Matthew Liedke

Ant-Man review

Director:
Peyton Reed
Cast:
Paul Rudd
Michael Douglas
Evangeline Lilly
Corey Stoll
Rated: PG-13

In Marvel’s Ant-Man, Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang, a man who has just been released from prison for breaking into a high security business in which he used to work for. At the same time, Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas), a brilliant mind who invented a suit which can adjust size and strength, finds out his old company is going to use that technology to make a new, dangerous weapon.

As Lang finds himself falling back into his ways of theft in order to make enough money to be a better father to his daughter, Pym decides to give Lang a better opportunity. With the help of Pym’s daughter, Hope, the old scientist mentors Lang to use the suit to steal and dispose of the weapon to create a safer world.

“Ant-Man” had a bit of a rocky road in getting made since the project had to change directors along the way. The result is a movie that for the most part is good, but still had some noticeable areas that felt a bit disjointed.

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Minions review

Directors:
Kyla Balda
Pierre Coffin
Cast:
Sandra Bullock
Jon Hamm
Michael Keaton
Allison Janney
Rated: PG

“Minions” is a prequel to the “Despicable Me” movies showcasing the origin story of the villain helpers as they travel the globe in search of a leader.

Their adventure takes them to various points through history, but without much luck. Eventually, three of the minions, Stuart, Kevin and Bob decide to go on a new journey to save their race by finding a great villain to follow. Their quest takes them to the mighty Scarlet Overkill (Bullock), however, even when they start working for her, things might not be as good as it seems.

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Terminator Genisys review

Director:
Alan Taylor
Cast:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Jason Clarke
Emilia Clarke
Jai Courtney
PG-13

“Terminator Genisys” is the fifth installment of the evil machine franchise, however, this movie largely ignores the events of the third and fourth films.

“Genisys” starts off in the late future with the leader of the human resistance John Connor (Jason Clarke) finding out that the machine program Skynet has sent a terminator back to 1984 to kill his mother Sarah (Emilia Clarke). To stop the terminator, John sends Kyle Reese (Courtney) back in time also to bring the machine down.

Up until this point, the plot mirrors that of the original “Terminator.” The similarities end, there, though, not only because this film lacks any of the suspense of the original, but also because it turns out, Sarah has been aware of Skynet since her childhood and has her own Guardian terminator (Schwarzenegger).

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Magic Mike XXL review

Director:
Gregory Jacobs
Cast:
Channing Tatum
Kevin Nash
Joe Manganiello
Matt Bomer
Adam Rodriguez
Rated: R

The first “Magic Mike” released in 2012 was a complete surprise. Instead of simply being a movie focused on the male stripping, Director Steven Soderbergh actually made an interesting character study of what it’s like for a person in that life style who wants to take a different path in the future.

It’s sequel… Not so much. This time around, the male stripper Mike (Tatum) finds out that his friends still in the industry are going on a road trip to a stripping convention and he decides to tag along. The movie follows their trip as they get into various shenanigans.

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Ted 2 review

Director:
Seth MacFarlane
Cast:
Mark Wahlberg
Seth MacFarlane
Amanda Seyfried
Jessica Barth
Rated: R

In the sequel to 2012’s film “Ted,” the titular named bear (MacFarlane) that magically came to life is now (somewhat) happily married and continues spending time with his best friend John (Wahlberg). Problems arise, though, when Ted and his wife try to adopt a child.

Ted soon learns that the government doesn’t recognize the stuffed animal as an actual person and it throws his whole life in jeopardy. In response, Ted and John hire Samantha (Seyfried), a lawyer to fight for the toy’s civil rights.

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Inside Out review

Directors:
Pete Doctor
Ronaldo Del Carmen
Cast:
Amy Poehler
Phyllis Smith
Bill Hader
Lewis Black
Mindy Kaling
Kaitlyn Dias
Rated: PG

After a bit of a bumpy path, Pixar seems to have gotten its grove back. Following the below average “Cars 2” and the disappointing “Brave,” the animation studio has come back with the enjoyable “Monsters University” and this year’s solid picture “Inside Out.”

The latest film from Pixar centers on the emotional figures that exist within every person, Joy (Poehler), Sadness (Smith), Fear (Hader), Anger (Black) and Disgust (Kaling). The movie follows the emotions mainly in the mind of Riley (Dias), a young girl whose family is moving from Minnesota to California.

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Jurassic World review

Director:
Colin Trevorrow
Cast:
Chris Pratt
Bryce Dallas Howard
Vincent D’Onofrio
Ty Simpkins
Nick Robinson
Rated: PG-13

“Jurassic World” takes place 22 years after the disaster at Jurassic Park on the island Isla Nublar. At this point, the company InGen has successfully reintroduced dinosaurs to a controlled environment and the island has become a fully functioning theme park. The only issue for the staff is a dip in the number of visitors.

To bring in new guests and bump sales, an operation is done to create a new dinosaur attraction by combining multiple bits of DNA. The plan backfires, though, and to help get the situation under control, Claire, the parks’ director played by Bryce Dallas Howard, calls in Owen, a former member of the Navy, played by Chris Pratt, who has trained raptors.

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REVIEW: ‘Spy’

Director:
Paul Feig
Cast:
Melissa McCarthy
Jude Law
Rose Byrne
Jason Statham
Rated: R

Melissa McCarthy plays Susan in “Spy,” a CIA mission analyst who has remained at the agency’s headquarters for most of her career. From her desk, Susan monitors other agents, mainly an operative named Bradley (Law) to keep a watch for potential threats.

Susan’s whole world begins to shift, though, when Bradley is killed in the line of duty by an arms dealer named Rayna (Byrne). On top of losing a great agent, the CIA learns that Rayna has uncovered the identities of other operatives. In order to bring her down, Susan steps up to take on a field mission for the first time.

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Insidious 3 review

Director:
Leigh Whannell
Cast:
Dermot Mulroney
Stefanie Scott
Lin Shaye
Leigh Whannell
Angus Sampson
Rated: PG-13

The third installment of the “Insidious” franchise serves as a prequel rather than a sequel in the franchise’s timeline. The film follows a girl named Quinn (Scott) who is being haunted by an evil spirit.

As the haunting gets more severe Quinn and her family seek the help of Elise (Shaye), a spirit and demon expert who may be able to assist. The only problem is Elise is dealing with problems of her own.

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Aloha review

Director:
Cameron Crowe
Cast:
Bradley Cooper
Emma Stone
Rachel McAdams
Bill Murray
Danny McBride
John Krasinski
Alec Baldwin
Rated: PG-13

Bradley Cooper plays Brian in “Aloha,” the latest film from Director Cameron Crowe. Brian is a former member of the United States Air Force, however, at the start of the movie he has moved on to working for a weapons and technology developer played by Bill Murray.

Upon his arrival in Hawaii, where he has to convince the local parties to allow a space launch, Brian meets Air Force officer Allison Ng (Stone), who has been ordered to be his guide. The protagonist also runs into his former girlfriend Tracy (McAdams) on the island and drama ensues.

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