Author: moviewarrior

I am an IT Professional who has loved the movie going experience since Kindergarten. My favorite Genres are Action, Suspense/Thrillers, Drama, Sci-Fi, Animation, Art House and Romantic Comedies.

The Magnificent Seven (2016): The IMAX Experience

Remakes are never as good as the original upon which they are based, but the remake of the 1960’s The Magnificent Seven does a pretty good job. It’s pure “Pop Corn Entertainment”.

The cast is awesome. Think the “Wild, Wild West” of 1897 or better yet think “Gun Smoke”, “Dodge City” and Sheriff Matt Dillon.

The little western mining town, Rose Creek is under siege by a greedy tyrant named Bartholomew Bogue. He and his merry band of men over throw the town’s sheriff and his deputies. All of the town is in jeopardy, but one resident, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and other desperate residents seek out the help of a Bounty Hunter who comes through town looking for one of his Bounties. The Bounty Hunter finds out he knows Bartholomew Bogue and agrees to help the town out. The story unfolds from there…

“The Magnificent Seven (2016)” does what it’s supposed to do. It provides great entertainment. There are no special effects, CGI’s or anything that would remotely remind you that we are in 2016. This is a good old-fashioned western. It’s not perfect, but the cast makes the movie worth watching. There is lots of western style violence, action and blood-shed. There is even a bit of comic relief.

If you like Westerns, you should enjoy “The Magnificent Seven (2016)”.

This is a 4 Star Movie!

Bridget Jones’s Baby

Renee Zellweger is back as the delightfully funny and awkward Bridget Jones that we all came to love in the 2001 Franchise installment.

In this third installment Bridget Jones soon finds herself in an unexpected situation. She is pregnant and is not sure who the father is. However there are only two choices, the baby’s father is either Jack (Patrick Dempsey) or Bridget’s long time crush Mark Darcy (Colin Firth).

Bridget needs DNA samples from both men. This ensues a number of crazy and hilarious situations that unfold at Bridget’s place of employment. Soon both men find out that they could be the father of Bridget’s Baby. The story unfolds from there…

This third installment is so much better than the second installment, but not quite as good as the 2001 Franchise installment. The movie is funny, zany and very entertaining.

Although Hugh Grant is missing from this installment, the continuation with Colin Firth was very well done.

I found “Bridget Jones’s Baby” to be delightfully hilarious! I am glad to see Renee Zellweger reprise the role. The door was left open for a fourth installment.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Sully

“Sully” recounts the events that led up to US Airways Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River. The flight’s destination was Charlotte, NC, but a “Bird Strike” hit the Airbus 320 Engines as it was climbing to reach its cruising altitude. The “Bird Strike” caused both engines to fail. The airplane was not able to make it to Teterboro or back to LaGuardia, so the next best option was to land in the Hudson River. The story unfolds from there…

The movie at times is a “Nail Biter”, but that is to be expected given what the movie is about. There is definitely some suspense and tense moments.

Tom Hanks gives a wonderful performance as Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger the Captain on US Airways Flight 1549.

This is actually a very well executed 96 minutes. The movie could have actually gone a bit longer as the ending was a bit strange. Kudos to Clint Eastwood. He still has the directing bug and he is excellent at it.

This is a 4 Star Movie!

Southside With You

Strong performances and great dialogue between Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyer make this movie an interesting proposition, unfortunately the movie moves way too slow for the 1 hour and 24 minutes running time.

“Southside With You” is a day in the life of Michelle Robinson and Barack Obama before they became a couple. There are some political undertones, but nothing to sway you one way or another. You will get a glimpse of the Barack Obama we know today.

This movie would have played best on Lifetime or Hallmark. The movie is short, but it seems really long because of how slowly it moved. I actually nodded off once…

I say wait for “Southside With You” to arrive on Cable, DVD or Blue-ray.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Mechanic: Resurrection

Arthur Bishop, The Mechanic (Jason Statham) is forced to come out of his 5 year retirement.

An old nemesis, Riah Crain wants three of the most dangerous men in the world assassinated.
Of course there is a beautiful woman, (Jessica Alba) being used as a pawn to get the Mechanic to take the job. The Story unfolds from there…

There is some great cinematography, nice panoramic views of some exotic locations, and some decent stunts and action, but unfortunately the movie has no substance. There isn’t really a plot. Why kill those three men? That is not explained.

The best things about “Mechanic: Resurrection” are Jason Statham with his chiseled body and great charisma, Tommy Lee Jones looking suave as an aged hippie. It’s too bad that Tommy Lee Jones appears really late in the movie. When he showed up things got real interesting.

All in all “Mechanic: Resurrection” is a B-grade movie with some decent action, a few stunts and some good views, but no substance.

“Mechanic Resurrection” will be great on Cable or DVD.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Hell or High Water

This is another edition of “Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior”.

“Hell or High Water” is a Well-Executed Western about two brothers who are trying to save the family farm/ranch after their Mother dies. The farm has a reverse mortgage and other debt on it. The brothers rob several small town Savings & Loans in rural Texas.
A soon-to-be retired Texas Ranger, Marcus (Jeff Bridges) and his partner are called in on the case. With years of experience between them, they figure out which town and bank might be hit next and they camp out in the area. The story unfolds from there…

“Hell or High Water” is very good! The movie is well paced and keeps you entertained.
It’s a modern day cops and robbers but with a Western-Theme. The out-come is not necessarily predictable.

