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Friday, November 21, 2014

If I Stay

This drama stars Chloe Grace Moretz as Mia Hall, a teenager who is faced with all of the normal problems of a teenager and has a loving family who provides support no matter what.  Jamie Blackley plays her boyfriend Adam who is an up and coming rock star. 
One day while on a family outing, there is a horrific car accident that kills both of Mia’s parents and her brother that leaves her fighting for her life. 

I loved every second of If I Stay so much so that I saw it twice.  I would highly recommend that you rent this movie but make sure you have a box of Kleenex on hand.  I gave this movie 4 out of 4 stars.  

22 Jump Street

I thought this movie was even funnier than 21 Jump Street.  Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, and Ice Cube were back as undercover police officers.  They go to a university to discover who is behind a large drug ring. 

I love the roles played by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in what was a very entertaining movie.  This movie will give you a real good belly laugh.  I gave this movie 3 1/2 out of 4 stars. 

Dumb and Dumber To

This movie was typical of a Jim Carrey movie.  It was fun to watch and I enjoyed the chemistry between Jim Carrey’s character, Lloyd Christmas, and Jeff Daniels character, Harry Dunne. 
Lloyd had been committed to a mental institution after a failed romance as shown in the first Dumb and Dumber movie.  He was there for 20 years before Harry discovered Lloyd had been faking all along.  Lloyd leaves the institution and they go to visit Harry’s family.   The family had been saving mail for Harry for years and it’s discovered after looking through it that Harry is a father. 
The movie also stars Kathleen Turner as Fraida Felcher, the mother of Harry’s daughter.   After Harry tracks her down, she sends them out to find the daughter she had given up for adoption. 

I loved every second of this stupidly funny movie.  Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are terrific.  The movie is ridiculous but it fits the title.  The performance was outrageous and I loved it.  Even the dog car makes another appearance in the movie.  I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars. 

Beyond the Lights

I went into this movie hoping to be entertained and at times I was.  But it was very similar to Kevin Costner’s movie the Bodyguard with Whitney Houston, and I found myself making comparisons throughout. 
It stars Nate Parker as Kaz, a police officer with aspirations of becoming a politician, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Noni, a well-liked pop singer who was exploited by everyone as a sex object, Minnie Driver as Macy Jean, Noni’s mother and manager, and Danny Glover as Kaz’s dad who was also a police officer.
Noni was raised by her mother to be no less than perfect at all times.  As a child, they travelled around to talent contests.  If Noni did not come in first, it just wasn’t good enough.  But all of her hard work paid off, as she becomes a pop idol superstar.  However, being a celebrity comes at a price and being exploited gets to her.  She attempts to jump off of a balcony but is saved by Kaz, who had been filling in as her personal protector.  They hit it off, and become a couple much to Noni’s mother’s chagrin.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is a terrific singer and I truly enjoyed listening to her sing.  Her acting skills were fantastic as well.  Of course Minnie Driver and Danny Glover played their parts perfectly also.  I just thought the story line could have been less predictable.  This movie was better than The Bodyguard but I wanted more than I got.  I gave this movie 2 out of 4 stars.  

Friday, November 14, 2014

Tammy

This comedy stars Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Allison Janney, and Dan Aykroyd.   With a cast like this you can’t go wrong.  There were some really funny parts in this movie as well as a serious side.  I also thought there were points in the movie where nothing much seemed to be happening. 

I liked this movie but it didn’t overwhelm me.  I gave this movie 2 ½ out of 4 stars.     

Jersey Boys

This wonderful movie was directed and written by the great Clint Eastwood.  The movie is a tribute to Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons.  It follows Franki’s rise to stardom from a troubled high school boy to an adored and well loved singer. 

This movie was brilliant and has a great cast.  The music is unbelievably good and worth purchasing the sound track for.  I gave this movie 3  ½ out of 4 stars.   

Birdman

Michael Keaton stars in this movie as Riggin Thomson.  He had been the star of the movie Birdman years ago.  He decides to make a comeback by writing, directing, and performing in his own Broadway play.  Included in the play are his best friend and producer Jake played by Zach Galifianakis, Riggin’s girlfriend Laura played by Andrea Riseborough, and Leslie, a first time Broadway actress played by Naomi Watts.  Riggin’s daughter (played by Emma Stone) is a recovering drug addict and serves as Riggin’s assistant.  Through a convenient accident, the other male star is severely injured.  Leslie’s boyfriend (who is played by Edward Norton) is brought on to take his place.  
Riggin is constantly hearing the voice of Birdman in his head both poking fun at and encouraging him.  He is flat broke as well as a heavy drinker.  He needs money to help finance his play.  After a discussion with his ex-wife (played by Natalie Gold), he decides to sell his Malibu house which was intended to be his daughter’s.  Everything he is and has is on the line for the success of this play. 
This latest movie by Michael Keaton just really stood out.  I loved all of the characters and their interactions.  The movie was so engrossing that time just flew by.  Michael Keaton played a very deep part and played it to perfection.  I hope that he is nominated for an Oscar because of his unbelievably fantastic performance. 
Edward Norton’s role required him to be very egotistical and full of himself.  He played the part well as did Naomi Watts as his girlfriend.  Emma Stone and Natalie Gold were terrific as well. 

You will have to go out of town to catch this movie, but it is worth the trip.  I gave this movie 4 out of 4 stars.  It’s the best movie I have seen so far this year.  

