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In the epic finale to the Maze Runner saga, Thomas leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all. Anyone who makes it out alive will get answers to the questions the Gladers have been asking since they first arrived in the maze.
This was a pretty disappointing ending to what was a pretty enjoyable franchise. It was the same problem with the books that it started out so great and got a little more eh with each offering but I think that the final chapter of the movies was actually more disappointing than the final chapter of the books. They didn't do as good of a job as they could have and the movie was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long.
I would recommend fans of the others still watch this to get the "closure" of the series but just keep your expectations not too high because it was pretty disappointing. Anyone who has not watched the others should obviously not bother with this one.
Paddington 2 continues the story of the enduringly popular little bear in the trademark blue coat and red hat that touched audiences worldwide. The new story finds Paddington (Ben Whishaw) happily settled with the Brown family in Windsor Gardens, where he has become a popular member of the community, spreading joy and marmalade wherever he goes. While searching for the perfect present for his beloved Aunt Lucy's hundredth birthday, Paddington spots a unique pop-up book in Mr. Gruber's antique shop, and embarks upon a series of odd jobs to buy it. But when the book is stolen, it's up to Paddington and the Browns to unmask the thief.
This was a very cute family movie sequel. It's pretty much more of the same with Paddington making people's hearts warm up - even those of criminals in jail. The material is mostly for younger kids but it's not terribly painful for the parents taking them because it is a pretty cute and heartwarming movie.
I would recommend that families check this out. You could definitely do much worse than this for a family trip to the movies.
Den of Thieves is a gritty Los Angeles crime saga which follows the intersecting and often personally connected lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles.
Wow! This movie was waaaaaaaaaaaay too long. They took a run of the mill cops and robbers movie with dime a dozen, stereotypical characters and a boring to non-existent story that would be rough for a 90 minute movie and decided to add another 45 minutes to it.
I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this. It's a very long and not interesting movie you have pretty much seen ten times over at this point.
Fresh from 2015's gangster film Black Mass, director Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart," "Out of the Furnace") has turned to another venerable American genre, the western, for Hostiles, the raw and compelling tale of an embittered and battle-hardened US Cavalry officer ordered to accompany a Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their tribal lands in Montana. The flinty-eyed Captain Blocker (Christian Bale) has seen more than his fair share of violence and bloodletting on the frontier, but this mission, which he is forced to accept, is a particularly bitter pill to swallow: Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) has been his mortal enemy for years due to a conflict that killed many of Blocker's friends. The Chief has also lost friends in the conflict. Setting out through dangerous territory, much of it inhabited by hostile tribes, the small band of soldiers and Cheyenne navigate the beautiful prairies and wilds of the west, while facing a series of challenges. Blocker — much like John Wayne's character in the John Ford classic The Searchers — is a racist, a man who harbours a deep hatred towards the former prisoners now placed in his care. As the challenges mount, Blocker is forced to confront his own bigotry while carrying out his orders. To complicate matters, the ragged party is joined by a stricken widow (Rosamund Pike) who has just seen her family massacred in a raid.
This was a really good watch. I don't understand how this didn't get a wider release or get more attention. It had the big name actor and was a very well done movie all around. I guess it just kind of got lost in the shuffle. Great story. Great pacing. Great all around film.
I would definitely recommend that people check this bad boy out. It really should have gotten more fanfare when being released as far as I'm concerned.
Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post's Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers - and their very freedom - to help bring long-buried truths to light.
Never would I have thought that a movie about a newspaper could be this suspenseful and intriguing. This movie was a pretty intense watch and was paced in such a way that you were sitting on the edge of your seat as it played out. All of the actors were excellent. Spielberg's direction was top notch. They managed to take the kind of material that usually bores the hell out of me and totally hook the audience for an awesome ride.
I would absolutely recommend people checking this out. It's excellent filmmaking and storytelling all around.
In this action-packed thriller, Liam Neeson plays an insurance salesman, Michael, on his daily commute home, which quickly becomes anything but routine. After being contacted by a mysterious stranger, Michael is forced to uncover the identity of a hidden passenger on his train before the last stop. As he works against the clock to solve the puzzle, he realizes a deadly plan is unfolding and is unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy. One that carries life and death stakes for himself and his fellow passengers.
Most boring action/suspense movie ever. I get that Taken was a pretty badass movie. But how did that turn Liam Nesson into a regular action movie star. I just don't get it. And this movie was a prime example of it. Every fight scene was boring as hell. The movie felt like twice as long as it had to. I didn't care about anything that was happening or any of the characters. If I had been watching this online - I never would have made it to the end. I'm actually shocked I stayed until the end in the theater.
I wouldn't recommend that anyone bother with this one. Huge waste of time and boring as hell.
Inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
I very much enjoyed this movie. The spectacle and cinematography of it all was excellent. The music was great and made you want to sing and dance along with it several times throughout. They didn't really develop all the characters too much but I really don't think that they had to. The movie was more about imagination, expectations, humanity and perspective than the individual characters. It was a very enjoyable journey.
I would absolutely recommend people checking this out. Movies like this are why I love going to movie theaters. The big hook and journey/music make you really enjoy being there.
Molly's Game is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.
I don't know that you will find better on screen chemistry between two actors like there was between Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba in this movie. Every scene with the two of them going back and forth was a shining example of excellent screenwriting and the kind of delivery that can only happen when they have that kind of chemistry. The back and forth storytelling of this movie only made it all even better. Again - a testament to the screenwriting because choppy timelines like that can sometimes totally undo a movie.
I would definitely recommend people checking this one out. It was a very entertaining watch with great performances and writing.
