Ice Age: Collision Course

Scrat’s epic pursuit of the elusive acorn catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.

How is this a movie franchise with 5 movies?  How is this the biggest box office animated franchise of all time!?!  I have never really been that into the Ice Age movies and I'm a HUGE fan of animated movies.  It just never really hooked me.  But the bottom line is that kids love them and my two nieces had a great time seeing it so even though they really are not my cup of tea it was more than worth the time to watch their enjoyment.

Again - was never a fan of these movies/characters.  But if you have kids and they like it, take one for the team and take them to see it like my friends and I did.  

Bad Moms

In this new comedy from the grateful husbands and devoted fathers who wrote The Hangover, Amy has a seemingly perfect life - a great marriage, over-achieving kids, beautiful home and a career. However she's over-worked, over-committed and exhausted to the point that she's about to snap.  Fed up, she joins forces with two other over-stressed moms on a quest to liberate themselves from conventional responsibilities – going on a wild, un-mom-like binge of long overdue freedom, fun and self-indulgence – putting them on a collision course with PTA Queen Bee Gwendolyn and her clique of devoted perfect moms.

This movie was hilarious with a heart.  The mom stuff was great and very touching at times but the laughs were off the charts.  The three leads really played their parts to perfection and their chemistry was perfect.  That being said - Kathryn Hahn stole the show.  She was as hilarious of a supporting character in this as Will Ferrell was in Old School and Zach Gallifinakis in The Hangover.  She really was that damn funny.

If you are looking for laughs I absolutely recommend this movie.  It's pretty raunchy at times but really was hilarious.

Jason Bourne

Matt Damon returns to his most iconic role in Jason Bourne. Paul Greengrass, the director of "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum," once again joins Damon for the next chapter of Universal Pictures’ Bourne franchise, which finds the CIA’s most lethal former operative drawn out of the shadows.

This was yet another excellent entry in the Bourne franchise.  If you like the others you will certainly like this one.  More twists and turns and new characters were fluidly introduced.  The fighting and car chases continue to be the most realistic ones I've ever seen.  You can't watch them and not see it as actually happening with no additional special effects.  

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  It is a very enjoyable and action filled roller coaster ride.

Nerve

Industrious high school senior, Vee Delmonico [Emma Roberts], has had it with living life on the sidelines. When pressured by friends to join the popular online game Nerve, Vee decides to sign up for just one dare in what seems like harmless fun. But as she finds herself caught up in the thrill of the adrenaline-fueled competition partnered with a mysterious stranger [Dave Franco], the game begins to take a sinister turn with increasingly dangerous acts, leading her into a high stakes finale that will determine her entire future.​

This was a decent movie.  It really puts into perspective how screwed up the YouTube generation really is that this could be a legit game/app that would be a HUGE success with everyone's addiction to their five minutes of fame.  The chemistry between the leads was definitely there making the movie watchable for the appreciated short running time.

The movie was a decent watch like I said but I don't know that I would necessarily recommend it.  Watchable doesn't really make it worth time and money.

Lights Out

From producer James Wan (The Conjuring) comes a tale of an unknown terror that lurks in the dark. When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger…once the lights go out.

The trailers for this movie were terrifying so I was expecting to pretty much crap myself from this movie.  There definitely were plenty of scary moments.but not as much as I expected.  That's not to say the movie was no good.  It definitely was.  I'm just saying it could have been even scarier.  The good thing though was how simple the story was and how short the running time was.  They didn't waste any time and they didn't have a whole convoluted story.  Always a fan of that.

I would absolutely recommend that fans of horror movies check this out.  It was a great watch but was not as scary as I had thought it would be based on the trailers.

Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond, the highly-anticipated next installment in the globally popular Star Trek franchise, created by Gene Roddenberry and reintroduced by J.J. Abrams in 2009, returns with director Justin Lin (The Fast and the Furious franchise) at the helm of this epic voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her intrepid crew. In "Beyond," the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

I was never a huge fan of Star Trek growing up.  Star Wars was pretty much my religion.  I never watched any of the Star Trek shows but did see the movies.  They were not bad but they just always seemed too sci-fi for my tastes.  When JJ Abrams reintroduced Star Trek to movie theaters a few years back with a great, young cast he made me a fan.  I have enjoyed both films that he did and I enjoyed this one alot too.  It had a lot of great actions, great laughs with characters bickering and great visuals throughout - especially the space attack scenes that looked amazing.  It was very well paced and was an enjoyable ride overall.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was a very fun movie and I continue to be surprised that I can refer to myself as a Star Trek fan now.

Ghostbusters

Thirty years after the original film took the world by storm, Ghostbusters is back and fully rebooted for a new generation. Director Paul Feig combines all the paranormal fighting elements that made the original franchise so beloved with a cast of new characters, played by the funniest actors working today. Get ready to watch them save the world this summer!

It goes without saying that this movie was probably the most scrutinized in advance movie of all time.  Any time that you are "rebooting" one of the most beloved movies of all time you are going to go through that.  Ghostbusters is probably one of my favorite movies of all time and I was beyond skeptical about them being able to pull this off.  I was fine with the all woman cast and I'm actually a huge Melissa McCarthy fan and love Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones on SNL too.  I've never been a big fan of Kristen Wiig so that was lowering my expectations for this alot too.  Regardless - all of the knocking of the movie in advance ended up being wrong as this movie was actually good.  Not great - but good.  It didn't destroy the movie or whatever that they were all women.  I was fine with that.  My only real complaint was that Melissa McCarthy was kind of wasted by playing the straight character.  She could have delivered much bigger laughs in the Bill Murray-ish part as opposed to the Dan Aakroyd one.  And Kristen Wiig was the exact disappointment that I expected.  It was like they both played the Dan Aakroyd part honestly.  Kate McKinnon was easily the best part of the movie and stole every scene she was in.  Leslie Jones was good.  The cameos were all good.  Again - the movie was good.  Not great - but good.  And the bottom line is that this movie is more for the next generation not ours.  My niece who is 10 years old saw this movie with us and watching her reaction to it all was exactly how I remembered reacting to the original one.  She was crazy scared at the ghost like parts but loved the movie overall and was talking so excitedly about it.  That is what Ghostbusters is all about.

Pretty sure that most people are going to see this regardless of my review.  It was a good watch.  The knocking of it ended up being unwarranted.  The women were funny.   It could have been better but it was still enjoyable and the new generation will undoubtedly love this movie.

Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates

Hard-partying brothers Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) place an online ad to find the perfect dates (Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza) for their sister's Hawaiian wedding. Hoping for a wild getaway, the boys instead find themselves outsmarted and out-partied by the uncontrollable duo.

This movie had me belly laughing so many times throughout the movie.  I am a big fan of all four of the leads at this point - including Zac Efron who really is following the Justin Timberlake career path of going from teen heartthrob to becoming really damn funny.  The chemistry between the four leads was awesome and the real hidden gem is the sister of Mike & Dave who does a great part of basically being tortured in many different ways throughout the movie.  

I would absolutely recommend people seeing this.  The movie is pretty raunchy at times but is probably the funniest movie of the summer so far regardless.  The chemistry between the actors/actresses was simply that great.

The Secret Life Of Pets

For one bustling Manhattan apartment building, the real day starts after the folks on two legs leave for work and school. That’s when the pets of every stripe, fur and feather begin their own nine-to-five routine: hanging out with each other, trading humiliating stories about their owners, or auditioning adorable looks to get better snacks. The building’s top dog, Max (voiced by Louis C.K.), a quick-witted terrier rescue who’s convinced he sits at the center of his owner’s universe, finds his pampered life rocked when she brings home Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a sloppy, massive mess of a mongrel with zero interpersonal skills. When this reluctant canine duo finds themselves out on the mean streets of New York, they have to set aside their differences and unite against a fluffy-yet-cunning bunny named Snowball (Kevin Hart), who’s building an army of Ex-Pets abandoned by their owners and out to turn the tables on humanity…all before dinnertime.

