Tag: Mahershala Ali

Jurassic World Rebirth in IMAX

Jurassic World Rebirth in IMAX

The Dinosaurs are back once again! It’s been 3 years since the last installment “Jurassic World Dominion” which was supposed to be the Epic conclusion, but here we are 3 years later with “Rebirth”. 

A team of Scientists who are Dinosaur Enthusiasts decide they should travel to a forbidden island near the Equator and try to retrieve DNA samples. It is believed that the Dinosaur DNA may hold the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind. Their trip starts out perfectly fine, but once they get closer to the forbidden island near the Equator the reasons they should not go rise up literally.

From that point on its every person for him or herself. The Dinosaurs do not like humans and they have good reasons not to because 18 years prior there was a complete facility on the forbidden island that was performing experiments with DNA testing and incubating new “Designer Breeds” of Dinosaurs.

There are Dinosaurs that can swim, fly, walk, crawl, dive and they are highly intelligent making it extremely difficult for the humans who are invading their territory. The story unfolds from there…

There are a few interesting scenes and I found myself to be rooting for the Dinosaurs briefly as I wanted one of the Scientist to meet his demise. I was not disappointed in that regard…

There is great cinematography and lots of suspense, but beyond that, the movie is dry and a bit boring. I found myself checking my watch several times. That is not a good sign. The IMAX aspects are NON-Existent…

If you have seen any of the previous installments, you will notice that in this installment there is an attempt to get back to its roots, but it falls a bit short. The Jurassic World installments that have come after the 2018 installment Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom miss the mark that the 1993, 1997 and 2001 Jurassic Park installments bring to the table. I have seen all of the installments and beyond the 2015 Jurassic World my ratings have not been any higher than 2 1/2 stars.

The trailers for this movie are great and that’s the best part. 

If you are a fan of the Jurassic Franchise, then Jurassic World Rebirth is a must see, otherwise wait to stream it

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!!

Alita: Battle Angel

“Alita: Battle Angel” is a pretty decent science fiction film. The movie will remind you of the Matrix Trilogy.

Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is or where she comes from. She has been “Rebuilt” so to speak by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz). Alita doesn’t understand this futuristic world she now lives in. Dr. Ido takes her in and provides a place for Alita to live.
Day by Day Alita ventures out to discover the world she is unfamiliar with. She makes some friends and attempts to live a normal life, but there are people who know what she is and where she came from and they will stop at nothing to destroy her. Dr. Ido attempts to shield Alita from her past, but Alita has other ideas. The story unfolds from there…

The story is moving and very entertaining. The cinematography is awesome. There is a lot of action, suspense and intrigue. “Alita: Battle Angel” is definitely a visual feast.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

Green Book

I am really late with reviewing “Green Book”. I had not planned to see it, but after it was nominated for several Golden Globes and Oscars, I quickly changed my tune.

So better late than never!!

“Green Book” is very good. I was concerned about the racially motivated scenes, but as it turns out there were not that many and the ones that were shown were played down and a bit mild in comparison to others I have seen in other movies that depict racism in the 1960’s.
The movie was entertaining and watchable. Mahershala Ali is a very fine actor and deserves all of the accolades that come his way. The movie sort of reminded me of “Driving Miss Daisy” but in more modern times.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Hidden Figures

This is a special edition of “Thursday Night at the Movies w/The Movie Warrior”

What a way to start off 2017!

Based on a true story, “Hidden Figures” is a very eye opening, moving and entertaining movie.
In the 1960’s NASA employed a number of women of color who were Mathematicians and Engineers. These brilliant women helped NASA figure out how to get a man on the moon and then back to earth safely.

The movie chronicles these historic events while dabbling in the personal lives of the three main female characters. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is awesome! My only complaint is that the personal lives of the three main female characters, Katherine Johnson (Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Monae) should have been a bit more prominent in the movie. It would have been nice to find out how they actually got to NASA.

Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae were awesome in their roles. The entire cast was really good.

“Hidden Figures” is definitely worth a look and deserves all of the buzz it’s been receiving.

This is a 5 Star Movie!

Free State of Jones

It’s another edition of “Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior”.

“Free State of Jones” is an Epic Civil War Satire based on factual events that occurred between 1862 and 1876.

Matthew McConaughey is Newt Knight a stubborn southern farmer who goes up against the Confederate Army. Over time Newt assembles an army of his own made up of free slaves, women and white men who defected from the army.

They fought against farmers losing everything to the Confederacy, slavery, the right to vote and any act that was unjust or unlawful during those times.
This is a big story to tell and it can’t be told in 2 hours and nineteen minutes. The movie jumps around a lot. There are actually 2 stories occurring simultaneously. There are many holes left unfilled.

This is the type of movie that has all of the elements that grate on my last nerve, “Racism”, “The N Word being used rampantly”, “The KKK running amok”, “Hangings, Lynching” and “People being beat with a whip”.

If you wish to stomach all of that, have at it!!

This is a 2 Star Movie!