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After a tragic exodus from Mars, Astronaut and botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead and left on the planet’s surface. Having survived, Watney awakens to find himself stranded on the red planet with minimal supplies. Intellect, ingenuity, and the will to survive drive him forward, but will that be enough to save him before NASA can conjure up a rescue mission? Based on the thoroughly researched book by Andy Weir, screenplay writer Drew Goddard has sufficiently boiled the 387 page book into 141 minutes casting aside much of the scientific reasoning and cause/effect rationale that fans of the book have come to appreciate. However, what remains is still a stand up and cheer good time, with solid laughs, strong pathos, and what feels like genuine interaction, bureaucracy, and problem solving at the NASA level. No stranger to space, Director Ridley Scott hits easy gold with this less controversial but more inspiring crowd pleaser ushering the rest of his ensemble including Jessica Chasten, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Sean Bean to a moderately predictable outcome. Space as we know it, with a strong case of “What if,” worthy of your time and dollar, The Martian is rated PG-13.

Detailing the true events surrounding the work of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in 1974 and his crossing of the gap between New York’s twin towers. The Walk is a tale of one man’s dream, the impossible odds stacked against him, the will continue, and the insanity to make magic happen. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) this culmination of near perfect visual effects, entertaining story, and on point acting is a reminder that family friendly films don’t have to be droll and in fact can be amazing, inspiring, and riveting. Peppered with simple but smile inducing appearances by Sir Ben Kingsley and spiced with love interest Charlotte Le Bon, this thriller comes together full round, especially with the vertigo inducing and thrill seeking 3D cinematography of Dariusz Wolski, and the well balanced score by Alan Silvestri. Perhaps sometimes a bit overbearing with bittersweet sentimentality yet a great re-inactment piece when paired with 2008’s documentary Man on Wire. Fun for the whole family and a must see in 3D, The Walk is rated PG.

James ‘Whitey’ Bulger (Johnny Depp), a boy out of Boston’s South Side and brother to state senator Billy Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch) would arrive in the 1970’s and 80’s as one of the most infamous and violent criminal masterminds wanted by the FBI; however, before he was a wanted man, Bulger was actually an informant to the FBI and fellow Southie agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). Outlining some of ‘Whitey’s’ more memorable stops along the way, this is the story of his rise to power and eventual fall. Directed by Scott Cooper, the ensemble weight of this piece is a massive bunch although in actuality each of the individual parts are deceptively light; appearances from Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Dakota Johnson, Corey Stoll, Julianne Nicholson, the list goes on, are all important but still quite superficial. Meanwhile the relationship between Depp, Edgerton, and Cumberbatch does go further but doesn’t entirely dig perhaps as deep as possible; instead, large gaps of time are left open in the narrative leaving the audience to fill in their own blanks; and, while Depp melts into the skin of Bulger all too seamlessly, it still remains somewhat of a mystery as to how the monster was made. Nonetheless, still the frontrunner for this week’s biopic race, Black Mass is worthy of your attention and rated R.