrepressible Dickens

Upgrade

Actors: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson

Rating: 9 out of 10, This movie really surprised me because I hadn’t heard anything about it which I do not understand. The hero was a Tom Hardy look alike who’s paralyzed at the same time his wife is murdered. The story takes place in the near future with a lot of today’s technology extrapolated for future capabilities. The Hardy boy is given the opportunity to have a computer chip, named Stem, implanted that returns control of his body to him along with some superhuman capabilities. He and Stem get off to a great start together and are soon surreptitiously trying to track down his wife’s murderers. There’s a gaping plot hole with the final reveal but that doesn’t distract from the action and suspense which moves along at a frenetic pace. This reminded me of the Matrix and/or a Black Mirror episode – either of which is eminent praise. It’s nice to be surprised in a good way at the theater and Upgrade certainly did. Highly recommend a watch.

MVP: Marshall-Green as Grey Trace handles the anguish as well as the physicality required of the role

Deadpool 2

Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Jack Kesy

Rating: 9 out of 10, This sequel was going to be difficult to pull off because the first movie was so innovative, irreverent, and funny. That’s a difficult formula to repeat and to the filmmakers credit they didn’t. Deadpool is still hilarious and continually shatters the fourth wall but this played as a more straight forward superhero action flick, albeit with hilarity liberally spread throughout. Ryan Reynolds continues to own the title role and once again proves to be a master of the one-liners. He decided to explore how many ways he could dismember himself and the resulting regrowth periods were all too funny. Zazie Beetz was a very welcome addition to the cast and James Brolin again ably handled a semi-villainous role as a Soldier from the future having to deal with Deadpool’s insanity. I will never forgive them however for limiting the contributions of Morena Baccarin – that should be a chargeable criminal offense. Julian Dennison was a miss in the part of the mutant child targeted by Brolin for death, he got the adolescent annoying part down but not much else. There are some absolutely stunningly funny cameos which I’ll have to see the movie multiple times to catch completely along with the one liners I was laughing too hard to hear. It was, in other words, a Deadpool movie – a glorious mish mash of laughter, gore and inappropriateness. I loved it.

MVP: Reynolds, this totally his show and he dominates

Avengers Infinity War

Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt

Rating: 9 out of 10, I loved the movie which is a glorious send up of geekdom in general. It’s absolutely relentless as the Marvel characters I and fellow geeks have invested so heavily in over the past eighteen Marvel movies are brought together for dizzying confrontation with Thanos. Thanos plays the ultimate environmentalist as he plans of solving the universe’s population problems by eliminating half of said population. This doesn’t sit well with our heroes but Thanos is not your garden variety tree hugger. The death toll is constant and at times troubling as the big stars with contracts running out fall by the wayside in increasing numbers. I do find it strange that despite both sides having galaxy spanning technology the final confrontation always seems to come down to a fist fight and spears but with Marvel there’s an undeniable need to suspend disbelief. It was magnificent and too much fun. Marvel also smartly put out this was the first of a two movie arc so we don’t have to worry too much about all the dead heroes. In the immortal words of Miracle Max, I’m sure most of them are only “mostly dead”. Go see it, total popcorn escapism at its very best.

MVP: Saldana as Gamora, making green look good

Lady Bird

Actors: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lois Smith

Rating: 9 out of 10, One of the best movies I’ve seen this year. My daughter raved about it and claimed it reminded her a lot of her own teenage years with her mother. That’s the core of the story – the difficulty of a highly creative Californian teenage girl’s senior year in high school surrounded by drama on all sides, especially from her mother. My wife rightfully took exception to being compared to the emotionally callous mother in the movie – played with exquisite depth by Laurie Metcalf. The real message of this refreshing movie is the emotional byplay of the mother-daughter relationship when the younger one moves from child to woman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done better and that is a tribute to Metcalf but more so for Saoirse Ronan in the title role – she owns this movie. I truly believe she’s incapable of doing anything badly. This is a movie with heart as Lady Bird sails through her senior year beset by both family and social challenges but remains true. There are excellent subplots involving the value of friendship, home, and several aspects of teenage angst. This movie is squarely aimed at mothers and daughters but it was fascinating for an old dad to see and learn from as well.

