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(2015) 94 Minutes, Rated PG

Mike's Review: After seeing the previews, I had a completely different idea of what this movie was going to be about, then what it was actually about.  I thought the main alien character Oh was looking for a new planet to live on and in the process crossed paths with a girl that was looking for her mom.  But what the movie was actually about was the alien characters called the Boov taking over planet Earth and in the process moving all the humans to Australia including the girls mom, separating them.

I liked the humor and the fact this cartoon is one of the rare ones that actually didn't have a body count.

Best Scene:  There were some funny scenes and a bunch of catch phrases I'm sure will be around for awhile.

Mike's Rating: Worth the price of the Ticket.

My Six year old daughter's Review: I really like Oh, they did a good job on him. It was an awesome movie and none of the parts were sad.  The silliest part was when Oh drank the lemonade.

Best Scene: When the aliens got their new houses.

Her's Rating: Must See!

RUN ALL NIGHT

(2015) 114 Minutes, Rated R

Mike's Review: This was an interesting spin of the typical role Liam Neeson seems to have been playing lately but it was still Liam Neeson doing what he does best, fighting and killing.

I didn't care for the story line or the actor that played his son, but the fight scenes were fun to watch and I was even okay with Liam Neeson getting killed in the end. Which is strange for me because I usually hate it when they kill off the main character in a movie. But he died saving his son and even if he had lived he would of just ended up in prison


Best Scene:  Bathroom fight scene and ending..

Mike's Rating: Matinee.

Bean's Review: Another action-packed movie from Liam Neeson.  In this movie, as opposed to playing an ex-cop, ex-CIA or ex-some sort of special agent, i.e. a “good guy”,  Neeson plays an ex-mob assassin, i.e. a “bad guy”.  As the story goes, the bad guy turns good guy-morally.

Neeson, son, a morally good person, played by Joel Kinnaman, is witness to a murder by Neeson’s ex-boss’, played by Ed Harris, son, played by Boyd Holbrook.  Ed Harris has not aged well.

Neeson ends up killing Harris’ son, which results in an all-out hunt for Neeson and Kinnaman by Harris’ gang of hoodlums.  This action occurs all in one night.  The only uncorrupt policeman, Detective Harding, played well by Vincent D’Onofrio helps Neeson and Kinnaman.

    

Harris is killed by Neeson, along with many others.  Kinnaman and his family are safe, but Neeson is killed by a hired assassin, after Neeson kills the assassin.

Best Scene:  when Neeson shoots the assassin with that awesome Winchester

Bean’s Rating:  Matinee/DVD-a bit too long with a too familiar storyline

FOCUS

(2015) 105 Minutes, Rated R

Mike's Review: Not too bad of a movie. A little slow and dragged out but it was entertaining enough. It was interesting seeing the whole network of thieves banding together and working as a well oiled unit in New Orleans.   

Will Smith's character could have been played by anyone, Smith really didn't bring anything to the table and in fact, it was kind of a off role for him, which made it a little weird to watch. Margot Robbie on the other hand I thought did a nice job on her part.

Best Scene:  I thought the football betting scene was the best.

Mike's Rating: Matinee.

Bean's Review: I always enjoy watching Will Smith.  His movies are usually worthy of watching more than once.  However, this movie, although entertaining enough, is not really worth watching again.

  

Smith plays a con man who mentors a beautiful blonde, played by Margot Robbie, and ends up falling in love with her, thus supposedly losing focus on the con.  The cons are very involved and sometimes hard to follow.

  

It was good to see Gerald McRaney in a movie.  He plays Smith’s pseudo father, which leads into a twist ending that was a bit unexpected.

Best scene:  the betting scenario at the football game-pretty intense

Bean’s Rating:  matinee/DVD – too long for the storyline

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE - updated

(2014) 129 Minutes, Rated R

Bean's Review: Quite enjoyed this movie.  Very reminiscent of the earlier “Bond” movies with the cool gadgetry, polished manners and great clothes.  Colin Firth plays a secret agent from a very secret spy organization known as the Kingsman.   Colin Firth’s role also reminded me of TV series, The Saint.  He recruits the son of one of the agents killed while on a training mission under Firth’s control.  The son, Eggsy, is played by Taron Egerton.  Samuel L. Jackson is the very egocentric “bad guy”  with a lisp and, ironically, a fear of seeing blood.  Jackson does a good job.  The prosthetic slashing, sling-blade type leg-prosthetics on Jackson’s sidekick, played by Sofia Boutella, are an unique feature.

