Black Panther

BLACK PANTHER has honestly been an Avenger for 50 years, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel back in 1966.

Fast forward to 2018, Marvels – BLACK PANTHER is going to be a HUGE movie.

With an all star cast starring Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa / Black Panther), Michael B. Jordan (Killmonger), Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia), Angela Bassett (Ramonda), Forest Whitaker (Zuri) , Andy Serkis (Ulysses Klaue), Satn Lee (Thirsty Gambler), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Martin Freeman (Everette K. Ross) and Daniel Kaluuya (W’Kabi), BLACK PANTHER is expected to break all weekend box office records!

I saw the movie this past Monday with my 20 yr old daughter and she was very impressed with the panoramic views, the bright beautiful other worldly colors, the soundtrack (produced by Kendrick Lamar), the fight scenes, climatic ending and so was I.

The one thing I can say that BLACK PANTHER is going to have going for it is….  Definitely repeat business / moviegoers, which will help increase it’s box office take $$$.

I’ve been a fan of Marvel Comics since I bought my first Spiderman comic book back in Brooklyn, NYC  in 1971 and I have to say that Marvel Studios has upped it’s movie with the making of the BLACK PANTHER.

It goes without saying but I’m going to say it any way…  BLACK PANTHER is a definite MUST SEE for the whole family, no matter your Race, Color, Creed or Religion.

If only the world could imitate cinema, it would be a much better place.

I gave BLACK PANTHER 9 out of 10 stars for:

1. Brilliant story
2. Excellent acting
3. Overall great heartfelt feeling movie.

Go see it as soon as you can.

Until next time with my order of hot Cheesy Brazilian bread and a large Cherry Pepsi….

 

 

 

Wonder Woman (2017)

Wonder Woman comes out this Friday, June 2nd, 2017 with an all star cast starring Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress, Martial Artist & Model (Fast & The Furious, Entourage, Keeping up with the Joneses) in her first leading role as the iconic Super hero Wonder Woman. American actor Chris Pine as Steve Trevor (Star Trek, Jack Ryan, Unstoppable). Danish Actress Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta (Gladiator, One Hour Photo, Devil’s Advocate). American Actress Robin Wright as Antiope  (House of Cards, Forrest Gump, Princess Bride) and Italian born Actor Danny Huston as Ludendorff (Wolverine, 21 Grams, The Aviator) they introduce the Icon female superhero to a whole new generation.

Wonder Woman was first introduced by Detective Comics (DC) by William Moulton Marston in 1941. She is Princess Diana of the immortal Amazons from Greek mythology.  When army pilot Steve Trevor crashes on the warriors’ secluded island paradise, Diana wins the right to escort him home and make her people known to the world. Entering our cynical world for the first time, there’s a lot she must wrap her head around, especially our ways of war, hate, and, well… dating. Helping her are her superhuman strength and speed, as well as the trademark bulletproof bracelets, but it’s probably her Golden Lasso of Truth most people really wish they had.

Wonder Woman proves to be an emotionally resonate film that is a refreshing take on the superhero formula that featured something we haven’t seen in the DCEU yet: a true, bona fide hero.

Wonder Woman’s best moments come less from its saw-it-coming plot twists and special effects fights and more from Diana seeing the outside world mired in World War I. Expressing her disgust at its injustices and setting out to right them. Her black-and-white concept of good and evil makes her incredibly naive about the moral gray areas Steve and the rest of society deal with every day. It’s that clashing of worldviews and overcoming that ugly disillusionment that creates the compelling emotional core of the movie and shows how Wonder Woman came to be the warrior for peace we have come to Love from the comics.

DCU has come a long way and Wonder Woman is definitely a HUGE step in the right direction.

I gave this movie 8 out of 10 stars for:

1. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was spot on!
2. Chris Pine keeps impressing with his acting.
3. The action scenes were done just right

Until next time from the center row with my Box of fried Mozzarella sticks & Large Swamp Water…

 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth Pirates film starring Johnny Depp  as Captain Jack Sparrow. It focuses on a mission Sparrow shares with Henry Turner (newcomer Brenton Thwaites)  — the only son of earlier franchise stars William Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), neither of whom appears much in the film.

