Skyscraper

Skyscraper

Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, McKenna Roberts, Noah Cottrell, Roland Moller, Byron Mann, Chin Han, Hannah Quinlivan
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of gun violence and action and for brief strong language

Movies Starring Dwayne Johnson almost always have a few things in common: action, humor, and at least a little ridiculousness in the service of entertainment. They generally are not subtle or full of nuanced character development. “Skyscraper” fits the pattern. The only character development is the villains realizing how badly they’ve underestimated our hero and his family. If you like this kind of movie and don’t have a bad fear of heights, this is a great way to spend a couple hours in air conditioning.

Proud Mary

Proud Mary

Directed by: Babak Najafi Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Billy Brown, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery Rated: R for violence “Proud Mary” is not for everyone. It’s violent. It includes cruelty toward children. Its protagonists are Mary (Taraji P. Henson) and Danny (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), a Black woman and a Black pre-teen. It draws on Blaxploitation films from the 70s and is very much a big action movie, but it takes itself a bit too seriously. This is a movie that is short on original thinking but that does okay in other departments. The story is pretty familiar: a ruthless organized-crime assassin carries out an execution but discovers the victim had a child. She can’t bring herself to kill the kid (who luckily hadn’t seen her), and she steals a photograph of him on her way out. When she tracks him down a year later, he’s been taken in by a Russian mobster who

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Mechanic: Resurrection

Mechanic: Resurrection

Directed by: Dennis Gansel Starring: Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Sam Hazeldine, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Yeoh Rated: R for violence throughout and language Summer movie season has pretty much wrapped up, and we’re heading into the Halloween crop of scary movies before the big family flicks of Thanksgiving and Halloween. If you haven’t quite gotten your fill of explosions and mayhem, “Mechanic: Resurrection” is here, hoping to fill that gap for you. Unfortunately, unless you want to go mock a movie relentlessly, you’re probably better off staying home. The first film, a remake of a 1972 Charles Bronson movie, was a gritty action flick that kind of fell apart toward the end. The new film never gets things together enough for them to fall apart. This feels like someone took pages out of a bunch of cheesy old action flicks, shuffled them together, and started filming. Sadly, it doesn’t have the charm of those campy

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Keanu

Keanu

Directed by: Peter Atencio Starring: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Tiffany Haddish Rated: R for violence, language throughout, drug use and sexuality/nudity Fans of the TV show “Key & Peele” have real reason to celebrate: the comedy duo’s new film, “Keanu,” includes many of the things that made the show great. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele successfully transition to the big screen and bring us an action movie with two hilariously regular dudes at the center of it. For added comedy and pathos, their motivation is a hyper-adorable, fluffy kitten. Rell (Peele) has just gone through a bad breakup. In his darkest hour, when life seems to have no meaning, a kitten appears on his doorstep. He names the little guy Keanu and adopts him – completely unaware that the cute ball of fluff is the escaped pet of a local drug dealer. When his place is broken into and Keanu goes missing, Rell strongarms his

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Olympus Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen

There’s a type of action movie that requires a lot of its audience. You have to suspend not just your disbelief, but also your common sense. If you’re willing to do that, it’ll give you the ride of your life – but if you’re not, you are in for an unpleasant time. “Olympus Has Fallen” is definitely this type of action movie.

The Last Stand

The Last Stand

Directed by: Jee-woon Kim Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eduardo Noriega, Jaime Alexander, Luis Guzman, Zach Gilford, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville Rated: R for strong bloody violence throughout, and language It’s been eight years since we’ve seen Arnold Schwarzenegger in any major role other than Governor of California, and he’s picked a perfect film for his comeback. “The Last Stand” is built from the same stock as the big action flicks he was making in the 80s. It’s got a simple setup, all the major tropes, and plenty of cartoonish, over-the-top gunplay. Even better, unlike a lot of recent homages to the action flicks of the 80s, it doesn’t bother trying to be gritty. This is the real deal: fun, explosions, and no thinking necessary. Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) is the sheriff of a tiny border town in Arizona called Sommersville Junction. He’s been a lawman for a long time, and when a couple of truckers show up

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The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Firstly, a confession: I have not read “The Hunger Games” books. This is actually something of an advantage, going into a movie adaptation without knowledge of the original material, because I can’t be disappointed by bad versions of favorite scenes or saved from confusion by having read the book. Unfortunately, it means I can’t really tell you how the film compares to the book. What I can tell you is that it’s a solid and exciting movie.

Safe House

Safe House

There’s a certain pleasure in seeing a familiar job done well with a slightly new mix of tools, and that’s just what “Safe House” is. There’s not much new about this CIA double-cross story, but the setting, actors, cinematography, and story details are a new combination, and it’s enjoyable watching familiar gears mesh and turn in the new setup.

Haywire

Haywire

There’s a lot to like in Steven Soderbergh’s new film, “Haywire,” but there’s a lot that doesn’t quite come together. The director is reportedly planning to take a sabbatical once his currently in-progress films are wrapped, to get a fresh start, and it’s easy to interpret the uneven pacing and cinematography in “Haywire” as him reaching for something fresh. The film is still enjoyable, particularly during the fight scenes.