Assassin Ladybug finds himself on a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto in order to grab a briefcase of money, but the task reveals itself not so simple as Ladybug discovers he’s not the only assassin on the train looking for the briefcase.

Bullet Train is everything I’ve wanted from an original action movie for a long time — bold, unpredictable, brutal, and irreverent. David Leitch colors the titular train with a lively style and makes the action unhinged and genuinely thrilling. Brad Pitt is no less an action badass than in the days of Fight Club, Troy and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. He gives the character a lot of humor in that he’s an assassin trying to find inner peace and avoid violence — guess how well that works out for him. But it’s hard to call a single character weak or overshadowed by Pitt. Joey King delivers her best ever turn as a deceitful young assassin, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson gives the film some excellent quips. His screen time with Brian Tyree Henry, who’s the film’s highlight, is the most heartfelt aspect of a film in which hitmen are all trying to kill each other. Henry’s talent radiates a special hysterical charm and will make you laugh and smile the most out of all the characters, not to mention he’s one of the most exciting actors these days. Even Bad Bunny, in his acting debut, does a solid job, and Zazie Beetz kills it in a minor role, and in my opinion the most underutilized performer of the film, considering she’s one of the best actresses in the film’s cast. Not to mention a lot of familiar faces that I was surprised were even in the movie, so stay away from the cast list before you see this one.

Bullet Train‘s script feels reminiscent of Guy Ritchie’s most uncompromising films, like Snatch, RocknRolla and The Gentlemen, in which you have to choose your alliances among a cast of criminal characters and anyone could bite the dust. Not to mention the script never takes itself seriously for a second, incorporating flashbacks, a vibrant soundtrack, and unexpected laugh-out-loud humor. The editing is where the film both shines and sometimes falters, as there are a few moments of unnecessarily aggressive cuts during scenes where there’s either action that could’ve used more wide shots, or explanations for events you’ve already seen play out. There’s also an exposition monologue at the end that’s easily the low point of the film and some character placements that don’t flow as smoothly in the third act or have no reason to be there. But in the end, only a filmmaker as bold as Leitch could get away with making something so much fresher than any other $100 million action movie you’ll see on the big screen today that’s not a sequel. Bullet Train has so much going twistiness, vulgarity and blood going for it, yet it’s the cheeky wit, exuberant performances, and relentless style that makes this ride such a welcome one.

Nicolas Cage, down on his luck at a creative, financial and personal crossroads, attends a superfan’s birthday party in Spain for $1 million, but must soon become a real life action hero when he finds himself in real danger and conflict.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is refreshingly meta about the movie industries and its stars — a sort of hybrid between Adaptation and Lethal Weapon. It’s a tribute to the magic of movies and movie stars, and the diversity of Nicolas Cage’s films, including the absurdity of some of his roles and personas, as well as the large fan following he’s retained throughout the years. The movie has some direct references to his various roles, from his Oscar-caliber roles in Leaving Las Vegas and Adaptation to his action blockbuster hits such as Face/Off, The Rock and Con Air, and his more recent indie ventures like Mandy. But they also namedrop Moonstruck, National Treasure, Gone in 60 Seconds, and even The Croods: A New Age, I mean what more could you ask for in a movie about Nic Cage? Within all of this, it’s both a meta commentary to the kinds of scripts and films audiences like — as Cage has been in some of every type — and a laugh-out-loud buddy comedy between Cage and the wonderful Pedro Pascal. Though Cage embraces and pokes fun at himself as, well, himself, Pascal plays Cage’s biggest fan and new best friend who may or may not be a dangerous arms dealer. Pascal’s line delivery, exaggeration and lovability makes him an undeniable delight to watch. So it has something for people looking for an intricate script about scripts, a tribute to an iconic actor, and an action-packed laugh-out-loud comedy. Not to mention there’s some heart involved as the movie tries to parody the idea of a “mature movie about people and relationships” while genuinely getting you interested in the main two friends.

Though it helps to have watched some of Cage’s most iconic movies (on a personal note, my favorites of his are Face/Off, Adaptation and Raising Arizona), it’s also on the stronger end of crowd-pleasing action comedies and has a little something for everyone, definitely living up to the Massive Talent part of its title.

In the prequel to the Kingsman film series, Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) forms the Kingsman agency during World War I to stop a huge conspiracy to wipe out millions.

