Category: Adventure

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 the 3D IMAX Experience

In this installment the team continues their adventures as they make their way across the galaxy. “The Guardians” must fight to keep their family together as they are confronted with challenge after challenge, but one challenge made by Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) supposed father “Ego” (Kurt Russell) proves to be more than the team bargained for. The story unfolds from there…

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is a CGI feast. The special effects and cinematography are off the charts. There is plenty of action, suspense and intrigue. I did not review the first installment, but saw it later. This installment is a lot cruder and a lot more violent than the first installment, so Parents beware.

The movie is fast-paced and will keep you on the edge of your seat. There is plenty of humor, probably more than in the first installment. Normally sequels lose some luster, but I would say this installment kept it real and fresh. My favorite Guardian is “Baby Groot”. He looks like a miniature Mummy.

If you are a die-hard Marvel Comic Fan, you will love “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”.

This is a 4 Star Movie!

Fate of the Furious: The IMAX Experience

“The Fast & Furious Franchise Lives On…”

I was actually stunned to hear that another installment of the “Fast & Furious” franchise was coming our way after the great sendoff that was given for Paul Walker during Furious 7. I thought it would be tough for the original cast to continue without him, but I guess I was wrong. It is really all about making “Dead Presidents”.

So here we are two years later and the original cast minus Paul Walker with about five new faces ventures into another realm. There is some very good casting although this installment moves further away from its roots.

The story starts off great with Toretto (Diesel) and Letty (Rodriguez) together doing their thing in Cuba living what appears to be a normal life. The rest of the team is no-where around. The peace that Toretto and Letty enjoy can only last so long. A new villain makes its way into Toretto’s life. This villain needs Toretto’s special driving skills to pull of some major international jobs. In order to get Toretto’s help, this villain has already procured something that is very precious to Toretto, so how can he refuse? The story unfolds from there…

In order to keep this franchise going there needed to be a fresh new story, with fresh new characters. On a very small scale this story is fresh with new characters, but on the larger scale it’s a “Been There, Done That” sort of story. Unfortunately Jordana Brewster did not reprise her role as “Mia”. She is one of the original cast members.

There is a ton of action, serious car chases, crashes and cool moves. The computer age is rampant in this movie as there are many high-tech maneuvers made and used. There is even some comedy relief. During the opening credits the music that plays is off the chain…

“Fate of the Furious” is a must see in IMAX. The camera angles, sound and the cinematography are excellent and you will feel like you are in the cars and planes riding right along with the gang.

The movie is not bad, it’s just not as fresh as it needs to be with an eighth installment.

“Fate of the Furious” is definitely worth a look.

I am almost sure there will be a ninth installment.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

The Ghost in the Shell in 3D

“Ghost in the Shell” is the live-action, big screen adaptation of the popular Japanese Manga series. The 3D aspects are very good. The story lags a bit and the plot is non-existent, but the movie is not bad.

Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind. She was saved from a terrible accident and through surgical procedures was “Rebuilt” as a Cyber-being, part human, part robot. Major is enhanced to be the perfect crime fighter. She has the speed, agility, flexibility and combat instincts to thwart many bad guys.

Things go awry when Major starts to show signs of having memories from her former life. She is trying to figure things out and understand more about her being. She also discovers that she has been lied to. Major will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of who she really is, but the people who created her can’t allow that. The story unfolds from there…

The action and special effects are awesome! The story is a bit off and lags at various points. This is what keeps the movie from being 4 stars.

I am a fan of Scarlett Johansson, so I wanted to see how she would do. She was good as Major.

If there is another installment, there needs to be a deeper story, more intrigue and suspense.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!

Life

Ever since the 1979 box office hit “Alien”, there has been attempted replications and duplication’s. Some have come close, but most have failed.

“Life” is nothing more than an attempted replication with A-List Actors and far more stupidity and nonsense.

We as humans on earth continue to be fascinated with the possibility of life on Mars. A team of astronauts and scientists operate a space station near Mars. Exploration is done and what appears to be a life form is found. Our curiosity gets the best of us as we poke, prod and attempt chemical modifications to the form we have found.

Too much poking and prodding with the wrong instruments leads to growth stimulation of the life form. We then try to kill what we have tampered with, but to no avail. The life form sustains its life by feeding on us. The story unfolds from there…

The outcome of “Life” is pretty obvious. Is there ever a good ending to a Sci-Fi Thriller that has any sort of Alien being?

After the first 70 minutes I was bored and actually considered leaving. I did go and stand near the exit because the movie was getting on my nerves. I had seen it all before. There is nothing really new except several A-List Actors in the movie. There was no real suspense, some action, a lot of stupidity and nonsense.

The paid critics believe “Life” is fresh. I think it’s as stale as 2 week old bread.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Beauty and The Beast in 3D

Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast” is a “Live Action Visual Feast”!!

Belle (Emma Watson) goes in search of her father Maurice (Kevin Kline) after his horse returns to the village without him. The horse leads Belle through the forest to the castle where her father disappeared. Belle finds her father being held captive inside the castle. The Beast approaches, but Belle isn’t afraid of the Beast and offers to trade places with her father. The Beast doesn’t want to make a trade, but allows Belle to say good-bye to her father. Once she is inside the cell with her father she pushes him out and slams the door. The story unfolds from there…

“Beauty and the Beast” is an old animated story being told in live action with tremendous visual effects, beautiful cinematography and wonderfully updated music.