“Hell or High Water” is open in “Limited-Release”.

If you like Westerns, “Hell or High Water” should not be missed.

This is a 4 ½ Star Movie!

Florence Foster Jenkins

I absolutely love Meryl Streep! She makes any movie she is in better!
Meryl gives an absolutely awesome performance in “Florence Foster Jenkins”.

“Florence Foster Jenkins” is a dramedy about a woman in 1944 who has a love of music and the arts. In the face of war Florence (Meryl Streep) does everything she can to encourage music all around. Florence cannot really carry a tune, but that hardly keeps her from hiring a pianist, voice coach and then proceeding to practice singing opera. She then gives a small performance, makes a recording and then gets a gig in Carnegie Hall.

Florence is totally unaware of her singing deficiencies and the people around her don’t tell her. They coddle her and this leads to other issues. The story unfolds from there…

“Florence Foster Jenkins” is a delightfully entertaining movie. As I stated earlier, Meryl Streep is awesome. Hugh Grant gives a stellar performance as Florence’s music enabler and companion, St. Clair Bayfield, who happens to be a former Shakespearean actor.

There is another part of Florence’s history that is only broached briefly. Florence is ill and it stems from a problem with her first husband. This should have been expanded a bit more.

“Florence Foster Jenkins” is definitely worth the ticket!

This is a 4 1/2 Star Movie!

Suicide Squad in 3D

This is another edition of “Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior”.

What was I thinking…DC Comics are not as good as Marvel Comics.

“Suicide Squad” is not entertainment, it’s just plain “Suicide”!!

The villains in this movie are just plain awful. You will be yawning before things really get going.

The movie has a great cast that tries to do something with nothing, but at the end of the day it’s just plain bad. The problem with “Suicide Squad” is the muddled plot. What am I thinking…there was no plot. The movie just rambles. The characters are not fully developed. This leaves you to guess. I did not go to see “Suicide Squad” to guess. There are some humorous moments, but not enough to sink $17 dollars into a ticket.

This is the second time this year we have been treated to a DC Comic on the big screen. The March 2016 Batman vs. Superman was bad enough.

I am giving the movie 2 stars because of the strong cast. Margot Robbie was awesome. Otherwise the movie would get no stars from me.

“Suicide Squad” is best viewed on Cable or Blue-Ray. On second thought just Cable.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Jason Bourne: The IMAX Experience

Jason Bourne is Back!!

The 2012 “Bourne Legacy” was not received very well, so it’s great that Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) and Matt Damon came back to the Franchise that they together made great!

This installment finds Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) on a serious fact finding mission to get to the bottom of why he is who he is and how did he get there. Jason continues to have haunting memories of events past. He tries to put things together with the help of Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles). When the CIA receives an alert that their system has been breached and files are being copied, Director Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) calls on all of his available field assets to track down and stop the breach. This leads them to Greece where Jason Bourne just happens to be. The story unfolds from there…

“Jason Bourne” dos a good job of tying in events from “The Bourne Identity”, “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum”. While we live in a world where CGI is used a lot in movies, this is NOT the case with “Jason Bourne”. All of the scenes are real and the action is live and intense. The camera angles are awesome! The signature car chase is there. It’s good but not as good as the car chase that occurred thru Germany in “The Bourne Supremacy”.

The paid critics complained that “Jason Bourne” was more of the same, well that’s what we want. I say do not pay the paid critics any attention. “Jason Bourne” is good and I am very happy to see Matt Damon back in the role. The door was left open at the end.

“Jason Bourne” should be viewed in IMAX. Do you want to see Jason Bourne? Or do you want to ride with Jason Bourne thru the streets of Las Vegas?

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Star Trek Beyond: The IMAX 3D Experience

This is another Edition of “Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior”

The Star Ship Enterprise is back!

Captain Kirk and his crew go out on what they believe is a rescue mission. They take in a supposed survivor from a wrecked ship. When the Enterprise heads to the planet where they believe they will be rescuing people, instead as they approach this unknown planet, the Enterprise is severely attacked.

Captain Kirk and his crew are forced to abandon ship. The Enterprise crash lands and the crew is scattered round this strange planet. Some of the crew are captured, others wonder looking for the others. The story unfolds from there…

“Star Trek Beyond” is full of suspense and intrigue. There is lots of Sci-Fi action and mayhem. The movie is visually entertaining and will satisfy any Star Trek fan. Although this is not your Father’s Star Trek, the Enterprise crew goes “Old School” to fight this unknown enemy. There is some cool throw-back special effects that are used from the old Star Trek TV Shows.

The original Dr Spock (Leonard Nimoy) was given a great send off, since he passed away last year. This movie closes that door to some extent.

Do you want to just see the movie? Or do you want to feel like you are riding on the Star Ship Enterprise? “Star Trek Beyond” is a must see in IMAX. The 3D aspects were not that great.

“Star Trek Beyond” is a “Bona-Fide” Summer Blockbuster that did not advertise very much.

This is 4 ½ Star Movie!