Elizabeth Debicki

It was never going to be easy to match the impact of 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, which jolted the Marvel franchise to life with its fresh comedy and freewheeling adventure. This sequel is still a lot of fun, but it's also far more controlled, a conventional, plot-based step of the Marvel universe. And all of the characters are angry about everything and everyone. Thankfully, there's also an emotionality that sneaks into the final act.

Now working as a team, the bickering Guardians just manage to complete their latest mission when Rocket (Bradley Cooper) makes an enemy of a tenacious high priestess (Elizabeth Debicki). Her fleet chases them into an encounter with Ego (Kurt Russell), a god-like being who claims to be the father of Guardian leader Peter (Chris Pratt). So Peter takes Gamora and Drax (Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista) to check out Ego's planet, while Rocket and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) fend off both the priestess and Peter's old mentor Yondu (Michael Rooker), who arrives with a large posse. And then there's Gamora's perpetually furious sister Nebula (Karen Gillan), who's on the rampage, determined to get revenge against everyone who has slighted her.

There's an underlying rage that drives everyone's actions, and the constant screaming matches become exhausting as the film progresses. The worst offender is Rocket, who expresses his perpetual aggravation in a stream of tetchy tirades. Thankfully, the dialogue is sharply written, with wicked insults to keep the audience smirking along. And there's also a nice sense that all of this fury is masking a deeper affection these misfits have for each other, which boils over in some remarkably strong dramatic scenes. Pratt and Russell are both terrific, seizing every chance to play with the comedic and dramatic notes. There are nice moments for Rooker, Saldana and Gillan, plus some witty cameos. And while Baby Groot is almost painfully adorable, it's Bautista's hilariously open-hearted Drax who steals the show.

Continue reading: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Review

Shakespeare's Scottish play returns to the big screen with earthy energy, visual style and roaring performances. Acclaimed Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) takes an artistic approach that makes terrific use of sweeping landscapes and harsh weather, which allows the cast to put their guts into their roles. Yet while the film looks absolutely amazing, the sound mix is so muddled that anyone unfamiliar with the play will find it difficult to follow.

Michael Fassbender plays Macbeth, an 11th century general who has just triumphed on the Highland battlefield but is struggling internally after he and Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard) lost their infant child. So when three witches tell him that he is destined to become king, his wife encourages him to make it happen sooner rather than later. In secret, Macbeth murders King Duncan (David Thewlis) and pins the blame on his son Malcolm (Jack Reynor), who flees in fear, raising suspicion. Now on the throne, King and Queen Macbeth are overwhelmed by paranoia about any hint of a threat to their power, raising distrust of loyal friends like Banquo (Paddy Considine) and Duncan's defender Macduff (Sean Harris). Meanwhile, Malcolm has raised an army in England and is coming back to claim his title.

This is one of Shakespeare's bleakest, leanest plays, and Kurzel gives it an intriguingly expansive tone by setting most of the action outdoors in the elements rather than in shadowy castle corridors. In addition to adding a gritty, muddy kick, this allows the battle sequences to take on a Lord of the Rings-scale intensity. So the effect of this violence on the characters is that much more resonant. Lady Macbeth turns inward, tormenting herself in an extended dream sequence, while Macbeth goes the other way, killing anyone who seems even remotely shifty. But of course they also understand that their ambition and guilt are causing these extreme reactions.

Continue reading: Macbeth Review

Adopting a deliciously groovy vibe, Guy Ritchie turns the iconic 1960s TV spy series into a flashy action-comedy. There's absolutely nothing to this frothy romp, but it's packed with hilarious characters and lively action scenes that continually surprise the audience with inventive twists on the genre. And it just might turn the suave, fast-talking Henry Cavill and the brooding, engaging Armie Hammer into A-list stars in the process.

It opens in 1963 East Berlin, where ex-con CIA operative Napoleon Solo (Cavill) is trying to help sexy mechanic Gaby (Alicia Vikander) escape to the West, chased by his nemesis, KGB agent Illya Kuryakin (Hammer). Gaby's father is a nuclear scientist on the verge of selling his secrets to a rogue Italian billionaire couple (Elizabeth Debicki and Luca Calvani) so, even though the Cold War is raging, the CIA and KGB decide to cooperate on the mission. This means that rivals Solo and Illya must work together as they travel to Rome with Gaby, making contact with British agent Waverly (Hugh Grant) and Gaby's creepy uncle (Sylvester Goth). And of course, there are unexpected wrinkles along the way.

As always, Ritchie cleverly subverts each set-piece, letting chase scenes unfold in carefully staged but enjoyably inventive ways, often putting the real action in the background while the characters act as if they're above all this nastiness. As popcorn entertainment, this is first-rate, with a cast that's more than up to the challenge. Cavill is particularly smooth, a Bond-style spy who seems unable to resist seducing every pretty woman he meets. Hammer's role is pricklier, since Illya never quite relaxes, although his petulance makes him just as likeable. Their interplay is snappy and often very funny but, unlike Ritchie's similarly toned Sherlock Holmes movies, this strains to avoid being a bromance. Solo and Illya continue to spy on each other right to the end, maintaining their Cold War distance even as they team up to save the world.

Continue reading: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Review