The Best Man Holiday

It’s been 15 years since the 1999 “The Best Man” opened. So in 2013 the old college friends attempt to reunite for the Holidays.

Old forgotten rivalries flare and old romances rekindle in this second installation. It seems time does not heel old wounds.

“The Best Man Holiday” has something for everyone, Love, Sex, Romance, Rivalry, Family, Loyalty, Success and Dishonesty. The story does a good job of picking up where the 1999 installment ended.

What makes “The Best Man Holiday” work is the strong cast. Everyone who was in the 1999 movie is back in 2013, plus a few new welcome additions. If you didn’t see the 1999 installment, that’s ok. The gaps get filled in.

Although the movie is entertaining, the mixture/combination of Christian Faith, Comedy and Raunchy Sex don’t fly.

Thor: The Dark World An IMAX 3D Experience

It’s very difficult to duplicate the success of a first installment. “Thor: The Dark World” the sequel to the 2011 blockbuster picks up nicely from where the first installment ended.

The adventures of Thor the Mighty Avenger continues as he battles to save Earth and the Nine Realms from the dark enemy that came before the universe.
The evil Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Odin and Asgard are no match against this evil enemy they face. Thor embarks on his own perilous journey, one that re-unites him with Jane Foster (Portman) and they together try to save the Universe. The story unfolds from there…

A must see in IMAX, although 3D is not necessary. The cinematography, special effects and action are very good. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) continues to weld his hammer to the delight of female audiences. The movie has a small lull, but other than that it’s pretty good at holding your attention.

If you are interested in the Thor franchise then “Thor: The Dark World” is a must see.

Last Vegas

“Last Vegas” is like “The Hangover” for the “Geriatric Set”. The comedy was fun but calm, nothing really outrageous!

Billy (Michael Douglas) decides to get married after being single for 58 years. The woman of course is half his age. He calls his childhood pals, Paddy (Robert DeNiro), Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline) who are located in various parts of the US and invites them to Vegas for a weekend of bachelorhood fun and for the wedding. After everyone arrives in Vegas, there are a number of basic problems that occur, one being the fact that they forgot to book a hotel room.

Archie (Morgan Freeman) tries his luck at the gaming tables with $15,000 dollars. He turns his $15,000 into $100,000 plus. The Casino owner wants a chance to recoup some of their money so they offer the best suite in the casino to the four pals. The story unfolds from there…

“Last Vegas” will be considered boring by the younger set, but if you are over the age of 40, you will be entertained. Great cast, very good chemistry. A nice weekend movie.

Ender’s Game

An Elite group of talented and gifted children are selected to train for a potentially very catastrophic War.

Ender Wiggins, shy but a strategically brilliant young leader, is recruited to join the elite group.

Once at the Battle School, Ender quickly masters the increasingly difficult challenges and simulations that are presented to him.
Ender soon gains that attention of Graff who is one of the schools Commanders who ordains Ender as the military’s next great hope. Ender is soon promoted to Commander School where he is trained to lead and given his own team of soldiers to lead into the next epic battle. The story unfolds from there…
If you read the NY Times best-selling novel you won’t be disappointed. It’s definitely a must see in IMAX to get the full effect. The special effects, cinematography and camera angles are fabulous. There is a small lull in the film, but it arrives at the end respectfully. Although this is a first chapter, “Ender’s Game” will lead to a blockbuster franchise.

The Counselor

Please do not waste your money! “The Counselor” is one of the worst movies of 2013!
What an utter disappointment. The movie is all over the map. There are long sex scenes that don’t make sense and have no real place in the movie. I am not sure what Ridley Scott was thinking when he was directing this.
The movie is supposed to be about an attorney who gets in too deep in the drug trafficking business. The story and plot are not obvious and everything is all over the place. The movie is brutally bloody. The previews are extremely miss-leading. I totally expected action, intrigue, drama and a bit of fun given the cast. There is none of that in “The Counselor”.
I have to say that I am not even sure that “The Counselor” warrants a look even when it comes out on DVD or Blueray. I can’t see spending any money on this film at all.

“The Counselor” should have been left on the cutting room floor.

Escape Plan

Sylvester Stallone is Ray Breslin, a respected authority on Structural Security. He agrees to take on a high-risk job of breaking out of an ultra-secret high-tech facility that is located in parts unknown called “The Tomb”.

