Tag: Gal Gadot

Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile

Set in the 19th Century…Image you and the love of your life are on your idyllic honeymoon. You are on a glamorous steamer floating on the Nile River. The scenic views and epic landscape are breath-taking but then tragedy strikes and suddenly your wonderful honeymoon is cut short…

This is the premise of “Death on the Nile”.

The movie is well acted. There are tons of suspense and intrigue. There are a lot of impeccably dressed travelers. The usual jealousy and envy take center stage. The Cinematography is on point.

“Death on the Nile” is a complex “Who done it”. It’s definitely worth a look.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

Wonder Woman 1984 in IMAX

Wonder Woman 1984 in IMAX

Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman quietly lives among mortals in the vibrant 1980’s. Working as a curator of ancient artifacts Diana maintains a low profile and only appears as Wonder Woman when someone needs help.

Soon though Wonder Woman will need to gather all of her strength, wisdom and courage as one of the artifacts is stolen and Wonder Woman finds herself facing off with The Cheetah a villainess who possesses super human strength and Maxwell Lord. The story unfolds from there… 

This installment is nowhere near as serious as the first installment. In fact, I found this installment a bit goofy. The Plot is pretty much non-existent. There is no continuation between this installment and the first. You are given a reminder of Diana Prince’s origins, but that is it.

Some parts of the movie are all over the place and just plain do not make sense. The Cinematography and special effects are on point and Wonder Woman is very cool and there is tons of action, but the movie is a bit of a disappointment. If you saw and liked the first installment, you will be expecting more of the same and that is not the case with “Wonder Woman 1984”

The movie is streaming on HBO MAX. If you have HBO MAX see it for free!!

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

Justice League in Real 3D

Out of the gate this is NOT one of the DC Universe’s best outings.

There is a new rising threat to humanity. Batman (Bruce Wayne) works with Wonder Woman (Diana Prince) so that they can find and assemble a team of meta-humans to stand and protect against this new rising threat.
Unfortunately the task is not easy. Even though a league of superheroes (Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash) has formed, it may not be enough to battle the new threat. The story unfolds from there…

Superhero Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is the best element of the film. In this first outing I find the movie a bit lacking. The Justice League members are a bit disassembled in this first installment. The director (Patty Jenkins) for Wonder Woman was definitely missed. The story drags and is missing some foundation and there is too much CGI.

However I did find the cinematography and 3D aspects to be good. There was lots of action, but that too was sort of chaotic.

Hopefully the DC Universe will go back to the drawing board and clean this up before the next installment. I still prefer Christian Bale as Batman, but alas I found out that he does not want to play that role anymore. Earlier this year Wonder Woman set the bar high and it’s still the best film that came from the DC Universe in 2017.

This is a 2½ Star Movie!

Wonder Woman in 3D

Wow!! What a fresh first installment! “Wonder Woman” was awesome!

The story starts off perfectly, an Amazon Princess, Diana (Gal Gadot) is living an idyllic life. As a young girl she observes her Mother and other Woman Warriors as they train constantly to be prepared for war. Diana wants to be just like them, so she too is allowed to train. The everyday peacefulness they enjoy on their isolated island is interrupted when a pilot (Chris Pine) crash lands in the surrounding sea. By this time Diana is a trained warrior so she dives into the sea to save the pilot.
There is an army chasing the pilot. They make their way to the island and a small war breaks out. The story unfolds from there…

Great special effects, awesome cinematography, lots of action and a great story to start this franchise. Gal Gadot is perfect as “Wonder Woman”. The actors all give strong performances. The story has heart, humor and intrigue.

“Wonder Woman” will be another box office hit for DC. I am excited to see what the next installment will bring.

This is a 4 ½ 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

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 3D

“Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” would have been a great story had it not had so much confusion and sub-plots that were not complete.

A young Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) continues to be haunted by the death of his parents. He has continued nightmares even as an adult.

Superman (Henry Cavill) saves the metropolis from a space invader, but because there are some unforeseen casualties and injuries to some citizens, Superman is perceived by some as a bad super hero.

Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is forever chasing a story. She has to be saved by Superman from the middle-east when a village she is in is raided and most of its people are killed. This incident turns out to be staged, but it will be some time before this comes to light.

Lex Luther (Jesse Eisenberg) is an insane, crazy entrepreneur who will stop at nothing to take over the Metropolis. Lex tries to lobby with the Senator to get an export license to import an unknown substance into the Metropolis, but the Senator won’t bite. Lex Luther plots his revenge on the Senator and others including Superman and Batman. The story unfolds from there…
Overpowering mini stories destroy the bigger story in “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”. It’s a scenario of “You can’t see the Forest for the Trees.” The movie is just plain incoherent, over the top and way to long for what was presented.

Ben Affleck makes a horrible Batman. Ben Affleck is brilliant BEHIND the camera and that is where he should stay. The villain (Lex Luther) in this story is not very convincing. Other aspects of the movie are passable, but a bad Batman and not convincing villain destroys the credibility of the movie.
The one and only bright spot in the movie is that you get a glimpse of the “Justice League” who will be appearing in their own story soon.

This movie should have never come to pass. Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy was the best and nothing can diminish that.

This is a 1 Star Movie!!