RED 2

In RED 2, the action-comedy sequel to the sleeper hit, retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device. To succeed, they'll need to survive an army of relentless assassins, ruthless terrorists and power-crazed government officials, all eager to get their hands on the next-generation weapon. The mission takes Frank and his motley crew to Paris, London and Moscow. Outgunned and outmanned, they have only their cunning wits, their old-school skills, and each other to rely on as they try to save the world-and stay alive in the process.

While I must say this will be on one of the why did they make this sequel lists, it was very entertaining.  Just like the first one, it was funny watching these "seniors" kicking ass.  The best part was that they decided to push the comedy more than the action.  All the actors definitely came through with their deliveries and there were plenty of laughs.

While I wouldn't wholeheartedly recommend anyone rushing to see this because it definitely is not a "must see", it definitely is entertaining.  If you liked the first one, you will definitely like this one.

Turbo

From the makers of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, Turbo is a high-velocity comedy about an underdog snail whose dreams kick into overdrive when he miraculously attains the power of super-speed. But after making fast friends with a crew of streetwise, tricked-out es-car-goes, Turbo learns that no one succeeds on their own. So he puts his heart and shell on the line to help his pals achieve their dreams, before Turbo-charging his own impossible dream: winning the Indy 500.

This movie was watchable but there really wasn't much more to say about it.  There were one or two good laughs.  But that was it.  The movie was really lacking the usual fun hook that Dreamworks animation has with its characters.  And that was really necessary in a movie about snails.

I wouldn't really recommend people bothering with this.  There are much better family movies out there than this one.  Go see one of them again instead.

The Wolverine

Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world, he will face a host of unexpected and deadly opponents in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality.

At first I was kind of not enjoying this movie.  I wasn't too familiar with the comic book arc or the area that the story was taking place in.  On top of that, the pacing was really slow.  After a little bit, it picked up big time and ended up being a great ride with well developed characters with great chemistry.  While some people may think this is getting stale at this point, I still think Hugh Jackman cast as Wolverine is one of the best casting calls of all time.  He still has the ability to carry this character and the movies and I enjoyed this one a lot more than the X-Men: Origins offering a few years back.

I would recommend people checking this out.  I wouldn't say it's a must see but it was more than entertaining enough to get my recommendation.

R.I.P.D.

Veteran sheriff Roy Pulsifer (Bridges) has spent his career with the legendary police force known as R.I.P.D. tracking monstrous spirits who are cleverly disguised as ordinary people. His mission? To arrest and bring to justice a special brand of criminals trying to escape final judgment by hiding among the unsuspecting on Earth. Once the wise-cracking Roy is assigned former rising-star detective Nick Walker (Reynolds) as his junior officer, the new partners have to turn grudging respect into top-notch teamwork. When they uncover a plot that could end life as we know it, two of R.I.P.D.'s finest must miraculously restore the cosmic balance...or watch the tunnel to the afterlife begin sending angry souls the very wrong way.

This movie is exactly what you would expect from the trailer.  It is a wannabe Men In Block with the dead instead of aliens.  Pretty much exactly the same story throughout.  The effects were decent.  The action was decent.  The characters were decent.  Really not much more to say.  It was just a decent, wannabe Men In Black.

I wouldn't recommend anyone rushing to see this.  There are much better options out there.  You could pretty much just wait for this to show up on television for when you are just chilling and don't have anything else to do.

The Conjuring

Before there was Amityville, there was Harrisville. The Conjuring tells the true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga), world renowned paranormal investigators, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most horrifying case of their lives.

This movie was just as creepy as advertised.  There was great build up of suspense throughout so you never knew if you were going to jump out of your seat or laugh at how they messed with you.  I will say I was surprised that I wasn't terribly terrified (except for the stupid creepy ass doll).  Scared at points?  Absolutely.  Terrified or losing sleep?  Not so much.

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out.  It was a great watch and definitely scary enough for any fans of these type of movies.

Only God Forgives

Julian (Ryan Gosling) is a former kickboxer and gangster living in Bangkok. When his brother is murdered by a ruthless Thai police lieutenant, Julian is forced to seek vengeance or risk his own death.

This was a strangely filmed movie just like Drive from a few years back by the same director/actor.  There was a lot more closeups on people's faces or them thinking instead of actual dialogue.  However, it was done in such a way that the intensity and anticipation bar for what was going to happen was pretty awesome.  The Thai police lieutenant totally kept you dialed in every time he was on screen (kind of like Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men) and Ryan Gosling's back and forth between intensity and deep thought was awesome as always.  Besides the filming style and the score build up in the background, there were parts of the movie that were so violent, I had to look away. 

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  It's pretty violent at times and very artistic/not mainstream, but I was surprised by how dialed in I was to this movie and enjoyed it alot.

Before Midnight

In Before Midnight, we meet Celine and Jesse 9 years on. Almost 2 decades have passed since that first meeting on a train bound for Vienna, and we now find them in their early 40's in Greece. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story.

How is this a three movie deep franchise at this point?  I loved the first one and actually felt like you were there with the two of them while they were talking.  I liked the second one to see what had become of them and them catching up.  This one kind of lost the magic from the first two and it was a little too forced and strained when compared to the other two.  Perhaps that was the point that the director was going for, but it just failed to hook me.

