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.

Killing Them Softly

Have you ever gone to an amusement park, gotten on a ride and then wished you could get off the ride after is started, but once it was going it didn’t seem so bad. This is how “Killing Them Softly” seemed to me. During the first 35 minutes I wanted to leave the theater, but something made me stay and I am sort of glad I did.
“Killing Them Softly” is about a high stakes poker game involving 16 people who are robbed by some amateur thugs. Unfortunately the thugs rob the wrong people. One of the poker players calls in a cool, calm killer-for-hire (Brad Pitt) to take care of all who were involved with planning and executing the robbery. The story unfolds from there.
“Killing Them Softly” is brutal, intense and dark. There is nothing “Soft” about the movie. “Killing Them Softly”; appears to have been shot on a small budget, but has some really nice special effects and camera angles.

Lincoln

“Lincoln” is a HUGH ambitious undertaking for Steven Spielberg, but he pulls it off nicely.
“Lincoln” focuses on the last few months of our nation’s 16th president and his trials and tribulations at getting the Emancipation Proclamation passed and ending the war.
“Lincoln” is a great story nicely done. Two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis as “Lincoln” will make you believe. The cast of this movie is very talented and deep.
“Lincoln” is definitely worth the price of admission.

Skyfall

Sean Connery will always be James Bond to me. He set the standard for all other Bond impersonators who came after him. Although in this latest installment of the Bond Franchise, Daniel Craig runs a very close second to Sean Connery. The James Bond you see in “Skyfall” is “Shaken not Stirred”. He has such a cool facade you wonder if anything gets to him.
In this installment of the Bond Franchise, James Bond and M (Judi Dench) find themselves the targets of a sadistic killer who will stop at nothing to get to “M”. Additionally James Bond’s current assignment goes terribly wrong and all of the real identities of the undercover agents for Her Majesty’s Service have been compromised. Bond must stop the person from leaking all of the identities before the agents are harmed and keep “M” safe. The story unfolds from there…
Lots of action and violence, the movie at times is intense, dark and sensual. Although there are some slow parts, the movie will easily hold your attention. New faces appear for “Money Penny” and “Q”.
“Skyfall” is probably Daniel Craig’s best work as 007. Definitely worth the ticket if you are a James Bond fan.

Flight

Mr. Washington was masterfully brilliant in his portrayal of “Whip Whitaker a commercial airline pilot. Whip has an addiction to alcohol and drugs, but so far he’s managed to complete his flights without incident.
Whip’s luck runs out when a horrific mechanical malfunction of some of the planes hydraulics sends his plane hurling through the sky toward the ground.
Shocked and shaken Whip decides to give up the alcohol, but when the NTSB starts to investigate the crash and the events that led up to the crash, Whip finds himself out of control. The story unfolds from there…
“Flight” has excellent acting and a great cast. This is Denzel Washington’s movie from start to finish.
My only problem is that the plane crash sort of takes a back seat to the addiction that Whip has. Not enough attention was given to the other survivors of the plane crash.
To sum things up, “Flight” is about Heroism, Addiction, Recovery and Forgiveness.

Alex Cross

Based on a James Patterson novel series, Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) a detective/psychologist for the Detroit Police Dept finds himself and his team which consists of his long time friend Tommy Kane (Edward Burns) and police detective Monica Ashe (Rachel Nichols) trying to catch a ruthless, sadist serial killer who goes by the name of Picasso.
They play a deadly game of cat and mouse trying to stop what is to be believed as an assassination attempt on a European industrialist who resides in the suburbs of Detroit. Alex Cross must find a way to get inside Picasso’s head so he can get one step ahead of him because that is the only way Picasso is going to be stopped. The story unfolds from there…
The plot and story are choppy. There is no cohesiveness. Tyler Perry does not make a good transition from comedy to suspense thriller. The Character Alex Cross does not come across as ruthless as his character is in the James Patterson novels. This is what makes the movie just ok.
The movie is not as bad as the paid critics indicated although it’s definitely not as good as the previews made it look. Tyler Perry should stick to the “Madea” character. He is very good at that and not so good when there is a need to be ruthless and cunning.

Argo

Remember when Iranian Revolutionaries stormed the American Embassy in November 1979? “Argo” is about the situations that led up to, during and after this awful event.

During the rioting and chaos 6 Americans were able to escape and find refuge with the Canadian Ambassador. However it was discovered by the revolutionaries that some of the Embassy staff was unaccounted for. Worried that they may be found and executed, the US Government calls extractor Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to get the refugees out.

Tony’s plan is to pose as a Hollywood producer who is scouting the location to film a movie and plans to use the refugees as his crew. The story unfolds from there…

“Argo” is based on a true story. The movie is executed brilliantly!! The attention to detail is astounding. It’s “Dark, Intense and Sometimes Comical”.

For those of you who do not like a lot of profanity in your movies, BEWARE, the “F” word is used constantly. Sometimes it’s funny, but most of the time not so much.

