skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Based on Frank Miller's latest graphic novel "Xerxes" and told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster 300, this new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield, on the sea, as Greek general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. This movie pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), and Artemesia (Eva Green), vengeful commander of the Persian navy.At the risk of having my "man" card revoked - I never understood how people held 300 in such high regards. It was a decent watch with crazy slow motion violence and a very unique film style. But, I never held in the high regards that most guys do. Maybe I should get my testosterone levels checked or something? That being said - I felt pretty much the same way about this movie. And it was a much lesser attempt because they were just trying to expand the 300 movie. The first half of the movie was a quick paced narrated version of how the people that were fighting the Spartans became who they were and the second half was another battle shortly after the time of 300. And the narration was annoying as hell. It was like they had no faith that the story would tell itself so you had a constant voiceover telling you what was happening. I wouldn't really recommend people checking this out. Again - maybe I'm not the best critic because while I kind of enjoyed the first one, I didn't think it was nearly as great as most others did. That on top of the annoying way that they chose to "tell the story" in this one made it pretty much just there . . . . . . with lots of slow motion blood and violence.
Set in a mythic New York City and spanning more than a century, Winter's Tale is a story of miracles, crossed destinies, and the age-old battle between good and evil. Based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Helprin.
This movie was way different than what I expected. I thought it would be a fluffy romance movie but it was about love and the forces of good and evil fighting/helping people find their way with miracles and wishes. Seriously. There was some surprisingly deep stuff in this movie. The only knock I can make against it is that it's a tale of two stories and I was very hooked by the first one and was turned off when they totally switched gears and moved to the second one. And even though I did like how it all played out there was a big loss of momentum with the time jump/story switch.
I liked this movie because of how different it was from your normal fluffy romance. The spiritual portion of it all gave it a much fresher and different feel.
The original animated story follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.WOW!!! By no means did I think I would walk out of this movie loving it as much as I did. Besides the animation being amazing, the humor throughout the script was hilarious on so many levels. Whether it was mocking legos/lego play, being a satire of regular day to day life in today's world, or the pop culture references throughout, this movie pretty much had me belly laughing throughout. The voices were PERFECT!!! I have been a huge fan of Chris Pratt and am so glad to see him starting to fully breakout even if it is starting via voiceover. The guy has been the best part of Parks & Recreation on television for years and is going to become a major star in the very near future. The guy is very talented and has a hilarious delivery. Morgan Freeman and Will Arnett were also perfectly voice casted and funny as hell. And then to add a total 180 degress emotional hook to the whole story - there is a very realistic and human element introduced (saying anything more would give too much away) that is introduced towards the end of the movie that takes all the laughs and turns them into a shocking attachment that you didn't even realize you really had to a story about Legos and really drives the story home. I absolutely recommend that everyone check this movie out. Kids will love it (although they may not understand the scope of the humanized ending). Adults will love it probably even more than the kids because of that ending. This is easily my favorite movie to be released at this point in 2014. Again - never saw me putting those words in writing.
Walk of Shame stars Elizabeth Banks as a resourceful reporter whose one-night stand with a handsome stranger (James Marsden) leaves her stranded the next morning in downtown Los Angeles without a phone, car, ID, or money - and only 8 hours before the most important job interview of her career.
Why didn't this movie get a wide release? There have been far too many much less funny movies that have been pushed on movie goers and this simple comedy with some really big laughs gets the quietest release of the year. No reason for that at all. I love Elizabeth Banks. I always find her to be hilarious and she delivered in this movie. Was the movie a full on laugh riot? No. DId it have more than enough laughs for a 90 minute simple story with lots of bumps for the character along the way? Absolutely. The scene with her trying to get help at a crack house is worth watching the movie alone. Wonder Woman and I were pretty much belly laughing through that part of the movie.
I would recommend people checking this out if they get the chance. It was a very fun and simple watch that I really can't understand the lack of a wide release.
