Category: Sci-Fi

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.

This is a 1 Star Movie!

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 3D

“Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” would have been a great story had it not had so much confusion and sub-plots that were not complete.

A young Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) continues to be haunted by the death of his parents. He has continued nightmares even as an adult.

Superman (Henry Cavill) saves the metropolis from a space invader, but because there are some unforeseen casualties and injuries to some citizens, Superman is perceived by some as a bad super hero.

Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is forever chasing a story. She has to be saved by Superman from the middle-east when a village she is in is raided and most of its people are killed. This incident turns out to be staged, but it will be some time before this comes to light.

Lex Luther (Jesse Eisenberg) is an insane, crazy entrepreneur who will stop at nothing to take over the Metropolis. Lex tries to lobby with the Senator to get an export license to import an unknown substance into the Metropolis, but the Senator won’t bite. Lex Luther plots his revenge on the Senator and others including Superman and Batman. The story unfolds from there…
Overpowering mini stories destroy the bigger story in “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”. It’s a scenario of “You can’t see the Forest for the Trees.” The movie is just plain incoherent, over the top and way to long for what was presented.

Ben Affleck makes a horrible Batman. Ben Affleck is brilliant BEHIND the camera and that is where he should stay. The villain (Lex Luther) in this story is not very convincing. Other aspects of the movie are passable, but a bad Batman and not convincing villain destroys the credibility of the movie.
The one and only bright spot in the movie is that you get a glimpse of the “Justice League” who will be appearing in their own story soon.

This movie should have never come to pass. Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy was the best and nothing can diminish that.

This is a 1 Star Movie!!

The Divergent Series:Allegiant – The IMAX Experience

“The Divergent Series: Allegiant” is the third and final installment in the NY Times Best Selling Novel series by Veronica Roth.

Picking up where Insurgent left off, Tris (Shailene Woodley) must escape with Four (Theo James) and go beyond the electronic wall that encloses Chicago. The team of six start out and are able to cross the wall, but on the way they lose one. For the first time the five that successfully make it down the other side of the wall are free and have left behind the only city and family they have ever known.

It becomes a ruthless battle as Tris and Four must determine who they can trust and who is telling the truth. Things they believed have turned out not to be true. Back home a battle rages in Chicago among all of the residents. Finding out that all of humanity is at stake, Four decides to go back to Chicago. The story unfolds from there…
I found “The Divergent Series: Allegiant” to be the worst third installment of any Best Selling Novel Series that has come to the big screen.

Things are not put into context appropriately. If you did not see Insurgent or Divergent, you would not know what is going on. The story is disjointed and the pieces do not make sense, nor do they come together. It’s difficult to bring best-selling novel series to the big screen. The one exception is the “Hunger Games”. Its third installment was very good.
I feel that the movie industry is only interested in the revenue that can possibly be generated from this movie. It’s just not any good.

Read “The Divergent” Series. I bet you will enjoy the books a lot more than the movies.

This is a 1 Star Movie!

The Martian in 3D

I love Matt Damon!! In “The Martian” he does not disappoint!!

A team of NASA Astronauts are on a manned mission on Mars. While members of the team are out performing routine tasks a storm brews in the distance. A quick decision as to whether to stay or go is made in a snap. While packing up and trying to get everyone back to the Space Shuttle to take off, the storm blows some heavy metal debris toward the team members as they are trying to run. Astronaut Watney (Matt Damon) is struck and buried beneath a lot of red dirt and is believed to be dead.

The team takes off and heads back to their Satellite station “Hermes” where they report the tragic incident to NASA officials. A few hours later Astronaut Watney wakes up. He’s badly injured, but very much alive. He gets himself to the team housing quarters and tries to repair his wound. The story unfolds from there…

“The Martian” is nail biting suspenseful, intense, intriguing, entertaining and very well executed. The movie is also moving and of “Epic” proportion. At times the cinematography is breath-taking.

“The Martian” will remind you of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar”.

This “Science Fiction Epic” should not be missed!

This is a 5 Star Movie!

Terminator Genisys: The 3D IMAX Experience

I can sum up “Terminator Genisys” in a couple of sentences…

It’s better than the two previous installments, but unfortunately it’s not as good as the first two installments.

“Terminator Genisys” is the same story only it’s being told with a time travel twist. The one intriguing element is that the time travel is done in the nude.
There are lots of explosions, action and gun fire. The best thing about the movie is Arnold Schwarzenegger. If he were not in this installment, it definitely would not be worth watching. His grin is hilarious.

The trailers made this installment look really interesting and worth seeing. Unfortunately the story is disjointed and there are two many sub plots that are not completed. This is the first of a new series of installments of this franchise. I am not sure where they are going from here, but I guess we will find out in a couple of years.

“Terminator Genisys” is best viewed on DVD or Blue Ray.

This is a 1 1/2 Star Movie!

Jurassic World: 3D The IMAX Experience

Finally the long awaited next installment in the Jurassic Park Series has finally arrived!!

“Jurassic World” is a thrilling ride!! It’s definitely edge of your seat entertainment. The cinematography and special effects are very good and there is a lot of action.

The absolute best elements of “Jurassic World” are actor Chris Pratt and the T-Rex’s. The remaining cast-of-characters are very underdeveloped. Bryce Dallas Howard appears to me as if she is afraid to act or show any emotion in the movie. The story is a bit sketchy. You are not really sure what the plot is.

Although the characters are from the famed writer Michael Creighton’s books, his stamp is not as apparent as in previous installments.
If you are a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise, by all means do see “Jurassic World”. It’s a definite must see in IMAX, but not 3D.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

Tomorrowland The IMAX Experience

“Tomorrowland” was not on my original “Watch List”. I wished I had left it that way…

“Tomorrowland” is about an idealistic former boy-genius and a optimistic teenage girl who has a scientific curiosity, they together embark on a dangerous adventure to a place somewhere in time between the past, present and the future known as “Tomorrowland”. They must find a way to unearth the secrets that threaten to destroy the present. The story unfolds from there…

The story starts off a mystery and remains a mystery throughout to the end. There are parts of the movie that show promise, but when the light starts to dawn, it dims quickly. The story is all over the place and never in one place. There is some nice cinematography and some interesting special effects but that’s about it.
George Clooney is very good in Dramatic, Political, Suspense type movies. He should stick to those.

I was not impressed with “Tomorrowland”. In fact I was bored and thought about leaving mid-way through, but decided to stay until the end so I could see how it finished. There was no real bright spot at the end either.

“Tomorrowland” is best viewed on cable. I would not spend money on the DVD or Blue Ray.

This is a 1 1/2 Star Movie!

Avengers: The Age of Ultron – The IMAX 3D Experience

They are back!! “Avengers: The Age of Ultron” is a good sequel, but not great! It does not compare to its predecessor.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) activates a dormant peace keeping program, but somewhere along the way things go awry and the team finds themselves involved in an epic battle to save the planet. The story unfolds from there…
What would have made this installment great is a better plot. The plot is very underdeveloped. Saving the world has now become a hard working job for The Avengers. Their latest nemesis Ultron gives the team all they can handle and more. Ultron is like an energizer bunny, he just keeps coming and coming.
There is lots of non-stop action, edge of your seat thrills and constant mayhem. There is even reason to laugh a bit. “The Age of Ultron” is a definite must see in IMAX, but 3D is not necessary.
If you are a fan of the Avengers then “The Age of Ultron” is a must see.

This is a 3 1/2 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