Of Sharks and Hunny: Late Summer Wrap up

UPGRADE

SCI-FI/THRILLER

PLOT:     In the distant future technology controls everything even your body.

                A couple whose car is a hi-tech goes the wrong way and his wife is killed and he is paralyzed.  A mysterious man can make him better if he places a device STEM behind his neck.  He can walk again plus he has incredible powers.  This movie is in selected theaters but you should see it. It is an Australian production with a cast of talented unknowns. You have heard it all before but imagine HAL from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey controlling your body!  Scary and entertaining.

THE MEG

SCI-FI/THRILLER

  

PLOT:    Megalodon, a shark to be extinct is in the depths in the water.

                Jonas (action star Jason Statham) is a drunken recluse for he told his superiors that he saw a shark over 70 feet tall!  He is needed once again to save his ex-wife and a hi-tech vessel deep in the sea.  Oh man, this is an enjoyable Syfy movie made with money!  Every cliché you have ever seen in shark movies are here but it is fun.  The underwater sequences are beautiful to watch.  Statham does a good job but the star is the extinct shark!  If you like shark movies you should go.  Note:  If you can wait for video they may add extra violent scenes than the theatrical to make it PG13.

   

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN

FANTASY/COMEDY

PLOT:     Christopher is now all grown up but still remembers his imaginary friends.

                Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor, Star Wars Franchise) is now a married man with a daughter.  He is always working neglecting his wife (Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The First Avenger) and child (Bronte Carmichael) until Winnie the Pooh, his cuddly stuffed, imaginary bear  accidentally crosses over  to the real world to help him find out what really matters.  It is a delightful movie!  McGregor is great as the adult Christopher who still finds out it is fun to be a kid.  The rest of the cast is excellent.  For the kids in all of us you should watch it.

Summer Remake and Sequel Season

INCREDIBLES 2

ANIMATED

PLOT:    The superhero family is back despite superheroes are illegal.

                The Parr family or the Incredibles are Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Dash and Violet try to stop Underminer with terrible results but a very rich man wants to change the imagine of superheroes so they can become legal again by using Elastigirl.  It has been 14 years since the last movie and it is worth the wait!  It is action packed and very funny and the character that steals the show is Jack Jack the youngest member of family.  He is has powers and is adorable.

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

ACTION/ADVENTURE/ SUPERHERO

PLOT:    Sequel to the Ant-man and more problems await him.

               

                Scott Lang/Ant-man (Paul Rudd) is on house arrest in his home because helping Captain America in Civil Wars.  He wants to be a superhero and a good father to his daughter.  The original  Ant-man Hank Prym (Michael Douglass) is now looking for his wife Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Phieffer) who is in the Quantum Realm so he needs Scotts help and a mysterious woman, Ava/Ghost (Hannah John Kamen, Killjoys) who wants Hank Pym’s tech as well.  Sound very serious doesn’t it?  Well it isn’t!  It is very light-hearted compared to Avengers Infinity Wars.  It is a great popcorn movie and if you like Ant-man go see this movie!!

SKYSCRAPER

ACTION/THRILLER

PLOT:  Security expert goes to great lengths to save his family in a burning hotel.

                Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson is Will Sawyer, a war veteran with a prosthesis leg now is a security specialist for hotels and he and his family are in the tallest building in the world. What could happen?  EVERYTHING!  A burning building, crazed hi-tech criminals and a very rich man with secrets.  There are two reasons why you should see this film:  Johnson and action! If you go for anything else you will be disappointed.  It is a good summer movie!

SUPER FLY

CRIME DRAMA

PLOT:  Remake of the 1972 film.

                Priest is thinking of getting out of the “life” of drugs and crime.  He wants to do his “last score” and he has to be gangster and cunning to do it.  This movie is stylish blaxploitation.  I believe we will get a flood of blaxploitation 2.0 but it won’t start with this film.  The movie is full of bling, action, cussing, violence and sex and yet it was in the theater in a hot minute so you probably missed it.  The company Sony didn’t promote it very well.  I am sure it will do better on video and On-Demand.  

Summer Fun, See Women Run

BREAKING IN

SUSPENSE/ACTION

PLOT:    Black mother has to protect her kids from thieves.

