The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) - 3/5

This movie is a by-the-numbers spy film that is reminiscent of both Mission: Impossible and James Bond. It unfortunately doesn’t utilize any of the dark antics or snappy editing that the director Guy Richie is known for. The premise has a lot of promise, but the constant bickering among the central three characters drags the film down considerably. Still, it has excellent production values and a capable enough plot to carry it through. Also, Henry Cavill’s accent goes in and out, for what it’s worth.

Content warning: brief female nudity

Closest comparison: It’s like Where Eagles Dare by way of Skyfall.

Setting: Adventure
Plot: Espionage
Tone: Action

The Witcher (Season 1, Netflix) - 4/5

This is a dark, violent, low fantasy show with excellent production values. The character-driven plot provides a refreshing take on the monster-of-the-week style of TV show. The action choreography in the first few episodes is outstanding, and the swordplay in particular is unparalleled among filmed sword combat. The first five episodes are easily 5/5 material; it’s not that the last three are terrible, they are just disappointing after such an auspicious beginning. Still, it’s the perfect bounce-back for disappointed fans from the last season of Game of Thrones.

Content warning: bloody violence, crass language, and lots and lots of nudity.

Closest comparison: It’s like Constantine (2005) by way of Game of Thrones.

Setting: Dark Fantasy
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Political Intrigue / Adventure

Mission Impossible: Fallout - 5/5

It's really really good. Its 2h27min runtime packed full of chases and missions, with just enough time in between for the audience to catch its breath. There are solid performances all around and impressive cinematography both technically and viscerally. A return to form in many ways, this is almost as good as the 1996 original. A few problems with luckiness, a few poor lines of dialogue, and some overly convoluted backstories are all that kept this from being a 5/5.

Originally I gave this movie a 4/5, but over time all of the issues with it proved to be only nit picks which places it squarely in the 5/5 category.

Justice League - 3/5

This is actually being rather generous. It's really a 2.5 but I had to pick a direction. The fight scenes are ok but uninspired and the writing is really really bad, especially in the dialogue. Everything is oversexualized and the way it's edited shows Joss Whedon tried to minimize that aspect as much as possible when he took over directing in the last month or so of film production. On the plus side it's colorful and the Flash has some funny lines with good delivery. Mostly a dud, but not a dumpster fire like Batman v Superman.

Full disclosure, we saw this movie last week but accidentally missed the first 30 minutes and didn't realize it until we got out and it wasn't as late as it should have been. We re-watched it today and my opinion of it actually didn't change that much. If it were a made for TV movie or a 90's direct to video special I would have said it wasn't too bad. But as it's a $300 million blockbuster it's hard to imagine how nobody on the production team threw up the red flag before it was released.