In this large, historically-based prequel, Matthew Vaughn’s unique eye for action and wit remain sharp but he ditches the parodical energy of the last two films for a tonal mess of a WWI action film that takes itself too seriously. Obviously, war is not a joke but the movie already makes fun of the figures behind WWI with its caricatures of Rasputin, Kaiser Wilhelm, King George and Tsar Nicholas (the latter three all being played by the same actor, to make things sillier). So with this Inglorious Basterds-like irreverence the movie plays around with, why not make the entire movie a comedy like the last two movies? The script tries way too hard to teach a somber lesson about violence, but the problem is the movie thrives on the over-the-top carnage seen on screen. The movie is a tonal mess, with the film trying to be both a cartoonish spy comedy and attempting to deconstruct war and lessons around what violence is, as well as having serious, intense scenes on the Western Front that feel like something out of a completely different movie. To make matters worse, the characters all feel flat and the supporting roles, like those of Gemma Arteron and Djimon Honsou, have no agency of their own. Ralph Fiennes is the only actor who gets a fully realized character and he can obviously do no wrong as a performer.

The action and music shine here — as soon as the action begins, the energy kicks in, with thrilling choreography, score (the Kingsman theme that recurs throughout the franchise can never get old), and set pieces. The action and humor play off each other well in these sequences, and Vaughn is an expert at crafting action scenes that grab your attention but are still unapologetically witty and crazy. If I were ever to watch this movie again, though, I would skip all the boring drama and go straight to the awesome action scenes. Instead of embracing the wild and sharp fun the action brings the film, it’s brought done by serious attempts to be a WWI drama, Unfortunately, in the more serious scenes, it feels detached from its audience, and creates a tonally confused movie that can’t decide what it wants to be. The original Kingsman film spoofed James Bond-like spy films while being a terrific example of one. This one missed an opportunity to lean completely into satirizing the politics of war while having an actually fun and wondrous action adventure, but it lacks the unapologetic confidence, energy, adventurousness and irreverence of the last two.

Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and many other of the most notorious villains from the DC Universe are recruited by Amanda Waller to join a mission to liberate the South American island of Corto Maltese from a murderous regime that’s conducting shady experiments. In, exchange the villains get 10 years off their prison sentences if they successfully complete the mission, but if they fail, they’re dead.

DC’s ambitious 2016 endeavor Suicide Squad was a massive failure and disappointment that’s easily at the bottom of the DC Extended Universe ranking when discussing quality. This new sequel, written and directed by James Gunn, the man behind the Guardians of the Galaxy films, is without a doubt at the top of that ranking. The Suicide Squad does its brilliant concept justice this time, throwing away everything that didn’t work about the original and acting as a hilarious, goofy, energetic action-packed wonder that stands beautifully on its own. While the first film aimed to be goofy and comedic, it still had this dark, gritty edge to it which it struggled to balance with a PG-13 rating and fantastical, world-ending conflicts. This movie is colorful and indulges in the goofiness without ever taking itself seriously, yet the characters and story hit home further. The action set pieces are memorable and the R rating helps this movie fully realize its potential with balls-to-the-wall, cartoonish violence that fits with the twisted nature of the characters while still injecting humor and fun through the R rated violence and jokes. The movie also diverges from many superhero movie tropes by focusing less on the huge fantastical concepts and letting you know that nobody is safe.

The characters in this film are even sillier than in the first movie, and some even viler, but the movie makes them incredibly fun and lively to watch, even when there’s carnage to behold. There’s no way you can get enough of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn — she adds so much to the movie and both this and Birds of Prey have made the style as insane as her, to make her this psychotic yet somehow lovable and exciting protagonist in the most awesome way. However, the other cast members’ work rival hers here. Idris Elba can do no wrong as Bloodsport and he has some great banter with John Cena’s Peacemaker — they’re both very foul people but have some of the best moments of the movie. Joel Kinnaman also has some memorable moments this time as Rick Flag, and Viola Davis plays the menacing Amanda Waller who is trying to make the Suicide Squad do some good but may be more hatable than all the actual criminals in the film — which is a testament to Davis’ terrific casting and presence. A standout has to be Ratcatcher 2, played by Daniela Melchior who gives the movie lots of heart and empathy. Like I said before, the movie continuously embraces the ridiculousness it presents without trying to put a “sane” lens onto it, as shown with wild concepts like characters named Polka-Dot Man and King Shark (a talking shark voiced by Sylvester Stallone). James Gunn’s direction adds a twisted comedy yet so much care for the story and the people in it while not trying to contribute to the bigger DC universe with forced sequel setups which we’ve seen plenty of lately. From the eye-popping action set pieces to the daring style to the standalone nature of the story, it stands out not just as a great comic book movie but as a great movie, period.

The Suicide Squad shows what the DC universe can do when it gives filmmakers full creative freedom and don’t take themselves too seriously. Even with other R-rated superhero comedies like Deadpool around, The Suicide Squad feels really fresh and with the success of Joker and the entertaining Birds of Prey, DC has been figuring out how to make some gems that stand well on their own while differentiating themselves from Marvel and other superhero iterations.