GREEN ROOM

(2015) 95 Minutes, Rated R

A.C.'s Review:  Playing in almost no theaters (if you don’t live in a major metropolitan area forget about finding this) is the  horror/thriller the Green Room.

Somewhere along the Oregon coast we find a grunge band touring at some pretty questionable dive bars. Unfortunately for them they wind up in one that is sitting literally on top of a heroin operation. After their show they are just about to leave but one member has left their cell phone charging in The Green Room (where you wait before you act goes on). Walking in to retrieve it they find members of the club have just murdered someone who is bleeding out on the floor,. Quickly they manage to barricade themselves in the Green Room giving them temporary safety. However it’s a double edged sword. There is no way out. They pry open the floor and discover the heroin operation but there is no way out from that lab either. Now the band along with the female friend of the murder victim must find some way to survive.

          

Not an easy task when the murderous owner/drug dealer of the club played by Star Trek’s Captain Picard…Patrick Stewart is hell bent on murdering them and he uses everything at his disposal from vicious attack dogs to his goon squad. Who if anyone will survive?

          

It’s a tense little thriller with no big names other than Stewart but it is definitely worth checking out if you can find it.

Best Scene: Their first escape attempt and their run in with the dogs.

A.C.'s Rating: Full Price

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

(2016) 151 Minutes, Rated PG-13

A.C.'s Review:  At long last in the 80 years or so history of DC COMICS their two most iconic characters share the big screen for the first time….as enemies. During the Silver age of comics these two superheroes were best friends until the reboot of the DC universe in 1986. In the new continuity these two were no longer best buds but more of adversaries based on their different methods of operation. This paves the way for the film currently showing worldwide.

            Henry Cavill  returns from THE MAN OF STEEL and is now joined by Ben Affleck donning the cape and cowl to portray the Dark Knight of Gotham City. In the movie Batman is distrustful of Superman based on the danger Superman might present should he ever go rogue like the Kryptonian villains who laid waste to large portions of Metropolis in MOS. Superman for his part frowns of Batman’s vigilante justice. This puts the two on a collision course.

            The villain of the piece if Lex Luthor played by Jesse Eisenberg who most will remember as Mark Zuckerberg in THE SOCIAL NETWORK movie about the founding of FACEBOOK. Here he is Zuckerberg on evil steroids as he plots evil doing…with little or no motive. (not even a fanciful real estate scheme like in the classic Christopher Reeve movies or the Brandon Routh SUPERMAN RETURNS movie.

            The first half of this movie plays like an entirely different film as Batman is doing his detective work tracing a criminal scheme that is linked to Luthor and Superman is framed for some deaths during his appearance in Africa to rescue Lois Lane (a manipulation by Luthor)

Eventually Luthor captures Clark Kent’s mother Martha Kent (Diane Lane) and forces Superman to battle Batman to the death or he will kill Ma Kent. It’s only about here where the movie picks up in its last half hour to 45 minutes as the epic fight unfolds before the two must join forces to battle a new threat Luthor unleashes on the world. They are at the end  joined by Wonder Woman who is pursuing her own subplot here and there in the movie.

            This review is hard to write because the movie is so densely plotted and murky in places it’s hard to explain someone of the stuff the that happened. I’ll try and sum it up. Basically its two movies in one…a detective/drama for the first half and a superhero special effects extravaganza in the second half where the heroes finally don their costumes and it becomes BATMAN VS SUPERMAN not BRUCE WAYNE vs CLARK KENT.

             Overall the film continues the same dark and joyless tone of the  MOS and from that Nolan/Bale Dark Knight films. I get it..it’s DC/WARNER BROTHERS way to differentiate itself from the MARVEL movies…it achieves that goal but they aren’t very much fun. Anyway Wonder Woman played by Gal Gadot who was Han’s girlfriend in the FAST AND FURIOUS movies and got her chips cashed in in movie number 6 did a good job with the role and I will watch her solo movie with more interest than anymore Superman or Batman movies.

Best Scene: Luthor plants a bomb in the US Capitol building to discredit Superman.

A.C.'s Rating: Matinee

 

DEADPOOL

(2016) 108 Minutes, RATED R.

Mike's Review:  This movie is a total Raunchy Riot!  I loved it. 

I saw this movie on opening day and I held off writing a review for awhile just to see how the movie did in the theater.  And I'm so glad its doing as well as it is in the theater, that means hopefully there will be a sequel and hopefully some well placed cameos in other future movies.

