Month: November 2018

Front Runner

Do you remember the 1988 Presidential Candidate Senator Gary Hart? Gary Hart was the “Front Runner” in the candidacy until rumors and speculations arose that he had an extra marital affair.

This movie is about the 3 weeks that led up to the destruction of Senator Gary Hart’s Presidential Campaign.

In 1987 Colorado Senator Gary Hart was running for the presidency. Gary and his campaign staff were out on the campaign trail winning over citizens and participating in the daily job tasks of citizens in the cities and towns that were visited. Senator Hart was winning over citizens all over America. He was the “Front Runner” and everything looked rosy.

Several news reporters started sniffing around and discovered that Gary Hart and his wife Lee (Vera Farmiga) were separated and had been for a while. Then Gary was seen coming and going from his other residence with a couple of different woman. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is entertaining, but lacks depth and was too calm. The media was too tame during the explosion when the story leaked about Senator Gary Hart. Usually the press are vultures when there is a juicy story, but not in “The Front Runner”. During a rant Hugh Jackman’s Australian accent came to the surface a bit. To my knowledge Gary Hart is not Australian.

The “Front Runner” opened in limited-release on Nov 6th. It is now opened in wide-release.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!!

Robin Hood (2018)

I have lost count as to how many times “Robin Hood” has been retooled. This installment is funny and at times hilarious, but I am not sure if that’s what they were going for.

In this installment, Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) mounts a revolt against the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham and the English crown. The Sheriff of Nottingham intends to take every single thing of value from the township and its citizens. The citizens are helpless to fight and see their land, possessions and valuables vanishing before their eyes.
Taron enlists the aid of a war-captured Moorish Commander (Jamie Foxx) to help him on his quest. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is entertaining, funny and has some action, but lacks a back story befitting this installment. The characters are not fully developed thus leaving some open holes in the story. The dialog at times is a bit off.

I now understand why the paid critics did not like “Robin Hood (2018)”, but it does deserve at least 2 stars.

This is a 2 Star Movie!!

Creed II

After seeing the 2015 first installment of “Creed”, I knew there was going to be a sequel. How could there not be one. Sylvester Stallone is on the outside of the boxing ring instead of being the fighter in the ring. There is a story that has not been milked yet. Here we go…

Three years later finds Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) juggling life with personal obligations and training for his next fight. Adonis sits at a cross road when he is faced with a challenge to fight a boxer who has ties to his family’s past. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) thinks that Adonis should pass on this fight. The story unfolds from there…

Surprisingly “Creed II” is an excellent sequel. It builds nicely on what was started in the first installment. The story has two tracks that are played simultaneously. Michael B. Jordan is a bright light shining in the movie. The boxing violence is on point and the Dolby sound intensifies the blows. The camera angles and cinematography are great!!

If you were a fan of the Rocky Franchise, you will love Creed and Creed II. This franchise has meat and I see it coming back again and again.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Widows

“Widows” is a great way to kick off the Holiday Season!!

Four woman who have nothing in common eventually come together because their husbands are dead due to their criminal activities and it soon comes to light that a debt was left behind and those who think they are owed come to collect. The story unfolds from there…

“Widows” is a gritty suspenseful drama. The movie is well executed and has lots of intrigue and enough action to keep you interested. Definitely a great way to start the holiday season at the box office.

“Widows” is an excellent collaborative effort between writer Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) and director Steve McQueen III (“12 Years a Slave”).

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

The Girl in the Spider’s Web

“The Girl in the Spider’s Web” is a chapter from the Dragon Tattoo series.
Lisbeth Salander the title character returns from the acclaimed Millennium book series that was created by Stieg Larsson.

This is the on-screen adaptation of the Global Best-Selling novel.

I was totally confused to say the least. There does not appear to be any connection what so ever between the 2009 “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and this installment.
It’s difficult to follow because the character Lisbeth Salander has been played by several actresses. There is no consistency.
I didn’t see anything new and different. The movie is dark, depressing and a bit vile. There is hints of child abuse/molestation (Father/Daughter), but you never actually see it happening.

The movie does clear up at the end when you finally figure out that the sister who was left behind all those years is out for revenge against the sister who escaped.

The positives are that there is some interesting action, cool computer hacks and some kick-ass fight scenes. That’s about it.

Wait for “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” to hit DVD or Blue-Ray.

This is a 2 Star Movie!!

Venom

You know the old phrase “Better Late than Never”; I finally saw “Venom”. When it opened I was seriously under the weather and could not venture out to see it, so a month later here is my review…

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is an investigative reporter. He is tasked with getting a story from a seemingly untouchable Scientist. When Eddie pisses off the Scientist and the story is killed, Eddie loses his job. Eddie knows that the Scientist is involved in something very shady. After some time passes an opportunity presents it’s self for Eddie to get back inside the institution where the Scientist is involved with testing Alien Hosting. The story unfolds from there…

I disagree with the majority of the paid critics who thrashed “Venom”. I thought it was pretty good. It would have been great if not for the outrageously sloppy script. There are a few pieces missing from the back story. Over all it was pretty good. The special effects are decent. The cinematography is nice.

The movie should have been rated “R” because there are several really gross moments involving decapitations.
I absolutely love the voice of “Venom”. I do not know who it is, but the voice is awesome!!

Although I saw this a month after it opened, the theater was packed. People are still going out to see “Venom”.

If you are a Marvel Universe Fan, “Venom” is worth a look.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!