Running Man

Actors: Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin.

Rating: 8 out of 10, The original Governator film was high camp but they play this newer one closer to a possible reality. That allowed some well thought out satire to inject itself into the plot. Glen Powell, once again, proves decisively that he has graduated from supporting roles. He plays an angry husband/father who enters the game to rescue his family, cue the evil corporation. Instead of a defined game arena, he must navigate through a future society where everyone, including a highly trained team of assassins, is scouring the info-nets to locate and kill him. This was a nice update to the concept and, again, Powell is a super-star on the cusp.

MVP: Powell as Ben Richards effortlessly carrying movie

Weapons

Actors: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Toby Huss, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan

Rating: 9 out of 10, Weapons is awesome. A spooky premise of 17 elementary school classmates all disappearing on the same night, scarily all running with arms extended behind them towards an unknown location. The director takes an interesting route by exploring the disappearance from the viewpoints of several different characters including the teacher of the class where all but one student disappeared and also the parent of a missing child. The tension slowly builds as we learn more about the situation and it culminates with the final twenty minutes of absolute mayhem as the source of evil is revealed. It was a satisfying climax as all the loose threads were answered in a satisfying manner. There were also some needed light moments; the best being when Josh Brolin wakes from a scary dream and says the line every audience member is thinking. I’m usually not brave enough to see a horror movie by myself (pointed out to me by my son) but I’m glad I did, because Weapons is excellent.

MVP: Madigan as the wholly evil Aunt Gladys

Sisu Road to Revenge

Actors: Jorma Tommila, Richard Brake, Stephen Lang

Rating: 8 out of 10, An excellent follow up to the surprising first film. Our hero, once again, without saying a single word in the movie, plows his way through a horde of enemies trying to kill him. He sneaks into the Soviet Union in 1946 to visit his old homestead where his family was killed. He dismantles the house and attempts to sneak it back into Finland. The Soviets, a bit put out by the more than 300 Soviet soldiers he killed during early WW2, decide to send the man who killed his family after him. Big mistake. Jorma Tommila is truly a force of nature as the Soviets don’t do any better than the Nazis did in the first film. You have to suspend a lot of disbelief to make it work but this is an eminently watchable, non-stop action flick as he wades through the Russians. Stephen Lang is the head bad guy as he seems to have made a career out of scarily competent villains. The cinematography is fantastic as the filmmakers don’t depend, too much, on CGI. A great movie.

MVP: Who else could it be but Tommila reprising his role as Aatami Korpi

Wizard of Oz

Actors: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton

Rating: 7 out of 10, I finally added this to my collection. It is one of the most cherished movie memories of my youngest years. It’s still amazing to see what they were able to accomplish in 1939 in the way of special effects. From Garland's heartrending rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, to the amazing switch to breathtaking color when they leave Kansas, to the three immortal companions for the trek along the Yellow Brick Road this movie still packs a well-aimed punch to the heart. My favorite character as a young boy was the cowardly lion who I thought was hilarious. Watching as an adult I appreciate all three, especially the scarecrow, hard to look away when these three are on the screen.  In 4K you can see the backdrops were obviously painted but it doesn’t distract from the story. The witch is still scary despite all modern attempts to rehab her image. A fun, nostalgic watch.

MVP: Who else could it be but Judy as Dorothy

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Actors: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe

Rating: 9 out of 10, This is a simply awesome sequel to a great original film. The best aspect were the original stars returning properly aged for the thirty years since the original, although Katherine O’Hara must have made a real deal with the devil because she doesn’t look to have aged at all. She returns as Delia, the crazed epitome of an evil step mother/pretentious New Yorker. The movie doesn’t try to re-tell the same story and brings a lot more heart than I thought possible. Keaton, once again, demonstrates what a comic genius he is running around the afterlife pursued by Monica Bellucci (some guys have all the luck) while still trying to reunite with Lydia. A very welcome addition is Jenna Ortega who steals every scene she’s in as the perfectly cast daughter. Even now, thinking back at some of the gags I can’t stop smiling although I missed the sadly (departed in real life) Otho. There were some very clever and obscure tributes to the first film. A very fun and nostalgic comedy/horror romp.

