EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS

(2014) 150 Minutes, Rated PG-13

A.C.’s Review:  Moses reborn as a 1980’s action hero…and it works! Okay calling him a full blown action hero might be a bit of an exaggeration but this Moses played by Christian Bale isn’t the old man most picture when thinking of the biblical Moses. This is a Moses who as a general in the Pharaoh’s army is in the prime of his life and more than adept on the battlefield swinging a golden hilted sword and making moves like upsetting a chariot with the throw of a spear. In other words forget Charlton Heston…this is a Moses for the modern movie audience.

The movie follows the skeleton of the Moses story from the bible. Moses, a Hebrew placed with the Egyptian Royal family as a baby becomes a prince of Egypt raised along the Pharaoh’s son Rameses as brothers until the day his true heritage is discover and Moses is exiled. Eventually returning to Egypt to free the future Israelites from slavery and lead them to the promised land.

Directed by Ridley (ALIEN) Scott his movie is gorgeously shot. Sweeping vistas of ancient Egypt, with Pyramids and statues being built, the Nile and the Red Sea…all amazingly recreated. None of the CGI looks remotely fake. The best part of all this is that there is an interesting story with compelling characters. What I liked best was that Scott presents Rameses as a somewhat sympathetic character for someone holding a group of people enslaved. It would have been easy to make him a  one note, cartoon villain but that is not the case here.  In fact there is kind of a reverse of the Thor/Loki relationship from the MARVEL movies. Here the Pharaoh clearly seems to love and admire Moses more than his own natural son and it is not lost on Rameses.

Thanks to Rameses being a  more rounded character its hard not to feel something for him as God unleashes horrible plagues of doom  on Egypt in an attempt to get Rameses to free the slaves. Again the special effects of swarms of locusts, flies and their like were so well done you could feel the misery of the people.

Not being an overly religious person I couldn’t help but to wonder if the New Testament came about as an answer to the God presented here from the Old Testament. The almighty we see here doesn’t exactly inspire anyone to fall to their knees and worship. Being a visitor to movie message boards a lot of viewers are basically equating the death and destruction unleased here on the innocent Egyptians who had nothing to do with enslaving people as what you would get if you gave divine powers to Al Quida. God killing all the first born males was the climax of the plaques and Rameses who has lost his beloved baby even calls Moses out on how he can follow a god who did what he did. It’s pretty  heavy stuff.

The movie for all practical purposes concludes at the Red Sea and it’s an exciting climax.

The movie only stumbles in a couple places. Aaron Paul of BREAKING BAD and Sigourney Weaver of ALIEN I was surprised to find out afterwards were in the movie but hidden under their makeup I failed to recognize them and it’s pretty clear that their story arcs must have ended up on the cutting room floor as they are barely in the movie. Also I didn’t care for the period of the movie where Moses in in exile and falls in love and has a family. The courtship is so rushed and little represented that it’s laughable but I guess most movies feel obligated to tack on a love story.

In conclusion this was a biblical epic done right as opposed to NOAH which I would put in contention as one of the top 5 worst films of 2014.

Best Scene: Incredible scene of the Pharaoh’s army losing half its forces as they race across the mountains to catch Moses and the fleeing slaves and fall victim to an avalanche. Amazing effects!

A.C.’s Rating: Full Price Ticket

THE PYRAMID

(2014) 89 Minutes, Rated R

A.C.’s Review:  It’s a big month at the movie for Egypt. In the shadow of EXODUS: GODS & KINGS a low budget horror movie was also released perhaps as a counterpoint to all the comedies, animation and feel good movies of the season.

The Pyramid tells the tale of a father/daughter archeologist team, their assistant and two documentary film makers as they make an unauthorized entry into a newly discovered pyramid before being forced to leave the dig due to the recent political unrest in Egypt.

Naturally things do not go well for the band of adventurers’ because they quickly become sealed in and must find the way out. Complicating matters is the pyramid is full of booby traps and if that wasn’t bad enough they are not alone in the pyramid. It seems the ancient Egyptians built the pyramid to keep something IN…and there lies the horror of the movie.

