Transformers: Age Of Extinction

Transformers: Age of Extinction is the fourth film in director Michael Bay’s global blockbuster franchise. Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Li Bingbing, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, T. J. Miller, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor and Titus Welliver star. The film begins after an epic battle that left a great city torn, but with the world saved. As humanity picks up the pieces, a shadowy group reveals itself in an attempt to control the direction of history… while an ancient, powerful new menace sets Earth in its crosshairs. With help from a new cast of humans, Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) and the Autobots rise to meet their most fearsome challenge yet. In an incredible adventure, they are swept up in a war of good and evil, ultimately leading to a climactic battle across the world. 

I will try to be positive about this movie first.  The action was great.  It was actually better than the last two because it wasn't so over the top with so much going on that you couldn't really tell what was happening at times.  The effects continue to evolve and are top notch.  There is a new way that the man made Transformers morph back and forth in this particle spray thing that was pretty bad ass.  Mark Wahlberg was definitely a better lead than Shia LeBeouf was in the last two and Stanley Tucci was probably the best part of the movie in human form.   And the Transformers story in this one wasn't as far out there as it was in the last two.  Bottom line - it was definitely the best of the three sequels to the original which is still one of my favorite movies ever.  I really didn't like 2 and 3 at all.  Now for the negative . . . . . all the other actors outside of Wahlberg and Tucci were god awful.  I mean seriously.  The daughter and boyfriend thing made me look like the Undertaker with how far my eyes would roll back in my head during every one of their scenes.  They made Megan Fox and whatever the girl's name from the third one look awesome.  I was actually rooting for them to get killed for most of the movie.  I understand that they needed to get away from the first three entries characters to move the franchise in a different direction but that meant a whole lot of blah blah character development.  If you are going to take an hour of my life for that then at least make it be characters that I could remotely care about.  Then there is the run time.  Why in the blue hell does this movie have to be almost three hours long!?!  How can you be on part 4 of a franchise and still have that kind of a running time?  There was so much that could have been edited out of this.  It's like nobody showed Michael Bay where the editing room was.  It felt like forever and could have easily been a 1 hour and 45 minute movie.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  Again - I think its the best entry since the original but still light years behind it.  While I do appreciate Bay making it better than the totally overdone 2 and 3, that running time was insane.

Jersey Boys

Clint Eastwood's big screen version of the Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of the four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic '60s rock group The Four Seasons. Their trials and triumphs are accompanied by the hit songs that influenced a generation, and are now being embraced by a new generation of fans through the stage musical.

I liked this movie but I didn't love it.  And I feel like I could have but there was just something missing from it.  I don't know if it was the pacing.  I don't know if it was the lack of a real dramatic hook.  I don't know if it was the no-name actors.  Maybe it was the rave reviews for the play that I never saw effecting my expectations?  I can't put my finger on it, but there was something.  Normally a movie like this would have me loving it but this one just seemed to drop the ball.  And I was a bit thrown off thinking that it was a musical when it really wasn't.  It was a drama about a band and all songs that were performed were when they were performing on stage as part of the movie.  Maybe that was it?  I don't know.

I would somewhat recommend this movie.  Again - I did like it.  But I should have and wanted to love it but I didn't.  Still can't figure out what it was that was missing.  This is going to bother me for a while.

Think Like A Man Too

In the highly anticipated sequel, which was inspired by Steve Harvey's best-selling book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like A Man," all the couples are back for a wedding in Las Vegas. But plans for a romantic weekend go awry when their various misadventures get them into some compromising situations that threaten to derail the big event. 

This movie was pretty much just more of the same from the original.  A bunch of friends, who are also mostly couples get together.  Lots of laughs, battle of the sexes, relationship blah blah and growing up blah blah.  There were enough laughs that the movie was enjoyable and honestly how can you go wrong with Kevin Hart at this point.  Totally formula in every way but you still enjoy it as it plays out.

I'd somewhat recommend people checking this movie out.  It's not a must see by any means, but you could do a lot worse.

22 Jump Street

After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) when they go deep undercover at a local college. But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on the football team, and Schmidt infiltrates the bohemian art major scene, they begin to question their partnership. Now they don't have to just crack the case - they have to figure out if they can have a mature relationship. If these two overgrown adolescents can grow from freshmen into real men, college might be the best thing that ever happened to them.

