Lights Out

From producer James Wan (The Conjuring) comes a tale of an unknown terror that lurks in the dark. When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger…once the lights go out.

The trailers for this movie were terrifying so I was expecting to pretty much crap myself from this movie.  There definitely were plenty of scary moments.but not as much as I expected.  That's not to say the movie was no good.  It definitely was.  I'm just saying it could have been even scarier.  The good thing though was how simple the story was and how short the running time was.  They didn't waste any time and they didn't have a whole convoluted story.  Always a fan of that.

I would absolutely recommend that fans of horror movies check this out.  It was a great watch but was not as scary as I had thought it would be based on the trailers.

Nerve

Industrious high school senior, Vee Delmonico [Emma Roberts], has had it with living life on the sidelines. When pressured by friends to join the popular online game Nerve, Vee decides to sign up for just one dare in what seems like harmless fun. But as she finds herself caught up in the thrill of the adrenaline-fueled competition partnered with a mysterious stranger [Dave Franco], the game begins to take a sinister turn with increasingly dangerous acts, leading her into a high stakes finale that will determine her entire future.​

This was a decent movie.  It really puts into perspective how screwed up the YouTube generation really is that this could be a legit game/app that would be a HUGE success with everyone's addiction to their five minutes of fame.  The chemistry between the leads was definitely there making the movie watchable for the appreciated short running time.

The movie was a decent watch like I said but I don't know that I would necessarily recommend it.  Watchable doesn't really make it worth time and money.

Alice Through The Looking Glass

Alice Through the Looking Glass reunites the all-star cast from the worldwide blockbuster phenomenon, including: Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska and Helena Bonham Carter along with the voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall. We are also introduced to several new characters: Zanik Hightopp (Rhys Ifans), the Mad Hatter’s father and Time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen), a peculiar creature who is part human, part clock.  Alice Kingsleigh (Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following in her father’s footsteps and sailing the high seas. Upon her return to London, she comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland and her friends the White Rabbit (Sheen), Absolem (Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Fry) and the Mad Hatter (Depp), who is not himself. The Hatter has lost his Muchness, so Mirana (Hathaway) sends Alice on a quest to borrow the Chronosphere, a metallic globe inside the chamber of the Grand Clock which powers all time. Returning to the past, she comes across friends – and enemies – at different points in their lives, and embarks on a perilous race to save the Hatter before time runs out.


This movie was very much like the first one.  All scenery but not a lot of substance.  Visually the movie was just as great as the first one, but there just fails to be a big enough hook for you to care.  It feels very much like an unnecessary and forced sequel.   I thought the first one was decent but this one would be just okay or maybe even worse.  It's funny that Alice In Wonderland is the movie that started Disney turning all their animated classics into live action movies but the two Alice movies are probably the worst ones.

I would not recommend people bothering with this movie.  It's really not worth the time or money.  It's sad to see how far Johnny Depp has fallen.

Independence Day: Resurgence

We always knew they were coming back. After Independence Day redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global spectacle on an unimaginable scale. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.

Wow!  This movie was off the charts awful.  Like I expected garbage but what I got was like hot steaming garbage that was covered in a massive layer or poop.  It was literally that bad.  I loved Independence Day.  I remember seeing that and it feeling like an event.  You couldn't help but get hooked and enjoy the crazy ride.  This sequel to that is downright insulting and should never have been made.  It had nothing in it that made the first movie awesome except for the pointless returning characters.  But even they were awful because they were just there and pushed on you.  If they were trying to hook the next generation of viewers, those viewers have no idea who these characters are or why what they are saying should be considered funny.  The new characters were even more forced.  Will Smith said no to the movie (Side note - probably should have pulled the plug on this right then and there) so you kill his character off in memorial and have his son be a fighter pilot now?  UGH!!!   A huge part of what made Independence Day a successful movie was because it was us (current world society) verses them.  This movie took place 20 years later - which would make it the current time period we are in but the world had made much more sci-fi related advances and we were fighting them with their technology.  This pretty much caused an immediate disconnect with the audience that was the root of the first one's event feel.  And the ending?  All I will say is that the main action scene at the end was a huge mother alien chasing a school bus full of kids.  Yes.  You read that right.  That was the finale chase.  School bus vs alien.  

I would only recommend people seeing this to take in how god awful it was.  It is easily the worst movie of the year so far and will go down as one of the sequels that absolutely should never have been made.   

Ghostbusters

Thirty years after the original film took the world by storm, Ghostbusters is back and fully rebooted for a new generation. Director Paul Feig combines all the paranormal fighting elements that made the original franchise so beloved with a cast of new characters, played by the funniest actors working today. Get ready to watch them save the world this summer!