                Shaun (Gabrielle Union) has two kids a teenage girl and her son.  Her father dies and she has to go over to her father’s house over the weekend.  The problem is robbers are there not knowing the family is coming over. The twist the robbers are white and the heroine is upper class black.  You have seen this story a thousand times before but Union gives it her all.  She uses her intelligence, courage and determination to save her children at all cost.  The movie came out in a hot minute but I am sure it will do much better on video.

OCEAN’S 8

ACTION/COMEDY

PLOT:    Females steal a six pound all diamond necklace.

                Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) gets out of jail and instead of going straight she gets a team of all women to steal multimillion dollar jewelry at a major star filled gala. The cast includes Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings, Thor: Ragnarok), Anne Hathaway (Dark Knight Returns), Mindy Kaling(A Wrinkle In Time), Helen Bonham Carter (Harry Potter Franchise), Sarah Paulson (TV series American Crime Story), Rihanna (singer of Umbrella) and Awkwafina (Neighbors 2).  The ladies are clever in the field of expertise. Who asked for female heist movie?  Not me, but it is slightly better than the female Ghostbusters. The reason is it is more glamorous.  Bullock, who looks stunning, is a con-artist or just a damn social path.  She lies flawlessly without any conscience.

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM

ACTION/ADVENTURE

PLOT:    The continuation of the popular dinosaur franchise.

                It is four years after the shutdown of Jurassic World and Clare (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt) go to Isla Nobler to save as many dinosaurs as they can as there is a volcano there.  The rich and powerful people really want Blue, a raptor Owen trained for evil experiments.  Story really not important but the dinosaurs are especially a new creature the scientist creates. Acting not important either for it is mostly escaping unrealistic situations. It is a summer popcorn movie period.

                

Franchise Footnotes

DEADPOOL 2

ACTION/SUPERHERO

PLOT:    Deadpool is back.

                Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool, the foul-mouth, wise-cracking assassin who must save a young chubby kid from a new threat named Cable (Josh Brolin) from the future.  Yes, it is a “Terminator” theme.  It is more of the same so if you like the last movie you will enjoy this one.  He has his own team X-Force-it is not like the Avengers!  The soundtrack matches the wacky and the wildness of Deadpool.  These films send up super heroism and place it in overdrive!

  

SOLO: STAR WARS STORY

ACTION/ADVENTURE/SCI-FI

PLOT:    Hans Solo origin.

                This story is about how Hans Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) met Lando Cairissian (Donald Glover, Atlanta), Chewbacca got the ship Millennium Falcon and how he got his cynical sense of humor.  The film has a lot of references to Star Wars universe.  It is not as bad as I thought it would be with all the talent behind it.  Director Ron Howard and writer Lawrence Kasdan (Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Ehrenreich not first choice for Solo but he wasn’t bad.  It is a good addition to the Star Wars franchise.

  

OVERBOARD

COMEDY/ROMANCE 

PLOT:    Spoiled, rich Latino man has amnesia and hard-working woman uses it to her advantage.

                If the is story sounds familiar it is a remake of Overboard with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell in 1987.  Ana Faris and Eugenio Derbez are the couple now.  It is very sweet but predicable.  It has some very funny moments and has a Latin flavor to it.  If you want to see something different then superhero movies this summer then this is for you.

The Infinity of Acrimony

ACRIMONY

DRAMA

PLOT:    Black woman does everything for her husband only to be cheated on and conned.

                 What does acrimony mean?  It means bitterness and anger. Melinda (Taraji P. Henson) fell in love with brilliant but con artist.  He took a lot from her: her virginity, her money, her mother’s house. Her husband did become successful and married someone else.  She has borderline personality she calls it blind rage!  Okay.  This movie is a Lifetime movie for black women.  Oh man, Henson was over the top but so would you if you had been through what she has.  If you go to see this movie, go with your girlfriends because if you go with your man it will give you the wrong ideas.  See it if you love Taraji Henson slowly turning into a crazed bitch!

AVENGERS INFINITY WARS

ACTION/SUPERHERO

PLOT:    World’s mightiest heroes come together to battle the evil Thanos.

                Ironman, Hulk, Thor, Captain America Black Widow along with many others joins forces to stop Thanos from having all Infinity gemstones.  That’s basically it but it is well done and even better for the fans. Thanos is a horrible foe yet he tries to make sense of his world killer logic.  He is a great villain. Fans or not be prepared for sensational special effects and shocking events for many of the popular superheroes.  You will be saying OMG or curse words. You don’t see it coming and you when you do you will be gasping!  Worth watching!