MVP: Keaton as the perpetually horny ghost/title character

Ballerina From the World of John Wick

Actors: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves

Rating: 9 out of 10, I was fully prepared to dislike this as a weak attempt to capture some Wickian magic. I was wrong. After a slow start this movie embraces the spirit of the Wick films and delivers. All credit deservedly goes to Ana de Armas who proves her 007 action cameo was no fluke, she is uniformly awesome as the main character/body-count-generator. She plays a student of that weird Belorussian dance studio that J.W. passed through. She’s on a revenge mission against a European cult that knocked off her parents. She kills her way to their home base and just when it looked like it couldn’t get any better, John Wick himself shows up, as this is set between earlier pictures, before his “demise”. I thought the dueling flamethrowers were especially poignant. This was a truly great movie, completely up to the high standards of the previous films. Thank you, Ms. Armas.

MVP: de Armas as gorgeous and deadly assassin Eve

Seven Days in May

Actors: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, and Ava Gardner

Rating: 9 out of 10, I had never seen this despite spending most of my adult life wearing a uniform. It’s a fascinating look at a fictional attempted coup by the American military over a president perceived as weak on the Soviets. It’s full of 1960s paranoia and offers the actors a full range to explore. Lancaster portrays a popular and egomaniacal Chairman of the Joint Chiefs behind the coup while Douglas is his admiring aide who lives up to his constitutional dirties. While this is simplistic on so many levels it’s a valuable lesson in the fragility of our republic, currently under so much strain. As a military guy I found it disconcerting to see the many mistakes the filmmakers made in portraying the military, such as routinely wearing headgear inside. Other than that small complaint, a truly great film.

MVP: Douglas as the one true military man Colonel Casey

Den of Thieves

Actors: Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, Curtis Jackson, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evan Jones, Dawn Olivieri, Mo McRae, Max Holloway

Rating: 8 out of 10, I loved the first movie and was fully prepared to accept a watered down, money seeking sequel. I was therefore more than pleasantly surprised to find an awesome movie in its own right. Bob Odenkirk continues his role as the most unlikely of all action heroes as Hutch Mansell. He’s still dealing with the ramifications of the path he carved through the Russian mafia in the first flick and decides the family needs a vacation together. Of course, trouble ensues as he returns to a beloved amusement park of his youth which had not been updated since and conveniently supplies a full team of villains led by a deranged Sharon Stone. The entire cast that survived the first movie is back and, if possible, were even more fun this time around. I loved that they didn’t waste time trying to explain Mansell to the audience. Too many sequels assume the audience needs a re-introduction to the main characters. This movie takes for granted you’re watching it because you loved the first movie. I did and this one as well.

MVP: Burler as the nearly unhinged cop Nick

Caught Stealing

Actors: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, Benito Martínez Ocasio, Griffin Dunne, Carol Kane

Rating: 9 out of 10, I truly enjoyed this flick as Darren Aronovsky abandoned his usual uber-serious tone with an attempt at an Americanized version of a Guy Ritchie-type gangster dark comedy. Austin Butler confirms his movie star status as he effortlessly carries the complex plot through. He plays a NYC bartender who’s next door neighbor/drug dealer leaves him with the keys to his apartment as well as making him a target for competing gangsters and corrupt cops. This is one of those movies where the hero just can’t buy a break and has to deal with the aftermath of the choices he’s confronted with. The rest of the cast is great, if extremely expendable to the plot twists. A fun movie to watch as you can’t help but root for Butler as he tries to survive.

MVP: Butler as the monumentally unlucky Hank

Jurassic World Rebirth

Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Ed Skrein.

Rating: 7 out of 10, The rebirth, or should I say, revamping as this latest movie returns to what made the original movie so memorable – the dinosaurs instead of politics. Scarlett proves her Marvel action days were no fluke as she easily dominates in the lead role. She leads a team back to yet another island the original park used to breed the big guys. They’ve got to retrieve tissue samples from three of the largest dinosaurs. Surprisingly (😊), that’s not as easy as it sounds, as most of the team becomes menu items. There were some welcome surprises as one of the characters I predicted for an early demise survived while a lot of others did not. Not a lot of new terrain covered but a great summer epic walk with the dinosaurs again, ably helmed by the always watchable Ms. Johansson.

