Cars 3: It' No Toy Story 3 but Still a Fun Ride

The Cars franchise may not be at the same of level of Pixar’s other work like Toy Story or Wall-E, but I think they are relatively alright, even the sequel to an extent. Yes, Cars 2 is the weakest Pixar movie and the issues that many have with it are on point: from the odd choice of shifting a race car movie into a spy-action caper, making the comic relief side character Mater the tow truck (Larry the Cable Guy) the main character, and some hammered in message that ends up being muddled in the mix. Despite that, I had a lot of fun with the movie even if deep down I wished it continued with being a racing movie. Thankfully, the people at Pixar realized this as we go back to its roots in the third installment, Cars 3.

Super Double Feature: Wonder Woman & Captain Underpants

Believe it or not Wonder Woman and Captain Underpants share a few things in common. Both are based on existing written material, are a different but unique type of superhero, plans for a feature film have been in the works for quite a long time, and are finally making their big-screen debut on the same weekend.

Double Feature: Baywatch & Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Memorial Day weekend brought us two​ movies that took place off dry land. Neither delivered a spectacular splash though I would say one swam better than the other. 

Alien: Covenant Nothing But Horror Movie Schlock

(Originally Published on May 21, 2017)

You know how the first movie in a Horror franchise turns out to be the best of the bunch while everything else goes down the drain. Just look at the countless sequels and reimaginings of Jaws, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street to name a few.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Semi-Deliver’s

(Originally Published on May 19, 2017)

I’m just going to come out and say it, I was never impressed by Guardians of the Galaxy. With the exception of Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) and Drax (Dave Bautista), the guardians range from being bland with no personality like Gamora (Zoe Saldana) or unlikable smart-alecks like Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper).  That’s not say that I downright hate these movies, on the contrary they do their job on being entertaining with great action, adventure, amazing visuals, funny moments even by the leads, and ending on a high note. 

Top 10 Anticipated Summer Movies

(Originally Published on April 27, 2017)

As the summer season draws near the cinemas begin to screen the blockbusters.  From the highly anticipated like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and War of the Planet of the Apes to groaners like Transformers: The Last Knight and The Emoji Movie. Who knows, many of these may turn out to be good or bad. Regardless of which one you are looking forward to, here are the top ten films that I am excited to see this summer.

Double Feature: The Boss Baby & Smurfs: The Lost Village

(Originally Published on April 18, 2017)

From DreamWorks we have The Boss Baby based on the children’s book by Marla Frazee, seven-year-old Tim Templeton (Miles Bakshi) doesn’t take to liking his new baby brother who sports a slick business suit, gold wristwatch and briefcase. To make matters more complicated, Tim discovers that the baby can talk (voiced by Alec Baldwin).

The Boys are Back in T2 Trainspotting

(Originally Published April 9, 2017)

In 1996, fresh off his debut film Shallow Grave, director Danny Boyle followed with Trainspotting, a black comedy that centered on a group of misfits swimming in the pleasures of sex and drugs in the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland. There was Renton (Ewan McGregor), the protagonist and straight man of the group, the aloof and conniving Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), the naive but lovable Spud (Ewen Bremner), and the violent and hot-tempered Begbie (Robert Carlyle). It became an instant classic launching the careers of Ewan McGregor who would star in Big Fish, Moulin Rouge! & the Star Wars Prequels and the first role of Kelly Macdonald who would be in Boardwalk Empire, No Country for Old Men, and the titular role in Pixar’s Brave. It also cemented Danny Boyle‘s status as a filmmaker and go on to direct films like Millions, 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire (The latter winning seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director).

Power Rangers’ Attempt of A Serious Tone Is Noble But Feeble

(Originally Published on March 28, 2017)

Like any kid, I grew up watching one or two episodes of Power Rangers before my parents banned me from seeing anymore, of course that didn’t stop me. While not a die-hard fan, I’ve seen enough episodes from various if-not-all incarnations of the Power Rangers to be familiar with the set-up from Mighty Morphin, Lightspeed Rescue, S.P.D. and Dino Thunder (the series I was most familiar with).

‘The Great Wall’ Fails to Stop Critiques

(Originally Published on February 27, 2017)

There is some enjoyment to be found in The Great Wall. In terms of a good movie, no; more like in the appeal of something found on the SyFy channel or Direct-to-DVD pile. 

Beauty and the Beast Captures Some of the Disney Magic

(Originally Published on March 27, 2017)

A tale as old as time and considered one of Disney’s crowning achievements of a young maiden who tames the heart of a beast. Beauty and the Beast is beloved by audiences of all ages and made history of being the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. When it was announced that this would be the next film to get the live-action treatment, the response was understandably less than pleased.

