Now You See Me 2

This is another edition of “Thursday Night at the Movies with “The Movie Warrior”.

Three years later…here we are for another magical installment of “Now You See Me”. Did you see the first installment? If not you should.

This installment finds the Four Horseman (Jesse Eisenberg, Lizzy Caplan, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco) performing extreme magic and illusions to tantalize crowds of fans. The Four Horseman unwillingly traveling across the globe to China and once there they are enticed to perform their biggest and most dangerous trick yet. They are tasked with stealing a computer chip that has the power to erase every single computer on the planet. That feat will indeed take some serious magic and illusion to pull off. The story unfolds from there…

Plain and simple this installment tries too hard. The magic appears forced. There is a lot of magic and illusion. It’s practically non-stop. The first installment was exciting and fun. This second installment is intriguing but not very interesting. There are parts of the movie that are totally boring. There is no context at the start of the movie. It just starts without explanation. You are left to try and figure it out.

All of the originals from the first installment are back with the exception of the female Horseman, Henley Reeves who was played by Isla Fisher. In this installment there is a new female Horseman, Lula played by Lizzy Caplan.

Magic and Illusion are what made “Now You See Me” an enjoyable movie. It’s the overkill of Magic and Illusion in this second installment that destroys the fun.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!

Me Before You

“Me Before You” is a screen adaptation of the NY Times Best Selling Novel by Jojo Moyes. I actually read this book and it was a “page turner”. I could not put the book down.

“Me Before You” is about two people who are unexpectedly brought together. Louisa Clark (Emilia Clarke) a small town Englishwoman has lost her long time job at the Buttered Bun. She is the major bread winner in her family. Louisa goes down to the Job Employment Center to find work. She is sent out on an interview for a position as a companion to a paralyzed wealthy Englishman Will Traynor (Sam Claflin).

Louisa is hired by Will’s mother Camilla Traynor (Janet McTeer) on a 6 month contract.
Louisa starts immediately, but during her introduction to Will Traynor, Louisa has second thoughts. The story unfolds from there…

With the exception of a few parts in the book the movie stayed true to the main story. I found the movie entertaining, moving and thought provoking. I thought that Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin were great together.

The movie is a bit of a tear-jerker, but based on the story that is to be expected.
I think that “Me Before You” is a good movie and it deserves a look.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

X-Men: Apocalypse The IMAX 3D Experience

Welcome to a special installment of Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior!

“X-Men: Apocalypse” is a very ambitious undertaking that doesn’t quite meet the mark. I found the plot to be bloated with no deflation and no explanation. There were really strong performances, but they were over shadowed by a plot that never quite comes together as it’s all over the place.

In this installment, everything gets torn up, destroyed literally and then put back together.

The best parts of the movie are the special effects, cinematography and the 3D aspects. There is non-stop action, but sometimes it does not make sense. That’s not enough to justify spending $17 dollars to see the movie.
To me personally after 16 years the “X-Men” franchise has run its course and is now an overdone franchise, also it was disappointing to not see Halle Barry reprise her role as “Storm”.

This is a 2 1/2 Star Movie!

The Angry Birds Movie in 3D

Have you ever wondered why the “Angry Birds” are so angry? Well you can find out in “The Angry Birds Movie”.

“The Angry Birds” reside on their own paradise island out in the middle of nowhere. The Pigs from Pig Island decide to pay the Angry Birds a visit. All of the Angry Birds except “Red” (Jason Sudeikis) are willing to welcome the Pigs to their paradise. What they don’t know is that the Pigs plan to steal all of the Bird Eggs. The Bird Eggs are the soon-to-be off-spring of the Angry Birds. The Pigs plan to dine on eggs for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

After staging a HUGH party to get the Angry Birds away from their homes, the Pigs make off with all of the eggs. By the time the Angry Birds figure out what has happened, the pigs have all but left the paradise. “Red” rallies the Angry Birds to devise a plan to get their eggs back. The story unfolds from there…

“The Angry Birds” Movie is not an “Inside Out”, but it does have moments of entertainment and laughter. There are parts of the movie that are a bit disjointed and would be over a child’s head. Young children will not notice this, but adults should. This is another attempt at bringing a video game to the big screen. Overall it’s so-so. The 3D aspects are awesome. When I took off my glasses I could not see the movie.

A child will find “The Angry Birds” Movie enjoyable.

This is a 2 1/2 Star Movie!

The Nice Guys

“The Nice Guys” was not on my original “Watch List” The previews never really enticed me, but within the last week, I decided to give it a look…

“The Nice Guys” is a Detective/Police drama set in the 1970’s. It’s a throw-back to the times when comedy was slap-stick and funny.

Jackson Healy (Crowe) and Holland March (Gosling) end up teaming up to locate a supposed missing porn actress. There is a lot of confusion about whether she is really missing or already dead. As it turns out the missing porn actress is dead, but there is someone who looks like her. She is on the run. Healy and March have to find her before other people do. The story unfolds from there…
“The Nice Guys” is at times hilarious! It is a nail biter, suspenseful and entertaining. There are some crazy scenes and crazy stunts. Some scenes appear unedited. This is definitely an “R” rated movie that could easily pass for “X” rated in some scenes.
The sound track is awesome. It’s mostly Motown sounds from the 70’s.

As it turns out “The Nice Guys” is definitely worth a look!

This is a 4 Star Movie!

Money Monster

Lee Gates (George Clooney) is the brash financial pundit on a daily T.V. show called “Money Monster”. Lee gives advice on stocks and securities to buy and sell. People around the globe listen to him and act on his advice.

One stock (IBIS) that Lee urged people to invest in lost $800 Million dollars over night. Where did the money go…?

Truck Driver Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell) was an investor in IBIS who vows to get answers. He just lost his life savings of $60K.
Kyle shows up at the studio where “Money Monster” airs live every day. The story unfolds from there…

“Money Monster” is a well-directed, well-acted movie that plays better as a Hostage movie as opposed to a Wall Street flick. Wall Street and its internal dealings are not featured enough.

The movie does keep it moving, but there are spots that need more explanation. Everything is neatly tied up at the end, but the movie ends a bit too soon.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

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!

Mother’s Day

“Mother’s Day” is a star-studded Dramedy that doesn’t quite meet the mark.

There are five different dramedies going on simultaneously in “Mother’s Day”. Each drama all boils down to the Mother or lack thereof in each person’s life.
The movie definitely has its hilarious moments. At least three of the dramedies are down-right silly, but at the end of the day the movie is unfulfilling.

From a Comedic stand-point Jennifer Aniston holds her own. From a more serious stand-point Julia Roberts holds her own. The script seems flat and everyone else in the movie is running in place.

There have been other star-studded holiday movies such as “Valentine’s Day” and “New Year’s Eve”. “Mother’s Day” is the worst of the lot.

This is a 1 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!

Criminal

“Criminal” offers familiarity, but lacks cohesiveness.

Bill Pope (Ryan Reynolds) who is a CIA operative is kept alive so that his memories can be surgically implanted in a dangerous criminal (Kevin Costner) so that the CIA can use the knowledge to stop an International terrorist. The story unfolds from there…

The problem with “Criminal” is there is no basis or context for the actions and events that take place in the first 12 minutes of the film. The story does not start of right, so you are left to your own devices to try and figure out the “What’s”, the “Who’s” and the “Why’s”.

While “Criminal” isn’t great by any stretch of the imagination, it is better than the 2014 “3 Days to Kill” which also starred Kevin Costner.

“Criminal” will be an excellent watch on DVD or Blu-Ray.

This is a 2 Star Movie