Tag: Movies

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“Gifted” Review

While blockbusters, like Fox’s Boss Baby and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast are still taking the top spots at the box office, there is another heartwarming movie that is bringing light to a challenging question of education vs. being a child in this day of age.

Marvel’s Chris Evans plays single Uncle Frank as he is left to raise his 7 year old niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) after his sister decides to commit suicide.  Frank sees Mary’s gift for mathematics something that his sister possessed, but feels it is more important for Mary to have friends and be a kid, so he decides to enroll her in public education, even though his friend, Roberta (Octavia Spencer), is skeptical.   Mary is instantly bored and her teacher (Jenny Slate) sees more potential and starts the dominoes falling into place to where her grandmother (Lindsay Duncan) finds her grand daughter and sees fulfillment of a life long goal that her daughter had yet to accomplish.

At 1 hour and 41 minutes, Gifted will have you debating over what is more important, love and fun or education.  The Fox Spotlight movie came out on April 7 in select theaters and thus far has brought in just under half a million at the box office.  It’s definitely one to see for the family values and will leave the audience with a profound view of how gifted children should and should not be treated.

Gifted is currently playing in limited theaters near you.

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“Beast” Come To Life

The latest live action Disney Classic is taking the big screen and is set to be the biggest opening of 2017 thus far.

Emma Watson plays the iconic Belle and captures the same charm as she did after years of playing Hermione in the Harry Potter Franchise and even goes as far as to throw in a line from the first film in the opening village scene.  Overall, the set and costume design of the movie fully captures the time period of the original and one feels a part of the movie from the first moment on.

The beast, played by Dan Stevens, fully embraces every ounce of the original character from the savage, self-absorbed man that transforms into a caring, somewhat sensitive person that Belle can not resist.

Bill Cordon, who directed this live adaptation wanted to create unique moments, including new never been heard songs written by original composer Alan Menken and new lyrics by Tim Rice which also added to the addition of a new character, Cadenza (voiced by Stanley Tucci).  Overall, the music, seamlessly meshed together to create a “Tale as old as Time” for a new generation.

Other actors include, Luke Evans as the dastardly sleek Gaston, his sidekick Lefou played by Josh Gad in Disney’s first ever “Gay” character which brought controversy on all sides.  Kevin Kline played Belle’s father Maurice and Ewan McGregor voiced Cogworth while Ian McKeller voiced Lumiere and Mrs Potts was voiced by Emma Thompson.

Overall, the new live adaptation of the ’91 classic, fares well to its predecessor, but keeping the same story while giving it a somewhat modern twist for a new audience, while adding more of a back story to our beloved Belle and her beast.  Audiences for the first time got the answers to two of the most puzzling questions, “what happened to Belle’s mother?” and “what happened to the beast to make him so cold?”.

For the answers, make sure to see the movie while it is in theaters.  Beauty and the Beast opened in theaters March 16 to packed and sold out audiences and is expected to take number one at the box office this weekend after averaging over 63 million as of its Friday total.

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Kong Dominates

The latest adventure of the legendary King Kong is sending crowds to the movies as its opening weekend brought in over 61 million domestically, sending last week’s Logan to number 2.

Kong: Skull Island introduces a new generation to the story before King Kong as explorers team up with military personnel to explore the not so mythical Skull Island.  What they find is even greater than the giant ape that everyone fears.

At just under 2-hour run time, Kong stars Tom Hiddleston, the explorer and Brie Larson, the photojournalist, who find beauty in the land and Kong, while Lieutenant Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) seek to destroy the large ape, while awakening something even more dangerous that only Kong can destroy.  Ultimately, the movie will have you marveling at the beauty of the island while fully cheering for Kong all throughout and make sure to watch all the way to the end as there is a closing scene to set up what is to come next in this franchise.

Other appearances include, John Goodman and John C. Reilly in very minor roles that add to the intensity of the island.

Kong: Scull Island came out in theaters March 10, 2017 and is currently playing in one near you.  See it, you won’t regret it.  Great original story to kick-start a new epic adventure for all.

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Oscar Picks Now

With less then a day away from the 89th Academy Awards, people are buzzing with their top nominees for who will walk away as Best Picture.

Take a moment and cast your vote now as we are gathering last minute favorites from our followers.

And stay tuned for more exclusive coverage from the 89th Academy Awards.

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“Moonlight” Review

The independent film about an African-American man, who struggles to find his place in the rough urban neighborhood of Miami Florida is bringing in over 150 wins including Best Picture for a drama at the Golden Globes as well as Best supporting Actress and Actor and is currently up for 8 additional Oscars.

The film chronicles the life of Chiron (Little) (Black) from childhood (roughly ages 10-through his late 20’s) and the situations that he encounters which ultimately shapes him into the man he becomes.  Having to deal with bullying from classmates as well as his drug addicted mother, Chiron finds comfort in the friendliness of Juan, (Mahershala Ali) and his girl, Teresa, (Janelle Monae) who ends up taking him in as a second home, when he can’t go home to his own.

All in all, with a run time of nearly two hours, there is power in the acting from the first scene with Alex Hibbert in his first theatrical debut as “Little”.  Hibbert excels in portraying the troubled young boy who just wants to be accepted, by both his friends and his mother.  Through “Little’s” emotion we see without little words, the deep struggle as well as the beauty in bromance as his only friend, Kevin encourages him to keep fighting.

Moonlight came out in theaters, November 18, 2016, and has brought in over 18 million domestically.  It’s currently still playing in select theaters, leading up to the 89th Annual Academy awards, which will air on February 26, 2017, where we will see if Moonlight has what it takes to win the ultimate award.

See it now either on the big screen or when it comes out on February 28, 2017 after the awards show.