This was a pretty funny movie.  It was just like the first one in the fact that they were mocking the movie the entire time.  There was one scene towards the beginning where it was essentially a dialogue on how stupid sequels as a whole were and did nothing but riff on them and making fun of themselves.  You can never go wrong when you blatantly don't take your movie seriously like this.  It always provides awesome comedic material.  The overacted relationship of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum also continued and is very funny due to the great chemistry that they have together.  However, the best part of the movie is the mockumentary type stuff during the end credits.  That stuff had me belly laughing.

If you were a fan of the first one - there is no way that you will be disappointed with this one.  It was just as funny and I think I might have actually liked it more than the original.

How To Train Your Dragon 2

The thrilling second chapter of the epic How to Train Your Dragon story returns to the fantastical world of the heroic Viking Hiccup and his faithful dragon Toothless. The inseparable duo must protect the peace – and save the future of men and dragons from the power-hungry Drago. 

I don't know that I will ever have more of an emotional attachment to a movie or movies like I do to the How To Train Your Dragon movies.  Toothless is literally an animated dragon version of my cat J.  The relationship between him and Hiccup is a carbon copy of the relationship I had with J.  J and I used to watch the first movie all the time.  We had to put him to sleep almost 4 months ago and to say that I have not been the same since is beyond an understatement.  I have been equally looking forward to this movie and dreading it at the same time.  It didn't disappoint on either front.  The movie was just as amazingly animated as the first one.  You still enjoy the wide cast of characters and their dragons.  The story is well done and paced excellently.  There are emotional hooks galore in this movie about the importance of friends and family.  And there is the amazing friendship and loyalty between Hiccup and Toothless.  I was bawling my eyes numerous times throughout the movie and the way it played out served as the most amazing recognition of honor for my dearly departed best friend. 

I'm sorry if this post seems like more of a eulogy than a movie review.  That's the emotional attachment I have to these movies taking over.  This movie will be just as enjoyable as the first one was for movie goers and if like me you love and appreciate the bond between Hiccup and Toothless - it just gets even better.  

The Fault In Our Stars

Hazel and Gus are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them – and us – on an unforgettable journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. The Fault in Our Stars, based upon the number-one bestselling novel by John Green, explores the funny, thrilling and tragic business of being alive and in love.

First off - the movie was beyond crushing emotionally on so many levels.  It would be very difficult for even the coldest of heart to attempt to watch this with out at least getting choked up.  But it was not a blatant movie that was going for the tears.  This wasn't like a Nicholas Sparks book/movie.  The book/movie was about how to look at the world through the eyes of those who truly value it the most.  I enjoyed this movie very much.  I might have actually liked the movie more than the book when I read it because of the excellent performances by all involved.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  However, it is one of the more difficult movies that anyone could ever choose to watch.

Edge Of Tomorrow

Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop—forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again…and again.  But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.

This movie was pretty awesome.  The effects were amazing.  The aliens were like a crazier and faster version of the things in The Matrix Revolutions.  You are invested in the characters.  The pacing is great.  There are plenty of laughs mixed in due to the whole Groundhog's Day repeating of events. This is what going to the movies in the summer is all about.  

I'd absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  It was a lot of fun and one hell of an enjoyable ride.

A Million Ways To Die In The West

Seth MacFarlane directs, produces, co-writes and plays the role of the cowardly sheep farmer Albert in A Million Ways to Die in the West.  After Albert backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves him for another man. When a mysterious and beautiful woman rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband, a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.


Wow!  This was absolutely awful.  Like I walked out on it because it was so awful.  This was basically one joke (people died easily in the old west) stretched out for two hours (which is about one hour and 59 minutes too long).  Anything that might have been funny was in the ads.  The rest was overdone jokes and a bunch of characters that you really don't care about.  Ironically, I actually pulled the plug when one of the characters suffering from diarrhea shit in a hat.  Literally.  That wasn't bad enough though so he did it again and then knocked the hat over.  What was shown coming out of the hat completely summarized the movie as a whole.

I would recommend absolutely nobody ever seeing this.  It was beyond disappointing and so horribly bad that I walked out of a free movie.

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.

