Papillon - 2 smiles

I always wonder why Hollywood feels compelled to remake movies, especially an effective one. I guess it's for new audiences who would not have seen the Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman Papillon and, obviously, today's movie makers can do it better. With that in mind,  Danish director Michael Noer takes us to penal colonies so dark and bleak that they drive prisoners insane. And while the performances of Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek are good, you have to be in a mood for starvation, madness and harsh physical cruelty. Calling this gritty story of crime, punishment and the unquenchable urge to escape enjoyable is a stretch. Henri Charriere's supposedly true account of his imprisonment in French Guiana and Devil's Island has sold 13 million copies since its 1969 publication and the 1973 film was a hit.

Papillon (Hannum) is a tough safecracker framed for murder and Louis Dega (Malek) is a wealthy dandy caught forging government bonds. When they are convicted, the French courts banish them to the hell of a prison camp in French Guiana, never to return to France even if they survive the length of their sentence. Papillon, nicknamed for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, has no desire to remain stuck in a prison hellhole and he quickly aligns with Dega, who has a considerable amount of money shoved up his rear end, to plot an escape. The task is far from simple, especially under the draconian watch of Warden Barrot (Yorick Van Wageningen), but the jailbirds wind up sticking together through thick and thin, through swamps, seas and years of solitary confinement, to try and make their way to freedom. Hunnam and Malek show intense dedication to the physical demands of the script, but they don't have the level of charisma of McQueen and Hoffman. Noer wisely doubles down on adventure (and not so wisely on the gore), but, ultimately, this "Papillon" has me wondering why it was made.

Mile 22 - 1 frown

"Mile 22" is awful. It is, essentially, a haphazard assemblage of random sounds and images. The story is basic, a race against time, get from point A to point B. Director Peter Berg has so many cuts in this movie that even a fairly good fight scene is so cut up that it's hard to follow. There's grisly, unintelligible violence and Mark Wahlberg talking to fast that, after a while, you don't even care what he's saying. I'm impressed the this movie got made. As a lover of action films, even bad ones, "Mile 22" is vile and entirely unwatchable.

Note: Just read in Entertainment Weekly that Mark Wahlberg is hoping "Mile 22" is the start of a franchise for him. Ugh!! Won't see a second one! Surely Wahlberg can find a better concept for both a franchise and a movie character.

The Spy Who Dumped Me - 2 smiles

"The Spy Who Dumped Me" doesn't know what it wants to be - a buddy road comedy, a fish-out-of-water spy spoof or a romantic dramedy so it ends up being a little of each of these. The best thing about this movie is the chemistry between its leads, Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. A rough breakup is the catalyst for everything that happens and the script, cowritten by director Susanna Fogel and David Iserson, doesn't always make sense. Kunis plays Audrey, the dumpee, who works as a cashier at an organic food store. The guy who ditched her - by text no less - is Justin Theroux's Drew. We meet him in the movie's opening scene, a gritty shootout in Lithuania that suggest he's not just your average boyfriend. Drew, unbeknownst to Audrey, is in the CIA. She figures it out when he comes to Los Angeles and tries to make up with her, but dies from a bullet wound just before he gives her a mission: To bring a special secret thingamajig to an operative who will meet her in a cafe in Vienna. A freaked out Audrey wants nothing to do with this, but her best friend Morgan (McKinnon) convinces her to go forward. The ensuing caper takes the two from Los Angeles to Vienna, then to Paris, Prague and Berlin. Audrey gets to see Europe and tangle with a Russian gymnast-assassin (Ivanna Sakhno) and a handsome spy (Sam Heughan) who may or may not be working for the other side.

There's lots of action, replete with zig-zagging chase scenes and chaotic pandemonium that's not always played for laughs. But between the adventure and surprising amount of violence, it's a comedy in which Kunis and McKinnon trade goofball best-friend wisecracks. Kunis is a perfect foil for the more manic McKinnon, with her calm reactions and 'You've got to be kidding me' eyes. Nonetheless, it's tough to sustain a story line this thin for two hours and the movie runs out of steam at the two-thirds mark. "The Spy Who Dumped Me" mashes several genres together and the resulting mix is just okay.