Kong: Skull Island Delivers a Monster of a Punch

(Originally Published on March 21, 2017)

Set in the world of 2014’s Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island reintroduces us to an iconic monster, but where Godzilla took place in present time, Kong is set in the seventies. Following the end of the Vietnam War, a band of soldiers are called to accompany an expedition group to an uncharted island. Upon arrival they are met with open arms or in this case closed fists by Kong himself who doesn’t take a liking to guests bombing his home.

Logan Makes His Last Stand

(Originally Published on March 21, 2017)

To be perfectly honest, the X-Men films never impressed me. The cartoons, despite its kid-friendly level, knew how to balance both the serious and fun elements of its story without being too brooding or silly.

Fifty Shades of Dreary Boredom

(Originally Published on February 17, 2017)

Whenever I watch those awful spoof movies (Meet the Spartans, Epic Movie, Scary Movie), I feel like I’ve fallen in a puddle of vomit in desperate need of a dozen showers. When it comes to a movie like Fifty Shades Darker, I feel like my soul got lost in an empty abyss. These are films I could care less about and steer clear away, but hey when you write about movies you’re going to have to sit in front of crap in order to explain why its crap in the first place. The story of my life.

The Space Between Us Review

(Originally Published on February 17, 2017)

From the director of Hannah Montana the Movie and the screenwriter of Collateral Beauty, (Oh, joy…) bring what I can only describe as The Martian meets The Fault in Our Stars. Good movies I’d rather be watching than this dense of a sci-fi /teen drama mush known as The Space Between Us.

La La Lame

(Originally Published February 9, 2017)

A new winning record of seven Golden Globes and a big contender for the Oscars, Damien Chazelle’s La La Land, is a postmodern musical filmed in the style of fifties classics like Singing in the Rain. A movie seen as a celebration of cinema, music, and as the tagline states “to the fool’s who dream;” a film that pays tribute to other Hollywood classics from An American in Paris to Casablanca.

A Split Decision: Shyamalan Proves Potential

(Originally Published on February 9, 2017)

I’ve actually enjoyed the films of M. Night Shyamalan; my personal favorites continue to be The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs. Even his lesser material have their moments (to an extent), though I won’t deny that he has delivered a decade of disappointing duds from The Village to After Earth. Nevertheless, I always look forward to his next project hoping that it’ll be great like his earlier work.

Founder and the Figures

(Originally Published on February 3, 2017)

Directed and co-written by Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent), Hidden Figures tells the true story of Katherine G. Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn; three African-American women who played a pivotal role in NASA’s space race during the 1960’s.

Best & Worst Animated Films of 2016

(Originally Published on January 26, 2017)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Review

(Originally Published on December 18, 2016)

“During the battle, Rebel

spies managed to steal secret

plans to the Empire’s

ultimate weapon, the DEATH

STAR, an armored space

station with enough power

to destroy an entire planet.”

-An excerpt from the opening crawl of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

Moana Falls Victim to the Disney Formula

(Originally Published on November 30, 2016)

You know how Disney is made fun of for using the same method over and over again in its repertoire? Love at first sight, cute animal critters, dead parents, funny sidekicks, musical numbers, likable princesses, etc. Regardless, the House of Mouse manages to find new and creative ways to tell its stories even with the same guidelines.

Gibson Returns Strong in the Faith/War film: Hacksaw Ridge

(Originally Published on November 28, 2016)

When making a movie that centers on a Christian character, great care must be taken for it to appeal to both audiences of believers and non-believers. Hollywood has surprisingly shown to be capable of this formula from A Man for All Seasons, Dead Man Walking, The Mission, Chariots of Fire, and A Walk to Remember. Nowadays, when one hears the term “Christian movie,” films like God’s Not Dead and War Room come to mind.

The Magic returns in the Harry Potter spin-off: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

(Originally Published on November 22, 2016)

In the World of Harry Potter the term Muggle is used to describe an individual who isn’t a witch or wizard in Great Britain. Who knew that in America the word No-Maj was utilized instead? While Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them isn’t exactly a Harry Potter movie, it does take place in the same universe based on the books by J.K. Rowling.

Trolls Dazzles But That's About It...

(Originally Published on November 22, 2016)

We live in an age where any existing product from video games and toys can be turned into a motion picture. A formula that has been done repeatedly with little success until Warner Bros’ The Lego Movie finally hit all the right notes. Wreck-It-Ralph and Toy Story don’t count as they are original stories that feature familiar characters in minor roles or cameos like Pac-Man and a troll doll. Speaking of troll dolls

Double Feature: Sully & Snowden

‘Sully’ & ‘Snowden’ Steal September

(Originally Published on 09/28/16)

September saw the premiere of two biopics that centered on ordinary men who did the unthinkable. Both made headlines and became the subject of debate as their actions were questioned as either heroic or harmful.