Money Monster

I really wanted to like this, but all along it seemed flat as fuck.  Guess what, it was flat as fuck. George Clooney and Julia Roberts yeah ok, they are a good acting duo sure.  Jodie Foster is a good director, too.  I mean all the right people were here, but...  Probably the story.  White guy loses his money after a stock investment tip from tv's Money Monster show host Clooney and takes over the studio demanding accountability and truth.  Along the way, the police and people seeking the truth scramble.  Somewhere along the way, it loses much steam and just trails off the tracks....

In The Heart Of The Sea

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's latest, In The Heart Of The Sea, is a true life story about an event in the sinking of the Essex whaler ship that helped to inspire the writing of Moby Dick. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Benjamin Walker, and Tom Holland.  Howard and Grazer seem determined to expand Hemsworth's range beyond Thor in their now second collaboration following Rush.  They'd be right, as Hemsworth is an obvious choice in fitting the bill for this role as seafaring whales man.  The rest of the cast is good and it's a great and fascinating story of survival.  The story is like Titanic, told thru the eyes of a young survivor.  What jumps out more to me were the rich visuals in the settings, set decoration/design and the mere story itself.

Hardcore Henry

This is a very fresh and unique international film full of surprises.  The action is like the title pretty bombastic and told from a first person camera point of view.  So if you like first person shooters, like me, you'll love it. I also give it a B effort for actually making pretty good sense in having the story plot match the what and why of it all.

Race

Race is a solid Jesse Owens biopic that focuses on the few years leading up to his gold medal victory leading up to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin prior to World War 2.  It stars Stephan James, Jason Sudekis, and Jeremy Irons.  The performances are really good.  Sudekis is really good at drama, too.  Like many other biopics, however, the story of the man gets a bit lost in all the other stories on it's importance and implications to the countries at the time.  I can understand that to a degree, but I also think it gets lost on an audience as a whole even in the title, as the obvious meaning of holding an important race is overshadowing the issue of race in the world.

Eye In The Sky

Eye In The Sky is one of Alan Rickman's last performances and it is a commendable one.  Also starring Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul, it explores the complexities of intelligence gathering and the implications of drone warfare in the modern age.  A single mission that this film represents is played out and explored in a thoroughly engaging and thrilling edge of your seat manner that demands its audience think rather than satisfy the need for mindless action.  That is the true merit of this film, because ironically we are watching the major players be the engagers and audience alike.

Triple 9

You've got a great cast in Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Aaron Paul, and plenty of other equivalents.  I mean the cast is great and it's a noir about corrupt cops, Russian mafia,  and bank robberies.  It's certainly watchable with that talent, but the story never quite rises up to equal the star power and performances and so falls rather flat.

Miles Ahead

You gotta give it up to Don Cheadle's performance as an actor and his film directorial debut in Miles Ahead.  Given his talent which is obvious and needless to say, he goes beyond not disappointing. The life of jazz musician Miles Davis is told with the exploration of a reference point in his life when he wasn't active in music and from there are the dizzying flashbacks to pivotal points in his life that shaped him to that moment and beyond.  Cheadle both in front of and behind the camera constructs and deconstructs the man to come out projecting the very meaning of the title in a way that truly honors one of the greatest musicians of America.  It's not conventional storytelling for sure, but that is also one of the very points of the exploration and ultimate homage. Kudos to Miles Ahead for it's unique tapestry.

Keanu

Keegan and Peele are some wickedly funny and conscious actor-comedians and this is so obvious in the absurdly hilarious Keanu.  What I really enjoyed about this film is how that absurdity, now a staple in mostly white films, can be adopted to a Black film, with the same humor and charm and all the while taking on the issues of race within the Black community and in this country.  These guys did it and did it well, while being Black.

The Infiltrator

Too bad this didn't get much traction at the theaters, because The Infiltrator is one nice almost sleeper like of a hit.  I say almost, because it should be obvious in the cast of Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt, and Diane Kruger that the promise of stellar performances was sold. Cranston plays a U.S. Customs agent who infiltrates the organization of Pablo Escabar. Yes, the Breaking Bad star has obviously done this type of role before and it's no great stretch and yes, it's like Miami Vice taking place in the 80's and in Florida.  But in reality, it's a true story that is wholeheartedly interesting, thrillingly tense, and filled with interesting characters.  In recent years, there is much of a void in films or at least the film industry has been very much trumped by this golden era of high quality television series. When one of the best television actors takes the lead in a motion picture of this stature and similar genre of what he's most famous for, and still uniquely nails it, it's something to witness.  It would be easy to say Cranston was typecast and simultaneously naive to deny he helped to greenlight The Infiltrator, but it would also underestimate what he really brings as an actor to this role.  The film is certainly in good company with Donnie Brasco or a Carlito's Way in quality crime dramas.