La La Land

“La La Land” is about an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) and a Jazz Man (Ryan Gosling) who are both trying to catch a break in the entertainment and movie business in modern day Hollywood. They both struggle to make ends meet while auditioning for various roles and gigs. They are both overwhelmed with disappointment, but finally they each catch a small break, the story unfolds from there…

The movie is a lively “Singing and Dancing” extravaganza. It will remind you of the days of Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Ginger Rogers, only this is modern day Hollywood and a modern day musical.

The movie is executed well, is very entertaining and enjoyable. The cinematography is fabulous. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have good on-screen chemistry. The Jazz music that is played through-out is awesome!

“La La Land” is worth the ticket.

This is a 4 ½ Star Movie!

Fences

Denzel Washington and Viola Davis both give masterful performances in the big screen adaptation of “Fences”.

The main characters in the movie are both complex and deep. Their performances make it look easy.

“Fences” is about a family of color in 1950’s Pittsburgh. The Patriarch is Troy (Denzel Washington) who works as a city garbage collector. His wife, Rose (Viola Davis) takes care of the house and their teenage son Cory (Jovan Adepo).
Troy is trying to pave a path to a better life for Cory, but Cory thinks his Dad is selling out to the “Establishment”. The story unfolds from there…

“Fences” is August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play that has been brought to the big screen. The movie shows its “stage” roots a bit, but that does not stop it from being excellent. Denzel not only stars but also directs. Viola and Denzel’s performances outshine and upstage any possible problems.

What a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon that also happens to be Christmas Day!

This is a 5 Star Movie!

The Passengers in Real 3D

“The Passengers” is about an idea that would be wonderful if it were clearly mapped out and executed appropriately, but unfortunately for the movie it’s not.

Imagine being able to go to sleep for about 135 years while being transported aboard a luxury space ship and wake up to embark on a brand new world. When you wake up you are the same age you were when you went to sleep. Along the way though the space ship has problems, this causes several people to wake up unexpectedly. The story unfolds from there…

The idea behind “The Passengers” is great, but there is no purpose, cause or reason why. Nothing is explained as to why and how these people were selected to make this journey. There are a ton of questions, but no answers. No real plot.

Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence have great on-screen chemistry, but even that is not enough to make “The Passengers” a blockbuster hit.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Sing in Real 3D

“Sing” is a cute funny animated movie. It’s not “Zootopia” or “The Secret Life of Pets”, but it is still entertaining.

A Koala Bear impresario, named Buster Moon (McConaughey) stages a singing competition for the animal kingdom much like “America’s Got Talent”, but this event is to save a Grand Theater. Buster advertises that there will be a grand prize of $100,000 dollars, but the selected singers find out by accident that there isn’t any prize money. The story unfolds from there…

“Sing” is funny, silly and warm-hearted entertainment. The story is familiar as it definitely relates to real-life situations.

The movie is more for teenagers, not really a child under 8 years old. There is some rude humor and some disturbing peril that a younger child might not understand.

If you are looking for a movie this holiday season that is animated, funny and warm-hearted then “Sing” is your movie.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

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!