Of Chicks and Chipmunk's Rights

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: ROAD CHIP

ADVENTURE/COMEDY

PLOT:  The further fun adventures of Alvin.

                The chipmunks are worried that Dave is going to marry his girlfriend and drop them so they have to stop him from giving her the engagement ring.  Story is not important but cuteness of the three and the crazy things that happened to them are.  It is not high-brow comedy but it is funny.  Great for families.

  

SUFFRAGETTE

HISTORICAL DRAMA

PLOT:  A young laundress by accident becomes involved in the women’s right to vote in Britain 1912.

                Maude Watts (Carey Mulligan) washes other people clothes for a living.  She has a husband and a son who she loves dearly. She has to deliver a package to an owner and sees first hand of women throwing rocks at stores to get attention to the cause. Soon by events she becomes involved that will change history-the woman’s right the vote.  Selma told us the black version of black people had to sacrifice to get the vote this movie does too for females.  The acting is very good especially by Mulligan for she goes through so much! Meryl Streep is not in the film that much even if she is in the poster.

The Billion Dollar Franchises Awaken

CREED

SPORTS DRAMA

PLOT:  Retired Rocky Balboa trains Apollo’s son.

                Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) is older and alone then Apollo Creed’s son wants to be a fighter and wants Rocky to train him. Soon they form a bond. Michael B. Jordan is great as Adonis Creed and Stallone is fantastic as the now father figure Rocky.  The boxing is brutal!  No two fighters can last as long with the punches they exchange in the movies.  You have seen these kinds of movies before but this one is well made.

THE GOOD DINOSAUR

ANIMATED

PLOT:  Arlo is lost dinosaur and will do anything to find his family and meets a young cave boy who    becomes his friend.

                The animation and the music are great.  It had funny moments but this film is frightening for young children!  Bugs are used as musical instruments or eaten!  It is rough stuff so if you do bring your kids be warned.

               

PEANUTS MOVIE

ANIMATED

PLOT:  Charlie Brown and friends are back on the big screen.

                Charlie Brown, that lovable failure is back in 3D animation and it is good.  There is really no story.  It is nostalgia about the characters and situations that made Peanuts wonderful.  All ages will like it and some will love it.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

STAR WARS:  THE FORCE AWAKENS

ACTION/ADVENTURE/FANTASY

PLOT:  The first of the new Star Wars saga.

                It has been 30 years since the end of Darth Vader and the Empire but there is a new enemy emerging named the First Order led by the evil Kylo Ren to crush the resistance.  If you are not a Star Wars fan you will enjoy this movie!  It is epic and action packed.  If you are a Star Wars fan you love this movie!  Why?    It is new and nostalgia.  Some people will be disappointed because it is not completed in this film but it is the first of a new series.  You will learn more in each film.  Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Adam Driver are great as new characters to the franchise as well as Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.

Family Faction and Action Gets Traction

SPECTRE

ACTION/ADVENTURE

PLOT:  The 24^th James Bond movie.

                First of all, the meaning of the evil organization named SPECTRE Special Executive for Counter Intelligence Terrorism Revenge and Extortion.  James Bond (Daniel Craig) last as 007.  The group is lead by Blodfeld (Christoph Waltz) and his reason to hurt Bond is professional as well as personal.  It is a great movie if you haven’t seen a current James Bond movie.  The opening sequence is just amazing and the fight scene with former wrestler Dave Bautista (Mr. Hinx) brutal.  There are slow spots helping you with the story.  It is worth to watch.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2

ANIMATED

PLOT:  The sequel to Hotel Transylvania.

                You don’t have to see the first movie to understand this one.  Mavis (Selena Gomez) Dracula’s daughter married a human and Dracula (Adam Sandler) wants his grandson  to be more monster than human.  The movie is very funny, delightful and in a strange way teaching children accepting people or creatures as they are. It is delightful for all ages.

HUNGER GAMES:  MOCKINGJAY PART 2

ACTION/SCI-FI

PLOT:  The final chapter of Hunger Game series.

                Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) knows who the enemy is now and he is President Snow (Donald Southerland) and wants to kill him but is he really the bad guy?  Our heroine has to deal with death, deception and worship.  It is the saddest ending to a franchise I have ever seen.  The trailer is so misleading for the other three movies are a building up and you would expect an action-packed ending and it is not that.  The novels I know are better.  The writer is trying to say something important and does but it is grim throughout.  If you enjoyed the other films you will like this one but if you didn’t  don’t go.

Wars, Witches and Interns

CRIMSON PEAK

GOTHIC ROMANCE

PLOT:  Young female writer marries a handsome but mysterious man of a mansion.

                Director  Guillermo del Toro is a great visionary director.  His imagination is amazing!  He did Blade 2, Pan’s Labyrinth and my favorite Pacific Rim so this is his latest movie.  It is a well-made, well acted Hammer-styled film.  Hammer films like Dracula with the late, great Christopher Lee.  It is too bloody for the romance crowd, not enough blood for the gore hounds so how to sell it?  There are ghost in there but not much, not much at all.  It is a hard sell so marketing sold it as a horror movie and I believe that is why it didn’t make much money.  When people think of horror today they want shocks and blood!  It’s a date movie if you want to see it but if you can wait for video. 

NO ESCAPE

ACTION/SUSPENSE

PLOT:  Husband moves his family to Southeast Asia but is suddenly trapped in a revolution.

                OMG!  I will admit I didn’t think much of the film because it had Owen Wilson who does mostly comedies but this is not funny at all!  He is Jack Dwyer and he moved his family to Southeast Asia to work as an engineer at the company Cardiff. He doesn’t know that the rebels killed the prime minister and they are out to kill ALL employees at the hotel and he and his family go through hell to survive!!  It doesn’t waste time getting to the action either and you understand more of the story in the middle of the movie.  The movie was in theaters for a hot minute but when it comes to video or VOD WATCH IT.