This short hour and half movie delivered to me more enjoyment than the ponderous INTERSTELLAR did recently. There are no big names and  with these kind of movies you know what to expect. It’s the same reason people return to McDonalds. This movie was made to entertain and mission accomplished.

If the movie had any failings it would be that it’s partially “found footage” a genre that has overstayed its welcome and I hope will soon be played out.

Best Scene: The group triggers a trap that threatens to drown them in sand.

A.C.’s Rating:  Full Price Ticket

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 1

(2014) 123 Minutes, Rated PG-13

A.C.’s Review: One of the biggest Hollywood franchises around right now is the Hunger Games series starring Jennifer Lawrence as teen girl hero Katniss Everdeen. Based on a book series the movies follow her adventures as she fights to rebel against an evil totalitarian society that North America has become in some unknown time in the future. President Snow (Donald Sutherland) is the oppressive leader of the country now known as Panam which is divided into 13 Districts instead of States.

In the latest installment there are no more actual Hunger Games. Instead the story shifts to the leader of the rebellion played by  Julianne Moore asking Katniss to step up in her role as the symbol of the rebellion…The Mocking Jay. Katniss is reluctant at first as she is grief stricken by the capture of one third of a love triangle she is involved in…a fellow games contestant known as Peeta. He was captured at the end of Catching Fire and is now being tortured/brainwashed into being The Capitol’s spokesperson/symbol. Everdeen agrees to be the symbol and appear in videos and leading missions that will help encourage others to revolt as long as the rebellion promises to rescue Peeta at the first opportunity.

In my last review I was impressed how much the second movie recovered from the terrible first movie. This movie is a step back…not a disaster by any means but a step back none the less. The problem is twofold. The first is that the studio Lionsgate in a blatant cash grab has imitated the Harry Potter series by splitting the movie up into two parts-the final installment due out next year. This leads to a whole lot of…not much happening. Action is at a bare minimum and surprisingly there is no huge action set piece/cliffhanger you would expect at the end of the movie other than Peeta being rescued (mostly off screen) and being revealed to be brainwashed to try and kill Katniss, once the love of his life.

The second problem is with Peeta barely in the movie more screen time is given to the third wheel in the love triangle. A character named Gale who is Katniss lifelong friend who is in love with her. His role has to be the most thankless role I have ever seen in a movie. Gale pretty much knows he will never have Katniss and spends the entire movie moping about. I almost feel sorry for Liam Hemsworth (brother of Chris “Thor” Hemsworth) who is stuck playing him. The one surprise was he didn’t die in the rescue attempt of Peeta. I fully expected that to be the fate of this hopeless character. Anyway his melancholy brings down every scene that he is in and brings the movie to a screeching halt. I would have rather seen more of the Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks characters who were a big part of the first movies but here are reduced to little more than extended cameos.

I’m sure all will be redeemed when the final movie comes out and Snow and The Capitol get their comeuppance at the hands of Katniss Everdeen and hopefully that will erase the letdown many other must feel about this installment.

Best Scene: A group of rebel suicide bombers take out the dam that supplies power to the Capitol. One of the few exciting moments in the whole film.

A.C.’s Rating:  Matinee

BIG HERO 6 - updated

(2014) 102 Minutes, Rated PG

Mike's Review: This movie had some good and some bad to it.  The good.  It looks like PIXAR is finally rubbing off on Disney's computer generated cartoons. The realism has improved and some of the details were well done.  I also liked the idea of the story and characters were well done for a cartoon.

The bad. Disney still can't seem to change is that cartoons do not need anyone to die in them.  But that is the Disney formula. A splash of color and a dash of humor all rolled up into a tragic death of a main character to invoke 'feelings' in the audience.   Maybe one day the PIXAR way of story telling will rub of on Disney as well as the improved graphics.

Best Scene:  Baymax was a riot.

Mike's Rating: Matinee.  It would have been worth the price of the ticket but Disney hasn't learned yet that cartoons do not need a body count. 

