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.

RoboCop (2014)

RoboCop (2014) is flat…

RoboCop (2014) is basically a reboot of the 1987 installment. This would be the 4th installment in this franchise. The premises of this installment somewhat matches the 1987 installment. It’s the year 2028 in crime riddled Detroit Michigan. The police there are battling crime and coming up empty. A new robot technology by an emerging company called Omnicorp wants to use Detroit as a test city for its new way to fight crime.

In Tehran Omnicorp uses drones to keep the people and city safe. The question has always been why doesn’t America use this technology? When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) a Detroit Cop is severely injured in the line of duty, Omnicorp see this as a perfect opportunity to step in and take what’s left of Alex and build a part man part robot police officer to combat crime on the streets of Detroit.

Omnicorp hopes to show Congress and the White House that this is the way of the future to battle crime and keep America’s streets safe. Additionally Omnicorp sees dollar signs; they believe there is $600 billion dollars at stake. Of Course Congress is skeptical and there is plenty of debate. The story unfolds from there…
The problem with “RoboCop (2014)” it’s not fun. Gary Oldman and Joel Kinnaman are great! They make the movie watchable. There is action, intrigue and some cool sci-fi stunts, but the movie still comes up empty. There isn’t much excitement. It’s a bit dry. There are a few awkward moments, holes in the plot and story.

I saw the movie in iMAX. “RoboCop (2014)” is not worth the price of an iMAX ticket.

The Monuments Men

George Clooney has done better in the directing department. He should have let Quentin Tarantino or Martin Scorsese direct this. Needless to say I am very disappointed because I had been looking forward to this movie. It’s not even close to my expectations.

Based on a true story, “The Monuments Men” is an action drama/documentary about an unlikely group of men who were tasked by FDR to recover stolen artistic masterpieces from Germany. This movie starts out in Ghent, Belgium and moves on to 1943 France, 1944 France and 1945 Merker, Germany.

The formed unlikely World War II Platoon comes up against unparalleled odds as they find that the art is trapped behind enemy lines. As they are attempting to recover the art, the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell makes it a difficult task because the “Monuments Men” are more familiar with Michelangelo than they are with the M-1. The story unfolds from there…

The problem with “The Monuments Men” is that it can’t decide if it’s an Action Drama or a Documentary. It’s a good story but told in the most boring fashion. The movie is flat, it drags and the suspense is ho-hum… You might be reminded of an old movie called “The Dirty Dozen”. Think of “The Monuments Men” as a WWII version of A Band-of-Brothers. The Dirty Dozen definitely has way more going for it than “The Monuments Men”.

Ride Along

“Ride Along” was not on my original watch list, but after it took in so much money last weekend. I thought I would take a look.

Kevin Hart is the funniest man in America at the moment. Ice Cube is the perfect straight man for all of Kevin Hart’s silliness.

In Order to win over his girl friend’s brother, Ben (Kevin Hart) a High School Security Guard must prove he has what it takes by spending 24 hours on a “Ride Along” with James (Ice Cube) who happens to be a hot headed detective in the Atlanta Police department. They both get embroiled in James latest case pursuing a notorious felon. The story unfolds from there…

Kevin Hart is funny and silly. Ice Cube compliments Kevin nicely as a comic straight man to all of Kevin Hart’s antics. There are plenty of laughs, but the plot and story fall a bit short and are both very weak. “Ride Along” is a bit boring. It’s all too familiar as we have seen this before. Kevin Hart is an excellent comedian; but not such a great actor. He should stick to “Stand-Up Comedy”.

“Ride Along” will be great for some comedy relief once it comes out on DVD or Blu-Ray. You should wait for it then.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

It’s always fun to see a Tom Clancey character brought alive on the big screen. “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” would be brilliant if the storyline weren’t so weak and the plot so “Been there before…”

To his friends and family, Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) is just another executive working to make a living. Little do they know Jack has been working for the CIA for years. He was originally brought in to handle Global data, but Jack soon uncovers a carefully planned scheme to crash the Global US Economy and create mass chaos.
When Jack flies to Russia to put a stop to the scheme, he soon finds himself caught between a Russian Leader, his clueless fiancée, and his secret handler. The story unfolds from there…

“Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” is fast paced, non-stop action, a bit of intrigue and some nice cinematography. Unfortunately that’s where it ends. The story, the plot and the reasoning are all very weak. There are quite a few holes in the story at the beginning, so you are forced to draw your own conclusions.

The movie appears to end when things just seem to be heating up. If the movie had been made with a bit longer running time, the extra time would have served it well.

August: Osage County

Meryl Streep is “Brilliant” in “August:Osage County”

“August: Osage County” is about family dysfunction in the worst way. The strong willed woman of the Weston family have many issues. Family tragedy brings them together in the mid-west home that they grew up in, but after being together for a short time. Dark secrets come out that further divide them as a family. The story unfolds from there…
The movie is dark, very touching and at times very hilarious. It will definitely hold your attention. The cast is great together.