I wouldn't really recommend people checking this movie out.  It's not nearly as enjoyable as either of the other two.

Killing Season

Deep in the Appalachian mountains, a reclusive American military veteran (Robert De Niro) and a European tourist (John Travolta) strike up an unlikely friendship. But when the tourist's true intentions come to light, what follows is a tense battle across some of America's most forbidding landscape proving the old adage: the purest form of war is one-on-one.

This movie is pretty much formula across the board.  There was a pretty good build up and then it was intense for a little bit but the action gave way to too much talky talky and my interest level pretty much bottomed out.  I found myself watching it wondering how in the blue hell these two actors were in a made for tv movie like this for the whole last half of the movie.

I would recommend anyone bothering with this.  It's not necessarily a bad movie, but it's definitely not worth your time if you have other stuff you could be doing.

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain captures the laughter, energy and mayhem from Hart's 2012 concert tour, which spanned 10 countries and 80 cities, and generated over $32 million in ticket sales. Hart's "Let Me Explain" tour was one of the most successful comedy tours of all time, with more than 540,000 tickets sold. Both of his shows at New York's Madison Square Garden and his performance at London's O2 Arena sold out, as well as his appearances in Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Amsterdam. The tour concluded this past New Year's Eve in Los Angeles by selling out the Staples Center and grossing over $1 million in revenue in one night. Only five other comedians – Andrew Dice Clay, Dane Cook, Chris Rock, Russell Peters and Eddie Murphy – have sold out Madison Square Garden where Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain was filmed.

I think that Kevin Hart is hilarious and his story telling on stage completely destroys me.  This movie did not fail to do the same.  There were numerous parts where I was laughing so hard I was in physical pain.

I absolutely recommend anyone looking for a laugh check this out.  It's unfortunately only  an hour long but it is one very funny hour.

Pacific Rim

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

This was a straight up throwback summer blockbuster.  Crazy special effects.  Insane action scenes.  It pretty much oozes testosterone.  The futuristic story is developed enough that you are hooked.  Sure there isn't much deep substance to the story at all and there are a bazillion cliches but you enjoy those things in a movie like this.  The characters are totally developed enough and it was awesome to finally see Jax from Sons Of Anarchy (favorite show on tv, people!!!) in a movie.  And Charlie Day was perfect in the Rick Moranis from Ghostbusters kind of role.  

I enjoyed this movie very much.  I think that some of the over the top hype that went nuts the week before it was released may have set expectations too high.  But it was still a very entertaining and enjoyable summer blockbuster type of movie.  

Grown Ups 2

The all-star comedy cast from Grown Ups returns for more summertime laughs. Lenny (Adam Sandler) has relocated his family back to the small town where he and his friends grew up. This time around, the grown ups are the ones learning lessons from their kids on a day notoriously full of surprises: the last day of school.

Wow.  What a drop off.  I'll be the first to admit that the original Grown Ups was not a "good" movie but for whatever reason I found it hilarious and entertaining as hell.  It was one of Sandler's better movies since Big Daddy where it wasn't just the silliness of the movie but the family stuff made it fun to a broader audience.  Since that movie he has made a couple of really horrible movies (except for Just Go With It).  I was hoping that this would be more like the aforementioned movies and/or the original.  Unfortunately, it was more like his potty humor that runs its course and ends up being more annoying than entertaining.  As if that wasn't disappointing enough - there is the absence of Rob Schneider from this sequel.  There is no mention of him whatsoever.  Is he too busy or something?   He has literally been in every Happy Madison Productions movie.  That's like the extent of his career.  But he couldn't be in this movie?  And a major character (out of the 5 friends) gets no mention whatsoever?  Strange.

I would not recommend anyone checking this out.  It's pretty much a giant turd and not worth anyone's time.  I'm praying the next time that I see the original - it won't be tainted by how lame the sequel was.  

Despicable Me 2

In Despicable Me 2, Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy animated adventure featuring the return of Gru (Steve Carell), the girls, the unpredictably hilarious minions... and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.

I LOVE THE MINIONS!!!!  Seriously.  They might be my favorite animated characters of all time.  These guys crack me up.  Sure, the stuff with Gru wasn't as funny as it was in the first one.  Sure, the cuteness of the girls wasn't as adorable as the first one (although Agnes really gets me with how similar she is to Stinka).  Sure, the villain was nowhere near as good as Vector from the first one.  But the minions were awesome/hysterical.  And that really is all that mattered to me.  I was straight up belly laughing at multiple points during the movie.

I absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  Respect the minions!!!!

Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger is a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Wow!  This was pretty much garbage.  Never thought I would say that about any movie that starred Johnny Depp playing a quirky character in it but I now can.  The movie was way too long, you really didn't care at all about any characters outside of Tonto, and the narrative back and forth of the story was completely unnecessary.  The timing and pacing was pretty much off throughout the movie making all the action scenes silly and making a lot of Depp's comedic scenes/lines fall flat. 

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this movie.  The only entertaining part of the whole experience was that Armie Hammer's head was dragged through horseshit at one point while he is unconscious and I just kept commenting out loud that he still has shit in his hair.  Seriously.  That was all that I enjoyed from this movie.