Horrible Bosses 2

“Horrible Bosses 2” is nowhere near as funny or comical as it’s 2011 predecessor.

In this installment, Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis) attempt to go in business together making a shower head that produces soap along with the water as you shower. They find what they believe is a backer for their business, but these guys have no business savvy. They hire people and get an assembly line going and make 4300 shower heads. When they go to meet their presumed backer he balks. The story unfolds from there…

“Horrible Bosses 2” is only slightly funny and only mildly entertaining. It’s more stupid than funny. Black Friday shopping would provide more entertainment and be more stimulating.

Jamie Foxx makes an appearance and while he is in the scenes everything is hysterical after that nothing.

I would suggest waiting for “Horrible Bosses 2” on DVD or Blue-Ray.

This is a 1 1/2 Star Movie.

The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay PT1: The IMAX Experience

The third installment of The Hunger Games franchise is long on intrigue and suspense, but very short on action.
Picking up were the previous installment left off Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself in a hospital ward in District 13 after she had destroyed the Hunger Games forever.
President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore)of District 13 wants Katniss to be “The Mocking Jay”, but after a brief conversation with her changes her mind. Katniss along with other convince the president that she can and will.
District 13 is tries to get all of the other districts to join together to take down the Capitol, but as they are mounting a charge it is determined that Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is more in need of being rescued from under President Snow’s (Donald Sutherland) watchful eyes as it appears he is being forced to say and act as if everything that Katniss has done is wrong. The story unfolds from there…

The newly added cast members give this installment a shot in the arm, but it still falls short of being as good as its predecessors.
“The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay PT1” is long on intrigue and suspense, but the action you have come to expect just isn’t there.
The end sets up nicely for the fourth installment.

This is one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last movies. To say the least the situation is very tragic. Philip Seymour Hoffman was an excellent actor. He will truly be missed.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

Beyond The Lights

“Beyond The Lights” is a story about the latest music super star known as Noni. Everything is not as it seems. The pressures of super stardom start to get to Noni. She meets the young police officer Kaz (Nate Parker) who is assigned to her security detail. He “sees” the real Noni. They get to know each other and soon fall hard and fast despite the discouragement of others.

Kaz has political aspirations and is encouraged to pursue them. But ultimately it’s Kaz and his love for Noni that help her find her true voice. The story unfolds from there…

“Beyond The Lights” is very well done. The movie is very enjoyable. Most of what you see is a true picture of the entertainment world and how music superstars often live and how they are treated.

Both Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Nate Parker look great together!!

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Interstellar: The iMAX Experience

“Interstellar” is way too long and it attempts to reach beyond its concepts.

It’s believed that mankind is coming to an end, so a team of scientists and astronauts search for life on other planets in the hopes that mankind may continue to exist beyond the stars.

“Interstellar” is a visual splendor. It will blow your mind. The cinematography and special effects are off the charts. It’s definitely a must see in IMAX so you can get the full effect.

Now for the bad news…the movie drags, its way too long and at times does not make sense. I could not wait for it to be over. I practically ran from the theater because I spent most of my afternoon there. Personally I did not like the subject matter. All that aside…Director Christopher Nolan delivers thrills and chills.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!

For all you “Fast & Furious” Fans…I saw an awesome trailer of “Fast & Furious 7”. It looks really good…it opens 4/3/15

John Wick

Bloody is the order of the day for “John Wick”. This vehicle serves as a great comeback to action for Keanu Reeves. 

“John Wick” is an ex-hit man who comes out of retirement when shortly after his wife’s funeral he is beaten and his little puppy dog is killed all for his high performance Ford Mustang that he refuses to sell. Little do the thugs know who they are dealing with or what they have gotten themselves involved in. The story unfolds from there…

“John Wick” is gritty, bloody, action-packed and a throw-back to gangster style movies, but with a fresh take.

There is a plot and story; you just have to give the movie time to formulate everything into a nice neat package.

If you like Action/Assassin type movies, “John Wick” is your movie.

This is a 3 1/2 star movie

The Judge

In “The Judge”, big city attorney Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is summoned back to the Indiana town he grew up in when he is informed that his mother has died. Once he returns to his childhood home Hank attempts to reconnect with his estranged Dad, “The Judge” (Robert Duvall) and re-establish a relationship with the family he walked away from.

Judge Palmer (Robert Duvall) ends up getting arrested for attempted murder when his vintage Cadillac strikes and kills a recently released ex-con that he himself once convicted. The story unfolds from there…

“The Judge” is not a bad movie, but it takes way too long to get to the point. Family dysfunction is the order of the day with the Palmer family. This is played out throughout the movie.

There are at least 5 smaller stories playing out in the movie involving a high school romance rekindled, a mentally challenged younger brother, past transgressions of a father, possible incest and an impending divorce. None of these scenarios have anything to do with the story at hand. This all causes the movie to be disjointed.