Crazy Rich Asians - 4 smiles

“Crazy Rich Asaians” is a fun, enjoyable comedy and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy. It manages to incorporate a few serious themes that hit close to home, especially with America’s current hostility toward immigrants. It also features an appealing cast. Based on Kevin Kwan’s popular novel, “Crazy Rich Asians” follows a young couple who, while deeply in love, hit conflict when family gets involved. Rachel (Constance Wu) is an economics professor at NYU and daughter of a single mother who came to the US from China just before she was born. Boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) is the son of a massively rich Singaporean family, unbeknownst to Rachel. Nick is planning a trip back to Singapore for his best friend’s wedding and wants Rachel to go with him. She agrees to go, but is anxious about meeting his mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh). It turns out that Eleanor is even frostier and less welcoming than Rachel feared, Nick is far richer than she could have imagined and she’s greeted as a gold-digging schemer.

This plot is pretty basic. What sets “Crazy Rich Asians” apart is director Jon M. Chu, who orchestrates a lavishly designed circus of excess with threads of class snobbery, family pride and the path of true love running throughout. The one drawback is that there are so many characters that some stories, like that of Nick’s kind, elegant cousin Astrid (Gemma Chan), get short shrift. The two leads, Wu and Golding, are charming and genuine and the supporting cast keep the mad story spinning. Yeoh’s Eleanor is suitably regal although she shows flashes of believable sympathy. Rachel’s mother, played but Singaporean stage and TV actor Tan Kheng Hua, brings warmth to the film’s more serious moments. Others show up for comic relief: Ken Jeon is a nouveau Rich dad with a wardrobe of tacky gold athleisure outfits, Jimmy C. Yang plays an old pal of Nick’s who’s lost in 80s excess. Awkwafina (superb in the recent Ocean’s 8) is a standout as Peik Lin, Rachel’s college chum and sidekick. Rachel reunites with her in Singapore and relies on Peik Lin’s love and support when the going gets rough. By pulling together so much Asian talent, Chu demonstrates that performers of all colors and ethnic backgrounds often goes untapped, just because Hollywood refuses to color outside the lines. Here’s hoping the the box office for “Crazy Rich Asians” will support more movies like this.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again - 3 smiles

I liked the original Mamma Mia, I like ABBA and I liked this sequel although it's really an unnecessary sequel. Most of ABBA's A-list songs were used in the first movie so the majority of "Here We Go Again's" soundtrack is comprised of songs from two categories: B-list tunes that will be familiar to only die-hard ABBA fans and repeats of songs from Mamma Mia. And there are more of the latter than the former, which is a good thing. Also included are two hits that didn't make it into the first film: "Waterloo" and "Fernando." Most of the cast has returned with one notable exception: Meryl Streep. While Streep has a cameo at the end of the movie, her character Donna is dead when the movie begins and only appears in flashbacks, where she's played by another actress (Lily James). This results in a bittersweet tone that brings surprising emotion to the whole production.

Because there's not much story in the present, much of the two-hour running time tells the tale of how Donna became pregnant with Sophie. These extended flashbacks take us 25 years into the past and introduces a new group of actors playing younger versions of the familiar characters. In the present, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is preparing to re-open the Greek island restaurant founded by her mother, who died a year ago. She is joined in this by her mother's lover, Sam (Pierce Brosnan), who has lived on the island since reuniting with his lost love in the first film. Also on hand is Fernando (Andy Garcia), hired to manage the restaurant. Missing in action are Sophie's two other fathers, Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Skellan Skarsgard); her husband, Sky (Dominic Cooper) and her grandmother, Ruby (Cher). Making the trip for the festivities are Donna's best pals, Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters). Meanwhile, in the past we see how a younger Donna leaves Tanya (Jessica Keenan Wynn) and Rosie (Alexa Davies) behind and heads out to see the world, ending up in Greece. Along the way, she has a brief tryst with Harry (Hugh Skinner) before embarking on a wild affair with Sam (Jeremy Irvine). After that ends poorly, she has a fling with Bill (Josh Dylan). The filmmakers do an excellent job of casting the younger versions of familiar characters and Lily James is effective as a young Donna. Cher's version of "Fernando" is top notch. If you enjoyed the first, you'll like the sequel.

Equalizer 2 - 3 smiles

Anton Fuqua's sequel to The Equalizer fits right in with the version of Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) he introduced four years ago when he updated the 80s TV show. This new Equalizer is more brutal than its Edward Woodward predecessor: when McCall fires a gun, it's with intent to kill and when he fights, the goal is to main and injure. And because The Equalizer was profitable, Sony is hoping for a successful franchise. For Denzel Washington, it's the first time he's appeared in a sequel and because Washington doesn't look his age, the audience is willing to suspend disbelief and do with the concept that he helps the innocent by fighting evil.

