Kong: Skull Island:

A rather strange mix that one might call “Apocalypse Now Meets the Giant Ape,” is set at the end of the Viet Nam War as we see various troops being sent home.  That works for some, but there are others who don’t know, nor do they want, any other life.  That’s what happens when a Colonel named Preston (Tom Hiddleston) is commissioned to bring a fighting force along to a remote, recently discovered island by a group of investors.  Preston gets his main man, Captain Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) who heads up an Apache helicopter squadron, to round up his men and head for the mysterious location.  Packard is delighted, as we wouldn’t know what to do without a war to fight.  Once on location, Packard orders the dropping of bombs in order to do a seismic mapping of the area, and that gets the attention of a lot of very bad things, starting with Kong, the giant ape who stands 300 feet tall.  It isn’t long before King has decimated the airpower and soon, we learn that something else is awake on the island.  Giant ants, prehistoric saurian, and worse are all out to get the interlopers.  Great special effects, lots of action, and it’s surprising to see who doesn’t make it to the end.  Rated 14A.

Free Fire:

This crime-drenched heist movie is set in Boston in 1978 and features two rival gangs meeting in a deserted warehouse to complete a money-for-weapons deal engineered by their respective bosses.  Things start to go sideways when the assault rifles agreed upon turn out to be different than expected, but after some manoeuvring, the money changes hands and the guns are loaded onto a truck … It’s all working until one of the gang members recognizes another as someone who assaulted a girlfriend, and soon the fight is on.  This plays out like a videogame with different factions showing up as each “level” is completed.  There is no safety here – people are killed left, right, and centre, and each time it looks like the original guys may get away with the money something bad happens.  Stars Sharlto Copley as the chief baddie, along with Oscar-winner Brie Larson (Room), Armie Hammer, and Cillian Murphy.  In all of this, someone just might be with the FBI.  Rated 18A.

Tommy’s Honour:

Set in Scotland in the midst of the Victorian era, this biographical film, based on fact, takes us into the world of golf, as it was, and how it developed into the game we know today.  It’s the story of Tom Morris (Peter Mullan) and his son Tommy, Jr. (Jack Lowden).   Old Tom is a legend, having developed such things as the idea of a standard 18-hole course, and having won the most prestigious of all tournaments, but his teenage son seems bent on surpassing the old man sooner rather than later. Shot on location at St. Andrews, it also stars Sam Neil.  Rated PG.

Shimmer Lake (2017):

A Netflix exclusive, this one takes a page from the 2000 movie Memento, which starred Guy Pearce, and began at the end and worked its way backwards.  This same technique was spoofed in a Seinfeld episode featuring the marriage of Sue-Ellen Mischke in Europe.  In this new film, distributed by Netflix, we see the story of three small-time criminals and a bank heist gone terribly wrong told from back to front.  Wyatt Russell (22 Jump Street, Table 19) is the sheriff doing the investigation.  Also stars Rainn Wilson (The Office), Ron Livingston (Band of Brothers), and Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter).  Rated 14A.

War on Everyone (2016):

Terry Monroe and Bob Bolano (Alexander Skarsgard, Michael Pena) are two corrupt cops who seem to be getting away pretty much whatever they want.  Every crook, and a few good guys too, unfortunate enough to attract their attentions ends up on the wrong end of blackmail and worse.  A pretty good caper ... until someone else comes along who may be even more dangerous than are Terry and Bob.  A gritty look at law enforcement with a number of double-cross issues and some very tough choices.  Paul Reiser also stars.  Rated 14A.