Cooties

From the twisted minds of Leigh Whannell (co-creator of "Saw" and "Insidious") and Ian Brennan (co-creator of "Glee"), Cooties is a horror comedy with unexpected laughs and unapologetic thrills. When a cafeteria food virus turns elementary school children into killer zombies, a group of misfit teachers must band together to escape the playground carnage. The film stars Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson and Alison Pill as teachers who fight to survive the mayhem while hilariously bickering in an uncomfortable love triangle on the worst Monday of their lives.

I find it hard to believe that this was an actual movie that was made.  Like with actual actors.  It was decent for what it was supposed to be - a silly horror comedy capitalizing on the zombie craze but why was money put in to this?  This was a throwback to the corny type of horror movies and didn't take itself seriously at all.  That's actually the reason it was somewhat enjoyable.  

I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to see this.  Its not a good movie by any means but there are a lot of laughs at how ridiculous and over the top it is at times.

No Escape

An intense international thriller, No Escape centers on an American businessman (Wilson) as he and his family settle into their new home in Southeast Asia. Suddenly finding themselves in the middle of a violent political uprising, they must frantically look for a safe escape as rebels mercilessly attack the city. 

What seemed like it would be a pretty formula movie was actually pretty intense for a while.  It really took you there and had you scared for the safety of this family surviving.  The level of adrenaline fell off as the movie wore on but it remained a pretty decent watch throughout.  

I would sort of recommend people checking this movie out.  It's not a must see by any means but it was a better watch than I expected.  

Shaun The Sheep Movie

When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for. A mix up with the Farmer, a caravan, and a very steep hill lead them all to the Big City and it's up to Shaun and the flock to return everyone safely to the green grass of home.

I've always been a huge fan of claymation.  This movie was great claymation.  As if that wasn't entertaining enough, the way that they were able to tell an almost 90 minute story without actually saying a single word was very impressive.  I'm not going to say that this is like the usual Pixar or Dreamworks animated fare with the adults liking it as much as the kids, but it was still a very enjoyable film.

I would recommend people checking this out.  It is a fun watch for the family and it will be a while before something else comes out for that demographic.

American Ultra

American Ultra is a fast-paced action comedy about Mike (Eisenberg), a seemingly hapless and unmotivated stoner whose small-town life with his live-in girlfriend, Phoebe (Stewart), is suddenly turned upside down. Unbeknownst to him, Mike is actually a highly trained, lethal sleeper agent. In the blink of an eye, as his secret past comes back to haunt him, Mike is thrust into the middle of a deadly government operation and is forced to summon his inner action-hero in order to survive.

This movie was garbage.  Total garbage.  It's like a stoner had some sort of a spy fantasy while high, was given money to make a movie and made this.  Why were some of the legit actors in this movie?  To make matters worse - Kristen Stewart was in this.  She is by far the worst actress in all of Hollywood.  I couldn't even finish the movie.  It was that painful.

I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their time with this.  It's a giant turd.  I was watching it free online and couldn't even be bothered to finish it.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Set against the backdrop of the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. centers on CIA agent Solo and KGB agent Kuryakin. Forced to put aside longstanding hostilities, the two team up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organization, which is bent on destabilizing the fragile balance of power through the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology. The duo's only lead is the daughter of a vanished German scientist, who is the key to infiltrating the criminal organization, and they must race against time to find him and prevent a worldwide catastrophe. 

You could tell that the movie was based on an old tv show because that is exactly how it played out.  The writing, acting and action were TV level not movie level.  The character development was especially TV like.  It's not that the movie was awful.  It was watchable and the banter between the two leads was entertaining.  I'm just not sure that it was necessary to be made.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone bothering with this.  It's not necessarily a bad watch.  It's just kind of there.

Trainwreck

Schumer also wrote the script which is inspired from some of her real-life experiences as she plays a commitment-averse woman trying to get past her self-sabotaging ways.

This movie has been heavily advertised as Amy Schumer's big breakout and an absolutely hysterical movie.  Both of those things are mostly true.  Schumer's has definitely been this year's biggest breakout star and this movie is only going to help.  And the movie is very funny.  I wouldn't say it's funny from start to finish but there are a lot of laughs from Amy Schumer's dialogue based mostly on her stand up and the quirky as hell side characters.  What has not received enough credit or hype is how all around great the movie is.  As much as you laugh, Schumer is allowed to actually act and the scenes where she is not going for laughs feel very real and genuine.  She knocks the concept of someone using humor as a self defense mechanism out of the park and deserves as much credit for that as she does for the actual humor.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It is pretty raunchy dialogue wise at times but was still a very enjoyable watch and a surprisingly touching movie.