Despite the fun cameos, talented cast, and Sparrow’s familiar rum and innuendo-laden jokes, this movie proves that some franchises need to just end. Certainly there’s a certain amount of humor to enjoy in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, particularly the sort that pays tribute to Sparrow’s love of drink and women — not to mention a celebrity cameo in which Jack thinks he’s bumping into his father (Keith Richards, if you recall) in a Caribbean prison but instead realizes it’s his uncle, played by  *SPOILER ALERT* arguably the most famous English singer alive. But that moment can’t make up for a sloppy plot that’s both confusing and ridiculously convenient. For example, Carina may not be a real witch, but there is one (played by Golshifteh Farahani), and she manages to help whomever, whenever, for apparently no reason at all. And then orphaned Carina finds her father in the most obvious of places (what an ending).

It’s hard to have ill will toward a film franchise that can be such fun, when it get things right, but at this point, these films are just playing out using an old formula.  Without Knightley and Bloom as the young lovers, even the romance feels forced. Newcomers Thwaites and Scodelario are both attractive but there’s so much more to developing romance than throwing two beautiful people in the same scene. It’s just not much there, love-story wise.

The same can be said for the movie as a whole. Naturally, Bardem is always up for playing a complex villain, but Salazar’s laser-focused need for vengeance against Sparrow is borderline boring. It’s obvious that even his own crew of pirate-killing ghost sailors wants him to get it over with. It would be wonderful to think this is indeed the final Pirates movie, but considering the box-office rewards, it’s possible Depp will be starring in sequels until he looks like Richards. (Stay till the end of the credits and you’ll see what I mean).

Overall I gave this movie a 7 out of 10 for the following reason:

1. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, yet once again
2. Who doesn’t love a fun Pirates movie?
3. It’s the 5th film in the Pirates franchise.

Till next time from the seat directly underneath the projector with the Large “Swamp” drink and Nachos with extra Cheese!…

 

“Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2”

“Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2” probably couldn’t and definitely doesn’t recapture the sweet innocent silliness of the original.  Back is the original cast (Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket & Baby Groot) as well as Gamora’s Sister Nebula and introducing Quill’s Dad (Kurt Russell) as EGO, The Planet.

The banter between the Guardians and revisiting of jokes/gags from the first movie (for example, once again a character dances to an “Awesome Mix” song – this time from Vol. 2 – during the opening credits) isn’t as fresh here and come off more as attempts to deliver what is now expected from the Guardians “brand”, as opposed to offering something more inventive.

This carries over to the majority of the movie’s content, when it comes to the humor and interactions between characters: there’s plenty in the way of fun spectacle and funny/touching moments to be had here, but the overt attempts to recapture the “lightning in a bottle” elements from the first Guardians movie, tend to fall flat.

The MCU’s cosmos has never looked more gorgeous and felt more three-dimensional than it does during Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, using a nice blend of candy-colored practical sets and CGI to bring its intergalactic environments to life – not to mention, great makeup/prosthetics to create its various weird alien players.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” provides all the non-stop comedy and zany cosmic action that audiences now expect from the Guardians film franchise, but winds up being more of a sturdy connective bridge to bigger adventures in the future, than a great chapter in the larger MCU saga, on its own. The sequel leans more on its soundtrack and colorful imagery as part of its efforts to recapture the sincere heart and crackling energy of its predecessor, but comes up short all the same.

Bearing that in mind: so long as moviegoers go in anticipating a Marvel Studios film that provides more time with their favorite characters, but serves more to fill the gap between Guardians #1 and the next major MCU event – namely, the Guardians’ appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, rather than stand alone, then Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 should meet their expectations. And of course, don’t leave until the end credits for the film are completely done rolling, although personally, there weren’t any eye-opening moments there.

Overall I gave the movie a 7.5 out of 10 stars for:

1. Baby Groots opening dance number.
2. Yondu doing the right thing (you’ll see what I mean)
3. Gamora v/s Nebula

Until next time, from the center of the back isle under the projector, with my large bag of popcorn & large “Swamp” water 20 oz. drink

SUICIDE SQUAD

D.C. Comics / Warner Bros pictures proudly presents the summer blockbuster,  “Suicide Squad”.

With it’s all Star cast of: Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jared Leto as The Joker, Cara Delevinge as Enchantress, Jai Courtney as Capt. Boomerang, Badass Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Adam Beach as Slipknot, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Jay Hernandez as Diablo, Ezra Miller as The Flash and Ben Affleck as Batman, one would think, this would be the next comic book-to-movie incarnation, that would finally get it right!            WRONG!!!

