Fantastic Four

The best thing about this movie is this poster.

Look at it! It's pretty bad ass. It has a dark and gritty feel. Finally The Thing looks like his proper size. All the characters are doing their best to be intimidating. Too bad this movie does absolutely no justice to the poster.

How can a movie about superheroes be so boring? 

I don't know, but Fantastic Four has discovered a way to pull it off.

By now everyone knows that Fox needed to reboot the Fantastic Four franchise just to keep the film rights from returning to Marvel. Also by now you should have heard that this new FF film is horrible.

It is boring, predictable, and frankly uneventful. The pacing is slow, and there is very little action that only occurs at the end of the movie. You would think with the slower pacing that the characters would have a good chance to develop some chemistry. Nope. All of the relationships feel forced. This whole movie is just an origin story attempting to set up a future sequel. (yeah, right!)

It is SO boring that there is a scene were Sue Storm (Kate Mara) just stares at computer monitors for a sequence lasting at least a minute. No one wants to watch characters slowly getting smarter. 

Fantastic Four is d - Dreadful

It was the worst film of the summer. I know earlier I stated San Andreas was awful, but after seeing the total train wreck that is Fantastic Four, I have updated San Andreas to at least entertaining. I laughed and that is worth some entertainment. 

It would have been better off to not make this movie and let Marvel have the rights back.

Next week  - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Rogue Nation is the best Mission: Impossible to date.

When I am 53 years old, I want to look half as good as Tom Cruise does at that age. Seriously, he is ripped and he is running constantly in this new M:I movie.

Some people may say, "See one M:I movie, and you seen them all."

That is completely untrue and literally impossible.

You need to see Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation purely for the outrageous stunts.

Tom Cruise has prided himself in doing most his own stunts in these movies. Although with Hollywood films getting increasing more CGI, one could think that standing in front of a green screen isn't so dangerous. That is unless the stunts are done practically.

As seen in the trailer of this M:I, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) holds on tight to an airplane as it takes off and he begs for his teammates to open the door. It looks pretty cool, right? Then I found out after I saw the movie that Cruise did that stunt himself on the side of a real plane.

Let me break this down for you. Cruise was strapped to the side of an airplane. That airplane then took off from a real runway. All while cameras recorded the REAL stunt. Cruise even had to wear special contacts in his eyes to protect them from debris thrown from the airplane propellers.



That scene alone is worth a ticket and a bag of popcorn. Now add some running, jumping, fighting. Throw in some car chases, car crashes, and motorcycle madness. You got yourself a fun exciting action packed movie to enjoy.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation gets E - Exceptional

This franchise is great. Each movie keeps adding more to the M:I legacy, and it gets better with age. Cruise has been playing Ethan Hunt for two decades now. There is no stopping him!!

Next week, Fantastic 4!!

Ant-Man

The question still remains. When will a Marvel Cinematic Universe film fail? The answer may say be never!

Marvel has done it again! Ant-Man is great!

Although Ant-Man is not like the other super hero movies. It is more like a heist movie filled with amusing comedy. The acting is very solid. Paul Rudd plays a great Scott Lang. Michael Peña is especially funny which surprised me. I thought for sure that his character would be the one that ruined the movie for me. But I was wrong. You will enjoy his scenes the most. Of course, Michael Douglas is great.

You know it is sorta interesting that before its release many media outlets were stating that Ant-Man a lesser known character in the Marvel Universe and it may not do well with audiences. That's funny. The same thing was said about Iron Man before 2008. 

Marvel succeeds because their movies are fun to watch. These are super heroes that have extraordinary abilities, yet the stories are just grounded enough to make you relate and believe in this universe.

The visual effects are spectacular. You are easily taken into the shrinking world of Ant-Man. The scope of this world is mind blending as if it was seen through a super wide angle lens. Just like DPW here as he shrinks smaller than Ant-Man.

Ant-Man gets E - Exceptional

It is definitely worth the popcorn. 

Up next... Pixels

Terminator Genisys

My. Mind. Is. Blown!

Stop whatever it is you're doing right now, and ask yourself these three questions.

Have I seen The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)?

If so, do I need to re-watch them both?

When will I go to see Terminator Genisys?

