A Scoundrel, A Heist, and Some Dinosaurs

I know, I know. It has been a few weeks since I have made the last post. I fell behind. I got busy.
Life comes at you fast... yada, yada, yada.

Although, we did see some movies during that time. So here is a super quick summary, that way we all can continue the summer season moving along.


SOLO: A Star Wars Story

I wasn't expecting much from this movie. I was hoping it would surprise me, and it did... at least for the first half of the movie. Right from the start I was hooked into the film, and I was generally excited to see all the back stories that we all dreamed about seeing from the original Star Wars trilogy.

How did Han Solo become the greatest smuggler in the galaxy. When did he meet Chewbacca? When did he meet Lando?! How did he accomplish the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs?!!!

All of these questions and more get answered. In many ways that should appease any Star Wars fan. Then as the film went through the second half, I caught myself saying, "What's going on?" "Why does this matter?" Well, that's just silly and stupid."

Then I finally came to realize that the movie wasn't half bad. It was enjoyable. It could even be great, if only there was one adjustment... it should have been made 30 years ago, starring Harrison Ford!!!


SOLO gets e - Entertaining

Wait for it to come to streaming, so you can watch it over and over and over; analyzing how it ties into the original Star Wars trilogy.

Ocean's 8



Have you seen any of the Ocean's 11 movies? If so, then you probably already seen this movie.

I get what they were trying to with if one. They wanted to create an all female version of the Ocean's crew. I think it was a great remodeling on the franchise, and I actually liked the whole cast. But it is hard to make a spinoff/sequel to a franchise without re-doing the same movie. And that is exactly what this was. It was the same Ocean's heist movie just with different characters.

Ocean's 8 gets e - Entertaining

You can wait until it hits streaming, or you can re-watch Ocean's 11, 12, or 13.



Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

We were super excited about this one. I love all the Jurassic Park movies. It always seems when ever the original Jurassic Park comes on television, somehow we are always drawn into watching it. Even though we own it on blue ray. Sometimes I even like watching part 3, which most people hate.

Then Jurassic World came out in 2015. Chris Pratt was great in it and so are Bryce Dallas Howard's heels. Life finds a way. The dinosaurs live once again!!

But this is going to be the 5th movie in a franchise, and a sequel to a movie that restarts the dinosaur fascination. Something needs to change. It has to be different from the rest, right?

I believe going with the horror tone was exactly what it needed. This movie has plenty of intense horror built ups with satisfying scares throughout the entire movie. I felt like I was waiting for dinosaurs to jump out at me in every scene. It was fun. I really liked it.


Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom get G - Gratifying


You should see in a theater if you get a chance. Bring friends, but only 50% of them may like it. At least that is what I discovered with my friends.

Tonight, We are seeing Ant-Man and the Wasp!!!!

Deadpool 2

Whoa, we needed that two week breather after the devastating ending of Avengers Infinity War. I'm still feeling a bit stunned from it. Also I was slightly sick this week, so naturally I didn't even try to write this post. I just can't muster any energy to focus when I'm feeling ill.

But enough about my feeble problems.

Deadpool! Everyone's favorite Merc with a Mouth!

The first Deadpool film surprised everyone. The success of it not only spawned this sequel but also proved that audiences would embrace a schizoid character with a bizarre -breaking the fourth wall- style of story.

Where to begin?

Deadpool 2 takes what made the first movie great and turns it up a few notches. Another R-rated action comedy, so don't bring the kids unless you are hoping they will expand their vocabulary.

There are a plethora of jokes and references of everything from Wolverine/X-Men movies to expanding jokes from the first film to Josh Brolin's previous acting jobs, etc, etc.

The introduction of new characters, Cable and Domino, fits perfectly into Deadpool's universe. They play it serious and straight to complement Deadpool's hyper- active zaniness.  I wonder what they are thinking when he breaks the fourth wall. Do they even notice? Is it all in Deadpool's head? Are we even actually watching a movie now?!

Probably my favorite part of this whole franchise is how it knows where it needs to make fun of itself.
Just check out this music video

When most action movies go get (name of most recent artist/band) to record a new rock/pop song that will be burning up the charts for weeks for the soundtrack, the creators of Deadpool wanted to take to the next level. Instead they go get the iconic Céline Dion to perform a Titanic grade ballad. Go ahead, try and get this song out of your head. I bet you're already humming it to yourself.

Deadpool 2 is incredibly funny. I caught myself laughing so hard that I missed the following jokes or scene. I might need to view it a second time.

It receives an E-Exceptional

You'll want to go see this movie if you haven't already. Keep an eagle eye out for some surprising cameos! Also all the laughs are great but remember to stay for the post credits cut scenes for those bonus laughes. It is totally worth it.