The Other Woman

After discovering her boyfriend is married, a woman (Cameron Diaz) tries to get her ruined life back on track. But when she accidentally meets the wife he's been cheating on (Leslie Mann), she realizes they have much in common, and her sworn enemy becomes her greatest friend. When yet another affair is discovered (Kate Upton), all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on their cheating, lying, three-timing SOB.

This movie was a decent watch and what could be considered a "cute" chick flick.  But it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long.  When I walked out of the theater and saw that over 2 hours had gone by since the movie had started i was stunned. Also it was nowhere near as funny as it could have been.  Sure the revenge on your cheating spouse stuff has been done a million times but it could have been very hilarious with the group of characters that would be getting the revenge in this movie.  And in all honesty it was when they finally got around to it.  Unfortunately, it wasn't until like 3/4 through the movie that this happened due to the over abundance of bonding time between this weird pairing of friends.  Leslie Mann and Cameron Diaz could have been so much funnier if they were up to some of this scheming stuff much earlier until veering mostly into character drama instead of all out comedy.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out - especially females.  It's not a bad movie but if you saw the trailer you pretty much saw the movie and it definitely could have been a lot funnier if they didn't spend so much time trying to pull heartstrings.  

Heaven Is For Real

 

Inspired by the #1 New York Times best-selling book of the same name, Heaven is for Real brings to the screen the true story of a small-town father who must find the courage and conviction to share his son's extraordinary, life-changing experience, with the world.

I'll be the first person to admit that I am not a very spiritual person.  I believe in certain things and I always go out of my way to do right by those near and dear to my heart and treat people the way I would like to be treated, etc, etc.  Church and faith and that kind of stuff . . . . . not so much.  I don't knock those that choose that path in life but it's just not for me.  With that being said, I figured that there was no chance in hell that I would enjoy this movie and even care enough to pay attention throughout.  I was dead wrong.  This movie definitely hooked me and I enjoyed it very much.  I don't know if it was the innocence of the kid with all the info he offered on heaven/Jesus or the convincing portrayal of his father by Greg Kinnear, but  I really liked this movie and will probably think about my beliefs or lack thereof after seeing it.  Will it change my way of thinking?  Who knows.  But it was done in a way to get you thinking and I was impressed.

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out.  Like I said - Greg Kinnear was great in the role of the father and the movie was definitely mind opening to all levels of faith believers (or lack of). 

The Quiet Ones

 

A university student (Sam Claflin) and some classmates are recruited to carry out a private experiment -- to create a poltergeist. Their subject: an alluring, but dangerously disturbed young woman (Olivia Cooke).  Their quest: to explore the dark energy that her damaged psyche might manifest. As the experiment unravels along with their sanity, the rogue PHD students are soon confronted with a terrifying reality: they have triggered an unspeakable force with a power beyond all explanation.

I was surprised at how I liked this movie.  I wouldn't say I loved it or go raving about it.  But after being disappointed time after time by PG-13 scary movies I expect them to all suck.  So by not sucking like the others, I ended up liking this one.  It was paced well and short enough that it keeps your attention.  There was good tension and enough jump causing moments instead of lame predictable crap that feels very forced.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  It's not a must see by any means but it is better than most of the recent similar fare that have rolled into theaters.

A Haunted House 2

A Haunted House 2 is the sequel to the hilarious box-office hit starring Marlon Wayans as Malcolm who, after exorcising the demons of his ex, is starting fresh with his new girlfriend and her two children. After moving into their dream home, Malcolm is once again plagued by bizarre paranormal events. With spine-tingling tension and hilarious punch-lines A Haunted House 2 inspired by the latest supernatural horror movie franchises and shows that this time - it's not just the house that's haunted!

This was pretty much just more of the first.  I only sort of enjoyed it because I find Marlon Wayans funny.  If he wasn't in this it would be absolutely horrible.  His freak outs and the racial jokes between him and the Hispanic neighbors provided some good laughs - especially the chicken scene.  Unfortunately, there was too much downtime in between those parts for the movie to be fully funny.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to see this.  It's short enough and had some great laughs but not nearly enough to warrant your time and money.  

