Check them out below:

10. John Wick 2

It’s never a wise move to stab the devil in the back, and that’s exactly what happens to Keanu Reeves legendary assassin John Wick. And that leads to plenty of PAYBACK! Director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves cranked the adrenaline up again, and the results were amazing. Reeves again showed off his skilled gun-fu moves as he spun, bullets, blades and even a pencil or two to eliminate his targets. And let’s not forget the film’s intense museum shootout or it’s shocking climatic scene! Yep, John Wick 2 was one phenomenal piece of action cinema and made for a wicked time out at the movies.

9. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

She’s one of the 20th Century’s most defining pop culture symbols and director Angela Robinson made a bold attempt to tell the untold story of Wonder Woman’s creation which really paid off. Stars Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote were all in top form and crafted an incredible multi-dimensional relationship between the three of them. And did we mention that Professor Marston and the Wonder Women was one hot watch? Robinson and her performers embraced the underlying sensuality and sexuality of Wonder Woman’s kinky past, and there was plenty of hot tie and tease action up on screen. Love and creation were firmly at the core of this magnificent picture and it really made an impression on us.

8. The Lost City of Z

What does it mean to step out into the unknown and walk into legend? Lauded director James Grey and star Charlie Hunnam set out to answer this question in The Lost City of Z, a bold throwback to the giant epics of the past which examines one man’s obsessive pursuit for glory and accomplishment. Charlie Hunnam was completely committed as Col. Percy Fawcett, and his performance is nothing short of masterful. Hunnam balances Fawcett’s fanatical dream of uncovering Z with a clear and strict devotion to his beloved wife Nina who suffers greatly from his prolonged absences. Grey’s direction is astonishing and his daring use of cinematography and score evokes an unexplored, dangerous and mythical landscape. The Lost City of Z sears its mighty vision into your mind and was fearless filmmaking at its best.

7. Baby Driver

Cult film icon Edgar Wright cranked the volume and revved up his engine for the zany and off-beat Baby Driver which was fun, fun, fun. Telling the story of a love-struck and musically powered getaway driver caught at a crossroads in his life, Baby Driver spun its audience at every turn. The narrative was slick, the casting was spot on and the action was in-your-face. Stars Ansel Elgort and Lily James made a very cute couple as Baby and Debora and evoked the pairing of James Dean and Natalie Wood in Rebel Without a Cause. But if you wanted a scene stealer then it most definitely came in the form of Jamie Foxx’s crazed gangster Bats who had a talent for compromising everything. Baby Driver was a rush from beginning to end and Wright really took the filmmaking medium and brought it to a whole new edge.

6. The Greatest Showman

Hugh Jackman lets his voice be heard in this magical and imaginative musical that stirs plenty of feelings and emotions in its audience. Powered by a collection of impressive songs from musical geniuses Pasek and Paul, The Greatest Showman makes its audience feel alive and magnificently brings to life the stunning ambience and larger than life deeds of P.T. Barnum. Everything here is in top form and star Hugh Jackman is joined by an amazing supporting cast including Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya. For end of the year movie magic there was no better film than The Greatest Showman and Jackman indeed did audiences proud.

5. American Made

Sometimes you’ve just gotta be a rebel and that’s exactly what megastar Tom Cruise does with the larger than life true story of drug smuggling pilot Barry Seal in American Made. Cruise was in his element and took to the skies in audacious style as the maverick pilot who finds himself running drugs, guns and money for both the Columbian cartels and the CIA, playing both off against the other and growing mega rich in the process. Decked out in a very cool pair of aviators Cruise’s Seal made for one very smooth rogue and his quest to make it big in ‘the greatest country in the world’ made for one crazy adventure of a life lived on the edge. American Made proved that it’s better to fly high and shoot for the skies.

4. Thor: Ragnarok

New Zealand directing sensation Taika Waititi again proved why he is a genius as he stepped into the big time with the loud and colourful Thor: Ragnarok! Waititi took Asgard’s mightiest hero to a whole other place with plenty of wicked throwback 80s flair and injected a healthy dose of outlandish comedy. Bright, dashing and energetic, Thor: Ragnarok was a joy to watch and it was awesome to see the mighty Thor come into his full power and rise up to become King! Stars Chris Hemsworth and Cate Blanchett had an intense showdown and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk did indeed SMASH! Where Thor goes next we can only imagine, but we hope Taika will be along for the ride because he did one incredible job here.

3. Atomic Blonde

Stepping into a world of clandestine secrets and neon light Charlize Theron proved that girls can indeed fight as she shook up the screen with in-your-face spy thriller Atomic Blonde. This completely unapologetic piece of action cinema kicked you straight in the face from its very first frame and threw in plenty of shady twists and turns. Theron’s MI6 operative Lorraine Broughton was scintillating in her sexuality and downright lethal in her combat and paired next to James McAvoy’s scheevy shitbag handler David Percival the fireworks flew. Packed out with brazen sexuality, bone-crunching action and possibly the coolest scene of this entire year, the ambitious ‘hallway fight’, Atomic Blonde was totally lit and proved that action cinema is better when it’s moving at full kinetic speed!

