Category: Adventure

Red 2

The 2011 sleeper hit “Red” follows up its success with a sequel.

Retired Black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) reunites with his motley crew of elite operatives to chase down and recover a missing nuclear war head. This chase takes them to London, Russia (Moscow), France and of course the United States.

To find the missing warhead the team will have to battle a gang of relentless assassins who will stop at nothing to try and stop them from recovering the warhead. The story unfolds from there…

Unfortunately “Red 2” is not quite as interesting or entertaining as its predecessor. I was very sad to see that Morgan Freeman did not reprise his role from the first installment.

I found Helen Mirren to be as good in this installment as she was in the first. Any part of the movie that she is in is fun to watch. Unfortunately she is only in about 40% of the movie. Bruce Willis kicks the butt of men half his age with ease. He’s getting a bit too old to continue this pastime. Anthony Hopkins is a breath of fresh air, unfortunately his air comes a bit too late in the movie.

I found “Red 2” to be a bit stupid and boring.

The Lone Ranger

Movie: The Lone Ranger
Running Time: 2hr. 29min
Cast: Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, Helena Bonham Carter

I was extremely skeptical about “The Lone Ranger”. I should have heeded my mind.
“The Lone Ranger” is full of miscalculations, over the top action, extreme western-style violence and goof-ball scenes.
The movie is told in a “2nd Person” type fashion. Johnny Depp is “Tonto” a Native American Spirit Warrior who tells the story of how John Reid (Armie Hammer) a District Attorney in Western Times became “The Lone Ranger”. The story that is told is like a violent runaway train that doesn’t stop for 150 minutes.

The movie will take you in so many directions with so many sub-plots that it gives new meaning to the term “Screw-Ball” comedy. Additionally the movie is way to long and takes to long to get to the point.
There are funny laugh out loud scenes, but they only make-up about 20% of the movie. The rest is mayhem, stupidity and goof-ball nonsense.

Although it is a Disney Production, “The Lone Ranger” is not for children. It is an adult movie.

White House Down

Movie: White House Down
Running Time: 2hr. 17min
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, James Woods

Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) dreams of being on the Secret Service Detail to protect President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). John has been granted an interview at the White House along with Tour passes for him and his daughter.
Once the interview is over and John has been denied the position, he doesn’t have the heart to tell his daughter the bad news, so instead he takes her on the White House Tour. While on the tour a HUGH explosion occurs. Soon after the White is taken over by a Paramilitary group; Racing against the clock John Cale tries to save the president, his daughter and the country. The story unfolds from there…

“White House Down” is ok. I have to compare it to “Olympus Has Fallen” and I know I was critical of “Olympus Has Fallen”, but after see “White House Down”, “Olympus” was the better movie.
“White House Down” is a non-stop action extravaganza with intense violence, intense gun fire and lots of explosions. You will be entertained.

The problem with “White House Down” is the plot. It’s not really laid out. This just sort of happens. However the holes are closed and the package is wrapped up nicely and tied with a bow at the end. You must sit through 2 hours and 17 minutes to get to the truth.

Once again in a review I will refer to the 1988 blockbuster “Die Hard”. “White House Down” is “Die Hard at the White House”. John Cale (Channing Tatum) is John McClane (Bruce Willis).

See it for yourself.

Man of Steel: An IMAX 3D Experience

Remember “Batman Begins”? “Man of Steel” is Christopher Nolan’s first installment of the untold story of Superman. I say untold because this movie starts at the very beginning just as Superman is about to be born.
The planet Krypton is about to be destroyed. Superman’s biological parents want to save him from a certain fate, so they ship the infant off to earth. Fast-forward about 20 years…now a grown-up Superman must confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when people from Krypton come to earth to get him back. The story unfolds from there…
“Man of Steel” does a nice job of giving snippets of Superman growing up in rural Mid-West America. The cinematography and special effects are really good. The action at times is really intense. The story does come together nicely, although there are times that it jumps around too much and becomes a bit mundane.
You definitely want to see this in IMAX, although 3D is not required. The 3D aspects are pretty good, but not worth the extra dollars.
As I stated earlier this is a Christopher Nolan production. We can expect several more installments just like he did Batman.
If you are a Superman fan, by all means do go see “Man of Steel”.

Fast & Furious 6

The Fast & Furious gang is back!!
This installment finds Dominic (Diesel), Brian (Walker) and the rest of the gang kicking back after their last heist in Rio made them all very wealthy. Although they are rich, they all still live as fugitives spread out around the world.
Agent Hobbs (Johnson) comes calling. He needs Dominic and his team’s help to battle a gang of skilled international mercenary drivers. Agent Hobbs has been tracking this gang for some time. He is unable and unequipped to take them down alone. Agent Hobbs convinces Dominic that if he and his team help him take down these international mercenaries, he will get pardons for everyone. The story unfolds from there…
The action, suspense, intrigue, cinematography and stunts are all off the chain!!
Usually sequels are not as good as the first, well not in this case. “Fast & Furious 6” is just as good as the first installment if not better. This installment ties in all of the previous installments (except the Tokyo Drift installment).
In fact if you did not see the first 2 installments you should rent them before seeing “Fast & Furious 6”.
The car stunts are taken to new heights!! You won’t be disappointed. If you go see “Fast & Furious 6”, it’s very important that you don’t leave before the credits really start to roll. Just after the movie is over, there is a HUGH surprise that leads to a 7th installment.

Star Trek Into Darkness:An IMAX 3D Experience

“Run” do not walk to see “Star Trek Into Darkness”. Yes, it’s very good.

Captain Kirk (Pine) and the Starship Enterprise crew have been summoned back home and find that an unstoppable force within its own organization has destroyed an entire Starfleet. This leaves planet earth venerable to attacks. Captain Kirk has his own score to settle as he leads his crew and the Starship Enterprise on a mission to a war-torn planet to capture and destroy a one-man weapon of mass destruction. The story unfolds from there…

“Star Trek Into Darkness” is a must see in IMAX 3D.

The movie its self is very entertaining and filled with intrigue.
You will be taken on a wild ride. The cinematography is brilliant.
The action is intense and the special effects are scintillating.
The crystal-clear images along with IMAX and the digital sound create an exceptional environment that will carry you right along with the Starship Enterprise.

Iron Man 3: An IMAX 3D Experience

Tony Stark is back!! In this installment of Iron Man we are first taken back in time to 1999 to a New Years Eve party where events there will set the stage for 2013.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is struggling with insomnia since saving New York from destruction. He has become more dependent on his Iron Man suits that give him his persona as Iron Man. All aspects of his life including his relationship with Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) are affected.
When a mortal enemy who calls himself “The Mandarin” (Ben Kingsley) destroys Tony’s home/lab, Tony must rely on his instincts to survive and protect the people he loves. The story unfolds from there.
5 stars for the cinematography, special effects and technical aspects. 3 1/2 stars for the story and plot. Iron Man 3 is definitely better than the previous installment, but doesn’t quite reach the level of the first installment.
“Iron Man 3” contains lots of action, cool special effects and intrigue. There is the required number of nasty bad guys. This installment definitely reminds you that while Iron Man is a super hero, Tony Stark is a human being who is vulnerable.

I would expect that this will probably be the last installment. I am not sure there is much left to cover.
If you are a fan of the Iron Man franchise then “Iron Man 3” is a must see in IMAX!!

Pain & Gain

“Pain & Gain” is based on a true story about three guys who are tired of the poor life and are looking for a fast way to get rich.
Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) is a regular bodybuilder and personal trainer at a Florida Gym called the “Sun Gym” along with his friend Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie). They both concoct a plan to kidnap and extort money from a gym member Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub) who is a rich business man.
Along the way Daniel and Adrian convince a recently paroled convict Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) to help them. They became “The Sun Gym Gang”. They successfully get Kershaw to sign over all of his holdings and money, but when Kershaw survives their murder attempt on him, he convinces investigator Ed Du Bois (Ed Harris) to try and get his money and property back. The story unfolds from there…
I found it very hard to believe that this story was true. It’s such a hare-brained scheme. Some of the events seemed impossible to pull off.
There is a tremendous amount of crude sexuality, nudity and profane language used in the movie.
There are some really funny parts where you will be laughing out loud at them, but not with them. There are too many plot wrinkles. Too much graphic violence and the saga is just plain dizzy.
If you are familiar with this story then by all means do see “Pain & Gain” otherwise wait for it on DVD, Blue Ray or Cable.

Oblivion

“Oblivion” is about the battle for control of a post-nuclear earth. The movie is visually appealing, but that’s about it.
It’s the year 2077 and all is not right with the world, in-fact the world as we know it no longer exists.
Tom Cruise plays Jack Harper a security repairman who goes out daily to find and repair Droids who actually kill humans, but Jack is safe from the Droids because he works for the company that controls them.
Jack only has 2 weeks left until his mission is complete and he can join other surviving humans on a far away colony.
Everything changes when Jack rescues a survivor (Olga Kurylenko) from a downed spacecraft; this survivor triggers memories of things past. Jack finds himself in a battle to save mankind. The story unfolds from there…
As I mentioned earlier, “Oblivion” is visually appealing. The Cinematography is breath-taking. The story and plot are disjointed. Things are confusing from the start. The movie in its entirety is dull.
“Oblivion” is best served via Blue Ray, DVD or Cable.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation: An IMAX Experience

“The Joe’s are back!!” “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” was originally scheduled to open in August 2012. Suddenly it was pushed to March 2013. Was it worth the wait…?

The Joe’s find themselves battling two different fronts, Cobra their mortal enemy is back and there is a catastrophic threat within the US Government. Is the President really the President? The story unfolds from there…

The plot and story for “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” are a “HOT MESS!!!” and both lack depth, but the action, special effects and sequences of martial-arts violence are pretty good. I love when Bruce Willis makes his entrance and is with the Joe’s on a mission.

“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is definitely not great, but it’s better than the first installment. Fortunately the mayhem only goes on for about 99 minutes.

If you are a fan of G.I. Joe, you won’t want to miss this installment.