Month: March 2018

Pacific Rim Uprising in 3D

It’s been 5 years since the 2013 Pacific Rim installment although the movie plays it as if it’s been 10 years.

Jake Pentecost (John Boyega) the son of the legendary Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) who gave his life in the first installment to save humanity from the monstrous “Kaiju” must find a way to move away from the criminal element after abandoning his Jaeger Pilot training.

A worst threat to humanity is about to make it’s self-known and Jake’s skills as well as current Jaeger Pilot Cadets in training must get ready to fight the battle of their lives. The story unfolds from there…

This is a classic case of the second installment is not as good as the first. There is action, special effects and some cool cinematography, but the back story to setup this installment is weak. It appears that the movie just wants to get to the dueling robots instead of providing an appropriate lead-in. The movie running time seemed longer than 111 minutes. John Boyega is the highlight of the movie.

“Pacific Rim Uprising” is a perfect movie for the “Bad Movie Club”. 😊

Wait for it to come out on DVD, Cable or Blue Ray.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Tomb Raider (2018) In Real 3D

This re-booted version of Tomb Raider does not have the “WOW” factor that was present when Angelina Jolie starred in this adventure back in 2001.

Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) must come to terms with the loss of her father. He has been missing for the past seven years. He is believed to be dead, but Lara won’t give up. Although Lara Croft is an heiress, she lives like a pauper, working as a bike courier, barely able to make ends meet.

After a meeting with the Croft legal-council, Lara discovers some cryptic messages inside a puzzle chamber. This leads to her father’s crypt where she finds a video recording of her father. The messages and the video lead Lara to follow what she believes is a lead to where her father may have last been. The wild adventures starts from there…

There is plenty of action, special effects and intrigue, but not enough entertainment to keep you on the edge of your seat. The story lacks foundation.

If you are a fan of the video game, you would be better suited playing the game or even watching the installments that were done by Angelina Jolie.

This is a 2 Star Movie!!

Oscar Recap 2018

Did you watch the 90th Academy Awards Show?

The 90th Academy Awards are over…I did not review the best picture winner…“The Shape of Water”. In fact I only saw 3 of the Best Picture Nominees (“The Post”, “Dunkirk” and “Darkest Hour”). This is a departure from the norm. Some of the best picture nominees did not open wide, some I was not interested in. I did want to see “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” I regret not being able to see that movie.

There were several surprises like Basketball great Kobe Bryant winning an Oscar for his Animated Short Film called “Dear Basketball”. I had no idea Kobe Bryant was into film making…

Female Vocalist great Mary J. Blige was nominated for a Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar for her part in the film “Mudbound”. I never heard of that movie. She did not win.

My Oscar Recap is short this Year.
I am very happy for Gary Oldman winning the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour”
Other movies I saw in 2017 that actually took home a Gold Statue are:
“Blade Runner” won 2 Statues, Best Cinematography and Best Special Effects
“Dunkirk” won for Sound Editing, Film Editing and Sound Mixing
“Darkest Hour” won for Makeup and Styling

Both Denzel Washington (“Roman J. Israel, Esq.”) and Meryl Streep (“The Post”) were nominated and again they both did not win.

So on with 2018, let’s hope it’s a better year for movies than 2017!!

Death Wish (2018)

Bruce Willis is Dr. Paul Kersey. Dr. Kersey has a great life, he is a surgeon at a Chicago Hospital; Paul has a lovely wife and a daughter who has just been accepted to a New York University. Life is good!!

Dr. Kersey was called back to the hospital on the evening he had planned to celebrate his Birthday with his family, unbeknownst to the Kersey family a band of burglars had staked out their home for an invasion. The burglars broke in and a scuffle took place. Mother and daughter were both shot. When Dr. Kersey finds out what happened, he eventually puts a plan in place to deliver his own kind of justice and revenge. The story unfolds from there…

Charles Bronson will always be the best at the Death Wish movies, but this version with Bruce Willis is not bad!! There isn’t much in the way of new ground being covered, but the movie is still entertaining. You will find yourself rooting for the “Grim Reaper” Character that Dr. Kersey becomes.

There is plenty of suspense, action and intrigue. There is even some comic relief. My husband even found the movie enjoyable!!
Despite what the paid critics think, I say that this new installment of “Death Wish” is worth a look!

This is a 3 Star Movie!

Red Sparrow

“Red Sparrow” is a compilation of the following movies…””Black Swan”, “Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy”, “Atomic Blonde” and “Bridge of Spies”.

If you take something from each of those movies and put it all together, you get “Red Sparrow”.

Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) wears many hats, she takes care of her crippled mother, is the principal dancer in the Russian Ballet and a master seductress and manipulator. A terrible accident befalls Dominika during a ballet performance. This accident ends her ballet career. Dominika is forced to seek other ways to provide for her mother. Dominika is invited to join the Sparrow School, a new Intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their minds and bodies as weapons. The fun really begins after Dominika emerges from the insane training. The story unfolds from there…

“Red Sparrow” is not “Fresh”. There are parts of this movie that have been seen before in other movies. The movie is suspenseful and intriguing. The casting of Jennifer Lawrence was spot on, but unfortunately the movie is boring at times and it drags. The running time is advertised as 2 hours and nineteen minutes, but it felt like 3 hours and nineteen minutes.

If you are a fan of Jennifer Lawrence, “Red Sparrow” is worth a look. It’s definitely better than her last movie “Mother!”

This is a 3 Star Movie!