Suicide Squad in 3D

This is another edition of “Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior”.

What was I thinking…DC Comics are not as good as Marvel Comics.

“Suicide Squad” is not entertainment, it’s just plain “Suicide”!!

The villains in this movie are just plain awful. You will be yawning before things really get going.

The movie has a great cast that tries to do something with nothing, but at the end of the day it’s just plain bad. The problem with “Suicide Squad” is the muddled plot. What am I thinking…there was no plot. The movie just rambles. The characters are not fully developed. This leaves you to guess. I did not go to see “Suicide Squad” to guess. There are some humorous moments, but not enough to sink $17 dollars into a ticket.

This is the second time this year we have been treated to a DC Comic on the big screen. The March 2016 Batman vs. Superman was bad enough.

I am giving the movie 2 stars because of the strong cast. Margot Robbie was awesome. Otherwise the movie would get no stars from me.

“Suicide Squad” is best viewed on Cable or Blue-Ray. On second thought just Cable.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Jason Bourne: The IMAX Experience

Jason Bourne is Back!!

The 2012 “Bourne Legacy” was not received very well, so it’s great that Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) and Matt Damon came back to the Franchise that they together made great!

This installment finds Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) on a serious fact finding mission to get to the bottom of why he is who he is and how did he get there. Jason continues to have haunting memories of events past. He tries to put things together with the help of Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles). When the CIA receives an alert that their system has been breached and files are being copied, Director Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) calls on all of his available field assets to track down and stop the breach. This leads them to Greece where Jason Bourne just happens to be. The story unfolds from there…

“Jason Bourne” dos a good job of tying in events from “The Bourne Identity”, “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum”. While we live in a world where CGI is used a lot in movies, this is NOT the case with “Jason Bourne”. All of the scenes are real and the action is live and intense. The camera angles are awesome! The signature car chase is there. It’s good but not as good as the car chase that occurred thru Germany in “The Bourne Supremacy”.

The paid critics complained that “Jason Bourne” was more of the same, well that’s what we want. I say do not pay the paid critics any attention. “Jason Bourne” is good and I am very happy to see Matt Damon back in the role. The door was left open at the end.

“Jason Bourne” should be viewed in IMAX. Do you want to see Jason Bourne? Or do you want to ride with Jason Bourne thru the streets of Las Vegas?

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Star Trek Beyond: The IMAX 3D Experience

This is another Edition of “Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior”

The Star Ship Enterprise is back!

Captain Kirk and his crew go out on what they believe is a rescue mission. They take in a supposed survivor from a wrecked ship. When the Enterprise heads to the planet where they believe they will be rescuing people, instead as they approach this unknown planet, the Enterprise is severely attacked.

Captain Kirk and his crew are forced to abandon ship. The Enterprise crash lands and the crew is scattered round this strange planet. Some of the crew are captured, others wonder looking for the others. The story unfolds from there…

“Star Trek Beyond” is full of suspense and intrigue. There is lots of Sci-Fi action and mayhem. The movie is visually entertaining and will satisfy any Star Trek fan. Although this is not your Father’s Star Trek, the Enterprise crew goes “Old School” to fight this unknown enemy. There is some cool throw-back special effects that are used from the old Star Trek TV Shows.

The original Dr Spock (Leonard Nimoy) was given a great send off, since he passed away last year. This movie closes that door to some extent.

Do you want to just see the movie? Or do you want to feel like you are riding on the Star Ship Enterprise? “Star Trek Beyond” is a must see in IMAX. The 3D aspects were not that great.

“Star Trek Beyond” is a “Bona-Fide” Summer Blockbuster that did not advertise very much.

This is 4 ½ Star Movie!

The Legend of Tarzan: The IMAX 3D Experience

“The Legend of Tarzan” was not on my original “Watch List”, but I decided to give it a look.

Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard) became a modern man living as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke with his lovely wife Jane (Margot Robbie). John has now been invited back to the Congo where he once called home to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament. John is unaware that he is the pawn in a crazy, deadly scheme of revenge and greed masterminded by Captain Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz). Unfortunately the people involved with Captain Leon Rom have no idea what’s in store for them when they try to take Tarzan or hurt anyone he loves. The story unfolds from there…

The story starts off painfully slow, in fact the first 40 minutes were useless. Once the story heats up and the action becomes lively, the movie becomes interesting. Samuel L. Jackson’s character does nothing more than provide comic relief. Christoph Waltz always gives his character in any movie he plays in everything he has. This installment is probably the best Tarzan movie of modern times.

There is plenty of action and lots of computer generated animals. You get that dark dank jungle locale and there are some stampeding scenes that remind me of one of the earlier Jurassic Park movies where the Dinosaurs are chasing after the Scientists.

In a lackluster summer of blockbusters thus far, Tarzan is probably the best movie ticket for the 4th of July Holiday weekend.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

Independence Day: Resurgence: The IMAX 3D Experience

Have you ever gone to the movies and while you were waiting for the movie to start, you have second thoughts…? That was my dilemma today. If I could have gotten my money back I would have left the theater. I just had my doubts about seeing this sequel.

It’s 20 years since “Independence Day” and we have taken up residence on the Moon. We have a fully operational Space Station with astronauts and scientists manning the station. Flights to the moon are routine. The current president of the United States is a Woman. A HUGH celebration is in effect honoring the fallen of 20 years ago.

On the Moon, we mistaken a friendly arrival from another planet who comes to warn Earth that an Intergalactic war is about to take place and Earth is in trouble. We fire upon the friendly ship destroying everything but its messenger. Once we find out what’s about to happen it’s too late. The Alien Ship with the “Queen” as already entered Earth’s air space. The story unfolds from there…

Bottom line…”Independence Day: Resurgence” attempts to match the same “End-Of-The-World” urgency that its predecessor did. It falls far short of even coming close.

While the movie is visually appealing and the CGI and Cinematography are stunning, the rest of the movie, story and plot are missing.

“Independence Day Resurgence” is best viewed on Cable.

This is a 1 Star Movie!

Free State of Jones

It’s another edition of “Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior”.

“Free State of Jones” is an Epic Civil War Satire based on factual events that occurred between 1862 and 1876.

Matthew McConaughey is Newt Knight a stubborn southern farmer who goes up against the Confederate Army. Over time Newt assembles an army of his own made up of free slaves, women and white men who defected from the army.

They fought against farmers losing everything to the Confederacy, slavery, the right to vote and any act that was unjust or unlawful during those times.
This is a big story to tell and it can’t be told in 2 hours and nineteen minutes. The movie jumps around a lot. There are actually 2 stories occurring simultaneously. There are many holes left unfilled.

This is the type of movie that has all of the elements that grate on my last nerve, “Racism”, “The N Word being used rampantly”, “The KKK running amok”, “Hangings, Lynching” and “People being beat with a whip”.

If you wish to stomach all of that, have at it!!

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Central Intelligence

I am not a Kevin Hart fan and “Central Intelligence” wasn’t on my original watch list, but I decided to give it a look anyway.

Kevin Hart is Calvin Joyner the guy in High School who was the most likely to succeed. Dwayne Johnson is Bob Stone the guy in High School who was the butt of fat jokes and pranks.
Fast forward 20 years…Calvin Joyner married his High School sweet-heart and is an accountant in a prestigious firm. Bob Stone has lost 200 pounds and is a field Agent in the CIA. Bob contacts Calvin because Calvin always came to his rescue in High School.

After Bob and Calvin meet for drinks things start to unravel with a case that Bob is involved with. He needs Calvin’s help. The story unfolds from there…

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart actually make a good comedy duo. They feed off of each other pretty well. “Central Intelligence” is funny with some slap-stick thrown in, serious at times, but also entertaining with a decent amount of action.

The movie is better than I thought it would be. It’s not all jokes for Kevin Hart’s character Calvin Joyner. “Central Intelligence” is probably the best movie I have seen that stars Kevin Hart.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

X-Men: Apocalypse The IMAX 3D Experience

Welcome to a special installment of Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior!

“X-Men: Apocalypse” is a very ambitious undertaking that doesn’t quite meet the mark. I found the plot to be bloated with no deflation and no explanation. There were really strong performances, but they were over shadowed by a plot that never quite comes together as it’s all over the place.

In this installment, everything gets torn up, destroyed literally and then put back together.

The best parts of the movie are the special effects, cinematography and the 3D aspects. There is non-stop action, but sometimes it does not make sense. That’s not enough to justify spending $17 dollars to see the movie.
To me personally after 16 years the “X-Men” franchise has run its course and is now an overdone franchise, also it was disappointing to not see Halle Barry reprise her role as “Storm”.

This is a 2 1/2 Star Movie!

Captain America: Civil War the IMAX 3D Experience

It’s Thursday Night at the movies with The Movie Warrior!

I previewed “Captain America:Civil War” this evening. All I can say is the movie is “EPIC!!”

They took the best parts of The Avengers and the best parts of Captain America, threw in Spidey (Spiderman), The Black Panther and Ant Man and you have got yourself an action-packed non-stop “Live Comic Book”.

There are so many characters and sub-plots that if you are a fan of the HBO hit Game of Thrones, you will be right at home. The movie keeps it moving and keeps it coming. The stories and plots are real life.

The special effects are awesome and the cinematography is great. The movie is a must see in IMAX. The 3D aspects are pretty good. I caught myself ducking a few times.

At the end of the day, “Captain America: Civil War” all boils down to friendship and conflicts and how to best solve them.

It looks as though the Blockbuster season is getting off to a great start!

This is a 5 Star Movie!

The Huntsman: Winter’s War

I had modest expectations for “The Huntsman: Winter’s War”. Unfortunately the movie did not even come close to meeting modest expectations.

Continuing the twist on the fable Snow White, “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” is about the powerful evil siblings; Freya the Ice Queen (Emily Blunt) and her sister Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) and their plan to conquer the Enchanted Forest. The only people who can stop them are the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) and his secret lover Sara (Jessica Chastain). The story unfolds from there…

The special effects, cinematography and big name cast are all that “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” has going for it. The story is dis-jointed. Three strong female actresses are swallowed up in the script. Chris Hemsworth come across as being cocky and full of himself.
What a waste…Instead of a fairy tale, I felt like the movie was a nightmare.

“The Huntsman: Winter’s War” is definitely a forgettable sequel.