X-Men: Dark Phoenix in AMC Dolby

The X-Men have been enjoying “Hero” status among normal humans when they are called out to use their powers to save and protect. But the X-Men soon find out that they will end up facing their worst foe, one of their own when after a journey into space to save one of NASA’s Space Shuttle crew Phoenix consumes the unknown fire source in space in order to save her team and the shuttle crew. The X-Men are unaware of the danger humanity could end up being in. The story unfolds from there…

First for the good…The cinematography is fantastic, the special effects and action are on point.

The bad… The story lacks emotion and depth and is not very entertaining. The acting seemed a bit dry also. This is supposed to be a “Finale” of sorts. I would have expected much better. I am highly disappointment. The story ends on a whisper. You are left more questions than answers.

“Dark Phoenix” is supposed to be the last installment in the X-Men franchise. It comes in with a whimper and goes out with a Whimper… The movie is not very memorable and does not do the comic book justice.

I think the 2017 “Logan” installment was much better and more entertaining.

This is a 1 Star Movie!!

Alien: Covenant

Ok, Ok, Ok…I had not planned to see “Alien: Covenant”, especially after seeing “Life” back in March and having nightmares to boot! But my curiosity got the best of me plus, I have seen the other three “Alien” installments. So here goes…

“Alien: Covenant” is an epic Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure that has parts of “Prometheus”, but also gets back to its original roots of “In-gestation” and “Incubation”.
Believe it or not this 4th installment is fresh! It does pick up some parts of “Prometheus” to remind you of what transpired there over the past few years.

What really makes “Alien: Covenant” work is the cast. This cast is way better than the “Life” cast and is on par with the 1979 hit “Alien” which starred Sigourney Weaver. Michael Fassbender reprises his role from “Prometheus”.

“Bloody, Edge-of-Your Seat Suspenseful and Intriguing” are how to best describe “Alien: Covenant”.
Michael Fassbender is such a “Butt”, but I mean that in a nice way. There always has to be an “Antagonist” in these types of movies and he is it!!

The door has been left open again! so I suspect we will see a 5th installment in a couple of years.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!!

Assassin’s Creed in Real 3D

I never played any of the video arcade games of Assassin’s Creed, but judging from the movie, the game must be pretty serious.

I have been waiting for this movie for over 18 months. It’s better than I expected, but not as good as I hoped it would be.

The movie is dark, grey and a bit dreary. The action is awesome!! There are many cool fight scenes and sequences. Michael Fassbender looks “hot” without a shirt on. The 3D aspects are ok.

The bigger issues are that the movie is disorganized, the story and/or plot is disjointed. Nothing happens in a sequence that you can really follow. There are philosophical undertones to the movie, but even those are not fully developed and there is too much CGI.

I left the theater with a big question mark on my face because I didn’t really understand the story or lack there-of.

“Assassin’s Creed” may join the likes of “Silent Hill” and “Hitman 47” that is a video game to big screen adaptation that isn’t very successful.

If you played the game or are a video game fanatic, the fight scenes and sequences are pretty awesome to see.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!

X-Men: Apocalypse The IMAX 3D Experience

Welcome to a special installment of Thursday Night at the Movies with The Movie Warrior!

“X-Men: Apocalypse” is a very ambitious undertaking that doesn’t quite meet the mark. I found the plot to be bloated with no deflation and no explanation. There were really strong performances, but they were over shadowed by a plot that never quite comes together as it’s all over the place.

In this installment, everything gets torn up, destroyed literally and then put back together.

The best parts of the movie are the special effects, cinematography and the 3D aspects. There is non-stop action, but sometimes it does not make sense. That’s not enough to justify spending $17 dollars to see the movie.
To me personally after 16 years the “X-Men” franchise has run its course and is now an overdone franchise, also it was disappointing to not see Halle Barry reprise her role as “Storm”.

This is a 2 1/2 Star Movie!

Steve Jobs

The “Steve Jobs” Biopic opened wide this weekend. I decided to give it look.

“Steve Jobs” details mostly behind the scenes events and conversations that took place during three iconic product launches. The small intimate look at the man Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) that you get mostly centers around constant confrontations that he had with a woman he had been involved with who had a daughter that she claimed was his. Steve Jobs denied that the child was his, but did eventually provide for the little girl and sort of be a parent to her.

Other elements centered round Steve Jobs being fired from Apple. There were flashbacks of conversations that were had among board members leading up to the unanimous decision to terminate Steve Jobs. You also get a glimpse back in time to where it all started from.

I found “Steve Jobs” to be a bit boring, but the story in and of its-self is fascinating. The movie will cause you to think of this American Icon in a different way. The movie does not spend much time on Steve Jobs brilliance, you are left to assume. Kate Winslet is awesome in her role as Joanna Hoffman, Steve Jobs’ Media Coordinator/Assistant.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!

X-Men: Days of Future Past 3D

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” is Excellent!!

The X-Men ensemble fights a war for survival across two time periods. In an attempt to change the course of history and to assure their species survives, the X-Men from the original installment must join forces with their younger selves from the past, X-Men First-Class. The story unfolds from there…

This movie has substance. It’s solid. You get time travel!! It’s very entertaining, has tons of action and is fun to watch. The cinematography and special effects are great! By far this is the best “X-Men” movie in the franchise.

This is a 4 1/2 star movie!

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.