Maleficent

From Disney comes Maleficent—the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the 1959 classic "Sleeping Beauty." A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal—an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading king's successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom—and perhaps to Maleficent's true happiness as well.

Let me just go on record as saying that the casting of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent is easily on the list of Top 10 casting calls ever.  That being said - I didn't really know what to expect from this movie.  It didn't really seem like a fluffy kid movie.  But it was from Disney so I didn't think it would be too dark of a tale.  It ended up being pretty much right down the middle.  Angelina Jolie was awesome.  Whether her viciousness, her softer side or her sarcastic delivery of one liners she was totally firing on all cylinders.  The action scenes were great and the forest effects were good too.  The best part of the movie was that it really didn't waste any time.  It was very well paced, didn't drag and had a perfect 90 minute running time.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this movie.  I didn't really have high expectations but I enjoyed this movie and thought it was a good story in a well paced feature length.

Blended

After a disastrous blind date, single parents Lauren (Barrymore) and Jim (Sandler) agree on only one thing: they never want to see each other again. But when they each sign up separately for a fabulous family vacation with their kids, they are all stuck sharing a suite at a luxurious African safari resort for a week.

Very rarely do Adam Sandler movies land in the middle for me.  I either think that they are absolutely awful or I really enjoy them.  After the first 5-10 minutes I thought for sure that this one was destined to be one of the awful ones.  It seemed so rushed and forced and the children actors were some of the worst I've ever seen.  But as the movie went on the kid actors grew on me and it actually developed into a pretty decent movie.  Still not sure why this had to take place in Africa, but it was a cute date type movie.  Especially for people with kids.  And what is there not to like about Terry Crews and his back up people popping up over and over again and singing.  Never got old.  Actually got funnier each time.

I would actually recommend people checking out Blended.  Didn't think I would at the start but it turned into a pretty enjoyable movie.  

X-Men: Days Of Future Past

The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The beloved characters from the original "X-Men" film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from "X-Men: First Class," in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.

I thought this movie was awesome.  I was very glad that they spent much more time with the cast from First Class than the earlier X-Men movies.  I just enjoy McAvoy and Fassbender much more as Professor X and Magneto.  The back and forth was great.  The working in of other mutants with the future battles against the Sentinels was awesome action/effects.  Yes - there are going to be many that question the timeline of the X-Men movies and where the hell everything stands after the end of this movie, but I have zero desire to get into that.  There was more than enough of an effort towards continuity that made sense while watching this movie.  I don't want to ruin that by thinking "wait a minute . . . . . ."  

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  Again - they will drive you nuts if you decide to go down the road of figuring out the entire timeline of the X-Men movies.  But if you are able to turn that off or leave it alone and just enjoy the ride that this movie is - you'll love it.  It's not as good as First Class, but I would put it on par with X2 which is my second favorite movie in the franchise.

Godzilla

An epic rebirth to Toho's iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure pits the world's most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

This was easily the best Godzilla rebirth with modern movie making.  This was a million times better than the nonsense with Matthew Broderick a couple years back.  The effects were awesome.  The build up to the monsters appearing was great.  The actors who were really secondary to the monsters all did a great job.  And for me the best part was that the filmmakers didn't get wrapped up in too much mass destruction.  Sure, cities were destroyed but it wasn't like one of the Transformers movies or Pacific Rim last year where it was just non-stop building beating.  Most of the fight scenes would segway into it being shown on the news or something.  By doing this, they made it so the final fight scenes still felt fresh 90 minutes after they had started.  I thought that was an incredibly smart decision.

I would recommend anyone who is into these types of movies go check this out.  I was trying to keep my expectations in check and they started to get pretty high, but this movie still met them as far as I was concerned.

Million Dollar Arm

Based on a true story, Million Dollar Arm follows JB Bernstein, a once-successful sports agent who now finds himself edged out by bigger, slicker competitors. He and his partner Aash (Aasif Mandvi) will have to close their business down for good if JB doesn’t come up with something fast. Late one night, while watching cricket being played in India on TV, JB comes up with an idea so radical it just might work. Why not go to there and find the next baseball pitching sensation? Setting off for Mumbai with nothing but a gifted but cantankerous scout (Alan Arkin) in tow, JB stages a televised, nationwide competition called “Million Dollar Arm” where 40,000 hopefuls compete before two 18-year-old finalists, Rinku and Dinesh (Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal), emerge as winners. JB brings them back to the United States to train with legendary pitching coach Tom House (Bill Paxton). The goal: get the boys signed to a major league team.

This is absolutely one of those - you saw the movie just by watching the commercial type deals.  There is nothing that happens here that you don't see coming.  That being said, there is still that feel good underdog sports movie vibe that keeps you interested and rooting for it to play out - even though you know how it will.  

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out.  It's not a must see by any means but if you like feel good, underdog type movies this is an enjoyable watch.

