Gladiator II in IMAX

Gladiator II in IMAX

Remember the first Gladiator from 2000? 

This installment comes years after witnessing the death of Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius must enter the Colosseum after the powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home. With rage in his heart and the future of the empire at stake, he looks to the past to find the strength and honor needed to return the glory of Rome to its people.

Ridley Scott and Denzel Washington do not disappoint. In fact, every scene that Denzel Washington is in makes the movie intriguing and interesting. Denzel steals every scene he is in, Think “Training Day”. Also hats off to Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal.

This installment comes very close to matching the same intensity as the Oscar-Winning Best Picture first installment, but does fall short just a bit. There is plenty of bloody action, suspense and intrigue. Crowds will roar at the Coliseum action. The IMAX aspects are awesome! You will feel like you are in the Coliseum and riding on every Chariot, Horse and on any Ships.

If you are a fan of the Oscar Winning first Installment then “Gladiator II” is definitely worth a look.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

CONCLAVE

CONCLAVE

CONCLAVE follows one of the most ancient rituals of the world, selecting a new Pope.

The reigning Pope has just died. What follows are time honored steps to selecting a new Pope, but during this current season a trail of secrets that are left in the dead Pope’s wake comes to light and if exposed could do great harm to the Catholic Church and the process of selecting a new Pope. The story unfolds from there….

CONCLAVE is Dramatic, Suspenseful and Riveting. Ralph Fiennes is absolutely awesome in his role. 

CONCLAVE is one of the best movies not receiving a lot of hype. The 2 Hour Running Time goes by really fast.

The reason I went to see CONCLAVE is because of the stars, Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini. I love them and they are awesome actors. They did not disappoint.

The movie is loosely based on the Best-Selling Novel of the same name by Robert Harris.

“CONCLAVE” is worth a look.

This is a 5 Star Movie!!

The Wild Robot in AMC Dolby

The Wild Robot in AMC Dolby

I am sure you are probably wondering why did I go see “The Wild Robot”?

Animated Movies are executing really well right now. They often times contain a message for young and old. This is true of “The Wild Robot”. BTW… There were only adults in the cinema where I saw the movie.

The movie starts off a bit slow, but picks up really fast. “The Wild Robot” finds himself in a forest surrounded by all of the different animals we would normally see in a forest. Soon the Robot uncovers a nest with a lot of broken eggs, but there is one that has not hatched yet. The Robot instinctively protects the egg. While he does have to fight a fox who wants to eat the egg. The Robot will not allow it. Soon the egg hatches and out comes a cute little duckling that sees the Robot as its Mom. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is so Heart-warming and Entertaining. It contains Humor that only adults would be able to understand. The cinematography and special effects are awesome. There is never a dull moment. It’s a simple tale that gets told in a wonderful way.

“The Wild Robot” is worth a look.

This movie is based on a Novel by the same name.

This is a 5 Star Movie!!

Transformers One in AMC Dolby

Transformers One in AMC Dolby

Have you ever wondered how Optimus Prime came to be? Or what about Bumblebee and Megatron? Well…Transformers One is the Back Story on how the “Auto Bots” were born and Optimus Prime and Megatron became sworn enemies. Granted its 17 years late, but you know what they say… “Better Late Than Never!!”

The movie is executed very well. Lots of information, the story flows and you get the full picture. There is plenty of action, tons of special effects and really nice cinematography. The movie dramatically satisfies any curiosity regarding the history of the Transformers and Auto Bots. This is a fully animated installment which is interesting since none of the other installments were. I love the fact that there was a great cast lending their voices to this project.

If you are a Transformers Fan, “Transformers One” should not be missed.

This is a 5 Star Movie!!

1992

1992

It’s April 29, 1992 in Los Angeles, CA. During this time in history, Los Angeles faced a lot of racial and political issues. Those issues are the backdrop for “1992”.

Mercer (Tyrese Gibson) is desperately trying to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son amidst the turbulent 1992 LA uprising following the Rodney King verdict. Across town, another father and son (Ray Liotta and Scott Eastwood) put their own strained relationship to the test as they plot a dangerous heist to steal catalytic converters, which contain valuable platinum, from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions rise in Los Angeles and chaos erupts, both families reach their boiling points when they collide in this tension filled crime-drama. The story unfolds from there…

The execution of this movie starts off well enough, but soon falls off the rails as there are several small stories that are not completed or explained. There is Political Tension / Uprising that is continuous while a major robbery is plotted and attempted. Too much goes unexplained and you are left to wonder the “What, “How” and “Why”.

The Political Uprising that occurred in Los Angeles in 1992 was a very terrible time for that city. To see it depicted in a movie is really eye opening, disturbing and sad.

On a positive note, Snoop Dogg was the Executive Producer, so in some ways what was depicted was to make a point. There was nothing “Sugar-Coated”. 

“1992” is one of Ray Liotta’s final movies. If you are a Ray Liotta fan, check out “1992”.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

The Killer

The Killer

NBC and Peacock fresh off the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris capitalized as Paris with it’s sweeping landscape and The Eiffel Tower are the main back drops for “The Killer”.

Legendary Actor/Director John Woo famous for movies like Face Off, Mission Impossible II, Paycheck, Broken Arrow just to name a few is back with a radical reimaging of his 1989 Hong Kong Classic, “The Killer”.

From the Oscar® winning producer of Oppenheimer, the kinetic action thriller stars Emmy nominee Nathalie Emmanuel (The Fast Saga and Game of Thrones) as Zee, a mysterious and infamous assassin known, and feared, in the Parisian underworld as the “Queen of the Dead”. 