Draft Day

On the day of the NFL Draft, general manager Sonny Weaver (Costner) has the opportunity to save football in Cleveland when he trades for the number one pick. He must quickly decide what he's willing to sacrifice in pursuit of perfection as the lines between his personal and professional life become blurred on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with dreams of playing in the NFL.

This movie is a dictionary definition of one of those movies where you have seen the movie just by seeing the trailer.  It definitely succeeded in getting me excited for this year's NFL draft and the football season to follow.   It had a very real feel to how the draft day works with trades and what not and totally drove home the importance of talent evaluation on the pro football level.  I wish the Jets had a guy like Sonny who didn't spend more time buying into the hype instead of really looking deep at their potential players.  But besides that, the movie was really just there.  And you knew how 75% of it was going to go from the trailer and you knew how the other 25% would go because it wasn't going to have the hero look bad.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to see this movie.  Just get hyped for the draft by watching the ads for this movie and save the two hours of your life to do something else.

Transcendence

 

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him.  However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed - to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can - but if they should.  Their worst fears are realized as Will's thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.

This movie was majorly disappointing.  Imagine watching the genius that was Inception a few years back but with zero emotional hook and no intense build up to the whole process that kept your eyes totally glued to the screen?  Substitute the internet for dreams plus that aforementioned imagination and you have Transcendence.  This movie wanted so desperately to be Inception like and it couldn't have been further from it.  About half way through the movie I had pretty much pulled the plug on being fully interested in it anymore and was just there in body.  This will probably be the most disappointing movie of the year for me.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering to go see this.  It was a veiled attempt at recreating something truly amazing without all of the hard work with direction, writing and acting. 

Rio 2

 

It's a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids in Rio 2, after they're hurtled from that magical city to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all - his father-in-law. All our favorite Rio characters are back, and they're joined by Andy Garcia, Bruno Mars, Kristin Chenoweth and Rita Moreno.

This movie was a decent watch.  I left the theater feeling the same way that I did about the first one.  It's was watchable and cute but you cared more about the funny sidekick characters that are not on screen enough as opposed to the main characters.  I found myself just not that into them.  I'm not saying that the movie was bad.  It's just not nearly as enjoyable as most well produced animated fare that shows up in the theaters.

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out.  Kids will like it but not all adults will enjoy it as much as them.

Oculus

 

Ten years ago, tragedy struck the Russell family, leaving the lives of teenage siblings Tim and Kaylie forever changed when Tim was convicted of the brutal murder of their parents. Now in his 20s, Tim is newly released from protective custody and only wants to move on with his life; but Kaylie, still haunted by that fateful night, is convinced her parents' deaths were caused by something else altogether: a malevolent supernatural force - unleashed through the Lasser Glass, an antique mirror in their childhood home. Determined to prove Tim's innocence, Kaylie tracks down the mirror, only to learn similar deaths have befallen previous owners over the past century. With the mysterious entity now back in their hands, Tim and Kaylie soon find their hold on reality shattered by terrifying hallucinations, and realize, too late, that their childhood nightmare is beginning again.

This was a somewhat decent scary movie.  They kept you interested in where it was going.  The story telling of back and forth between what happened to the kids earilier on in life and the present day was done pretty well.  Unfortunately, just like what usually happens with these movies the - the ending falls completely flat.  Its as if they just got tired of screenwriting and just stopped writing it. 

I wouldn't really recommend anyone checking this out.  It had a decent start and middle but then ends up being a pretty big waste of time. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

 

After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off assailants sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy - the Winter Soldier.

Wow!  This movie was awesome across the board.  It's easily on par with the original Iron Man as the best Marvel movie after The Avengers.  I thought this movie was so much better than the first one.  I know that they wanted to stay true to the WW II era that the first one took place in but it held back from the amazing action that we've grown used to in the super hero movies.  This one didn't hold back at all.  The fighting was intense througout the movie and there were a couple of car chase sequences that felt Fast & Furious like.  Getting past the great action - the story was very spot on with today's government and kept you so glued to the screen that you barely feel that the movie is a little more than two hours long.  Captain America and Black Widow played very well off each other and The Falcon was an excellent addition to the mix.  However, the Winter Soldier stole every scene that he was in and the guy was so completely badass. 

I would absolutely recommend everyone checking this out.  It's got a great story and action galore.  How did this movie open in April.  This is a textbook summer blockbuster type of movie. 