If you haven't seen any of the Terminator movies, you need to get on Netflix, and watch T1 and T2 as soon as you can. Forget about T3 and Terminator Salvation. They are not relevant.

You say to yourself that you have seen them before, but you don't quite remember exactly what happen. Watch them again! Now!

After that, get in your car, catch a cab, ride your bike, take the bus, or by any means possible get your ass to the theater! You need to watch Terminator Genisys now!!

Terminator Genisys is L - Lengendary!!

It completely reboots the franchise while paying tribute to its roots. It has plenty of action. The CGI work is superb. Arnold Schwarzenegger does another amazing job playing a cyborg future. Emilia Clarke gives us a Sarah Connor character that we haven't seen before. You will not be disappointed.

Next week.... I just may see Terminator Genisys again.

Ted 2

First off, I think the marketing team for Ted 2 missed a golden opportunity. Why didn't they call it Ted 2: Judgement Day?!
It fits with the plot of the movie. Plus they could have made parody posters and trailers related to the Terminator series.

Ted 2 was very entertaining. It may not be as good as the first movie, but not all sequels can recapture the spark that makes the first one memorable.

I enjoyed it, but I did have one problem with my movie watching experience. Bad parenting.

I don't know if it was naivety, stupidity, or just plain selfishness. There were a number of children in the theater with their parents. I am not talking about teenagers. I am talking about 5 to 9 year olds.

This movie is rated R. It has a lot of depictions of sexual acts and raunchy jokes not suitable for children. Just because there is a teddy bear in the trailer doesn't mean that you should bring your kids to the theater. Hey parents, do some research!

I am not going to rant too much. I guess bad people just make bad parents, and that is the end of it.

Ted 2 gets e - Entertained.

I was hoping it would be better, but it is just didn't have that special thing that made the first one surprisingly good. Let's hope the next movie on the list is better.

Terminator Genisys

Short Detour

I know! I know! You all have probably been waiting for the next review.

Slight problem... I haven't seen Jurassic World yet.

Ok, stop your yelling! Hear me out first. I plan on seeing it later this week when I have few days off. Also CassandraG will be in town and I promised that we would go see it together.

As for the rest of #SMS2015, they have been very busy.

JipMix went on holiday to the Philippines. He is visiting family out there and he also decided to see Jurassic World two days before anyone in the States could see it.

I am not sure why he paid 160.00 for a ticket but at least it is guaranteed seating. Ha!

Then there here is DPW, B-Dub, and LoWo with a new dino-friend whom they met.

I'm sure they liked it. I really don't know. I put an embargo on them. I don't want to know anything about the movie. Because I like to go in FRESH!

So, be on the lookout for the actually Jurassic World review sometime next Sunday or so. You all will probably see it by then, but don't tell me anything! 

Entourage

Not having seen any bit of the show (because I didn't have HBO then), I decided to watch the first few episodes and then go straight in to the movie. Sorta like when you start a book and then skip to the last chapter to truly see if the butler "did it".

Entourage was a surprising funny and entertaining movie. It is filled with a lot of great humorous moments including a bunch of cameos from a lot actors, musicians, and pro athletes. I laughed loudly multiple times throughout.

I was actually really surprise how much I liked it. Because I have to admit that when we put this film on the list, I had no desire to even watch the trailer. Like I said, I never seen the show so I couldn't really get too excited. But now after seeing this movie I can say I really enjoyed the main characters. They are very relatable as if they could be your own friends. That is of course, if you and your friends had the that fabulous Hollywood lifestyle. I can see why the show was so popular.

Although nothing about this movie really stands out, it is what it is. There isn't going to be any substance of a story, or outstanding acting, or a massive revelation that changes the core of any of these characters. It actually plays like a extra long episode of the show. It's purely an enjoyable funny popcorn movie.

B-Dub and LoWo, two fellow #SMS mates, told me that there were many jokes, or Easter eggs if you will, that are connected to the show. That will be a plus for fans of the series. They also advised me to go back and watch the show, then re-watch the movie to make these connections. Not promising anything, but I just may.

But don't worry. If you're like me and haven't seen the show, the movie does a good job at introducing you to the main characters in the first few scenes.

Entourage gets G - Gratifying 

It is worth a ticket and a small bag of popcorn.

