Posts Tagged ‘tom cruise’

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Tons of Movie Reviews!!

October 7, 2018

I am so far behind on movie reviews it is ridiculous. I haven’t posted thoughts on a movie since before I left for Vegas in late May, so… my list of movies I’ve seen and haven’t rated is quite long. Some of these will be difficult to write since it has been months since I’ve seen them. I’m going to make these quick in the spirit of catching up and starting fresh.

Hellfest (2018) – This was really dumb. I can write a long list of what sucked about this movie, so I’ll just say what I liked: the ending was actually kind of cool. (3/10 – Bad)

White Boy Rick (2018) – Based on true events, White Boy Rick’s story is worthy of being shared. Dude that played WBR was solid and Matthew McConaughey was a scene-stealer in the dad role. I enjoyed it. (6/10 – Fun)

Searching (2018) – I absolutely loved it. Searching manages to tell a compelling mystery through nothing but social media, computer apps, and surveillance cameras – it’s actually quite mind-boggling how well it is all pulled off. I was entranced by the story as it kept me guessing and intrigued, even though I did pick up on some huge clues on my first viewing. John Cho was solid in the lead role, giving the best performance of his career. I think this is a must see and I enjoyed it again when I saw it a second time, but for what it’s worth, both people I saw it with the first time hated it. (8/10 – Must See)

Terrifier (2018) – This is available on Netflix right now and if you enjoy horror movies where a potentially iconic villain terrorizes random people, then Art the Clown is your dude – he was phenomenal, giving Pennywise some legit contention for the most traumatizing clown title. This movie is gruesome beyond belief and highly entertaining if you’re into that sort of thing. Even the victims are less generic than your typical horror slasher. More Terrifier. More Art please. (7/10 – Highly Enjoyable)

Alpha (2018) – What starts off as a dreary tale of survival quickly turns into a story of what could be the first canine to become man’s best friend. This was definitely a feel good movie with some great visuals. It’s slow at times but ended up being much better than I thought it would be. (7/10 – Highly Enjoyable)

Crazy Rich Asians (2018) – This was good. A testament that racism and prejudice can exist even within the same ethnicity – in this case, a lower-to-middle class Chinese-American and, well, a “crazy rich” Chinese matriarch with cultural traditions as deep as her pockets. This movie was touching, sporadically funny, beautifully shot in jarring Singapore and has a solid breakout performance from rapper Awkwafina and strong performances from Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh. A fun movie with tear-jerking potential. I recommend. (7/10 – Highly Enjoyable)

BlacKkKlansman (2018) – Another racially charged dramedy, this one’s a bit more poignant with Spike Lee’s adept filmmaking abilities in the director’s chair. A period piece, based on true events – or at least some “fo’ real fo’ real shit” – a cocky, black rookie police officer infiltrates the ranks of the Ku Klux Klan with the help of one of his fellow white officers. This movie is funny, disturbing and sad. Adam Driver is great. John David Witherspoon is fun. I really liked this movie but the lighthearted presentation takes away from the severity of it all. I wanted to feel something more and I think that’s what holds BlacKkKlansman back from being a truly great film. (7/10 – Highly Enjoyable)

The Meg (2018) – This was a fine monster shark movie, but it obviously doesn’t execute as well as Jaws did, or even last year’s 47 Meters Down. It’s not scary or particularly interesting but it’s reasonably entertaining. (5/10 – Decent)

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) – A great action flick. Tom Cruise and the M:I franchise keep plugging along, pumping out high quality popcorn entertainment. This movie has multiple phenomenal action sequences and Cruise’s Ethan Hunt has been cooler than James Bond for quite some time now. Superman was a good and formidable villain. This just might be the most entertaining movie I’ve seen in 2018. (8/10 – Must See)

The Death of Superman (2018) – This is the highly touted Superman vs Doomsday death match that DC comics got tons of attention for back in the early 90s brought to animated life on home video. I thought it was great. I forgot enough about the comic book arc that it all seemed pretty fresh to me, particularly the involvement of the Justice League. Also, Clark and Lois have some iconic moments. A must watch for comic book fans. (7/10 – Highly Enjoyable)

