Category: Adventure

Captain Marvel in AMC Dolby

“Captain Marvel” opening on International Women’s Day. I am sure that was well thought out. This is a very good first installment.

The back story for Captain Marvel was played out in bits and pieces that had to be pieced together more than 3 quarters of the way through the movie.

If you are a diehard Marvel Universe fan you will be engaged. If not…This may not be your movie!

The story is about Carol Danvers journey to become one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe. Earth gets catch up in the middle of a Galactic war between several Alien Nations. Captain Marvel comes to the rescue. This is a fresh new story never seen in the Marvel Universe before. The story unfolds from there…

Fantastic cinematography!! Great camera angles. HUGH sound and visual effects and lots of action. The movie is very enjoyable seen in IMAX or AMC Dolby.
This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Alita: Battle Angel

“Alita: Battle Angel” is a pretty decent science fiction film. The movie will remind you of the Matrix Trilogy.

Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is or where she comes from. She has been “Rebuilt” so to speak by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz). Alita doesn’t understand this futuristic world she now lives in. Dr. Ido takes her in and provides a place for Alita to live.
Day by Day Alita ventures out to discover the world she is unfamiliar with. She makes some friends and attempts to live a normal life, but there are people who know what she is and where she came from and they will stop at nothing to destroy her. Dr. Ido attempts to shield Alita from her past, but Alita has other ideas. The story unfolds from there…

The story is moving and very entertaining. The cinematography is awesome. There is a lot of action, suspense and intrigue. “Alita: Battle Angel” is definitely a visual feast.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

Bumblebee in Real 3D

It’s 1987 and Bumblebee was sent to Earth to protect it, but he is on the run from the Decepticons. He finds refuge in an old junkyard as a VW Beetle. Along comes Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) who works part time in the junkyard. Charlie barters with the owner to purchase the VW Beetle thinking she is getting her own prized vehicle, but soon finds out she has acquired so much more. The story unfolds from there…

“Bumblebee” is fun and entertaining. The cinematography and action are on point. This story of a lone transformer comes across as heartwarming and the story was executed very well.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Aquaman in Real 3D

DC Comics got this right. Aquaman has a very good back story! It ties in nicely to the over-all story and plot.

“Aquaman” tells the original story of the famed DC Comic’s Undersea Super-hero half-human and half-Atlantean Arthur Curry. The saga takes you on an action packed adventure showing off the breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas. During this adventure Arthur is taken on a journey that forces him to face who he really is and where his place among Atlantis is and if he is worthy of who he was born to be…a king.

“Aquaman” is very entertaining and a visual feast! The movie shows off breathtaking panoramic views of the undersea world. There is tons of action, special effects and intrigue.

This first installment sets the tone. I hope the next installment will be just as visually appealing and entertaining.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!!

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

I finally had an open weekend so I could see this 2nd installment of the Fantastic Beasts series. Here is my take…

At the end of the first installment Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is captured by the Magic Congress of the USA. Grindelwald escapes during a transfer. Once this is discovered many people put together plans to try and recapture the evil Wizard. The story unfolds from there…

The first half of the movie was hollow and confusing. The continuation from the first installment was almost non-existent. There should have been more back story tied in. There is a lot more star power in this installment and that alone makes the movie worth seeing. The last half or should I say the last 35 minutes of the movie is where everything happens and everything comes together. What you see in that 35 minutes makes it almost worth what you went through to get to that point.

The best aspects of the movie are the cool special effects, the cinematography and the costumes, especially what the women are wearing. The movie is long, but it does move quite quickly once things pick up. The door is left open for a 3rd installment. If you are following this J.K. Rowling series, then don’t miss this 2nd installment.

This is a 2 Star Movie!!

Robin Hood (2018)

I have lost count as to how many times “Robin Hood” has been retooled. This installment is funny and at times hilarious, but I am not sure if that’s what they were going for.

In this installment, Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) mounts a revolt against the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham and the English crown. The Sheriff of Nottingham intends to take every single thing of value from the township and its citizens. The citizens are helpless to fight and see their land, possessions and valuables vanishing before their eyes.
Taron enlists the aid of a war-captured Moorish Commander (Jamie Foxx) to help him on his quest. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is entertaining, funny and has some action, but lacks a back story befitting this installment. The characters are not fully developed thus leaving some open holes in the story. The dialog at times is a bit off.

I now understand why the paid critics did not like “Robin Hood (2018)”, but it does deserve at least 2 stars.

This is a 2 Star Movie!!

Creed II

After seeing the 2015 first installment of “Creed”, I knew there was going to be a sequel. How could there not be one. Sylvester Stallone is on the outside of the boxing ring instead of being the fighter in the ring. There is a story that has not been milked yet. Here we go…

Three years later finds Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) juggling life with personal obligations and training for his next fight. Adonis sits at a cross road when he is faced with a challenge to fight a boxer who has ties to his family’s past. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) thinks that Adonis should pass on this fight. The story unfolds from there…

Surprisingly “Creed II” is an excellent sequel. It builds nicely on what was started in the first installment. The story has two tracks that are played simultaneously. Michael B. Jordan is a bright light shining in the movie. The boxing violence is on point and the Dolby sound intensifies the blows. The camera angles and cinematography are great!!

If you were a fan of the Rocky Franchise, you will love Creed and Creed II. This franchise has meat and I see it coming back again and again.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Venom

You know the old phrase “Better Late than Never”; I finally saw “Venom”. When it opened I was seriously under the weather and could not venture out to see it, so a month later here is my review…

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is an investigative reporter. He is tasked with getting a story from a seemingly untouchable Scientist. When Eddie pisses off the Scientist and the story is killed, Eddie loses his job. Eddie knows that the Scientist is involved in something very shady. After some time passes an opportunity presents it’s self for Eddie to get back inside the institution where the Scientist is involved with testing Alien Hosting. The story unfolds from there…

I disagree with the majority of the paid critics who thrashed “Venom”. I thought it was pretty good. It would have been great if not for the outrageously sloppy script. There are a few pieces missing from the back story. Over all it was pretty good. The special effects are decent. The cinematography is nice.

The movie should have been rated “R” because there are several really gross moments involving decapitations.
I absolutely love the voice of “Venom”. I do not know who it is, but the voice is awesome!!

Although I saw this a month after it opened, the theater was packed. People are still going out to see “Venom”.

If you are a Marvel Universe Fan, “Venom” is worth a look.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

Mile 22

“Mile 22” is an intense thriller, but the story does not gel. There are many moving parts that don’t make sense. Nothing comes together, not even at the end.

A CIA Operative, James Silva and his unit go on a top-secret mission with a highly-skilled tactical team. They are tasked with retrieving an asset who holds life-threatening information. The asset needs to be transported to Mile 22 for extraction before the enemy closes in. The story unfold from there…

The story starts off strange and gets stranger as the movie moves along. There is no real back story to lend perspective as to what the CIA unit is about. There are several side-stories that don’t get enough air time to make any sense.

There is plenty of intense violence, action and some military special ops type of action. Those are the best parts in the movie.

I feel that “Mile 22” is a waste of some very talented actors. I had high expectations, but I am truly disappointed.

“Mile 22” is best watched on Cable. I would not purchase the movie on DVD or Blue Ray.

This movie gets no Stars!!

Mission: Impossible Fallout in 3D

Once again Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Alec Baldwin) along with several of their allies (Rebecca Ferguson and Michelle Monaghan) find themselves trying to correct a mission that has gone terribly wrong.

The team races against time to stop several nuclear blast. The story unfolds from there…

Wow! They went back to the drawing board and figured out how to best the first installment!

“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is loaded with action, violence, intrigue, drama and crazy stunts. The story is deep and the plot is wide. It’s “Edge-of-Your-Seat” entertainment. The cinematography is brilliant. The 3D aspects are very good.

Even if you don’t love Tom Cruise, you have to respect him. He does all his own stunts and the stunts he does in this installment are worth seeing.

It’s very rare that deep into installments one comes along that’s better than the first. This is one of those times.

If you are a fan of the “Mission:Impossible” Franchise, “Mission:Impossible – Fallout” is a MUST SEE!

This is a 5 Star Movie!!