Noah

Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe stars as Noah, a man chosen by God for a great task before an apocalyptic flood destroys the world.

I'm not going to remotely pretend that I know anything more than the building of an arc.  So I can't touch on how accurate it was or whatever.  As a stand alone movie based on Noah's building of the arc, I really liked this movie.  It was very powerful in its portrayal of belief and spiritual faith.  The family dynamics shown through their dealings with those things was very well acted/directed.  The effects were phenomenal.   The kids all put in great performances and Russell Crowe was great.

Again - not sure how accurate it all was but I would definitely recommend this movie.  I thought it was a well put together "epic" and absolutely worth the time/money.

Sabotage

In Sabotage, Arnold Schwarzengger leads an elite DEA task force that takes on the world's deadliest drug cartels. When the team successfully executes a high-stakes raid on a cartel safe house, they think their work is done until, one-by-one, the ten members mysteriously start to be eliminated.  

This was a pretty good adrenaline fueled movie.  Total badass characters, lots of action and some crazy violence.  I like movies like this where I can shut my brain off and just enjoy the ride.  I also like the filming style of this director.  Can't remember his name but he is the same guy that made End Of Watch.  The only knock I'll make on this movie is that I was not a fan of the last 10 or so minutes. It extended a bit to far past the DEA team and into a part of the story that I wasn't as interested in.

I'd recommend this movie for any action movie fans.  Sure a lot of the testosterone acting was way over the top but that is to be expected in a movie like this.

Son Of God

 

This major motion picture event -- an experience created to be shared among families and communities across the U.S. -- brings the story of Jesus' life to audiences through compelling cinematic storytelling that is both powerful and inspirational. Told with the scope and scale of an action epic, the film features powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer. Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado portrays the role of Jesus as the film spans from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.

Sorry if this sounds completely sacreligious but I pulled the plug on this big turd after about 15 minutes.  How did they package this and release this as an actual movie?  It would have been cheesy if it was a History Channel special presentation or something.  It was actually annoying how lame this was.  Even the constant narration was awful.  Pretty sure that it was Keith David.  Really?  Movie about Jesus Christ and you can get Morgan Freeman to narrate this like he does everything else?  It played like one of the Disney Earth movies.  Seriously.  Couldn't do it.

I would definitely not recommend anyone checking this out.  It's nowhere near as great as Passion Of The Christ was.  It's like a low budget, documentary rip off of it. 

Bad Words

 

Jason Bateman (Identity Thief) makes his feature directorial debut with the subversive comedy Bad Words. Bateman stars as Guy Trilby, a 40-year-old who finds a loophole in the rules of The Golden Quill national spelling bee and decides to cause trouble by hijacking the competition. Contest officials, outraged parents, and overly ambitious 8th graders are no match for Guy, as he ruthlessly crushes their dreams of victory and fame. As a reporter (Kathryn Hahn) attempts to discover his true motivation, Guy finds himself forging an unlikely alliance with a competitor: awkward 10-year-old Chaitanya (Rohan Chand), who is completely unfazed by Guy's take-no-prisoners approach to life.

I'm a huge fan of Jason Bateman and the trailer for this movie looked absolutely hysterical.  I would have to say that the entire movie being hysterical didn't really meet my expectations.  There was a lot of down time trying to push some sort of a story that took away from the laughter.  But the stuff that Bateman's character says . . . . especially to the kid had me absolutely howling at times. 

I would recommend people seeing this but lower your laughter expectations a little.  Like I said - the movie definitely could have been a much funnier total comedy and held back too much instead of going all in throughout.  But when the lines are delivered you will have a very time holding back from laughing regardless of how "wrong" the punchlines really are.

The Single Moms Club

When five struggling single moms put aside their differences to form a support group, they find inspiration and laughter in their new sisterhood, and help each other overcome the obstacles that stand in their way.

This is pretty much just another Tyler Perry melodramatic character drama with some laughs sprinkled in.   This time it's a bunch of single mothers struggling through various life situations and leaning on each other to get through, make life choices, blah blah blah.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone checking this out unless you really are a huge fan of Tyler Perry's previous twenty very similar movies (with or without Madea).

