Alita: Battle Angel

Actors: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keean Johnson

Rating: 9 out of 10, I’m completely unaware of the manga series that served as the basis for this sci fi action flick which probably helped. I thoroughly enjoyed this mostly CGI adventure which was so expertly done that I soon forgot who was CGI and who wasn’t. Set in the distant future as a downtrodden city is controlled by another city hovering above and almost everyone seems to have cybernetic limbs. We are quickly introduced to a sprightly teenaged girl seeming cyborg. She figures out she’s an advanced combat model and severed cybernetic limbs are soon flying across the screen. The supporting cast was uniformly awesome led by the incomparable Christophe Walz and Mahersala Ali (who it seems is in every movie lately). The action is non-stop and expertly staged as long as you suspend your disbelief in the computer generated nature. Loved it.

MVP: Salazar, great voice really gave Alita texture

Mr. Right

Actors: Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, Tim Roth, James Ransone, Anson Mount, Michael Eklund, RZA

Rating: 9 out of 10, This movie literally snuck up on me. I didn’t see it in the theaters but caught a bit of it on HBO and was hooked. Both Rockwell and Kendrick are personal favorites so that wasn’t a surprise but this quirky dark comedy stands on its own. Rockwell plays a semi-crazed but extremely deadly assassin who’s turned to killing those who try to hire him. He discovers a kindred spirit in Kendrick and love blooms in the most unlikely of situations, such as throwing knives at each other. Kendrick especially shines demonstrating a nice edge when needed. So a pleasant surprise and well worth the watch.

MVP: Kendrick as Martha, not someone you want to take your eyes off of

Shazam

Actors: Asher, Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou

Rating: 8 out of 10, This movie is a lot of simple fun laced with a serious amount of heart. I hadn’t heard much from Zach Levi since his Chuck days and this movie adds to the mystery because he is fantastic as the superhero inhabited by a fourteen year old boy. That’s a funny premise on its own but the filmmakers don’t fall prey to the Hollywood need to mature the character for the climatic scenes. He fights the bad guys armed only with adolescent innocence and motivations, just a lot of fun. This is all a big tribute to Levi who blends the obvious humor the part calls for along with the needed physicality. Mark Strong is along to play the villain and is DC suitable with all the required dourness. He’s also very good but needed to lighten up a bit to make some of the laughs work better. I really liked the message of the everyday heroism of foster parents. In all this was a very fun movie that I would defy anyone seeing not to laugh. If you can’t at least crack a smile at some of the antics, seek help. Loved it.

MVP: Zachary Levi as the adult super-hero – funny and physical

Captain Marvel

Actors: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Jude Law

Rating: 9 out of 10, Thoroughly impressed. The best part was I didn’t even stop to think about the fact it was a female lead in a superhero movie. The earlier work of Natasha Romanov and Diana Prince made that possible. A lot of credit should go to Brie Larsen who was as understated as you can be with fire spurting out of your hands but leavened that with the trademark Marvel humor amidst the almost non-stop action. I know nothing of the background mythology surrounding this character which served me well as I enjoyed this latest background story for a Marvel superhero. The filmmakers also did a good, and at times subtle, job of inserting her story into the Marvel universe. Samuel L Jackson was very effective as a younger version of Nick Fury and it was laugh out loud funny to learn how he lost his left eye (err, as funny as losing an eye can be). Another Marvel success which shouldn’t surprise me at this point.

MVP: Brie Larson as Danvers

A Star is Born

Actors: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Dave Chappelle, Andrew Dice Clay,Sam Elliott

Rating: 8 out of 10, This was much better than I expected. I think this is the first time I’d ever seen Lady Gaga without a mountain of strange makeup and/or dead animal flesh covering her. She’s very, very good and there is no denying the voice which is incredible. This was Bradley Cooper’s first directorial film and he also stars as the inevitably tragic major star who discovers the plucky struggling artist and falls in love. This was so much better than the Streisand effort in the 1970s as Cooper is tone perfect and the scenes between him and Sam Elliott who plays his much older brother just crackle. There is undeniable chemistry between Gaga and Cooper as well which is integral to the story. Even though you know where it’s headed after the prior three versions this was still wildly entertaining. Gaga should wear less makeup as she has screen presence to spare and more than held her own with the top notch actor she was on screen with.

MVP: Lady Gaga dominates as Allie, the star crossed singer

Cold Pursuit

Actors: Liam Neeson, Laura Dern, Emmy Rossum, William Forsythe, Tom Bateman

Rating: 7 out of 10, This was kind of a strange combination of action, revenge and dark humor. It never rose to the level of being a true dark comedy but had its moments. It would have been fun to see what the Coen brothers would have done with this material but I’m not certain Neeson would have been right for that. He plays a Rocky Mountain snow plow driver whose son is murdered by a smarmy Denver drug cartel. He sets about revenge by killing his way to the top even though he doesn’t have any discernible skills in that department. He proves a quick learner and is soon depositing bodies into picturesque mountain locales. The movie is all over the place with subplots involving a rival Native American drug cartel and a totally inept police department. Neeson delivers his usual amount of heart and gravitas but Laura Dern, as his wife, is criminally underused. There was some truly impressive camera work capturing the stark beauty of the Rockies. In the end, after thinking about it (which I shouldn’t have had to) I liked this.

MVP: Forsythe in a very small part as Neeson’s brother

The Kid Who Would Be King

Actors: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Tom Taylor, Rebecca Ferguson, Patrick Stewart

Rating: 7 out of 10, This was the Goonies updated and inserted into the Arthurian legend. There was no way this should have been as entertaining and enjoyable for an old fart like me but it certainly was. I think it’s every kid’s dream to find Excalibur sticking out of a stone and being the only one able to pull it out before setting out on an adventure fighting the forces of resurgent ancient evil. If not, it should be. This film grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t lose its grip until the slightly overdone finale. The young actors deserve all the credit as Gollum’s kid proves to be an able actor in his own right and the multi-cultural group of friends form a very real seeming dynamic. A nice little surprise of a movie that works.

MVP: Serkis as Alexander and once and future Arthur