BALLERINA: This was a blast. I didn’t expect to have as much fun with this as I did, especially since the first 40 felt like a repeat of the other WICK movies. Then one scene suddenly turns awesome; after that it’s a great ride. Ana De Armas holds her own, and it fits perfectly in the Wickverse.

Also, I was going to go three and a half stars, then one duel in the last thirty pushed it over to four. You’ll know it when you see it. (Not the duel you think.)

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA - I’m just about ready to tap out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe altogether. I’m sure a lot happens in this, and it certainly looks shiny enough, but I can’t for the life of me relate to any of it. Sorry. Think I’m done.

DUNE PART TWO: Epic filmmaking on a scale that we haven’t seen since THE RETURN OF THE KING. I will be seeing this again, many times. I loved Timotheé Chalamet in this, as the reluctant messiah called to challenge the universe. What a movie. Tremendously great.

DUNE PART TWO doesn’t get David Lynch-weird, but it does get weird. There are some interesting choices made in the story that differ from the novel; Villeneuve was definitely paying attention when people complained of the white savior narrative.