Category: Movies

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“Straight” to the Top

Universal does it again with another number one at the box office, but this time it’s a documentary that’s drawing crowds to the theater and bringing in over 60 million for its opening weekend.

“Straight Outta Compton” is the true story of the early pioneers of the hip hop movement that started it all and follows the life of five teenagers (Dr. Dre, Eazy E, Ice Cube, The D.O.C, and M.C Ren) from the mean streets of Compton, as they move from mistaken gang members to hip hop legends.  At two hours and twenty one minutes, the filming is action packed as it clearly shows the drive of the hip hop movement as these five young men deal with corrupt law enforcement that in evidently fuels the inspiration behind some of the biggest hits of the rising group called N.W.A as well as a money hungry producer that offers them a chance of fame, but ultimately is only there for one reason.  It’s a documentary that clearly defines what happened in the 90’s from the riots to the backlash of hip hop music and eventually leads to the break up of N.W.A as the five musicians begin their solo careers and break away from their money hungry producer, Jerry Heller.

Ultimately, it’s a movie for any fan of the genre and is highly recommended.

“Straight Outta Compton” is currently playing in a theater near you.  See it, you won’t regret it.

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Ant-Man: A New Breed of Super Hero

From the creative mind of comic book legend, Stan Lee, comes a hero in the form of an Ant.  Actor Paul Rudd is Ant-Man as he goes from a regular cat burglar to hero with the help of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), a.k.a the original Ant-Man and his daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lily).  Now it is up to the three of them to fight back against Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) in order to save the world and his family from the Yellow Jacket.

At just under 2 hour runtime, Ant Man is full of adventure, action and suspense as you follow the transformation of Scott Lang into the Ant-Man.  Overall, the special effects of phenomenal, as we see various objects, including ants, and Lang himself, shrink and grow right before your eyes.  In addition, the creators did a great job of connecting the story of Ant- Man to that of the Avengers franchise, thus hinting that there will be sequel.

Ant man is currently playing in a theater near you, and has already brought in over 106 million dollars worldwide, coming in at number one for its second week at the box office.

See it, you won’t be sorry.

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Classic Video Games Come to Life

Columbia Pictures has movie goers reliving their childhood memories of arcades in the summer blockbuster, Pixels, starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage and Michelle Monaghan as the Arcaders.  The movie follows the life of these comedians after a 1982 Arcade Competition that was video taped and sent up in a time capsule to outer space.  Now thirty years later, Earth is being attacked by aliens who mistook the tape as a  declaration of war and is now using the popular video game heroes to destroy and conquer.

Pixels is surprisingly a hilarious, well thought out movie.  You see elements of all the classic video games including Space Invaders, Centipede, Pacman and Donkey Kong and it is clear that the writer/ director did their homework.  It is all down pat to the original video game.

Overall, Pixels is a movie that is ultimately good for those who grew up with the classic video games.  That generation won’t be disappointed.  As for the younger generation, I’m not saying they won’t like it, but perhaps it will introduce them to the games that made video gaming a reality.

Pixels opened in theaters July 24 worldwide with over 9 million in revenue.  It is currently playing in a theater near you.  See it, you shouldn’t be disappointed.

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“Southpaw”: The Next Rocky

The latest boxing movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the junior middleweight boxing champion Billy Hope is coming to the big screen this week.    After his wife, (Rachel McAdams) dies in a tragic way, Billy is battling severe depression as his life begins to unravel when child services steps in and takes his daughter away.  He has to bounce back for his sake as well as his daughter.

It’s a great story with phenomenal acting by Gyllenhaal and Forest Whitaker, who helps rehabilitate Billy, emotionally as well as in the Boxing ring so that he can get back on top.

At 2 hours and 4 minutes it’s a drama for a mature audience as it shows the true struggle of a man who’s lost everything.

Southpaw is also dedicated to musical composer, James Horner, who past away in a plane crash exactly a month ago today at the age of 61.  The movie will be in theaters July 24th, 2015.

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“Minions” Are On Top

Universal’s done it again with another number one at the box office.  The voice talent of Pierre Coffin introduces you to the Minions, before Gru came into the picture.  In this early prequel, its a history of the minions with one objective, to find the baddest villain to serve.  Each new villain that they find, end up having a some sort of problem that leads to their demise.

But that is when Kevin gets the idea to form a search  party, though he’s not entirely happy with  the volunteers who go with him, one being  Bob, the youngest and Stewart the one that thinking of food all the time.  The three end up in Orlando at Villian Con, where they find Scarlett Overkill (Sandra Bullock).  Not realizing her true motive, the minions go on a mission that ends up turning into a epic battle that ends with a shocking turn of events.

The Minions, with a run time of 1 hour and 45 minutes is a hilarious movie for all ages.  Kids will love it for the cute little minions that are running on the screen with their unique language and adults will find it entertaining with all the historical references that they tie into the fun loving movie.

See it now, it’s playing in a theater near you and it’s the perfect way to tie the movie into the Despicable Me franchise.

