Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians

Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong,
Rated: PG-13 for some suggestive content and language

“Crazy Rich Asians” is a pretty straightforward duck-out-of-water romantic drama. What sets it apart is its entirely-Asian cast. While sharp-eyed folks will note that the cast is all on the pale end of Asian, this is still a groundbreaking film. Every lead actor is Asian, as are the secondary characters and most of the extras. No more excuses when Hollywood casts yet another white person in an Asian role – here are a bunch of Asian actors to choose from with leading-role-experience. On top of all that, it’s a fun, sweet movie.

The Spy Who Dumped Me

The Spy Who Dumped Me

Directed by: Susanna Fogel
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Justin Theroux, Sam Heughan, Hasan Minhaj, Gillian Anderson, Ivanna Sakhno
Rated: R for violence, language throughout, some crude sexual material and graphic nudity

Summer is winding down, but we’re still getting fun summery movies to enjoy before horror movie season gets into full swing. “The Spy Who Dumped Me” is a strange collage of poop jokes, spy-movie satire, and female friendship celebration. It doesn’t always gel perfectly, but it’s still a lot of fun – as long as you don’t mind crude humor.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Directed by: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer
Rated: PG – 13 for some sci – fi action violence

“Ant-Man and The Wasp” is a juggling act. It somehow manages to keep a bunch of subplots, multiple character motivations, and a rather unusual MacGuffin in the air all at once. How well it succeeds at being entertaining depends a lot on how willing you are to keep up with the twists and turns – or your willingness to just let the fun carry you along like a bubble on a stream.

Ocean’s 8

Ocean’s 8

Directed by: Gary Ross
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Richard Armitage,
Rated: PG-13 for language, drug use, and some suggestive content

The heist movie is such a classic genre of film that it’s hard to break new ground. “Ocean’s 8” comes close, bringing us an all-woman crew of con artists and thieves working together to pull off the impossible. It’s set in the same universe as “Ocean’s 11” and its sequels, but there are only a couple of cameos featuring actors from the earlier films.

Rampage

Rampage

Directed by: Brad Peyton Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Naomi Harris, Malin Akerman, Jake Lacy, Jeffrey Dean Morgan Rated: PG-13 for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief language, and crude gestures. It might seem foolish to make a movie out of a simplistic, old-school arcade game, but “Rampage” is aimed squarely at the nostalgic 12-year-old inside those of us who are old enough to remember the 1986 game. It is utterly ridiculous and utterly shameless about that ridiculousness. Grab some popcorn and prepare to turn off your brain. There’s a story to justify the massive monsters that destroy a swath of downtown Chicago near the end of the film, but it’s more than a little hackneyed and barely merits recounting. Our good guys are Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson), former-special-forces-poacher-hunter-turned-primate-expert; George, the albino gorilla he rescued from poachers as a youngster; and Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomi Harris), a geneticist whose groundbreaking work was twisted into a pathogen

Read More

Thor: Ragnarok

Ealasaid A. Haas Directed by: Taika Waititi Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief suggestive material Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has always been a good-natured, funny guy with strong emotions and a fierce loyalty to his people (both his fellow Asgardians and the various characters who have battled at his side). He’s not always terribly bright, but he does his best. “Thor: Ragnarok” has taken all his best characteristics and dialed them to eleven. The only thing it’s missing is a wall-to-wall 70s/80s metal soundtrack. After the tepid response to “Thor: The Dark World,” Marvel brought in an indie director from New Zealand, Taika Waititi. Waititi takes the story, which mostly centers around Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) trying to get back to Asgard to save it from his evil sister Hela (Cate Blanchett), and dips

Read More

Kong: Skull Island

Kong: Skull Island

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language They say there’s nothing new under the sun, and for most of “Kong: Skull Island,” that is definitely the case. The characters fall into archetypes established back on the silver screen, the monsters are mostly straightforward giant versions of familiar critters, and it’s pretty easy to guess how the film is going to go. There are deviations from the traditional here and there, but this is not a film to see if you’re looking for innovation. If you just want to go to the movies, eat popcorn, and watch a giant gorilla fight a giant dinosaur-looking-thing, it will not disappoint. An opening credits sequence takes us from 1944, when a young American pilot and a young Japanese pilot have the misfortune to crash

Read More

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters

Directed by: Paul Feig Starring: Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Neil Casey Rated: PG-13 for supernatural action and some crude humor The new “Ghostbusters” film has been polarizing since it was first announced. It reboots the classic franchise, but with four women as the titular characters – a casting choice that enraged at least as many people as it thrilled. Like most comedies, if you go into the theater expecting to hate it, it isn’t going to win you over. It’s not “Citizen Kane,” it’s a popcorn movie. A good popcorn movie, but still too light and fluffy to win over any naysayers. If, on the other hand, you’re excited (or at least willing to be excited) about it and you enjoy lightweight summer flicks, you’ll probably be pleased. Former friends Dr. Erin Gilbert (Kristin Wiig) and Dr. Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) have gone their separate ways since Erin left

Read More

Now You See Me 2

Now You See Me 2

Directed by: Jon M. Chu Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman Rated: PG-13 for violence and some language 2013’s “Now You See Me” was a top-notch, fun blend of magic shows and a heist movie. Directed by Louis Leterrier (“The Transporter), it was a romp of a film, packed with cleverness, intrigue, and Robin-Hood stage magicians scamming bad people. The sequel, “Now You See Me 2,” brings back almost everyone from the first film, and wisely doesn’t try to recreate the rest of its predecessor. It’s still a stage-magic heist movie, but this time the magicians are desperate and on the run, and the bad people hold most of the cards. It’s a fun movie – not as good as the first film, but definitely a solid sequel. A note: if you haven’t seen the first film, the setup for the sequel has massive

Read More

I, Frankenstein

I, Frankenstein

Directed by: Stuart Beattie Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Straohvski, Miranda Otto, Bill Nighy, Jai Courtney Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense fantasy action and violence throughout Some movies, you can tell whether you want to see them or not by the previews alone. “I, Frankenstein” is most assuredly one of those films. It has a ludicrous plot that can literally be summed up in a single sentence, heaps of action, and loads of gorgeous cinematography. It’s based on a graphic novel (by Kevin Grevioux, who worked as a writer on the “Underworld” movies), and it shows. If you are looking for an hour and a half of brainless entertainment, you could do a lot worse than “I, Frankenstein.” The gist of the story is this: Frankenstein’s monster (Aaron Eckhart) is drawn into the ongoing war between the legions of hell and the Gargoyle Order (yes, gargoyles, like the carvings on old churches. They’re sort of

Read More