The Martian

The Martian

Directed by: Ridley Scott Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Askel Hennie, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean Rated: PG-13 for some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity. The castaway tale is not a new one, but “The Martian” brings us a sci-fi take on it: rather than being stranded on a deserted island, our protagonist is stranded on Mars. While experts and enthusiastic amateurs will doubtless find plenty of errors to point out, this is a ripping yarn suitable for anybody who likes to see human spirit and ingenuity overcome impossible situations. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is one of six astronauts on a manned mission to Mars when a dust storm forces them to abandon their base and cut the planned month-long expedition short. When Watney is blown away by debris and they can’t find him or any trace of his various signals, Commander Lewis (Jessica Chastain) makes

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Black Mass

Black Mass

Directed by: Scott Cooper Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane, David Harbour, Adam Scott Rated: R for brutal violence, language throughout, some sexual references and brief drug use. Organized crime has long fascinated both Hollywood and of the American public in general. It’s no surprise that one of the many books about it is now a movie: “Black Mass.” What may be a surprise to folks who’ve seen the posters and print ads is that the ensemble cast is led by Johnny Depp in impressive prosthetic makeup. He delivers an excellent performance, reminding us that he can do more than just act drunk and chew scenery. The movie is a solid true-crime tale, likely to please serious enthusiasts as well as those who like serious dramas about people’s bad actions leading to their inevitable fall. Depp plays Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger, once an inmate at Alcatraz, now the head of South Boston’s Irish-American

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A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods

Directed by: Ken Kwapis Starring: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson, Mary Steenburgen Rated: R for language and some sexual references Bill Bryson is a travel writer, one whose books encompass everything from geology to history as they record his roaming in all sorts of places. “A Walk in the Woods” is a film adaptation of his book of the same title: the story of his hike of the Appalachian trail with one of his oldest friends. Like Bryson’s books, the film has a little bit of everything – a little philosophy, a little existentialism, a little comedy, a little romance, all mixed together just so, with some adventures thrown in for spice. It’s a fun film with a solid cast. As played by Nick Nolte, Stephen Katz is the kind of guy you tend to lose touch with, who has accomplished little but adding lots of notches to his bedpost over the last few

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American Ultra

American Ultra

Directed by: Nima Nourizadeh Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Connie Britton, Topher Grace, Walton Goggins, John Leguizamo Rated: R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexual content. There are some movies whose trailers don’t quite do them justice, and whose theater runs are all-too-short. “American Ultra” seems destined for that fate: It’s a cross between the Bourne movies and a stoner comedy. Our hero has all kinds of amazing combat skills whose origin he doesn’t remember, and people are trying to kill him – but he’s just some stoner who works at the Cash-and-Carry and is trying to figure out when to propose to his girlfriend. This is not a movie for everybody, but for the right audience, it’s just about perfect. Fans of Simon Pegg’s Cornetto Trilogy and other genre mashups will probably feel right at home here. The tone wavers between stoner comedy and black comedy, and once the

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The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Ealasaid A. Haas Directed by: Guy Ritchie Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alici Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki Rated: Rated PG-13 for action violence, some suggestive content, and partial nudity Guy Ritchie, fresh off his Sherlock Holmes movies, continues his trend of period pieces by bringing us a new incarnation of “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” a TV show made and set in the 60s. The film version is set in the 60s as well, and everything from the clothes to the lighting is clearly aimed at putting us in that time.. You don’t need to have seen the show or even lived through the Cold War to have fun with the movie, though – Ritchie wisely opens the film with a sequence making it perfectly clear how well the West and the Soviets got along at the time. Our protagonists Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) could not be more

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Jurassic World

Jurassic World

Directed by: Colin Trevorrow Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Omar Sy, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, BD Wong, Irrfan Khan Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril It’s been 22 years since “Jurassic Park” came out, and “Jurassic World” brings us a vision of what things might be like 22 years after the catastrophe at the dinosaur zoo. If you just want to sit in a cool, dark theater and admire CGI dinosaurs, you will not be disappointed. If you want a film with character development, actual characters, or any semblance of good writing, stay far, far away. Mr. Masrani (Irrfan Khan) has turned the island into a theme park with more dinosaurs and what superficially looks like better security. His director of operations, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), is very good at running things from the control room, but not so good with people. Her nephews Gray (Ty Simpkins) and

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Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland

Directed by: Brad Bird Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Raffey Cassidy Rated: PG for sequences of sci-fi action violence and peril, thematic elements, and language Remember when the future was hopeful? The original “Star Trek” series offered us a vision of a time when Americans and Russians could work together, where things were clean and orderly and all sorts of different people – non-humans, even! – came together to do great things. Somewhere along the line, though, the future became less “Jetsons” and more “The Matrix” – a cool-looking place, still, but all black leather and vinyl and dystopia. We no longer think of the future as a great place we’re heading to. Cynicism and pessimism are the order of the day. It’s not hard to see why – global climate change, the human tendency toward self-destruction, everything seems to be going down the tubes. “Tomorrowland” brings us Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), who

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Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Written and Directed by: Joss Whedon Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence and destruction, and for some suggestive comments. At this point, Marvel Comics knows that people know about the Avengers. The newest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t spend time establishing who everyone is with long backstories – we open with a fight sequence that gives each member of the team a chance to show off their abilities, then proceed directly onward with the story. If you haven’t seen any of the ten previous films and are willing to hold on for the ride, you can enjoy “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” but it’s going to make a lot more sense if you’ve seen at least a few. Wisely, Marvel has given the films their own continuity line – they take

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Child 44

Child 44

Directed by: Daniel Espinosa Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman Rated: R for violence, some disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality “Child 44” is based on a novel by a British writer (Tom Rob Smith) and was adapted by an American (Richard Price) and directed by a Swede (Daniel Espinosa). It has that fatalism, that “well of course things are awful, that’s just life” despair that runs through so many Russian works of literature, art, and film. It makes it likely to be a challenging film for American audiences. This is the story of a government agent trying to stop a man who tortures and murders children – and all the challenges that agent faces because his government forbids him to say the deaths are murders. This is Stalin’s Russia, a communist utopia – and there are no murders in paradise, as one of the characters comments. Leo Demidov (Tom

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Furious 7

Furious 7

Directed by: James Wan Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson Rated: PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language After six “Fast and Furious” movies, it seems almost redundant to review the newest one. The franchise has a very successful formula: fast cars, awesome action scenes, big brawls between huge muscular dudes, and ladies in bikinis. The filmmakers know their target audience and don’t waste time trying to make anything but huge action flicks. This is another solid entry in a solid series. If you like this kind of movie, you’ll like this one.