Ryan Reynold's is the man.  They couldn't have found a better actor to play Deadpool.

If you know Deadpool then you will love this movie.  If you have no ideas who Deadpool is or what he's about then still go see the movie, but be warned its rated R for a reason.

Best Scene:  way, way to many to pick a best one...I'm sure everyone has their favorite.

Mike's Rating:  MUST SEE and DVD WORTHY

LONDON HAS FALLEN

(2016) 99 Minutes, Rated R

Bean’s Review: Great action packed movie.  This is what I was expecting and I was not disappointed.  Some of the action scenes are unbelievable, but still highly entertaining.  Gerard Butler is a pleasure to watch in action.  I enjoy his no “bleeding heart” character.  I really liked him in Olympus Has Fallen and liked his progressed characterization in this movie.

Aaron Eckhart’s character, the President, delved more into the action in this movie as opposed to Olympus Has Fallen.  The development of his action scenes and “take charge” attitude were fun to watch along with his rapport with Gerard Butler.

I did not think the death of Angela Bassett’s character was necessary and I am not sure of the reasoning behind that storyline.

Morgan Freeman is always a reliable, solid actor and enjoyable to watch.

Best scene:  The helicopters scene.

Bean’s Rating:  Full Price – I would watch it again.

A.C.'s Review:  The Secret Service agent played by Gerard Butler returns along with Aaron Eckhardt as the US President in the sequel to the successful OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN action flick that returned such movies to their glory not seen since the heyday of the 1980’s. Given how intense that film was and how wonderfully it was executed I had high hopes for the sequel. Unfortunately they were not fully met.

This time the US Officials convene in London for the funeral of the British Prime Minister. As it turns out the whole thing was a set up by a terrorist with a grudge against the President’s administration which ordered a drone strike the killed and crippled most of his family. The elaborate plan manages to accomplish the assignation of the leaders of Canada, Japan, Italy, Germany and France but as Admiral Kirk famously taunted Khan in STAR TREK II “You keep missing the target” as in the main target …the US President…so as that failed they decided to hunt him down and execute him live on the internet. It’s up to the heroic secret service  agent to get the President to safety. I can’t even remember the character’s name that is how light of impression it made on me.

This film looks to me like it was rushed into production to capitalize on the success of the first film. It’s evident in some of its flaws. First the stakes don’t feel very high…the last movie the US faced nuclear Armageddon but in this one its basically just the President in danger for most of the film. London landmarks getting leveled meant nothing since I don’t even know what they are…they could have least destroyed Big Ben because everyone know what that is. .It’s just a very thin weak script.

I suspect the budget wasn’t very high because conveniently the terrorist stage a black out of London and the police order people off the street s so the whole movie the Prez and Butler are running around the darkened empty streets. The CGI is the most evident of a low budget. The explosions were laughable...I miss the days when the studios would pay a pyrotechnics expert to stage a real explosion with real fire. The CGI flames were terribly apparent.

I could go on but the bottom line is this is a rushed looking product and it shows. Quite a letdown. If they do a third one bring it back to the States...write a script people can get invested in like having terrorist threatening to destroy icons like Mt. Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty and only the Secret Service agent can stop them.

Best Scene: The highlight of the film was the sequence assassinating the world leaders.

A.C.'s Rating: A reluctant Matinee


Mike's Review:  To give you some by the by movie reviews history Olympus Has Fallen was the first movie ever reviewed on this blog.  And now almost three years later here we are reviewing the sequel.

As with the first movie this one is pretty much the same thing only its taking place in London.  It is still a good action movie with some good fight scenes and one liners.  I think I enjoyed this a little more than the first just because it seemed to have some better humor in it.

Best Scene:  Getting back the President.

Mike's Review: (Again) Worth the price of the ticket.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE - Updated

(2016) 103 Minutes, Rated PG-13

A.C.'s Review: Several years ago producer JJ Abrams production company Bad Robot surprised film fans with the sudden release of a film kept so under wraps no one knew about it until a couple weeks before it hit theaters. It was called CLOVERFIELD directed by Matt Reeves. Essentially it told the story of a rampaging sea monster tearing  up New York City but the hook was it was told by the point of view of those on the ground. In one of the few successful “found footage” movies the film was a runaway success.