MVP: Metcalf as the emotionally brutal but loving mother

Rampage

Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Åkerman, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Rating: 7 out of 10, This movie would not have worked, such as it does, without the Rock. He’s one of those rare, generational actors who make something like this worth watching. It is a little bit of sneaky fun as well. Rock plays an ape specialist, granted – a bit of a stretch, who has an almost too familiar relationship with an albino gorilla. When that gorilla along with a wolf and an alligator are accidently mutated into gigantic killing machines by the inevitable evil corporation the fun begins. Miss Moneypenny shows up to help the Rock emote as they trail their friend across the country after an ape induced plane crash. He and his two buddies are doing their best to level Chicago with the help of the US military until the Rock shows up to put things right. He finds a very interesting way to introduce an antidote into his gorilla bud and they team up to take on the other two creatures. Best line in the movie, “Of course the wolf has wings!”. So……it’s that kind of movie, harmless escapist fun with just the right leavening of humor and, of course, the Rock.

MVP: The Rock, of course

Ready Player 1

Actors: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance

Rating: 10 out of 10, The movie was fabulous and should be required viewing for any self-styled pop culture geek. Guilty. Those references are almost non-stop and it becomes a game to pick up on the most subtle of these.. It’s Spielberg so there’s a very earnest hero pitted against the forces of corporate evil. In the not too distant future society has descended into a bit of self-indulgent morass as people can escape their difficult real world circumstances in the VR world of the Oasis where they can be anything or anybody. The hero is on a quest with his gang of buddies (which Spielberg always does well) to find the hidden clues that will turn the Oasis corporation over to them. He’s pitted against that evil corporation which can field a literal army of players in the Oasis to combat our plucky heroes. This was just plain fun as 70s and 80s pop culture have achieved a form of religion in this future world and played to the hilt. One of the key scenes has the players transported literally into the original Shining movie with hilarious results. I can’t recommend this highly enough and unless you’re overly self-important it’s a very fun ride.  Annal-Nathrak, indeed.

MVP: Rylance lends so much heart into the deified inventor of the oasis

Pacific Rim Uprising

Actors: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, Jing Tian, Adria Arjona, Zhang Jin, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman

Rating: 8 out of 10, Any blockbuster sequel has a hard row to hoe but this succeeds because it trusts the actors and they deliver, especially John Boyega. He continues to prove he is so much more than a reformed storm trooper and delivers the right combination of humor, panache, and charisma as the son of the last movie’s hero. Thankfully Charlie Hunam was jettisoned for a younger, more appealing crew of jaeger pilots. Jing Tian steals every scene she’s in, just as she did in The Wall. The kaiju are back menacing a rebuilding earth and Boyega along with Clint Eastwood’s kid are responsible for saving humanity. This movie puts to bed the notion that kaiju only fight in the rain and the CGI work was impressive as poor Tokyo is once again leveled by marauding mega-monsters. My only issue is with the climactic battle where the kaiju are so formidable that the jaegers are basically useless. Still it was pure popcorn driven fun with hardly a thespian utterance heard.

MVP: Boyega, spreading his wings as a lead

Tomb Raider

Actors: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Kristin Scott Thomas

Rating: 8 out of 10, I was pleasantly surprised at this reboot as the filmmakers decided to go away from the focus on mammary endowment and short shorts to cast a really good actress as Lara Croft. Alicia Vikander is superb and kicks some serious ass in a more realistic hero than the over the top Angela Jolie versions. While I’m sure the adolescent male target audience of the original video game will be disappointed at the lack of shirt movement Vikander dominates both physically and emotionally as a daughter seeking a long lost father in the wilds of an ancient island temple. She’s ably supported by Daniel Wu who got out of the Badlands long enough to serve as an able partner to Croft’s wanderings. Goggins, who’s usually so good as a bad guy, sleep walks through his performance as the villain. The action as exciting even with the usual abundance of CGI and that’s a tribute to the great shape Vikander obviously got into to play Lara. A nice re-boot of the character with a more able and believable actress in the title role.