Michael Caine, whom I always enjoy watching, is the head of the Kingsman, but ends up being in cahoots with Jackson.  The character I most liked was Merlin, played by Mark Strong.  He was the trainer of the recruits.

My brother pointed out that the Professor in the opening scene was played by Mark Hamill.   As the plot line was pretty sci-fi, it was good fit.

Overall, an interesting storyline with some very entertaining fight scenes.  However, the death of Firth’s character, was unexpected, but it was a catalyst for the remainder of the story.

Best scene:  the initial bar scene where Firth’s character meets with Eggsy and the ensuing battle

Bean’s rating:  matinee-it was a bit long and sometimes wandered off track

Mike's Review: Wow.  I almost completely agree with Bean's review.  It was an interesting movie, but I don't think they really needed to kill off Colin Firths' character. That one thing dropped this movie from a worth the price of the ticket rating down to a matinee.  I hate it when they kill off the good characters in movies.

Best scene:  I liked the exploding head sequence as well as the final bar fight scene.

Mike’s rating:  Matinee.

A.C.'s Review: As the trend of graphic novels turned movies continues unabated this winter we find the latest adaptation in KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE. The movie follows the exploits of a petty thief who is initiated into a secret private intelligence agency by a secret agent code named Galahad played by Colin Firth. It seems years early the young man’s father was also a Kingsman who gave his life to save Galahad on a mission gone bad. The story follows the young man nicknamed Eggy as he goes through the training while a parallel story deals with a Bond type megalomaniac villain played by Samuel L. Jackson as he prepares to save the world by purging most of its population.

This movie had probably some of the worst marketing I have ever seen. The first trailer was so bad that I had zero interest in seeing this. Then a second trailer came out that actually gave an idea of what the story would be about but it played up the more comical aspects of it and I was leery that it was going to be another almost Austin Powers like take on the world of spies.

This weekend I went to see it with no other alternatives and was pleasantly surprised by the film. It had a good story with likable characters and managed to blend the serious and the comedic elements together in just the right amount as for one not to detract from the other.

I really enjoyed the climax as dual stories play out at the edge of space and at the classic super villain underground lair. Very exciting.

The movie was made by some of the people behind KICK ASS and you can see it in the so over the top violence that well is as said over the top that it’s actually more entertaining than shocking.

After shying away from seeing this movie I now am hoping there will be a follow up as I would like to see more of this movie universe.

Best Scene: The Church Fight…nothing could probably top that other than the operatic exploding heads scene. And what happens immediately after the church scene was bold and shocking but I appreciate the movie actually went there.

A.C.'s Rating: Full Price Admission

THE LAZARUS EFFECT

(2015) 83 Minutes, Rated PG-13

A.C.’s Review:  Think back to the old movie FLATLINERS with Keifer Sutherland and Julia Roberts scientifically reviving the dead and visiting the afterlife and you will more of less have this movie.

A group of naturally good looking mid to late 20’s scientists have developed a serum that will bring back animals from the dead. They are forced to use it on one of their group when she is accidentally electrocuted during one of the experiments late one night in their lab.

With security measures in place the lab becomes sealed and the group is now trapped with their former friend who is anything but after having come back from her vantage point spending years in hell. Not only that she’s now got powers borrowed from CARRIE that spells doom for her hapless lover and friends.

The teen friendly PG-13 rating fell on to this March 2015 horror release but I doubt if even that will bring audiences into the film. There are no big draw names outside of Olivia Wilde and veteran actor Ray Wise shows up for the sum total of one scene to play an even CEO…it’s great work if you can get it.

The low budget nature of this movie is clear in that 90% takes place within the lab and it has a ridiculously short running time of about 83 minutes. The movie definitely needed more of a cast for a higher body count.

