Tag: Action

REVIEW: ‘Transformers One’ is fun, but has small screen vibe

After making the jump to live action in 2007, the “Transformers” series has gone back to its roots, once again going to the big screen in animated style.

Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) are two best friend robots living in the mechanical world of Cybertron. The duo are at the bottom of the robotic hierarchy on the planet, working in the mines to collect energy resources vital to the population’s survival, after depletion due to a war.

They get a chance to prove themselves to Cybertronian leadership, though, when they discover a potential solution to the planet’s energy problems. What they and friends Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key) find, though, changes their destinies forever.

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REVIEW: ‘The Crow’ is a colossal disaster

It’s probably more accurate to call this “A Self-Insert ‘Crow’ Fanfiction” than “The Crow.”

Like the 1994 film with the same name, “The Crow” is an adaptation of the 1989 comic book written by James O’Barr. The picture stars Bill Skarsgard as Eric, a recovering addict with a troubled past. The movie introduces him at a rehab center, where he meets a young woman named Shelly (FKA Twigs).

The two end up falling in love and leave the rehab center together. They’re happy and begin living a new life, but unfortunately, a dark part of Shelly’s past emerges. In an ambush, both she and Eric are killed. However, Eric is given the opportunity to return to life and take vengeance.

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REVIEW: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ entertains and exhausts

The Marvel Cinematic Universe sure could use a shot in the arm lately. What better shot of adrenaline than the Merc with a Mouth?

Better known as Deadpool, that wise-cracking, fourth wall-breaking character returns to the silver screen for third time. In “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the red-clad anti-hero gets roped into some multi-universe shenanigans, and in the process, learns his own world is under threat.

To prevent a cataclysm, he needs the help of the iconic mutant Wolverine. The only problem is the Wolverine in his universe is the same one that died in 2017’s “Logan.” So, he goes to another universe to find a different one. The only problem is the one he finds is in a bad and not so helpful mood.

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REVIEW: ‘Day One’ shows diminishing returns for ‘Quiet Place’ series

“A Quiet Place: Day One” turns out to be quite the bargain, since the movie shows day two and day three as well.

What the title really implies, though, is that this is a spin-off prequel showing how the conflict at play in the previous “Quiet Place” films from 2018 and 2020 started. Set in New York, the film centers on Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), a terminal cancer patient and poet who, emotionally, is barely getting by.

On a day where she decides to go out in the city with others from a hospice center, the sight-by-sound aliens from previous installments begin dropping from the sky. The sudden alien attack pushes her into an effort for survival, and she’s joined along the way by another individual trying to stay alive.

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REVIEW: While not perfect, ‘Bad Boys 4’ is bad ass

It really sucks that P Diddy turned out to be awful and this film couldn’t have “Shake Ya Tailfeather” or “Bad Boys for Life” playing, but the movie still manages to be a good time.

The fourth film in the franchise starts out with Mike (Will Smith) getting married to a new character, Christine (Melanie Liburd). The celebration is great until his longtime friend and police partner Marcus (Martin Lawrence) has a heart attack. After a near death experience, though, Marcus walks away with a new found confidence and a positive outlook on life.

It’s certainly needed as the detectives’ late captain is framed for major crimes by the cartel. As they begin to investigate, the cops themselves are framed and are not only sought by the cartel, but other law enforcement as well.

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REVIEW: ‘Furiosa’ is positively fantastic

No Mad Max? No problem.

While “Furiosa” does in fact take place in the “Mad Max” universe, the character portrayed by Mel Gibson originally and then by Tom Hardy in 2015’s “Fury Road,” isn’t present. Instead, as the title implies, the film centers on the other main character from the 2015 picture, Furiosa.

The film chronicles how she was initially abducted by a biker warlord named Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), and later became a mainstay at the Citadel where Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme) resides. Over the course of the film, she’s portrayed by Alyla Browne in her youth and Anya Taylor-Joy later in life.

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REVIEW: Long live the ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

It’s hard to imagine the current run of “Planet of the Apes” continuing on without Caesar, but director Wes Ball’s latest film in the series is a fitting follow-up to the 2010s trilogy.

“Kingdom” takes place several generations after Caesar’s death. Humans are now primitive and scarce, while the apes have built up small villages, one of them being home to the protagonist, Noa (Owen Teague). Led by Noa’s father, the clan built a peaceful society around training falcons.

The peace of Noa’s village is shattered, though, when it’s raided by another ape kingdom set on conquest. Injured in the battle, Noa awakens to find his village destroyed and residents taken hostage. From there, Noa sets out on a quest to rescue those imprisoned and gets an unlikely ally along the way.

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REVIEW: Gosling and Blunt lift ‘The Fall Guy’ above average

Ryan Gosling has been outstanding in many dramatic roles, but damn does he ever have some good comedic skills, too.

Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, an experienced stunt man who had a steady career and a budding romance with a camerawoman, Judy (Emily Blunt). However, that came to an end with a bad injury that took him a long time to recover from. He’s convinced to come out of retirement, though, to work on a film that’s being directed by Judy, which is her first project.

It’s an awkward experience because he broke up with the up-and-coming director after his injury. The situation is made even more complicated when the actor Colt is doing stunts for suspiciously disappears. It turns out, there are nefarious reasons why, and as Colt searches for the star, he’s put in danger.

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REVIEW: ‘Monkey Man’ has great action but mangled storytelling

There are plenty of primate movie titles this year it seems. March had “Kong x Godzilla,” April has “Monkey Man” and May brings “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.”

The middle film isn’t actually about a monkey, though. Instead, the film centers on the character Kid (Dev Patel), a young man living in Yatana, a fictional metropolis in India. Struggling to get by, he manages to earn money as a fighter in an underground boxing ring, where he dons an ape mask.

His true objective, though, is putting himself in a position where he can get revenge on those who destroyed his village and killed his mother. His main two targets are a corrupt guru (Makarand Deshpande) and a crooked police chief (Sikandar Kher). But pulling such a thing off is a difficult, dangerous task.

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REVIEW: ‘In the Land of Saints and Sinners’ is a solid Neeson entry

Another movie has arrived in theaters with a poster showing Liam Neeson holding a gun. There’s been quite a few of these over the years, but few quite as somber.

“Land of Saints and Sinners” is set in Ireland during the Troubles, but most of the movie takes place away from the conflict. Instead, the location is a coastal village where humble, friendly bookseller Finbar Murphy (Neeson) resides. What he hides from the town, though, is that he’s also an experienced hitman.

However, it’s part of his life he’s ready to be done with. That is until the conflict arrives in the village when a group of IRA members go there to lay low after a bombing. While there, one of them commits a crime against one of the residents, and, as he’s grown to love the village, Finbar decides to take action.

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