Bean's Review: Very cute, entertaining movie.  Big Hero 6, “Baymax”,  is a blow-up robot that administers health care.  Interesting concept.  The animation was quite good, as the “cartoon” people almost looked life-like.

I was not expecting quite the amount of Japanese influence, but I do not follow Japanese cartoons and robots.

As with Disney movies, someone or something dies.  The characterization is good and we get quite attached to Baymax, which, of course, dies in the end, but then a “clone” is reanimated.

It was a good “escape” movie.

Best scene:  when Baymax is taping himself back up at the police station-this was laugh-out loud

Bean’s rating:  for kids-matinee, however, I would watch again on DVD

A.C.'s Review:  BIG HERO SIX is this year’s release from Disneystudios…a big departure from last year’s juggernaut FROZEN because this is an out and out superhero origin story. In fact I believe BIG HERO 6 is a property of Disney owned MARVEL STUDIOS thus the Stan Lee cameo as a portrait on the wall of the slacker due’s father (and if you stay until after the end credits-Stan Lee appears in animated form for his usual Marvel cameo in a humorous scene with his slacker son).

The story deals with how a superhero group is formed in the mythical blended city of San Fransokyo. When teen genius Hiro meets with a family tragedy he must bond together with an unlikely band of science geeks and form a team that can put a stop to an evil menace threatening the city and extract some personal justice in the process.

The main character and focus of the marketing in the character of Baymax. A robot medical diagnostic tool Hiro reprograms into a superhero. Initially he appears as a cross between and giant marshmallow and a balloon creation. I’m probably in the minority but Baymax was the character I cared least about.

The real prize in the movie for me was the supporting cast of science nerds turned superheroes. I liked them all. They made for an interesting team with their quirky personalities and I liked their dynamic. My favorite was Honey Melon. There was a long segment where they disappeared from the story and was happy when they were brought back and from that point on they were all in. Even the bit characters like Hiro’s aunt and the supposedly “evil” industrialist came off very good.

The first few minutes of the movie concerned me that it would be about “Bot Fighting” but that subplot was dispensed with fairly quickly and an emotional story quickly took center stage. During one very  grim scene I heard a child burst into tears and had there been more people in my theater it probably would be filled with crying. As strange as it sounds I think a movie does something right if you can get small children invested enough that they would get upset by what’s happening on screen. It shows they can have an attention span if the story is done right.

As said the audience was small but that was because I waited a long time to see it as I was ambivalent…worried it might be too much like animae which I don’t like but it wasn’t and in the end I was glad I saw it.

Best Scene:  The tragedy at the science fair and the aftermath

A.C.'s Rating:  Full Price

OUIJA

(2014) 89 Minutes, Rated PG-13

A.C.’s Review:  Hollywood, desperate for anything with name recognition has spun off movies based on anything from Disney rides like PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN to video games such as HOUSE OF DEAD. Scrapping the bottom of the barrel we have at long last come to board games in this case the Ouija game where spirits move the triangle shaped device across a board in order to make contact with the living. I played it as a kid and of course someone was pushing it around or it wouldn’t make much of a game.

In 2014 the film presents a group of friends trying to make contact with a recently deceased classmate who was the victim of an apparent suicide. However the girl was actually murdered by a malevolent spirit she unleashed while playing the game alone. Soon the group finds themselves tormented by the same spirit that starts picking them off one by one. Can the lead girl played by Olivia Cooke vanquish the spirit before no one is left alive? Trust me it’s hard to care.

The group of “students” is not very likable and it’s easier to root for the demon spirit. Also its harder to choose what’s more unbelievable…demons actually being unleashed by a Hasbro game or 30 year old adults playing what we are supposed to believe are school kids in the 11^th & 12^th grade. This is a completely disposable film but it drew in its target market…the theater was filled with teen girls looking for a good “scare”.

Best Scene: One of the “kids” getting tossed by a demon onto a covered pool and killed by the pool cover actively drowning him.