2. Dunkirk

The word masterpiece gets thrown around a lot these days but lauded filmmaker Christopher Nolan made them come true with his stunning vision of hope’s last breath in Dunkirk. Shot with glorious IMAX cameras Dunkirk was as big as blockbusters come and it’s unique structure and point-of-view of land, sea and air told a harrowing and heroic story of the fight to survive and of the Allies greatest hour. A stunning cast including Sir Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, Sir Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, James D’Arcy and Harry Styles helped bring this great vision to life and all of them were spot on in their acting. Then there was Hans Zimmer’s thumping orchestral score that was guaranteed to set you on edge as the action unfolded before you. Dunkirk was indeed an utter masterpiece.

1. Logan

Everything comes to an end, and director James Mangold and star Hugh Jackman gave audiences an utterly compelling one with the fierce Logan. The final chapter of the X-Men’s greatest hero, Logan took audiences to a bleak and brutal future with the famed clawed mutant had failed and now found himself with one last chance for redemption. The action was brutal, and the violence was bloody, as claws cut through flesh and bone. No one was spared, and nothing could stop the carnage. But next to the excellent action was the heartfelt journey of Jackman’s Logan and sensational newcomer Dafne Keen as Laura. Their’s was a tale of long lost father and daughter who had now found each other and now faced the most arduous journey to freedom. By the time the credits began to roll the tears were indeed flowing and we knew we had witnessed something extraordinary. They don’t get more raw or emotional than Logan, and it was a privilege to see Jackman and Logan’s final ride.

Images: Roadshow Films, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures, Studio Canal, Paramount Pictures

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Berlin, 1989. On the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall Western intelligence agents are being hunted down and killed. To stop the carnage MI6 sends their best operative Lorraine Broughton (Theron) to investigate. What she finds is an altogether different espionage landscape where there are no rules and you can trust no one.

You have never seen Charlize Theron this fierce before. Known as a Hollywood risk taker, Theron bends all the rules of the action genre to suit her own new take on the classic spy film. Queen’s aptly named ‘Killer Queen’ (which is included on the soundtrack) applies perfectly to Theron’s antisocial, yet capable intelligence operative Lorraine Broughton. Quick-witted and sassy, Broughton is one super spy audiences won’t soon forget and her desire to throw away the book in terms of behaviour and cadence really caught on with me. And there’s also the fact that she kicks some serious ass.

Matched with Theron is the always dependable James McAvoy, and as MI6 Berlin station chief David Percival he’s an absolute shitbag. Cocky, arrogant beyond belief and playing all sides of the fence you never know what he’s going to do next. While Broughton might be MI6’s wrecking ball, Percival is the snake and his behaviour and actions pull Broughton in all kinds of different directions.

Starring alongside these these two heavy hitters are a dependable cast of supporting players who include Sofia Boutella as young French agent and Lorraine’s eventual lesbian lover Delphine, Bill Skarsgard as gifted Berlin black marketer and hustler Merkel and Til Schweiger as The Watchmaker.

If you want action then you’ve come to the right place because Theron and director David Leitch deliver on this. Having been put through her paces by Leitch’s own speciality stunt training school 87Eleven, Theron is a lethal weapon who storms her way through a pack of very nasty Soviet spy’s. But she has her work cut out for her, and her victories often occur because of her skills, improvised weaponry and just plain luck. The director made sure to play up the fact that she couldn’t overwhelm her opponents through sheer physicality and had to out think them and out work them. The film’s defining fight is five minutes of pure badassness and after it, well, you’ll never look at a set of car keys or a cork screw in the same way again.

Style and substance also feature heavily in Atomic Blonde and make for a film that is equal parts gorgeous and cool at the same time. Theron must go through at least thirty different costume changes in the film, and Dominic Sela’s cinematography is just beautiful to watch thanks to the film’s neon lit atmosphere and perfect framing. Atomic Blonde also has one of the coolest soundtracks you’ll hear all year and is packed out with tracks by the likes of New Order, George Michael, Queen and David Bowie along with featuring contemporary artists like Marilyn Manson and German additions of classic songs like Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’. All of it makes for one engaging cinematic experience and I was hooked from the very first frame.

Atomic Blonde is without-a-doubt one of this year’s most engaging thrillers and really changes the game in terms of action cinema. If you’re looking for a rush and something that will really suck you in then Atomic Blonde is it.

Image: Paramount Pictures

The post ‘Atomic Blonde’ – Review appeared first on SpicyPulp.

The latest trailer offers fans greater insight into Theron’s unstable MI6 operative Lorraine Broughton, who in the final days of the Berlin Wall must uncover a sinister conspiracy that is leaving allied spies dead, and could ignite World War 3.

Theron has a real grunge look going on thanks to her peroxide blonde hair, and is a multi-talented lady of action who mows through the bad guys with lethal effect. She’s matched perfectly with James McAvoy’s quirky David Percival, who somehow has to contain her raw aggression.

Director David Leitch (John Wick) captures some truly awesome action moments and is making the most of the film’s 1980s setting, including the use of a wicked soundtrack packed with the likes of New Order and Eurythmics.

Atomic Blonde is set to release on July 28 in the US and UK, and on August 3 in New Zealand and Australia.

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