ACTION HOUNDS REJOICE!!!! The Expendables are finally here!!! It has the best all-star action guys you can name!!! A band of mercenaries lead by Barney Ross (!?)(Sylvester Stallone), and his second in command Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) take an assignment by Church (Bruce Willis) to take down a small country in South America and its dictator General Garza (David Zayas)who is really controlled by James Monroe(Eric Roberts).
Plot, dialogue and acting is not the reason to see this movie, it is the action stars of the 80’s 90’s along with wrestling and UFC. Lots of action, lots of kills and lots of big explosions!!! The big three--Schwarzenegger, Willis and Stallone is funny but too brief. The late Brittany Murphy was supposed to be in the movie, but they cut her scenes out. The two females in the movie are Charisma Carpenter (Angel) and Gisele Itie (popular novella actress in Mexico and Brazil).
My only gripe was, I couldn’t see the brutal fights (it was at night) and they needed to be longer!!! This is for guys, girls who love macho men and action and violence, period! Not for kids, not for people who hate violence not for women who like chick flicks. See it in the theaters, see it on Blu-ray and DVD--just see it!!!
I only watched this movie because wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin was in it. He plays John Brickner, an ex-con got out of prison early because the wife of who he killed begged the parole board. She wants him to save her daughter who needs a heart transplant –the insurance bill is costly and Medicaid rejected her so he does underground fighting for a living. It is surprising for a b-movie to have such seriousness for everyone is damage or in debt!! Stone Cold Steve Austin is not the best actor in the world but he’s got a presence!!! He is much laid back compared to his wrestling persona. I can’t wait for the movie ‘Expendables’ to come out later this year-August to be exact. Everyone is very good including Reno (Walter Goggin in the series The Shield and Justified) Frankie (Smallville as Supergirl and updated series V) . They make a very odd loving pair.
PERCY JACKSON &THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTING THIEF FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE
This movie is based on the books by (Rick Riodan). I didn’t know the book existed so I did not read it but you should read before you see the movie for the novel gives more insight. It is a summer blockbuster that was release in February and now release on DVD. It is very well made. I am surprised. All the special effects movies I thought it was another one. Mythology and modern world collide as Percy Jackson(new comer Logan Lerman) has just found out he is a demigod and his father is Poseidon (Kevin McKidd, Journeyman). Zeus (usual bad guy Sean Bean) wants his lightning bolt back or hell on earth as result.
At a school for demigods only he meets pretty Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) daughter of Athena and his protector and comic relief Grover(Brandon T. Jackson). Percy goes on a quest to save his mother Sally Jackson (Catherine Keener-know for independents movies) from Hades (Steven Coogan). Uma Thurman (Kill Bill) is amazing as Medusa!!! It is delightful and it should have been release in the summer but the studio didn’t think it would do well. The cast old and new are fantastic. Director Chris Columbus who directed the first Harry Potter movies is very good at fantasy movies. He should have done “Clash of the Titans.” They will be comparing the two in the future. If you are into mythology and fantasy movies YES see this movie!!!
BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD ANIMATION
First, let me say this is not for kids!!! It is very, very violent!!! It is about Batman with a new villain named Red Hood who is taking over crime by killing one crime boss at a time. Batman is not voiced by Kevin Conroy but Bruce Greenwood (seen in Star Trek-2009) all the voice actors are good but Wade Williams and John Di Maggio Black Mask and Joker are outstanding!! Both are power mad, funny criminals. It is not that long but it says quite a lot. You should see when it arrives on Blu-ray and DVD. Warner Brother’s animation movies are getting better with each film.
The Twilight series is brilliant and baffling. Based on the novels by Stephenie Meyer’s young, white tweens go gaga over the movie!! It is a female 'tween' Star Wars!! I am basing my review on the movie alone. You should read the novels ( to compare) but I heard they are terrible but I doubt that. The other two movies in short were too slooow!!! It is the continuing story of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) in love with vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob Black, (Taylor Lautner) who can change into a wolf.
Things gets ugly for Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) makes ‘newborns,’ ruthless vampires who wants revenge on Edward for killing her lover James and wants to kill Bella. The two unearthly males have some of the best romantic and bickering dialogue ever in the entire series!! Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg who writes for Dexter finally wrote some interesting dialogue!!! It is well written soap opera. Director David Slade (‘30 Days into Night’) got some very good action in the movie, and that’s why guys are going as well!!
Kristen Stewart is a pretty girl but she can be so bland. Robert Pattinson, I don’t see the attraction at all!!! Taylor Lautner is great when he is topless!!! The rest of the cast is good, but who stands out is Rosalie Hale (Niki Reed) they give her a back-story as she tells Bella why she shouldn’t ‘turn’. In short, this is the best of the series. Should you see it? You don’t have to be a fan for this one--it does drag but not a lot!! THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE FANTASY/ADVENTURE/ACTION
This movie is based on a segment of Disney’s classic Fantasia!!! The writers took that segment and made a movie. The film is about a wizard Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) finding another wizard Dave Stutler(Jay Baruchel) to destroy the evil witch Morgana (Alice Krige from Borg Queen from Star Trek)but she has an evil assistant Maxim Hovarth (Alfred Molina, Dr. Ock from Spiderman 2). Are you with me so far? Sounds complicated? It is not, it is really fun and dumb at the same time.
Jay Baruchel has had some year. He was in ‘She’s Out Of My League’ ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and now this. He is very funny but he is sooo NASAL!!! Nicolas Cage is very good as the mentor and Alfred Molina is GREAT as Maxim. He is witty, angry, arrogant, power mad--good traits of a bad guy!! It is not doing well at the box office, so maybe a lot of people think it shouldn’t have been made!!! It is a good summer movie if you have nothing to do--if not, go DVD or Blu-ray.