The movie is very entertaining and will hold your attention. The 3D aspects are very good. The cast is excellent with the enchanting servant voices being played by the likes of Emma Thompson, Ian McKellen, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

This is a grown-up version of the classic tale, but can be enjoyed by everyone!!

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Kong: Skull Island in 3D

“Kong: Skull Island” is “Crazy Stupid”, but it’s fast-paced, has lots of eye candy and tons of action.

Set in the post-Vietnam war era, a group of explorers/scientists and a team of military specialists are brought together to go on an exploration assignment to an uncharted island in the Pacific. It’s not really explained ahead of time what the group might be looking for, but it was made known that they needed to go before Russia went. At first glance the island looks to be a paradise, but the parties soon find out the island is as dangerous and treacherous as it is beautiful. The story unfolds from there…

The special effects are awesome. The action is non-stop. The 3D aspects will have you on the edge of your seat. It’s in your face violent.

“Kong: Skull Island” offers you another rendition of the King Kong saga. It’s the first creature-feature of the year.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

Logan

Wow! “Logan” is Action-Packed, Intense, Gritty and Intriguing.

It’s 2029 and all Mutants are supposedly gone. “Logan” (Jackman) lives on the outskirts of the Mexican Border and has a job as a Chauffeur. Professor X (Stewart) is ailing and needs constant care. Logan uses whatever cash he makes purchasing the medication that helps keep Professor X’s brain calm and quiet.

Logan is approached by a woman who says she desperately needs his help. At first Logan refuses indicating that he does not know the woman and does not know how or why she thinks she knows him. Logan soon finds out that the reason the woman needs his help is that she is harboring a young little girl who is a mutant with skills like Wolverine.
There are bad people looking for the little girl. The woman offers Logan 50,000 dollars saying he is the only person who could keep the little girl safe. Mysteriously the little girl shows up at Logan’s place without him knowing about it. This brings the bad people to his place also. The story unfolds from there…

“Logan” is entertaining, suspenseful, very bloody, and violent and has some cool special effects. Hugh Jackman puts so much of himself into the character “Logan” that it’s almost painful to watch.

“Logan” is so intense that it’s not for young children. This is truly an adult Marvel Comics installment.

If you like Marvel Comics, “Logan” is for you!

This is a 4 Star Movie!

Collide

“Collide” wasn’t on my original “Watch List”, but I decided to check it out.

“Collide” is about a heist that goes terribly wrong. A prominent business tycoon uses his empire as a cover as every 6 months he brings in Cocaine to be distributed in parts of Germany. A regular business man is aware of what’s been going on and wants in on the action from a financial perspective. The two gentlemen meet, but the meeting does not go well. The prominent business tycoon refuses to do business.

This leaves the regular business man to devise a scheme to get what he wants. He recruits a couple of young guys that work for him with the lure of an extremely large payday. The two guys put together what they believe is a fool-proof plan, but the prominent business tycoon is a bit smarter and what appears to be the perfect heist goes awry. The story unfolds from there…

The best thing about “Collide” is there are lots of nasty car chases involving extremely expensive cars.
You would think that a movie containing Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley would be very good. Not so in the case of “Collide”. The story is rich, but it’s not executed very well. The dialog is horrible.

Several people got up and left in the mid of the movie and did not come back! I started to leave, but my curiosity got the best of me, so I stayed.

There is a reason that “Collide” did not get much press. It’s an awful movie, so I am sure they were thinking why bother…

“Collide” is best viewed on Cable. It’s not worth the price of a Blue-Ray or DVD.

This movie does not rate any stars!

The Great Wall in Real 3D

“The Great Wall” is an Action/Fantasy set in 11th century China, two Mercenaries (Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal) from the west find themselves battling for their lives against a Chinese Military. They are soon captured, but once their captors witness their archery and weapons skills, the military command at the Great Wall needs their assistance to battle a super-natural menace who continues to try and scale the wall to get at them and their people. Meanwhile there is a stranded visitor (Willem Dafoe) who has been at the great wall for twenty five years. He states there is a treasure to be had and tries to convince the Mercenaries to help him steal it. The story unfolds from there…

“The Great Wall” is an action epic and visual feast. Matt Damon is the best element in the movie. It’s a shame that the story wasn’t put in proper context so that it was understood how the super-natural menace came to be and why it wishes to attack and destroy an entire nation and where did the supposed treasure come from.

Because the story as a whole is dis-jointed and unclear, it’s boring. If it weren’t for Matt Damon, the movie won’t be worth seeing. The 3D aspects are pretty good.

“The Great Wall” will be a great movie to watch on Blue-Ray, DVD or Cable.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!

XxX:Return of Xander Cage the IMAX Experience

After a 14 year hiatus, Xander Cage is back!

In this third installment Xander Cage is lured from his self-imposed exile to help stop a Pandora’s Box that is being used to take control of satellites and use them as weapons. Xander has plenty of company as he tries to stop the unknown enemy, but also stop alpha warrior Xiang and his team who are also racing to get their hands on the box. Xander recruits a whole new team that are highly skilled and thrill-seeking just as he is. The story unfolds from there…

The sound track is “Dope!!” There is a ton of action, fight sequences, out-of-this-world stunts and some pretty cool cinematography and camera angles.
The movie will keep you engaged, but unfortunately the story is lacking and dull. We have seen it all before. This has been a blockbuster Franchise in the past, but the story doesn’t bring anything new to the table.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!