Tag: Sequel

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“Ocean’s 8” Review

“Kluger’s Associate: Do you know this woman?
[shows her a photo]
Daphne Kluger: No.
Kluger’s Associate: Debbie Ocean. Convicted felon. Her brother, Danny Ocean, more convicted felon. She was present on the night of the incident.
Daphne Kluger: Ooh. So…”

It’s time for the little sister to pull off the ultimate crime of the century in the latest all female cast where now it’s Debbie’s turn.

In the same fashion as her older brother, Debbie, who has spent five years in jail devising the perfect crime will now put together a team of seven to steal a pricey diamond necklace, planted around the neck of Daphne Kluger while at the Met Gala.  There’s only one question, will they get away with it?

At exactly 2 hour run time, the film captures the same charm as its masculine predecessors, Oceans 11 while bringing something new to the screen.  The chemistry between Sandra Bullock who plays Debbie and her partner in crime, Cate Blanchett as Lou is adequately played, though one might think it could have been a little bit stronger.  That was the only thing I found lacking, despite the teaser trailers that entices audiences.  AS far as the movie goes, it seems the two struggled to find the chemistry to drive the crime plotting.

In addition, the others who made up the rest of the team, in a way sort of got lost in the shuffle as there was nothing really memorable, though Helena Bonham Carter as well as Anne Hathaway did have some funny moments which caught the audience by surprise, especially when Hathaway confronts the team with a line of “bad acting” from Carter.

That aside, I did find myself laughing all the way through as the true story of the anatomy of a crime played out on the big screen.

Ocean’s 8 came out in theaters, June 8, and is currently playing in a theater near you.  See it with an open mind for funny moments about the criminal masterminds.

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“God’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness” Review

“God Is Good, All The Time”

“And All the time, God is God”.

The same dialogue echoes though the God’s Not Dead trilogy as Christians are tried in new ways.  First it was a student vs. professor, in which a freshman student is made to prove the existence of God in front of his collages.  Then a public school teacher vs. the state, where for the first time a teacher is taken to the supreme court to be made an example for speaking the name of Jesus in her classroom.  Now in the next film, it’s the pastor, himself that faces the ultimate test of faith.

Produced and starring David A. R. White, God’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness shows that even a pastor is human as Reverend Dave faces the ultimate backlash after being arrested at the end of the second film, now his church is burnt down.  To throw more heat onto the scene, the university which has offered sanctuary to the church now wants the church gone, as they seek to lay blame for the disrupt in campus life and hate crimes.  As far as acting goes, David A.R White exceptionally portrayed a pastor which we have watched in all three movies as he himself is now feeling the persecution that the student and teacher equally felt.  White’s expressions on his face when he has his breakdown in the church as well as the encounter with the student responsible for the fire, ultimately shows the humanistic characteristics that undoubtably all people of faith go through when all seems lost.  It shows that even pastor’s aren’t exempt.

Likewise, the film, conveys the same subtle message, that of whether or not to believe in God or not, allowing the audience to make their own decision in the end, though it is slightly more bible based then the previous too, which one could deem is because of the attack on the pastor and the church.  The setting and lighting is perfect in using colors to depict just how low humanity can get, but  the multiple images of fire serves as both a destroyer as well as a symbol of hope similar to a scene out of the second with the students showing their support for their teacher at her house.  This very same scene repeats itself with the university students showing support of Rev. Dave.

The return of Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper) is also a nice touch as those loyal followers of the Gods Not Dead franchise, might have wondered what happened to the outspoken freshman who stood up to the overpowering agnostic professor.  Harper’s addition as a student minister, showed the affect of the church on the campus as a new student, Meg (Jennifer Taylor) is introduced as an underlying story supplementing that of the church vs. state.  We see a further development in Harper especially from the first film to this one where he has know transitioned from the freshman trying to prove God’s existence to a actual pastor figure who wants to reach others, which I can totally see.  Harper’s performance in this one is just as strong and motivating as the student becomes the teacher in an essence both with Rev. Dave when he seems to question himself as well as the new young girl who is in the same boat. 

The God’s Not Dead franchise is based in large part by the Christian Musicians Newsboys, who’s song, God’s Not Dead was performed in both the first two movies and one might expect another reprise, which didn’t happen.  I found myself slightly disappointed by not hearing and seeing the band, but the music was prevalent in the background as the story continued.