There is plenty of star power in “The Judge”, too bad it’s not fully utilized.

This is a 2 1/2 Star Movie!

Gone Girl

“Oh My Gosh!!”, “Gone Girl” is jaw dropping good!! The mystery of it all is insane!! The plot and story are out of this world crazy!! The movie is based on the best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn.

“Gone Girl” is about the ups and downs of a modern marriage. On their fifth wedding anniversary Nick Dunne (Affleck) finds himself contacting the police because he comes home and finds what appears to look like a struggle of some kind took place in his home and his wife is missing…The story unfolds from there…

Straight away it looks like “Been there done that”, but WAIT!! It’s like a made bed that you decide to unmake. As you remove pieces of the bedding the picture starts to come together and oh what a picture it makes.

“Gone Girl” is excellently executed, a slow churning suspense mystery with plenty of intrigue. You will be on the edge of your seat. The performances of the actors are superb.

This has to be the best Suspense/Mystery/Thriller I have seen in a while…

If you like Suspense/Mystery/Thrillers, “Gone Girl” is your movie.

“Gone Girl” is definitely a must see!!

This is a 4 1/2 Star Movie!!

The Equalizer (2014)

The last time Director Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington hooked-up to make a movie, Denzel picked up one of the gold statues (An Oscar).

That most likely will not happen this time, but that doesn’t mean that “The Equalizer” isn’t good!!

Denzel Washington brings “The Equalizer’s” Robert McCall to the big screen. McCall believes he has put his strange past behind him and is trying to live a quiet normal life in Boston. McCall goes to work every day at a Home Depot type store. McCall frequents a Diner in his neighbor and it’s there that he meets a young girl named Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz). Teri is under the influence of a roguish Russian Mobster.

McCall witnesses the mobster violently slapping Teri. He can’t stand by and allow this to continue. McCall devises a plan and uses skills no one knows he has to get Teri away from the Russian Mobster. The story unfolds from there…

“The Equalizer” is a “Slow Burn Suspense Thriller”. There is no rush with this movie, but it doesn’t drag either. The suspense and intrigue are at an all time high. There is plenty of action and at times it’s rather bloody.

Watching Denzel in action as Robert McCall is awesome!! You can’t wait to see what happens next!
If you like Suspense Thrillers, you will find “The Equalizer” entertaining and satisfying.

This is a former TV Drama brought to the big screen with a big time actor. I expect this to become a franchise. We will undoubtedly see Denzel as Robert McCall again in the future.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

A Walk Among the Tombstones

“A Walk Among the Tombstones” is a good movie, but not for the faint at heart!
Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) a Private Investigator is hired by a drug kingpin to find the people who kidnapped and murdered his wife. Along the way to arriving at the awful truth, Matt must also deal with his own demons as he has flashbacks to a time long past.

As Matt digs into the gruesome details of this particular kidnapping/murder he finds a pattern that leads to other kidnapping/murders of woman who are somehow related to drug kingpins. The story unfolds from there…
As “A Walk Among the Tombstones” progresses it gets more and more suspenseful. There is plenty of drama, intrigue and tension to go around.

I mentioned earlier that this is not for the faint at heart. There are some very grizzly scenes and at times it’s a bit bloody.
Liam Neeson is awesome as Matt Scudder. If you like Suspense Thrillers this is a MUST SEE!

Actor Danny Devito is one of the producers of “A Walk Among the Tombstones”. The movie is based on the best-selling novel by Lawrence Block.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!

The Expendables 3: An IMAX Experience

The Testosterone filled franchise is back!! “It’s Old Dogs, Young Dogs and New Tricks”; in this third installment.

In this installment Barney (Stallone) and the team come face to face with an enemy, Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson) they thought was long since dead. Years ago Conrad and Barney co-founded The Expendables, but some bad blood caused them to separate and Barney was forced to kill Conrad several years ago, or so he thought.

Stonebanks (Gibson) has eluded death and resurfaced and is making it his mission to get rid of “The Expendables” for good, but Barney (Stallone) has other ideas. The story unfolds from there…

The movie starts great and has a strong ending, but the middle is just a muddle of senior moments. I have to say that there are a few good comedic moments, some interesting cinematography, some eye opening stunts and questionable special effects.

I find this installment to be better than the previous one. There is lots of non-stop action and some intrigue. There are a few new faces and the on-screen chemistry is interesting. There is a new female member to the team and she is pretty cool!!

I believe that when Sylvester Stallone signed up to do this franchise there were only going to be 3, but the door appears to be open for a 4th.

Maybe if there is a 4th installment it will continue to get better.
If you are a fan of “The Expendables” franchise, this installment should not be missed.

This is a 3 Star Movie