This time around, McCall is out to avenge the death of a friend. His mission is simple - kill the people involved in the deed. Since The Equalizer is by nature episodic, most of the characters in the first film don't return this time. The exceptions are Melissa Leo's Susan Plummer and Bill Pullman as her husband, Brian. New this time around are McCall's old CIA partner, Dave (Pedro Pascal) and an underprivileged kid living in McCall's neighborhood, Miles (Ashton Sanders). The action transpires across three cities - Brussels, Washington DC and Boston - and involves a group of mercenaries who are intent on 'eliminating loose ends' from two murders they committed. Their attempts to clean things up circle back to Robert and his friends. "Equalizer 2" is a solid follow-up to The Equalizer and here's hoping there will be an "Equalizer 3."

Puzzle - 3 smiles

Director Marc Turtletaub uses jigsaw puzzles as a catalyst for Agnes (a wonderful Kelly Macdonald), a woman stuck in a time-warp, rather than a main plot ingredient. Unfortunately, the movie is hampered by a sluggish pace and a sterile mood that sucks the life out of various emotionally-charged scenes. And the ending is so ambiguous that it's almost as if Turtletaub didn't know how to end his film. Even though the calendar reads 2017, Agnes (Macdonald), a middle-aged mother and wife, is living in the 50s. She's a housewife who exists to serve her husband and children and nothing is more important than having dinner on the table every evening. Shopping requires that she get all the foods that her husband, Louie (David Denham) and adult sons, Gabe (Austin Abrams) and Ziggy (Bubba Weiler) want. She has no life except as it relates to her family. In fact, she even does all the work for her own birthday party. Things change when Agnes opens one of her presents and discovers a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. She puts the puzzle together twice in one afternoon, losing track of time. Wanting more, she catches a train into New York City and finds a jigsaw puzzle shop. Circumstances connect her with Robert (Irrfan Khan), a competitive puzzle participant, and, after some initial reluctance on Agnes' part, they become partners. And as their attraction builds, Agnes discovers herself and begins to act differently.

Macdonald, who normally plays supporting roles, gets a rare chance to take the lead and, by sheer force of her talent, she makes the movie worth seeing. Her portrayal of Agnes is deep and multi-layered. Unfortunately, Irrfan Kahn's Robert is as underdeveloped as is his romantic relationship with Agnes, which results in a lack of chemistry. The three actors comprising Agnes' family are all solid and Denham deserves credit for making Louie a decent man despite being hampered by his 'old-fashioned' values. "Puzzle" is refreshing mainly because it doesn't follow the preparing-for-a-championship storyline that so many films about competitions do.

Mission Impossible: Fallout - 3 smiles

"Mission Impossible: Fallout" is perhaps the most coherent of the Mission Impossible movies. This is especially true since Christopher McQuarrie took over the last two films. Combined together, Rogue Nation and "Fallout" represent the best the series has had to offer, including amped up action and stunts. It's a strong, engaging spy thriller with plenty of twists and relentless pace. However, typical of the genre, there are plot holes that you're not supposed to think about and it's way too long. The series continues to retain certain elements of its TV origins, including the iconic theme and self-destroying mission message. Along with central character, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), many familiar faces have returned as well - Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn and Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell. Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa moves closer to earning the level of love interest although she gets to participate in plenty of action. Newcomers include Angela Bassett as Erica Sloan, the CIA director, Vanessa Kirby as 'White Widow' and Henry Cavill as the buff chief antagonist, Sloan's 'fixer' August Walker. McQuarrie's version of Mission Impossible is bigger, over-the-top action sequences. There are several high-octane scenes, the highlights including a motorcycle chase through Paris streets, a lengthy rooftop chase with Hunt on foot and another that's focused on a helicopter chase. (lots of chases!) The biggest problem is its nearly 2 1/2-hour length, which is exhausting.

Suffice it to say, the plot involves a suitcase containing three globes of plutonium that Ethan loses when he has to choose between it and saving Luther's life. With Hunt chasing after the suitcase, Sloan (Bassett) assigns Walker (Cavill) to go along to insure the job is done the 'right way.' The plutonium is wanted by The Apostles, who are the remnants of The Syndicate, the group dismantled at the end of Rogue Nation when master villain Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) is captured. A broker, White Widow (Kirby) is willing to trade the plutonium to Hunt for a price: Hunt has to kidnap Lane, who is currently in French police custody. Things get complicated, of course. Isla is recruited by MI6 to kill Lane to regain her standing with Britain's spy agency, which brings her in close proximity to Hunt. And while Hunt and Ilsa never kiss, there is palpable chemistry between the two. Cruise isn't too old to credibly play Hunt (and the articles about the stunts he does himself are amazing) and with the success of "Mission Impossible: Fallout," this is one sequel that audiences will enjoy.