Big Hero 6

This movie was just spectacular.  It is about two brothers who have a passion for science.  The older of the two, Tadashi, is working on a robot who can immediately tell what kind of care is needed when someone is sick or hurt.  Tadashi convinces his younger brother, Hiro, to enroll in the same university as he is in. 
Hiro presents his invention, mind-controlled nano-bots, and impresses the school’s administration enough to allow his admission.  Before he can attend his first class, a fire destroys the lab on campus and Tadashi is killed.  It soon becomes apparent that the fire may not have been accidental. 
Hiro discovers that Baymax, Tadashi’s robot, was in his bedroom.  He makes some modifications and soon Baymax, Hiro, and their friends go about finding the truth. 
I think Big Hero 6 was unbelievably well-done and a terrific film.  This is one movie in which the 3-D format would be worth the price but the standard format would still be great.   The animation was so great that cars and buildings look some-what real. 

Ryan Potter voices Hiro, Daniel Henney voices Tadashi, and Scott Adsit voices Baymax.  All were great, especially Adsit who did a wonderful job with voice inflection.  I would highly recommend this movie for all families because it will appeal to people of all ages.  From beginning to end it was extremely entertaining.  The story was touching and contained a good amount of humor as well.   I gave this movie 3 ½ out of 4 stars.  

Interstellar

This tremendous movie directed by the great Christopher Nolan stars Matthew McConaughey as Cooper, a former astronaut and a widowed father of two.  Michael Caine plays a scientist named Dr. Brand, Anne Hathaway plays Brand’s daughter Amelia, and John Lithgow plays Cooper’s father-in-law.  Mackenzie Foy plays Cooper’s daughter, Murphy, as a preteen, and Jessica Chastain plays Murphy as an adult. 
They live in a time where they are constantly plagued by dust storms and it is increasingly harder to grow any crops that can be used for food.  None-the-less Cooper and his family are farmers.    One day he and his daughter stumble upon an underground NASA facility led by his former mentor, Dr.  Brand. 
Cooper is persuaded to go to outer space with a crew that includes Dr. Brand’s daughter Amelia in search of a habitable place to live for the human race.  Cooper must leave behind his family and cannot promise his return.  In outer space, time moves more slowly so 1 hour in space may be one year on earth. 
Christopher Nolan and his younger brother Jonathan both wrote this and did an amazing job putting it all together.   I love everything Christopher Nolan does as a director.  The imagery in this movie was spectacular as was the sound.   

Matthew McConaughey,  Anne Hathaway,   Jessica Chastain, and Michael Caine were all fantastic in their portrayals as was the rest of the cast.  I hope that Matthew McConaughey and Christopher and Jonathan Nolan are nominated for Oscars because I thought this movie was incredible.  I am going to see this movie again since I’m sure I missed something.  I gave this movie 3 ½ out of 4 stars.  

Friday, November 7, 2014

Hercules

This movie stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Hercules.  He is told in his dreams that his kids and wife will be murdered.  Hercules has always been a protector of everyone who crosses his path and is in need of his help.  He and a group of mercenaries go off to help the town of Thrace.
I thought the Rock was outstanding.  At times he just stood there in a pose as he did as a wrestler.  He’s also not a bad actor.  The special effects were not available 10 years ago but the movie industry has come a long way and I loved the special effects in this movie. 

I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars.  

Maleficent

Angelina Jolie voices the lead role of the evil sorceress Maleficent who is on the prowl to abduct Elle Fanning who played Princess Aurora.  Maleficent casts all kinds of spells upon the innocent Princess Aurora. 

I loved the animation in this extraordinarily beautiful movie.  You can actually turn off the sound and view the wonderful sets.  The animators did a great job drawing the layouts for this movie.  Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning were fantastic in their roles.  I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars. 

The Book of Life

This family friendly offering stars Christina Applegate as she tells a story of what happened many years ago on the Day of the Dead.  Maria, who was voiced by Zoe Saldana, must choose between two men with one to be her husband.  One was Joaquin, voiced by Channing Tatum, and the other is Manolo and was voiced by Diego Luna. 
Joaquin is a decorated veteran and has a good luck charm that he carries with him at all times.  Manolo has a love for music but becomes a bullfighter following his family’s tradition.  Maria is in love with Manolo but chooses Joaquin to marry in hopes that he will protect their town from a brutal bandit voiced by Dan Navarro. 

I very much enjoyed The Book of Life.  All the actors did a fine job but the director, Jorge Gutierrez, did a fantastic job especially considering this was his first movie.  I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars.  

Nightcrawler

This action packed movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, a petty thief trying to make it stealing copper and selling it to scrap yards .   After coming upon a car crash and talking with those filming the incident, he finds that there is good money to be made and so begins a new career as a film journalist.    He finds that he has a knack for getting the best shots and has a solid buyer in Nina, a local TV producer played by Rene Russo.  The riskier the film the more money he makes.
He hires an assistant to help him who is played by Riz Ahmed.  Soon after Lou gets greedy when he arrives on the scene of a home invasion and murder before the perpetrators have left.  He captures them on film as they leave the house. 
Jake Gyllenhaal was terrific in what was a difficult role to play.  He lost a significant amount of weight to fit the part. I love the fact that he always seems to choose difficult roles and is always successful in his portrayals. 
Rene Russo was also outstanding.  I loved the way that her and Jake Gyllenhaal played off of each other.  I think her role was an excellent portrayal of the stress and anxiety of being a TV producer and needing to always get the best ratings. 

I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars.