Assassin’s Creed in Real 3D

I never played any of the video arcade games of Assassin’s Creed, but judging from the movie, the game must be pretty serious.

I have been waiting for this movie for over 18 months. It’s better than I expected, but not as good as I hoped it would be.

The movie is dark, grey and a bit dreary. The action is awesome!! There are many cool fight scenes and sequences. Michael Fassbender looks “hot” without a shirt on. The 3D aspects are ok.

The bigger issues are that the movie is disorganized, the story and/or plot is disjointed. Nothing happens in a sequence that you can really follow. There are philosophical undertones to the movie, but even those are not fully developed and there is too much CGI.

I left the theater with a big question mark on my face because I didn’t really understand the story or lack there-of.

“Assassin’s Creed” may join the likes of “Silent Hill” and “Hitman 47” that is a video game to big screen adaptation that isn’t very successful.

If you played the game or are a video game fanatic, the fight scenes and sequences are pretty awesome to see.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!

Collateral Beauty

“Collateral Beauty” is about an executive in a successful N.Y. Advertising Company who loses his six year old daughter. She dies unexpectedly and basically the executive never recovers. He totally retreats from day to day life. The other executives in the company spend an undisclosed amount of time trying to communicate with the executive. He totally ignores their calls, visits, emails, and letters.

The company decides they need to divest the executive of his shares in the company, they hire someone to watch him so that they can try to get evidence to show he’s unfit. The story unfolds from there…

“Collateral Beauty” starts off ok, but goes downhill quickly. It’s a colossal waste of some powerfully strong actors and actresses. Besides the main story there are several side stories that pop-up and take control, but are never completed. This causes the movie to appear and feel disjointed.

I had high hopes for “Collateral Beauty”, after all it is the holiday season and this is when the best movies make their appearances. Unfortunately there is no beauty in “Collateral Beauty”.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: The IMAX 3D Experience

A new Episode of the Star Wars Franchise is upon us. It’s the old-school Star Wars, but with a new deeper story!

This episode is pretty deep, wide and intense. The story is laid out in painstakingly fashion. Revenge and Justice are the order of the day.

Jyn (Felicity Jones) is separated from her parents at a very early age. She ends up being raised by Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). The story picks up when Jyn is an adult. Jyn has become a “Rebel”. She and others join forces to steal the plans for the Death Star. This sets up an epic battle between several nations. The story unfolds from there…

The cinematography is breath-taking. The camera angles are awesome. There is plenty of cool special effects, CGI’s, intergalactic action and serious space battles.

IMAX is a must. You will feel like you are riding on the space crafts.

Once again Star Wars delivers. If you are a Star Wars fan, Rogue One is your movie!

This is a 4 ½ Star Movie!

Miss Sloane

I love Jessica Chastain and she does not disappoint in “Miss Sloane”.

All eyes are on Washington as a campaign ensues. Miss Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is a highly sought after lobbyist in D.C. whose record of success is unmatched.

As the power brokers in Washington make their moves, Elizabeth Sloane is down-right ruthless and she is right there doing whatever is necessary to win even if the price for winning costs her. The story unfolds from there…

“Miss Sloane” is a gripping, powerful Political Drama. The story is moving and gets better as it progresses. The movie definitely will make you look at the political landscape in Washington, D.C. with wide open eyes.

It would have been nice if the character “Miss Elizabeth Sloane” had been a bit more in-depth. There is a lot of under-current that is not explored and this keeps the movie from being 5 stars.

It was great to see Sam Waterston who was the long time “DA” in the original NBC hit Law & Order.

“Miss Sloane” is definitely worth seeing and is worth the price of its ticket.

This is a 4 Star Movie!

Nocturnal Animals

I fully understand why “Nocturnal Animals” opened in limited release a couple of weeks ago. This movie is very graphic in nature. It’s also very well acted.

From the opening credits through the first 35 minutes of the movie was very disturbing in nature. I seriously considered leaving…but there was a turning point which captured my attention, the movie picked up steam and became very intriguing.

“Nocturnal Animals” is a haunting romantic thriller filled with shocking and graphic nudity. It’s not rated X, but probably should be. The nudity is not sexual in nature, it’s just raw.

The movie illustrates revenge, deceit, redemption and the thin lines between love and hate. A divorced couple (Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams) head down a path of rediscovering one another, but also learning some dark truths about each other.

If you need something to compare “Nocturnal Animals” to, think of the 2014 hit “Gone Girl”.

