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Many years since the death of their leader, Caesar, the primates of earth have become divided in their ways of life. Now, with the arrival of an unusual human visitor, Mae (Freya Allan), a young chimp, Noa (Owen Teague), is challenged in his own beliefs, turning his own world upside down; on a journey to save his clan, Noa, will have to make decisions that could further impact the relationship between humans and apes on a greater scale. And, what of this new Proximus Ceasar (Kevin Durand) and his own trajectory to subvert human technology? Will the humans and apes ever co-exist in harmony?Written by Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver and Directed by Wes Ball this continuation of the Apes franchise continues to offer up impressive visual effects, largely utilizing motion capture technology and CGI to create a stunning illusion. But, from a screenplay and story angle a relatively stale and archetypal hero’s journey awaits the viewer in almost paint by number form leaving little suspense to the film’s conclusion and setup for…wait for it…another Planet of the Apes film. Sure the film works as a carrier for a recounting of present day politics through the sci-fi allegorical lens, but the tact used is relatively thin and there’s little new ground tread. Regardless, fans will still find plenty to enjoy, just don’t overthink the physics of liquids when it gets to act three. Running two hours and twenty five minutes in length, a sharper razor in the editor’s booth would have been appreciated, still, perhaps worthy as a matinee or a rental/stream later. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is rated PG-13.

After falling on hard times Stuntman, Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling), gets a call to help an old flame now budding movie director, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). Meanwhile, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the lead actor in Jody’s film has gone missing; fortunately, Colt knows a thing or two about Tom and possibly how to find him. Now, transporting his skills as a stuntman to a bounty hunter, Colt will have to race against the clock to save Jody’s film, the movie star, and his love life all at once.Written by Drew Pearce and Glen Larson and Directed by David Leitch, a former stuntman himself, this homage to the stunt community and loose interpretation of the 1980’s television series serves as a fun palate for Gosling and Blunt to ignite their on screen chemistry, an X-factor these two have in truckloads, which is in fact the saving grace for this otherwise thinly outlined plot. Of course the stunts are big, the explosions are bigger, the thrills, chills, and spills ensure your seat best be securely fastened to the floor. It’s mission accomplished for fun, but let’s not be too hasty on the mental acuity accolades. Running just over two hours of runtime, the end credits are a must watch featuring some of the more impressive behind the scenes shots, stunt actors, and outtakes from the actual film production. It’s fun, unchallenging material for your weekend viewing pleasure, The Fall Guy is rated PG-13.

Before the United States entered the European Theatre of World War II, Nazi Germany controlled the Atlantic Ocean with a fierce presence of U-boats, and, with England on the brink of collapse to Hitler’s demands, Churchill (Rory Kinnear) would task Brigadier Gubbins (Cary Elwes) to assemble a team of unlikely military personnel with a do or die mission that could turn the tides for the allies. Now, Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill), Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson), Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer), Marjorie Stewart (Eiza Gonzalez), Heron (Babs Olusanmokun), Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) and Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding) will have to find their way to the secret and remote islands used by the Nazi’s for refueling the U-boat fleet, sabotage the support, and reclaim the Atlantic– after all, the world depends on their success. Written by Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Arash Amel, and Guy Ritchie and Directed by Ritchie with Jerry Bruckheimer slated as one of the Producers, this amped up war story features many of the signature elements for a Guy Ritchie film, witty dialogue, bare knuckle and brutal fights, testosterone driven mania, a smoke show femme fatal, cartoonish bad guys, corruption, the whole lot, yet all somehow softened. A move that seems to strip the story of its amphetamine driven rage and instead aims for a wider audience with more Hollywood glitz and combat razzmatazz approach; which, one might speculate is the Bruckheimer influence. Which isn’t to say the film is bad, but rather, less sharp, less edgy, and ultimately less Ritchie. Instead of the bottled lightning of previous works such as Snatch or even Sherlock Holmes, this go round the spark feels out of sync within the cylinder and the piston. On the positive, score provided by Christopher Benstead is catchy and sufficiently paints a whimsical Morricone inspired Spaghetti Western cap to the project. Not Bad for a matinee that almost overstays its welcome at two hours of runtime. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is rated R.