Category: Movies

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“Mockingjay” Prevails

The much anticipated finale, adapted from the Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins, is giving the James Bond sequel a run at the box office, as it’s estimated to bring in roughly 46 million for its opening day.

Mockingjay — Part 2 picks up right where Part 1 leaves us with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) leading the rebellion against the capitol.   Crowds packed the theater, opening night, November 19th and were fully engulfed in the adventure, suspense and drama of the book brought to an epic end on the big screen.

Mockingjay: Part 2 reunites Lawrence with her sister Primrose ( Willow Shields) as well as Peta Mallark (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) as they join all twelve districts together in order to preserve the future.

All in all, the film doesn’t disappoint and all are highly encouraged to see the epic blockbuster of the year.  Mockingjay: Part 2 is currently playing at a theater near you.

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Hero Defies Odds

Based on the true story of college football star, who leads his team to the championship and then faces a life altering condition just weeks before the Sugar Bowl championship.

My All American stars  Finn Wittrock  as Freddie Steinmark, the hero both on and off the football field,  Sarah Bolger as his girlfriend, Linda, who stands behind him through triumph and tragedy and  Aaron Eckhart as the coach who see potential in a hard working boy with limited money for college.

Overall, it’s a story that will have you routing for the underdog from college acceptance to injury and conquer.  Very well done story, it captures the struggle of a true hero in the eyes of college football as well as the camaraderie of a football team, when one of their own faces tragedy.

My All American opens in theaters November 13 and a must see for everyone.

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Comic Strip comes the the Big Screen

From the colorful pages of a Sunday morning paper to the big screen, the world of Charles Schultz comes to life in The Peanuts Movie.  The movie features all the classics including Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Sally, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, and of course Charlie Brown and follows the journey of Charlie Brown as he navigates his life and try to not make a fool of himself in front of the little red hair girl.

In true Charlie Brown form, The Peanuts Movie lives up to its name, without straying from the story.  It finds ways to incorporate all of what made the Peanuts comic strip popular.  The characters are still who they are and the stories are still in the movie.  Linus is still holding on to his blanket while running from Sally, Lucy is still in love with Schroeder and Marcie is still looking out for Peppermint Patty who is still in love with Charlie Brown who is in love with the little red hair girl and of course, the War World one Flying Ace (Snoopy) is still hunting the Red Baron.

The Peanuts movie comes out November 6 in theaters near you, coinciding with its 65th Anniversary of the comic strip and the 50th Anniversary of the Christmas special this December, fans won’t be disappointed.  The movie is great for all ages and brings the humor of Charles Schultz to a new generation, while keeping devoted fans happy by not straying from the original story line.

At an hour and a half runtime, it’s sure to be a hit at the box office for families.

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“Truth” Questions Everything

The newsroom drama starring Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid and Cate Blanchett is drawing faithful news and movie goers to the theaters with a documentary style movie about the 60 minutes report that put News Anchor Dan Rathers’ and Producer Mary Mapes’ careers in jeopardy as they uncovered what they believed to be the truth about former President George Bush’s military career in the 70’s.  The story follows the investigation and shows the challenges that news reporters face on a daily basis when dealing with tough politics as well as the backlash that comes with the questions that all journalist’s must ask to uncover the truth. Overall, it is a powerful movie about getting to the bottom in order to find the truth and the actor’s did a fantastic job in portraying their counterparts.  Truth came out on October 16, in limited theaters and considering the challenges, it ranked 16 at the box office its opening weekend and currently has earned over 1.15 million in domestic revenues. As good as Redford’s, All The President’s Men, which came out in 1976 and follows the investigation into the Watergate Scandal, Truth is definitely another movie for anyone interested in US History as well as those pursuing a journalism career or currently in the News industry. Truth is still playing at select theaters near you.

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Horror With a Twist of Mystery

A new genre of horror is keeping people awake at night.  Under the direction of Guillermo del Toro, associated with Universal Pictures, Crimson Peak is the story of a young woman named Edith Cushing, who finds comfort in ghosts after her mother, who passed away violently when she was only ten, comes back to visit her and give her a warning to”Beware the Crimson Peak.”

Fast forward 14 years later, still with the warning in the back of her head, now Edith is torn between the grief of of father’s murder and a new love of a charming man, named Thomas Sharpe.  She finds herself being whisked away to a nearly abandoned mansion, that is in disarray, but that’s just the beginning because there is a mystery in the house that she must solve in order to save her own life so she will be able to leave.  The film also stars Jessica Chastain, who plays Thomas’ sister, who also adds to the mysterious love triangle that that Edith is trapped in.

Crimson Peak with a running time of two hours is a film for a mature audience as it does have a few gut wrenching moments that will keep you on the edge of your seat with anticipation and fright.  Though the ghosts are necessarily what you have to be afraid of, there is something more demented in the Crimson Peak.

