Entourage

Actors: Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Jeremy Piven

Rating: 7 out of 10, I went in to this with a little restraint because the last couple seasons of the television show were horrible. It’s sad when a favorite shown descends into mediocrity and I was interested to see if the movie could recapture some of the whimsical charm of the first seasons. They did. The boys have all grown up a little, well except for Drama, and Ari was toned down a bit to save his marriage. The plot involves Vinny Chase directing his first movie using Ari’s money. The briefly clad females and most of the original characters are all back swirling in Vinnie Chase’s wake. This was a real cameo-a-palooza where virtually everybody in Hollywood stops by for a few seconds. Ronda Rousey has a bit part because that seems to be almost required nowadays. The best part of the recaptured charm though was the relentless attack on the overwhelming pretention of the movie business which rang so true. It was a nice escape for a couple hours with old friends.

MVP: Dillon as the always underappreciated older brother Johnny Drama

Spy

Actors: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, Jude Law
Rating: 9 out of 10, Downright hilarious, one of the funniest films I’ve seen in a very long time. McCarthy is tone perfect as an underutilized CIA employee whom the field agents rely on but who never gets her chance to shine. This changes with an unexpected death as she is thrust into the middle of a nuclear weapons crisis. I have not laughed this hard or continuously, while sober, in years. It’s obvious McCarthy adlibbed a number of her lines which are the strength of the hilarity; especially when she and Rose Byrne are playing off each other. The women dominate this flick with Allison Janney stealing some scenes as McCarthy’s boss. Jason Statham is outrageously funny doing a perfect send up of himself as a self-important yet ultimately clueless spy whom McCarthy has to rescue. The dialogue is unremittingly profane which I kind of liked, why can’t women swear like dock workers or male action stars. This film may actually be a game changer because it is a female driven action comedy that works on every level. Go see this, as long as your tolerance of the f-word is high, you won’t be disappointed
MVP:   McCarthy as Susan the wonder spy

Furious 7

Actors: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham

Rating: 9 out of 10, You don’t go into a Fast and Furious movie expecting grand thespian adventures. What you do get is a series of car stunts, beautiful women, totally impossible action sequences, and some real heart. This was strange on a couple levels. First and foremost was knowing Paul Walker died in the middle of filming. Wondering how they would handle it was in the background throughout. I won’t go into detail in case you haven’t seen it but I thought it was perfect. Understanding we’re not talking War and Peace here but it was classy, poignant, and true to the themes of the series. Nuff said. The other strange aspect was seeing my wife’s favorite boy toy, Jason Statham, as the villain. He’s so charismatic that it was tough reimagining him as truly evil, but he gave it a worthy effort. The film itself was a thoroughly enjoyable romp through the misadventures of the Furious gang, elevating their scams to the global terrorism arena. Needless to say there were the usual plot holes you could drive one of their souped up cars through but this is to be expected and almost reveled in. A lot of harmless fun if you go in sans your Oscar ballot and need for reality.
MVP:  Diesel as Toretta, because this will always be Diesel's show

 

Mad Max Fury Road

Actors: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton

Rating: 10 out of 10,  picks you up from the first scene of an unfortunate two headed lizard’s demise and deposits you two hours later absolutely spent from the unrelenting action. While this may have Tom Hardy billed at the title character this is Charlize Theron’s movie despite Hardy being a fantastic reboot of the character Mel Gibson lofted to iconic status. Max is making his way through the desolate landscape dodging marauders and memories when he’s accosted by the minions of a truly terrifying warlord. His subsequent road to escape and teaming up with Theron is amazing in the minute details, the horrific battles, and the stunning exterior shots. Make sure you see this movie and see it on the big screen to truly enjoy it. Be warned though, you may leave needing an oxygen mask – great movie!!!!!!

MVP:   Theron as Furiosa – dominates!

Insurgent

Actors: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, Suki Waterhouse, Rosa Salazar, Daniel Dae Kim, Jonny Weston, Emjay Anthony.

Rating: 8 out of 10,  I’d hazard to say this was even better than the first movie which is hard to do with a sequel. Shailene Woodley continues to blaze and carries the movie with ample help from a coldly evil Kate Winslet. Woodley as Tris and her boy toy have escaped the remains of walled in Chicago and are fomenting revolt against the very uptight Winslet. If you have trouble suspending disbelief it begs the question why Winslet armed with fabulous futuristic technology can’t find a bunch of teenagers running around inside the walled city with her. Miles Teller still hasn’t recovered from Whiplash because he couldn’t pick a side but plays a bigger part in this movie which was also welcome. The finale was highly predictable but satisfying and the special effects were dazzling. Go see this movie though for the interplay between Winslet and Woodley, two generations going head to head with the viewer as the winner.

MVP:   Woodley as Tris – carries the action and the emotion – will win an Oscar someday

Black Hat

Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei, Viola Davis, Holt McCallany, and Wang Leehom.

Rating:  7 out of 10,  The latest from Michael Mann starring Thor himself as a computer nerd – bit of a stretch there. The plot has a computer genius cyber attacking both the Chinese and US. They form a joint investigation team led by Thor’s college roommate from China. They have to get Thor out of prison to help out and some very intelligent, if at times confusing, sleuthing ensues. They shoehorn in a love story that doesn’t make sense at the time but indicates there may be hope for Sino-American relations after all. Thor does get to bash people around with some tables which was more believable than his keyboard stroking. I liked the movie but I thought they waited way too long to reveal the evil mastermind. Thor cuts a swath through a myriad of henchmen before we ever meet the bad guy directing them and then he’s barely developed character wise. This hurts a plot centered around the confrontation between he and the good guys. Mann does his usual extremely competent job of getting a stellar cast to shine and delivers some real shocking moments in the final third. Well worth the watch, a solid if not spectacular effort.

MVP:   Tang Wei as Thor’s love interest – smart and beautiful

Walk Among the Tombstones

Actors: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, Boyd Holbrook, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Brian "Astro" Bradley

Rating:  8 out of 10, The next in Liam Neeson’s middle aged renaissance of action parts.  He plays an alcoholic ex-NYC cop who is drawn into the search for a pair of serial killers stalking the high end of the city’s drug traffickers. This is an interesting movie that doesn’t fall into the usual Hollywood trap of making everything about the action.  It takes a withering look at the lives of the people involved and Neeson’s search for his own humanity.  He takes a young homeless African-American boy under his wing while trying to solve the ongoing series of murders.  The movie takes place in 1999 which is kind of scary because I get the impression the movie makers consider that a long time ago.  I truly enjoyed this movie on all levels as all the flawed characters and two really spooky villains  hurtle towards the inevitable confrontation.  I love reading detective novels set in New York City and watching this was like reading one – really fast.

MVP:   Neeson understatingly awesome as the flawed hero Matthew Scudder