Don’t get me wrong, as a major comic book fan myself, I was giddy and couldn’t wait to see “Suicide Squad” but once I did, I was wondering, what the heck did I just see?

The story lines are all over the place, you might as well have called this movie “Will Smith and his Suicide Squad (Guess who gets 70% of facetime?), The CGI was extremely dark, moving at the speed of light, the alien “demons” were indescribable and Hollywood has finally gone down an new “slippery low road” by highlighting and glamorizing Domestic Violence thru Harley Quinn & The Jokers, nauseating sick relationship. I could hear the teens walking out of the theater saying: “Oh! But she loves him and he loves her!” WHAT? How can we allow our kids today to think that having someone ,that you profess you love, prove it over and over again, to the point of them taking their own lives, is L O V E?!?!?

At the movies final scene, the Director borrowed heavily on “Ghostbusters”. Trust me, you’ll see the resemblance I’m talking about, “IF” you see this film.

I’m not say for you NOT to go see this film, I’m just saying that I was very disappointed in it as a Comic Book fan but as a summer superhero/villians movie, it is somewhat entertaining.

I gave this movie 6.5 out of a possible 10 for:

1. It was a DC Comic Book movie
2. Cara Delevigne
3. I did not have to pay to see it

Until next time, with Brazilian Cheesy Bread and a Cherry Coke…

 

 

 

JASON BOURNE (2016)

“JASON BOURNE”, the action film character that Matt Damon was born to play, has returned after a 9 year absence since he last portrayed “JASON BOURNE” (Actor Jeremy Renner gave it a shot back in 2012, no offense to Jeremy Renner BUT I am sooo glad Matt Damon is back!).

JASON BOURNE, was first introduced to us by author extraordinaire Robert Ludlum, back in 1980 in “The Bourne Identity.”” Mr. Ludlam went on to Author 2 more JASON BOURNE novels, before handing over those duties to Author Van Lustbader in 2004. Mr. Van Lustbader has written 10 more JASON BOURNE novels, with no end in sight.

In this fourth (4th) installment in the JASON BOURNE series, Matt Damon picks up right where he left off, probably due to the fact of returning veteran Director Paul Greengrass, who last Directed Matt Damon as JASON BOURNE back in 2007. Matt Damon slipped into character, like he hadn’t missed a beat.

This movie has an All-Star cast, starting with Julia Stiles (reprising her role as Nicky Parsons), Tommy Lee Jones as CIA Director Robert Dewey (An old friend of Jason Bourne Father), newcomer Alicia Vikander (CIA agent Heather Lee) & Vincent Cassel as “Asset” (Also, an old “friend” of Jason Bourne’s Father).

This JASON BOURNE has it ALL!

Exotic locations, Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary islands, Spain (As Greece), Iceland, London, England, Rome, Italy, Washington D.C., Berlin, Germany & THE climatic ending in Las Vegas, NV (I got goose bumps remembering our own Las Vegas  trip just a week ago).

The story lines are a bit predictable, if you’ve seen any of the other 4 previous JASON BOURNE films. They just won’t leave JASON BOURNE alone and like a rattled Hornets nest he has to respond

I gave this movie 8.5 stars out of 10 for:

1. Full head on action
2. Exotic Locations
3. Awesome soundtrack throughout the film
4. Welcome back Matt Damon!

Until next time, with my Brazilian Cheesy Bread and Large Cherry Coke.

 

“Mike and Dave need wedding dates”

“Mike and Dave need wedding dates” is exactly what you’d expect from a rated “R” film to be!

Starring Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick, Adam Levine and Aubrey Plaza, this sexually laden, drug referencing, foul vulgar language throughout, alcohol drinking film, is the kind of film you go to see to get away from life / reality / stress for 98 minutes.

With it’s beautiful Hawaiian set, physical comedy and laughs a plenty throughout, you are not gone learn anything of great importance from this film but you will be cheering for these four foolish millennials to pull it off at the end!

Spoiler alert: The Hawaiian resort masseuses and the sauna scenes, are right up there with the classic 1981 film”Porky’s” (look it up).

If I were an 18 yr old with a group of friends, this is probably the kind of film we’d pay to see and we wouldn’t be disappointed!