Legends Of Oz: Dorothy's Return

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return is a continuation of one of the world’s most popular and beloved fairy tales, Legends of Oz finds Dorothy (Lea Michele) waking to post-tornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz to try to save her old friends the Scarecrow (Dan Aykroyd), the Lion (Jim Belushi), the Tin Man (Kelsey Grammer) and Glinda (Bernadette Peters) from a devious new villain, the Jester (Martin Short). Wiser the owl (Oliver Platt), Marshal Mallow (Hugh Dancy), China Princess (Megan Hilty) and Tugg the tugboat (Patrick Stewart) join Dorothy on her latest magical journey through the colorful landscape of Oz to restore order and happiness to Emerald City.


This would have been a brutal watch even on dvd if it were released as a direct to dvd movie like it should have been.  This movie has no business being out in theaters.  They are basically just trying to take advantage of the absence of animated movies in theaters right now.  I won't waste any mor time reviewing this.  We didn't even finish watching it and pulled the plug on it less than halfway through after watching Dorothy recruit a replacement trio for scarecrow, lion and tin man.  It's just garbage.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time or money on this.  It's beyond lame and an insult to parents that have to waste either of those things.

Neighbors

Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Rose Byrne lead the cast of Neighbors, a comedy about a young couple suffering from arrested development who are forced to live next to a fraternity house after the birth of their newborn baby. 

This was a pretty funny movie.  Could it have been funnier?  Yes.  They decided to inject some drama into the two main frat brothers that kind of drained the movie from it's laugh track for awhile.  But outside of that - this was a pretty funny movie.  Its baffling to me how much I find myself enjoying the comedic version of Zac Efron more and more.  Seth Rogen plays pretty much the same character just like always.  But he played very well off of Rose Byrne and Zac Efron.  The dance off scene was priceless.

I would recommend people checking this out even though I think it could have been funnier.  I still enjoyed it alot and their was great chemistry throughout the cast.

Walk Of Shame

Walk of Shame stars Elizabeth Banks as a resourceful reporter whose one-night stand with a handsome stranger (James Marsden) leaves her stranded the next morning in downtown Los Angeles without a phone, car, ID, or money - and only 8 hours before the most important job interview of her career.

Why didn't this movie get a wide release?  There have been far too many much less funny movies that have been pushed on movie goers and this simple comedy with some really big laughs gets the quietest release of the year.  No reason for that at all.  I love Elizabeth Banks.  I always find her to be hilarious and she delivered in this movie.  Was the movie a full on laugh riot?  No.  DId it have more than enough laughs for a 90 minute simple story with lots of bumps for the character along the way?  Absolutely.  The scene with her trying to get help at a crack house is worth watching the movie alone.  Wonder Woman and I were pretty much belly laughing through that part of the movie.  

I would recommend people checking this out if they get the chance.  It was a very fun and simple watch that I really can't understand the lack of a wide release.

Brick Mansions

In a dystopian Detroit, abandoned brick mansions left from better times now house only the most dangerous criminals. Unable to control the crime, the police constructed a colossal containment wall around this area to protect the rest of the city. Undercover cop Damien Collier (Paul Walker) is determined to bring his father’s killer, Tremaine (RZA) to justice and every day is a battle against corruption. For Lino (David Belle), every day is a fight to live an honest life. Their paths never should have crossed, but when Tremaine kidnaps Lino’s girlfriend, Damien reluctantly accepts the help of the fearless ex-convict, and together they must stop a sinister plot to devastate the entire city. 

This movie was surprisingly more watchable than I thought it would be.  I expected it to be more of a straight to dvd release that ended up getting a wide release because of Paul Walker's death and that is exactly what it was, but since I did watch this at home and not pay or go to a theater for it like I'm sure it was meant to be watched it was actually a decent watch.  The action and chases were good.  It was pretty much a lower budget Fast & Furious.  Cheesy dialogue, acting, and characters with a quick paced and simple story filled with lots of action.  

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  Like I said - I doubt I would have liked it nearly as much if I went to theaters for this, but it was a much more enjoyable movie that I thought it would be.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

It's great to be Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield). For Peter Parker, there's no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen (Emma Stone). But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro (Jamie Foxx), Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: Oscorp.

This movie was a lot of fun.  I may have liked it more than the original with this reboot.  I loved that movie but it dimmed with repeated viewing.  I don't feel like that will happen with this one though.  The chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone is still awesome.  Jaimie Foxx was great as Electro.  The slow development of Harry Osborn/Green Goblin was well done.  The teases and builds for the future of the franchise was worked in excellently.  The effects were beyond top notch.  I don't think that they needed as many slow motion spidey sense telegraphs but they were still incredible.  The only knock I'll make against this is that maybe it was a little too campy . . . . especially pre-Electro Jaimie Foxx and the brief screen time of Paul Giamatti as Rhino.  All of that being said - I still feel the same negative feelings towards this reboot of the franchise as I did in the first one.  It's less than 10 years since the first Spider-Man 2.  We've already seen the slow decline of Harry Osborn to Green Goblin.  I think that they needed to wait longer to do all of this.  The complicated thing is that I absolutely like everything that they are doing with this version of the franchise better.  The cast is better.  The build is better.  Everything is better but the previous trilogy is just such a not so distant memory and conflicts everything.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  It's a great entry to the Spider-Man/Marvel universe and is what going to the movies in the summer is all about.