INCEPTION SCIENCE FICTION/ACTION
Let me just say before you see this movie please DO two things: 1-Read as much as you can about the movie and 2-BE ALERT!!! The movie is about dreaming and sleeping and if you’re tired YOU will fall asleep!!! The movie is not bad or boring if you use your brain. You will not understand this movie on the first viewing. Great for the lucky ones that do. The movie is action-packed and thought-provoking. In short--not a typical summer blockbuster. Christopher Nolan, the director of Batman, knows how to keep your attention with action sequences but also keep the intelligence high. All the actors Leonard DiCaprio, underrated Joseph Gordon-Levitt Ellen Page and all the rest of the cast are brilliant. Should you see it in the theaters? Yes, those who are movie lovers and want to see something different, but others should wait to see on Blu-ray and DVD so you can see it repeatedly, in order to 'get it.'
Superstar Tom Cruise stars as a super agent Roy Miller, who has to slip a very important device through the airport, and pretty June Havens (Cameron Diaz) is the mule. The movie is very exciting and Cruise and Diaz are the reason you should see the movie. Cruise seems to have a great time saving Diaz. She seems to have a great time even screaming!! The villain Peter Sarsgaard is okay but they could have a better bad guy. The action is VERY GOOD. It’s a shame it is not doing well in the US, but I think it will do well overseas.
TOY STORY 3 ANIMATED
Suspense, romance and drama it is all in this movie!!! Pixar makes the greatest animated studio there is!! The story: Andy is going to college and by accident his toys are given to Sunnyside Daycare. The evil Lotso is cute cuddy bear with a dark side and in charge. Woody and Buzz Lightyear and the other toys must escape!! It is the best movie of 2010 so far!! It should be nominated not only for BEST animation but for BEST PICTURE because that’s how good it is!! It is as terrific as “Up”. This franchise gets better with each film. It is truly amazing how an animated series can be this good. It is for children and children at heart!! SEE IT ON THE BIG SCREEN!!!
JONAH HEX WESTERN/ACTION/FANTASY
This flick is good in a B-movie way. It is based on a DC comic book of the same name, but read the comic because the origin has changed. Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) is a Confederate soldier and dislikes the horrors some troops do to other men. He kills the son of Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), so Turnbull is out for revenge---and gets it by killing Hex’s wife, son, and burns one side of Hex's face. Hex becomes a mean bounty hunter who can talk to the dead (don’t ask me why). He thinks that Turnbull is dead, but he is not so, he still goes to get his revenge.
It sounds real good until you see the movie. Josh Brolin is a very good actor and he is good in this movie. Malkovich’s Turnbull is an okay villain, and Megan Fox as Lilah Black a hooker who wants a better life. She is not in the movie very much and she isn’t nude but she poses sexy in a corset. The good thing is DC is trying to branch out with their movie superheroes besides Superman and Batman. Actually, there are only three words for this movie: BluRay or DVD.
I did not see the original movie (yes, I know I should have seen it) so I am just writing about the current film. It is about Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mom (Taraji P. Henson) who gets a job in China and has to move there. At school he is bullied and he ask Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) to help him learn kung-fu to defend himself, and gets involved with a martial arts tournament. It is good and Jackie Chan is great. He plays it straight, and it shows!!! Jaden Smith is Will Smith’s son!! He is charming and has star quality. It is refreshing to see a young black actor in movie not involving drugs or ghetto life. Should you see it? If you like these kinds of movies--yes, but if you can wait--wait.
I really dislike Hollywood with remakes, reboots and reimagings, but sometimes they actually work, and the 80’s remake of The A-Team is one of them. The story is about the best Special Forces squad there is, but they get framed and have to clear themselves. Plot is not really important here, but action and BIG explosions are!!! The cast is very good. Liam Neeson( Zeus in Clash of Titans)is outstanding as Hannibal Smith, the leader. He is a good replacement for the late George Peppard. Bradley Cooper (Hangover) as “Face” is not only good looking but smart too!! That wasn’t in the series!!
Sharlto Copley (District 9) is an excellent ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock and UFC champion Quntion “Rampage” Jackson is pretty good as B.A. Baracus, but he's nothing like Mr. T. He swears a lot to show his attitude. Jessica Biel is not bad as Captain Charissa Sossa. She is just there to provide a pretty female in the macho movie. The villains are okay. Patrick Wilson (The Owl in Watchman) as Agent Lynch, Brian Bloom (As The World Turns, and co-wrote the movie) as Pike and Gerald McRaney (Simon and Simon) appears as General Morrison. Director Joe Carnahan (Smoking Aces) did an excellent job. I know people and critics say this movie isn’t good. For me it IS a popcorn movie.
SPLICE SCI-FI/THRILLER---SPECIES REMAKE?
This movie is not good as a thriller, because you have seen this before. A science couple (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) mix different DNA to help fight disease, then they create a creature that evolves very quickly with bad results. As humanity tale, it's better because it shows man should be feared more than what it creates. When Dren is small she is cute like a baby, when it grows they treat it like a child, when it becomes a teen and rebels, they cage it, when it becomes sexual the male doctor screws it, and when it becomes dangerous they try to kill it!! It all sounds very good, until you watch it!!! The film reviews have been mixed because (depending on taste, or what you're concentrating on) it is very bad as an executed drama, but too very good (as a concept). This is a movie that is best reserved for DVD or Blu-ray. Why? Because you'll think it is very good, or you wasted your eyes for 90 minutes.