I gave this film 7.5 stars out of 10 possible stars for the following:

1. The exotic Hawaiian set
2. The classic RV to the Brides face scene
3. Millennials can pull it off when they are honest with each other!

Go have a good time and see this film!

Until next time, from my center seat,  with my new food love, “Brazilian Bread” and a large Cherry Coke….

Andythemovieguy

 

 

 

 

THE LEGEND of TARZAN (2016)

 

 

“The Legend of Tarzan” coming out this Friday, is the the 53rd Tarzan movie for this franchise (including several animated versions) since the first one premiered back in 1918.

I can honestly say that the Tarzan franchise has come a full-360 degree circle, with this version and it’s up to date storyline!

This cinematographic masterpiece, from the 1800 century old town, London England, to the majestic nature of the Continent of Africa, the storyline in this 53rd version of Tarzan, can and does stand alone with the best of them!

“The Legend of Tarzan”, starring physical specimen Swedish actor, Alexander Skarsgård as Tarzan, with his Blonde hair and magnetic blue green eyes, sexy, sultry Australian actress, Margot Robbie as Jane, Iconic Austrian actor Christoph Wentz, playing the classic bad guy (look out for his silky spiders web beaded rosary) and legendary American actor Samuel L. Jackson, as the comic relief, this “Tarzan” movie has it all!

Spoiler alert: All I can say is that when Tarzan tells Samuel L. Jackson character, “They’ve got my wife”, you just know that sh*t’s gonna get real!

I gave this movie  8 out of 10 stars and totally recommend you go see this movie for the following reasons:

1. For the ladies: Swedish actor, Alexander Skarsgård as Tarzan
2. For the Men: Sexy, sultry Australian actress, Margot Robbie as Jane
3. It’s the 21st century and the 53rd version of Tarzan is a film that your grandparents will enjoy (Take them to see it, if you have any).

Until next time, from the middle theater row, with my new theater food love “Brazilian Bread” and a Large Cherry Coke….

Andythemovieguy

 

THE BFG

“The BFG” is the latest film from Director Steven Spielberg, showing us that Mr. Spielberg has a slightly darker size, as seen in this film!

Based on the 1982 children’s novel by Roald Dahl, “The BFG” lacks some of the emotional depths we find in most of Spielberg movies.

That being said, this is still one of the best standout family movies of the summer, mixing some outstanding acting from up and coming British child actress Ruby Barnhill, whom you can’t but be reminded of the child actor Drew Barrymore in “E.T.”,  The BFG, voiced by one of the greatest British stage actors of our time, Mark Rylance and American actor Bill Hader as the evil giant “BloodBottler” mixed in with some extraordinary special effects.

Spoiler Alert: If you do go and see it with the family, please, please, please do not give away one of the funniest scenes ever even in a Spielberg film, like in forever, It has something to do with bubbles that go down, instead of up. Trust me, the scene is a gut buster! Lol!

I totally recommend this film for the whole family, especially in the summer, with kids 7 years and older.

I gave this movie an 8 out 10 stars for:

1) Excellent story telling, 2) An almost perfect CGI film 3) The classic scene with the Bubble that go down, instead of up!

Until next time from the center row with my Cheese nachos and large Coke.

 

 

“Alice through the looking glass.”

“Alice through the looking glass” is a movie with no soul, just some dull, worn out metaphor about time travel — don’t mess with it, basically — and Helena Bonham Carter’s oversized noggin, as the generalized Carroll character who’s part Red Queen and part Queen of Hearts, in your face in 3D IMAX. She shouts “Off with your heads!” so there’s that. It’s not much fun.

It’s all feels a bit like a rejected script from Doctor Who…

Gone are the laughs (which were few and far between) and a depressed Mad Hatter (Johnny Deep) doesn’t help one bit. There is the small matter of a LIE (not that ANY lie is a good thing) but this LIE completely altered someone’s life and caused the death of countless others!

There are countless puns about “Time” throughout the film, too numerous to count but will elicit the few chuckles there are in the film.

“Time, time, time..  Time is the one thing we want more of and can’t control!”

Hollywood has basically done what they wanted with the pure, true meaning of Alice and author Carroll Lewis must be rolling in his grave!

There you have it!

Until next time, with Chicken fingers, Doritos and a large Coke.