Teen Titans Go! to the Movies (2018) – Unfortunately, the reviews for this movie make it seem way better than it actually was. Yeah, there’s a lot of meta humor going on here, but it is overshadowed by sheer stupidity. I had a number of examples of upsetting moments after watching it that escape me now… months later… but this was a tough watch for an adult fan of DC comics. (3/10 – Bad)

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) – Jurassic World was enjoyable to me but any hope that this franchise has found new life is quickly destroyed by this terrible sequel. It is laughably bad at times and utterly ridiculous throughout its duration. I desperately want this franchise to succeed because the concept of dinosaurs in the modern world is awesome, but this is the third legitimately bad movie in five tries. The setup for the next one is intriguing, but this movie jumped the shark and there are threats of worse things to come. (3/10 – Bad)

Upgrade (2018) – A high-tech revenge thriller reminiscent of Robocop, Upgrade sees a Regular Joe get some A.I. assistance after getting crippled by criminals and turns himself into a super-powered vigilante. I actually thought the film was walking a very predictable path and it ended up surprising me. Decent enough story with fine acting and great action sequences, this was a solid action flick with a sci-fi twist. (6/10 – Fun)

Baby Driver (2017) – The opening sequence of this movie had me thinking it might end up being a classic. Alas, this was the highlight of the film and everything that followed kind of paled in comparison. Still, I really liked Baby Driver. It had some awesome driving scenes, a fun and stylish tone, charismatic and likable characters, and solid performances, particularly from Ansel Elgort in the lead role. There has been a lot of praise for the soundtrack and music does play a massive role in the film, but I wasn’t blown away by the song selections. This movie is a blast and I’m calling it a must see but it falls a bit short of a true classic. (8/10 – Must See)

Batman & Harley Quinn (2017) – Animated Batman movies are on a cold stretch. This one doesn’t help matters at all. Poison Ivy and some green dude I’ve never heard of are the main foils and the world’s greatest detective inexplicably needs Harley Quinn’s assistance in tracking them down. This movie has more musical numbers than cool Batman moments. It does, however, have a one night stand between Harley and Nightwing. I’m not positive, but this could be the worst Bat-Project Kevin Conroy has been involved with. (2/10 – Horrible)

Truth or Dare (2017) – This is basically Final Destination meets “Fear Factor.” I’m a horror fan but self-mutilation? I’m good. This was bad enough that I would have been okay not finishing it. (2/10 – Horrible)

Note: I thought Truth or Dare came out in 2018. Well, it did. This one I watched and reviewed is the Truth or Dare currently streaming on Netflix, not the theatrical release from Blumhouse earlier this year. So… I guess there’s more of this in my future.

Creep (2014) – A unique take on found footage horror, Creep has comic actor Mark Duplass (“The League”) playing against type as a dying man that hires a filmmaker to videotape his last days, but slowly unveils himself to be… something else. Unsettling and surprising, with a GREAT performance from Duplass, Creep is a must see thriller. (8/10 – Must See)

Creep 2 (2017) – A very worthy sequel to the original that I can’t say much about without spoiling the first film, but it manages to both raise the stakes and find keep things original, all while keeping the same tense and ominous tone. Of course, Duplass is once again fantastic. A solid second entry in an overlooked and surprising franchise. (7/10 – Highly Enjoyable)

Would You Rather (2012) – This is basically the same quality of horror and concept of Truth or Dare, except this time actual humans are enforcing the game. I like to throw low brow horror flicks on when I’m going to bed so I end up watching stuff like this occasionally… but you don’t have to. (3/10 – Bad)

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The Mummy (2017)

July 13, 2017

Starring: Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jack Johnson
Director: Alex Kurtzman

Bottom Line: Universal continues to struggle to jump start their Dark Universe, a connected cinematic world featuring all their classic movie monsters, ala the formula Marvel has made famous. Dracula Untold was the first false start and now The Mummy is supposed to finally get things moving forward but… it sucked. Okay, maybe it didn’t suck, but it was very dull and unmemorable.

