Blue Rays and DVD’s: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

This is the last of the three Night at the Museum movies and may have been the best.  It was definitely better than the second movie.  It again stars Ben Stiller as Larry Daley who is the security guard at the Museum of Natural History in New York City.  When the museum closes at night, the exhibits come to life.  In this version, all of the characters travel to London to visit the British Museum. 

This movie is loaded with stars.  Besides playing Larry Daley, Ben Stiller also plays Laaa who is a Neanderthal.  Ben Kingsley plays as a powerful pharaoh named Merenkahre.  Dick Van Dyke stars as Cecil, a retired security guard for the museum.  Rebel Wilson plays Tilly, the security guard at the British Museum, and Owen Wilson plays Jedediah, the cowboy.  It also features the late Mickey Rooney as Gus, another retired security guard, and the great Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt.  Even Hugh Jackman makes a brief appearance.

Ben Stiller was terrific as was the other cast and I really enjoyed it. 

I gave this movie 2 ½ out of 4 stars.  

Seventh Son

Jeff Bridges plays the part of Master Gregory who is a knight in an order known as the Spooks.  Master Gregory has imprisoned an evil witch named Mother Malkin who was played by Julianne Moore.  Ben Barnes plays Tom Ward who is the seventh son of the seventh son and is destined to join the Spooks order. 

Tom often has visions of Master Gregory and a girl he has never met.  Master Gregory shows up at his door and Tom realizes that he must leave with him.  Before he leaves, his mother, played by Olivia Williams, gives him her necklace that he is to wear at all times to ensure his safety.

Tom becomes the apprentice of Master Gregory and soon meets the unknown girl from his dreams, Alicia (Alice Dean).  They become close but Tom does not realize that Alicia has ties to Mother Malkin.  Mother Malkin has escaped and it is up to Tom and Master Gregory to save the world from her evil treachery. 

The scenery in this movie was terrific as it fit in well with the storyline.  Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore were terrific as was the other cast.  The acting carried the movie because the storyline was a little weak and slow.  I still gave this movie 2 ½ out of 4 stars.  

The Gambler

This movie stars Mark Wahlberg as Jim Bennett.  He is a literature professor with a severe gambling addiction.  He owes $260,000 to the proprietor of an underground gambling ring and is told he has one week to pay off the debt or he will be killed.    He then borrows money from a loan shark to pay off the debt but instead gambles it away.

Jim comes from a wealthy family.  His mother, Roberta (Jessica Lange), gives him the money to pay off both debts, but he again gambles it away.    One of his students shows promise as a writer and he falls for her.    She is soon threatened as well.  He now contemplates borrowing money from another loan shark who is played by John Goodman. 

I enjoyed this movie but there were some scenes that I didn’t like.  Some of the characters didn’t add anything to the movie.  Mark Wahlberg was terrific as was Jessica Lange and John Goodman.  

The performances were better than the directing.  Rupert Wyatt was the director.  He should have given his attention to the whole movie instead of just the beginning.   I gave this movie 2 ½ out of 4 stars.  

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.     

John Wick

Keanu Reeves plays the character of John Wick, a former assassin who had just buried his wife.  He is met at the funeral by a former associate played by Willem Dafoe.  A few days after the service, a package is delivered.  The package contains a final gift from his wife of a puppy to care for. 

A few days later, some Russian mobsters break into his house.   They kill his dog and steal his 1969 vintage mustang.  John Wick wants revenge. 

The action in this movie was outstanding.  I thought that Willem Dafoe was excellent.  Adrianne Palicki who played another assassin and Ian McShane who played a hotel owner frequented by the assassins were also great.  I was a little disappointed with Keanu Reeves acting.  He’s never been great but he could have done better in this role.   I think he was concentrating more on stunts than dialogue.  I gave this movie 2 ½ out of 4 stars. 

Annabelle

This movie was based on a true story about a doll named Annabelle who was possessed.  She makes her way into the home of Mia (played coincidentally by Annabelle Wallis).  Crazy and unexplainable things begin to happen in Mia’s household including the death in the night of their neighbors.  Mia’s husband John (Ward Horton), throws the doll in the trash but lo and behold she reappears while Mia is unpacking after they move to a new home. 

This movie had lots of opportunity for gotchas to startle you and make you hide your eyes but it missed out.  I thought the direction of the movie was OK but not great.  The actors were also just average.  I was hoping for a good horror movie that I could get into but it never came about. 

An explanation was provided as to where the doll is today which I liked because it comes from the story the Conjuring.  There were a lot of parts of this movie that didn’t make sense but there were a few high points.  So I gave this movie 2 ½ out of 4 stars.  

The Maze Runner

This movie is about a bunch of boys who have been mysteriously delivered to a glade outside of a maze. However, the only way out is to find their way through the maze.  The kicker is that the maze is constantly changing. 

The star of this movie is Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien.  Once Thomas arrives in the glade, life begins to change drastically for the other boys.  One boy in particular, Gally (Will Poulter), is not happy with the changes and makes life difficult for Thomas every chance he can. 

The movie shows a lot of interaction among the boys and the indecision as it relates to getting through the maze and all of its gotcha’s.  The movie was OK but I wasn’t blown away by it.  The acting was fine but could have been directed by a better director.  The action was great and kept you on your toes but that’s the end of the good in my opinion.  I gave this move 2 ½ out of 4 stars.