At this ultra-secret facility things go awry and Ray is falsely imprisoned. He is then forced to recruit a fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) to help him devise a plan to escape. The story unfolds from there…

The story starts off ok, but loses its way through most of the movie to regain some footing toward the end. Sly and Arnold are good together and that’s what makes “Escape Plan” interesting. It was also great to see Vincent D’Onofrio from Law & Order Criminal Intent fame.

If you are a Sylvester Stallone fan then “Escape Plan” is worth a look.

Captain Phillips

“Captain Phillips” is an extremely well executed movie. It’s like waiting for a rose bud to bloom. It happens slowly, but oh very much worth the wait.

“Captain Phillips” is based on the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. Container Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. The movie is meticulous in its execution. Showing you every layer and angle of the story as it unfolds from the relationship between Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi) to the U.S. Navy coming to the rescue.

As the events occur you will be on the edge of your seat. There is no pause or “dead space” in this movie. Director Paul Greengrass is excellent at providing you a scintillating thriller with “on the edge of your seat” intrigue. Remember Paul Greengrass is the director of all of the Bourne movies that Matt Damon starred in. Tom Hanks is masterful in his portrayal of “Captain Phillips”.

“Captain Phillips” is definitely worth a look.

Runner Runner

Sometimes the paid critics do get it right! This is the case with “Runner Runner”. It’s not good!!

Believing that he had been swindled by an online gambling site, a Princeton grad student Richie (Justin Timberlake) makes his way to Costa Rica to confront the owner of the gambling site a multi-millionaire by the name of Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Ivan thanks Richie for bring the error to his attention. Ivan of course checks Richie out and uncovers that he is a grad student in need of money.
Ivan dangles the idea of making millions in front of Richie. Richie decides to take Ivan up on his offer, but quickly finds out that he could be in over his head and the FBI (Anthony Mackie) have been closely watching Ivan Block and are hoping to use Richie to get him. The story unfolds from there…

Yawn…I was bored out of my mind. Been there done that!! There are some similarities between “Runner Runner” and another movie centered on gambling and casinos that opened in 2010 call “21”. “21” was a lot better movie. It was more exciting and had more intrigue.
I found “Runner Runner” to be flat and uneventful. Ivan Block (Ben Affleck) is boring. The movie is a fast-paced thriller that has no real direction and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. There is no reason to hurry to see “Runner Runner”.

“Runner Runner” is from the director of “The Lincoln Lawyer”. “The Lincoln Lawyer” was an excellent movie. Too bad I can’t say the same of “Runner Runner”.

Gravity 3D: An IMAX Experience

This is a movie that I will provide a split decision on my review because while the movie is very well executed and the cinematography is breath-taking I did not enjoy the movie. The movie receives 1 star for stressing me out and 5 stars for Execution, Cinematography and Direction.

Sandra Bullock is Dr. Ryan Stone a brilliant medical engineer on her very first NASA Mission in Space. She and veteran Astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) are on what seems to be a routine space walk repairing parts of a satellite when disaster strikes, destroying their space shuttle and leaving them stranded in space. The story unfolds from there…

There are breath-taking views. The cinematography is great. The story is very well executed and the camera angles you get are fabulous!!
The story just did not interest me, but that doesn’t mean that the movie wasn’t good. I found the story to be stressful.

If you like Sci-Fi Suspense, you will like “Gravity”.
The movie is definitely worth the 3D price tag.

Prisoners

On the edge of your seat suspense” is what “Prisoners” brings to the party. The movie will hold your attention!

“What would you do if your child went missing? How far would you go to get your child back? A Parent’s worst nightmare is what two sets of parents face in “Prisoners”.
On Thanksgiving Day Anna and her friend Joy go missing. As minutes turn into hours which turn into days and weeks everyone associated with the situation starts to panic. The only lead is a dilapidated RV and Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests it’s driver, but his intense questioning for hours and days of the suspect yields nothing so when the suspect is released by the police department Keller Dover(Hugh Jackman) takes matters into his own hands. The story unfolds from there…

“Prisoners” is an extremely well executed movie. It’s very realistic in its emotions and events that occur. There is plenty of edge of your seat suspense and intrigue. The movie will definitely hold your attention. While I did not like the subject matter, that doesn’t mean the movie was good. It’s a definite must see if you can handle the subject matter. The movie is long in its execution at 2 hours 33 minutes, but worth every minute. There are a few surprise twists that bring everything together toward the end.

As an additional foot note Mark Wahlberg is an executive producer on this movie.