We are introduced to Sofia Boutella’s mummy and Russell Crowe’s Dr. Jekkyl here and there are allusions to vampires and other possible monsters, but there was very little to be excited about. You kind of hope you get to see Crowe’s Jekkyl turn into his alter-ego Mr. Hyde, but when it happens it’s kind of an “oh boy” moment. I feel like I can confidently predict there will never be a Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde movie starring Russell Crowe – the transformation was incredibly lame.

Tom Cruise does a fine job as the renegade hero and Sofia Boutella’s mummy is whatever. You’d think that a mummy movie in 2017 would be much better than the version that came 15 years before, but it’s not. The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser had a lot more of an adventurous feel to it and the lighthearted humor made it a lot more enjoyable than this one. There are some funny moments as Cruise and Jack Johnson have some pretty good chemistry, but it’s clear that the tone of this version of The Mummy is meant to be much more serious than its predecessor and it just doesn’t work that well.

The Mummy wasn’t scary and it wasn’t all that entertaining. I don’t think it was terrible and it’s not like I wanted to leave the theater, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. Not even to huge fans of monster movies. I think Universal has no choice but to move forward at this point, but they are yet to get their cinematic universe off to the start their vault of classic monsters deserve. It’s brutal to recommend a reboot after the first movie, but I don’t want to see this mummy in future movies and I have no desire to see Crowe’s Dr. Jekkyl again. The future looks grim for Universal’s Dark Universe.

Replay Value: I would never watch this again.
Sequel Potential: This is supposed to be the first in a long series of connected monster movies. However, as of this writing, only The Bride Of Frankenstein (a weird choice for the second film) has a scheduled release date and that is two years away! Johnny Depp is reportedly going to be The Invisible Man and Javier Bardem is allegedly the Frankenstein Monster, but there’s not much on the horizon. Universal doesn’t seem to have a very good plan and after two rough starts maybe this thing never really takes off.
Oscar Potential: None.

Grade: 3.5/10 (skip it/forgettable)

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June 2017 Movie Preview

May 24, 2017

Anticipation Meter
6 – Epic
5 – Very High
4 – Strong
3 – Moderate
2 – Low
1 – Nonexistent

Wonder Woman (2nd) – Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was one of the few bright spots in the beleaguered Dawn Of Justice, so I had some anticipation that this could actually be good and break the current losing streak that DC films have been on. This will be an origin story and a period piece that finds Princess Diana of the Amazons embracing her destiny when a fighter pilot played by Chris Pine crashes on her shores and brings news of major conflict in the outside world. I’ve watched a trailer or two and, while my expectations have been tempered a bit, I still think this has a chance to be good and some early word indicates that it is. It’s worth noting that director Patty Jenkins hasn’t directed a feature film since 2003’s Monster and the main screenplay writer has a resume that consists largely of multiple episodes for “Party Of Five,” “Sex and the City,” “The O.C.,” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” In other words, let’s hope Wonder Woman is the best thing he’s ever written. When considering box office success, it’s hard to find films to compare Wonder Woman to as there hasn’t been a superhero movie with a female lead since Catwoman and Elektra both bombed in the mid-2000s. Wonder Woman won’t do The Hunger Games numbers, but it should do significantly better than female-led action franchises like Resident Evil and Underworld – the most successful film in either of those franchises grossed a modest $62 million. Wonder Woman could approach that kind of number in it’s first weekend. I’ll say $43 million opening weekend with a total gross of $157 million. Anticipation Meter – 3.5

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2nd) – I don’t know much about this except that it’s an animated film from DreamWorks that features the vocal talents of Kevin Hart, Jordan Peele, and Ed Helms and the plot synopsis says two kids hypnotize their principal into thinking he’s a superhero. Sounds fun to me. Box office is hard to gauge here. I would never guess that The Secret Life Of Pets would do a whopping $373 million. Meanwhile, a movie like The Croods, which I enjoyed substantially more, only grossed $178 million. Kids have terrible taste, so whether a movie is actually good or not doesn’t necessarily reflect it’s box office success. I’ll take a shot in the dark and say this movie puts up numbers similar to Big Hero 6 $56 million opening, $222 million total. Anticipation Meter – 2