Also with the studios trying hard to get as many tickets sold as possible, we all seem to glaze over the fact that the summer movie schedule is filled with family friendly PG-13 and lower films.  So sometimes it's just great to watch an enjoyable Rated R comedy.

Next week - Jurassic World

San Andreas

There's one problem with all Natural Disaster movies. They are all essentially the same movie. San Andreas is not any different.

Never have I been in a theater where I felt ashamed to be laughing. I felt like I was being disruptive to the other theater goers. I couldn't help it. This movie was hilarious. The only problem, it wasn't suppose to be funny.

The action was so over the top that it felt cartoonish. The dialogue said by some characters was completely ridiculous. The plot was very basic with highly predictable character development. It was just laughable at every turn.

Let's talk about the plot. It is exactly what you've expected. A loving family man does whatever it takes to save his family from the World's most devastating natural disaster even if it means traversing a great distance through multiple cities to do so. Spoiler Alert: As thousands of people are dying all over the place, he finds a way to save his whole family and their friends.

The sad part, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) is actually real good in this movie. He has all the emotional scenes and he knocks all of them out of the park. He has become a good actor. I only wished that this movie was scaled down a bit. Maybe have The Rock save his family who all happen to be in one location. Sure the world can be crashing down, but he should have been in one building or a dangerously claustrophobic room where he fights for them all to survive.

San Andreas was e - Entertained

It cracked me up! It wasn't suppose to but I laughed because it was ridiculous. You shouldn't go see it in the theater. I spent $12 to see it so I can tell you to wait until it comes out on video on demand.

Up next..... Entourage

I wish Jurassic World would just be released already!

Tomorrowland

 I have been excited about the release of Tomorrowland for months.

Why wouldn't I be? 

Whenever I visit Disneyland, the first place I go is Tomorrowland to ride either Space Mountain or Star Tours. I'm sure many would agree with me (in my opinion) that it is the best section of the park. It has always been a wonderful glimpse into a fantastic possible future that awaits us all. So when I heard that Disney was going to expand the Tomorrowland universe with a feature film, I was completely on board. Look what they did with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies! Disney created a successfully fun film franchise with a ride. Imagine what could be done with an entire Land!!

Oh, how wrong was I.

After seeing the first trailer which has a girl swept away to another dimension by touching a pin. After reveals in TV spots of jet packs, monorails, rockets, etc, etc. Even after seeing posters showing exteriors of Space Mountain and other various Tomorrowland landmarks. After all of that, I was confident that this film was going to be highly enjoyable; only to be highly disappointing.

There is no easy way to state this. I was bored watching Tomorrowland.

It had some good moments. It had some action. It even had some what of an okay story. But at times it dragged. It spent way too long on a back story that I didn't care about. The plot was the same tired theme of "The World is ending, unless WE rise up and fix it", and the ending was very rushed.

The only thing memorable about my viewing was this pin.

I received this small token with my ticket purchase to help create the illusion that I was going on a ride of a lifetime. Oy vey!

Although the movie didn't create the imagination thrill ride I was expecting, I still really like the pin, and I will wear it the next time I ride Space Mountain in Disneyland.

Tomorrowland gets e - Entertained

Mainly because I really, really like the free pin.

Coming next..... San Andreas

Pitch Perfect 2

I was travelin' this past weekend so I didn't go see Pitch Perfect 2. I guess that really doesn't matter since I didn't see Pitch Perfect either.

Although my fellow #SMS2015 members did see it this weekend.

DPW ventured out of house, he sent me his review in via text message.

Well that was fairly to the point.

Maybe Jipmix will something more to say. He posted this on Instagram

There you have it. The movie was enjoyable. It was funny. It was #PitchSlapped! Could it even have be better than the first one? I will have to take their word for it. 

Up next..... Toworrowland

Mad Max: Fury Road

Have you ever been driving on a freeway and seen a car collision that you just can't stop starting at it?

You're curious about what happened to the cars. How could it even happen in the first place? Then you try to piece together the actions needed to cause such a collision. You're transfixed. You just can't stop staring.

Well, Mad Max: Fury Road is that car collision, but it involves 100 vehicles all shooting fire with a heavy metal rock concert in the center.

If you remember the older versions of Mad Max, you may also recall the best parts of those movies were the vehicle chase scenes. George Miller (who created Mad Max) noticed that as well, and he decided to make this movie one ENTIRE CHASE SCENE.