            Jump to 2016 and Abrams has released 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE using the same secretive marketing he used on the first film. Fans hoping it is a direct sequel to the first film will come away disappointed. Those who enjoy a suspenseful mystery/thriller/sci fi hybrid will likely enjoy this entry in what appears to be his attempt to launch a sci/fi anthology franchise with different stories each movie with only the Cloverfield name linking the films. You may recall John Carpenter tried this when he released the Michael Myerless HALLOWEEN 3: THE SEASON OF THE WITCH. Fans revolted when there was no Michael and in the fourth film the blank masked killer returned. Will this happen with the sea monster dubbed “Clovie” by fans…stay tuned.

            Back to the this film…a young woman played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (star of the excellent prequel film THE THING in 2011) has a car accident (or was it?) while fleeing from the breakup of a relationship. She winds up in a bunker owned by Howard (John Goodman) and at  first finds herself chained up. Howard explains that there has been some sort of lethal attack outside his survival bunker and they cannot leave or they will die from whatever is contaminating the air. Also in the bunker is a young man Emmet who helped in the construction of the bunker and fled to it when the attack started.

            The film’s central mystery in what is the nature of the attack, did it even happen and is Howard hiding some very dark secrets?. The woman Michelle finds herself in the frightening position of not knowing if she is safer inside the bunker or outside the bunker.

            My reviews tend to have big spoilers in them but in this case since the film is based so much on mystery I will say no more. My overall assessment was it was a lot more interesting than most of the films I’ve seen lately but I find myself in the camp who wishes this were a direct continuation of the first movie with the Cloverfield monster running amuck.

Best Scene: Michelle making shocking discoveries when she accesses a different location in the bunker to try and get the air supply working.

A.C.'s Rating: MATINEE

Bean's Review: Surprisingly, better movie than expected.  With only 3 characters, limited sets and no special effects until the end of the movie, the acting is what kept your attention.  Wow, what a concept…to actually have actors, act and not depend on special effects and continual fight scenes to draw the audience in and keep their interest.

John Goodman plays a very convincing “bad guy”.  However, with the good storyline and the acting, I was not totally sure until more than half-way into the movie, if he was really bad.  He is!

Mary Elizabeth Winstead also acts well, in that one is not sure if she has the determination and strength to save herself.  She does!

You get attached to John Gallagher, Jr.’s character, but, once again, I was on the fence as to whether he was “in” on the abduction of Winstead’s character, or just an innocent guy.  Unfortunately, for his character, he was a good guy.

The end of the movie is a bit anticlimax and weird.  To finally escape and then encounter goofy aliens, just did not fit into the storyline.

Best scene:  When Goodman, Winstead and Gallagher are playing some sort of charade game and Goodman is giving the hints as to what he is and Gallagher is becoming unhinged because he thinks that Goodman knows Winstead’s and his secrets to escaping (Goodman is Santa Claus)

Bean’s Rating:  Matinee

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII - THE FORCE AWAKENS

(2015) 135 Minutes, Rated PG-13

Mike's Review:  Yes I know this movie has been out for awhile and I finally got a chance to see it.  I think I was kind of dragging my feet on seeing this movie because I knew a lot of what was going to happen in it.

I really liked the new characters.  Seeing a storm trooper turn good and a strong female Jedi take the reins of this new chapters adventure leaves me optimistic for the future of the franchise. I am also curious to see more of Rey's backstory and why she was left on Jaku by herself.

I absolutely hated the new bad guy Kylo Ren. Who he is, where he comes from, why he is the way he is and what he does to his father.  There was so many different ways they could have incorporated a new bad guy and this is the what we end up with. I didn't even care for the actor, he seemed like some kid that liked wearing masks and having temper tantrums.  

I didn't care for the fact that Luke Skywalker was only in the movie for about a minute at the end.  They should have called the movie "The search for Luke" instead of the force awakens.  It's just another way to grab your money by sucking you in to see the next movie which better have more screen time for him.

It was good seeing a lot of the old stuff from the "original trilogy" but they should have focused more on what actually happened in those 30 years instead of giving you little pieces to the puzzle and making you figure out what was going on. For example why was CP-30's arm red?

Overall it was an okay movie, I don't understand why everyone is going bonkers over it, I thought the rebooted Star Trek was far superior to this attempt to awaken the force.

Best Scene:  There were a few funny scenes which played off the "original trilogy" I thought were good.

Mike's Rating:  Matinee.  If you haven't seen it yet on the big screen you should. At least there is no Jar-Jar in this one.

A.C.'s Review:  Is it 1977 or 2016? Its hard to tell because this is a rip roaring return to the STAR WARS  universe of the “Original Trilogy” that is universally loved as opposed to the CGI heavy “prequel trilogy” that is not as widely embraced by Star Wars fans worldwide.

