Brief Movie Reviews

Hopefully not too spoilery. Obviously focused on action/action comedy movies, since my taste in movies stopped evolving at age 16.

Hobbes and Shaw (2019): First hour and a half are great – lots of action, quipping, and explosions. Female lead (Vanessa Kirby) is outstanding. Johnson and Statham are fun, and the cameos by Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart leave you wanting more. Idris Elba’s villain was smart, competent, and menacing.

Then they get to Samoa, and things get ridiculously stupid very quickly. I’m talking super, super, super stupid.

Shaft (2019): Started off a little slow, and Jessie Usher (playing baby Shaft) seemed stiff at the beginning, but then things started gelling. Ended up really liking it, and especially liked the appearance of Richard Roundtree as granddaddy Shaft.

Avengers Endgame (2019): I’m probably one of the few people who didn’t like Endgame. Cheesy plot gimmick, too much of a TV series farewell episode vibe, too PC, too many characters at the end, and unsatisfying resolutions of many of the stories. But it sure is long!

Spiderman: Far From Home (2019): Great movie – funny, actiony, super effects, and a bit of heart. Peter Parker may be a bit whiny, but he’s at that age.

John Wick 3 (2019). Just lots and lots and more lots of shooting, peppered with really creative (and funny) alternate ways of killing people. Which I love. Kind of the same pace as Dredd or The Raid. Which I love.