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Disney Goes “Inside Out”

In the latest animated film by Disney Pixar, creators have brought a truly original story to the big screen in the film called Inside Out.  The adventures stars, voice actors, Amy Poehler (Joy), Phyllis Smith (Sadness), Bill Hader (Fear), Lewis Black (Anger) and Mindy Kaling (Disgust) as we see for the first time what happens to a young girl named Riley who is uprooted from her home town of Minnesota to the Big San Francisco City.  The emotions run wild as they attempt to help Riley navigate and figure out just how to feel in this new place.

Overall, the story is amazing, truly one of a kind and the voice actors were spot on.  The 3D effects really make you feel like you are inside Riley’s head, even without the glasses.  It is definitely worth seeing as it holds an important message for kids and adults both.  See it to find out what that message is!

Inside out has brought in over 284 million in box office revenue and was in third place for its second week in theaters.  It’s currently in any theater near you.

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“Terminator Genesis” Starts Over

Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in the latest installment of the Terminator Franchise, but with a different twist.  The movie starts out similar to the original with Kyle going back in time to protect Sarah Conner, except something has changed.  Sarah Conner is not the same Sarah Conner as she leads the charge against Skynet to protect the future and for the first time meet her adult son.

At over 2 hours, the movie does have a lot of action and comedy to hold your attention.  The special effects are tight.  The story on the other hand, has the audience thinking how could this be when the young Kyle and Sarah go ahead in time, thus altering the future and yet still running into adult John Conner, but how does it end?  Well you’ve just got to see it to believe it.

It’s a movie that true Terminator fans should see and make the decision whether they believe or not.  It came out July 4th weekend and brought in 68 million to date.  See it in a theater near you.

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“Max” Melts Hearts

The family drama about a war dog who comes home after his owner/handler dies in combat is pulling the heartstrings of its audience. Though it was no match for the three blockbusters including Jurassic World, Inside Out and Ted 2, that dominated the box office with nearly 150 million combined total, it still had a fair amount flooding in to rank number 4 with over 12 million.

Max stars Josh Wiggins as Justin Wincott, the brother of the Marine, who dies in combat and was handler to Max.  After the death, it is clear the dog recognizes Justin at the funeral of the soldier, though Justin wants nothing to do with Max.  His mother, played by Lauren Graham and his father, played by Thomas Haden Church, insist that the dog is now his and Justin and Max begin to form a bond that is stronger than one can imagine.

But when a rumor about what happened to the brother starts circulating around the family and Church doesn’t want to have a dangerous animal threatening the life of his other son, it’s up to Justin to do some investigating to save Max’s life as well as his father’s.

Max, with a run time of 111 minutes, is a family adventure that will bring tears to your eyes.  As good as Old Yeller with an even  better ending.

Max is currently in a theater near you.

 

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“Jurassic” Returns to Big Screen

After over a decade of anticipation, Universal Studios has done it again and brought dinosaurs to back to the big screen for one more adventure of epic proportion.  Steven Spielburg’s Jurassic World had fans flooding the theaters for a prescreening at the local AMC on Universal Citywalk even before officially hitting the big screen for the public on June 12 and it’s sure to break records its opening weekend.

The fourth installment  brings an all new cast as Jurassic World replaces the park with an amusement park complete with rides, shows and interactive experiences.  Dinosaur trainer, (Chris Pratt) is perfecting his latest experiment of taming the vicious raptors and while scientists, headed by Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) are trying to lure more visitors to the park with the latest creation of a hybrid species of dinosaur, while getting close to her nephews, Gray and Zach, but when the hybrid dinosaur decides to take a dangerous turn, and put the whole park in danger, it’s up to Pratt and Howard to team together and save the day as well as realize they work better together as a team.

With a runtime of 2 hours and 4 minutes, Jurassic World is packed with action, thrills and everything the Jurassic Park franchise is known for.  It opens June 12 in theaters everywhere and is well worth the anticipation.

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The “Pitches” Are On Top

universal’ssummer sequel, Pitch Perfect 2 had crowds flooding into the theaters on its debut weekend as it brought in over 69 million at the box office, while Disney’s Avengers dropped to the number 3 spot with nearly 39 million.

The musical sequel brings the Barden Bellas back with several returning cast including Anna Kendrick as Beca, Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy, Brittney Snow as Chloe and newcomer, Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) whose mother, (Katey Sagel) is a former  Bella legend and thus a legend to live up to.  The group has to regain their good name after a major indecent exposure in front of national TV which causes the Bellas to be suspended from any additional competitions.  Now it’s a battle of ultimate acappella style as the group attempts to win the World Acappella Championship and redeem their good name for the sake of future Bellas.

Pitch Perfect is a stunning movie of a different caliper as each voice has a unique sound that makes the groups blend into a performance well worth the time.  It is highly recommended for its voice, comedy and passion as the girls ultimately have a deeper connection that one can connect with regards to graduating college and entering the real world.  It’s a story of knowing one’s voice and living it to the fullest, with a group of close friends that will always have your back.

Pitch Perfect 2 is currently playing in a theater near you.