Month: March 2013

G.I. Joe: Retaliation: An IMAX Experience

“The Joe’s are back!!” “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” was originally scheduled to open in August 2012. Suddenly it was pushed to March 2013. Was it worth the wait…?

The Joe’s find themselves battling two different fronts, Cobra their mortal enemy is back and there is a catastrophic threat within the US Government. Is the President really the President? The story unfolds from there…

The plot and story for “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” are a “HOT MESS!!!” and both lack depth, but the action, special effects and sequences of martial-arts violence are pretty good. I love when Bruce Willis makes his entrance and is with the Joe’s on a mission.

“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is definitely not great, but it’s better than the first installment. Fortunately the mayhem only goes on for about 99 minutes.

If you are a fan of G.I. Joe, you won’t want to miss this installment.

Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor

This is one serious Drama. There is no “Madea”. Tyler Perry is strictly behind the camera.

“Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor” is about an ambitious young married woman who finds herself attracted to a Technology Billionaire.
The passion that she feels for the billionaire causes her work and home life to spin out of control. Decisions that she makes will have far reaching consequences and change the course of her life forever. The story unfolds from there…

Tyler Perry’s “Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor” limps along for almost two hours before you see some explosive scenes with a surprising but strange ending. Kim Kardashian cannot act!! The other stars are boring.
On the positive side, the story Tyler Perry is trying to tell does hit close to home as everything in the movie can and probably has happened in real life.

I am disappointed!! This is not Tyler Perry’s best work.

Olympus Has Fallen

At the writing of this review I am undecided as to whether I like “Olympus Has Fallen” or not. There are a few good elements about the movie, but there are also an equal number of bad elements about the movie and that’s what makes it difficult. The Cast is HUGH and are all excellent actors.
On a nice July day the unthinkable happens, an extreme terrorist and his army invade the air space around the White House. The army is well armed and knows all of our secret weapons and how they operate. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) and most of his key staff are taken hostage in the White House bunker.
Fortunately for President Asher, one of his former security officers Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) happens to arrive and is able to get inside the White House undetected before everything is shut down.
Banning needs to locate the President’s young son and rescue the President before the extremists unleash their intended plan on the US. The story unfolds from there…

Think “Die Hard” at the White House. This is what “Olympus Has Fallen” will remind you of. Security Officer Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is John McCain (Bruce Willis).
The difference is “Die Hard” was more interesting while “Olympus Has Fallen” has a bigger cast. The plot is mildly interesting. There is some cool artillery that is used. The movie is very bloody and in your face violent. A bright spot is that Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett and Gerard Butler are excellent.
But, with all of that being said, this has been done before. Only the venue is different. It’s really sad that you have a ton of great actors/actresses and the movie is borderline mediocre. I found my self checking my watch on a couple of different occasions during the movie. If I do that, it’s not a good sign.

Dead Man Down

“Dead Man Down” is not exactly what you might think. The previews will lead you to think this is about a violent assault on a woman and her trying to get revenge. It’s much more then that…
Neils Arden Oplev, the director of the original “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” makes his US debut with “Dead Man Down”.
There are two stories that go on in “Dead Man Down”. They both center on revenge and family. The desire for revenge is extremely strong for two people, Victor (Colin Farrell) and Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) who don’t know each other, but after meeting and sizing each other up, they sort of join forces, each with he or her own agenda. The story unfolds from there…
“Dead Man Down” is very violent. There is a lot of suspense and intrigue. The story moves right along and nothing drags. The plots unfold nicely. I was impressed. I found the movie to be better than I expected. The paid critics were Luke-warm, but if you can stand the violence, “Dead Man Down” is worth a look.