Meryl Streep deserves the Golden Globe nomination that she received for this movie.

Tracy Lett’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name debuted on Broadway in December 2007.

Lone Survivor

“LONE SURVIVOR”, is a tale of true Brotherhood, Sacrifice, Courage and Heroism. Based on a true story, four Navy SEALS go out on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative. The mission goes awry and the four SEALS find themselves ambushed and fighting for their lives.

The movie is very well executed, plenty of action, intense violence and very bloody. I found myself hiding my eyes sometimes…The realism of the situation is staggering. This is probably one of the bloodiest military movies I have ever seen!!

LONE SURVIVOR gives you a really good look at what our troops have been dealing with and are continuing to deal with today. No politics are implied in this movie, just the day to day operations that our military deals with. My heart goes out to the men and women who fight for our country and our freedom.

If you like military movies and can stand the bloodiness; LONE SURVIVOR is your movie.

Caution, LONE SURVIVOR is not suited for children under 17.

Saving Mr. Banks

Walt Disney promised his daughters that he would obtain the rights to make a movie from the bestselling novel P.L. Travers “Mary Poppins”. The only problem is that it would take over 20 years to accomplish.

Author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) wasn’t really interested in allowing her book and beloved magical nanny Mary Poppins to become part of the Hollywood Mauling machine.
But after a while the book stopped selling and finances became a strain so P.L. Travers agree to come to Holly wood to meet with Walt Disney. The story unfolds from there…

The story is very well told. We see P.L. Travers childhood through her eyes throughout the movie via flashbacks that she has during her time at the Disney Studios.

This is a very delightful movie. It’s sweet in that Disney way, but not too sweet. Just think “Saving Mr. Banks” is a Disney movie about the making of a Disney movie. How can you go wrong with that?

Grudge Match

I am not sure why the paid critics were so hard on “Grudge Match”, I found it mildly entertaining.

“Grudge Match” is about two retired Pittsburgh boxers Billy “The Kid” (DeNiro) and Henry “Razor” Sharp (Stallone). They maintained a fierce rivalry that continued from the 1980’s until now. They each beat the other in a prize fight, but on the eve of their third fight Henry announced his retirement and this ended both fighters boxing careers.
Thirty years later boxing promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Hart) comes calling. He makes both Henry and Billy an offer they can’t refuse. The story unfolds from there…

There were a few holes in the story, but the overall movie picks up toward the end especially the boxing match scenes. I found the movie to be mildly funny at times, but did not offer the comic relief expected. I think that DeNiro and Stallone had decent on-screen chemistry, but I found some of the scenes with Kim Basinger and Sylvester Stallone to be awkward.

If you have run out of “After Christmas Shopping”, then by all means see “Grudge Match”.

The Wolf of Wall Street

“The Wolf of Wall Street” with a running time of 2:59 is the second longest movie I have seen next to Malcolm X which had a running time of 3:30.

Based on a true story in 1987, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) enters the world of stock trading at an entry level position. In the 1990’s Jordan who is still in his 20’s forms his own firm Stratton Oakmont. Together with his closest friend (Jonah Hill) and several other business acquaintances, Jordan Belfort makes millions by defrauding wealthy investors out of millions.

What Jordan and his cronies don’t know is that while they are partying, engaging in wild sex and recreational drug use, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) is compiling evidence in their investigation that is going to bring Jordan’s firm down and rid him of his excessive wealth. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is very explicit in its dealing with the facts. There is a tremendous about of sexual content, drug use and pervasive language. It’s a no holds barred look inside the world of a Wall Street firm’s daily life. This is a Martin Scorsese film and that in its self is reason to see it.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is definitely not for anyone under the age of 17.

American Hustle

“American Hustle” is one of those highly anticipated movies, it doesn’t disappoint. You will be intrigued from the first 20 minutes. My attention never wavered. The cast was excellent. Depending on whom you are rooting for you will either be pleased or pissed off.

“American Hustle” is about cons and swindles going down routinely. A couple of con artists believe they have the perfect money making scheme. They go about executing their plan flawlessly until one day they happen upon the wrong client. An FBI agent happens to meet with the con-artists; of course they do not know they are talking with an FBI agent. Once the scheme goes down, he identifies himself and arrests are made.

The FBI agent isn’t all on the up and up himself, but he forces the con-artists to work with him undercover to bring down a group of shady State Senators and Congressman. The story unfolds from there…

“American Hustle” is very much a Martin Scorsese like film, but he did not direct this. This was directed by David O. Russell. You must pay attention. Things are not always as they seem. There are plenty of surprises that materialize before your eyes. There is a lot of drama, quite a bit of sexuality, but the movie does not contain a lot of brutality.

The male audience will find this movie entertaining from a sensual perspective. Amy Adams never wears a bra and this is obvious throughout the movie. There are several scenes where it’s clear she isn’t wearing any panties either. I also found Jennifer Lawrence’s performance interesting. This movie is definitely not for the teenage set.

“American Hustle” is worth the price of admission.