Terminator: Genisys

When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: To reset the future…

This movie started out awesome.  It was in the future post Judgement Day, the robot stuff was cool, it was when the first terminator and Reese travelled back in time and they actually recreated the same scenes from the first one.  But then it fell off the rails.  Sarah Conner was there waiting for Reese.  Huh?  And an older version of the original terminator was there waiting for the other one.  Huh?  Wait, that terminator was there because one was sent back in time during Sarah's childhood to protect her (shown via flashback) and has been with her all along and she calls him Pops.  WHAT THE F . . . .!?!?!?!  Then they spent a ton of time talking about how time travel effected all of this.  Any time that you have to explain your story so much via dialogue you have failed.  This is supposed to be a Terminator movie not a lame ass version of Interstellar.  The acting from everyone was so atrocious that it made Arnold Oscar worthy but the running joke was that he was too old.  Again . . . . WHAT!?!  And I'm not even going to touch on their big twist and how simply the nonsensical thing could be prevented.

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this.  Unless you want to angrily rant about it like me.  It's a waste of time and a huge disappointment.

Self/Less

In this provocative psychological science fiction thriller, an extremely wealthy man (Ben Kingsley) dying from cancer undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness into the body of a healthy young man (Ryan Reynolds). But all is not as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the body’s origin and the organization that will kill to protect its cause.

I was worried going in to this one that it would be one of those high concept ideas of a movie that would fall flat in the end.  Happily, I was wrong.  The movie wasted no time with an unnecessary story build up and got right to the procedure that you are already familiar with from the trailer.  The movie did a nice build with some good twists and turns and played out very well without the letdown that I was afraid of.  

I would recommend people checking this movie out.  It's not a must see or anything but it is a pretty good watch.

Inside Out

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.

Pixar has produced excellence yet again.  I was so excited about this movie since seeing the trailer for it. It reminded me of this show called Cranium Command at Epcot Center in Disney World.  You were watching a day in the life of a pre-teen from the inside with over the top personalities playing the different parts of the body.  Hans & Franz were the heart.  Norm from Cheers was the stomach.  Bobcat Goldthwait was the adrenal glands.  It was a short little movie but I would go out of my way to see it every trip to Disney.  This movie was very similar to that but focused on the different emotions instead of areas of the body.   The emotions were perfectly voice casted.  The story was tight and adorable on every level.  There were plenty of laughs and choke up scenes for both children and adults.  More importantly than anything this movie is going to help so many children psychologically.  Children that see this movie are going to understand so much better now to deal with their emotions and parents are going to have an excellent tool to help them do so or refer to,

I absolutely recommend this movie to everyone.  It is a very smart, funny, emotional and possibly educational movie for both kids and adults.  Outside of that Cars sequel this is another link in the long chain of Pixar's legendary level of excellence.

Vacation

The next generation of Griswolds is at it again—and on the road for another ill-fated adventure. Following in his father’s footsteps and hoping for some much-needed family bonding, a grown-up Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) surprises his wife, Debbie (Christina Applegate), and their two sons with a cross-country trip back to America’s “favorite family fun park,” Walley World.

I have a massive emotional attachment to the original Vacation films.  Basically, my dad is Clark Griswold.  Those movies are considered classics in my family and are quoted on a regular basis.  When I heard that they were passing the torch to son Rusty Griswold, I was nervous about it just being a lame and half assed attempt to reboot.  Happily, I was wrong.  This movie was pretty damn funny and had great family messages through all the gross visuals and some pretty crude dialogue.  

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It's a bit raunchy at times but pretty funny and a worthy entry in the Vacation series.

The Gift

When Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall), a young married couple, move back to Simon’s hometown, they’re soon approached by Gordo (Joel Edgerton), who claims to have known Simon from high school. Gordo begins to leave gifts for Simon and Robyn, working his way into their lives. There’s something unsettling about him, however, and questions are soon raised about Gordo’s seeming generosity and where his true origins and intentions lie.