Here's a reminder of our 3 out of 4 doctors approved ranking system

L - Legendary
E - Exceptional
G - Gratifying 
e - Entertained
n - Nugatory
d - Dreadful

Coming up this weekend, SOLO: A Star Wars Story. If they called it LANDO, maybe I would be more eager to see, but we're going anyways. #YouCannotReplaceHarrisonFord

Avengers: Infinity War

Well, we just finished viewing Avengers: Infinity War for the second time.

10 years, 18 movies, all leading to this one simply amazing movie.

I know it is only the start of the summer season, but this Marvel movie checks all the boxes on a very enjoyable movie going experience.

The film starts off immediately with the action and never lets up. Filled with all the Marvel characters we have grown to love. Each one getting their individual moments. Of course you'll enjoy plenty of comedic moments, but there are definitely some emotional and even shocking scenes. I will tell you right now, I gasped out loud at certain times on my first viewing. And that ending had set my brain on pause as I tried to process what I just witnessed.


It gets a L - Legendary!!

That's right! I am giving out a Legendary on the first week!!

I don't know how any other movie will top this one during the rest of this summer season.

I'm not even sure which movie is next in line. I may need a little bit of time to recover from that dramatic ending.

When does Ant-Man & Wasp come out?
How long do I have to wait for the next Marvel film?
I just wish it was May 2019 already!!

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!!

War Films - Back to Back

War for the Planet of the Apes

Last week we saw the final chapter of the current Planet of the Apes saga. We were extremely excited about this film because we are fans of the previous Planet of the Apes movies about Caesar.

This movie had a much different tone from the previous two movies. The title gives you a good guess on the film's genre. Although don't expect giant battle scenes. The film had more quiet, intense moments as the story follows a small group of apes on a mission within a much larger war.

War for the Planet of the Apes gets E - Exceptional

It completes the story we have been following for the past three movies. As these movies made the Apes the protagonists showing us a different side of this story. You'll be happy with the ending but maybe a bit sad to see the Caesar's origin story come to a close.

Dunkirk

Then we saw a much different war film this week.

Dunkirk gets E - Exceptional

This movie is phenomenal. The story is about the careful evacuation of hundreds of thousands of British soldiers on a French beach that was surrounded my enemy forces during World War II. Now that movie description could sound a little boring and it could be a very boring film, that is if it was created by anyone other than Christopher Nolan.

Nolan brings you right into what it felt like to be part of this war.  The movie is loud, but also quiet. It's also very suspenseful and heart pounding. You need to see it on the big screen. It's the only way to engulf yourself into the film.

Next up ... Atomic Blonde. I'm hoping it's going to be good. Also we got a bit distracted with all the San Diego Comic Con breaking news and trailers that we may see Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets sometime this week.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spectacular!

Sensational!

Amazing!

If you haven't seen Spider-Man: Homecoming yet, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Stop reading this! Go to a theater and see this movie, right now!

Finally Spider-Man movie that we all were waiting to see.

I will admit that I enjoyed all the previous Spidey movies, even the hated Spider-Man 3, but the past few movies seemed to promise a lot only to leave us all with the feeling that something was missing. We were wishing for more. No more wishing required. I can confidently say this is the best Spider-Man movie to date.

This movie delivered and more. It was funny. There was plenty of action. It even provided twists and reveals that you expect from a great movie.

Plus the best Marvel villain.... Michael Keaton was phenomenal as the Vulture.
Many thought that the Vulture wouldn't be tough enough to be a Big Bad, but Keaton will prove them all wrong.

Spider-Man: Homecoming gets L - Legendary

Rebooting a beloved character is difficult. Just look at Superman as an example. Although it is true this Spidey is the third version of within the past decade. Also true this Spidey sorta already premiered in the MCU a year ago.  But Marvel has been able to bring its most popular character into the MCU and did so in stunning fashion. It all points toward a larger Amazing Spider-Man/Avenger universe yet to come with less rebooting and more story-telling.

Make Mine Marvel!!

Next week: War for the Planet of the Apes! Hoping for another great movie from this franchise

The Mummy

So begins the Dark Universe.

For those who didn't know, The Mummy is the beginning of a new cinematic universe containing every monster in the Universal Studios catalog. Classic monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Invisible Man, and Creature from the Black Lagoon will soon be reintroduced to movie audiences. Each getting new stand along movies with hopes to have all the monsters exist in the same  movie universe.

Although this isn't the first attempt to re-boot the monster universe.
Remember The Wolfman (2010)?
Maybe you heard of Dracula Untold (2014)?
Of course, what ever happened to the blockbuster The Mummy (1999)? Which had two sequels!

Ironically displayed at the theater where we viewed The Mummy last night.

So why is there a need to re-boot the previously re-booted? More importantly, should you even go see it?

