Idris Elba

[6] It’s weird that we now live in a time when a studio is willing to make the same movie twice, only a few years apart and call it by the same title. But here’s DC’s The Suicide Squad… again. This time it’s written and directed by James Gunn, who brought Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy to life in a fun and heartfelt way. With …

[6] Kate Winslet and Idris Elba star as survivors of a small plane crash who must brave snowy mountain terrain and try to stay alive long enough to find help. I was in the mood for a survival flick when I settled in for The Mountain Between Us, but the film barely delivers the goods on that mark. No, it’s very much a romance movie. …

[8] I’ve been hard on Marvel movies for being cookie-cutter and devoid of surprises, but Avengers: Infinity War stops that trend dead in its tracks. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War) are downright masterful at keeping Infinity War going strong from beginning to end, with never a dull moment, all the action you’d expect, far more laughs than …

[7] After a mediocre beginning and a truly shitty-ass sequel, Marvel has made the wise decision of scrapping the Thor character as originally conceived and giving him a personality make-over. And that’s why it feels like Thor has been possessed by Star Lord from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. It’s a calculated move, for sure. But does it make Thor more interesting to watch? Hell, …

[6] Ridley Scott directs from a script by Steven Zaillian this true story about a New York detective (Russell Crowe) and a drug lord (Denzel Washington) whose paths cross in the 1970s to expose deep-rooted corruption in the police force. The film balances the screen time between Washington and Crowe’s characters, so we get both the plight of the humble man and the rise & fall …

[6] Ridley Scott returns to the Alien franchise in a movie that really didn’t need to be an Alien movie, and would have been better if it were not. The first two-thirds are pretty solid sci-fi thriller fare, as the story’s ensemble cast of space faring scientists and corporate ne’er-do-wells arrive at a mysterious planet that may hold the key to humankind’s origins. I knew going …

[8] J.J. Abrams hands the reigns to director Justin Lin (director of several Fast and Furious movies), working from a script co-written by Scotty (Simon Pegg). The result? A damn solid entry in the Star Trek franchise, possibly the best of the three newest films. The plot involves your standard new bad guy (Idris Elba) trying to get his hands on a big, nasty weapon …

[8] Pacific Rim is good, dumb summer fun. It’s beautiful, sexy, exciting, funny, and it kinda made me feel like a kid again. The premise involves Kaiju and Jägers… scratch that. Let’s call it like it is: this movie is about big fucking robots fighting big fucking monsters. The monsters come from another dimension, entering our world from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The robots, …