Ex Machina

Actors: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, Sonoya Mizuno

Rating:  8 out of 10, Ex Machina was science fiction at its most intelligent. The special effects were impressive simply because they were understated and used to just support the plot instead of being the end all be all of the film. The plot of androids and artificial intelligence is well trod SF territory but this may be the smartest look at it in film history. A young man is selected for a mysterious task at the isolated home of an IT genius/billionaire. Upon arriving he’s introduced to Ava whom he must interview to assess the quality of her AI. There’s a lot of subtext as to who is playing who and what the ultimate rationale is for the entire exercise. The decisive resolution says a lot about the arrogance of intelligence and the very “human” need for freedom. Clearly one of the best films I’ve seen this year and well worth the road trip.

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MVP:   Isaac continues to impress as Nathan Bateman, the mysterious genius

Chappie

Actors:  Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Watkin Tudor Jones, Yolandi Visser

Rating: 6 out of 10, I liked this a lot better the second time through. I’ve been a big fan of South African director Neill Blomkamp since I saw District 9. He explores the well tread territory of a self-aware robot but the transition he chooses is so flawed as to defy adequate condemnation. The film includes his usual breathtaking special effects and gore spattered fire fights which are the only things making this watchable, well that and Dev Patel. Patel plays the inevitable brilliant scientist who creates Chappie only to run afoul of dastardly Hugh Jackman in one of his rare bad guy turns. Chappie’s education falls into the hands of what might be the two most annoying characters in cinema history. I guess they’re rock musicians trying to be actors and I truly hope their band is successful because they had no business being in this movie. Their turn as a pair of gangsters and the huge amount of time Blomkamp stays with them really sunk the movie for me. I know this is science fiction but the plot has to make some kind of sense and I could have looked beyond the gaping plot holes if not for the soul grating presence of Ninja and Yolandi.

MVP:  Patel as the brains behind Chappie 

The Gunman

Actors:  Sean Penn, Jasmine Trinca, Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, Mark Rylance, Idris Elba

Rating: 7 out of 10, A Sean Penn vehicle in which he tries to follow Neeson’s footprints into middle aged kick assery. Penn, one of the least likable actors around, struggles to be someone you can root for here. He obviously got himself in great shape for his role, obviously taking the Stallone process of heavy P.E.D. use. Unfortunately this meant he felt the need to take his shirt off in nearly every scene, even in the middle of a gun fight. We get it Sean, you worked your ass off but get over yourself. Meanwhile back in the slip shod plot Penn (also a co–writer) managed to shoe horn in the predictable ultra-evil multi-national corporation while he surfed the yet undiscovered beaches of the wartorn Congo. This film lacked the relentless pace which made the first Taken so enjoyable. Events would start build up and then come to a screeching halt as we had to let Penn emote about his choices in life and a recurring headache. He would have been better advised to not take himself so seriously, channel a little bit of his inner-Spicoli and have some fun with the role.

MVP:  Sean Penn as the angst ridden Jim Terrier 

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Actors:  Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Strong, Taron Egerton, Michael Caine.

Rating: 10 out of 10, The best word to describe this flick is fun – it’s a hoot from beginning to end. Colin Firth (who can do anything) is a senior and very lethal secret agent who recruits a young ne'er do well. The movie moves relentlessly but never loses its sense of fun (there’s that word again). Samuel L Jackson is in full camp mode as a lisping super villain ably assisted by a young lady with razor sharp prosthetics (you kind of get the idea). The movie is very violent but in a cartoonish way that makes it entertaining. Seeing the usually staid Firth clean out a church full of red necks followed by the biggest head exploding panorama in cinema history will give you an idea of what awaits you. The young lead actor, Taron Egerton, took a while to grow on me but he held his own with Firth, Mark Strong and Michael Caine – no mean task. Plant you tongue firmly in cheek and go see this movie – just so much FUN!!!

MVP:  Firth, as the staid but supremely deadly Galahad

Jupiter Ascending

Actors:  Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Tuppence Middleton, Douglas, Sean Bean

Rating: 9 out of 10, This hasn’t received a lot of love from the critics but it was a true attempt at science fiction on a colossal scale. Mila Kunis plays a contemporary Chicago cleaning woman who’s unwittingly heir to one of the great family fortunes in a galaxy spanning empire. She’s unaware of this until Channing Tatum, sporting elven ears as a disgraced genetically enhanced soldier, shows up to rescue her from a series of alien assassination attempts. (I know most of the ladies are now wondering how Tatum could possibly be “enhanced” any further) Since I’m a certified sci fi nerd I really liked the movie which focused, maybe a little too much on the technology of the hidden civilization which is several million years in advance of ours. The criticisms are valid as there’s a lot of stop and go and jumping around without fully fleshing out who all the players are. It’s a little bit of a mess but it’s a gloriously beautiful and textured mess. In a huge plot twist, Sean Bean doesn’t get killed.

MVP:  Channing Tatum as Caine Wise, shoe surfing the Chicago skyline

American Sniper

Actors:  Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Sam Jaeger, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict

Rating: 9 out of 10, The movie featured Eastwood’s usual technical expertise and the story was very compelling. I think it connected with a lot of Americans because it was so unapologetic, as Hollywood is certainly wont to do. A simple Texas guy has a gift with his rifle and is motivated to protect his fellow countrymen. The left wing nutbags came out bemoaning the glorification of violence but I thought it did a great job of painting the price Kyle paid for his heroics. That’s really my only complaint about this superb movie – they didn’t really explore in any great depth how Kyle overcame his PTSD. It seemed one minute he had it and then all of a sudden he was better. Cooper richly deserves the accolades he received as the title character delivering some real nuance to the role as a supremely tough guy dealing with some demons. They also did a great job with the military aspects; spot on with American military jargon as well as the small unit tactics such as room clearing. War is a very nasty affair – the supremely violent human expression – to sugar coat it would amount to undue veneration. Eastwood eloquently demonstrates war isn’t something to be taken lightly, there’s real pain associated with the sacrifice.

MVP:  Cooper as the Legend, Chris Kyle

Interstellar

Actors:  Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow, Michael Caine

Rating: 9 out of 10, I’m a fairly jaded movie goer so when a film makes me sit up in wonder it’s pretty special.  The movie is set in the near future with the world on the brink of total disaster and becoming unlivable. McConaughey plays an astronaut given the mission to travel to some new worlds to locate a potential new home world for the human race. It’s a long movie but well worth the escape into space. As with all of the Nolan’s work there are levels within levels.  How he makes quantum physics and time distortion interesting is almost as incomprehensible as the theories themselves. Yet he succeeds through the medium of truly outstanding actors and the central plot line of the love between a father and daughter. The last part of the movie is what 2001: a Space Odyssey should have been. Instead of Kubrick’s over the top visual blitzkrieg Nolan takes some even more complex issues and provides enough clues for the audience to make sense of it. I was dazzled, which is kind of cool, because it doesn’t happen all that often any more.

MVP:  McConaughey as Coop lends real depth as a father torn beteween duty and lover of his family