But when, during an assignment from her shadowy mentor and handler (Avatar’s Sam Worthington), Zee refuses to kill a blinded young woman (Diana Silvers; Ma, Booksmart) in a Paris nightclub, the decision will disintegrate Zee’s alliances, attract the attention of a savvy police investigator (Golden Globe nominee Omar Sy; Jurassic World franchise, Lupin), and plunge her into a sinister criminal conspiracy that will set her on a collision course with her own past. The Story unfolds from there…

The movie starts off intriguing enough. There is a certain air of mystery and suspense. But all too soon the movie derails and there are “dead spots” that would make you check your watch if you were in a dark theater watching this on a big screen. 

The sweeping views of Paris were awesome. There is a ton of action and some pretty wild and crazy car / motorcycle chases / crashes. Having a Female Assassin was awesome. She is so “Bad Ass”. Those were the best parts of the movie. 

I wanted desperately to love it!! I was so excited when I saw the previews, but alas “The Killer” left me a bit disappointment. The Ending appears chopped off. You are left to wonder about a few things. 

The advantage to watching “The Killer” is that it’s on Peacock, NBC’s Streaming Service. You can pause it, re-watch a scene or just walk away if you are bored.

All of that being said, this is a John Woo Production. John Woo has made some pretty awesome movies and the reimaged “The Killer” is worth a look.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

Alien: Romulus in AMC Dolby

Alien: Romulus in AMC Dolby

When I learned in April 2024 that there was another Alien installment coming from that Franchise, I balked. The last Real Alien installment was in 1997. From 1979 to 1997 the Alien Franchise ruled supreme as it was awesome with star actress Sigourney Weaver at the helm. This latest installment does not include Sigourney Weaver so I had not planned to see it. My theory for this installment was maybe an egg got away back when Sigourney Weaver’s character and her team destroyed what they believed was the nest. At a later date an egg hatched and the Alien waited all these years to avenge the death of it’s Mama.


On August 14th I read a few columns and learned that “Alien: Romulus” is a MUST SEE because it is new and fresh. So off I went to see it on Aug 18th. 

This new installment starts off in a far distant planet from Earth where people are working in a Colony. A crew of young space workers from the Colony noticed on one of their monitors what appears to be an abandoned Space Station/Craft floating along in space, so they decide to go check it out.

While scavenging the deep ends of the abandoned space station, the group of young space colonizers locate wreckage and body parts, soon they come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. The story unfolds from there…

Yes, I would agree that “Alien: Romulus” is new and somewhat fresh. There are a few surprises, some I hope that do not breed a new franchise.

The movie is extremely suspenseful, intriguing and entertaining. It is executed very well. The AMC Dolby aspects are very good. You will feel like you are riding on the various space crafts.

As a foot note: This is a Ridley Scott Production. Ridley Scott movies are generally pretty awesome. 

If you are a fan of the Alien Franchise “Alien: Romulus” is a must see!

If you are looking for a Space Adventure with a little Horror, check out “Alien: Romulus”.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Twisters in AMC Dolby

Twisters in AMC Dolby

I do not normally see Weather-Related Disaster Movies like this, but the trailer looked entertaining, so here goes…

Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. 

She is lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi (Golden Globe nominee Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. 

There, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), the charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew, the more dangerous the storms, the better. As storm season intensifies, terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed. Kate, Tyler and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems that converge over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is entertaining. The cinematography and special effects are on point. The execution is loaded with Drama and Sparks Flying. It’s like being on a constant Roller Coaster Ride. You are not sure if you want to get off once it stops or go for the thrills again. It’s been a very long time between this installment and the original. This seems fresh though and not too close to its predecessor.

If you are looking for an adventure and thrills check out “Twisters”

This is a 4 Star Move!!

Despicable Me 4 in AMC Dolby

Despicable Me 4 in AMC Dolby

It’s been 7 Years since the last Despicable Me installment. Gru and the Minions are BACK!!

Gru the Super Villain turned Anti Villain League Agent returns for an exciting new era of Minion Chaos.

In this new installment, Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Emmy winner Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara), and the family is forced to go on the run. The story unfolds from there…

The Minion Mayhem is alive and well. The plot in the movie is overstuffed, but comical and definitely funny to say the least. This franchise is definitely Slapstick Comedy with a little something for the young and old.  

The cinematography, special effects and animation are very good. Definitely worth the laughs. You will laugh out loud at many scenes in the movie.

If you are looking for some Comic-Relief check out “Despicable Me 4”

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Inside Out 2 in AMC Dolby

Inside Out 2 in AMC Dolby

“Inside Out 2” is as brilliantly executed as its predecessor, the 2015 installment “Inside Out”. Continuing the rollercoaster ride of life, dealing with emotions.  

This installment finds Riley playing Ice Hockey. Her team wins and the 3 best players (Riley and 2 friends) are invited to attend an Ice Hockey Camp. At the camp things get messy. Riley meets some more sophisticated girls who try to entice her to join their squad, thus leaving her 2 friends to join a different squad. Riley is conflicted, but goes along. The story unfolds from there…  

All possible emotions play a role in this installment. Anxiety, Frustration, Anger, Happiness, Joy, Disgust, Fear, Sadness, Envy and Embarrassment. 

At one point Joy and Happiness are lost. Riley has to go through the complete range of emotions before Joy and Happiness returns once again.

“Inside Out 2” may be an animated movie, but there is a message for everyone young and old. 

The movie is cute, funny, thought provoking, meaningful and at times sad. The movie explores “Puberty” we have all had to go through “Puberty” in some form or another. Above all the movie is heart-warming.

Check out “Inside Out 2”.

This is a 5 Star Movie!!