MVP: Vikander, obviously, in the title role

Annihilation

Actors: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, Oscar Isaac

Rating: 8 out of 10, I was interested to see how this very complex novel would be translated to film. It’s always a challenge when a very dense, albeit excellent, novel has to be condensed into a two hour movie. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see the basic story line survive but modified enough to keep the audience fully involved. If anything, I liked the movie’s take better than the book’s; that is rare indeed and a tribute to the screenwriter. Natalie Portman plays a scientist on an all-female team sent in to investigate a mysterious extraterrestrial zone that is threatening to encompass the earth. Her husband recently returned from an earlier effort into the same zone and lies stricken by the effects. As soon as they enter the zone they’re exposed to time distortion as well as fantastically mutated plants and animals. This was science fiction done well without sliding into the trap of over emphasis on CGI although there is plenty of that. It was a little jarring to see Jane the Virgin (Gina Rodriguez) swearing like a sailor but she was excellent as were all the members of the team. The women were all kick ass and it was nice the filmmakers didn’t feel the need to have men come to their rescue. I also really liked the ending.

MVP: Portman as the very reserved Lena

Red Sparrow

Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeremy Irons

Rating: 8 out of 10, I’d watch Jennifer Lawrence in anything (well except mother!) and she is at the top of her game as a Russian ballerina turned spy. She is very good (as expected) in a very subtle way as she works her way through training as a “honeypot” to seduce enemy agents. There are double and triple crosses involved once she is sent to the field and I honestly didn’t know which side she would end up on until the final, startling conclusion. It was all very Russian. The only miss in the casting was Joel Edgerton as the American CIA agent. He was clearly fighting well above his weight trying to serve as a love interest for Lawrence, absolutely no chemistry between the pair. This wasn’t an action flick, if you discount Lawrence’s bathing suits, but exuded a very cool style throughout. It’s one of those movies I want to see again to see all the seemingly harmless clues that were provided throughout that come to bear at the end. I’m convinced Lawrence can do anything.

MVP: Lawrence as the deadly Dominika

Game Night

Actors: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Jesse Plemons, Michael C. Hall, Kyle Chandler.

Rating: 9 out of 10, This was really funny and not in the usual raunchy, adult manner of so many of today’s R-rated comedies (not that raunchy is a bad thing). Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams play a hyper-competitive married couple who host a weekly game night with equally competitive friends. A supposedly staged kidnapping turns out to be the real thing with the game players only gradually coming to realize it. Each of the ensemble cast has their moments to contribute and the snarky one liners are almost non-stop. I was afraid this was one of those movies where all the funniest lines were spent in the trailers but that was not the case. Jesse Plemons as the creepy cop neighbor steals virtually every scene he’s in but this movie belongs firmly to Bateman and McAdams. This type of quick witted comedy is right in Bateman’s wheel house but McAdams is more than up to the challenge of keeping up with him. It’s a smart, adult movie that never takes itself too seriously.

MVP: McAdams as the wifely side of the competition

Black Panther

Actors: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis
Rating: 10 out of 10, It is one of those rare films that exceeds deafening word of mouth hype. It’s clearly one of the best Marvel films ever which is rarified air for a dedicated geek like me to assign it to. It is well plotted, fabulously acted, and perfectly paced. The cast is the real strength of the movie but not because of the title character. While he is very good, Boseman is probably the fifth or sixth best actor in this movie. The women and Michael B. Jordan dominate! Lupita Nyong'o and especially Danai Gurira were mesmerizing in their roles as key players for the Black Panther. Jordan’s screen presence as the villain is undeniable and he almost gets you rooting for him despite constantly showing you why you shouldn’t; just charisma to spare. The movie takes on a lot of social issues without beating you about the head and shoulders. There’s also a lot of subtle humor, most of it at the Black Panther’s expense. It’s obvious Bosemen wasn’t a prima dona and uniformly gracious in sharing the screen with this fantastic cast. This is a superhero movie with a soul. This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. There was a huge crowd there for a Tuesday night showing mostly African-American which I would definitely recommend as a viewing environment. It was a party as young kids, up well after their bedtimes, devoured this new hero. While everyone wants to make this a socially conscious event it is still a damned fine movie. It says way too much about our movie history of inclusion that it is greeted as such an event in the first place.
MVP: Jordan as Killmonger

Girls Trip

Actors: Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith

Rating: 9 out of 10, I avoided seeing this until hearing some good things and I wish I could hug the recommenders but that would probably be inappropriate. Inappropriateness is what this movie is about and it revels in it. Four college African-American girl friends reunite in their late thirties for a thunder run to New Orleans. This movie is completely stolen by Tiffany Haddish who is hilarious in every scene she blesses with her presence. This is truly an ode to friendship and the audience is brought inside the tight circle of these close friends to be part of their hilarious interaction. I have not laughed this hard at a movie in all too long - almost too funny. Are women the only ones capable of making raunchy comedies funny anymore?

MVP: Tiffany Haddish as the irrepressible Dina- scene stealer extraordinaire

12 Strong

Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Navid Negahban, Trevante Rhodes, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill, William Fichtner, Rob Riggle

Rating: 8 out of 10, An interesting look at the initial deployment of Special Forces Soldiers into Afghanistan following 9/11. While I’m sure Hollywood took some extreme license with some of the events it seemed to follow pretty much what I knew about the actual timeline. Chris Hemsworth continues to display amazing screen presence in whatever role he pursues and he nails the character of the Special Forces team leader charged with cooperating with an Afghan warlord to take the fight to the Taliban. Hollywood never gets all the military techniques and strategies right but the mission of the SF team rang true due to the solid supporting cast, especially Michael Pena. I’m convinced Pena is incapable of doing anything bad. It was interesting to see a couple of guys I knew from my time in the Army depicted as senior leaders but I’m sure they’re a little pissed the actors didn’t know how to properly tailor their uniforms. If nothing else the film is a fitting tribute to these heroes who started the payback process that unfortunately continues to this day.

MVP: Hemsworth as the A Team Leader in an almost impossible situation

Greatest Showman

Actors: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya.

Rating: 9 out of 10, I comfortable enough in my skin to admit that I love movie musicals and I really liked The Greatest Showman. It provided a nice lift on a cold winter night and had me tapping my feet several times. The film involves a highly fictionalized story of the life of PT Barnum the quintessential American showman. I’m always surprised to see Hugh Jackman sing and dance instead of skewer someone with adamantine claws. He’s the life blood of this and exudes charisma ably assisted by Michelle Williams and Rebecca Ferguson. I’ve always been a fan of Zac Effron but this was the first time he was clearly fighting well above his weight; strong testimony to just how good Jackman can be. I liked the story of inclusion and rejection of class distinctions. Barnum is such an American character which may explain why I liked it. There was a very clear rejection of prejudice from both ends of the political spectrum – aimed squarely at both Trump and the elites alike. The first half drags a little bit but whenever Jackman is surrounded by his circus troupe the movie soars. I couldn’t help smearing an unlikely smile on my face throughout.