A.C.’s Rating:  Not even DVD. Free on TV if nothing else is on

NIGHTCRAWLER

(2014) 117 Minutes, Rated R

A.C.’s Review:  Jake Gyllenhal stars as scrap metal thief who discovers that the world of videoing of crimes, traffic accidents or “anything that bleeds will lead” on the Los Angeles local TV stations in far more profitable. Soon he sets himself up in his own business complete with a low paid assistant and begins selling exclusively to a station. As his videos begin to boost the ratings Jake tries to leverage that into a romance with the station news director played by Renee Russo.

However Gyllenhals characters soon crosses many unethical lines in order to get the videos,  including sabotaging fellow “Nightcrawler” vehicles in order for him to be first on the scene. His actions continue to escalate with deadly consequences.

I can see why Jake took the role because it clearly has “Oscar Bait” written all over it as he delivers quite a performance as the disturbed loner turned Nightcrawler. However his performance isn’t enough to save the movie, especially one with a very unsatisfying ending. That is twice now I’ve seen movies like this. First Gone Girl and now Nightcrawler where the endings buck the trend of what you expect. It must be a new “thing” in Hollywood to upset the audiences expectations of what will happen.

Best Scene: The climatic series of events he sets in motion by not going to the police so he can orchestrate the crime video to end all crime videos.

A.C.’s Rating: DVD

INTERSTELLAR - updated

(2014) 169 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Caine

Dad's Review: Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, a widowed NASA astronaut engineer in this movie which takes place initially on near future Earth which is rapidly becoming no longer habitable. His daughter, Murphy, nicknamed “Murph”, played by Jessica Chastain, is a very intelligent young lady who takes after her father. She loves technical things which makes her teachers upset. They say that it’s the technical people who got the Earth in the bad shape it’s in now and want her to consider being a farmer as that is what is needed now. Cooper receives a Morse code message which he and Murph figure out is actually the coordinates for a specific location. Cooper goes to the location and discovers a secret which is the basis for the movie. 

It is a very well thought out and acted movie and the science is also excellent and plausible especially now that we have a better understanding of the relation between relativity and quantum physics and that they still have not been reconciled together as yet to this day. Makes for a very thought provoking and interesting movie as well as a great love story.

It is an entertaining movie which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Best scene: Cooper goes off to meet his true love, Dr. Amelia Brand.

Dad’s Rating:   Must See.

Mike's Review: In a word. Wow!  This movie is almost 3 hours long and it could have easily been 4 hours long. This movie deserves all the hype it is getting.  The story was so complex and simple at the same time.  The effects and space scenes were out of this world.  I even liked the NASA block robots.

This is one of those movies you could write about and talk about for days.  But it is just better to see it for your self and be blown away by the awesomeness that it is. I would really like to see a sequel to this movie or even an extended cut DVD just to get more.  

Best scene:  The ending was great.

Mike’s Rating:  Must See!

A.C.'s Review:  I was not sure if I should write a review about this movie because I am admittedly biased. Being an avid movie goer I am well aware of the legion of fans  who believe director Christopher Nolan is some combination between the Second Coming of Christ and Alfred Hitchcock. I’ve never understood this and in fact believe INCEPTION was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Still being a kid when the Apollo space mission were a big deal I have always been interested in space travel so a movie like his I wanted to see.

It tells the tale of astronaut turned farmer named Cooper and his daughter Murphy. For some reason the Earth is heading for extinction because crops are beginning to fail, something to do with the soil and the dying world is plagued by dust storms. Through mysterious circumstances (well to anyone who has never watched an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE I suppose) Coop and Murph are led to a secret NASA facility where Coop’s old friend Dr. Grant (Michael Caine) is heading up a clandestine project that has been sending manned space ships through a wormhole in space discovered by Saturn years earlier. Cooper is quickly recruited into the goal of launching in a ship with Grant’s daughter scientist/astronaut played by Anne Hathaway (whose hair apparently has not grown back since her role in LES MISERABLES) along with a couple of Star Trek type “Red Shirts” to traverse the wormhole to make contact with three earlier missions and find out which of the three worlds they were sent to would be suitable to start colonizing.