THE INTERN

COMEDY/DRAMA

PLOT:  Retired elderly man works for a young boss.

                Ben Whittaker (Robert DeNiro) is 70 and bored so he takes a job as an intern at first then becomes Jules’ (Anne Hathaway) driver and becomes more of a protector –no romance.  Jules is married with a daughter and is trying to juggle work and family.  It is very tiring but Ben helps her all he can.  It is a very nice movie and the stars make it better than a Lifetime movie.  De Niro is great as an older but still vibrant man who still wants to be in the business world.  Hathaway is cute but determined to make her company succeed.

WAR ROOM

DRAMA

PLOT:  Black family in turmoil find faith and come together.

                Tony and Elizabeth Jordan (T.C. Stallings and Priscilla C. Shirer) are successful couple.  They have a cute daughter, Danielle (Alana Pitts) but they are always arguing and ignore their only child.  Elizabeth meets Miss Clara (Karen Abercrombie) as she helps her sell her home and she tells her about the “war room” which is just a closet where she prays and talks to God.  Elizabeth does the same thing and wonderful things happen to them.  It is a good movie if you have faith to others it is just low-budget religious film.  It shows that people can change with the help of the Lord.  It was a hit with black audiences and should be with everyone who believes.

THE LAST WITCH HUNTER

ACTION/FANTASY

PLOT:  An immortal warrior destroys witches.

                Kaudler (Vin Diesel, Fast and Furious series) is cursed by a Witch Queen to live forever and that is a good thing for he kills the evil beings who are all around him.  He gets a few sidekicks, Chloe (Rose Leslie, Game of Thrones and Downtown Abby) a wisecracking Dream Walker and Dolen 37 (Elijah Wood, Lord of the Rings Trilogy).  It is like a twisted, expensive Sleepy Hollow episode.  It could easily be a series.  It is worth seeming if you like Diesel because he is always a cool badass!  It didn’t make money(US) maybe for it is hard to believe him as an ageless necromancer hunter. 

Drama is Back & Fall Oscar Track

MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS

ACTION/SCI-FI

PLOT:  The sequel to Maze Runner.

                Thomas (Dylan O Brien) and others survive the endless, dirty labyrinth in the first movie now they are in more danger by the mysterious organization WCKD.  At first they seem friendly but soon the gang finds out their true intentions and they escape on the run again.  The film is very exciting.   Read the book because there isn’t much character development because of the all the action.

THE MARTIAN

SCI-FI/DRAMA

PLOT:  Astronaut is left by accident on Mars and has to survive.

                Based on the novel by Andy Weir in 2011 the story is about Mark Watney (Mark Damon) is all alone on Mars and he has to think of ingenious ways to stay alive until he gets help.  He has a good sense of humor, intelligence and sheer willpower.  It has some scary moments but it is not action packed so don’t expect it.  If you like Gravity and I am stretching it- Castaway in outer space you will like this movie.  The cast is fantastic which includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live), Michael Pena, Sean Bean, Kate Mara (Fantastic Four), Sebastian Stan (The Winter Solider) and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

BLACK MASS

CRIME DRAMA

PLOT:  True story about gangster James “Whitey” Bulger who lived in Boston.

                Johnny Depp (Captain Jack, Lone Ranger) is a grim, intense, controlling criminal.  He has no redeeming qualities except he cares for his brother played by Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek into Darkness), his mom and his son.  Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey) is convincing as his wife.  He transformed himself into this horrible human being but really are there any nice mobsters out there?  It is very violent and you don’t know are the cops are just as bad as the criminals!  The cinematography by Masanobu Takayanagi is amazing and the music by Tom Holkenborg is haunting.  The film is good but Depp is great.

         

      

SICARIO

CRIME DRAMA

PLOT:  An FBI agent joins a military task force to take out a major cartel in Mexico.

                Kate (Emily Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow) is a woman who joins an elite group to destroy a cartel in Mexico.  Her team is Josh Brolin, Daniel Kaluuya and Benicio Del Toro but she realizes she can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys!  Sicario means ‘hitman’ in Mexican and you won’t believe who that is.  It is well made, very violent and very terrifying.  It is not action packed but when it comes it is intense! 

THE PERFECT GUY

SUSPENSE DRAMA

PLOT:  Attractive black woman dates a stalker.

                Leah (Sanaa Lathan, the Best Man, Best Man Holiday) is an attractive, smart woman who wants a family but Dave (Morris Chestnut, TV show Rosewood) is not ready for commitment.  She breaks up with him and after two months she likes Carter (Michael Ealy, About Last Night) who is the perfect guy for awhile.  Okay, this movie could easily be a Lifetime movie but what makes it so different is that black actors and actress are in the lead parts.  Ealy who was also in For Color Girls played crazy before and did such a great job he might be typecast.  It was a hit in theaters and if you like women in jeopardy films you will enjoy this.

BRIDGE OF SPIES

DRAMA/THRILLER

PLOT:  Lawyer in the cold war era exchanges a Soviet spy.

                Let me say this is not a James Bond movie even though it has spies in the title.  It is a talky, intense film.  James B. Donovan ( Tom Hanks) who is a lawyer who defends a spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) in the US in the 50’s.  Most of America wanted the death penalty but he only receives years in jail. The CIA wants Donovan to go under the radar to negotiate to get Abel back to his country for exchange for a US soldier and a student studying economics in Soviet Union.  Hanks is good as usual playing the average guy in extraordinary circumstances and the rest of the cast is amazing.