Motherless Brooklyn

“Motherless Brooklyn” is set in the 1950’s New York. The movie follows Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton) who is a private detective living with Tourette Syndrome. Lionel sets out to solve the murder of his long-time friend and mentor, Frank Minna (Bruce Willis). Along the way Lionel stumbles upon and unravels a few addition mysteries and secrets that could affect the whole city. The story unfolds from there…

“Motherless Brooklyn” is a long movie and requires patience as the plot unfolds and the mysteries unravel. All actors involved give strong performances and that’s what makes the movie worth viewing. There is action although it’s slow in coming and more of the gangster variety.

The movie soundtrack is excellent if you like jazz. “Motherless Brooklyn” is worth a look.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!!

Ant-Man and The Wasp in 3D

“Ant-Man” is funny and silly, nothing like “Infinity War and Black Panther” where there is an emotional investment in the characters.

This second installment of the “Ant-Man” franchise sort of picks up where he left off in the first installment, but also including “Ant-Man’s” appearance in “Captain America: Civil War”.

Currently Scott Lang (Ant-Man) (Paul Rudd) is under house arrest. He has two days left and he will be free, but Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) need the Ant-Man’s help.
“Ant-Man” has a dream about Hank’s wife Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) who went missing after a mission some twenty years ago. Hope somehow removes the ankle bracelet from Scott and gets him out of his house without the local authorities being alerted.
On another front there is someone from Hank’s past who could use his help but doesn’t ask the usual nice way. The story unfolds from there…

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” has several small back stories that come together nicely to provide context and intrigue for this installment. The movie is funny, silly and interesting simultaneously. The cinematography and special effects are great. “Ant-Man” shows more range in this installment which makes his character a bit richer.

There is a small dead spot in the movie and that’s what keeps it from being 5 stars. It’s definitely worth viewing if you are a Marvel fan.

This is a 4 Star Movie!

Marvel’s Ant-Man: The IMAX 3D Experience

“Ant-Man” one of the founding members of Marvel’s The Avengers is brought to life on the big screen.

Master thief Scott Lang “Ant-Man” is called upon by his mentor Dr. Hank Pym to help protect the secret of behind the phenomenal Ant-Man suit.

With the ability to shrink to less than the size of a dime, gain extra-ordinary strength and speed, “Ant-Man” along with some of his closest friends (human and ants) device a plan to stop Dr. Pym’s secrets from not only being discovered and used for evil, but they must also save the world. The story unfolds from there…

The story starts off a bit slow, but soon becomes a runaway freight train and is very entertaining. The Cinematography is great!! The special effects are very cool. The movie is funny, clever and has plenty of action. The movie is better than I expected.

If you are going to see “Ant-Man”, it’s a definite must see in IMAX.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie

Danny Collins

Based loosely on a true story, an aging 70’s rocker Danny Collins (Al Pacino) continues to live the fast life of an entertainer, but when his manager presents him with a Birthday gift that is an undelivered hand-written letter from John Lennon, after reading the letter Danny decides to clean up his act and chart a new course by attempting to mend some fences related to his estranged son and find a new love.
The story unfolds from there…

The story is witty, entertaining and engaging. Al Pacino keeps the story moving. This is probably Al Pacino’s best performance in years.
The only problem is that the movie ends a bit abruptly. You are sort of left hanging.

Only open in limited-release; “Danny Collins” is definitely worth a look.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!

Annie (2014)

“Annie (2014)” is yet another take on the classic Broadway hit with a more contemporary look and feel.

“Annie (2014)” is a charming and delightful movie for the younger set.

The adult actors seemed off balance in a lot of the scenes. The singing was strained on some of the songs. Most scenes that contained Cameron Diaz were disjointed. She seemed out of her element.
Jamie Foxx is an excellent R&B singer, but not show tunes. Jamie appeared as if he were embarrassed in some of his scenes.

“Annie (2014)” is best left on Broadway where it belongs.

This is a 1 1/2 Star Movie!

Chef

Chef” is the surprise “sleeper” movie of the early summer!!

“Chef” is about Miami-based Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) who is the head chef at a quaint upscale California restaurant. Riva (Dustin Hoffman) the owner of the restaurant insists on selecting the menu every day. Celebrated Food Critic Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt) gave the restaurant a very bad review because of the food selection.

Chef Carl tries to negotiate with Riva the owner of the restaurant to allow him as a “creative cook” to select what he believes is a winning menu that will win over the critic. When Riva disagrees and forces Chef Carl to either cook his menu or leave. Chef Carl chooses to leave.
Days later Chef Carl is presented with the opportunity to own his own “Food Truck”. The story unfolds from there…

“Chef” is fun, light-hearted and very entertaining. The movie flows and there is never a dull moment. The cast is great! What a surprise “Sleeper”. This movie has been playing in a limited number of theaters since May 9th. It really should be opened in wide-release. It’s very good. I highly recommend “Chef”.

“Chef” is a 4 1/2 Stars movie.