Category: Adventure

Black Hat

“Black Hat” is more of a “Black Eye”.

“Black Hat” is about Cyber Crime. For no apparent reason a remote nuclear attack on China is staged via a computer system. As it turns out it was staged so that all of the money that the Chinese Casinos are bringing in can be stolen. The Chinese Government reaches out to the United States for help. The person, Nick Hathaway (Hemsworth) most able to solve this crime is serving time in a U.S. Prison. The U.S. Justice Dept gets Hathaway out of prison so that he can help solve the case. The story unfolds from there…

The story on paper is very interesting, but on the big screen not so much. The problem is the stage is not set correctly, so you have to watch the entire movie to piece it together. There is no rhyme or reason. I was bored the first 90 minutes of the movie. 

Too much time is spent showing the viewing audience what the inside of a computer chip looks like way down in the depths, from the time the
“Enter” key is hit on the keyboard until it reaches it’s destination.

I expected better from a Michael Mann production. Movie “Heavy Weights” “Viola Davis” and “Chris Hemsworth” are not enough to give “Black Hat” high marks.

There are 3 other movies scheduled to open soon with the word “Black” in their title, let’s hope they fair better.

This is a 1 1/2 Star Movie!

American Sniper

FINALLY!! “American Sniper” opens wide! I have been waiting for this movie for many months. It does not disappoint!! “American Sniper” isn’t just about war; it’s about how war affects the loved ones who remain at home. Multiple tours can and do take their toll on a family.

Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle an American Sniper who was the deadliest Sniper in U.S. Military History. He served four tours with one goal in mind; “Protect” his brothers-in-arms. He does just that saving countless lives, but Kyle becomes a wanted man behind enemy lines with a price on his head. Insurgents would love nothing better than to take Chris Kyle out. Each time Chris returns home he finds it difficult to leave the war behind. The story unfolds from there…

You will be on the edge of your seat! The movie will hold your attention. It’s nerve racking intense, suspenseful and has plenty of action. It is a bit bloody.

This is probably Bradley Cooper’s best role. He has come a long way since starring as “Will Tippin” in the ABC hit “Alias”.

“American Sniper” is definitely worth the price of admission.

This is a 4 Star Movie!

Into The Woods

“Into The Woods” is quite delightful and entertaining, although toward the end its dark roots that have hovered just below the surface throughout rise up.

“Into The Woods” is a modern play on several Grimm Fairy Tales, “Jack and the Beanstalk”, “Rapunzel”, “Cinderella” and “Little Red Riding Hood”. These Tales are all intertwined and tied nicely together. The stories explore the consequences of the characters wishes, quests and actions.

The movie is a nice mix of Broadway Musical and Big Screen Motion Picture. Meryl Streep is Awesome!!

“Into The Woods” is an appropriate Holiday movie.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!

Night At the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

“Night At The Museum: Secret of The Tomb” was more like “Chaos and Confusion at the Museum”.

Larry (Ben Stiller) embarks on a wild night-time epic adventure to try and save the magic before it’s too late.

There were a few funny, crazy scenes, some great music and it was great to see a lot of the familiar museum pieces from the previous installments and there are even a few new pieces, but this installment is clearly lacking and disjointed.

I am sure the stars had fun making this film, but it’s time for the museum pieces to go back to the “Still Life”.
The magic has clearly run its course.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Fury (2014)

“Fury (2014)” is intense and definitely not for the weak at heart. You get war violence at its finest.  

It’s 1945 and there’s a Sherman Tank on the move behind enemy lines being commanded by Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) with his 5 man Platoon that contains a rookie. They are out manned and out gunned but that is not going to stop Wardaddy from making a final push at trying to bring the Nazi German Regime to its knees. The story unfolds from there…

“Fury (2014)” is gritty, grimy, brutal and very well crafted. This is a serious war movie with serious war violence. See it if you dare.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!

The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay PT1: The IMAX Experience

The third installment of The Hunger Games franchise is long on intrigue and suspense, but very short on action.
Picking up were the previous installment left off Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself in a hospital ward in District 13 after she had destroyed the Hunger Games forever.
President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore)of District 13 wants Katniss to be “The Mocking Jay”, but after a brief conversation with her changes her mind. Katniss along with other convince the president that she can and will.
District 13 is tries to get all of the other districts to join together to take down the Capitol, but as they are mounting a charge it is determined that Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is more in need of being rescued from under President Snow’s (Donald Sutherland) watchful eyes as it appears he is being forced to say and act as if everything that Katniss has done is wrong. The story unfolds from there…

The newly added cast members give this installment a shot in the arm, but it still falls short of being as good as its predecessors.
“The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay PT1” is long on intrigue and suspense, but the action you have come to expect just isn’t there.
The end sets up nicely for the fourth installment.