MVP: Jackman as the Australian playing the American everyman

Maze Runner: Death Cure

Actors: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Rosa Salazar, Giancarlo Esposito, Will Poulter, Jacob Lofland, Patricia Clarkson, Aidan Gillen, Walton Goggins

Rating: 7 out of 10, This brings an end to the fairly entertaining Maze Runner series. In this final installment, the hero – Thomas, with his few remaining friends, are trying to rescue another of their friends from clutches of the evil corporation using him to find a cure for the zombie virus killing off most of the human population. There are some very credible action scenes and Dylan O'Brien carries the film effortlessly as Thomas. You really have to question his common sense and sense of self-preservation with some of the plot holes he confronted with but this isn’t Shakespeare. It’s good, old fashioned popcorn sci fi which is right in my wheel house. I continue to like everything Rosa Salazar is connected with and she stages a very interesting escape in a bus with just the right amount of tongue in cheek. I liked the film despite the idiotic tactics on both sides and at least this drives a stake into the heart of yet another wannabe Hunger Games film series.

MVP: O’Brien as the seemingly suicidal hero Thomas

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Actors: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio del Toro

Rating: 10 out of 10, I clearly remember walking out of a 1977 movie theater with my girlfriend at the time after seeing the first movie and saying they certainly set themselves up for a sequel. I had no idea I would be thinking the same thing forty years later. I can’t say a lot about the plot without revealing some of the twists which are at the heart of what made this movie so special. It does move in some unexpected directions with the new generation of actors taking firm control of the action, which is almost non-stop. Luke, the heart of the original series, is back but in a supporting role to the vibrant Daisy Ridley as the new Jedi. The movie gets a jolt of adrenalin whenever John Boyega shows up on screen – this guy is going to be something very special. The movie is a triumph.

MVP: Ridley/Hamill – as the transitional Jedis Rey and Luke

Shape of Water

Actors: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer

Rating: 10 out of 10, Magnificent. Del Toro is a fascinating director and is up to his usual hijinks with texture and color. It’s kind of a bizarre interspecies love story involving a handicapped cleaning women and the creature from the black lagoon but inexplicably it works. Boy does it work and that directly attributable to the actors involved, especially Sally Hawkins as the mute cleaning women in a truly eloquent wordless performance. She’s ably supported by the incomparable Richard Jenkins and Olivia Spencer as her friends. Every horror film needs a monster and that’s supplied by Michael Shannon in his full unhinged government man mode fighting the cold war as only the early 1960s called for. I loved that there were so many levels to this unconventional story with the underlying message on the value of life. Loved this movie.

MVP: Hawkins as the indomitable Eliza

Downsizing

Actors: Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudekis, Udo Keir

Rating: 8 out of 10, A Matt Damon vehicle that was sold, at least in the previews, as a comedy about an everyman getting shrunk down to five inches in size. I really liked this movie on a second viewing; I must have been in a bad mood at the theater. Damon won me over this second time through as his performance is a lot more layered than I originally thought. The environmental message is just a vehicle and the importance of human connection transcends all. The quirky love story between Damon and Hong Chau is delightful. It perked up whenever Christoph Waltz or Hong Chau were on the screen.

MVP: Hong Chau as the irrepressible one legged Vietnamese Tran

Justice League

Actors: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K. Simmons

Rating: 9 out of 10, I loved it. I know it’s not getting a lot of love from the critics but this has everything you need from this type of popcorn action flick. Gal Gadot continues her luminescent turn as Wonder Woman and the movie takes off whenever she’s the focus. There’s a lot of subtle humor thrown in as the Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman make their debuts as well. The movie was fun for lack of a better term but as with anything that tries to achieve a dramatic arc while also introducing multiple story lines some things don’t work as well as possible. That doesn’t detract from the well-paced action and heroes you can care about and villains who needs vanquishing. Like I said – exactly what this type movie calls for.

MVP: Gadot truly wonderful as Wonder Woman

Thor: Ragnorak

Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins

Rating: 9 out of 10, This was a lot of fun. They decided to lighten things up in this latest Thor movie and Chris Hemsworth turns out to have a quite viable comedic turn in him. The movie is unremittingly funny throughout even as Asgard is getting seriously trashed when Thor’s older sister, unfortunately the goddess of death, arrives to shake things up. Loki is a little more understated this time out which was a good decision because it let the other actors have more, and there’s that word again – fun. Tessa Thompson as a drunken Valkyrie was particularly good and there’s liberal use of the Hulk which is never a bad thing. I’m not sure how Marvel keeps doing it but they’ve another hit on their hands – I loved this movie.

