Ant-man

Ant-man directed by Peyton Reed, starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, and Michael Pena.

Marvel pulls off yet another winner. 

One thing I've noticed about Marvel movies over the years is that they might get cliched in the story line department but they always remain focused on character.  It's this focus on character that makes their movies work in wonderful and delightful ways no matter how far fetched or insane their stories get.  I never really care because their characters are always the focal point.  This movie is no different in that Paul Rudd is the main focus of this movie and they build his character with some nifty cliches but as always it is Rudd that helps to fully flesh out his character.  Perfect casting much the same way Evans brought Captain America to life , as did Downey, jr with Iron Man, Hemsworth with Thor, and the whole Guardians of the Galaxy cast did with that movie.  Their ability to cast movies is something to be amazed at even in little side roles they totally nail the perfect person for that role.  All the casting in this movie is no different.

Mix in some great set pieces and special effects that play around with a world to big for a small sized man and it makes for one entertaining and fun ride.  

Ex-Machina

Ex-Machina written and directed by Alex Garland, starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander.

I've come to the conclusion over the years that if a movie's screenplay has the words "written by Alex Garland" - I will go see the movie and will most likely thoroughly enjoy it.  I will also admit Alex Garland is doing some of the best sci-fi movies ever - case in point 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Dredd, which are some of the best the genre has seen in a long time.  And now Ex-Machina can be added to that list of sci-fi movies that are more concerned with characters and ideas that being bogged down with special effects and action scenes.  His movies are some of the most entertaining and thought provoking movies I've seen in a long time, while being enjoyable, which is a combination I don't find all that much these days.  He just amazes me in that his movies are so focused and the characters seems to alive and real, its almost like I'm not watching a Hollywood movie at all.  I look forward to any movies by Alex Garland and so should you.

I don't want to say to much about the story line other than it involves identity, androids, and AI.  Besides the story line the three other things that make this movie highly watchable are the three performances of Domhnall, Isaac, and Vikander.  They really help to bring this world, these ideas, and these themes to life. 

I highly recommend this movie. Sit back, watch, and enjoy. 

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace directed by Marc Forster, starring Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench, and Mathieu Amalric.

I haven't seen this movie since I saw it when it came out in the theater.  I remember not liking it that much and not having very fond memories of it. Well I can say years have been very kind to this movie: it's completely underrated as is the Bond theme song song by Jack White and Alica Keys.  I can admit I was seriously wrong about this film when first saw and I think the main reason is that this is a not a normal Bond movie in that continues from the ending of the first movie.

This is basically a really good epilogue to Casino Royale as it ties up some loose ends to that movie and starts some new threads of its own.  In my opinion Craig does another superb job of creating a Bond who gets dirty and bloody as he continues to bring some serious much needed realism to the world of Bond. 

Darkness Take My Hand

Darkness Take My Hand written by Dennis LeHane.

It's been a while since I've stayed up reading late into the morning - this book had me doing that because I had to find out what happened.

The second book in the Kenzie and Gennaro series is by far better than the first book as it mixes a serial killer into the story that has ties to Kenzie and Gennaro's past.  Written with the same pacing and sharp writing skills as the previous story only this time LeHane dives deeper into the characters.  By doing that everything is all the better for it.  This book will make the other books harder to follow but I don't really care because this book was so well written and executed that it was a sheer pleasure to read.  Easily one of the best thriller, serial killer, detective stories I've read.

Highly recommended.  

Patriot Games

Patriot Games directed by Phillip Noyce, starring Harrison Ford, Sean Bean, James Earl Jones, Patrick Bergin, Anna Archer, Thora Birch, Polly Walker, Richard Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, and James Fox.

Not anywhere near as good as The Hunt for Red October but a serviceable action movie with Harrison Ford playing the every man to good effect. 

Personally I think this movie is only as good as it is because of the acting.  I found the story line kind of boring and in no way near the perfection of The Hunt for Red October.  The only thing that could have made this movie better than the typical story line would have to been to beef up Jack Ryan's character but instead I was left with a typical action movie that in many ways turns out not to be an action movie because there's not much action.  And the non-action scenes don't really feel compelling or tense.  There just needed to be more meat on this stick for it to be better.  Even the Lethal Weapon movies could have a weak story line but the two main characters made up for that weakness with their interesting personalities - not so much here.  I think this movie has not dated well but worth at least one watch.

Blackhat

Blackhat directed by Michael Mann, starring Chris Hemsworth, Leehom Wang, Viola Davie, Wei Tang, and John Ortiz.

This movie was not as bad as all the reviews I read about but that being said this is not Michael Mann's best film even though I did find it very entertaining and I would consider it his first made popcorn movie.   Even a bad film by Michael Mann is immensely better than most good films by typical directors.  Like always his actions scenes sparkle with a fury and direction not found by many "action" film makers because unlike those "action" film makers I can actual tell what is going on in Mann's action scenes and am in no way confused as to what is happening.  Some of the things that happen in this movie are wildly crazy and unbelievable but at least Mann sticks with the internal logic of the movie and doesn't shift from that unlike most action/popcorn movies that deviate so much movie's logic that is becomes distracting. 

Jurassic World

Jurassic World directed by Colin Trevorrow, starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, and Omar Sy.

In all honesty I really liked this movie and I've got to admit - Chris Pratt is the main reason this movie was good.  If he hadn't been in it I don't think it would have been as good as it turned out.  His charisma and presence was that good.  That being said this movie was way better than Lost World and Jurassic Park 3 in leaps and bounds.  I don't expect much out of popcorn movies these days other than just don't pander to me, don't be pretentious, and above all just don't be completely stupid when it comes to plot because you are a popcorn movie (Michael Bay - I'm speaking to you).  All around I thought characters were well more defined than in the first movie, which for me was just basically a remake of Jaws with dinosaurs only with poorer characters.  The characters in this movie (minus Bryce Dallas Howard's character) seemed a lot more interesting than before. 

Trevorrow did more than a decent job of directing, not as good as the first movie which was completely saved by Spielberg's direction.  I liked the self nods to the first movie throughout it brought me home to a movie that I can honestly say helped to shape my fascinations with movies (I saw Jurassic Park 5 times in the theaters when it came out). 

This movie is well worth a watch.