Mission: Impossible may be dated in terms of the technology used and some of the dialogue was clunky in order to set up some of the story, but I still was entertained by this first outing of what would become a long-running franchise with Cruise the perfect actor to steer it.
Pacific Rim: Uprising is a visually impressive but vapidly empty sci-fi action-er with mostly paper-thin characters, though they try giving Boyega more to work with, but I’m kind of over destruction porn and the third act takes it up a notch and an ending that sequel-baits.
Tomb Raider might be the exception to the rule of an actually good video game adaptation, and not in a so bad it’s good like the Jolie version. I genuinely enjoyed the action sequences and Alicia Vikander really embodied Lara Croft in the character’s current form, quite well.
The Hurricane Heist could’ve been a great B-movie action-er but outside of some genuinely funny moments, this is the sort of plot I’ve seen many times over the years, most of them destined for the DTV market, where this one should have landed. As it is, this is not in the least terrible and probably passably entertaining at times.
Unsane might not be the perfect or even greatest psychological thriller to come down the pike, it is a well made film, especially considering director Steven Soderbergh used an iPhone to shoot. Beyond the experimental aspect, the performance from Claire Foy was great.
Escape Plan is a fun throwback to the 80s and 90s action genre culminated with starring the two biggest actors of that era. Although neither one of them are at the top of their game, this is still an enjoyable flick well worth at least one viewing if only to see Stallone and Schwarzenegger fight.
Forrest Gump is a wonderful and uplifting drama-comedy that lets viewers see the world through the eyes of an innocent and completely sincere man. Was it Best Picture good, especially over The Shawshank Redemption? Probably not, but I have no problem with it winning.
Annihilation is one of the better surprises of 2018 as going in my interest levels were mild at best after seeing the lackluster trailers. But afterwards, it is a movie that has been on my mind for all the good reasons and is a highlight performance from Natalie Portman.
Terminator Genisys will (and has) no doubt pissed off plenty of fans but taking emotion out of it, I actually didn’t think it was awful. The action scenes, albeit generic at times, were at least well shot, and the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Guardian was welcome. In spite of those, it’s at least a passable and entertaining flick.
Darkest Hour is one of the better movies of 2017 and features a powerhouse, and Oscar-worthy, performance from Gary Oldman who proves once again that he is a chameleon no matter what role.
No doubt Die Hard still is an incredible action-thriller after all of these years and has great replay value, also reminding me of Bruce Willis’s charisma of being an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances (something forgotten in the later sequels).
The “Limited Edition” release of the current roster of the Jurassic Park franchise (that is until June) is a well done package by Universal, though the 4K transfers weren’t exactly incredible upgrades over their Blu-ray counterparts, outside of maybe the audio.
Fury isn’t the best war drama around, not even in the top 5, but it’s still well made and features a great cast, with Brad Pitt delivering a fine performance (one of his best in some time), that elevates the writing while Ayer’s direction keeps the pacing just right.
The Matrix isn’t as philosophical as it wants to portray itself, and there are certainly silly moments, but it is still a lot of fun and most of the visual effects still hold up rather well nearly 20 years later.
Braveheart is one hell of a film with a powerful performance from Mel Gibson, even when his Scottish accent wasn’t always the best. Beyond that, his direction was well done with some great choreographed battle scenes reminding you, just as it did on Gladiator, of old school epic Hollywood.