Another difference between this one and the first two was the call that was made.  Instead of showing the message, to text everyone, “God’s Not Dead”, there was a live message at the end from Michael Tait, of the Newsboys as he closed out with a public message, to be the light.  He also promoted an app which was created for the movie.   I liked the notion, but showing the message after the credits, make it difficult to reach, especially since most people don’t stay til the end.  While the message was powerful, they might have been better to still have the text message at the end for those that didn’t wait all the way through.

God’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness is a fitting close to a powerful franchise.  It upheld the same standards as the first two, with more emphasis on a pastor’s point of view and of course the call to “Be the Light” was still there.  The religious sequel came out in theaters March 30 and is currently playing in a theater near you.

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“Sherlock Gnomes” Review

Two stories come together in this new twist of the classic tale Sherlock Holmes gnome style.  MGM’s Sherlock Gnomes picks up where Gnomeo and Juliet left off with the Montagues and Capulets finally living in peace and harmony as the garden gnomes venture to a new garden this time in London.  Little do they know that someone is out to get rid of all the gnomes as Sherlock Gnomes and Watson seek to protect all gnomes from being smashed.

All in all, the story is told in the same fashion as the original, set to the iconic music of Sir Elton John who produced both animated adventures for new eyes. 

Emily Blunt and James McAvoy return to voice the star crossed lovers in the new adventure and ultimately the two don’t disappoint with a new comic relief as Gnomeo and Juliet, now named leaders of the new garden, must figure out how to grow everything for Spring, while battling their first quarrel as lovers.  The dialogue is crisp and new, as the writers purposely tried to keep the story moving with the witty banter between the two.

The new addition of the voice talent of Johnny Depp as Sherlock Holmes is typical as his own character illuminates in the image of Sherlock.  I literally felt as though the character was made for him and I was watching the same character portrayal as seen in his Jack Sparrow role.  Depp brought his own wit and humor to the character as well as his self love for himself that he is most definitely know for.  Sherlock’s partner, Watson (Voiced by Black Panther star, Chiwetel Ejiofor) also provided a more serious side as Watson purposely made sure that Sherlock was always one step ahead of his notorious arch nemesis, Mankini (Julio Bonet). 

The animation was lively and colorful as the scenes flowed at a fast pace adding to the need of Sherlock with the help of Gnomeo and Juliet to save their family.  At times in the beginning the fast pace was a little unexpected and one might say, “Hold On”, but it also gives the audience the feeling of a new story inside another.

Overall Sherlock Gnomes is a film for everyone to enjoy.  There are moments when literary fans will enjoy the twist of the story, similar to how the writers of the original Gnomeo and Juliet put the beloved Shakespeare play to the rock and roll music.  Though, one might say, the sequel isn’t quite as well done as its predecessor.  The beginning kind of comes out of nowhere as they try to mesh the to stories together.  That aside, one does eventually understand what the plot is and shall hope to find the overall story somewhat enjoyable.

Sherlock Gnomes came out in theaters Friday April 23 and is currently playing in a theater near you.  Watch the trailer below.

 

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Sony at 3 For Weekend

In the midst of the run for top its opening weekend, Sony’s Smurfs managed to take the number 3 spot behind Disney’s Beauty and The Beast and Fox’s Boss Baby.

The animated sequel goes deeper into the world of the lovable Smurfs by, this time, exploring “Who Smurfette is” as Clumsy (Jack McBrayer), Brainy (Danny Pudi), and Hefty (Joe Manganiello) go on a new adventure with Smurfette (voiced by Demi Lovato) in order to find the “Lost Village” and warn them about Gargamel (Rainn Wilson), the evil sorcerer who wants to use the smurfs powers for his own advantage.

At an hour and thirty minutes, Smurfs: The Lost Village will lead you on an adventure never before attempted by the Smurfs: to venture into the forbidden forest in order to find out that they are not the only smurfs in the area. The fun loving film will instantly have you laughing and cheering on the little blue creatures and Smurfette in particular who finally realizes just who she is supposed to be in a heroic act of bravery that will leave audiences in suspense.

The cast also includes the voices of Julie Roberts as WillowSmurf, Michelle Rodriguez as SmurfStorm, and Meghan Trainor as SmurfMelody as the all female smurfs show Smurfette that she is not alone.

The Sony film came out in theaters April 7 and is currently playing in one 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.

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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.