Black Bag (2025)

 

British espionage with a lot of dialogue. It’s fine. Not exciting enough. 

Rating: C

The Killer (2023)

 

An introspective assassin story that will likely disappoint if you are looking for a high intensity action flick. 

Rating: C

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

It’s almost as if they built that pyramid specifically to be destroyed quite easily. Obviously, this latest installment starts out quite ridiculous and never comes back to Earth.

The special effects are quite amazing though. The Flash sequence was pretty cool. For me, I need a more grounded story-line based somewhat in reality. When every law of nature is thrown out the window and the screen is a blender of superpowers swirled together, I lose interest. It’s a shame everything went off the deep end after the first two X-Men.

Rating: C-

Alien: Covenant (2017)

The origin story continues with a dark installment full of unlucky space travelers. Faces are eaten. Few survive.

Rating: C

Assassin's Creed (2016)

A mental time-traveling action flick that’s facilitated by a complicated virtual reality machine. The plot is far too complicated and convoluted to be contained within the confines of a 2 hour movie. The execution was clunky and heavy handed. Also, this all takes place in Plot Hole City.

Rating: F+

Steve Jobs (2015)

Not the Steve Jobs film I thought I’d be seeing. It was almost a theatrical play, mainly taking place at product launches, revolving around a few key players. Sorkin dialogue is rampant, as one would expect. Jeff Daniels reprising his The Newsroom role drove the point home. Acting is sharp. Nominations likely deserved. Screenplay is noteworthy too. That’s about as far as I’m willing to go.

Rating: C+

Slow West (2015)

A picturesque New Zealand takes the place of America in this throwback western. Gorgeous cinematography throughout. Lovely counter play between character development and action sequences. The pacing was just right. Simple story; well told.

Rating: B

X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

A time traveling superhero hodgepodge. All over the place, but entertaining enough.

Rating: C

12 Years A Slave (2013)

No surprise this was difficult to watch. Very well acted and directed. Not something I could view more than once, but definitely to be seen once.

Rating: B

Centurion (2010)

A somewhat ambiguous storyline, where the viewer isn't quite sure which side he's supposed to be rooting for, and therefore doesn't feel as invested in the film. The action borders on cartoony at times. When your blood spatter is CGI, it's hard for it not to be.

The scenery is gorgeous. Beautiful country. Overall, it's not bad. You could do much worse when seeking out a good action fix.

Rating: C

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Not exactly the movie I anticipated going in. I was looking forward to more of a gorilla warfare killing spree. Instead, the plot was much more involved, with very little action scenes by the rebel squad. It's a drama, first and foremost, with extremely violent intermissions.

As a Tarantino loyalist, it hurts me to say that I wish the film had gone in the direction I expected. More run and gun, less plot and intrigue. I would have liked to learn more about the various members of the band, how they got their nicknames, where they are from, how they came to be recruited, and the various interactions among them as they cut their way through he Nazi lines. We got one solitary scene of that.

It's not a bad movie, just not the one I was hoping to see.

Rating: B-

Jane Eyre (2011)

I generally keep my distance from British period pieces, but I made an exception for Jane Eyre. It was directed by Cary Fukunaga, the man behind my favorite film of 2009: Sin Nombre. With a background in cinematography, both are rich in picturesque scenery. Fukunaga excels at creating interesting characters as well, and bringing out superb performances from his actors. Jane Eyre is a lovely, sad, intellectual, and restrained film. I look forward to everything else this director endeavors to make.

Rating: B

Fish Tank (2009)

A British indie along the lines of Thirteen, but with less of a plot. The young leads did a good job.

Rating: C-

300 (2006)

Visually stunning, violently satisfying, with stand-out characters to boot. This is what we hope for, but rarely receive, when going to see an action film.

Rating: B+

Prometheus (2012)

A very slick piece of sci-fi eye candy from director/producer Ridley Scott. Seamlessly blends creationism, aliens, and horror into an interesting package. I’ve read online that this is not a direct prequel to the Alien franchise, but rather a bridge point to future films that may be prequels, but more likely will exist independently inside the Alien universe.

Either way, it’s a terrific foundation for stories to come. I really liked the DAVID android and hope to see more of him in future installments. The rest of the cast did a swell job too. Looking forward to many of the questions raised in Prometheus being answered down the line.

Rating: B-

Haywire (2011)

I heard poor reviews on this one, but I was thoroughly entertained. Perhaps it’s because a Steven Soderbergh stlye action movie is very different than the run-of-the-mill Hollywood actioner. Think Out of Sight with George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. I was a bit frustrated with being in the dark so long, but eventually things came together.

Fight scenes are quite good, especially when it’s a woman doing the ass kicking. Her acting is much better than most fighters/wrestlers turned movie stars. Steven has an eye for talent.

Rating: C+

Jonah Hex (2010)

The first third of the film isn’t bad. The last two thirds are. The story unravels and plausibility goes out the window. And yet Megan Fox is super hot, so there’s that. Reminded me of Wild Wild West, a film you don’t want to be compared to. I did enjoy John Malkovich playing an over-the-top villain. Will Arnett was terribly miscast in a non funny role.

Rating: D+

X-Men: First Class (2011)

A solid origin story that takes after the excellent first two films in the series, helping to wipe that horrible 3rd installment from our memories. A rare summer action film that is worth seeing in the theater.

Rating: C+