With all that said I liked the movie. Any film that explores interesting concepts such as returning from the great beyond is good by me. Also most of the characters were fairly likable.

Best Scene: When Olivia Wilde is told she had only been dead for a few minutes but she reveals she was trapped in hell for many years and it turns out hell is repeating your worst day over and over again.

A.C.’s Rating:  Matinee

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2

(2015) 93 Minutes, Rated R

A.C.’s Review:  A few years ago a comic romp called HOT TUB TIME MACHINE came out where four friends led by John Cusack traveled back in time to 1986 via the titular machine. Much fun was had with the concept of everyone in the past seeing them as they were in 1986 and generally the whole nostalgia of revisiting a time when cassette rocked the house. The movie was a success and a sequel announced.

Flash-forward (pun intended) to 2015 and the movie came out but John Cusack was nowhere to be found. He must have read the script and bailed out. The three friends are now joined by Cusack’s son played by Adam Scott. Instead of going to the past they leap ahead 10 years in the future to solve one of their owns murder.

The script is barely in existence…it boomerangs around from one inane joke or gag to the next. The chemistry is off without Cusack (who I don’t even like as an actor) and the whole things plays out in a future that looks very much like 2015 and the people from the present they encounter barely look a day older despite 10 years having gone by.

This is without a doubt the worst follow up to a movie since GREMLINS 2 which suffered the same problem. HTTM2 and GREMLINS 2 tried to SPOOF what was already screwball comedy and both were epic fails that never should have seen the light of day.

Best Scene: Actually the closing credits have a montage of the guys sitting in the hot tub back from such adventures as becoming The Beatles, dating Marylyn Monroe etc. Way funnier than the actual movie.

A.C.’s Rating:  DVD

JUPITER ASCENDING

(2015) 127 Minutes, Rated PG-13

A.C.’s Review:  From the brother/sister team behind THE MATRIX movies comes their offering for this year-JUPITER ASCENDING (though it was originally scheduled for 2014 it was pulled from the schedule when other offerings from the studio distributing the film were bombing and they didn’t want to risk this going down in flames as well…though in the end it ultimately has tanked at the box office).

The long and short of this sci-fi epic is that Earth was just one of many worlds seeded by one of the most  powerful corporate dynasties in the universe. Three members of the family hold title to different planets. The horrific aspect of the movie is that in actuality Earth is just another farm to eventually be harvested of all its people so they can be distilled down into a liquid substance that can prolong a person’s life for eons. As one of the bad guys says in the movie “Time is the most valuable commodity in the universe.”

Things go awry for the eventual harvesting of Earth when though some sort of genetic reincarnation…the matriarch of the corporate dynasty is reborn in lowly Jupiter Jones…a house cleaner from Chicago who spends her days with her mother and her aunt scrubbing toilets.

Through a whole convoluted bit I don’t understand the dynasty becomes aware of Jupiter and must kill her as she is now the rightful title holder to Earth. Along the way Jupiter is protected by human/wolf hybrid known as a “split” played by Channing Tatum as well as an intergalactic police force not unlike the Nova Corps seen in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.

At first I was dubious about the movie but as it went along I enjoyed it more than I thought.

The big problem is that the movie has to do “world building” and establishing the whole mythos of the universe this takes place in and it’s an impossible task with only two hours to work with. It needed a couple movies but understandably there was no guarantee of extending this to a trilogy (especially now that it is a confirmed disappointment) so they had to front load everything into this film. Some of the narrative suffers for it…for instance there is a big battle over Chicago but nobody is wise to it the next day as Tatum casually explains all the buildings will be rebuilt and everyone’s memory wiped. How this is possible it is glossed over…as are other characters and subplots.

This movie was ambitious…kind of like DUNE from 1984 spliced together with GUARDIANS, STAR WARS and some other space epics. I appreciate the effort even if it wasn’t always successful.

Best Scene: The aforementioned battle over Chicago with great special effects like a destroyed space craft raining fire down on the Sears Tower.

A.C.’s Rating: Reluctant full price…just shy of being a matinee only.