“Mile 22” (Action/Thriller: 1 hour, 35 minutes)

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais and John Malkovich

Director: Peter Berg

Rated: R (Strong violence and profanity)

Movie Review: After “Lone Survivor” (2013) and “Patriots Day” (2016), Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg team up again as actor and director. Their last two movies are easily recommendable. “Mile 22” is a jagged story, where quick-paced action scenes take the place of developed characters.

Mark Wahlberg is James Silva, an operative of an elite CIA unit. Silva and a black-ops tactical team transport Li Noor (Uwais), an asset with knowledge of a life-threatening situation. Silva and his team must transport Noor to an airstrip 22 miles away for extraction. The problem is local enemies are trying to kill Noor and Silva’s team.

Other than plentiful amounts of action scenes, “Mile 22″ is a skippable movie. It is poorly organized and edited. Scenes are choppy. They appear jammed together with little consistency. Numerous scenes appear as if they are not a part of the same screenplay.

Additionally, characters are uninspiring. They may have a duty but they do not inspire one to care about their cause because the story is a scattered script that is nonsensical material. It does not go the miles.

Grade: C- (22 miles one cannot take back.)

“Crazy Rich Asians” (Romance: 2 hours, 1 minute)

Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Constance Wu and Henry Golding

Director: Jon M. Chu

Rated: PG-13 (Some suggestive content and language)

Movie Review: “Crazy Rich Asians” lives up to its name. 

Rich beautiful people of Asian descent showcase their wealth and gorgeous smiles. They make one want to join them in their adventures. Although this movie has soap opera appeal, it is solid entertainment from the other side of the world. 

Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and Nick Young (Henry Golding) are a loving couple. They travel to Nick’s family home in Singapore to attend a wedding. Upon their arrival, Rachel must contend with Nick’s mother, Eleanor Young (Yeoh), who is not fond of Rachel.

Kevin Kwan’s book serves as the basis for this inviting movie. It easily makes its cast energetic and appealing. 

Jon M. Chu directed movies such as “Bieber: Never Say Never” (2011) and “Now You See Me 2” (2016). This is one of his more engaging movies. It has laughs, romance, albeit stereotypical, and enjoyable, beautiful characters. These facets are enough to make it worth a ticket.

Grade: B (Crazy, but it is richly enjoyable.)

“Alpha” (Adventure/Drama/Family: 1 hour, 36 minutes)

Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and Natassia Malthe

Director: Albert Hughes

Rated: PG-13 (Intense moments of peril and gore)

Movie Review: This adventure is a fetching getaway. 

It has two ideal characters, a young man and his canine on a dramatic adventure. Even more, their background is one of grand views of a prehistoric past. These concepts make “Alpha” an arresting movie.

Set 20,000 years ago in Europe, Keda (Smit-McPhee) becomes separated from his clan during a great hunt. Left on his own, Keda and a wild wolf dog, Alpha (Chuck), bond to survive the dangers of a prehistoric world. They become unlikely allies, trying to find their way home before the cold of winter arrives.

Kodi Smit-McPhee (“Let Me In,” 2010) ably carries the movie, his only companion for most of the movie is Alpha, played by canine Chuck. Together, they make a good pairing as they transverse prehistoric landscapes, à la filming locations in Canada and Iceland.

Suspense is also a nice part of the movie. Some scenes may be too intense for younger audience members, but the rest of the family should find “Alpha” an easy amusement. 

Director Albert Hughes (“The Book of Eli,” 2010) directs a riveting movie. “Alpha” uses good characters and nice visualizations to propel its agreeable narrative by screenwriter Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt based on Hughes’ story.

Grade: B (A leader of the pack.)