MVP: Hemsworth showing his comedic Thor

3 Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Actors: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage, Caleb Landry Jones, Kerry Condon, Darrell Britt-Gibson,  Lucas Hedges

Rating: 10 out of 10, One of the angriest movies I’ve ever seen and also one of the best. There is not a weak link in any of the acting performances and Frances McDormand is transcendent. You can feel the rage simmering within her as the mother of a murdered daughter trying to cajole the police department into solving the crime. This isn’t the usual black and white sides of a situation Hollywood revels in. All of the characters are multifaceted and flawed. There are some very poignant moments also, none better when than when the police chief coughs and McDormand’s icy steel façade drops for an instant. The easiest message to take from this is that life is complicated and to look beyond the surface of people – wise advice. There are no easy answers here but a lot of fun taking the ride along with this talented group of actors at the top of their game. I can’t recommend this movie highly enough. It can be tough at times but the dark comedy laced throughout makes it all worthwhile.

MVP: Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes

Dunkirk

Actors: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy

Rating: 9 out of 10, Chris Nolan does a fabulous job bringing the epic story of the miraculous survival of the British Army in the opening stages of World War 2. It wouldn’t be Nolan if he didn’t throw a few curve balls at the viewer though as the story is told through three intersecting story lines, each operating over a different time span, a week versus a day versus an hour. The bleak outlook for the remnants of the British Army at the outset are offset by simple heroic actions. Nolan exhibits his usual fine touch of not trying to pummel you into seeing his vision but allowing it to unfold. The cast, especially Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance, shine although the story of the Soldiers on the beach was a little confusing. I was brought up in a generation that venerated the significance of Dunkirk which allowed Britain to survive until the US could enter the fray. It would be a much different world today without Dunkirk and I’m glad such a fine film has been made so current and future generations can understand what we owe to the heroes of that conflict.

MVP: Hardy as heroic Spitfire pilot Farrier

Geostorm

Actors: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Abbie Cornish, Richard Schiff, Alexandra Maria Lara, Robert Sheehan, Daniel Wu, Eugenio Derbez, Andy García.

Rating: 7 out of 10, The latest in the genre where CGI artists get to wreak death and destruction over large parts of the globe. The two male leads struggle mightily to mask their British accents. Gerard Butler is the fiery inventor of the massive satellite system to control the weather that’s been hijacked by nefarious forces. His milksop of a brother recruits him to fix the problems before the earth is destroyed. The scenes up on the space station were very enjoyable but unfortunately the filmmakers decided to invest in the very earth bound and patently ridiculous goings on earth side. Abbie Cornish dominates as a secret service agent but she was the only thing remotely entertaining during the all too much time spent on the groundside melodrama. I enjoyed this a lot more on a second viewing, especially Miss Cornish

MVP: Abbie Cornish as Sarah, a very dangerous Secret Service Agent

Power Rangers

Actors: Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks

Rating: 7 out of 10, I went to see this mainly in ode to my son since I remember him raging about them when he was very young. I invested a lot of money in action figures without ever being brought into the mythology. Given that, I had no preconceived expectations about the movie which I found very entertaining. The group of teenagers drafted into roles in a galactic war were all appealing and well-conceived. Elizabeth Banks steals each and every scene as the “bad guy” named Rita Repulsa (I’m serious). It takes a while for the action to heat up but this movie works on a number of levels. The last thirty minutes are some of the loudest I’ve ever experienced in a movie theater which came in handy to drown out the annoying group of teenagers a couple rows back intent on demonstrating their immaturity.

MVP: Naomi Scott as the pink Ranger, obviously