Mortal Engines

Mortal Engines is a really creative post apocalyptic film. The special effects and sheer imagination of  was great here.  The producer (Peter Jackson) and New Zealand team that made The Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit films are responsible for bringing this novel by Philip Reeve to life.  There's nothing really overly standoutish about the film.  There are certainly elements of Star Wars and The Matrix that are easily observable, as well as relevant political and social cautionary notes integral to the story.  On that note and to it's credit, the cast is pretty good and diverse.  I especially enjoyed Korean singer Jihae's cool character. 

Widows

Steve McQueen's Widows  has a stellar lead and supporting cast for sure in Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert Duvall, and Colin Farrel.  This female heist template has been done before in 1996's  Set It Off or even the recent Oceans 8, but Widows feels more substantive, realistic,and character driven than either other film.  As a bonus, it takes on so many issues of the day beyond even the obvious gender. Race, class, loyalty, betrayal, greed, inequality, and others are all throughout.  All the while, we are treated to a good caper, thriller, and action film that's really engaging.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody tracks the origins and rise of Freddie Mercury and  Queen.  As with most film biographies, it doesn't go over many aspects of his life and arguably glosses over many of the tragedies.  It's a good biopic that opens with a prelude to the infamous Live Aid performance and then backtracks.  But the best aspect of the film is a great performance by Raimi Malek.  His embodiment and performance as the late Mercury were just incredible to behold, as his well deserved Oscar nomination and win speak to.

Overlord

Nowadays comic books and even video games are turned into film, so I had to be reminded that Overlord was a video game from 2007.  Well, irregardless of the source, the film Overlord is just good, pure, and fresh entertainment.  Part war drama and part horror, it is an interesting take on the World War 2 drama as predominantly told from a young Black man's perspective.  There are certainly shades of Inglorious Bastards, Cloverfield, and World War Z here. This film is very engaging employing judicious use of suspense, action, cinematography, and special effects.  The relatively unknown cast here also helps in the performances of Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, and Bokeem Woodbine.  I'd certainly root for a sequel to this.

Hunter Killer

I was bracing myself for this being bad, really bad.  At the same time, I wanted to see it as it's been a long time since I've seen a good naval warfare movie.  We ain't talking Battleship here either.  I hearken back to Das Boot or The Hunt For Red October.   Why bad you ask, beyond a peek at rotten tomatoes?  Gerard Butler hasn't exactly been making the best choices in recent years.  Hunter Killer, however, went beyond my expectations.  It's a tense thriller on top of a war movie and done rather well.  To anchor all that (pun intended) in, there's Gary Oldman and Toby Stephens (Black Sails) performances, as limited as they could be for a story that had to fit into this packaged time frame.  Gerard Butler was just playing, well Gerard Butler.   The story is arguably too convoluted to play out in the given time, irregardless of the relevant geo-political climate.  No, it's not the best movie, but it's certainly damn entertaining and borrows enough material from The Hunt For Red October and say a Behind Enemy Lines to keep it afloat.

Mile 22

Mile 22 is an adrenaline fueled espionage ride starring Mark Wahlberg, Iko Uwais, Lauren Cohen, Ronda Rousey, and John Malkovich.  The cast is great and its good to finally see Iko (The Raid movies) in a great role with an intruiging story.  I say that last part concerning the story, because that's the main detractor from the whole film.  While I can appreciate the very real complexities in spy stories that unfold themselves in dramatic ways, too much complexity  and a confusing narrative do not serve Mile 22 very well.  For nearly the first hour, who knows what the fuck is going on with the story.  That only serves to make an audience listen to an overly intense Wahlberg just overact oscillating back and forth in narrating the briefing and getting in everyone's ass with his ramblings.  If you're just watching it for the action and don't care about the plot, then you're fine as the pace is pretty relentless.  It has and does everything else well though, in so far as what we've come to expect from contemporary Bourne type movies is all here in action, set and location, and casting.  You've got great female leads kicking ass here, too.  John Malkovich, as great an actor as he is, however looks comical in his wig as the overwatch supervisor.  It's also obvious that this is a film, much like certain military films, that tries to give much credence to the little known Special Activies branch of the CIA while at the same time trying to stay relevant to the current political and intelligence situation and issues of the day.  It's Iko's biggest Hollywood profile role and in in reality, he basically owns this film.

Searching

What has been achieved in the film Searching is a fresh and creative filmmaking process told through computer screens that clearly represents how technology and social media have the ability to convey a story.  Searching shows how it can be told within that new medium and told really well with suspense and in the performances of  actors John Cho and Debra Messing. The incredible irony of a film shown almost entirely through the other lense of other computer screens and feeds, is really brilliant in its editing and execution. The main character's (Cho) point of view, mirroring the audience, is certainly relatable as we are given much insight into the plight to find his daughter (Michelle La) using the computer.