MVP: Johansson as the dangerous but beautiful Zora

The Amateur

Actors: Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Laurence Fishburne

Rating: 8 out of 10, While this is a bit of a formulaic spy thriller, I truly enjoyed it. Remi Malek is a compelling actor and perfectly cast as CIA nerd who is bound and determined to take out the terrorists who kill his wife. Everyone is convinced this frail guy is not up to the task, but he finds a way to get the training he needs and sets out for Europe with CIA assassins on his trail. I liked that the film didn’t automatically turn him into a super spy, and you could empathize with him as he struggles with his dark tasks. It puts out a very poignant message for today’s times, never underestimate the nerds. There is an excellent supporting cast with Lawrence Fishburne, in Morpheus mode, as the trainer, and Mrs. Maisel as the beloved wife. My only complaint might be the lack of screen time for Mrs. Maisel but that’s what gets the whole plot moving. A fun watch, really well done.

MVP: Malek as Charlie the dangerous geek

Captain America Brave New World

Actors: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford

Rating: 6 out of 10, This is seemingly a step back in the right direction for Marvel. Anthony Mackie, while no Steve Rogers, effortlessly carries the movie and more than holds his own with Harrison Ford, no mean task. The plot harkens back to some earlier Marvel efforts bringing former subplot villains to the fore. The head villain turns out to be a guy with a misshapen head and some serious anger issues. There are the usual plots within plots which culminate with Ford becoming the Red Hulk and destroying part of the White House. I saw a very funny quite saying Ford was only the second most rage filled US President of recent history. I enjoyed the action but it still didn’t have the magic of some of the original Marvel movies. A diminutive female security chief was a clear miss, don’t know what the casting director was thinking there. An enjoyable action flick.

MVP: Mackie as the new Cap

Nobody 2

Actors: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Colin Salmon, Gage Munroe, Paisley Cadorath, Christopher Lloyd, John Ortiz, Colin Hanks, Sharon Stone

Rating: 8 out of 10, I loved the first movie and was fully prepared to accept a watered down, money seeking sequel. I was therefore more than pleasantly surprised to find an awesome movie in its own right. Bob Odenkirk continues his role as the most unlikely of all action heroes as Hutch Mansell. He’s still dealing with the ramifications of the path he carved through the Russian mafia in the first flick and decides the family needs a vacation together. Of course, trouble ensues as he returns to a beloved amusement park of his youth which had not been updated since and conveniently supplies a full team of villains led by a deranged Sharon Stone. The entire cast that survived the first movie is back and, if possible, were even more fun this time around. I loved that they didn’t waste time trying to explain Mansell to the audience. Too many sequels assume the audience needs a re-introduction to the main characters. This movie takes for granted you’re watching it because you loved the first movie. I did and this one as well.

MVP: Odenkirk as Mansell, frumpy but deadly

Superman

Actors: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced

Rating: 9 out of 10, The new Superman movie is just flat awesome. There have been so many versions that I was skeptical about this one. I was totally blown away by the sheer entertainment this new sally forth of the man of steel. The cast delivers, especially the central couple of the title character and Lois Lane. I loved Mrs. Meisel so I wasn’t surprised she was so good in this, but David Corenswet is a revelation as Superman. He was everything you could hope for, injecting more personality than I’ve seen since Reeves. Nicholas Hoult, likewise, was the best Lex Luther ever. He played evil effortlessly along with a ferocious drive to best Superman. James Gunn injected a lot of his signature humor (most of it at the expense of the Green Lantern) which made this a very fun ride. There was a little too much at times, like saving a squirrel when buildings are falling all around but the levity was needed with the earth-endangered plot spinning along. A true summer epic and one of the best movies of the year.

MVP: Corenswet as Superman, living up to the role