Hotel Transylvania 2 review

Director:
Genndy Tartakovsky
Cast:
Adam Sandler
Andy Samberg
Selena Gomez
Kevin James
Rated: PG

“Hotel Transylvania 2” picks up a few years after the first movie finished. Jonathan (Samberg) and the vampire Mavis (Gomez) are married and both live and work at the hotel run by Dracula (Sandler). As the movie goes on. Jonathan and Mavis have a son named Dennis. While the young couple are thrilled, the fact that Dennis doesn’t show any qualities of being a vampire concerns Dracula.

To help the situation, Dracula and his friends Frankenstein (James), Wayne the Werewolf (Buscemi), Griffin the invisible man (Spade) and Murray the mummy (Keegan-Michael Key), team up to teach the young kid how to be a monster.

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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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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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REVIEW: ‘Home’

Director:
Tim Johnson
Cast:
Jim Parsons
Rihanna
Steve Martin
Jennifer Lopez
Rated: PG

In the latest Dreamworks animated feature, Jim Parsons lends the voice to the character Oh. Oh is a member of an alien race that is on the run from a intergalactic threat and is trying to find a new home where they will be safe. They end up coming to Earth and decide to make the planet their own. After moving the human population to a single location, the alien race takes over Earth.

Things seem to be going fine until Oh, being the mistake maker that he happens to be, ends up accidentally notifying the threat about where his race is. As he goes on the run from his own people, he meets Tip (Rihanna), a young girl who is searching for her mother. The two end up making an unlikely pair and have to go on adventure to set things right.

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REVIEW: ‘Big Hero 6’

Director:
Don Hall, Chris Williams
Cast:
Scott Adsit
Ryan Potter
Daniel Henney
Maya Rudolph
Rated: PG

Hiro isn’t an average teenager. At 13, the main character of “Big Hero 6” has already graduated from High School and has mastered robotics. Unfortunately, he doesn’t exactly use his gifts for the best purposes as he ends up in back alleys at night partaking in robot fights. While he is good at the fights, his brother Tadashi, sees a better route.

A robotics expert himself, Tadashi encourages his younger brother to attend the same university that he goes to. One night Tadashi takes Hiro to his lab at the college where Hiro meets Tadashi four friends. Hiro seems to be inspired after the visit and plans to attend the university, however, an accident that takes Tadashi’s life changes that decision.

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When the Game Stands Tall review

Director:

  • Thomas Carter

Cast:

  • Jim Caviezel
  • Alexander Ludwig
  • Michael Chiklis
  • Laura Dern
  • Matthew Daddario
  • Rated: PG

The film follows Bob Ladouceur (Caviezel), a coach of a high school football team which achieved the longest win streak in football at any level. The movie begins with business as usual for the team. They win another state championship and everything seems to be going fine.

In the offseason, though, tragedy strikes on more than one occasion. Ladouceur gets a heart attack from pushing himself so hard and one of the teammates set to graduate and go on to the University of Oregon football program is shot and killed. To make matters worse, at the beginning of the next season, the team loses… TWICE!

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Planes: Fire and Rescue review

Director:
Roberts Gannaway
Cast:
Dane Cook
Ed Harris
Julie Bowen
Curtis Armstrong
Rated: PG

World Champion plane racer Dusty Crophopper (Cook) is living the perfect life.

He’s winning every match up and has everything he could want. Problems come around, though, when a key engine failure results in Dusty not being able to race anymore. Making matters worse, he soon learns that his hometown needs another firefighter to help protect the city. Dusty decides to become a firefighting plane and goes to train at a forest park under the tutelage of legendary helicopter Blade Ranger (Harris).

The movie “Cars” followed a young hot shot who had a lot of talent but had to learn some life lessons and new tricks from an old mentor if he wanted to be great. The first “Planes” followed a young hot shot who had a lot of talent but had to learn some life lessons and new tricks from an old mentor if he wanted to be great.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2 review

Director:
Dean DeBlois
Cast:
Jay Baruchel
Cate Blanchett
Gerard Butler
Craig Ferguson
America Ferrera
Djimon Hounsou
Kit Harington
Rated: PG

Five years later and none of the main characters have developed Scottish accents.

“How to Train Your Dragon 2” returns audiences to the island of Berk, where the viking warrirors there have adapted to life with dragons. There are dragon races, dragon stalls and other features to make everything work perfectly. The village is happy and the main character Hiccup’s (Baruchel) friends are having a good time racing each other. Hiccup on the other hand, though, seems to be less than content at Berk and spends his time searching the world for new places.

The adventure starts when Hiccup, and his now girlfriend Astrid (Ferrera) discover dragon trappers who are working for the villain Drago (Hounsou). Drago is working to build a dragon army and will take out anyone in his way. After the villain’s plot is discovered, Hiccup goes to try and reason with him. His journey is derailed though when he meets a person who has built a dragon sanctuary, a person that he has a connection with.

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Maleficent review

Director:
Robert Stromberg
Cast:
Angelina Jolie
Elle Fanning
Sharlto Copley
Rated: PG

Angelina Jolie stars as the title character “Maleficent,” which explores the background and supposed true story of one of Disney’s most famous villains.

The film explores a romance that she had with a man who would eventually betray her, how she became a cold hearted being, and her involvement in the spell put on sleeping beauty, AKA Aurora, played in this film by Elle Fanning.

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REVIEW: ‘Chef’

Director:
Jon Favreau
Cast:
Jon Favreau
John Leguizamo
Emjay Anthony
Sofia Vergara
Rated: R

After a string of high budget blockbusters, Director Jon Favreau has returned to the smaller screen in the indie comedy “Chef.”

Not only does Favreau direct the picture, he writes and stars as the main character, too. Favreau plays Carl Casper, A chef who has had a relatively good career working at an upscale restaurant in Los Angeles. While his career has gone somewhat smoothly, the same cannot be said for his family life.

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