The Mummy (9th) – After Dracula Untold failed to jump start Universal’s revamped shared universe (now officially called Dark Universe) for their classic monsters, The Mummy has become the new opening act. From the looks of the trailers, this reboot seems similar in appearance to the Brendan Fraser run that started in the late 90s – although I’ll guess it has less cheesy humor and hopefully more legit scares – with Tom Cruise taking over as the male lead and Sofia Boutella as the film’s mummy. Russell Crowe is also part of the cast, taking on the role of Dr. Henry Jekkyl, as in Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde. The trailer for this looks okay, but I’m hoping it winds up being good – I want to see this shared universe succeed. The best Fraser-led Mummy movie opened to $68 million and grossed just over $200M and the 2008 entry – which I don’t even remember – opened to $40 mil and did over $100 domestic. It’s weird… with inflation and the star power of Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe it would seem impossible for this movie not to do better than all previous Mummy flicks, but I just don’t sense a ton of excitement for it. It faces little competition, but I think it opens to around $50M and tops out around $175M. Anticipation Meter – 3

It Comes At Night (9th) – An interesting looking horror/mystery film that stars Joel Edgerton, who proved he can do creepy scary in The Gift. I expect a small opening and probably $30-$35M total. Anticipation Meter – 2

Cars 3 (16th) – I’m bewildered by this Pixar franchise. The movies have obviously performed well at the box office, but Cars and Cars 2 are probably my two least favorite movies the studio has produced… and here we are on film #3 while the far superior The Incredibles has taken 14 years to get a sequel. Pixar is actually on a little bit of a cold streak. While I did really enjoy last year’s Finding Dory, the studio hadn’t released a truly great film since Toy Story 3 in 2010 before that. This is going to be a skip for me but I suspect families will be heading out in droves to see it. I should perform similarly to the previous films, opening around $60M and finishing around $200M. Anticipation Meter – 1

All Eyez On Me (16th) – A Tupac Shakur biopic starring an unknown actor, written and directed by people that have done nothing noteworthy in their careers. I want this to be good and I’m interested in seeing Tupac’s story on the big screen, but I suspect the execution is going to be disappointing. Straight Outta Compton ($161 million) was a big hit and Tupac’s legacy is greater than anyone in N.W.A., but I think the lack of quality is already detectable here, so I think it will open to a disappointing $30M and fizzle around $75M total. As a hip hip devotee, lover of films, and fan of Tupac, I will see this even though it looks like it might suck. Anticipation Meter – 3

Rough Night (16th) – An R-Rated comedy starring Scarlett Johansson and Kate McKinnon as members of a bachelorette party that has to deal with the death of the stripper they hired. Seems like an enjoyable combination to me, if not box office fodder. Bridesmaids ($170M) is the obvious comparison, but this film won’t sniff that kind of success: $18M opening, $55M total. Anticipation Meter – 2

Transformers: The Last Knight (21st) – This is the 5th Transformers movie and I’m honestly not sure how many I’ve even seen – probably just the first three. The visual effects of the robots transforming have always been the best thing about this franchise, but I’ve seen it done enough times now that it’s not enough of a draw for me to see the movies anymore. The stories have been lacking for a while and Michael Bay is a deservedly panned director. I’m a Mark Wahlberg fan, but my interest in this franchise is pretty much over. The public still likes to pack theaters for Autobots and Decepticons and even though interest has somewhat waned over the last two films, the least successful entry still did $245 million. I’ll wager that trend continues and say The Last Knight has the worst opening weekend since the original ($70M)and finishes around $215M total. Anticipation Meter – 1

Baby Driver (28th) – A crime thriller about a young getaway driver hired by a crime boss with an interesting cast that features the likes of Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, and Jon Bernthal. More importantly, it’s an Edgar Wright film, the writer/director that has given us gems like Shaun Of The Dead and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. No Wright film has grossed more than $31.5 million, so it’s likely this will have a very small opening and finish right around that number. Anticipation Meter – 2.5