The Mummy get G - Gratifying

Tom Cruise gives the movie enough star power to entice an audience. Plus there are a few seat jumping scares, and the mummy character is creepy and terrifying at moments.  I think it helps that we sat close to the screen for those scares. I only had a problem with the ending. I feel the movie was going one direction and then takes an odd turn with no way to resolve it.

The classic monster movies of the 1930s were considered popcorn movies of their era. This movie is no different. You should grab a large bag of popcorn, sit real close to the screen, and enjoy the ride. Just don't expect the story to blow you away. It's just suppose to be two hours of fun.

Next week we have Cars 3.... I barely remember the second movie!

*NOTE* Baby Driver has moved from August to June 28th, and Dark Tower has moved  to August 4th. Don't know why??

Wonder Woman

Everyone's new favorite DC Cinematic Universe superhero is going to be Wonder Woman!!

I will admit that I didn't have high expectations for Wonder Woman. Not after seeing the forgettable Green Lantern, or the conflicted Man of Steel, and not even after what suppose to be greatest fight bout that was Batman v. Superman. The whole DC Universe felt rushed with too much thrown together too quickly. Then the film makers of Wonder Woman decided to take a step back and give us the foundational building block that we all wanted from their legendary characters.

From all the trailers, you would be excepting an origin story, and that's what you get, but... with so much more. This is not just another superhero movie. It had soft quiet moments and emotional scenes that helped develop the characters. It was a heart filled movie that could have easily been a fascinating drama rather than an action packed superhero movie.


Wonder Woman is L - Legendary!

It delivers to us the first stand alone female superhero origin story and she just may be the character that turns the corner for the entire Justice League franchise.

Next week The Mummy!!!

Here's hoping Brendan Fraser makes a cameo

ALIEN:COVENANT

It has been a strange week for SMS. First, everyone skipped on seeing King Arthur last week. Then this week no one could decide on which movie to go see. Of course I was pushing Alien: Covenant because...Come on, it's an ALIEN movie.

As for everyone else, the theme of it being too scary kept surfacing. So I decided to make it extra scary by seeing the movie alone. (Those silly wusses!)

I have a slight confession to make. I love the ALIEN franchise. There is just something about these movies that thrills me. It may be because of the first time I saw the movie ALIENS way back in the late 80's. I can't tell you the exact date and I didn't see it in the theater. You see, the late 80s was the rise of home VHS rentals and premium cable channels like HBO and Cinemax. Back then movies would be released in theaters. Then maybe a year later you would see those movies available at the video rental stores. Then, shortly after that the movies would then premiere on the cable channels, and if it was a good movie, it could play on those channels for years!!

That is where I saw ALIENS for the first time. It was awesome! It was an action packed thriller that involved a group of military people fighting a giant alien monsters with this legendary scene.


YES! Get away from her, you bitch!

Following this movie there were releases of video games, and action figures all based on ALIENS. I was a fan of all it.
Then I heard that it was actually a sequel. Well I had to see the original! So I begged my mother to let me rent ALIEN (1979) from the local video rental store. She didn't want me to see it because she thought it would be too scary for me. After plenty of more begging and assurances that I wouldn't be scared, she finally broke down and let me rent it. And it didn't disappoint.

ALIEN was a much different film, and it most definitely terrified me. But after that I was hooked. I saw every Alien movie that was released after that. When Ridley Scott announced he was returning to the franchise that he created, I was extremely excited. Prometheus was released and I more confused than entertained so I was really hoping this next chapter in the franchise would return to its glory.

ALIEN: COVENANT does indeed return the franchises to its roots. There is a little bit of combining themes from both of the first and second films to give a good balance of action and terror. But I wouldn't say it is really that scary. Sure there are parts you may jump out of your seat, but there isn't any built up tension that gets the hairs on your neck to stand up. I would say the theme is more sinister than scary. The best character by far is the one played Michael Fassbender. He does a great job at being a malicious android.

ALIEN: COVENANT gets a G - Gratifying 

I would suggest viewing it in a theater. Maybe try a late night showtime to make it extra creepy.

Next week we have a double feature week with Baywatch & Pirates of the Caribbean 

Hopefully all SMSers can get on the same page this time!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Opening weekend of the summer movie season always has a feeling of anticipation and excitement. It also helps to start the season with a great movie that sets the bar for the rest. For the past few years, Marvel Studios has been the standard with movies like Civil War and the Avengers 1 & 2. This year is no different.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the best comedic Marvel film to date. It is intensely funny. Every character has an unique charm that will keep you cracking up. This sequel has also turned up the volume of the emotional investment toward each character. By the end of the movie you will learn more about each character and their past.