The movie runs nearly 3 hours but still manages not to find time to explain certain things. For instance early in the movie an air force drone flies over their farm and using a laptop Cooper takes control of it so he can crash land it and take its solar battery. Exactly how does he do this? And why does he refer to their being no military anymore? No answers. Later in the movie the crew visits the first planet and they offer an explanation that an hour on the planet equals 7 earth years going by. Said explanation goes by so quick that I am still not sure how that  time difference was possible…however it’s more a less an allowance for Murphy to go from being a 10 year old to being played by Jessica Chastain when we next see her.

Visually Nolan delivers an impressive looking film (I treated myself to RPX for the experience) but its saddled with not the most compelling story (though it should be) and a miscast leading man in Matthew McCaughey. It tries too hard near the climax to pull off  being a spiritual successor to the movie 2001 (there are tons of homage mixed in the film from AI unites shaped like the Monolith to an abundance of organ music).

When all is said in done I think this movie as a good example of the studios buying into the hype of a director who turned in some good Batman films. Based on that good will they gave him $165 million dollars to make this movie and carte blanche to do with as he pleased. The movie was outdrawn opening weekend at the box office by BIG HERO 6 and this may sober up Tinseltown and bring Nolan back down to earth no pun intended.

Best Scene: A silent explosion in space just as the de facto villain begins to monologue.

A.C.'s Rating: Matinee

JOHN WICK

(2014) 101 Minutes, Rated R

Mike's Review: Its good to see Keanu Reeves make it all the way through a movie.  That was the one thing that ticked me off the most in 47 Ronin, but happily he makes it in the end. Over all the story was good but the action was better.  I liked the idea of the hit man hotel and the ideas of the gold coins and clean up crews and doctors. I don't see much of a sequel for this movie in the future, but if there was one I would go see it in a minute.

Best Scene:  The action.

Mike's Rating: Worth the price of the Ticket. Just two things kept it from being a must see.  First killing the puppy, and second making Adrianne Palicki a "bad guy"...such a waist of talent.

Bean's Review: I really enjoy watching Keenu Reeves’ movies, and this movie was no exception.

John Wick, played by Keenu Reeves, is a retired assassin, at one time employed by a Russian mafia boss, Viggo Tarasov, played quite well by Michael Nyqvist.  Wick comes out of “retirement” when Tarasov’s son makes the deadly mistake of stealing Wick’s nifty Mustang, beating Wick up and killing Wick’s beagle puppy, Daisy, left to Wick by his recently dead wife.  Wick, a/k/a, the “Boogeyman”, is relentless in his pursuit of Tarasov’s son.

 I absolutely did not like the killing of the puppy.  I enjoyed the “secret society” back drop of the storyline, much like a James Bond movie.  Willem Dafoe plays an ally of Wick, which association does not end well.  I wish that Dafoe’s part was expanded, as I enjoy watching Dafoe.  The fight scenes are quite extensive, but for the most part follow the storyline.  However, Wick’s fight with Ms. Perkins, played by Adrianne Palicki, was a bit ridiculous, as Wick, could have much more easily subdued her.

It was fun to see Dean Winters, a/k/a  the “Mayhem Guy” from commercials, in a very mayhemic situation.  The muscle cars were also a nice touch and seemed to make the movie edgier.

The ending was satisfying, almost making up for the emotional beginning, especially when Wick received Daisy, although, Wick should have chosen a different breed of dog.  The ending also allows for a sequel. 

Best scene:  when Wick is captured by Tarasov and is being tortured and Wick tells Tarasov that his son took Wick’s hope

Bean’s Rating:  Full price ticket

ADDICTED

(2014) 106 Minutes, Rated R

A.C.’s Review:  Playing in a small number of theaters currently is a drama that asks the question what could cause a successful businesswoman, with a great husband, beautiful children and a great home risk it all by engaging in not one but two affairs pretty much simultaneously? The answer is sexual addition, a topic not done to death in TV and film in the way that alcoholism and drug dependency have been.
 

