Month: May 2014

Maleficient 3D

“Maleficient” is a “Dark Fairy Tale” with great a star, excellent cinematography, and special effects, but that’s it…

“Maleficient” is the untold Disney story about the iconic villain in “Sleeping Beauty”. The story tells how Maleficient became evil-minded and cast a mean spell over Princess Aurora when she was just a baby. As Princess Aurora grows she finds herself in the middle of a raging conflict between the forest she has grown to love and the Kingdom that is her birth-rite. The story unfolds from there.

Angelina Jolie is great as “Maleficient”. The movie it’s self falls short of drawing you in. The story is weak and doesn’t quite make sense. This will cause your attention to wane. I am not sure that a child would enjoy seeing this movie.

The movie is worth 2 1/2 stars

Chef

Chef” is the surprise “sleeper” movie of the early summer!!

“Chef” is about Miami-based Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) who is the head chef at a quaint upscale California restaurant. Riva (Dustin Hoffman) the owner of the restaurant insists on selecting the menu every day. Celebrated Food Critic Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt) gave the restaurant a very bad review because of the food selection.

Chef Carl tries to negotiate with Riva the owner of the restaurant to allow him as a “creative cook” to select what he believes is a winning menu that will win over the critic. When Riva disagrees and forces Chef Carl to either cook his menu or leave. Chef Carl chooses to leave.
Days later Chef Carl is presented with the opportunity to own his own “Food Truck”. The story unfolds from there…

“Chef” is fun, light-hearted and very entertaining. The movie flows and there is never a dull moment. The cast is great! What a surprise “Sleeper”. This movie has been playing in a limited number of theaters since May 9th. It really should be opened in wide-release. It’s very good. I highly recommend “Chef”.

“Chef” is a 4 1/2 Stars movie.

X-Men: Days of Future Past 3D

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” is Excellent!!

The X-Men ensemble fights a war for survival across two time periods. In an attempt to change the course of history and to assure their species survives, the X-Men from the original installment must join forces with their younger selves from the past, X-Men First-Class. The story unfolds from there…

This movie has substance. It’s solid. You get time travel!! It’s very entertaining, has tons of action and is fun to watch. The cinematography and special effects are great! By far this is the best “X-Men” movie in the franchise.

This is a 4 1/2 star movie!

Million Dollar Arm

“Million Dollar Arm” is quite entertaining!! Based on a true story, “Million Dollar Arm is about the first Indian man to be drafted to play in Major League Baseball in the US.

Jon Hamm plays JB Bernstein a near washed up sports agent who is trying desperately to save his business. JB gets the idea that if he can find “A Million Dollar Arm” among India’s Cricket Pitchers he would be able to save his business.

JB travels to India and in reality TV style hosts try-outs. The story unfolds from there…

The story is amusing and enjoyable. The cinematography is very interesting. It really looks like a part of the movie was filmed in India. “Million Dollar Arm” is a family friendly movie that can be enjoyed by all.

This is a 3 1/2 star movie

The Amazing Spider-Man 2: IMAX 3D

In this installment of “The Amazing Spider-Man” The Corporation known as OsCorp is the root of all problems both past and present. This is the company where Peter Parker’s Dad once worked as a renowned Scientist. The story unfolds from there…

There are lots of surprises and unexpected villains in this installment of “The Amazing Spider-Man”. This alone keeps the web slinger hustling. There is a lot of action and violence. The cinematography, visual and special effects are very good.

The problem with “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is that it’s over the top and after while you get tired of the nonsense.

This installment also mixes Spiderman’s heroic efforts with his romantic interest. The story constantly goes back and forth.

While I think this installment is pretty good. I am Luke-warm to the entire “The Amazing Spider-Man” franchise because it’s been done before.