Despicable Me 3 (30th) – Reformed evil genius Gru and his adopted kids are still plenty of fun and even though last year’s Minions was total crap it was still a box office smash. In this entry, Gru meets a twin brother named Dru he never knew about. Steve Carell does some great voice work in this franchise and adding a twin brother could let his talent shine even brighter. My wife and I will go see this and it will be another megahit for DreamWorks: $105M opening, $325M total. Anticipation Meter – 3

Note: After spending several hours writing this (and planning separate entries for Netflix and music), I have to ask myself: is it really worth the time and effort to do stuff like this and the answer is a pretty easy no. My blog only gets a modest number of hits and I’ve struggled to expand my audience beyond my friends and family so I will be cutting the depth of my posts down considerably in an effort to spend my free time more effectively. My ultimate goal is to streamline my thoughts and opinions in a way that is still interesting but not as time consuming for me (or you).

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Iron Man 2, Shrek Forever After, Knight & Day

January 7, 2011

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Elf, Made)
Quick Thoughts: Continues where the first one left off with Downey Jr. hamming it up as the charming Tony Stark, a man that has just revealed himself to be the superhero known as Iron Man. While this sequel doesn’t suck–it’s actually pretty decent–it does lack the freshness and grit that made the first one so good. I felt like Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash was underused as the villain; he’s limited to two scenes of potential destruction for the entire movie. The rest of the time he’s working behind the scenes for Tony’s business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockford). The movie does have some dope moments: the Iron Man suitcase, War Machine, and the laser swords. A respectable sequel that’s solid on light comic moments and action, but lacks much substance to move Iron Man’s story forward in any interesting fashion.
Viewings: 2
Replay Value: Enjoyable the second time… probably won’t buy it though unless I see it ultra cheap somewhere.
Sequel Potential: I’ve heard Jon Favreau won’t be doing a third Iron Man, but Robert Downey Jr. will be back as Tony Stark for 2012’s The Avengers.
Oscar Potential: Nothing worth talking about… maybe some visual effects work.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 5.5/10 (Worth Watching/Recommended)
Recommendation: If you liked the first Iron Man, there’s no reason you shouldn’t see this; just know it’s not on nearly the same level as the first movie.

Knight and Day (2010)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard
Director: James Mangold (3:10 To Yuma, Walk The Line, Girl, Interrupted)
Quick Thoughts: A spy thriller-comedy with an absurd and somewhat boring story and cheesing acting from the two leads. It’s actually better than I thought it would be, but only because I thought it would be atrocious.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: Never again.
Sequel Potential: None.
Oscar Potential: None.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 3/10 (Skip It)
Recommendation: This isn’t terrible, but it’s not something anyone needs to see.

Shrek Forever After (2010)

Starring: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas
Director: Michael Mitchell (Sky High, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo)
Quick Thoughts: It’s easy to forget how great and original the first Shrek film was… the first sequel was pretty good too, but Shrek 3 was absolutely painful and left me with a sour taste in my mouth. At least Shrek Forever After ends (possibly) the franchise on a positive note. Rumpelstiltskin tricks our beloved hero into signing a contract that gives Shrek a day’s worth of freedom from the constant burden of being a father and husband in exchange for… the day Shrek was born. Plunged into a world where his own wife and best friends don’t recognize him, Shrek is faced with his most formidable and emotional journey since the original film. Shrek Forever After is no Toy Story 3, but it’s a respectable close to a surprisingly successful franchise for Dreamworks.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: The Shrek movies have lost their luster over time… I’ll probably never own this.
Sequel Potential: Is the ogre really finished? I kind of hope so, but you don’t want to bet against these things.
Oscar Potential: Probably won’t even get a nomination for Best Animated Feature.
Nudity: N/A
Grade: 6/10 (Recommended)
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’re obviously going to want to see this movie and it’s a good send off film.

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