Wow!  Not sure if it was having no expectations or what but this movie was awesome.  This was what psychological thrillers should be like.  It was totally Single White Female like as you would think from the trailer but then there were twists and turns on the good characters that made you totally unsure who to root for anymore.  It was paced perfectly and any time that it started to feel too formula they curved it a bit and got you rehooked.  There were 3-4 points in the movie where the whole theater jumped out of their seats.  And the movie avoided the pretty little bow ending that most movies like this do.  As if I didn't enjoy this movie enough, I had no idea that it was written and directed by Joel Edgerton, the actor playing the weird old friend.  That just makes this movie that much more impressive.  

I would definitely recommend poeple checking this movie out.  Not that you really can since it was opened so limited, but that is a shame because this is one of the better all around movies to come out this year. 

Southpaw

Southpaw tells the riveting story of Billy "The Great" Hope, reigning Junior Middleweight Boxing Champion of the World (Jake Gyllenhaal). Billy Hope seemingly has it all with an impressive career, a beautiful and loving wife (Rachel McAdams), an adorable daughter (Oona Laurence) and a lavish lifestyle. When tragedy strikes and his lifelong manager and friend (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson) leaves him behind, Hope hits rock bottom and turns to an unlikely savior at a run-down local gym: Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker), a retired fighter and trainer to the city's toughest amateur boxers. With his future riding on Tick's guidance and tenacity, Billy enters the hardest battle of his life as he struggles with redemption and to win back the trust of those he loves.

This movie was well acted and you can see how much Gyllenhaal put in to this role with how jacked he got.  It definitely hooks you that you care about the characters and their paths.  But it all honesty the movie is incredibly formula in every way and basically a big mashup of all other boxer movies that came before it.  

I would somewhat recommend people checking this movie out.  It is a good watch but is pretty formula and repetitive.

Pixels

When aliens misinterpret video-feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war against them, they attack the Earth, using the games as models for their various assaults. President Will Cooper (Kevin James) has to call on his childhood best friend, ’80s video game champion Sam Brenner (Sandler), now a home theater installer, to lead a team of old-school arcaders (Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage) to defeat the aliens and save the planet.

This movie was literally an extension of the trailer.  They gave away the whole story and most of the small laughs that were there.  And since the trailer looked ridiculously stupid with very little laughs . . . . . Need I say more?  The only slightly good thing about this movie was Josh Gad.  The rest was pretty much doodykins.

I would definitely not recommend people wasting their time on this.  It was not a good movie and there were way too few laughs.

Max

A precision-trained military dog, Max serves on the frontlines in Afghanistan alongside his handler, U.S. Marine Kyle Wincott. But when things go terribly wrong on maneuvers, Kyle is mortally wounded and Max, traumatized by the loss of his best friend, is unable to remain in service.  Shipped stateside, the only human he seems willing to connect with is Kyle’s teenage brother, Justin, so Max is adopted by Kyle’s family, essentially saving his life. But Justin has issues of his own, such as living up to his father’s expectations for him; he isn’t interested in taking responsibility for his brother’s troubled dog. However, Max may be Justin’s only chance to discover what really happened to his brother that day on the front, and with the help of a tough-talking young teen, Carmen, who has a way with dogs, Justin begins to appreciate his canine companion. Justin’s growing trust in Max helps the four-legged veteran revert back to his heroic self, and as the pair race against time to unravel the mystery, they find more excitement—and danger—than they bargained for. But they each might also find an unlikely new best friend…in each other.

I was terrified to see this movie because I thought for sure it would be traumatizing on a Marley & Me level.   I'm going to go ahead and spoil this - it's not!   Thank the lord!!!  This was just a really great family film.  And to say that this would be any pet lover's ideal movie is an understatement.

I would definitely recommend people with kids see this.  Not the little, little ones but the ones old enough to learn from the morals and family dynamics shown in it.

Jurassic World

This is a new sci-fi terror adventure set 22 years after the horrific events of the original Jurassic Park.

Do you really need any more of a synopsis than that?   This was easily the best sequel of them all to the original.  It had that same epic/event feel to it.  It had the same types of characters.  It had those same holy sh$t dinosaur moments.  Where the first sequel was a failed attempt at a continuation and the second one was a short but enjoyable adrenaline dinosaur chasing romp, this was a recreation of the original with the park officially being opened 20 years later and things going bad with the dinosaurs.  There were plenty of shout outs and references to the original that made the connection even better.

I would definitely recommend everyone checking this out.  It's what popcorn movies are all about.