One of the most oddly-conceived movies ever made, and one I’ve had some personal interest in watching for a long time.
What’s It About? A civilian pilot, Mark Curran, meets a scientist on the run from the military, who tells him about a deadly conspiracy that could affect the entire Earth – and gives him the power to defeat it with the high-tech combat machine, G-Saviour.
STRAIGHT UP: A fascinating example of Murphy’s Law in action. 0.5/5
It’s January, nothing good is coming out, and I’ve still got Star Wars on my mind. Really, this was inevitable.
What’s It About? A chance encounter leads young Luke Skywalker from his home on the desert planet of Tattooine to the front lines of a rebel operation to strike at the evil Galactic Empire.
STRAIGHT UP: A timeless piece of modern mythology. I still love it. 4.5/5
This might be the biggest movie of all time. Let’s compare notes.
What’s It About? Scavenger Rey and ex-Stormtrooper Finn inherit a droid carrying information about the missing Luke Skywalker’s whereabouts, and get mixed up in a plot to determine the fate of a galaxy.
STRAIGHT UP: Great action and characters elevate a familiar plot. 4/5
Let’s mark the changing seasons with the last summer blockbuster of the year.
What’s It About? Corporate thief Scott Lang is hired by a reclusive scientist to become the shrinking hero Ant-Man and prevent powerful tech secrets from falling into the wrong hands.
STRAIGHT UP: Fun, but weightless. 3/5
Do I really need to justify seeing a movie with Chris Pratt and velociraptors in it?
What’s It About? The Jurassic World theme park faces a crisis when its latest attraction, a genetically-engineered super dinosaur, escapes its paddock.
STRAIGHT UP: The best Jurassic Park offering since the original. 4/5
The Disney hype machine convinced me to see this one.
What’s It About? Frank, Casey, and Athena – three prodigious inventors from the past, present, and future – must travel through space and time to find the utopian city of Tomorrowland and prevent a global disaster.
STRAIGHT UP: Frustrating and inconsistent. 1.5/5
Avengers Assemble! I couldn’t call myself a film critic if I missed out on this.
What’s It About? When Tony Stark’s latest AI creation goes rogue and constructs a homicidal robot army, only the combined efforts of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can save the day.
STRAIGHT UP: The WrestleMania of superhero films. That’s mostly a compliment. 9/10
Everyone I know has been seeing this, so I thought I’d add my two cents.
What’s It About? Eggsy, a street punk, is recruited by mysterious gentleman Harry Hart to join a secret English spy agency and help thwart an evil mastermind’s plan to cause a global crisis.
STRAIGHT UP: I really liked it. Stylish, funny, expertly assembled. 8.5/10
An ambitious original sci-fi project from the Wachowskis was bound to be a big hit or an entertaining failure.
What’s It About? When ordinary girl Jupiter Jones discovers that she is the heiress to the Queen of Earth, she and her new bodyguard Caine must travel across the universe and fend off deadly foes in order to claim her birthright.
STRAIGHT UP: A beautiful disaster, sure to be an ironic cult classic. 7/10
Not too many people need convincing for this one, but just in case…
What’s It About? A child prodigy assembles a team of genius college students (and one robot) to track down a mysterious villain wielding dangerous new technology.
STRAIGHT UP: Good all around, but too tightly-packed. 8.5/10
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