Atomic Blonde (2017)

Every bit as entertaining and glossy as it seems, Charlize Theron’s debut as a spy is basically a well-done, visually striking and entertaining version of 2010’s “Salt.” Theron is a terrific lead here, playing with a nudge and a wink but without missing a damn beat during the action set-pieces, which are exciting and surprisingly grisly. The movie moves at breakneck speed and is blessed with a pitch-perfect semi-serious tone, along with strong supporting work from James McAvoy and Sofia Boutella. Director David Leitch is perfectly at ease with the source material (the 2012 graphic novel “The Coldest City”) and proves to be a confident visual storyteller, but really this is Theron’s movie, and she’s just perfect for the role. Watch for an incredibly tense and effective sequence halfway through, as Theron attempts to transport a whistleblower through crowded streets while tailed by snipers.

Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

Where to start with Luc Besson’s hallucinatory, adolescent, sci-fi soap opera? First, the good: The special effects and alien designs are mind-blowing, the kind of cornucopia of inventiveness that inevitably lead to comparisons to similar sci-fi epics like “Avatar” and “Star Wars,” not to mention Besson’s own “The Fifth Element” (which, retroactively, seems to have “borrowed” extensively from “Valerian and Laureline,” the French graphic novel this movie is based on). There’s so much visual splendor that it’s just about impossible to take all of it in after just one viewing, with first-rate special effects and creature designs filling every shot. Now, the bad: The screenplay and the acting are distractingly amateurish, with jarring, teen-show banter by execrable leads Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne sticking out like a sore thumb and preventing the audience from becoming fully immersed in the movie itself. In addition, a variety of distracting cameos (from Ethan Hawke to Rihanna to Herbie Hancock, etc) add to the film’s structural woes, resulting in a visually astonishing, barely coherent and poorly acted mess that makes “Jupiter Ascending” seem restrained and cohesive in comparison. Still though, what an incredible spectacle.

Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not particularly well-versed in the Marvel Universe, having seen a few of the early Marvel superhero movies (2008’s “Iron-Man” and “The Incredible Hulk”) and then not much else since. However, I found myself having a great time watching this latest one: It’s not particularly complicated, it’s entertaining and well-paced, and the supporting cast (in particular Michael Keaton and the always-welcome Marisa Tomei) fit it perfectly well. However, this movie is all about Tom Holland as the young Spider-Man: He’s charismatic, camera-ready, and has a knack for delivering expository dialogue with a nudge and a wink (not unlike the late Anton Yelchin). I personally was not excited for yet another Spider-Man movie (this being the sixth since 2002), but I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining it is, and how the cast, director, writers and crew make it all seem effortless. A terrific summer diversion that’s completely suitable for the whole family without being toothless or neutered.

Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

The Mummy (2017)

The alleged reboot of Universal’s “The Mummy” is a remake in name only: Other than the title, nothing else has to do with the original film. Instead, we’re treated to a tiresome, repetitive Tom Cruise vehicle that seems to have been made primarily as a vanity project for the superstar. Cruise’s performance is overbearing from the very first frame to the last, and he’s essentially playing Tom Cruise Action Star: There’s nothing he can’t figure out, no battle he won’t win and no one he can’t charm, for no reason other than the script says so. With his co-stars neutered by his megalomaniac performance, there’s nothing for the audience to do except wait for the preposterous running time to end. Sofia Boutella manages to infuse the movie with brief shots of life here and there, demonstrating real charisma and menace in the title role, but her inexplicably limited screen time doesn’t allow her to completely rescue the movie from Cruise’s off-putting vanity.

Rating: ★★ (out of 5)

Wonder Woman (2017)

Truly a triumph of casting, writing and directing, this massive superhero enterprise manages to get most things right. Gal Gadot makes a powerful, charismatic titular superhero, with great assist from Chris Pine, perfectly cast here as both foil and romantic interest that never feels reductive for either character. Director Patty Jenkins tackles the project with clear-eyed confidence, including some truly awe-inspiring battle shots that recall the graphic novel roots without pandering to them, while also simultaneously managing to honor Wonder Woman’s visual branding without being silly nor straying too far. The movie starts to lag towards the middle but the thunderous and emotionally compelling climax more than makes up for it. While most of the movie’s elements come together well (not to mention great support from Ewen Bremner, Said Taghmaoui and the always-compelling Robin Wright, among others), no “Wonder Woman” review can be complete without noting Lucy Davis as Pine’s assistant Etta, who provides much of the movie’s comedic relief without ever becoming one-note or a joke herself.

Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

Baywatch (2017)

I suppose it’s the trend du jour to bash this adaptation of the supremely silly show, and while admittedly it’s no “21 Jump Street,” “Baywatch” does exactly what it sets out to do: It’s entertaining, charming, funny, and a pleasure to watch if you can accept the movie on its own terms. Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron are the well-paired leads who share a considerable amount of chemistry, as does the supporting cast as a matter of fact, and while it’s surely overlong and a little unnecessarily heavy on the plotting, the movie is like a day at the beach with good friends and I found myself getting sucked into the dynamics and all the juvenile jokes. It’s a good ol’ escapist fantasy that doesn’t try to be anything it’s not, and manages to avoid the icky sexism of the original show.

Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Alternately riveting and disappointing, Ridley Scott’s follow-up to 2012’s divisive “Prometheus” feels stuck somewhere between Scott’s evident desire to open up the mythology of the series, and paying lip-service to fans of the series disappointed by the lack of xenomorphs in its predecessor. While the first half is tense and intriguing, the second half gradually takes on a formula more appropriate for slasher movies, with a jarring tonal shift at about the halfway point. The acting is solid and the special effects are terrific, but the many nods to previous movies in the series gradually begin to wear thin, and with Scott stubbornly refusing to answer the questions he posed with his predecessor while also introducing new ones, the movie becomes more and more frustrating until its anticlimactic ending sucks the energy out of the room. There’s still plenty of material to explore with the “Alien” series, but after this perhaps it’s time for Scott to step aside, as he has become increasingly inconsistent and rather sloppy.

Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

After a rough start, this big-budget adaptation of the 1995 anime classic (itself an adaptation of a 1989 manga) finally finds its footing with the introduction of Michael Carmen Pitt, but getting there is a bit of a slog. Director Rupert Sanders clearly has a reverence both for the source material and for the genre in general, laying on the visuals very thick and recreating memorable moments from the anime, but there’s so much going on at once on screen that it can be hard to focus on any one thing, so the movie begs for a few viewings. Scarlett Johansson is well-cast in the lead even though it doesn’t require much of her, and both Pitt and Juliette Binoche make strong impressions in supporting roles. All in all, this is neither a masterpiece nor a disaster, stuck somewhere in between the glorious, demented energy of “The Fifth Element” and the peculiar joylessness of “Jupiter Ascending.”

Rating:  ★★★ (out of 5)