My friend was spot on when he said that this was pretty much a pets version of Toy Story.  I still enjoyed the movie very much and there was plenty of laughs throughout.  The characters were great and definitely will catch on tremendously with kids that see this movie.  But it really was the same story and everything as Toy Story.  

I would still definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was a fun watch and is pretty much a must for anyone with kids.  Although I thought that the movie would be funnier than it was it was still very much enjoyable.  

The Legend Of Tarzan

It has been years since the man once known as Tarzan (Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Robbie) at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the Belgian, Captain Leon Rom (Waltz). But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.

This was a slightly different take on the traditional Tarzan story.  The raised by apes stuff was all in flashback form with the movie taking place after the whole going back to civilization thing.  He is going back to his roots after adjusting to the world.  That different take along with Christoph Waltz being such a great villain made this movie much more enjoyable than I expected.  I'm not saying this was a great movie or anything.  It was beyond predictable and pretty formula across the board but it wasn't as bad as a movie as critics made it out to be. 

I would somewhat recommend people checking this movie out.  It's not a must watch and there are definitely better options out there.  But it's a pretty good watch and different take on the Tarzan story and nice to see Skarsgard finally get his shot at leading man status.

The Purge: Election Year

It’s been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night. Now serving as head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), his mission is to protect her in a run for president and survive the annual ritual that targets the poor and innocent. But when a betrayal forces them onto the streets of D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive until dawn…or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state.

It's really strange to say how smart these movies are.  They take the shock/gore genre and inject it with an actually thought out governmental story line that combined with the psychological mind screw of thinking about the premise and make a legit good movie even with the crazy over the top gore and violence.  To think that this franchise is now three movies deep and that they are actually getting better/smarter is an even more impressive accomplishment.  

I would absolutely recommend anyone who is a fan of the previous entries check this out. It's a good watch just like the other two and manages to take your brain to a place imagining that this world actually exists.  Just remind yourself afterword that it doesn't so you don't kill someone in the parking lot on your way to the car.

The BFG

The BFG (Mark Rylance), while a giant himself, is a Big Friendly Giant and nothing like the other inhabitants of Giant Country. Standing 24-feet tall with enormous ears and a keen sense of smell, he is endearingly dim-witted and keeps to himself for the most part. Giants like Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) on the other hand, are twice as big and at least twice as scary and have been known to eat humans, while the BFG prefers Snozzcumber and Frobscottle. Upon her arrival in Giant Country, Sophie, a precocious 10-year-old girl from London, is initially frightened of the mysterious giant who has brought her to his cave, but soon comes to realize that the BFG is actually quite gentle and charming, and, having never met a giant before, has many questions. The BFG brings Sophie to Dream Country where he collects dreams and sends them to children, teaching her all about the magic and mystery of dreams.  Having both been on their own in the world up until now, their affection for one another quickly grows. But Sophie’s presence in Giant Country has attracted the unwanted attention of the other giants, who have become increasingly more bothersome.  Sophie and the BFG soon depart for London to see Queen Victoria (Penelope Wilton) and warn her of the precarious giant situation, but they must first convince the Queen and her maid, Mary (Rebecca Hall), that giants do indeed exist. Together, they come up with a plan to get rid of the giants once and for all.

This was a very cute movie.  It had that special kind of a feel to it.  You could tell that this was a Spielberg movie made for kids.  It had that feel.  Visually, the giant scenes were amazing.  Especially the ones where he was roaming the streets and hiding.  It was done so fluidly.  You couldn't help but get hooked by the friendship between the little girl and the giant and wanting to see how the story would play out.  

I would definitely recommend people with children taking their kids to check this out.  It's a very good family watch that will unfortunately probably get buried because of being released between two huge animated movies this summer.