Showing posts with label Ice Cube. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ice Cube. Show all posts

Monday, 26 June 2017

Special: Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Fist Fight, Kong: Skull Island Mini-Reviews

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales:

Synopsis: Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." The rip-roaring adventure finds down-on-his-luck Captain Jack feeling the winds of ill-fortune blowing strongly his way when deadly ghost sailors, led by the terrifying Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil's Triangle bent on killing every pirate at sea-notably Jack. Jack's only hope of survival lies in the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it he must forge an uneasy alliance with Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), a brilliant and beautiful astronomer, and Henry (Brenton Thwaites), a headstrong young sailor in the Royal Navy. At the helm of the Dying Gull, his pitifully small and shabby ship, Captain Jack seeks not only to reverse his recent spate of ill fortune, but to save his very life from the most formidable and malicious foe he has ever faced.

My thoughts: Continuing the theme of decreasingly good pirates movies after the action-adventure of the first and the the adventure/comedy romp that was it's sequel. Since then we've gotten 3 films, Dead men included, that tries to do the best parts of the 2 earlier films but falls flat in comparison, not to say that this entry is a failure, by all means it's not but at the same time it's disheartening knowing what this film could've been.

Final verdict: 4 pirate zombies out of 5.

Fist Fight:

Synopsis: A mild-mannered high-school teacher (Charlie Day) is accused of getting a fellow teacher (Ice Cube) fired, and is challenged to a fight after the school day ends in this comedy directed by Richie Keen.

My thoughts: It had it's share of laughs but overall doesn't do much to push the comedy genre. Caught between a stoner-high school comedy and a raunchy comedy, Fist Fight goes back and forth trying to define itself and instead of doing one well it half-asses both. The leads play their roles well, as you'd expect with Ice Cube as a bully and Charlie Day as the neurotic nerd that's not looking for any trouble. The real theme here isn't the fight though, it's the downsizing of our school system which put into perspective works well but overall it's thrown to the background too much so that they can add more half-jokes.

Final verdict: 3 horses on meth out of 5.

Kong: Skull Island:

Synopsis: Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures' "Kong: Skull Island" reimagines the origin of the mythic Kong in a compelling, original adventure from director Jordan Vogt-Roberts ("The Kings of Summer"). In the film, a diverse team of explorers is brought together to venture deep into an uncharted island in the Pacific - as beautiful as it is treacherous - unaware that they're crossing into the domain of the mythic Kong.

My thoughts: Kong does a lot of things right. The visuals are top notch and the script is strong and it's backed by top notch acting. However here's where the problems creep up, they tried to cut down the running time by moving along at a fast pace, this ends up hurting the character development as there is a slew of characters to like and dislike, they only give you enough info on about 3-4 of them to feel for them, so when others die, survive, do something cool, you're left with a "meh".

Final verdict: 3 crashed copters out of 5.

Saturday, 4 October 2014

Monthly Movie Madness: October 2014

5. Fury

The Players: Director: David Ayer (End Of Watch, Street Kings) Writer: David Ayer (Training Day, The Fast And The Furious) Starring: Brad Pitt (World War Z, Inglorious Bastards), Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Nymphomaniac), Logan Lerman (The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Percy Jackson) Michael Pena (American Hustle, End Of Watch) and Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, Green Zone)

Synopsis: April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.

Why you should watch: That cast is damn good, although I'm not usually one for war movies.


4. Dracula Untold

The Players: Director: Gary Shore (debut) Writer: Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama (debut) Starring: Luke Evans (The Hobbit, Fast & Furious 6), Dominic Cooper (An Education, Need For Speed), Sarah Gordon (Dream House, Belle)

Synopsis: Luke Evans stars in Dracula Untold, the origin story of the man who became Dracula. Gary Shore directs and Michael De Luca produces the epic action-adventure that co-stars Sarah Gordon, Dominic Cooper, and Diarmaid Murtagh.

Why you should watch: The trailer looks good, although the early reviews have not been kind, but Luke Evans star has been on the rise ever since he took the role of Bard in the latest Hobbit film.


3. Nightcrawler

The Players: Director: Dan Gilroy (debut) Writer: Dan Gilroy (Two For The Money) Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Prisoners), Rene Russo (Thor, In The Line Of Fire), Bill Paxton (The Terminator, The Edge Of Tomorrow), Ann Cusack (Grosse Point Blank, The Informant!)

Synopsis: NIGHTCRAWLER is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling -- where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou thrives. In the breakneck, ceaseless search for footage, he becomes the star of his own story.

Why you should watch it: Just watch the trailer, it looks way better than it sounds.


 2. Gone Girl

The Players: Director: David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network) Writer: Gillian Flynn (debut) Starring: Ben Affleck (Argo, Good Will Hunting), Rosamund Pike (An Education, Jack Reacher), Neil Patrick Harris (Harold and Kumar, The Smurfs), Tyler Perry (Star Trek, Madea)

Synopsis: Directed by David Fincher and based upon the global bestseller by Gillian Flynn - unearths the secrets at the heart of a modern marriage. On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behaviour have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

Why you should watch it: It's directed by David Fincher, if you've been living under a rock he's directed Fight Club, Se7en, The Social Network, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Panic Room, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Zodiac, and probably more I can't think of. Also Affleck's a really good actor.


1. The Book Of Life

The Players: Director: Jorge Gutierrez (debut) Writer: Jorge Gutierrez (debut) Starring: Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street), Zoe Saldana (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Avatar), Diego Luna (Milk, Elysium), Christina Applegate (Anchorman, Hall Pass), Ice Cube (21 Jump Street, Ride Along)

Synopsis: THE BOOK OF LIFE, a vibrant fantasy-adventure, tells the legend of Manolo, a conflicted hero and dreamer who sets off on an epic quest through magical, mythical and wondrous worlds in order to rescue his one true love and defend his village.

Why you should watch it: Animation is a hard sell to most adults, but this movie looks beautiful, inspired and heartwarming. There aren't any reviews yet but I think it's fair to say this has the potential to be the best animated flick this year.