Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Actors: Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Isabela Moner, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo,  Catherine Keener

Rating: 8 out of 10, I will first admit that I am an unrepentant lover of all things Christmas related and therefore have always held Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol as something approaching holy writ. This film offers a fascinating insight into Dickens’ life as he created this timeless classic. The book’s characters leap from his imagination to hold conversations with him as he puts together the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghostly redemption. It was akin to greeting old friends as the iconic characters appeared or classic lines were uttered. Dickens had to balance the emotional baggage of his own youth as the story evolves around his chaotic present day life. It evolves into a delightful swirl through Victorian London as the various inspirations for Dickens’ work emerge throughout. Old stalwarts Jonathan Pryce, as Dickens’ father, and Christopher Plummer, as Scrooge, are their usual perfection but the movie truly belongs to Dan Stevens in the lead role. He’s been so good in everything he’s done – someone to watch for the future. If you enjoy writing you should see this movie with its proper respect for this lion of literature but mostly for spirit of Christmas in all its unabashed sentimentality. If you can’t enjoy that consider yourself a humbug.

MVP: del Toro as the relentless Alejandro

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom

Actors: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, B. D. Wong, Jeff Goldblum, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, James Cromwell, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, Isabella Sermon, Geraldine Chaplin

Rating: 9 out of 10, I’ve always been a sucker for the movies in this series, even when they fail, call it my obsession with dinosaurs. We’re back on Isla Nubar for a very short period this time but it was action packed. I think the volcano eruption scene will go down in movie history as one of the most exciting ever filmed/created (although I’m sure there are some residents of the big island of Hawaii who wouldn’t be that enamored of it). The movie bogs down a little whenever the dinosaurs aren’t the focus except when Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are on screen. They share an undeniable chemistry. I missed the John Williams score which only crept in a couple times. In this latest movie the dinosaurs face extinction once again, from volcanic activity once again, and the every ready evil corporation once again is trying to profit by it all. It’s a Jurassic movie so there wasn’t any deep meaning but it was an extremely fun watch, but that could be the 12 year old trapped inside me talking. They certainly set themselves up for another sequel which has fantastic possibilities.

MVP: Pratt as the ever resourceful Owen

Ocean’s Eight

Actors: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Awkwafina

Rating: 8 out of 10, The latest feminization of cinema worlds works elegantly. Sandra Bullock plays Clooney’s sister and embarks on an intricate diamond heist with a gang of high powered, female accomplices. There was some serious acting talent on display and they all meshed perfectly with the serial infusions of humor throughout. Bullock is serene as the gang leader and Ann Hathaway is a delight. It’s a little less suave than the Vegas setting of the earlier Ocean’s settings but that’s a good thing. Each actress gets a chance to shine and there are the obligatory surprises in the last act that makes the story enjoyable. In the end a very smooth and sophisticated, and decidedly female, take on the heist flick that works very well due to the talent employed.

MVP: Bullock as the extremely cool Debbie Ocean

Solo

Actors: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Paul Bettany.

Rating: 9 out of 10, Han Solo emerged in the original trilogy as the surprising star, out shining both of the Skywalkers, for most fans. This was due mainly from the undeniable screen presence of Harrison Ford. Alden Ehrenreich is certainly no Ford but is serviceable although I found myself searching for the sparkle you expect from Han. The film labors to establish Solo’s origins and I found myself squinting at the screen for the first fifteen minutes which were murky for some, I’m sure artistic, reason. We had a group of Star Wars fanatics in the row in front of us who would clap excitedly whenever a piece of Star Wars lore appeared, such as Han’s blaster. I guess that makes me a geek also because I understood each time what they were clapping for. The film truly takes off when Han and Chewbacca meet, hilariously. This was a true action adventure with some startlingly effective action scenes. The cast was uniformly awesome especially Donald Glover as Llando. I could truly imagine him evolving into Billy Dee Williams. I’m sure they’ll be some who will pick at this for a variety of obscure reasons but it was a lot of fun as I found myself silently clapping along with my fellow geeks in that row in front of us.

MVP: Ehrenreich gamely trying to capture a superstar’s essence as Han

Quiet Place

Actors: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jup

Rating: 9 out of 10, A very interesting and tension filled (in a good way) experience. Real life husband and wife John Krasinski and Emily Blunt portray a couple with three small children trying to survive by staying absolutely quiet because incredibly vicious, indestructible monsters hunt by sound alone and have already killed off most of the human population, not to mention racoons. The movie opens in drug store in a deserted town as the family is scavenging needed drugs before tip toeing home on carefully laid out sand paths. They should have stopped by the birth control aisle because the movie jumps forward in time as Blunt is preparing to give birth under these silent conditions. We all know the one thing never associated with that process and the aftermath is silence. It was weird sitting through a movie in almost complete quiet and this draws the viewer into the world this family is confronting. A great horror movie with unrelenting tension and a very satisfying conclusion, well worth a watch.

MVP: Emily Blunt as Evelyn Abbott at the top of her game during the birth scenes

The Man Who Invented Christmas

Actors: Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Callow, Donald Sumpter, Miriam Margolyes, Morfydd Clark

Rating: 9 out of 10, I will first admit that I am an unrepentant lover of all things Christmas related and therefore have always held Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol as something approaching holy writ. This film offers a fascinating insight into Dickens’ life as he created this timeless classic. The book’s characters leap from his imagination to hold conversations with him as he puts together the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghostly redemption. It was akin to greeting old friends as the iconic characters appeared or classic lines were uttered. Dickens had to balance the emotional baggage of his own youth as the story evolves around his chaotic present day life. It evolves into a delightful swirl through Victorian London as the various inspirations for Dickens’ work emerge throughout. Old stalwarts Jonathan Pryce, as Dickens’ father, and Christopher Plummer, as Scrooge, are their usual perfection but the movie truly belongs to Dan Stevens in the lead role. He’s been so good in everything he’s done – someone to watch for the future. If you enjoy writing you should see this movie with its proper respect for this lion of literature but mostly for spirit of Christmas in all its unabashed sentimentality. If you can’t enjoy that consider yourself a humbug.

MVP: Stevens as the irrepressible Dickens

Upgrade

Actors: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson

Rating: 9 out of 10, This movie really surprised me because I hadn’t heard anything about it which I do not understand. The hero was a Tom Hardy look alike who’s paralyzed at the same time his wife is murdered. The story takes place in the near future with a lot of today’s technology extrapolated for future capabilities. The Hardy boy is given the opportunity to have a computer chip, named Stem, implanted that returns control of his body to him along with some superhuman capabilities. He and Stem get off to a great start together and are soon surreptitiously trying to track down his wife’s murderers. There’s a gaping plot hole with the final reveal but that doesn’t distract from the action and suspense which moves along at a frenetic pace. This reminded me of the Matrix and/or a Black Mirror episode – either of which is eminent praise. It’s nice to be surprised in a good way at the theater and Upgrade certainly did. Highly recommend a watch.

MVP: Marshall-Green as Grey Trace handles the anguish as well as the physicality required of the role