Although this film is part to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is no real need to watch anything other the first GOTG before going to this one. I'm sure there are going to be Easter eggs and ties in, but nothing of great importance.... so far. There are a few good cameos, so be on the lookout for those.

This movie gets an E - Exceptional

You definitely should go see it in the theater.

It was teetering on the edge of Legendary status due to its exceptional soundtrack. The creators have picked out some great songs from the 1970's that help drive the emotions felt throughout the film. These songs were likely hits when they were release but all feel newly discovered, as if you are on the journey with Star-Lord.

Here's a reminder of the well tested ranking system

L - Legendary
E - Exceptional
G - Gratifying 
e - Entertained
n - Nugatory
d - Dreadful

NEXT WEEK: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

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.

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

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

Expendable 3

ACTION!

FIGHTING!

EXTREME EXPLOSIONS!

WELL DELIVERED ONE LINERS!

Expendables 3 is exactly what you expect it to be. But you should already know this going in.

Watching all the greatest action stars of the 80's and 90's getting together for the biggest action film of the summer is a thing of beauty. Even better when it's for the 3rd time!

I wouldn't expect much of a story here. All you need to know that there is a bad guy (Mel Gibson), and the good guys lead by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) are going to kick his ass.

The two best things about this newest addition of the Expendable franchise are the newly added characters and their simplistic names. Names like Mars, Luna, Smilee, and Galgo.

Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas are great additions. I like Antonio's character the most. Also Ronda Rousey may need to work on her acting skill, but she can sure as hell perform an excellent fight scene.

It gets an e - Entertained

A great DVD rental in the distant future if you don't want to splurge on the theater.

BTW did you see my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles review?

Next up and last on the list Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Who remembers this?


The cartoons of the 80's were awesome! TMNT was one of the best, which spawned countless action figures and three feature films that for the time were also pretty awesome. (at leas the first one)

Now let's fast forward to the present, 2014.

From the man who brought you Transformers, comes another larger than life CGI movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This time the Turtles are bigger, badder, and bullet proof!

The story takes some time to get rolling. It is slow at the beginning, and too much time is spend setting up April O'Neil character played by Megan Fox. I wanted to see the turtle action sooner. Then once into the action, there is so much going on the screen that it is hard to see it all. Also as the turtles make their appearance the story seems to run out of control. Characters are added with very little development. The plot is just thrown out there. And the resolution comes too quickly, making you wishing for more.

Instead of retelling the origin story of TMNT, this movie would have been better to just bust out of the gate with turtle action, and let the audience fill in the blanks as the movie progresses.

TMNT is a fun movie that brings back our childhood nostalgia, but watching it at home on DVD would be just as good as seeing it in the theater.

It gets an e - Entertained

Guardians of the Galaxy

It is no secret that I am a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Each new movie released becomes the best one so far. Guardians of the Galaxy is no exception. It was the most anticipated movie of the summer and it did not disappoint. 

In fact, it exceeded all my expectations. 

In 2008, Marvel took a huge risk by making a movie about a "B-list" character from their super hero catalog, Iron Man. It was a very successful film that turned Iron Man into an A+ super hero and paved the way for The Avengers.

Now in 2014, Marvel wants to do it again with D-list super heroes. Even for an avid comic book reader like myself, these characters are far down my list of titles that I would read. Well, get ready for them to be blasted up to the top.

Some how the filmmakers of this movie will get you invested into these rarely known characters. Your new favorite Marvel character will be a walking tree named Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). Your second favorite will be Peter Quill/Star Lord played brilliantly by Chris Pratt. This movie will help bust Chris Pratt into the next level of his acting career. You will be seeing him everywhere pretty soon. Along with Pratt, the other actors did great as well. Dave Bautista's character Drax really surprised me. I was not expecting his deadpan delivery of humor. It was great. Of course, Zoe Saldana kicks ass, and Bradley Cooper plays Rocket Raccoon with a great sense of seriousness.

This film was more than entertaining. It was funny, at times crude, and of course action packed. The humor was smart and witty. Drawing the type of laughter that causes you to miss the next line of witty dialogue. There is also a bit of playful cursing that is perfectly fine for an adult. I enjoyed this banter, but I'm sure a lot of people will probably take their children to see the fun loving raccoon and tree-man characters. And they will be surprised when those kids leave the theater quoting 'dick' and 'a-hole' lines. Parents please leave your kids at home.

Marvel has been on a roll ever since they started with the plan to interconnect their cinematic universe. The question has always been, when will they miss? I am not sure that will happen anytime soon. With Avengers 2 coming out next year, and more characters getting their own stand alone films, I am excited as a comic book fan to watch all of them. 

Make Mine Marvel!

Guardians of the Galaxy get an E - Exceptional

It is definitely worth watching in the theater. Go Now!!

Next up..... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles