Category: Sci-Fi

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

Edge of Tomorrow the IMAX Experience

“Edge of Tomorrow” is “Superbly Executed”

Once again Earth is under attack. This time it’s in the near future and the alien race comes calling. They strike in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. They must be stopped before they reach North America and beyond.

Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat, but he has strong ideas of how to attack and kill the alien invaders. Because of his ideas, Major Cage is unwillingly dropped into the middle of the combat action and forced into what appears to be a suicide mission. It is literally “Live, Die, Repeat” on a daily basis. It’s a time loop that keeps going. The story unfolds from there…

I am usually “Luke-Warm” about a Tom Cruise movie, but he is awesome in “Edge of Tomorrow”. This is because he doesn’t bring as much intensity to his character as he usually does. He really shows a range of emotions in this movie.
You really must pay attention. Because of the “Time Loop” you don’t want to miss a thing. This is superbly executed. The special effects, action and cinematography are great! Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise have good “on-screen” chemistry.

“Edge of Tomorrow” is a wild ride on the edge of your seat! It’s definitely a must see in IMAX. If you like “Sci-Fi” Action, this is your movie.

This is a 4 star movie.

Maleficient 3D

“Maleficient” is a “Dark Fairy Tale” with great a star, excellent cinematography, and special effects, but that’s it…

“Maleficient” is the untold Disney story about the iconic villain in “Sleeping Beauty”. The story tells how Maleficient became evil-minded and cast a mean spell over Princess Aurora when she was just a baby. As Princess Aurora grows she finds herself in the middle of a raging conflict between the forest she has grown to love and the Kingdom that is her birth-rite. The story unfolds from there.

Angelina Jolie is great as “Maleficient”. The movie it’s self falls short of drawing you in. The story is weak and doesn’t quite make sense. This will cause your attention to wane. I am not sure that a child would enjoy seeing this movie.

The movie is worth 2 1/2 stars

RoboCop (2014)

RoboCop (2014) is flat…

RoboCop (2014) is basically a reboot of the 1987 installment. This would be the 4th installment in this franchise. The premises of this installment somewhat matches the 1987 installment. It’s the year 2028 in crime riddled Detroit Michigan. The police there are battling crime and coming up empty. A new robot technology by an emerging company called Omnicorp wants to use Detroit as a test city for its new way to fight crime.

In Tehran Omnicorp uses drones to keep the people and city safe. The question has always been why doesn’t America use this technology? When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) a Detroit Cop is severely injured in the line of duty, Omnicorp see this as a perfect opportunity to step in and take what’s left of Alex and build a part man part robot police officer to combat crime on the streets of Detroit.

Omnicorp hopes to show Congress and the White House that this is the way of the future to battle crime and keep America’s streets safe. Additionally Omnicorp sees dollar signs; they believe there is $600 billion dollars at stake. Of Course Congress is skeptical and there is plenty of debate. The story unfolds from there…
The problem with “RoboCop (2014)” it’s not fun. Gary Oldman and Joel Kinnaman are great! They make the movie watchable. There is action, intrigue and some cool sci-fi stunts, but the movie still comes up empty. There isn’t much excitement. It’s a bit dry. There are a few awkward moments, holes in the plot and story.

I saw the movie in iMAX. “RoboCop (2014)” is not worth the price of an iMAX ticket.

Thor: The Dark World An IMAX 3D Experience

It’s very difficult to duplicate the success of a first installment. “Thor: The Dark World” the sequel to the 2011 blockbuster picks up nicely from where the first installment ended.

The adventures of Thor the Mighty Avenger continues as he battles to save Earth and the Nine Realms from the dark enemy that came before the universe.
The evil Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Odin and Asgard are no match against this evil enemy they face. Thor embarks on his own perilous journey, one that re-unites him with Jane Foster (Portman) and they together try to save the Universe. The story unfolds from there…

A must see in IMAX, although 3D is not necessary. The cinematography, special effects and action are very good. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) continues to weld his hammer to the delight of female audiences. The movie has a small lull, but other than that it’s pretty good at holding your attention.

If you are interested in the Thor franchise then “Thor: The Dark World” is a must see.

Gravity 3D: An IMAX Experience

This is a movie that I will provide a split decision on my review because while the movie is very well executed and the cinematography is breath-taking I did not enjoy the movie. The movie receives 1 star for stressing me out and 5 stars for Execution, Cinematography and Direction.

Sandra Bullock is Dr. Ryan Stone a brilliant medical engineer on her very first NASA Mission in Space. She and veteran Astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) are on what seems to be a routine space walk repairing parts of a satellite when disaster strikes, destroying their space shuttle and leaving them stranded in space. The story unfolds from there…

There are breath-taking views. The cinematography is great. The story is very well executed and the camera angles you get are fabulous!!
The story just did not interest me, but that doesn’t mean that the movie wasn’t good. I found the story to be stressful.

If you like Sci-Fi Suspense, you will like “Gravity”.
The movie is definitely worth the 3D price tag.

Riddick: An IMAX Experience

In this fourth installment “Riddick” (Vin Diesel) finds himself left for dead on a sun scorched planet amongst alien predators. These Alien Predators appear to be a cross between the monster from the movie “Alien” and the “Cracken” monster from the movie “Clash of the Titans”.

The only way off this horrific planet is to activate an emergency beacon, but to do this would bring mercenaries to the planet looking to place Riddick’s head in a box and collect the bounty. Two ships do arrive each jockeying for how they are going to capture Riddick and collect the bounty, but Riddick appears to have the upper hand. He starts to single handedly pick off his adversaries one by one. The story unfolds from there…

Big issue…There doesn’t seem to be any relationship between this installment and any of the others. It’s pretty obvious that the movie is low-budget. It’s a piece of Sci-Fi fare that should have been left on the cutting room floor. The gore and bloodiness are off the charts. I found myself looking away several times. There is tons of action, violence and a bit of nudity, but there isn’t much else. The story sort of rambles on with no meaning and is complete utter nonsense. Some of the dialog isn’t understandable. I think that if the story were more gripping the movie would be tolerable.

“Riddick” ranks up there with “The Lone Ranger” that came out earlier this summer. Neither of these movies should have been made. What a waste… The Rotten Tomatoes rating for “Riddick” is one point from being fresh. I found that to be a laugh. I like Vin Diesel, but he should stick to the “Fast and Furious” franchise.

Elysium

I love Matt Damon and he does not disappoint!!!

This is 2159 and humanity is divided into two worlds; one is earth and the other is a space station called Elysium. If you are fortunate enough to live on Elysium, you will be free of sickness; you will be wealthy and care free. If you live on earth, you are most likely dirty, hungry, struggling to get by and if you are one of the most unfortunate on earth you are plagued with sickness and possibly near death.
Max (Matt Damon) is a working stiff on earth. He works at the major electronics planet. An accident occurs at work that causes Max’s life to hang in the balance. He must get to Elysium for treatment, but they don’t allow many new inhabitants. Max takes on a dangerous mission to get to Elysium. The story unfolds from there…

Bloody is the word of the day for “Elysium”, but none the less the movie is good! There is plenty of action, suspense and intrigue. Jodie Foster is brilliant. The cinematography is excellent.

I believe that if any other cast would have made this movie, it would not be as good as it is.

If you can stand the bloodiness, “Elysium” is a must see!!

Pacific Rim

Movie: Pacific Rim
Running Time: 2hr. 11min
Cast: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Diego Klattenhoff, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day

All I can say is “WOW!!”

“Pacific Rim” is off the chain!! The monsters looked a little to “REAL” for me. I didn’t see it in 3D, but none the less I was ducking and dodging in my seat! The Cinematography was breath taking. The CGI and special effects were super good.
“Pacific Rim” is about Legions of scary lizard-like sea monsters known as Kaiju that start rising from the sea, a war begins and tons of lives are lost and humanity’s resources are consumed for years on end. To fight the Kaiju a special type of weapon is manufactured.

The Weapons are massive robots called Jaegers that are controlled by two pilots whom when inside the Jaegers their minds are locked in a neutral bridge so all they can focus on is defeating the Kaiju.

The Kaiju are proving to be too much for the Jaegers. The need for more fighting resources becomes apparent, so the commander (Idris Elba) seeks out a former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) to join forces with him team. The story unfolds from there…

“Pacific Rim” is loaded with Sci-Fi action, intense sequences of violence, suspense, intrigue and big scary monsters, but the movie is very well executed. This is “Edge of Your Seat” entertainment.

If you can stand the big Lizard-like monsters it’s worth a look.

World War Z 3D

Movie: World War Z 3D
Running Time: 1hr. 55min
Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale

“World War Z” is a combination of the September 2012 Thriller “Contagion” and the 2007 Sci-Fi Thriller “I am Legend”.

Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane a former U.N. investigator who finds himself, his family and a major part of the world embroiled in a deadly fight for survival from an unknown lethal virus that if a person is bitten they become something vicious.

The Military call’s upon Lane (Pitt) to lead a search to get at the origin of the virus. This search will take Gerry and his team to places unknown. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is edge of your seat suspense. It’s a bit grisly…I found myself closing my eyes a couple of times. The 3D aspects are pretty good because there were things coming at me and I ducked or closed my eyes.
“World War Z” is not for someone with a weak stomach. The movie is executed pretty well although not my favorite genre. If I had it to do over I probably would have skipped seeing it, but I was curious since the previews didn’t really give you much to go on.

If you like Sci-Fi Horror by all means do see “World War Z”.