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

Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning

Actors: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett.

Rating: 8 out of 10, If this truly is the last film in this series, it goes out with a bang. While that is predictable given the series DNA, somehow they’ve taken the stunts and sheer “impossibility” of some of Tom Cruise’s exploits to even higher levels. The run time is really, really long as they crammed as much as they possibly could into the nearly three hours. They spend a lot of time reconnecting to the prior movies, including an extremely cool reach back to one of the minor characters from the very first movie. They could have and probably should have trimmed some of the underwater work which dragged on way too long, stretching incredulity beyond even what a dedicated MI fan can accept. You have to go into these movies prepared to suspend disbelief but there were times I was just shaking my head as we left reality behind decisively. The final half of the movie, with the world on the brink of nuclear immolation (of course), makes anything leading up to it easy to forgive. A great, glossy, overblown, overlong, but completely entertaining epic, I loved it.

MVP: Cruise as Hunt (of course)

Working Man

Actors: Jason Statham, Michael Peña, David Harbour, Andrej Kaminsky, Jason Flemyng,  Ninidze

Rating: 8 out of 10, A Working Man is an excellent action flick with Statham’s once again playing the everyman blessed with a back story involving elite military skills. The bad guys, once again, fail to take that into account when they kidnap the daughter of a close family friend. The expected carnage follows but this is so well done and Statham is so believable in both his acting and his athleticism that it is a joy to sit through. You almost feel sorry for the bad guys as they make the mistakes leading to their eventual comeuppance and loss of body parts. David Harbour shines in a small role as a former military buddy. This is an excellent follow-up to last year’s Beekeeper and proves Statham is still at the top of his game.

MVP: Statham as Levon, lost nothing off his action creds

Fantastic 4 First Steps

Actors: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Ralph Ineson

Rating: 9 out of 10, They finally got the Fantastic Four right. Although I liked the Jessica Alba version, this newest outing was, well, fantastic. They set up the four in one of Marvels’ endless alternate earths with a 1960’s flavor which didn’t distract but added to the story. The extremely strong cast was tone perfect; they faced a seemingly impossible task of beating a world eating alien bent on devouring earth. Pedro Pascal can do anything and Vanessa Kirby is more than his match as his wife. The other two of the four were both excellent as well. Marvel seems to have gotten back on track with this latest outing, once again creating characters we can invest in. Another great summer epic.

MVP: Kirby as Sue Storm, heart of the movie

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

Actors: Gerard Butler, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad, Salvatore Esposito, Meadow Williams, Swen Temmel

Rating: 8 out of 10, A predictably good action flick. Predictable because of the Gerard Butler O’Shea Jackson pairing. Butler plays a disgraced cop who joins up with an international criminal ring, led by Jackson, the only one who got away in the first film, to rob a diamond market. There are some huge plot holes, like why the organized criminals so readily accept a former cop into their team, but with action movies you forgive a lot. The two leads make a very good buddy pairing, from opposite ends of the law enforcement spectrum. This is a lot less gritty than the original, but the robbery was great cinema keeping the audience on the proverbial edge of the seat. A great addition to the action genre.

MVP: Butler owns action hero roles

Thunderbolts

Actors: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Rating: 8 out of 10, This latest Marvel flick harkens back to their earlier films which were so entertaining. The blame for this return to quality lays squarely on Florence Pugh and David Harbour. They are standouts in a cast of misfits called upon to, you know, save the world. They’re not as well endowed with supe abilities as their preceding Avengers but they are a lot of fun, especially Pugh and Harbour who play a difunctional parent/daughter. The action is non-stop as is the lively dialogue. The only downside was the villain, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who’s only superpower was being obnoxious versus dangerous. Still, a welcome return to form for Marvel, a really enjoyable watch.

MVP: Pugh is heart of the movie as anguished anti-hero

Accountant 2

Actors: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson and J. K. Simmons, Daniella Pineda

Rating: 8 out of 10, I loved the first Accountant movie with Affleck playing a lethal auditor operating at a high level of the autism scale. The lack of aspect the character requires leads perfectly into Affleck’s acting style an he delivers once again in this sequel. One of the best arts of the original was the relationship he had with his estranged brother, played by the latest Punisher, Jon Berthal, an assassin in his own right. Th filmmakers must have liked that also because the sequel is centered around that relationship. The very few moments bodies weren’t flying about were amply filled with the two reconnecting as brothers. The accountant is called in to identify a missing immigrant family which has also caught the attention of a dangerous female assassin. There are some neat twists at the end involving the climactic battle with the villains. They obviously set themselves up for another sequel which is welcome news. A great action flick with fully developed characters.

MVP: Affleck is perfect as the autistic assassin

Fight or Flight

Actors: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Julian Kostov, Katee Sackhoff, Marko Zaror, Rebecka Johnston

Rating: 9 out of 10, This movie truly surprised me. It’s a goofy action comedy with Josh Hartnett starring as a disgraced secret service agent who’s coaxed back into the business to capture a wanted cyber terrorist on a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. There are too many plot twists to describe other than to say Hartnett is awesome as he kills his way through the plane loaded with assassins. He’s ably assisted by Charithra Chandran as a spunky flight attendant; she manages to steal the majority of scenes that she’s in. I would hazard a guess that we’ll be hearing a lot more about this actress in the near future. She was great. As was the entire movie which had me laughing as well as cringing as the carnage unfolded. I texted my son as soon as I got home, telling him this was our kind of movie.

MVP: Hartnett as Reyes as an “excuse me” John Wick clone

Kraven the Hunter

Actors: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, Russell Crowe

Rating: 7 out of 10, I’m not sure why this is getting such bad press because I thought this was a fun super-hero movie. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who was so good in Bullet Train, proves he’s certainly grown up since his Kick Ass days. He’s a very watchable star and more than holds his own with Russell Crowe who plays his evil Russian dad. The action was top notch and Kraven is an interesting hero. My only problem was the ending which I think they botched, trying to ham-handedly set up a sequel. With current box office figures, I don’t think they’ll have to worry about that but I did truly enjoy this.

MVP: Taylor-Johnson once again nailing an action role as title character, so far from Kick Ass

Venom The Last Dance

Actors: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach

Rating: 8 out of 10, This is the final movie in Tom Hardy’s trilogy as Eddie Brock, host for the hilarious and deadly symbiont, Venom. The first movie will always be the best one in this series because it focused almost completely on the Hardy/Venom tandem. This movie is awesome as long as they were on screen. There are a couple sub-plots that bring the momentum and hilarity to a screeching halt. Juno Temple is wasted which should involve criminal charges against somebody. All that being said, it was a very fun ride, maybe the last with Hardy in this role and he dominates whenever he’s on the screen. The action for the final twenty minutes is non-stop and bewilderingly chaotic; but that’s what you get with Venom. A great last ride.

MVP: Hardy, of course, as the Eddie Brock/Venom tandem