Tag: Action

REVIEW: It’s more like ‘Jurassic World’ Fallen Franchise

Coming from someone who loved “Jursasic World,” I have to say, this was a real disappointment.

This entry, bringing the series to a total of five films, begins a few years after the incident that destroyed the “Jurassic World” theme park and left the island as a jungle, home only to dinosaurs. The island’s fate comes back into focus, though, as early in the first act, the audience learns that the long dormant volcano on the island is now active, and when it erupts, it will cause the “re-extinction” of the dinosaurs.

With that in mind, a man in charge of a billion-dollar estate named Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) hires raptor handler Owen (Chris Pratt) and the manager of “Jurassic World” Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) to lead a rescue expedition. Upon arriving, though, the protagonists uncover that the mission is more than just providing aid to a species.

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REVIEW: ‘Hotel Artemis’ has its moments, but is weighed down by the story

Normally, I love staying at hotels. However, I’m not sure I’d like staying in the “hotel” featured in this picture.

“Hotel Artemis” takes place in the not-too-distant future and is set in Los Angeles. We pick up in a riot-torn city, with residents upset over rising water prices. In the middle of all the chaos, a criminal named Waikiki (Sterling Brown) and his brother go to the Hotel Artemis after a job goes bad.

The audience soon learns that the Hotel Artemis is sort of combo, with overnight rooms as well as a medical staff, making it somewhat of a hospital. The facility is run by a character who just goes by Nurse (Jodie Foster) and the building is rather secure, with no weapons or violence allowed. However, with rioting in the streets and one of LA’s top gangsters headed to the Artemis, tensions rise.

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Enjoy ‘Deadpool?’ Hyped For ‘DP2?’ Cool, Then You’ll Love ‘Kick-Ass’

A main character dressed as a superhero fights crime, narrates his own story and in some moments breaks the fourth wall.

Think I’m talking about “Deadpool?” Nope. I’m talking about “Kick-Ass,” the 2010 action comedy adaptation of the comic book. In just a few days “Deadpool 2” will be released, with the first one coming to theaters in early 2016.

Despite both of these films having a great number of similarities to “Kick-Ass,” though, people seem to have forgotten the movie that’s now nearly a decade old. But the fact is that “Kick-Ass” deserves to be remembered and recognized because of how it raised the bar, especially in this period of time where we have the “Deadpool” films coming out.

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A Look At How ‘Mystery Men’ And ‘Unbreakable’ Were Ahead Of Their Time

“Avengers: Infinity War” continues to dominate the box office, now reaching a total of nearly $1.2 billion.

The theater tickets sold, as well as the great feedback from audiences and critics, is the latest example that we are in the superhero movie golden age. Since 2000, when the original “X-Men” came out and was followed by “Spider-Man” a few years later, the genre has been on an incredible upward trend.

“Infinity War” is just the latest highlight in a series of milestones that includes great films such as “The Dark Knight” and “Captain America: Winter Soldier.” Even comedy films based around the genre have popped up over the years to some solid success.

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REVIEW: Third ‘Avengers’ Is A Stunningly Well Made Feature

In 2012, the folks behind Marvel managed to put together numerous superheroes in one film and made it all work in “The Avengers.” This time around, in “Infinity War,” they use a lot of that same formula on a much bigger scale and even though there’s so much more going on, it still fires on all cylinders.

The latest “Avengers” takes place directly after the events of last year’s movie “Thor: Ragnarok.” In fact, the opening of “Infinity War” was even teased in “Ragnarok.” We soon find out that Thor (Chris Hemsworth), along with his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are under siege by the powerful character Thanos (Josh Brolin).

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REVIEW: ‘Rampage’ As A Whole Isn’t Saved By Monster Spectacle

There are two aspects with “Rampage,” one is the giant monster battles and the other is everything else. The giant fights are entertaining, the rest is forgettable.

The story behind the giant monsters in “Rampage” starts in space. A shady corporation turns out to be doing biological experiments high above Earth and after something goes wrong, three canisters are dropped from a space station containing genetic altering substances. One of those canisters falls in a San Diego wildlife center, where the protagonist Davis (Dwayne Johnson) works. The canister comes in contact with a gorilla Davis works with, named George, and it ends up making the primate grow to a massive size.

The other canisters land in North America, too, and have the same effect on two other animals. Meanwhile the (basically outright evil) corporation decides to lure the animals to Chicago, meaning it’s up to Davis, a former employee of the corp., Kate (Naomie Harris) and a government agent named Harvey (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to stop them, as Davis has worked with George before.

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REVIEW: ‘Pacific Rim Uprising’ Is A Monster Sized Disappointment

Get rid of/kill off the main characters from the first one? Check. Create plot holes that invalidate the first one? Check. Feel less impact from the action despite being technically more on screen? Check. “Pacific Rim: Uprising” is officially a bad movie sequel.

The film takes place 10 years after the events of the 2013 film. Peace has largely returned to the Earth after mankind stopped an interdimensional invasion of giant monsters. However, the Jaeger program, which built the giant robots to fight monsters is still active, for some reason. Also, new candidates are being trained to pilot those robots, for some reason.

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REVIEW: ‘Red Sparrow’ Is A Dreary, Unmemorable Cinema Experience

With a name like “Red Sparrow,” you’d think this film wouldn’t be so colorless.

The picture stars Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence as Dominika Egorova, a Russian woman who works as a ballet dancer. Her career is cut short, though, because of a devastating injury and as a result, it puts her future and her ability to care for her ailing mother in jeopardy.

As a way out, Dominika is offered an opportunity to become a spy by her uncle (Matthias Schoenaerts) who works in Russian intelligence. Dominika agrees and after a short time is sent on a mission to target an American agent named Nate (Joel Edgerton).

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REVIEW: ‘Black Panther’ Is Solid Entertainment With Great Acting, Compelling Characters

Since getting under way in 2008, the movie series from Marvel Studios has included films with genres that stray away from the typical super hero origins. “Captain America: Winter Soldier” was a spy thriller and “Guardians of the Galaxy” was a space opera comedy.

Marvel once again does this for its latest picture “Black Panther.” Instead of telling a super hero centric story, “Black Panther” is a story of nationalism, politics and a monarchy.

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REVIEW: Inexperienced Acting, Weak Script Ruin ’15:17 To Paris’

The 15:17 to Paris” dramatizes the real life story of a group of men who prevented a terrorist attack on a train in 2015. But, while the actions taken by these people were heroic and deserve recognition, the story’s translation to the big screen had poor execution.

The movie follows the three American men who were integral to stopping the attack before there could be loss of life. Those men were Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler. Each of those men reprise their roles in the film, portraying themselves.

The picture showcases how the three met in their youth, Spencer and Alek enlisting in the U.S. military and the three friends going on a trip to Europe. This leads into their time on the train during the attack.

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