Taken 2

Liam Neeson reprises his role as Bryan Mills the retired CIA operative. Bryan takes a small assignment in Istanbul Turkey. He wraps up the assignment and is ready to return to the USA, but his daughter (Maggie Grace) and her mother Bryan’s ex-wife (Famke Janssen) show up to surprise him. Little does anyone know that the father of one of the kidnappers from the first installment is plotting revenge against Brian. The story unfolds from there…

I really enjoyed the first installment. It’s very difficult to carry over the intrigue and excitement that the 2009 hit “Taken” had. I have to say that while the paid critics were luke-warm about this second installment, they are only half right. The movie has plenty of intrigue and suspense, but the story is weak at best. It lacks the “torture and interrogation scenes that made “Taken” so good.

There isn’t as much action as the first installment, but Liam Neeson is awesome!! He still has the skills of “Jason Borne and MacGyver”.
There is some great cinematography of Istanbul Turkey. I say if you really liked the first installment “Taken” then you should see “Taken 2”.

Looper

“Looper” is a Suspense/Thriller that starts a bit slow, but like a locomotive picking up steam it speeds up to give you a thrilling ride. You must pay close attention because there are so many twists and turns that you will get lost. The movie keeps you guessing and waiting to see what happens next.

“Looper” is about Time Travel that is illegal except on the Black Market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone they send them back 30 years to the past where a “Looper” takes care of the target.

At some point a “Looper” becomes a target and knowing how the system works a “Looper” tries to avoid their fate. The story unfolds from there…

Very “Mind Bending, Intriguing, Intense and Suspenseful” with a moderate amount of action. The movie does get a bit bloody at times. This is one of the best Suspense Thrillers since the movie “Inception”. The way the movie ended was a bit weird.

If you like “Intense” and can stand the “Bloodiness” then “Looper” is your movie.

End of Watch

“End of Watch” is a very gruesome and realistic view of what two LA police officers deal with on a daily basis. Patrolling the mean streets of Los Angeles is no joke and the LAPD put their lives on the line every single day to try and keep the good citizens of Los Angeles safe.
The movie is so realistic that at times I covered my face because what was being shown would make me ill.
“End of Watch” is very bloody, realistic, and gruesome and in its own way awesome because it’s not sugar- coated. It’s the real deal.
The on-screen chemistry between Gyllenhall and Pena is really good. The scenes with them in their squad car really gives you a great understanding of what police officers deal with while cruising the streets. With everything that goes on in “End of Watch” the movie is really good, but it loses steam at the end and that’s what will keep it from being a great movie.
If you can stand the bloodiness and the gruesome factor, “End of Watch” is worth seeing.

Future Movie Reviews in 2013 and Beyond

Here is a List of movies that I plan to see in the coming months. This list may change over time. It will be republished as needed.

The Amazing Spiderman 2 – Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Martin Sheen, Jamie Foxx, Andrew Garfield, Shailene Woodley

 White House Down – Jamie Foxx, Channing Tatum, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Joey King

Red 2 – Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Malkovich, Anthony Hopkins, Mary-Louise Parker

Last Vegas – Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen

Now You See Me – Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg

Baggage Claim – Taye Diggs, Paula Patton, Adam Brody, Tia Mowry-Hardrict, Djimon Hounsou, Christina Milian, Trey Songz

The Best Man 2 – Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan

Thor: The Dark World – Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Tom Hiddleston, Zachary Levi, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Stan Lee

The Fast & The Furious 6 – Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriquez, Luke Evans, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson

Peeples – Kerry Washington, Craig Robinson, David Alan Grier, S. Epatha Merkerson, Melvin Van Peebles

Tyler Perry’s: Single Mom’s Club – Amy Smart, Tyler Perry, Terry Crews, Eddie Cibrian, Nia Long, William Levy

The Lone Ranger – Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, Barry Pepper

Killing Season – Robert DeNiro, John Travolta, Milo Ventimiglia, Elizabeth Olin

Man of Steel – Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, Christopher Meloni

Bad Ass – Danny Trejo, Charles S. Dutton, Ron Perlman, Joyful Drake

Life Happens – Krysten Ritter, Kate Bosworth, Rachel Bilson, Geoff Stults

Brake – Stephen Dorff, Tom Berenger, Chyler Leigh, JR Bourne

Playing the Field – Jessica Biel, Judy Greer, Dennis Quaid, Gerard Butler, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Cogan’s Trade – Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Sam Shepard

Elysium – Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Alice Braga, Sharlto Copley, Talisa Soto, William Fichtner

Kane & Lynch – Bruce Willis, Jamie Foxx, Jon Lovitz

Soldiers of Fortune – Sean Bean, Christian Slater, Ving Rhames, Dominic Monaghan

Better Living Through Chemistry – Michelle Monaghan, Sam Rockwell, Jennifer Garner, Judi Dench

One in the Chamber – Dolph Lundgren, Billy Murray, Cuba Gooding Jr., Leo Gregory, Louis Mandylor

Man of Steel – Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Christopher Meloni, Julia Ormond

The Son of No One – Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Ray Liotta, Katie Holmes, Brian Gilbert, Jake Cherry

6 Month Rule – Jaime Pressly, Martin Starr, Natalie Morales, Dave Foley, John Michael Higgins

Justice League – Common, Adam Brody, Megan Gale, Armie Hammer

Star Trek 2 – Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton, Yelchin

4Chosen – Laurence Fishburne, Rita Moreno, Billy Zane, Cybill Shepherd, Louis Gossett Jr, Danny Aiello, Ne-Yo