Tag: Action

REVIEW: ‘Aquaman’ is flawed, but fun

Despite rocky a rocky reception over several movies, the DC Comics Cinematic Universe still has movies coming out. The latest is this feature following the hero of the deep.

“Aquaman” takes place after the events of last year’s “Justice League” and follows the water-based hero, played by Jason Momoa, whose actual name is Arthur. Embracing the idea of being a hero, Arthur has taken it upon himself to fight crime and rescue people on the high seas.

However, while this is taking place, the politics of his estranged home Atlantis are turning dangerous. Arthur’s half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), who’s now a ruler in Atlantis, is fed up with humans negatively impacting the ocean and now wants to launch a war. In order to stop the potential conflict, another Atlantis royal, Mera (Amber Heard), recruits Arthur to take his place as the true king.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Aquaman’ is flawed, but fun”

REVIEW: ‘Bumblebee’ is an enjoyable action flick with heart

My goodness, they finally managed to get a “Transformers” movie mostly right.

“Bumblebee” is the fifth movie in the “Transformers” universe. However, it largely stands apart from its Michael Bay-helmed counterparts. The film is actually a prequel and takes place in the 1980s.

Bumblebee is a transformer who, because of a war, is forced to seek refuge on Earth, where he can regroup and form a base for his comrades. Over the course of the film, Bumblebee, who’s damaged from battle, is discovered by Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), a young woman with an interest in mechanics. After meeting, the two start a friendship

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Bumblebee’ is an enjoyable action flick with heart”

REVIEW: ‘Mortal Engines’ is a poor attempt at building a new fantasy series

A steampunk world with some fantasy and Hugo Weaving to boot? This should have been a fairly entertaining ride. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case with this adaptation.

“Mortal Engines” is set several hundred years in the future where human civilization was devastated following mass explosions. The story picks up with large sections of humanity living in mobile cities that move from place to place, some with more power than others.

The main focus of the story is on Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar), who’s seeking revenge against Thaddeus Valentine (Weaving), the head researcher for the (now) mobile city of London, who’s trying to harness the power of old technology from the pinnacle of human civilization. In her adventure, Hester meets Tom (Robert Sheehan), a young museum worker who ends up tagging along.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Mortal Engines’ is a poor attempt at building a new fantasy series”

REVIEW: ‘Spider-Verse’ is a fine entry to the webslinging series

Just to recap, in about 16 years, we’ve had a “Spider-Man” trilogy, a two-movie “Spider-Man” reboot, another “Spider-Man” reboot with a sequel on the way, and now an animated feature that is completely separate from everything we’ve seen before. Quite the history.

As previously stated, this latest adaptation of the comic book is completely animated and is set in a world where Spider-Man has been a longtime hero and even became a celebrity. The film’s focus, though, is on the character Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), a teenager who is just starting a private school, but still enjoys getting into mischief.

On one of those occasions, Miles is bitten by a radio-active spider, just like the actual Spider-Man. Later, the two actually meet by chance when Miles comes across some villains who are trying out a device that can open portals to other dimensions. One thing leads to another and a whole group of Spider-Man superheroes from other worlds appear. As one might guess, they all have to work together to foil the villains’ plot.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Spider-Verse’ is a fine entry to the webslinging series”

REVIEW: Sports and drama collide for a good film in ‘Creed II’

Please let “Creed III” start with Adonis Creed fighting John Cena for charity.

Yes, that’s a joke, but one can’t help but feel the “Creed” saga is on the same trajectory as the original “Rocky” series. In all fairness, though, the latest picture in the Balboa Cinematic Universe is pretty good.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Sports and drama collide for a good film in ‘Creed II’”

REVIEW: It’s really ‘Meh’ times at the ‘El Royale’

“Bad Times at the El Royale” is a film that juggles a lot of ideas, and some of them are good. However, director Drew Goddard and company weren’t able to bring everything together, and this feature suffers for it.

The picture takes place at a unique setting. The El Royale is a hotel located with two sections, one half is in California and the other is in Nevada. The film features a group of characters, including a priest named Daniel (Jeff Bridges), a singer named Darlene (Cynthia Erivo), a salesman by the name of Laramie (Jon Hamm) and a young woman who keeps to herself in Emily (Dakota Johnson), who all check into the El Royale on the same afternoon.

Continue reading “REVIEW: It’s really ‘Meh’ times at the ‘El Royale’”

Monday Movie Report: ‘Flash’ production delayed

Production on the standalone “Flash” movie has been delayed by Warner Bros.

According to Variety, WB is pushing back production of the film, which was to follow the speedy hero after the events of “The Justice League.” Variety reports that while the movie didn’t have a set release date, the expectation was to shoot in March 2019.

Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: ‘Flash’ production delayed”

REVIEW: Deeply flawed ‘Venom’ still manages to offer some fun

For those of you who don’t know, this “Venom” movie has basically nothing to do with Spider-Man or the Marvel universe. Sad face.

“Venom” tells the story of Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), a broadcast news reporter who’s had good, consistent success in the journalism industry. His latest story, though, brings him into contact with a powerful pharma exec named Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). Because he asks too many questions in his interview, Drake manages to end Brock’s career.

As Brock struggles to get back on his feet, Drake’s company does unethical experiments, culminating with the forcing of a sentient alien substance to interact with humans. When Brock finds out, he decides to try his hand at investigative journalism again, but this lands him in more trouble when he becomes attached to one of the aliens named Venom. While the two begin at odds, they eventually form a deal to take Drake down.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Deeply flawed ‘Venom’ still manages to offer some fun”

REVIEW: While entertaining, latest ‘Predator’ doesn’t top others in the series

I don’t get why they couldn’t just call this “Predator 4” and forget the “Alien vs Predator” movies exist. That’s what I do.

The latest entry in this series, directed by Shane Black, mainly follows the character Quinn (Boyd Holbrook). Quinn is a sniper specialist for an elite military unit who sees a UFO crash during one of his missions.

As one might guess, Quinn encounters a Predator. However, those higher on the pay grade decide that  they should cover up the experience and put Quinn with a group of other soldiers who’ve been classified as needing mental health treatment. Because Quinn, and his family, are targeted by the Predator, though, he has to team up with the group to defeat the alien.

Continue reading “REVIEW: While entertaining, latest ‘Predator’ doesn’t top others in the series”

REVIEW: ‘Peppermint’ brings very little to the table and is ultimately forgettable

After many years in other genres, Jennifer Garner has returned to the world of action films. However, her latest picture isn’t the best she’s starred in.

In “Peppermint,” Garner plays Riley, who lives in a lower-middle class household with her husband Chris (Jeff Hephner) and daughter Carly (Cailey Fleming). Her day-to-day life is shattered, though, when a gang murders Chris and Carly in a drive-by shooting.

While Riley is able to identify those who did it, the corrupt law system provides no justice. As a result Riley decides to take the law into her hands and launch a mission of revenge.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Peppermint’ brings very little to the table and is ultimately forgettable”