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.

Gravity 3D: An IMAX Experience

This is a movie that I will provide a split decision on my review because while the movie is very well executed and the cinematography is breath-taking I did not enjoy the movie. The movie receives 1 star for stressing me out and 5 stars for Execution, Cinematography and Direction.

Sandra Bullock is Dr. Ryan Stone a brilliant medical engineer on her very first NASA Mission in Space. She and veteran Astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) are on what seems to be a routine space walk repairing parts of a satellite when disaster strikes, destroying their space shuttle and leaving them stranded in space. The story unfolds from there…

There are breath-taking views. The cinematography is great. The story is very well executed and the camera angles you get are fabulous!!
The story just did not interest me, but that doesn’t mean that the movie wasn’t good. I found the story to be stressful.

If you like Sci-Fi Suspense, you will like “Gravity”.
The movie is definitely worth the 3D price tag.

Prisoners

On the edge of your seat suspense” is what “Prisoners” brings to the party. The movie will hold your attention!

“What would you do if your child went missing? How far would you go to get your child back? A Parent’s worst nightmare is what two sets of parents face in “Prisoners”.
On Thanksgiving Day Anna and her friend Joy go missing. As minutes turn into hours which turn into days and weeks everyone associated with the situation starts to panic. The only lead is a dilapidated RV and Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests it’s driver, but his intense questioning for hours and days of the suspect yields nothing so when the suspect is released by the police department Keller Dover(Hugh Jackman) takes matters into his own hands. The story unfolds from there…

“Prisoners” is an extremely well executed movie. It’s very realistic in its emotions and events that occur. There is plenty of edge of your seat suspense and intrigue. The movie will definitely hold your attention. While I did not like the subject matter, that doesn’t mean the movie was good. It’s a definite must see if you can handle the subject matter. The movie is long in its execution at 2 hours 33 minutes, but worth every minute. There are a few surprise twists that bring everything together toward the end.

As an additional foot note Mark Wahlberg is an executive producer on this movie.

The Family

I found “The Family” to be mildly entertaining with its “Slapstick Wit” and “All out Stupidity and Silliness”.

“The Family”, The Manzonis a notorious Mafia family, are on their way to witness protection. They have been relocated to Normandy France. They go about trying to fit with daily check-ups from their FBI Handler (Tommy Lee Jones), but soon find themselves doing things “their way”. Each family member has some sort of run-in during their first full day in the little sleepy town of Normandy. Soon they settle in, but back in the US, there are mobsters still trying to find them. The story unfolds from there…

The problem with “The Family” is there is no foundation and you are left to make your own determinations about the reason The Manzonis have been relocated. You are shown snippets of days and events long past, but even then the picture isn’t quite set. I see “The Family” as more of a “Dark Comedy” that doesn’t quit come together. The bright spot is the cast.

I would wait for “The Family” to come out on DVD, Blueray or Cable.

Riddick: An IMAX Experience

In this fourth installment “Riddick” (Vin Diesel) finds himself left for dead on a sun scorched planet amongst alien predators. These Alien Predators appear to be a cross between the monster from the movie “Alien” and the “Cracken” monster from the movie “Clash of the Titans”.

The only way off this horrific planet is to activate an emergency beacon, but to do this would bring mercenaries to the planet looking to place Riddick’s head in a box and collect the bounty. Two ships do arrive each jockeying for how they are going to capture Riddick and collect the bounty, but Riddick appears to have the upper hand. He starts to single handedly pick off his adversaries one by one. The story unfolds from there…

Big issue…There doesn’t seem to be any relationship between this installment and any of the others. It’s pretty obvious that the movie is low-budget. It’s a piece of Sci-Fi fare that should have been left on the cutting room floor. The gore and bloodiness are off the charts. I found myself looking away several times. There is tons of action, violence and a bit of nudity, but there isn’t much else. The story sort of rambles on with no meaning and is complete utter nonsense. Some of the dialog isn’t understandable. I think that if the story were more gripping the movie would be tolerable.

“Riddick” ranks up there with “The Lone Ranger” that came out earlier this summer. Neither of these movies should have been made. What a waste… The Rotten Tomatoes rating for “Riddick” is one point from being fresh. I found that to be a laugh. I like Vin Diesel, but he should stick to the “Fast and Furious” franchise.

Lee Daniels ‘ The Butler

Based on a true story, Lee Daniels’ The Butler tells the story of a White House Butler who served eight American Presidents over a 30+ year period.

The story is excellently told and very well depicted. The movie at times is very emotional, but none the less it’s very good. It will hold your attention.

If you can tolerate the reenactment of 1926 thru the late sixties and how African American people were treated during this time period, then by all means do see “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”. There is a star studded cast that portrays history beautifully.

