MAN OF STEEL - updated

(2013) 143 Minutes, Rated PG-13

Mike's Review:  Where do I begin with this one.  Well for one I liked it better then 'Superman Returns' (2006)  And I liked how there was a little more back story to Kal-El. And I never envisioned 'Krypton' like something you would see in a 'Star Wars' movie. But there were some aspects of this movie that didn't sit right with me.  To give some examples 'Superman' doesn't kill people.  He's freaking Superman! He's the one that is supposed to be better then that.  I didn't like how they killed off his father in this version. I didn't like the whole kryptonian atmosphere crap...its called kryptonite for a reason. I could go on, but I won't.  I will say this, I liked the way 'Smallville' the TV series portrayed 'Superman' as a man, more then the way they did in this movie.  I won't even get into the long dragged out 'Doomsday' fight scenes either.  Why can't 'DC' come up with a decent 'Superman' Movie?  Does 'Marvel' have to step in and show them how its done?  At least they are getting better.  I wonder what the next one will be like.


Best Scene: The fight scenes were pretty good, just too many of them.
Mike's Rating: Matinee

Bean's Review:   Not being an avid and knowledgeable 'Superman' fan, I thought this was a good movie.  Henry Cavill portrayed 'Superman' well and I could accept him as 'Superman'.  Having a great physique and extremely pleasant voice helps to create his 'Superman' persona. Unfortunately, the movie was too long, basically due to the excessive fight scenes.  I understand the reasoning of 'Superman’s' first “villain” being from his planet, but the story would have been more “believable” if 'Superman' had been battling a “human villain”.  I also think a bit more levity would have enabled the audience to relate better with the movie.  The actors cast were generally good choices, especially Henry Cavill.  However, for the character of Lois Lane, I would have chosen a different actress.

Best Scene: Any scene with Clark and his human parents.

Bean's Rating: Worth the price of the ticket.


Karyn's Review:  I have seen the 'Superman' movies with Christopher Reeves.  They should have left well enough alone.  Not all older movies based on comics need to be remade.  This movie was way too long and I found it very boring.  There was no reason for the fight scenes to last as long as they did. 


Best Scene: When it was over.
Karyn's Rating: I wouldn't even buy it on DVD.



Dad's Review: This was a very good movie in my opinion. Russell Crowe did an excellent job portraying Jorel, Kal El father. This movie gave an in depth account of the situation on the planet Krypton and why Kal El was  sent away and on to Earth to escape the exploding planet disaster. It also explained General Zod and why he acted as he did. In addition, I thought the actor playing Superman was much more realistic and properly cast in that role than the previous versions had been. He is in great physical condition and looks serious in the role. I also liked Lois Lane as she appeared to have great intelligence and compassion. The actress playing Martha Kent, Diane Ladd, also did a very convincing job as the stepmother. Kevin Costner was very good as Jonathan Kent as well. I did think the fighting between Superman and Zod was a little “overboard” but, what the heck, it’s an action movie about fictitious people anyway.

Best Scene: When Superman finally stops Zod..
Dad's Rating: Definitely a “go see” movie for me.


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LAWLESS

(2012) 116 Minutes, Rated R

Mike's DVD Review:  This movie started off slow and the way they spoke was hard to understand sometimes.  I liked the idea of a moon shiner storyline and the whole bootlegging practice, but I just couldn't get into this movie.  I think the problem was they were trying to make the characters back stories too complicated and mysterious. And the roll that Shia Labeouf played wasn't like anything I had seen him do before.  I kept waiting for the fast talking know-it all to show up.  Now having said all that, I did like the way they ended the movie.  They wrapped up the loose ends and finally explained some things, but over all this movie just didn't entertain me.


Best Scene: The ending..

Mike's Rating: If I had seen this movie at the theater, I would have given it a wait for it on DVD or digital download rating. 

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

(2013) 104 Minutes, Rated G

Mike's Review:  Pixar does it again!  Just with the quality of the computer generated graphics (CG) this movie was a hit for me.  It was interesting seeing how Mike and Sully got into the whole scaring business, but I would have like to have seen a sequel rather than a prequel.  I already knew they would become friends and the one thing this prequel was lacking was there was no 'boo'.  I think I would have liked to have seen what happened after the original 'Monsters Inc' more.

When my 4 year old daughter gave me her review on the movie she said she once again she didn't like the scary parts (Sully roaring) but she like it at the end when they became friends.

Best Scene: There were some cute ones, and stay to the end of the credits.
Mike's Rating: Worth the price of the ticket.

Karyn's Review:  This was a cute movie.  It was nice to see how Sully and Mike became friends.  My 4 year old said she like the movie except the scary part, when Sully roared.  I think this movie is perfect for kids of any age.  Make sure if you haven’t seen Monsters Inc that you watch it after this one. 

Best Scene: When Mike and Sully walk into 'Monsters Inc.' for the first time together.

Karyn's Review: Worth the price of the ticket.

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NOW YOU SEE ME

(2013) 115 Minutes, Rated PG-13

Mike's Review:  This was a very fun, magical movie.  The visual effect were very good and It was like watching a good magic show.  The plot was made too complicated and overall it felt empty and there needed to be more character development, but just watching the magic "acts" and not foreseeing the twist at the end was entertaining enough for me. I was more into the magic side of the movie, then the story side of it.


