Proud Mary

I had high hopes for “Proud Mary” I believe it’s going to be a Franchise for Taraji P. Henson. She deserves better because if this is the first installment there is nowhere to go, but up.

Taraji P. Henson is Mary a professional hit woman who works for a Major Crime family in the Boston area. Mary’s life becomes even more complicated when she meets a young boy when a professional hit goes all wrong. The story unfolds from there…

“Proud Mary” does not set the stage or provide any foundation for the story so that you will understand the character.

I find Taraji P. Henson’s talent wasted on this vehicle. She deserves better. The movie is choppy and lacks depth. The end is abrupt and does not close any open gaps.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi in 3D

“Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi” continues the saga from The Force Awakens as those heroes join the galactic legends in what turns out to be an EPIC adventure. Age-old mysteries of the Force and un-told/unfinished stories from the past are unlocked. The story unfolds from there…

If you are a “Die-Hard” Star Wars fan, you will love “Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi”.

The movie is EPIC in its delivery and covers a lot of ground. There is plenty of thrilling action, super-cool special effects and breath-taking cinematography.

There are a lot of twists and turns which helps to keep a long-running (2:32) movie interesting.

A bit more of the “Dark-side” surfaces in this installment. This is the middle installment of a Trilogy. The door is open and set for the third installment. Mark Hamill does an excellent job paving the way for the new younger “Skywalkers” to come.

This is a 4 1/2 Star Movie!

Justice League in Real 3D

Out of the gate this is NOT one of the DC Universe’s best outings.

There is a new rising threat to humanity. Batman (Bruce Wayne) works with Wonder Woman (Diana Prince) so that they can find and assemble a team of meta-humans to stand and protect against this new rising threat.
Unfortunately the task is not easy. Even though a league of superheroes (Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash) has formed, it may not be enough to battle the new threat. The story unfolds from there…

Superhero Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is the best element of the film. In this first outing I find the movie a bit lacking. The Justice League members are a bit disassembled in this first installment. The director (Patty Jenkins) for Wonder Woman was definitely missed. The story drags and is missing some foundation and there is too much CGI.

However I did find the cinematography and 3D aspects to be good. There was lots of action, but that too was sort of chaotic.

Hopefully the DC Universe will go back to the drawing board and clean this up before the next installment. I still prefer Christian Bale as Batman, but alas I found out that he does not want to play that role anymore. Earlier this year Wonder Woman set the bar high and it’s still the best film that came from the DC Universe in 2017.

This is a 2½ Star Movie!

Thor: Ragnarok in Real 3D

This is a Special Edition of Thursday Night at the Movies with the Movie Warrior

This 3rd installment finds Thor imprisoned on the other side of the Universe without his powerful Hammer. Thor finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok the destruction of his homeland and the end of Asgardian Civilization. Thor must battle a new powerful villain, the ruthless Hela. Hela will stop at nothing to take over and destroy Asgard. If that’s not enough, Thor also must survive a Gladiator contest against the mighty Hulk…The story unfolds from there…

Wow!! Awesome cinematography, special effects, action, suspense and intrigue. They got it right on this 3rd installment. It’s a wild ride in your theater seat. Colorful scenes give way to spectacular camera angles.

This is a star-studded cast with appearances from The Hulk and Dr Strange.

They definitely did not play it safe with this installment, it’s as if all guns came out blazing. Marvel Universe did hit the jackpot.

If you are a fan of the Marvel Comic Universe, this installment of Thor is definitely worth a look.

This is a 4 Star Movie!

Geostorm in Real 3D

We have not had a nature disaster movie this year so here we go…

“Geostorm” is one of those movies that shows you all the best parts of the movie in the trailers so that when you go see it, it’s just ho-hum.

I am still trying to figure out the plot…There were no great scenes or special effects. The planet’s climate control satellites begin to malfunction. This causes catastrophic weather to develop around the world causing the air to go into a deep freeze where it’s normally hot, tides climb to outrageous heights and come ashore to destroy sky scraper buildings in places like Dubai. Where the weather is normally cold, everything melts. A Satellite designer (Gerard Butler) races to save the day! The story unfolds from there…

No Stars!!

The Foreigner

“The Foreigner” will show veteran actor Jackie Chan in a different light.

A typical day where a father picks up his daughter from school and takes her shopping turns into the worst possible nightmare when a planted bomb goes off near a women’s boutique.
Grief stricken beyond belief Quan (Jackie Chan) searches for answers. He visits the local police but doesn’t get any comfort. Soon Quan makes his way to a British Government Official, Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan) looking for answers, but isn’t offered any hope.
Believing that the Liam Hennessy is lying, Quan decides to get the Official’s attention. The story unfolds from there…

I thought that “The Foreigner” was very entertaining. The movie has lots of action, suspense, intrigue and some very interesting twists and turns.

A grieving parent is a devastating soul. A grieving parent who has martial arts skills and is a former special ops in the military is Deadly!

Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan are very convincing in their roles.

“The Foreigner” is worth a look.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Blade Runner 2049 the IMAX 3D Experience

Thirty Five Years later, “Blade Runner” returns.

It’s the year 2049, a secret that has been buried for a long time is brought into the light by a young blade runner, Officer K (Ryan Gosling). This secret leads Officer K in search of a former blade runner, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) who has been missing for over thirty years. The story unfolds from there…

I may be in the minority, because I did not find “Blade Runner 2049” entertaining. It was Dark, Cloudy, Overcast, Dirty and Boring. There was little to no excitement!! The characters were mostly stoic.

However there are some positives, the cinematography is awesome. The special effects are cool and the 3D aspects are on point. The action was sometimes intense, but most of the time just ho-hum.

I just wasn’t able to get into the movie. That doesn’t mean it was bad. You may find that you enjoy it.

This is a 3½ Star Movie!

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

In this installment the Kingsman face a new challenge. Their headquarters and all of their secret places of operation are destroyed. The Kingsman discover a US Allied Spy organization called “Statesman”. After heading to the US to the “Statesman” headquarters the Kingsman soon learn that there is a drug cartel running an operation in a place called “Poppy Land”. If not stopped the Poppy Land operation could cripple the world. The two agencies join forces to try and stop the madness. The story unfolds from there…

Although not as good as the first installment, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” does have plenty to offer in the way of action, intrigue and suspense. There is a bit of continuation from the first installment to tie the two together, but beyond that the movie starts off on a strange foot and continues on that path for quite a while. It’s not really clear at first what the movie is about. Things do start to heat up a bit and get interesting mid-way through the movie.

Once again I had high expectations due to the fact that the cast is strong and the first installment was excellent, but in the end “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” was a bit like letting the air out of a fully inflated tire.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

American Assassin

“American Assassin” follows a CIA Black Ops recruit, Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) who deals with losing his fiancée in a random attack at a beach resort to being under the guidance of a Cold-War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton).
The CIA assigns Mitch, Stan and a group of operatives to investigate random attacks on Military and Civilian communities around the world. These mini-missions lead the team to a bigger mission involving a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar). Together they attempt to stop a mysterious operative known as “Ghost”. The story unfolds from there…

“American Assassin” would be awesome if it did not have so many agendas that go uncompleted. The movie starts off great, but goes off track within the first 35 minutes and never recovers. This movie is missing its foundation. There is lots of action, suspense and intrigue. The cinematography and camera angles are very good.

I had high expectations due to the fact that the cast is strong, but in the end the movie is just ok.

“American Assassin” will be a great Cable, DVD or Blue-Ray viewing.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!

The Hitman’s Bodyguard

“The Hitman’s Bodyguard” is a “quirky, funny and entertaining summer flick.”

Ryan Reynolds plays Michael Bryce, a top protection agent who has been summoned to protect a Notorious Assassin, Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson). Darius’s testimony is needed in criminal court case to put away a dictator who has been killing or ordering the killing of innocent people.

Michael Bryce and Darius Kincaid have a history. They don’t like each other, so when they are faced with each other and it dawns on Michael Bryce what he is getting into, dangerous sparks start flying. The story unfolds from there…

The paid critics did not like “The Hitman’s Bodyguard”. The movie is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not bad. In fact it’s funny and entertaining. There is a story, a plot, intrigue, suspense and a couple of twists. It’s mindless entertaining.

Ryan Reynolds is an unlikely bodyguard, but he does a good job. Samuel L. Jackson is the perfect assassin. The movie is worth seeing if for no other reason than to see Salma Hayek. She kicks some serious butt!!

Check out “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” for some fun entertainment.