Divergent

 

Divergent is an action-adventure film set in a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy by a faction leader (Kate Winslet) to destroy all Divergents, Tris must learn to trust in the mysterious Four (Theo James) and together they must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it's too late.

I read these books and was very psyched for the movie.  I have to say that I thought that they did a really good job of getting it from the pages on to the screen.  They made little tweaks here and there, but they were not too major and the tinkering with the end I actually liked better than the one in the book.  I like Shailene Woodley alot and think she is pretty much the next Jennifer Lawrence.   I wouldn't say that the movie is on a level with Hunger Games in terms of mass appeal because it is more young adultish than that.  The acting was pretty lame at times.  That being said - it is MUCH better than Twilight and other young adult fare.

I would still recommend people checking this out.  The books are very enjoyable so far and even though it had an excessive running time of almost 2 1/2 hours, I didn't really feel it for the most part. 

Muppets Most Wanted

 

Muppets Most Wanted takes the entire Muppets gang on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europe's most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine, the World's Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit, and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two, portrayed by Ricky Gervais. The film stars Tina Fey as Nadya, a feisty prison guard, and Ty Burrell as Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon.

Let's be honest here.  The Muppets really can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.  And this movie was no different.  It literally started right where the last one ended and had a lot of the same tongue in cheek moments.  I also liked that they did a really good job of working in more muppets than in past movies.  The cameos were great.  The main human characters were great - especially Ty Burrell as the Interpol agent.  Him and Sam The Eagle really stole the show in this one.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  It's a Muppets movie, people!!!  Why would you not want to see this!?!  Side note - the Monsters University short that accopanies it was also great. 

Need For Speed

 

The story chronicles a near-impossible cross-country race against time - one that begins as a mission for revenge, but proves to be one of redemption. In a last attempt to save his struggling garage, blue-collar mechanic Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul), who with his team skillfully builds and races muscle cars on the side, reluctantly partners with wealthy, arrogant ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). Just as a major sale to car broker Julia Bonet (Imogen Poots) looks like it will save the business, a disastrous, unsanctioned race results in Dino framing Tobey for manslaughter. Two years later and fresh out of prison, Tobey is set on revenge with plans to take down Dino in the high-stakes De Leon race - the Super Bowl of underground racing. To get there in time, Tobey must run a high-octane, action-packed gauntlet, dodging cops coast-to-coast and dealing with fallout from a dangerous bounty Dino put on his car. With his loyal crew and the surprisingly resourceful Julia as allies, Tobey defies odds at every turn and proves that even in the flashy world of exotic supercars, the underdog can still finish first.

This movie was a somewhat decent watch.  It was basically a knock off of Fast & Furious based on the Need For Speed video game.  The problem was that there wasn't enough popcorn action in the races and the movie was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long.  I mean it took like half the movie to establish the need for revenge.  I had it figured out in the first ten minutes and had to wait while it slowly played out before it really got to the actual story.  Aaron Paul is much better than this movie and he pretty much was the main reason that made it tolerable. 

I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out.  Its not a must see by any meand but it isn't awful either.  It's kind of middle of the road.  Nothing really more to say about it.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

 

Mr. Peabody, the most accomplished dog in the world, and his mischievous boy Sherman, use their time machine - The Wabac - to go on the most outrageous adventures known to man or dog. But when Sherman takes The Wabac out for a joyride to impress his friend Penny, they accidently rip a hole in the universe, wreaking havoc on the most important events in world history. Before they forever alter the past, present and future, Mr. Peabody must come to their rescue, ultimately facing the most daunting challenge of any era: figuring out how to be a parent. Together, the time traveling trio will make their mark on history.

This was a very fun and cute movie.  While most of the historical humor and banter will be above the head of most children it made the movie just as enjoyable, if not more than, for the adults.  The kids will still love the characters and story and to be honest - it provides them and the parents with lost of historical teaching moments. 

I would absolutely recommend people checking this one out - especially those of you with kids.  This is one of those great movies for the whole family. 