Best Scene: I enjoyed the magical visual effects...They were just fun to watch.
Mike's Rating: Worth the price of the Ticket/Matinee. Right in the middle.

Bean's Review:  Interesting take on a con by using magicians.  This movie reminded me of the remake of 'Oceans 11' but not as good as 'Oceans 11'.  The characterization was lacking.  Michael Caine’s character was not portrayed as a really bad guy until almost the end and the same for Morgan Freeman’s character.  The movie has a lot of  “star power” but I still wanted the movie to get to the point and be over.  I enjoy watching Woody Harrelson, but he seems to always play the same, smart-aleck, arrogant character in all of his movies.  Jesse’s Eisenberg’s manner of speaking irks me as it is double talk/under the breath sly comments constantly, which again is the same way he acts in the movies in which I have seen him.  The special effects were good, but just about all of the movies today employ the special effects tactic to catch the audience’s attention as opposed to creating plausible characterization.

Best Scene: In the jail questioning room when Eisenberg’s character puts the cuffs on Mark Ruffalo’s character.

Bean's Rating: Perhaps matinee due to the special effects – but if not into special effects - DVD 


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HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS

(2013) 88 Minutes, Rated R

Mike's DVD Review:  Yet another missed movie I didn't have a chance to see on the big screen.  I know the whole idea of this movie is very strange, but the actual plot wasn't all that bad and the action was far fetched but entertaining.   Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton make a good brother-sister pairing but the roles they played could have really been done by anyone.  This movie was kind of like a R-rated version of 'Hocus-Pocus' (1993) with a little bit of 'The Matrix' (1999) style of fighting and the weapons from 'Van Helsing' (2004)  I think the troll could have been better it reminded me of a mix of one of the charters from the 'Labyrinth' (1986) and the blob 'Chet' creature from 'Weird Science' (1985)


Best Scene: Edward the troll to the rescue.

Mike's Rating: If I had seen this movie at the theater, I would have given it a Matinee rating.  It was good enough to see on the big screen, just not at full price.

FAST & FURIOUS 6

(2013) 130 Minutes, Rated PG-13

Mike's Review:  This is the first review where I actually saw the movie twice, before I posted my comments. I saw it once with Karyn and then again with my sister Bean.  

The first time I thought that this was the best of the 6.  I am glad they finally tied in 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift' to the rest of the franchise but I still don't like the fact they killed off Han.  This movie also brought a lot of things back together and it almost felt like it was going to be the end, until the credits started rolling.  I like the idea of where the next one will be going.
The second time through I caught some movie mistakes just some little things like hands in pockets in one angle and then out of the pockets in the next angle. But the funniest one was were you can actually see a mannequins or stunt dummies arm go bouncing in front of the tank right after it smashes through the cab of the truck that was hauling it.

Overall this movie was so worth seeing, even twice.


Best Scene: The tank scene or the worlds longest runway scene..
Mike's Rating: Worth the price of the ticket(s)...ha ha ha.

Karyn's Review:  This is my favorite movie franchise.  Each movie is as good as the last. I was excited and nervous about this movie, Excited because I love these movies and I was nervous with it being #6 that it wouldn't be good.  Like always they never disappoint.  Bringing back Letti was a great move. She was a great addition. I can't wait for the next one!


Best Scene: Dom and Letti flying through the air.
Karyn's Rating: Worth the price of the ticket..

Bean's Review:  This movie is as it was portrayed.  It is definitely fast and furious from the start. 

As I am a Vin Diesel fan, I enjoy most of his movies and this is no exception.

Although, it was a bit confusing in the beginning, as this is the 6^th of the series, you do not need to see all of the five prior movies to enjoy this one.  I did see the first one, so I was a bit familiar with some of the characters.  This movie had a bit of everything - great action, unbelievable car races, humor, primarily from the characters of Tyrese Gibson and Chris Bridges, suspense, drama and romance. Luke Evans was quite convincing as the “bad guy”. I also really liked that some American “muscle cars” were highly utilized.  There are some unexpected twists in the movie, so do not leave the theater at the ending of the movie.

One criticism is the sound track.  There was too much rap.  It would have been more apropos to include classic rock and roll for the scenes involving the “muscle cars”

Best Scene: When Dwayne Johnson’s and Chris Bridges’ characters request the host of the car auction to hand over his shirt and pants and when Vin Diesel’s character catches Michelle Rodriguez’s characters in mid-air and then both crash on the windshield of a car (although unbelievable, fun to watch)

Bean's Rating: Worth the full ticket price.  The actions scenes need to be seen on the big screen.

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TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE

(2012) 111 Minutes, Rated PG-13

Mike's Review:  I finally had a chance to catch this movie on cable, I kind of wanted to see it in the theater but never got around to it. It started off a little slow,  but the plot was interesting and before I knew I was totally wrapped up in the story.  Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams did a great job of playing dysfunctional father and daughter and the ending made the whole movie worth watching. 

Best Scene: There really wasn't any real stand out scenes, there were some cute and funny parts, but I like how it ended the best.
Mike's Rating: If I had saw this in the theater, I would haven given it a worth the price of the ticket rating.  But now that it is out on cable, I would say if you had a chance to watch it, you should.

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600 and counting!

Its hard to believe this blog has been up for just about a month and a half. And I can not believe how much this little blog has taken off!  We have passed the 600 mark in views, have grown globally and even gained a few fans and followers!  Thank you to all!