This is one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last movies. To say the least the situation is very tragic. Philip Seymour Hoffman was an excellent actor. He will truly be missed.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

Interstellar: The iMAX Experience

“Interstellar” is way too long and it attempts to reach beyond its concepts.

It’s believed that mankind is coming to an end, so a team of scientists and astronauts search for life on other planets in the hopes that mankind may continue to exist beyond the stars.

“Interstellar” is a visual splendor. It will blow your mind. The cinematography and special effects are off the charts. It’s definitely a must see in IMAX so you can get the full effect.

Now for the bad news…the movie drags, its way too long and at times does not make sense. I could not wait for it to be over. I practically ran from the theater because I spent most of my afternoon there. Personally I did not like the subject matter. All that aside…Director Christopher Nolan delivers thrills and chills.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!

For all you “Fast & Furious” Fans…I saw an awesome trailer of “Fast & Furious 7”. It looks really good…it opens 4/3/15

The Expendables 3: An IMAX Experience

The Testosterone filled franchise is back!! “It’s Old Dogs, Young Dogs and New Tricks”; in this third installment.

In this installment Barney (Stallone) and the team come face to face with an enemy, Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson) they thought was long since dead. Years ago Conrad and Barney co-founded The Expendables, but some bad blood caused them to separate and Barney was forced to kill Conrad several years ago, or so he thought.

Stonebanks (Gibson) has eluded death and resurfaced and is making it his mission to get rid of “The Expendables” for good, but Barney (Stallone) has other ideas. The story unfolds from there…

The movie starts great and has a strong ending, but the middle is just a muddle of senior moments. I have to say that there are a few good comedic moments, some interesting cinematography, some eye opening stunts and questionable special effects.

I find this installment to be better than the previous one. There is lots of non-stop action and some intrigue. There are a few new faces and the on-screen chemistry is interesting. There is a new female member to the team and she is pretty cool!!

I believe that when Sylvester Stallone signed up to do this franchise there were only going to be 3, but the door appears to be open for a 4th.

Maybe if there is a 4th installment it will continue to get better.
If you are a fan of “The Expendables” franchise, this installment should not be missed.

This is a 3 Star Movie

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes IMAX 3D

Caesar and his colony are back!

Continuing from the 2011 installment “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” there was a war brewing and the Simian flu all but wiped out most of humanity. There are some humans left. They are in San Francisco and trying to survive. Caesar wants to live peaceably, but there is dissention amongst his colony.

The people in San Francisco have no idea that there are apes living near them. It’s been determined that in order to restore power to the city a tactical team will need to travel into the deep forest to a location where a power plant and dam exist. What they don’t know is that Caeser and his colony have established a home right next to and around the power plant.

In order to get to the power plant and get the dormant dam operational, the team is going to have to deal with Caesar and his colony. One of the young apes is mistakenly shot by a human who feels threatened. This causes a bit of an up rise, but Caesar convinces the colony that the humans are not a threat and they should remain apart. The tactical team temporarily retreats, but after regrouping they return to the forest in an attempt to get to the dam. The story unfolds from there…
This is another one of those franchises that I am “Luke Warm” about. I did not care for the first two installments choosing to watch them on cable as opposed to spending money in a theater. This installment wasn’t even on my “Watch List”.

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is really good. There is a real story, plot and intrigue. The CGI’s are excellent. The cinematography is really good. The movie is tension filled with edge of your seat action.

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is a must see in IMAX, but not 3D.

This is a 4 Star movie

Transformers: Age of Extinction IMAX 3D

I have always been “Luke Warm” to the Transformer franchise. With Director Michael Bay retooling the franchise, there were high hopes that this installment would match the first installment. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” does not match the first installment, not even close, but it’s definitely better than the previous two installments.

From the last installment an epic battle between the Transformers and Decepticons left a major city torn, but with the world saved. As humanity picks up the pieces and tries to go on with life, there is a group who is trying to change the course of history, while another group attempts to exploit the use of the transformer technology to build war weapons.

Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) is a Mechanic/Scientist who stumbles upon an old worn diesel truck. He has the truck towed to his farm and after a few days of tinkering with the truck discovers the diesel truck to be an old broken down transformer. The story unfolds from there…

“Transformer: Age of Extinction” is a CGI extravaganza. There is tons of non-stop action, wild crazy special effects and eye popping cinematography. This is the best part of the movie, because the plot and story are stupid. You are not setup at the beginning properly for everything to fall in place and make sense.

Michael Bay has stated that this installment will kick off another series. If it takes this long to save earth, we are in trouble.

If you are a fan of the Transformer Franchise, then by all means do see “Transformers: Age of Extinction”. It’s a must see in IMAX, but you can skip the 3D.

This is a 2 Star movie