The movie tells the tale of an art agent named Zoe who finds herself going astray when she meets a new artist client, a suave Latin lover type who is physically perfect and has charm that could sell ice cubes to Eskimos or lawn mowers in the Sahara. Soon Zoe is actively cheating on her loving architect husband as she neglects her business and her family. And before long she’s also picked up a biker boyfriend who introduces her to an underground swinging culture that looks straight out of the Tom Cruise movie Eyes Wide Shut. Zoe actively seeks counseling from a supportive psychiatrist but will that be enough before her secrets explode and destroy her life?

This movie was basically described as Fifty Shades of Gray for African American women as Zoe and her family were A & A. I was interested in the movie as the actress playing Zoe was played by Sharon Leal who I used to enjoy on several TV programs and she was easy on the eyes so I decided to give it a chance. It was fairly engaging with just the right amount of suspense though nothing to really make it stand out amidst the many movies that I have seen this year but no regrets.

Best Scene: Zoe prowling the bar where she picks up the biker.

A.C.’s Rating:  Matinee/borderline DVD

FURY

(2014) 134 Minutes, Rated R

Bean's Review: Although a well-acted movie, I am in no hurry to see it again.  Fury is the name given to a tank that it, along with its crew, undergo horrific battles in World War II.   The storyline is just a glimpse into the near-end fighting days of World War II in Germany.

  

Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf create very convincing characters.  The movie is gritty, bloody and depressing, therefore portraying a realistic glimpse of what our soldiers went through in World War II.

Best Scene:  when the German soldier saw the newest crew member, played by Logan Lerman, under the tank and pretended that he never saw him

Bean's Rating:  Full price

Mike's Review: This movie takes one little look at the total Hell that was World War II.  The story is about one of the longest remaining tank crews that had survived for years and their luck finally ran out.  I was surprised to see just how under classed our tanks were compared to those of the German tanks, there is one scene where you actually see one of our shells bounce off a German tank.  

It was sad to see the crew get killed off one by one, but that's war.  Don't expect a happy ending.

Best scene: The action and battle scenes were very well done and totally realistic.

Mike’s rating:  Worth the price of the ticket.

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GONE GIRL

(2014) 149 Minutes, Rated R

A.C.’s Review:  The latest Ben Affleck vehicle is also the most recent offering from one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed directors David Fincher. It details the sudden disappearance of Nick Dunne’s wife Amy played by Die Another Day’s Bond Girl Rosamund Pike, Amy whose life was the basis for a series of children’s books by her parents therefore when she goes missing the case draws national attention with the usual media circus descending on the Dunne’s small Missouri town. Dunne finds himself pilloried by a Nancy Grace clone on the cable channels and pursued by a pair of police detectives. His only allies are his twin sister and a high priced attorney played by Tyler Perry. 
 

If Alfred Hitchcock were alive today this is the kind of movie he would have made. It’s filled with twists and turns that I would not wish to spoil in a review. The movie clocks in at two and a half hours, maybe more but I don’t really see much that could be trimmed out of it. All the screen time is used accordingly.

I will say the ending literally brought howls of protest from the audience when after its lengthy running time ended abruptly and not in a way that pleased the theater goers who sat through it. It’s been a long time since I heard anyone shout at the screen but it happened here. I have to admit I would have preferred a better ending myself.

Fincher is an interesting director for me that I have never seen his appeal and that is because the saying is true about you only get one chance at a first impression. Fincher’s first movie was Alien 3 which I was greatly anticipating for so long and when it finally came out the results were disastrous. I hated that movie. Hated it! So I never bought into the Fincher hype in all the years since. He’s made movies people have raved about like Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Social Network but he has also made Zodiac another very bad movie. I will say Gone Girl is one of his better efforts.

Best Scene:  I can’t reveal but it’s when the Big Twist is revealed and we see exactly how it went down.

A.C.’s Rating:  Reluctant full price because the ending nearly demotes it to Matinee.