It goes without saying that this movie was probably the most scrutinized in advance movie of all time.  Any time that you are "rebooting" one of the most beloved movies of all time you are going to go through that.  Ghostbusters is probably one of my favorite movies of all time and I was beyond skeptical about them being able to pull this off.  I was fine with the all woman cast and I'm actually a huge Melissa McCarthy fan and love Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones on SNL too.  I've never been a big fan of Kristen Wiig so that was lowering my expectations for this alot too.  Regardless - all of the knocking of the movie in advance ended up being wrong as this movie was actually good.  Not great - but good.  It didn't destroy the movie or whatever that they were all women.  I was fine with that.  My only real complaint was that Melissa McCarthy was kind of wasted by playing the straight character.  She could have delivered much bigger laughs in the Bill Murray-ish part as opposed to the Dan Aakroyd one.  And Kristen Wiig was the exact disappointment that I expected.  It was like they both played the Dan Aakroyd part honestly.  Kate McKinnon was easily the best part of the movie and stole every scene she was in.  Leslie Jones was good.  The cameos were all good.  Again - the movie was good.  Not great - but good.  And the bottom line is that this movie is more for the next generation not ours.  My niece who is 10 years old saw this movie with us and watching her reaction to it all was exactly how I remembered reacting to the original one.  She was crazy scared at the ghost like parts but loved the movie overall and was talking so excitedly about it.  That is what Ghostbusters is all about.

Pretty sure that most people are going to see this regardless of my review.  It was a good watch.  The knocking of it ended up being unwarranted.  The women were funny.   It could have been better but it was still enjoyable and the new generation will undoubtedly love this movie.

The Legend Of Tarzan

It has been years since the man once known as Tarzan (Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Robbie) at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the Belgian, Captain Leon Rom (Waltz). But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.

This was a slightly different take on the traditional Tarzan story.  The raised by apes stuff was all in flashback form with the movie taking place after the whole going back to civilization thing.  He is going back to his roots after adjusting to the world.  That different take along with Christoph Waltz being such a great villain made this movie much more enjoyable than I expected.  I'm not saying this was a great movie or anything.  It was beyond predictable and pretty formula across the board but it wasn't as bad as a movie as critics made it out to be. 

I would somewhat recommend people checking this movie out.  It's not a must watch and there are definitely better options out there.  But it's a pretty good watch and different take on the Tarzan story and nice to see Skarsgard finally get his shot at leading man status.

Ice Age: Collision Course

Scrat’s epic pursuit of the elusive acorn catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.

How is this a movie franchise with 5 movies?  How is this the biggest box office animated franchise of all time!?!  I have never really been that into the Ice Age movies and I'm a HUGE fan of animated movies.  It just never really hooked me.  But the bottom line is that kids love them and my two nieces had a great time seeing it so even though they really are not my cup of tea it was more than worth the time to watch their enjoyment.

Again - was never a fan of these movies/characters.  But if you have kids and they like it, take one for the team and take them to see it like my friends and I did.  

The Infiltrator

Based on a true story, Federal agent Robert "Bob" Mazur (Bryan Cranston) goes deep undercover to infiltrate Pablo Escobar's drug trafficking scene plaguing the nation in 1986 by posing as slick, money-laundering businessman Bob Musella. Teamed with impulsive and streetwise fellow agent Emir Abreu (John Leguizamo) and rookie agent posing as his fiancé Kathy Ertz (Diane Kruger), Mazur befriends Escobar's top lieutenant Roberto Alcaino (Benjamin Bratt). Navigating a vicious criminal network in which the slightest slip-up could cost him his life, Mazur risks it all building a case that leads to indictments of 85 drug lords and the corrupt bankers who cleaned their dirty money, along with the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, one of the largest money-laundering banks in the world.

This was a really well told and acted movie.  Bryan Cranston continued his excellence in the field and did a great job basically playing two parts between the actual character and who he had to become undercover.  At no point did this slightly more than 2 hour movie drag or feel like the pacing was lame.  I don't know why this got a quiet release in the crowded summer field.  It could have done so much better given a more appropriate release date.  

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out if they have the chance.  It is a high quality movie across the board and a great vehicle for Bryan Cranston to shine yet again.

X-Men: Apocalypse

Following the critically acclaimed global smash hit X-Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer returns with X-Men: Apocalypse. Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshipped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel’s X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.

I will say first that I liked this movie more than I thought I would.  Ihad pretty low expectations based on the trailers because it looked like they were making the same mistakes with the first X-Men trilogy.  Too many mutants.  Making Magneto a secondary villain.  And marketing wise - showing Jennifer Lawrence in human form much more than the blue Mystique form was annoying the hell out of me.  And all three of those things definitely did bother me about the movie, but compared to Last Stand (aka X-Men 3), this movie at least had a story instead of rambling along and just throwing some mutants on the screen.  In fact, it might have had too much story.  This movie was 2 1/2 hours long plus all the previews.  And you felt it.  The story of Apocalypse had to be developed/explained.  Then they had to get you up to date on where the mutants we are familiar with were.  Then they had to introduce you to thenew ones.  At one point - the bad guys were just chilling on a mountain top for a good half hour of the movie so the story could play out . . . . . and then you got the crazy and chaotic conclusion with all the mutants fighting.  

I would still recommend this movie to people even though it sounds like I had mostly negative things to say.  It wasn't nearly as smart or good as First Class or Days Of Future Past, but it was still a good watch and brought some good mutants into the fray for moving forward with the franchise.

The Purge: Election Year

It’s been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night. Now serving as head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), his mission is to protect her in a run for president and survive the annual ritual that targets the poor and innocent. But when a betrayal forces them onto the streets of D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive until dawn…or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state.

It's really strange to say how smart these movies are.  They take the shock/gore genre and inject it with an actually thought out governmental story line that combined with the psychological mind screw of thinking about the premise and make a legit good movie even with the crazy over the top gore and violence.  To think that this franchise is now three movies deep and that they are actually getting better/smarter is an even more impressive accomplishment.  

I would absolutely recommend anyone who is a fan of the previous entries check this out. It's a good watch just like the other two and manages to take your brain to a place imagining that this world actually exists.  Just remind yourself afterword that it doesn't so you don't kill someone in the parking lot on your way to the car.

Central Intelligence

Central Intelligence follows a one-time bullied geek who grew up to be a lethal CIA agent (Johnson), coming home for his high school reunion. Claiming to be on a top-secret case, he enlists the help of the former “big man on campus” (Hart), now an accountant who misses his glory days. But before the staid numbers-cruncher realizes what he’s getting into it’s too late to get out, as his increasingly unpredictable new friend drags him through a world of shoot-outs, double-crosses and espionage that could get them both killed in more ways than he can count.

I had sky high hopes for this movie due to the pairing of The Rock and Kevin Hart.  I'll admit that the movie didn't meet those expectations but there were still a ton of laughs.  The Rock really can't do anything wrong as far as I'm concerned.  He just makes everything better.  The chemistry between him and Kevin Hart was awesome and there was something about his doofiness at times in this movie that seriously cracked me up.  The movie was paced well and had solid supporting characters.  

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It's not wire to wire laughs like I had hoped, but it was still plenty funny enough to be worth the trip to theaters.

Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates

Hard-partying brothers Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) place an online ad to find the perfect dates (Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza) for their sister's Hawaiian wedding. Hoping for a wild getaway, the boys instead find themselves outsmarted and out-partied by the uncontrollable duo.

This movie had me belly laughing so many times throughout the movie.  I am a big fan of all four of the leads at this point - including Zac Efron who really is following the Justin Timberlake career path of going from teen heartthrob to becoming really damn funny.  The chemistry between the four leads was awesome and the real hidden gem is the sister of Mike & Dave who does a great part of basically being tortured in many different ways throughout the movie.  

I would absolutely recommend people seeing this.  The movie is pretty raunchy at times but is probably the funniest movie of the summer so far regardless.  The chemistry between the actors/actresses was simply that great.

The Shallows

In the taut thriller The Shallows, Nancy (Blake Lively) is surfing alone on a secluded beach when she is attacked by a great white shark and stranded just a short distance from shore. Though she is only 200 yards from her survival, getting there proves the ultimate contest of wills. It’s "Jaws" for a new generation.

This movie was pretty damn entertaining and creepy.  Sure it's not believable in so many ways, but just turn off your brain and enjoy a great shark movie.  This could easily serve as this generation's Jaws.  There were the same number of creepy shark coming visuals to make you jump and the movie was the perfect length for this kind of source material.

I would definitely recommend that anyone who was interested in seeing this do so.  It was a fun, scary movie that will probably have a negative effect on me swimming in the ocean for a while. 

Warcraft

Legendary’s Warcraft is a 3D epic adventure of world-colliding conflict based upon Blizzard Entertainment’s globally-renowned universe. 


I was never really into this stuff or World Of Warcraft or Dungeons & Dragons or whatever.  So I was minimally excited at best to see this.  I was actually thrilled to see it show up online so I didn't have to go to theaters time or schedule wise.  It was a decent watch and had some pretty cool special effects and cinematography.  The action scenes were pretty cool too.  But that is pretty much all I have to say about it.

Again - I'm probably not the best reviewer of this because it's not really my thing.  I thought it was pretty cool battle CGI effects but that was it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is the sequel to the 2014 hit film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  The film is based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.  

This was an enjoyable sequel.  There was plenty of action.  There were plenty of laughs.  They did a great job of introducing the characters.  The only problem was that it was way too much CGI.  The movie was really at its best when it was not action scenes because then there was just way too much happening on the screen - especially at the end.

I liked the movie and would recommend people checking it out.  Even though it's too much at times it's still a very fun watch - especially if you like TMNT.