Picking up 30 years after RETURN OF THE JEDI we find new characters such as Rey. A lonely scavenger woman on a desert planet called Jaku. Before long her life will intersect with a defecting storm trooper named Finn who rejects the evil ways of the FIRST ORDER which was formed out of the remnants of the old empire. There is new evil abound everywhere as the First Order lead by its Supreme Leader and his evil overseer KYLO REN who is devote of the dark ways of the Sith attempts to regain control of the galaxy from the rebel forces who claimed victory three decades ago.

Before it is all over many old familiar faces will be drawn back into the brewing galactic conflict.

It’s hard to write a review of this movie because I don’t want to spoil anything. So I will just say that this was such a joyous return to the world of STAR WARS that it bodes well for the future of the franchise. Since DISNEY purchased Lucasfilm we can look forward of more STAR WARS movies for years to come. Should they  maintain the quality of this film we are in for a treat.

A word about the director. He is JJ Abrams…the same director that has for all practical purposes ruined the STAR TREK franchise with his juvenile approach to Kirk and company has pulled off a miracle by making this movie. Talk about a Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde.

Welcome back STAR WARS!

Best Scene:  How the Millennium Falcon is reintroduced. It made me literally bolt forward in my theater seat. I almost cheered.

A.C.'s Rating: Full Price

THE REVENANT

(2015) 156 Minutes, Rated R
 

Bean's Review:  This is a revenge movie.  The acting is quite good, the scenery is breathtaking, but the movie is depressing.  It is very gory, which typically does not bother me, however, the way it is filmed, the gore is right in your face.

The lengths to which Leonardo DiCaprio’s character goes to survive become almost unrealistic.  Tom Hardy did well as a very bad man, but I do not care seeing him in that type of role.

The scene everyone has focused on, the grizzly bear attack, is good, but one can tell it is computer generated.
 

When DiCaprio’s character finally catches up with Hardy’s character, the fight is anticlimactic, which is probably why DiCaprio left Hardy for the Indian to deal with.

Best scene:  not really a “best” scene, more on the icky side, was when DiCaprio cut into the horse and climbed in to keep warm.

Bean’s rating:  Probably worth viewing on the big screen, however, I have no interest in seeing it again.

Mike's Review:  Well this movie was different.  The story was just as Bean said above a revenge story.  The action was pretty hard core and graphic which was fun.  The bear scene was pretty believable but you could defiantly tell it was CGI, but it was pretty good CGI.  

The Problem I had with this movie is that it was way too long.  It was basically two hours of Leonardo DiCaprio crawling around in the snow trying to survive. They could have easily cut an hour out of this movie and it would have still been the same movie.

Best Scene: Even though it was CGI, I liked the bear attack scene.

Mike's Rating:  Matinee

 

THE GOOD DINOSAUR

(2015) 93 Minutes, Rated  PG

A.C.’s Review:  The best way I can sum up this movie is that the decline of PIXAR is complete. You wouldn’t even guess this was the same company that made the superior TOY STORY movies.

Here we have a set-up of…what if the asteroid missed earth and didn’t wipe out the dinosaurs. Since that didn’t happen dinosaurs rule the earth and when men evolve they are just animals. A young human boy the lead dinosaur boy takes on as a pet is named “Spot” ho, ho ho…all the humor seems to come from the notion of a human being the “dog” sidekick of the movie as the young dinosaur tries to make his way home after being carried away in a flood.

As in all “road” movies they meet a plethora of characters along the way. The twist here is that it’s supposed to be a dinosaur “western”. You’ve bot “rustlers” played by Raptors. Cowboy/herders played by a T-Rex family (I will admit I liked the idea of the T-Rex being a good guy) and everybody talks with a Texas twang. And get this…the young dinosaur’s farm appears to be the homestead from SHANE with the Grand Tetons looming over head!

Completely un-entertaining and not very funny. PIXAR used to make movies adults could enjoy but they have had a successive streak of terrible offering...from BRAVE…to INSIDE OUT and now this. Plus the “short films” are so excruciating I can barely comment on them. Basically they have Politically Correct agendas they are pushing with these shorts and little kids in the audience I doubt will understand them ore like them.

I await PIXAR’s redemption with TOY STORY 4.

Best Scene: No one scene but the animation is so realistic you would have thought they had actually shot on location.

A.C.’s Rating:  Free on television.