Category: Drama

Annie (2014)

“Annie (2014)” is yet another take on the classic Broadway hit with a more contemporary look and feel.

“Annie (2014)” is a charming and delightful movie for the younger set.

The adult actors seemed off balance in a lot of the scenes. The singing was strained on some of the songs. Most scenes that contained Cameron Diaz were disjointed. She seemed out of her element.
Jamie Foxx is an excellent R&B singer, but not show tunes. Jamie appeared as if he were embarrassed in some of his scenes.

“Annie (2014)” is best left on Broadway where it belongs.

This is a 1 1/2 Star Movie!

Exodus: Gods and Kings: The IMAX Experience

This epic adventure from Ridley Scott does not live up to the big shoes it has to fill from the classic source.

“Exodus: Gods and Kings” is a story of the leader Moses (Christian Bale) who dares to try and take on an Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton). Moses will eventually lead over 600,000 slaves on a daring journey from Egypt. The story unfolds from there…

The cinematography is breath-taking. The camera angles are great. The visual effects are very good. Unfortunately that’s about as good as it gets. The dialog is a bit lacking. The story falls short of really gaining your complete attention.

“Exodus: Gods and Kings” just doesn’t live up to the classic source.

This is disappointing as I expected better.

This is a 1 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!

Beyond The Lights

“Beyond The Lights” is a story about the latest music super star known as Noni. Everything is not as it seems. The pressures of super stardom start to get to Noni. She meets the young police officer Kaz (Nate Parker) who is assigned to her security detail. He “sees” the real Noni. They get to know each other and soon fall hard and fast despite the discouragement of others.

Kaz has political aspirations and is encouraged to pursue them. But ultimately it’s Kaz and his love for Noni that help her find her true voice. The story unfolds from there…

“Beyond The Lights” is very well done. The movie is very enjoyable. Most of what you see is a true picture of the entertainment world and how music superstars often live and how they are treated.

Both Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Nate Parker look great together!!

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

A Walk Among the Tombstones

“A Walk Among the Tombstones” is a good movie, but not for the faint at heart!
Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) a Private Investigator is hired by a drug kingpin to find the people who kidnapped and murdered his wife. Along the way to arriving at the awful truth, Matt must also deal with his own demons as he has flashbacks to a time long past.

As Matt digs into the gruesome details of this particular kidnapping/murder he finds a pattern that leads to other kidnapping/murders of woman who are somehow related to drug kingpins. The story unfolds from there…
As “A Walk Among the Tombstones” progresses it gets more and more suspenseful. There is plenty of drama, intrigue and tension to go around.

I mentioned earlier that this is not for the faint at heart. There are some very grizzly scenes and at times it’s a bit bloody.
Liam Neeson is awesome as Matt Scudder. If you like Suspense Thrillers this is a MUST SEE!

Actor Danny Devito is one of the producers of “A Walk Among the Tombstones”. The movie is based on the best-selling novel by Lawrence Block.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!

The Hundred-Foot Journey

A family of cooks from India is forced to flee their home land after tragedy strikes them. They make their way to England. They then travel to France to a small town where they find a place to live and eventually open a restaurant. What they don’t know is that the French Village they set up shop in is very close net, quaint and the best restaurant in town is owned and run by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). Everyone eats at Le Saule Pleureur.

The India natives purchase the property across the road (100 feet) from Le Saule Pleureur and Madame Mallory’s home. They turn the property into a restaurant known as Maison Mumbai. Once Madame Mallory gets wind of this she protests vehemently. The story unfolds from there…

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a very heart-warming, entertaining story. It’s based on the best-selling novel by Richard C. Morais. There is a few times where the story lags a bit, but the movie definitely has many finer points.

There are some wonderful views of the French Countryside. While “The Hundred-Foot Journey” wasn’t advertised very much, it’s definitely worth the ticket.

As a foot note: Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey produced this movie.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie

And So It Goes

Michael Douglas plays “Oren Little” a Realtor who wants nothing more than to sell his house and move on with his life. A nine year old granddaughter (Sterling Jerins) he didn’t know he had is suddenly thrust into his life by his estranged son.

Oren is so mean and hateful that he doesn’t know how to love and care for his granddaughter so he pawns her off on his neighbor Leah (Diane Keaton). Leah has troubles of her own, but takes the child in. The story unfolds from there…

“And So It Goes” is a Rob Reiner production. It’s definitely NOT one of his best.

The movie starts off slow and without meaning. Most of the movie is boring. It shows a bright light and is even funny about 50 minutes into the movie, but that’s not saying much since the movie is only 1 hour and 34 minutes long.
I am guessing Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton just needed something to do because this is not either’s best work.

I would wait for “And So it Goes” on DVD or Blue Ray.

This is a 1 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

The Fault In Our Stars

“The Fault In Our Stars” is an excellent movie, but not one to see if you are currently dealing with any type of personal tragedy involving a loved one.

“The Fault In Our Stars” is about two extra ordinary teenagers (Gus & Hazel) who meet at a cancer support group. Their friendship grows quickly and they fall in love. Through their extra-ordinary friendship they explore life, love and tragedy. The story unfolds from there…

“The Fault In Our Stars” is based on the best-selling novel by John Green. The story is intense, heart-warming, funny, sweet and tearful. The performances by Shailene Woodley (She was the star in “Divergent”) and Ansel Elgort will have you rooting for them.

This is a tear-jerker, take a box of tissues with you.

This is a 4 star movie

Million Dollar Arm

“Million Dollar Arm” is quite entertaining!! Based on a true story, “Million Dollar Arm is about the first Indian man to be drafted to play in Major League Baseball in the US.

Jon Hamm plays JB Bernstein a near washed up sports agent who is trying desperately to save his business. JB gets the idea that if he can find “A Million Dollar Arm” among India’s Cricket Pitchers he would be able to save his business.

JB travels to India and in reality TV style hosts try-outs. The story unfolds from there…

The story is amusing and enjoyable. The cinematography is very interesting. It really looks like a part of the movie was filmed in India. “Million Dollar Arm” is a family friendly movie that can be enjoyed by all.

This is a 3 1/2 star movie