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