Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning and Captain America: Brave New World

A pair of action movies!

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning

With the world facing a new threat Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise, still in good running form) is deployed again to do the impossible... defeat AI? Yep. Decent humor and action scenes (except one sword / knife fight with too much slash grappling instead of stabbing) can be found here, and an alright story to boot. I'm glad they dialed down the "this is what we hope will happen" scenes this time around and all up I do think its a stronger story than the previous one, but while it has all the necessary story arcs it certainly is still a "Part I", as it clearly warns in the title sequence. :P

Captain America: Brave New World

With the world powers in a race to claim the resources (adamantium, said to be better than the Wakandan's vibranium) from the newly risen Celestial Island (from the Eternals), new-ish Captain America Sam Wilson (played by Anthony Mackie) becomes tangled in a plot to try keep the peace. Much like the audience he's very self aware that he's not a super soldier, and humorously that Ant-Man kicked his butt that one time. Despite having improved shielding thanks to Wakandan tech his survival in this movie is more dependent on his plot armor and reliance on bad guys missing completely or definitely hitting the center of his shield with bullets. Better than I thought it would be, but still only recommended if you are an Anthony Mackie fan.

Elevation and The Mountain Between Us

Movies about being high up.

Elevation

This post apocalyptic action film stars Anthony Mackie as one of the survivors who lives high up in the mountains where the "horrible creatures who killed every one else" don't go because they have a hard limit to stop at 8000ft elevation. Of course, he soon has a reason to go back down the mountain because stories need conflict! :P Despite the simple story and low number of cast members, the action is decent as is the critter CGI (when they get to it). An ok watch but one that could have been better / feels like a missed opportunity.

The Mountain Between Us

When a pair of impatient travelers (played by Kate Winslet and Idris Elba) decide to book a small charter flight that crashes in a mountainous wilderness, they can only depend on each other to survive. Good thing they also packed some plot armor! This survival drama is much slower paced than Elevation but is alright if you're looking for a less actiony film that focuses on the relationship of the pair. Obviously I preferred Elevation because it has monsters and guns but that's a personal preference. 

Red Sparrow Outside the Wire

Movies with manipulation.

Red Sparrow

A famous Russian ballerina (played by Jennifer Lawrence) is manipulated by her uncle into joining the SVR Sparrow school where she learns the art of sexpionage to use against their USA counter parts. The story is a rather dark one but good, and while there is a bit of violence here, there is obviously much more in terms of nudity (full frontal) and sex. Worth a watch but I'm not sure I'd want to watch it again as the content is a bit "heavy" and the run time a little long.

Outside the Wire

In a future with robot soldiers supporting their human counterparts, war still rages in Ukraine. A drone operator who disobeyed an order is sent to the front lines as punishment to work in a two man team with his superior, Captain Leo (played by Anthony Mackie) who rather quickly reveals he is an experimental android and their mission is to find "lost nuclear silos" in the region. Uh. Really? You have freaking robots, drones, satellites and you need to walk around ask where these things are? The drone operator could have used a stronger actor too. That aside there's an ok movie in here, but its not one you need to rush out and see.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Baron Zemo steals the show.

Another strong superhero show from Marvel, this one focusing on two of the now inactive Captain America's closest friends: Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who are both trying to get back to living post-Thanos.

I think Marvel is onto a winner making these short series. Helps avoid filler!

With a decent budget, great action scenes and most importantly excellent character development this six episode series is a must watch. Even if it's just for the scene stealing Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl). I like it better than Wandavision and give it four shields out of five.

Altered Carbon

Only your digital self is true.

In a future where people exist as tiny hard drives the human body has become disposable. These "sleeves" can be upgraded, cloned, enhanced and worn by anyone. Anyone who has the money to afford it that is - making the rich near immortals. This also makes it super easy for the show to keep characters while switching their actors around at will, such as the main protagonist Takeshi Kovacs (played by Joel Kinnaman, Anthony Mackie, Will Yun Lee, and more).

This is all the same character.

Season 1 sees him solving a murder mystery with a twist while Season 2 has him chasing his own past. Both of these are very well produced, are well written and are quite effective as stand alone stories by themselves. As a bonus (for me) there is tons of violence and gratuitous nudity, especially in season one. Highly recommend this series. I give it 4 stacks out of 5 and would rewatch both.