Kung Fu Panda 3

In 2016, one of the most successful animated franchises in the world returns with its biggest comedy adventure yet, "Kung Fu Panda 3." When Po's long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible—learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!

The original Kung Fu Panda is probably one of my favorite animated movies of all time.  It was one of those classic Dreamworks or Pixar animated movies where the humor was there for the adults and the kids love it too.  The second one was decent but nothing that I would repeatedly watch like the original.  It seemed more like a straight to dvd movie.  This entry was MUCH better than the last one.  This was a much better sequel and much more in line with all the things that made the original so awesome.  The humor was crisp and the characters both old and new were great.  The pacing of the movie was perfect with a run time of barely 90 minutes.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  It's a great watch and the parents can enjoy it as much as the kids.   

The Boy

The Boy is a frightening thrill ride directed by William Brent Bell (The Devil Inside) starring Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead). Greta is a young American woman who takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, only to discover that the family’s 8-year-old is a life-sized doll that the parents care for just like a real boy, as a way to cope with the death of their actual son 20 years prior. After violating a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring Greta’s worst nightmare to life, leading her to believe that the doll is actually alive.

I am shocked at how much I ended up enjoying this movie.  I will be the first to admit that I had zero expectations for it based on the trailer but it was definitely done creepy enough to keep you interested and you are all in for the payoff by the time it comes around.   This is a prime example of Hollywood being able to do more than enough with a little premise as opposed to usually having this crazy over the top and detailed premise and failing to deliver.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  Like I said - I'm shocked at how much I enjoyed this movie and it was actually one of the better creepy/scary movies to come out in a while.

The 5th Wave

In the new film The 5th Wave, four waves of increasingly deadly attacks have left most of Earth decimated. Against a backdrop of fear and distrust, Cassie (Chloë Grace Moretz) is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother. As she prepares for the inevitable and lethal 5th wave, Cassie teams up with a young man who may become her final hope – if she can only trust him.

This is a movie that is attempting to capitalize on the teen novel craze that has brought us The Hunger Games and Divergent series.  It failed miserably.  The movie started out pretty decent and the effects of the first few "waves" were cool.  But then it just went to crap.  I don't know if you can put it on Moretz being not as good as Jennifer Lawrence or Shainne Woodley, but it was just seriously lacking any quality once the special effects stopped.  

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this movie.  It's a pretty big waste of time and I seriously doubt that it will do well enough to warrant making a series out of it.

Regression

Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates the case of young Angela (Emma Watson), who accuses her father, John Gray (David Dencik), of an unspeakable crime. When John unexpectedly and without recollection admits guilt, renowned psychologist Dr. Raines (David Thewlis) is brought in to help him relive his memories and what they discover unmasks a horrifying nationwide mystery.

This seems like it could have been a good movie but the hook and the payoff just were not there.  I was not remotely pulled in to be interested in the developing story and the payoff didn't really deliver.  A great movie comes with both of those.  A movie can be good with at least one of them but this movie kind of dropped the ball with both and ended up being a movie that is just kind of there.

I wouldn't really recommend people bothering with this movie.  Again - it is pretty much just there and you have forgotten all about it the day after seeing it.

13 Hours

13 Hours presents, for the first time ever, the true account of the events of September 11, 2012, when terrorists attacked the US State Department Special Mission Compound and a nearby CIA station called the Annex in Benghazi, Libya. A team of six American security operators fought to repel the attackers and protect the Americans stationed there. Those men went beyond the call of duty, performing extraordinary acts of courage and heroism, to avert tragedy on a much larger scale. This is their personal account, never before told, of what happened during the thirteen hours of that now-infamous attack.

Let me say first that with this being a Michael Bay movie, there is of course a lot of heart string pulling that could definitely be seen as over dramatic building up to the attacks.  However, I was very much okay with it in this movie.  It played incredibly well and I thought this movie was awesome.  I thought that the six soldiers were perfectly cast and I thought John Krasinski was great in a totally different role than he usually plays.  The movie did a great job of portraying the overall confusion in Benghazi and didn't just show things from one point of view.  I don't remotely pretend to be knowledgable about history or current affairs so I can't vouch for any of that accuracy.   But it seemed very much like you were there with them fighting your way through it all.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  It was an awesome watch leaving you with lots of adrenaline and appreciation for the people that protect our country.

Ride Along 2

Kevin Hart and Ice Cube lead the returning lineup of Ride Along 2, the sequel to the blockbuster action-comedy that gave us the year's most popular comedy duo. Joining Hart and Cube for the next chapter of the series are director Tim Story, as well as Cube's fellow producers—Will Packer, Matt Alvarez and Larry Brezner—who will produce alongside Cube.

This is basically just more of the same from the original.  If you enjoyed that one than you will probably enjoy this one.  It really comes down to if you like Kevin Hart or not.  It was totally formula in every way with a couple of decent laughs throughout.

I would somewhat recommend this movie to people.  It's not awful.  It's not great.  It's a decent comedy sequel.

The Forest

Rising with terrifying grandeur at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan, the legendary real-life Aokigahara Forest is the suspense-filled setting of the supernatural thriller. A young American woman, Sara (Natalie Dormer), journeys there in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared. In the company of expatriate Aiden (Taylor Kinney), Sara enters the forest having been well warned to “stay on the path.” Determined to discover the truth about her sister’s fate, Sara will have to face the angry and tormented souls of the dead that prey on anyone who dares come near them. These malevolent spirits lying in wait for Sara at every turn will plunge her into a frightening darkness from which she must fight to save herself.