Seriously, it is 2 hours of driving, fighting, explosions, crashing, shooting, flames, bullets, explosions, smashing, slashing, scraping, explosions, rock riffs, screaming, yelling, flying and explosions.

I was mentally exhausted after it ended. My heart was racing, and as I left the theater, I felt like I was walking in slow motion. There were a few times in the movie that I said to myself, "What is going on here?" I can't keep up with this speed. How can I digest that much action?

These weren't no ordinary action scenes either. The way the scenes were shot and edited gave you the strange sensation that you were there, involved within the scenes. The use of color tones gives the film a stunning look. The sound was loud. You could feel it thumping against your chest.

JipMix stated that the word of mouth about this movie will spread and within the next few weeks people will pack the theaters. I think he is correct on that one.

Mad Max: Fury Road is ferocious, very loud and at times cinematically beautiful movie.

It gets E - Exceptional. Definitely worth seeing in a theater. Bring your heart medication.

Up Next, Tomorrowland..... hopefully it will have a calming effect after this movie.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Who is your favorite Avenger?

I can not decide.

I can tell you the Avenger I favored when I read the comics as a kid.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe??

There is no confirmed answer.

With each Marvel movie released, I think I know which one I can call my favorite, and then Avengers: Age of Ultron is released and I can no longer be this confused.

So let's cut to it.

Avengers: Age of Ultron was amazing! Everyone should see it right away.

Sorry about the brief and late review.  I feel with the week off that #SMS2015 hasn't even started yet. We will rectify that feeling this week.

Next Up... Mad Max: Fury Road

The 2015 Lineup

Here it is. The final 2015 Summer Legendary Movie Review List. 

This year we are jammed packed. With 21 movies, 4 double weeks, and 11 sequels, we have our biggest summer lineup ever.  #SMS2015 is our official hashtag.  


April 3 - Furious 7

May 1 - Avengers: Age of Ultron

May 15 - Mad Max: Fury Road / Pitch Perfect 2

May 22 - Tomorrowland

May 39 - San Andreas

June 5 - Entourage

June 12 - Jurassic World

June 19 - Inside Out

June 26 - Ted 2

July 3 - Terminator Genisys / Magic Mike XXL

July 10 - Minions

July 17 - Ant-Man, Pan

July 24 - Pixels, Poltergeist

July 31 - Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

August 7 - Fantastic Four

August 14 - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

August 28 - Hitman: Agent 47

Next week we start with our warm up movie.... Furious 7!!!

Spring Cleaning

Hello..., is there anybody out there?

If you've been here before you probably have an idea what is going to happen next. Soon the list will be posted. Soon you will know task ahead for the team that has come to be known as the Summer Movie Squad, #SMS.

What started 8 years ago with two friends having a crazy plan to watch every summer movie released, has turned into a group of devoted movie lovers who never miss an opening night. Sure at first we were maybe a bit over ambitious, and we probably skipped a few movies that first year, but now we all have it worked out. I am proud to say that we completed our entire list last year.

As the group continues to grow with new members each year, the 5 core members remains the driving force.

Kashius, Jipmix, CassandraG, DPW, and the fighter Jay Cruz #Jaystrong.

With our enthusiasm, we have encourage many to follow us weekly into the theaters, and not just by joining our group. There are some that wait all week to see what is posted on this blog. I know because I see it in the analytics that spike each week. It surprises me that so many people are interested in my ramblings about the movie of the week. At first, I started this blog for fun. I just wanted to tell our stories. I never intended this blog to be a serious review site. If I wanted to be known as a movie critic, I would pretend to be one on Rotten Tomatoes or some other site.

So on this blog you will find posts about the SMS going to movies and what we may have encountered along the way. You will not get a synopsis of the films, or breakdowns of scenes. You will get just honest opinions about whether or not to waste your money at the theater.

We do this every year because we love movies. We enjoy the theater experience, and most importantly we have fun. Hopefully you all also enjoy this blog.

So this year, I am planning on getting the posts up promptly. Opening night starting at 8pm Thursdays has helped a lot. There was a time I tried to write posts at 3am after the midnight showings. Those attempts were complete garbage.

The List will drop soon. There is more to come. Enjoy the ride.