Need For Speed

Determined to take down his rival, a sprint car racer played by Aaron Paul runs through a cross-country gauntlet of cops and bounty hunters in a huge race.

I thought this movie had some high points especially the acting of Aaron Paul who was also great in Breaking Bad.  There were also some dull points in the movie.  The movie was too long and drawn out.  I gave this movie 2 ½ out of 4 stars.     

Oculus

Adult siblings plan to destroy an antique mirror with malevolent forces that send the son into a mental institution and cause the death of their parents.

I thought that Oculus was a pretty solid movie to watch because the action was superb and some of the acting in the movie was tremendous as well.  Once again this is not a perfect movie but was suspenseful enough to keep my attention.  I gave this movie 2 ½ out of 4 stars. 

And So It Goes

This movie stars two great actors in Michael Douglas and Dianne Keaton as two people living next to each other in a house split out into apartments.  Both are struggling to get by after the deaths of their long-time spouses. 

Oren Little (played by Douglas) is a real estate agent trying to sell the home that him and his wife had lived in for many years.  He wants to sell the home for over 8 million dollars.  His son, who had struggles with drug dependency, returns to ask him to care for his young daughter while he serves a short term in prison for a crime he did not commit. 

Leah (played by Keaton) is a singer in a club and trying to make ends meet.   Leah and the other tenants dislike Douglas who is their landlord.  She gets along with everyone but does not know how to deal with Oren.  He comes to the club she’s in and hears her sing and offers to become her agent to get her a better job.  Oren convinces Leah to help him care for his granddaughter. The storyline shows Oren coming to love his granddaughter as he and Leah become close as well. 

I thought this movie started kind of slow but after about 15 minutes I was hooked.  The movie was directed by the great Rob Reiner (director of other great movies such as When Harry Met Sally)  and is one of those feel-good stories that is easy to enjoy.  Rob Reiner even had a small part in the movie.  I loved both Leah and Oren’s characters.  I gave this movie 3 out of 4 stars.

Hercules

Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson comes out in his latest movie, Hercules.  I thought this movie was very entertaining with some great action scenes mixed in with an OK plot.  Hercules, together with a band of loyal supporters, fight in a civil war to return the king to his throne in the country of Thrace. 

This movie is as good in regular viewing as it was in 3D.   I thought “the Rock” was great as he was in the movie Snitch.    As Hercules, he continued to play a lead part in another action movie that you find it hard to take your eyes from.  In my opinion, the performance by the secondary characters was fantastic as well.  I gave this movie 3 out of 4 starts.  Once you step in, leave your mind at the door and just enjoy it. 

Lucy

Lucy is a sci-fi thriller starring a head-strong girl played by Scarlett Johansson.  Lucy is forced into carrying drugs after doing a favor for a friend and watching him be killed.  The drugs are a new breed being introduced by the Chinese and are surgically inserted into her abdomen.  The bag splits allowing the drug to enter her system. 

Meanwhile a professor played by Morgan Freeman is lecturing on the fact that very little of the human brain is ever used.  The effects of the drug in Lucy’s system allow her to begin using more and more of her brain and so she contacts the professor.  She also engages the help of a detective to go after the people who are trying to sell the drugs.

The looks and feel of this movie are fantastic.  The special effects were terrific as well.   I loved the performances by Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman.  But overall there was something that was lost in this movie.   Both actors did a great job but there weren’t enough plot twists to satisfy me in this movie.  I gave Lucy 2 ½ out of 3 stars. 

Guardians of the Galaxy

This movie stars Rocket the raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot the tree (voiced by Vin Diesel), Drax played by former WWE wrestler Dave Batista, Gamora played by Zoe Saldana, and Peter Quill played by Chris Pratt.  The characters were separately odd but they all came together as the story moved along.

The movie begins with Peter Quill, also known as Starlord, visiting his dying mother in the hospital.  To escape the pain of losing his mother, he runs out of the hospital and is kidnapped by a group of aliens and taken into the galaxy where he is raised.   All he has from his prior life is a mix tape that his mother had made for him containing great music.  As a grownup, he becomes a thief.  While attempting a major heist, he is taken captive by a band of villains.  All of the characters then meet fighting off the villains and form a united front in becoming the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a terrific movie on all fronts.  It looks and sounds great and the acting is outstanding as well.  This movie also has great actors like Glenn Close, John C Riley, Lee Pace, and Karen Gillan.    I gave this movie 4 out of 4 stars.