Taraji P. Henson is Mary, a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad.
Wow! This was really bad. Like really bad. Zero substance whatsoever. It was like an hour and 15 minute blah blah session just for one badass car scene with Taraji to the Tina Turner song. Seriously. Like that was it. All forced. All pointless. Wow.
I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this total waste of time. Although the super short running time was the best part. This is a shining example of not seeing movies released in January.
All the Money in the World follows the kidnapping of 16-year- old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to convince his billionaire grandfather (Christopher Plummer) to pay the ransom. When Getty Sr. refuses, Gail attempts to sway him as her son’s captors become increasingly volatile and brutal. With her son’s life in the balance, Gail and Getty’s advisor (Mark Wahlberg) become unlikely allies in the race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money.
This was one hell of a twisted "true" story. There were so many different emotions at play. The grandfather being obsessed with money. The mother willing to do anything. The kid being scared. Even the kidnappers covered all different kinds of angles of looking at what they were doing. This was very well told and played from beginning to end with the audience hooked on where it was going. As for the controversy about this movie - the removal and reshooting of Chrisopher Plummer taking over for Kevin Spacey ended up being awesome because there is no way that Kevin Spacey could have been as good in that role.
I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It was a hell of a story and a very entertaining watch.
Set in the glamour of 1950s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love. With his latest film, Paul Thomas Anderson paints an illuminating portrait both of an artist on a creative journey, and the women who keep his world running.
This is another one of those movies that you know you are watching film making and acting excellence but unless you are really into artsy movies like this - it is the biggest snooze fest that you could possibly see. I fall into that latter category. I only saw this because of Daniel Day Lewis (who was really, really great as always) and the fact that it was the only movie nominated for Best Picture I had not seen. It was boring as hell and I took a nap for a middle chunk of it. The artsy peeps in the audience seem to love it though so take that for what you will.
I would not recommend anyone outside of extremely artsy film making fans seeing this. There is no way you will not be bored otherwise.
The creative minds behind the hit Insidious trilogy return for Insidious: The Last Key. In the supernatural thriller, which welcomes back franchise standout Lin Shaye as Dr. Elise Rainier, the brilliant parapsychologist faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet: in her own family home.
It was kind of a lame overall attempt at continuing the franchise by branching off to explain the psychic woman. It had some good scares and definitely did a good enough job of covering the background of her character but I am just not really sure that there was a demand for this to be done. It seemed like a strange sideways move for the franchise as a whole.
I would still recommend the movie to people looking for a scare. There were plenty sprinkled throughout. Just could have been a standalone movie instead of forcing the connection to an already established horror franchise.
Owen Wilson and Ed Helms star in the Alcon Entertainment comedy Father Figures, marking the directorial debut of veteran cinematographer Lawrence Sher (“The Hangover” films). Wilson and Helms are Kyle and Peter Reynolds, brothers whose eccentric mother raised them to believe their father had died when they were young. When they discover this to be a lie, they set out together to find their real father, and end up learning more about their mother than they probably ever wanted to know.
This movie was pretty much a giant waste of time. I barely laughed and these guys should be easily able to make me do that. The cast had all the potential in the world and it was pretty much just wasted. There really isn't anything else to say because this poop was just there.
I wouldn't recommend that anyone bother with this movie. I really don't know why they bothered making it or why any of these actors are in it.
Rey took her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and will continue her epic journey with Finn, Poe, and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the continuing Star Wars saga. The Last Jedi is written and directed by Rian Johnson.
Wow! This was incredibly different from what I expected. After The Force Awakens was pretty much a scene for scene carbon copy of Star Wars, I totally expected this to be a carbon copy of Empire Strikes Back. It was very much not. This was a very different Star Wars movies from the others. It made everything much more open and bigger than just the Skywalkers. It answered questions about the past and looked to the future. A much different and open future than we are used to with the Star Wars films. I can't really go into too much more details without spoilers. I can just say that there were so many surprises, twists and turns that it made the long running time fly by and I cannot wait to see where this story goes because I honestly have no idea. The one knock I can make against it is that there was too much CGI. Honestly it was borderline prequels at some points and so not necessary. But that was really it.
CORRECTION - there were other issues after thinking more about the movie. I'm not disappointed with a couple of major issues a lot of fans are having but I am bothered by the lack of continuity from The Force Awakens. There is definitely a disconnect in several points throughout the movie. The aura of specialness with certain scenes including cherished characters and special scenes has also been bothering me.
I would still recommend peeps checking this out. It's a Star Wars movie. Those that are too analytical and want big elaborate and connected answers to the big mysteries will likely be disappointed. But those who want to enjoy an awesome ride with great characters both new and old/respected will probably still be able to enjoy it.
In the brand new adventure Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the tables are turned as four teenagers in detention are sucked into the world of Jumanji. When they discover an old video game console with a game they’ve never heard of, they are immediately thrust into the game’s jungle setting, into the bodies of their avatars, played by Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan. What they discover is that you don’t just play Jumanji – Jumanji plays you. They’ll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, or they’ll be stuck in the game forever…
I had pretty low expectations going into this one. I figured this was going to be one of the lamer reboots or whatever you want to call them when they are kind of sequels. I was very pleasantly surprised. The Rock bounced back to his usual greatness after the Baywatch turd. He had great chemistry with the three other kids having to adjust to their very different avatars. Jack Black honestly stole the movie though. Him as a 16 year old girl provided the biggest laughs throughout the movie.
I would definitely recommend people checking this out. It was a very fun ride and paid respect to the original while developing their own version of it.
