When I traveled to Denmark a few weeks ago, the longest leg of the trip was definitely from Newark, New Jersey to Frankfurt, Germany (and vice versa on the way home). Luckily, the airline on which I traveled had an assortment of movies to watch from the comfort of my seat. I stuck to stuff that was mostly mindless -- I was looking for a distraction to pass the time, not a life-changing art house piece -- and I was able to get through two movies going east and two movies going west.
Ant-Man
I know there were problems with production for this movie (the director dropped out right before filming started due to the producers being too controlling), so that may explain why this movie feels so "phoned-in." The characters are bland, the jokes are formulaic, and the final reveal of who the villain is obvious in the first five minutes. Paul Rudd is as charming as always, but his charisma is not enough to carry the movie. I've generally enjoyed the Marvel films, but this just didn't do it for me.
Terminator Genisys
This one was surprising. As soon as the movie began, there were plot holes. The time travel aspects make no sense (plus, the scenes that take place in the 1980s don't have the characters wearing period clothing). The movie can't decide if Sarah Conner is supposed to be a strong female character or if she needs the male protagonist to save her. And yet, I ended up liking this movie. It's really dumb, but the actors do the best with what they have and you end up rooting for them in the end. This is a movie that you really have to turn your brain off for, but once you do, it's a fun ride.
San Andreas
This movie should have been called Beautiful People Running from Things, because that's the plot of the movie. Beautiful people Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandria Daddario, and Hugo Johnstone-Burt spend most of the run time running and rescuing each from earthquake-related danger. Character actor (i.e., non-beautiful person) Paul Giamatti makes an appearance, though he knows what kind of movie he's in so he just overacts the heck out of his role. If you need a movie with spectacle and nothing else, this should do just fine.
Self/less
Finally, a legitimately good movie. The trailer gives you the basic premise; all I'll add is that the filmmakers execute the film very well. It's not a perfect movie, but it's thought-provoking, easy to follow, and wonderfully entertaining. This is what a good sci-fi thriller looks like. So, my recommendation is: watch this movie.
As you can see, each trip I got one dud and one good movie. Considering that the goal was just to pass the time, a 1:1 ratio isn't too bad.
Ant-Man is distributed by Walt Disney Motion Pictures. Terminator Genisys is distributed by Paramount Pictures. San Andreas is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Self/Less is distributed by Focus Features.
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