This movie was poop.  Just straight up poop.  It started off super slow and never picked up when they got to the actual forest.  There were no good scares and the story (or lack of) was garbage.  I held out hope that there would be some sort of redemption in the end but it just got worse.  

I would not recommend anyone wasting 90 minutes of their life on this.  It really was garbage.

The Ten Best Movies Of 2015

Honorable Mention - The Hateful Eight
It was tough to leave this off the top ten, but I really enjoyed a couple of over the top blockbusters more and Tarantino spent way too much time ranting in the stage coach before getting to the cabin where the movie really kicked into high gear.

10 - Furious 7
Was this a well done movie?  No.  Was it even the best of the Fast & Furious movies?  No.  But was it a movie that had the audience cheering out loud and clapping.  YES!!!  I love movies like this.  It's what makes the franchise so awesome.  Totally over the top in every way but one hell of a ride and so much fun.  Add in the amazing send off and paying respects to Paul Walker - and this movie made the cut for me.

9 - Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Another mega-franchise that had the audiences cheering and oohing and aahing.  Was it as good as the first one?  Not at all.  But they introduced some newbies, honored the repeating ones, had a great story and was another amazing entry in the Marvel cinematic universe.

8 - It Follows
This was one of the better and more original creepy/scary movies to come along in a long time.  You couldn't help but get completely hooked and keep your eyes on the screen.  The usual horror movie stuff was absent and it was still creepy as hell.

7 - Inside Out
Pixar has struck gold again.  This was a perfectly voice casted movie that provides some of the greatest teachable moments for parents with their kids regarding emotions and maybe even more importantly adults coming to terms with some of their own surpressed feelings.

6 - Room
This movie was awesome simply because it was a completely different take on your textbook kidnapping movies.  It wasn't about the actual kidnapping or the rescue.  Those parts really didn't even matter in this movie.  This was all about dealing with being in captivity for both an adult and a child and then the two of them dealing with the real world after the fact.  Original and very well done.

5 - Mad Max: Fury Road
Wow!  This movie was like straight testosterone on screen and ALOT of it.  This movie hit the ground running and didn't let up on the gas at all.  Yet they still managed to develop characters and tell a story at the same time.  One of the better reboots to come along in a very long time.

4 - The Gift
This movie barely got a wide release.  and that is a shame.  This was a great psychological thriller.  You get totally sucked into the movie right from the start and leave wondering if their were any people in your past that you may have wronged and if you have anything to worry about.  Take into account that this movie was directed by one of its starts - Joel Edgerton and that just makes it all much more impressive.

3 - Tomorrowland
I know that this movie was pretty much poorly received and that is a shame.  This was a great fantasy/imagination movie and struck a major chord with me.  Movies like this are why I got so into movies to begin with.  You pay your money, get your popcorn, settle in and go for a crazy ride to a totally different world for a couple of hours and enjoy it.  This movie was exactly that for me.

2 - The Revenant
This was one of the grizzliest movies I've even seen.  Besides the blatant and realistic violence, the filming style pretty much takes you right there and you feel like you are going through the same trials that Leonardo DiCaprio is.  And the bear attack scene?  Pretty much the craziest scene I've even seen on film.  No clue how they filmed this without him actually getting attacked by a bear.  Add in Tom Hardy's acting and this movie would have easily been the number one of the year if it wasn't for . . . . . . .

1 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
This is the movie that I have waited 32 years ago.  Forget the prequels.  Pretend they never happened.  This movie felt like a Star Wars movie.  This movie felt exactly like seeing those others in theaters.  The new characters were introduced flawlessly and you immediately love them.  The returning ones each got their moment for applause . . . . . you can't help but geek out when a whole sold out audience reacts in unison like that!  And I'm already dying to see more of the new generation moving forward.  I have watched this movie 6 times (4 in theaters) in the last two weeks and I am totally ready for viewing 7.

The Ten Worst Movies Of 2015

Dishonorable Mention - The Last Witch Hunter
How does Vin Diesel take his mega-stardom from the Fast & Furious movies and make this?  How was this a good idea?

10 - The Visit
This could have been a legit creepy movie.  M Night Shyalalalalalalaman might have finally got his redemption.  Instead he went with the stupidest ending with a feces scene that I'm still cringing typing about 3 months later.

9 - American Ultra
This was basically an idea that some stoners had on a couch and somehow got made into a movie.  This would have struggled as a SNL skit much less a full length movie.

8 - The Water Diviner
Pretty sure that this was the snoozefest of the year.  I can barely remember anything about it since it was so damn boring.

7 - Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Did this really necessitate a sequel?  If so - wouldn't you want to go all out to get your lead back from the original?  Doomed from the start.

6 - The Transporter Refueled
Another franchise question.  It was a somewhat decent franchise if you like the senseless action type of movies.  The star leaves.  You want to reboot it?  Was the world dying for a Transporter reboot with a no name lead?

5 - Hitman: Agent 47
See the above thoughts on senseless franchise rebooting.

4 - The Boy Next Door
So beyond formula and ridiculous.  This would have been a nonsensical episode of a television procedural.

3 - Magic Mike XXL
Despite the subject matter - the first movie was actually pretty funny at times and a somewhat decent watch.  This was just an excuse to get money from male stripper starved women and had no substance whatsoever.

2 - The Ridiculous 6
This was a made for Netflix movie from Adam Sandler.  It was so god awful I just kind of sat there with a disgusted look on my face for the first half before pulling the plug.  Why would Netflix sign a deal with him for crap like this?

1 - Mortdecai
I can't believe that anything with Johnny Depp in it could ever be this bad.  I mean it was seriously God awful.  Hopefully he has hit rock bottom at this point and get back on track because something like this should be illegal.