Paranoia

“Paranoia” is a suspense thriller about the high stakes of corporate espionage, corporate rivalry and technology hacking. Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) is trying to get ahead in his current position with Wyatt Telecom. Adam has plenty of ideas as to how the company should adjust its thinking to better serve its customers.

When his ideas are met with disdain from the CEO Nicholas Wyatt (Gary Oldman), Adam decides to take his team out on the town with his corporate credit card to the tune of $6,000 dollars. Adam is called into the CEO’s office the very next morning. As payback the ruthless CEO wants Adam to spy on his rival company, steal technology and secrets. The story unfolds from there…

The story is very disjointed. It’s all over the map. You are not provided with any foundation or basis for the events or actions that take place at the beginning, middle or end of the movie. The plot is totally illogical. Although the execution of some of the events are very good, it’s still not enough to waste your hard earned money on. I am very disappointed. I really like Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman. This is a “Thriller that doesn’t Thrill”.

Elysium

I love Matt Damon and he does not disappoint!!!

This is 2159 and humanity is divided into two worlds; one is earth and the other is a space station called Elysium. If you are fortunate enough to live on Elysium, you will be free of sickness; you will be wealthy and care free. If you live on earth, you are most likely dirty, hungry, struggling to get by and if you are one of the most unfortunate on earth you are plagued with sickness and possibly near death.
Max (Matt Damon) is a working stiff on earth. He works at the major electronics planet. An accident occurs at work that causes Max’s life to hang in the balance. He must get to Elysium for treatment, but they don’t allow many new inhabitants. Max takes on a dangerous mission to get to Elysium. The story unfolds from there…

Bloody is the word of the day for “Elysium”, but none the less the movie is good! There is plenty of action, suspense and intrigue. Jodie Foster is brilliant. The cinematography is excellent.

I believe that if any other cast would have made this movie, it would not be as good as it is.

If you can stand the bloodiness, “Elysium” is a must see!!

2 Guns

Denzel Washington plays Bobby Trench a DEA Agent and Mark Wahlberg is Marcus Stigman a U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer. For the past year they have both been trying to infiltrate the Mexican Drug Cartel.
Their current sting operation goes awry and they are disavowed by their superiors, so they devise a new plan to flush out all of the bad guys. The plan is that Bobby and Marcus pull of a very easy robbery at the local bank. $43 million dollars is stolen. This brings everyone out of the woodwork. The story unfolds from there…
Suspense, Intrigue, Twists and Turns are the order of the day with “2 Guns”. There is even a bit of slapstick comedy. There is lots of violence.
I feel the weak link is Paula Patton’s role. She doesn’t portray a detective very well. She was boring. Otherwise the movie is good.
The story is a bit disjointed, but it does all come together quickly. “2 Guns” is definitely worth a look. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg make an interesting duo.

The Wolverine 3D

In this installment Mutant Wolverine is a century-old. He is lured to Japan to say Good-bye to a very old friend whose life he once saved, but once Wolverine arrives he finds out that things are not what they seem and he finds himself being pushed to his physical and emotional limits. The real threat of death hangs over him. The story unfolds from there…

“The Wolverine” is not great, it’s just pretty good. There is some cool Samurai sword fighting and the cinematography is interesting, but the story is a bit boring and dis-jointed. However there are a few eyebrow raising surprises.

Hugh Jackman’s dialog comes out as growls rather than actual speaking. The saving grace is that Hugh Jackman is as buff as I ever seen him without a shirt. He’s definitely “Eye Candy” for the ladies.

It’s definitely a waste of money from the 3D aspects. If you are a Wolverine fan then don’t miss this.

This is the sixth time that Hugh Jackman has reprised his role as Wolverine. This tale is getting a bit stale.

Red 2

The 2011 sleeper hit “Red” follows up its success with a sequel.

Retired Black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) reunites with his motley crew of elite operatives to chase down and recover a missing nuclear war head. This chase takes them to London, Russia (Moscow), France and of course the United States.

To find the missing warhead the team will have to battle a gang of relentless assassins who will stop at nothing to try and stop them from recovering the warhead. The story unfolds from there…

Unfortunately “Red 2” is not quite as interesting or entertaining as its predecessor. I was very sad to see that Morgan Freeman did not reprise his role from the first installment.

I found Helen Mirren to be as good in this installment as she was in the first. Any part of the movie that she is in is fun to watch. Unfortunately she is only in about 40% of the movie. Bruce Willis kicks the butt of men half his age with ease. He’s getting a bit too old to continue this pastime. Anthony Hopkins is a breath of fresh air, unfortunately his air comes a bit too late in the movie.

I found “Red 2” to be a bit stupid and boring.