Spider-Man: No Way Home

Actors: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire

Rating: 10 out of 10, It lives up to the Marvel standard which is lofty and cements Spiderman’s legacy in the Marvel Universe. It will also go down in movie history as the crossover event to end all crossovers. While the movie is excellent in its own right, with a tremendous amount of heart, the crossovers from prior versions of Spiderman were incredibly funny and in a couple of situations, painfully poignant. It will be hard to describe without revealing too many details but if you’ve seen the prior incarnations of Spiderman than you have to see this, just for a well made walk to memory lane. Tom Holland can be a bit annoying but it’s hard to not fall under his spell as a truly young Spiderman. He’s faced with his secret identity being outed by the last movie’s villain and that leads to some very funny moments. He teams up with Dr Strange, who predictably steals every scene he’s forced to deal with the teenagers in. Speaking of scene stealing, Zendaya is pitch perfect as MJ teaming up with Peter and Ned to thwart a veritable legion of reincarnated bad guys. There are some tough moments and it will be interesting to see where Marvel takes this character next but if this is Holland’s last turn, at least he went out on top. One of my favorite movies of the year.

MVP: Holland/Gafield/Maguire as three versions of Spidey, best cross over event ever

Ghostbusters Afterlife

Actors: Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Sigourney Weaver

Rating: 9 out of 10, A lot of nostalgic fun as it went back to connect with the peerless first film. Egon’s grandchildren assume his role in protecting the world from old friend, Zuul; this time from an isolated midwestern farm. The movie captures a lot of the silly fun associated with the first film and the young female lead steals every scene she’s in as the nerdy granddaughter channeling her grandad’s oddity and genius. The rest of the cast is also on track with Paul Ruud in the Rick Moranis part more than up to the task. The final fifteen minutes is as satisfying a cinematic reunion time that I can remember. Loved the movie.

MVP: Mckenna Grace as Phoebe, Egon Clone

The King’s Man

Actors: Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Brühl, Djimon Hounsou, Charles Dance

Rating: 8 out of 10, I loved the first two Kingsman movies and all of Mathew Vaughn’s movies so far. That streak almost came to an end with this Kingsman prequel set during the First World War. I must have been in a bad mood on the first watch because it recovered nicely the second time. It didn’t have the trademark whimsical fun of the first movies until the climactic battle which was pure Kingsman. Ralph Fiennes does an admirable job of showing the Kingsmen origins as he fights through a tough father-son dynamic. The Rasputin section was decidedly weird but the duel was very Russian. More screen time for Gemma Atterton would have been a plus but she’s mostly wasted until that final confrontation. I didn’t love it but my expectations might have been too lofty. Still worth a watch.

MVP: Arterton as Polly, the first Galahad

The Matrix Resurrections

Actors: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lambert Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

Rating: 8 out of 10, The Matrix Resurrections is aptly titled, especially if you saw the original trilogy which ended with Neo dying rather spectacularly. Neo is back and he seems as confused about it as we are but the film does a fairly good job of explaining how that transpired. It also resurrects many of the other characters although most with new faces. While the original trilogy was a fight for humanity’s future this one is a love story as Neo is forcibly reawakened to pursue his lady love, Trinity. She doesn’t remember him and apparently is happily married with a family thriving in the reconstituted Matrix. Agent Smith is also back in a new body but still a complete a-hole. The movie does a superb job of taking the mythology of the original film and moving it forward sixty years but also giving some closure to that story. It had the usual Matrix special effect combat which were so groundbreaking at the time but it’s become fairly common over the years. It’s a still a good adventure yarn carried by the enduring chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss.

MVP: Moss as Trinity emerges as the power

Eternals

Actors: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie.

Rating: 8 out of 10, This is a completely different kind of Marvel movie which I’m sure some people/critics will find fault with. It doesn’t have the same whiz bang relentless pace of its Marvel predecessors but it brings a lot of heart with it. I liked the time it took to lay out the complete mythology surrounding the Eternals, surely the best looking group of superheroes ever assembled (I mean two Kings of the North!). There are a lot of twists and turns as we follow the group of saviors, sent to preserve the human race, over thousands of years. The story is told with a heavy reliance on flashbacks which can be problematic if less well done. I was really impressed with the story arc and the care told in telling the story. There were the usual state of the art special effects and sly humor laced throughout so I didn’t mind sitting through the very long movie. Another feather in Marvel’s cap as they choose to evolve instead of following the same well worn and highly successful path.

MVP: Nanjani as Kingo, the Bollywood eternal

Saturn 3

Actors: Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel

Rating: 7 out of 10, This was always kind of a mess but for some reason held a special place in my heart and not just because of Fawcett’s brief nude scene. She plays a bio-engineer (and they said she couldn’t act) along with her paramour, an aged Kirk Douglas. Their idyllic life on a barren moon is threatened by a psychotic Harvey Keitel (is there any other version?). This has held up well over the years despite its many flaws and miscasting. Keitel’s berserk robot adds a nice bit of terror as the good guys run around trying to destroy him. A guilty pleasure, but a lot of campy fun with a high degree of unintentional comedy.

MVP: Fawcett reminding us why she was such a phenomena

Sword and the Sorcerer

Actors: Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, Richard Lynch, Richard Moll

Rating: 8 out of 10, Finally. This beloved film from my younger years finally came out in Blu-ray format and as most things from the early 1980s (myself included) it hasn’t aged well. You have to leave your mind at the door when it starts and if you do that, it’s a hell of a lot of swashbuckling fun. Horsley makes a very compelling hero which begs the question as to why he didn’t do more. The same for Beller who is radiant as the crotch crunching (see the movie to understand) princess. I still loved it despite the more than evident issues. I mean, any film with a triple bladed sling sword and Bull from Night Court tearing up scenes as a wicked sorcerer. What’s not to like?

MVP: Horsley as the dangerous Talon