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Romance comes Early

The newest epic romance of the year about star cross lovers is coming to screens and getting crowds ready for Valentine’s Day in a couple of weeks.

 Asa Butterfield plays Gardner, the son of lead astronaut Sarah Elliot (Janet Montgomery), whose voyage to Mars to live for four years turns into 16, when she realizes she is pregnant thus has the first child born on Mars shortly after arriving.  Through the delivery, the baby is fine however Sarah doesn’t make it and the team, on earth, lead by Nathaniel Shepherd (Gary Oldman) is fearful to bring the baby back for fear of different atmospheres.  They decide to keep the boy a secret.

Gardner is fine living on Mars, but as he ages, his curiosity grows and he finds himself communicating with a young teen on earth, Tulsa, (Britt Robertson) which causes him to want more of a physical connection as well as to find father.

But now, on Earth, it’s a race against time to find out the truth about his father before his large heart stops beating.

At 2 hour run time, The Space Between Us is a romantic teenage drama that will have you laughing and reminiscing at childhood innocence, cheering as Gardner and Tulsa races to find his last remaining family without getting caught and ultimately will have you tearing up with emotion as it comes down to the ultimate decision of staying on Earth or going back to Mars in order to survive.

The movie came out in theaters on the first Thursday night in February and will be buying for a top spot at the box office against the much-anticipated sequel, Rings.

See it in a theater near you.

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“Dog” Battles for Number One

Universal Picture’s latest movie about the many lives of one dog is bringing controversy as a video surfaced more than a week prior to its world premiere that caused the company to cancel it and spark protests for its opening debut weekend.

Despite the bad press, the author and producer assured the dog was never in any danger and A Dog Purpose opened in theaters this weekend, with packed to nearly packed audiences as everyone came out to see Bailey transform and touch hearts.  The film stars the voice talent of Josh Gad as one dog, living the lives of Bailey, Ellie, Tino and Buddy as he discovers the meaning of life as a dog.  Throughout he learns lessons along the way that ultimately helps him reunite with his original owner, Ethan, played by Dennis Quaid and helps him to be happy once again like he was when Bailey first came to him as a puppy.

A Dog’s Purpose will have you laughing, crying and ultimately sitting on the edge of your seat not knowing what will happen next.  At an hour and forty minutes, it’s a movie that the whole family can enjoy as they watch each dog transform each human’s life in the most common way possible.

It’ll be interesting to see who takes the number one spot at the box office this week as two Universal films, one of which Split that took number one last weekend, will be going up against each other this weekend.  A Dog’s Life is rated PG and is currently playing in a theater near you.

 

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“Resurrection” Reaches Audiences

It’s the classic story about a child star who hits rock bottom when Gavin Stone, played by ‘ABC’s Agent of Shield’s’ Brett Dalton, is given a second chance through community service at a local church in his childhood home.  Though clearly not a Christian, Dalton accepts and takes on the task of manual labor until a meeting with the pastor’s daughter, Kelly Richardson, (played Anjelah Johnson- Reyes) leads Dalton to audition and take up the charade of ‘Christian’ in order to land the part of Jesus Christ.

But will Dalton be able to successfully pull of such a powerful part without letting Kelly know that it is all an act especially when his two hundred hours of community service are up prior to show time?

At roughly an hour and thirty-five minutes, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is a feel good movie about the power of faith that can change anyone’s life and make them actually want to live a better life.  Overall, it’s a movie unlike any other Easter story with a bit of good tasting comedy at the heart of what truly matters.  People will be laughing, crying and cheering what is said to be ‘the greatest story of all time’.

The Resurrection of Gavin Stone came out January 19, 2017 and has thus earned roughly over one point five million domestically.  It’s currently playing at a theater near you.

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“Split” Breaks Records

M. Night Shyamalan‘s latest suspense thriller is taking  the box office by storm with a record  40 million opening weekend making it the fifth largest January opening to date.

Universal Pictures Split follows the story of the multi personalities of Kevin Wendell Crumb in a struggle to survive amidst himself.  Otherwise known has Dissociative Identity Disorder, Crumb played by James McAvoy finds himself wrestling with his own identities which ultimately leads him to kidnapping three young girls and holding them hostage for what is to be his newest identity which has yet to be unleashed, called ‘the monster’.

Overall, the movie will have audiences sitting on the edge of their seats trying to figure out just which personality will come out next as the three girls race to find an escape through one of the many identities of Mr. Crumb.  McAvoy’s portrayal of each identity is seamless as you truly see the real struggle of someone with this rare disorder.

Additionally, Shyamalan holds true to his own distinct style by using hidden easter eggs to further give dept to his story, including his always subtle cameo as well as his use of the color yellow to stimulate the current hysterical and personality change that our character goes through.

Split also stars  Anya Taylor Joy as Casey, Haley Lu Richardson as Claire, Jessica Sula as Marcia and Betty Buckley as Dr. Karen Fletcher who tries to cure Crumb though the personalities ultimately get in the way.

Split came out in theaters, January 20, 2017 and is currently playing in a theater near you.

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XXX Returns

Vin Diesel is back as Xander Cage in the latest installment of the Triple X trilogy, this time to recover “Pandora’s Box” and save the world.  The team consists of the same cast including Samuel L. Jackson as Gibbons and Ice Cube as Darius Stone and is a high energy action thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat with excitement as action after action is coming your way to bring you to the end in hopefully one piece.

It’s the typical XXX movie, where to coin a line, “You kick some ass, get the girl and try to look dope while you’re doing it.”  Overall, there’s not much to the movie, however if you like heart pounding action, triple X is the movie for you.

It came out in theaters Thursday January 20th and is playing at one near you.  It’s expected to bring in at least 20 million its opening weekend according to box office mojo as it has a little competition with M. Night Shyamalan’s Split.