300: Rise Of An Empire

 

Based on Frank Miller's latest graphic novel "Xerxes" and told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster 300,  this new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield, on the sea, as Greek general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. This movie pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), and Artemesia (Eva Green), vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

At the risk of having my "man" card revoked - I never understood how people held 300 in such high regards.  It was a decent watch with crazy slow motion violence and a very unique film style.  But, I never held in the high regards that most guys do.  Maybe I should get my testosterone levels checked or something?  That being said - I felt pretty much the same way about this movie.  And it was a much lesser attempt because they were just trying to expand the 300 movie.  The first half of the movie was a quick paced narrated version of how the people that were fighting the Spartans became who they were and the second half was another battle shortly after the time of 300.  And the narration was annoying as hell.  It was like they had no faith that the story would tell itself so you had a constant voiceover telling you what was happening. 

I wouldn't really recommend people checking this out.  Again - maybe I'm not the best critic because while I kind of enjoyed the first one, I didn't think it was nearly as great as most others did.  That on top of the annoying way that they chose to "tell the story" in this one made it pretty much just there . . . . . . with lots of slow motion blood and violence.

Non-Stop

Liam Neeson stars in Non-Stop, a suspense thriller played out at 40,000 feet in the air. During a transatlantic flight from New York City to London, U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks (Neeson) receives a series of cryptic text messages demanding that he instruct the government to transfer $150 million into an off-shore account. Until he secures the money, a passenger on his flight will be killed every 20 minutes.

This was a decent watch . . . . . . . as long as you suspend any sense of reality before it starts.  If you can leave your brain at the door and not question the logic of this story as it plays out and just enjoy the ride, you will get exactly what you expect from seeing the trailer and go home happy.  If you are not able to do that and analyze this movie in any way - you will be absolutely miserable because it is as far from being realistic as you can get. 

I would recommend people checking this out that are looking for an hour and a half break from stuff.  Having a fear of flying made this movie somewhat uncomfortable for me but I was watching it to be distracted and it worked. 

Winter's Tale

Set in a mythic New York City and spanning more than a century, Winter's Tale is a story of miracles, crossed destinies, and the age-old battle between good and evil. Based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Helprin.

This movie was way different than what I expected.  I thought it would be a fluffy romance movie but it was about love and the forces of good and evil fighting/helping people find their way with miracles and wishes.  Seriously.  There was some surprisingly deep stuff in this movie.  The only knock I can make against it is that it's a tale of two stories and I was very hooked by the first one and was turned off when they totally switched gears and moved to the second one.  And even though I did like how it all played out there was a big loss of momentum with the time jump/story switch.

I liked this movie because of how different it was from your normal fluffy romance.  The spiritual portion of it all gave it a much fresher and different feel.

About Last Night

A modern reimagining of the classic romantic comedy, this contemporary version closely follows new love for two couples as they journey from the bar to the bedroom and are eventually put to the test in the real world.

I'll admit that I truly was as far as possible from being in a state of mind to laugh when I watched this movie.  So it is quite possible that my review of this is a little tainted.  I thought that the Kevin Hart parts of the movie were funny but that was about it.  The two main leads were very stale and I didn't really care about where their story was going.  It's like you were forced to watch them in order to enjoy the Kevin Hart/Regina Hall  stuff that was actually carrying the movie.  

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  There were some good laughs from Kevin Hart/Regina Hall (they might have been even funnier if I had watched this at a better time) and it was definitely a watchable movie about dating.

Pompeii

Set in 79 A.D., Pompeii tells the story of Milo (Kit Harington), a slave turned invincible gladiator who finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia (Emily Browning), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him.

This movie was pretty much garbage.  Imagine watching Titanic knowing that everyone dies in the end and not having the emotional investment that you had in Jack & Rose.  That is Pompeii.  It was a wannabe Gladiator for the first hour plus with a love storyline that creates zero interest in.  Then Pompeii erupts, lots of effects that were not spectacular in any way honestly and this is not a spoiler based on it being an actual event - everyone dies.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this movie.  It was such a boring snoozefest.  Didn't even have great apocolyptic effects.

Endless Love

Endless Love stars Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike) and Gabriella Wilde (The Three Musketeers) in the story of a privileged girl and a charismatic boy whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.

This is exactly the fluffy romance movie with the two leads being in love while their parents don't agree with the relationship.  Everything is totally formula and there really is no hook into any of the characters to make you care about how it plays out.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this.  Even the Twilight crowd that this movie is meant for would probably not be too thrilled with this movie.