The movie opened October 16 in theaters everywhere and the first weekend came in 4th at the box office bring in just under 13 million domestic, behind the other horror suspense adventure, Goosebumps, which topped the leaderboard at 23.5 million.

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“Monsters” Come to Life on the Big Screen

From the creative mind of R.L. Stine, comes a tale that will give anyone “Goosebumps.”

Jack Black stars in Columbia’s Goosebumps as R.L Stine himself, who has secluded himself in the town of Greendale, Maryland with only his daughter and manuscript monsters to keep him company, but when Zach, played by Dylan Minnette, moves in next door to him and his daughter, (Odeya Rush) takes a liking to the mysterious boy next door, well it’s up to daddy Stine to put things back in there place, especially when the teenagers unleash the dangerous of monsters that he has ever created.

Goosebumps, at just under two hour runtime, is an action, adventure, comedy that will have true fans of the young adult horror genre on the edge of their seats in tradition R.L Stine manner.  The blockbuster opened October 15, 2015, right around the time of halloween and is currently playing at a theater near you.  See it today, you won’t be sorry.

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“Pan” Reimagined

The classic tale of the boy who never grows up returns to the big screen in the latest prequel, “Pan“.  The fantasy blockbuster stars  Garrett Hedlund as Hook,  Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard,  Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily and newcomer, Levi Miller as Peter and follows the young boy on a journey from being abandoned at an orphanage as a baby to being kidnapped out of his bed twelve years later and whisked off to Neverland where he discovers his ultimate destiny.

Overall, the film has amazing special effects, from the first seen it pulls you into the story and keeps you there.  It does answer a lot of questions of how and why Peter ends up in Neverland. The story?  That’s a different case.  If you look at it as an alternative, it could be quite believable, but from the original Peter Pan standpoint, there are a few minor alterations.

That being said, you should see it for yourself before making the final decision.  Pan opens October 9, in theaters and is a great action packed movie for all ages.

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Sci Fi Overthrows Animation at the Box Office

Fox’s The Martian brought down the box office with a strong 54 million for its opening weekend and sent Sony’s Hotel Transylvania 2 to number two for its second week with 33 million.

The Action sci adventure based on the book by Andy Weir, The Martian, follows the story of an astronaut, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) who survives a dust storm, but that’s just the beginning because now he has to survive over 500 s0ls, until he can be rescued after his team leaves Mars, thinking he is dead.

It’s an action packed suspense film that will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering if the next moment is his last.

The Martian opened October 1, and also stars,  Jessica Chastain,  Jeff Daniels,  Kristen Wiig,  Michael Peña, and  Sean Bean.

See it now in a theater near you.

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“Vacation” Reboot

The Griswald’s are back in a new generation of capers as the son tries to bring his family back together as they tackle the ultimate family “vacation” to the iconic Wallie World.  Filled with all new capers that will have everyone laughing from the first minute on, Vacation stars, Ed Helms as Rusty Griswold and his wife, Debbie (Christina Applegate) as they explore the most iconic locations including the Desert Hot springs as well as the Grand Canyon, along with saying high to his sister Audrey (Leslie Mann) and her conservative husband, Stone (Chris Hemworth).  Of course, no vacation is complete without the man who made the original, Chevy Chase, who made a cameo as well as Beverly D’Angelo.

Vacation is a must see for all National Lampoon’s Vacation fans.  It came out in theaters July 29, 2015 and has currently brought in over 58 million as of October 1st with over 14 million opening weekend.   It’s still playing at a theater near you and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 3, 2015.

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Drac is Back and Claiming Number 1

Sony’s Hotel Transylvania 2 has taken the number one spot at the box office its opening weekend bringing in over 43 million in revenues, making the film the top grossing film in September for its opening week and thus, dropping Fox’s Scorch Trials down to number three.

The animated sequel picks up where the original left off with Dracula, (voiced by Adam Sandler) saying goodbye to his daughter Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) as she marries her zing, Jonathan, (voiced by Andy Sandberg) but its not the end of the story for the couple has a son, which creates all knew adventures as Dracula, embraces the role of Vampa to Dennis (voiced by Asher Blinkoff).  The animated film also features the voice talents of Kevin James, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Fran Drescher and Mel Gibson, as the monsters who live in Hotel Transylvania and ultimately work together to ensure Mavis doesn’t leave when she realizes that the Hotel may not be the safest place for her “human” son.  It is their mission to help Dennis become a monster.

At an hour and a half runtime, the film is filled with adventure and laughs for the whole family including one of the kind parody songs written by Adam Sandler. Hotel Transylvania 2 is a must see for all who love a good ol’ fashion monster comedy story.

Hotel Translyvania 2 opened in theaters Sept. 18, 2015 and is currently playing at one near you.