The Last Diamond

A French heist movie that hits all the right spots. Recently released from prison Simon is pulled into 'one last job' by his former crew. The planning, the intrigue, the police, the love, the improvising... how will it actually end. Love a good heist film.

4 stars (out of 5)

The Battle for Sevastapol

The story of a girl in WWII Ukraine who joins the military to fight Nazis. Over the course of her career, she becomes one the the deadliest snipers in the entire Soviet force. Written and produced in Russia/Ukraine, this biopic pulls no punches in showing the cruelty of war to all involved, enemy or friend.
3 stars (out of 5)

xXx: Return of Xander Cage

The xXx program is an off-book, special program that the US government uses to solve problems that the laws won't allow it to solve. The xXx agents are all highly trained with special skill-sets usually acquired in the X-games. This installment finds the agents pursuing Pandora's Box, an electronic gadget that can break any encryption and that the bad guys are using to crash satellites into the earth. Of course there are good good-guys and there are bad good-guys and there are good bad-guys and the fun of this film comes partly from sorting all those out. The rest of the fun comes from the stunts and ridiculous action sequences. As a sucker for both of these types of fun, I call this movie a win.

3 stars (out of 5)

The Founder

The historical fiction story of Ray Kroc and his "founding" of McDonalds Corp. The short version of the plot is that Ray is a midwest salesman who encounters the McDonalds brothers and their restaurant in San Bernardino. He enters into an agreement with them to be their franchise liaison and, after a bit of success, takes over the company. The impact of the film, however, is not just a relaying of the history of the company. Instead, it is a commentary on capitalism. I am sure that every person who watches, probably dependent on their existing bias, will "see" a different message - critique or praise - about capitalism. In the end, do I feel bad for the McDonald brothers? Do I hold Kroc at fault for his enthusiasm and hustle? Or is the world a better place because of how this story played out? A great portrayal of this story, and well suited for discussion with friends over coffee afterward.

4 stars (out of 5)