Liam Neeson stars in Non-Stop, a suspense thriller played out at 40,000 feet in the air. During a transatlantic flight from New York City to London, U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks (Neeson) receives a series of cryptic text messages demanding that he instruct the government to transfer $150 million into an off-shore account. Until he secures the money, a passenger on his flight will be killed every 20 minutes.This was a decent watch . . . . . . . as long as you suspend any sense of reality before it starts. If you can leave your brain at the door and not question the logic of this story as it plays out and just enjoy the ride, you will get exactly what you expect from seeing the trailer and go home happy. If you are not able to do that and analyze this movie in any way - you will be absolutely miserable because it is as far from being realistic as you can get. I would recommend people checking this out that are looking for an hour and a half break from stuff. Having a fear of flying made this movie somewhat uncomfortable for me but I was watching it to be distracted and it worked.
Based on the Jack Ryan character created by bestselling author Tom Clancy, the film is a contemporary action thriller set in the present day. The original story, written by David Koepp, follows a young Jack as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot.This was a decent watch of a movie. The problem is that every "twist" was beyond predictable and the movie was formula in every way. I thought Chris Pine was great as Jack Ryan and I actually thought Kevin Costner was the best part of the movie. Kenneth Brannagh was pretty crappy as the lead villain and was beyond stereotypical in every way as an 80s-ish Russian bad guy. There wasn't a lot of action except for a couple of scenes and they were all pretty basic just like the rest of the movie.I would somewhat recommend people checking this out. It's not a bad watch but its not a great watch either. Its a movie that belongs in the late 80s/early 90s in terms of the level of "suspense". I'm thinking they should kind of go ahead and leave this franchise alone.
Based on The New York Times bestselling true story of heroism, courage and survival, Lone Survivor tells the incredible tale of four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level al-Qaeda operative who are ambushed by the enemy in the mountains of Afghanistan. Faced with an impossible moral decision, the small band is isolated from help and surrounded by a much larger force of Taliban ready for war. As they confront unthinkable odds together, the four men find reserves of strength and resilience as they stay in the fight to the finish. Mark Wahlberg stars as Marcus Luttrell, the author of the first-person memoir, whose book has become a motivational resource for its lessons on how the power of the human spirit is tested when we are pushed beyond our mental and physical limits. Starring alongside Wahlberg as the other members of the SEAL team are Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster.
Wow! This was an amazingly real feeling movie. It was equal parts adrenaline pumping madness and tough as hell to watch. The four main performances were amazing and knowing that this was all based on a true story makes me have even more respect than I already did for the US armed forces. I have not been this blown away by a war movie since Black Hawk Down and I feel very much the same way right now as I did then.
This movie should be seen by all. Like I said - it is not an easy watch. But it is an amazing cinematic portrayal of our soldiers in a major crisis and a testament to their courage and resilience.
In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy (Kinnaman) is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilizes their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex's life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before.This was one of the more watchable remakes that we've been bombarded with over the last couple of years. It was pretty much a straight remake with some little tweaks here and there. It looked a lot sleeker than the orginal obviously and the action scenes were great. The only thing that was off to me about the movie was that the movie seemed like present day-ish as opposed to in the future where the first one was clearly a "futuristic" movie. Not sure if that makes sense or not.I'd recommend anyone interested in seeing this to go ahead and check it out. It's not an insult or downright awful like most other remakes have been. It's a good watch and is exactly the type of movie that it advertises to be.
This major motion picture event -- an experience created to be shared among families and communities across the U.S. -- brings the story of Jesus' life to audiences through compelling cinematic storytelling that is both powerful and inspirational. Told with the scope and scale of an action epic, the film features powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer. Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado portrays the role of Jesus as the film spans from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.Sorry if this sounds completely sacreligious but I pulled the plug on this big turd after about 15 minutes. How did they package this and release this as an actual movie? It would have been cheesy if it was a History Channel special presentation or something. It was actually annoying how lame this was. Even the constant narration was awful. Pretty sure that it was Keith David. Really? Movie about Jesus Christ and you can get Morgan Freeman to narrate this like he does everything else? It played like one of the Disney Earth movies. Seriously. Couldn't do it.I would definitely not recommend anyone checking this out. It's nowhere near as great as Passion Of The Christ was. It's like a low budget, documentary rip off of it.
