Mission Impossible: Fallout

A solid run. With Fallout, MI has now bested Bond as a more consistent action spy franchise and is clearly outrunning Matt Damon's self-destructing Bourne series. I'm no Tom Cruise fan, but this is his perfect gig. In a cgi-mad world, it's especially riveting to know that the over-the-top stunts involved the 56-year old Cruise, who famously never uses a stunt man. The jaw-dropping scenes, and there are many, are better on screen for it.
 

The supporting cast is strong. Ving Rhames and (an under-used) Simon Pegg return. Angela Basset joins. As does a mustached Henry Cavil (Man of Steel). Although Cavill fights often with convincing dialogue and sentences strung together, his fight scenes hit high marks. The bathroom brawl was one of the best action scenes in the series. Or maybe it was the chase through the streets of Paris. Or maybe one of a dozen others in this non-stop flick.
 
All this plus co-stars Belfast, Berlin, Paris, London and Kashmir. This series is going to run a long time.
 
In a nutshell: Accept this mission.

Award potential: Expect some technical nominations.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.

Three Identical Strangers

"It's uncanny.”

If you are a little older than I, you may have seen the 1980’s newspaper articles or photos in People magazine about three identical twins from New York who were separated at birth and found each other in their twenties. I missed this global sensation at the time, so of course I found this documentary on their lives engrossing — times three.

But there’s more. And I’m not telling. Three Identical Strangers is a lean-forward documentary that opens, closes, reopens and potentially closes the book on nature versus nurture. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

In a nutshell: You’ll experience every emotion while watching this documentary; it's one of the best films of the year.

Award potential: It’s a shoo-in for Best Film Documentary, which should make this the first film Madonna appeared in to be nominated in a major category, courtesy of a cameo from Desperately Seeking Susan. 

The ten buck review: Double your pleasure. Triple your pleasure. Worth ten bucks 

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Small rewards.

I’ll keep this review, er, short. Ant-Man and the Wasp held a tiny, minuscule bit of attention and provided a few laughs while watching, but no one is going to remember this movie by the time they get to the car. 

In a nutshell: The dumbest Marvel plot ever, but Paul Rudd makes it all worthwhile as a two-hour retreat from the summer heat.

Award potential: None.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.