See “Nocturnal Animals” if you dare!

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Allied

Intelligence officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) meets up with a French Resistance Fighter Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) in North Africa, together they participate in a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Sometime later they reunite in London, their relationship blossoms, they marry and have a child but soon their relationship is tested due to the wartime constraints. The story unfolds from there…

There are parts of the movie that at times show signs of brilliance, but in the end it just doesn’t quite make it. From an execution stand point there are holes that need to be filled. The plot isn’t really clear.

“Allied” is a fairly decent movie. It should be better given the cast in front of the camera and behind the camera.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

Rules Don’t Apply

Its 1958, a young aspiring actress Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins) from Front Royal, VA makes her way to Hollywood, CA along with her Mother (Annette Bening) in the hopes of getting a part in a Howard Hughes film.

Upon arriving in Hollywood a driver, Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich) is waiting to take Marla and her Mother where ever and when-ever they needed to go anywhere. There is instant attraction between Marla and Frank, but they both try to hide it. Frank is an employee of Howard Hughes and does not want to mess up. Marla finds out that Frank knows Howard Hughes and everyday peppers him for information about the Billionaire.

Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty) does not want people to see him and if anyone does it’s with the lighting very dimmed or off all together. Soon Howard sends for Marla. The story unfolds from there…

I found “Rules Don’t Apply” to be quite boring. The story jumps all over the place. There are at least 4 stories brewing in the movie, but they never percolate. The plot appears to be missing. It’s obvious that “No Rules Were Applied” when making this film.

“Rules Don’t Apply” is best viewed on Cable TV.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 3D

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” dazzles with wizardry and spectacular special effects!

I never saw or reviewed any of the Harry Potter franchise. I decided to take a chance and view “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. I found the movie to be an adventure that was entertaining and well executed.
This new J.K. Rowling spin-off finds Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arriving in New York via and ocean-liner in what appears to be the 1930’s. Newt has a mysterious suit case that he is carrying. As he makes his way through the streets of New York, he stops at a gathering of people listening to someone outside a bank. Newt makes a mistake and sets the suit case down. Magically a Platypus gets out and races inside the bank. This starts an array of events that happen with this magical suit case. Little does Newt know that he is being watched. The story unfolds from there…

I had no preconceived notions or opinions about this movie going in. I wanted to keep an open mind.

I found the movie to be loaded with a lot of CGI, Special Effects and Fascinating Cinematography. There is quite a bit of action and adventure. J.K. Rowling has a vivid imagination. This is the first of what is to be four installments in this franchise.

I did find the movie to be entertaining, magical and mystical. The 3D aspects were very good.

If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will find this new spin-off from J.K. Rowling worth a look.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!

Almost Christmas

“Almost Christmas” is a lively comedy about a patriarch whose one wish is that for the upcoming Christmas Holiday the family all come together for the 5 Days leading up to Christmas. This will be the first Christmas without the Mother as she passed away earlier in the year. The family consists of 5 adult children, 3 grandchildren and 1 sister-in-law. The wish of the patriarch is that they are all able to get along under one roof without killing each other. As the children start to arrive at the family home the fireworks begin. The story unfolds from there…

The events and drama that unfold with this family are not uncommon in real life. Jealousy, Envy, Ambition, Adultery, Grief and Misunderstandings all take up residence at this family gathering. The movie has good and bad parts, but it is entertaining, thought provoking and at times corny.

“Almost Christmas” is better that a lot of Holiday comedy movies that have come before it. I think “Almost Christmas” is worth a look.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Arrival

“Arrival” is way more than your usual “Run-of-the-Mill” Alien Disaster movies. If that’s what you are expecting, you will be so disappointed.

“Arrival” is a “Thinking Person’s Sci-Fi Drama”. The movie in and of its self is thought provoking and very cerebral.

Amy Adams is Dr. Louise Banks, an expert linguist whose expertise is called upon when a number of mysterious spacecraft touch down in various places around the globe. Dr. Banks and an elite team investigate the spacecraft that comes to the US. Dr. Banks uses her knowledge and with the help of her team they translate the responses received from the alien beings, but what Dr. Banks does and learns could not only put her life at risk, but all of humanity. The story unfolds from there…

“Arrival” is a bit subdued. It’s an intensely calm movie that will get you thinking.
The movie did engage my brain, but not my heart. While it was executed brilliantly, it will not become one of my favorite all time flicks.

If you are a Sci-Fi fan, “Arrival” is for you.