Movie Review-Concussion



Concussion is not just a football movie. Football and the NFL is at the root of the story, but the movie is about the triumph of one man to inform the world about a hazard, that until recently, was not known to the general public nor to men in the NFL who strapped on a helmet. In Concussion Will Smith is Dr. Bennet Omaulu, a Nigerian pathologist who works for the Pittsburgh coroners office.  

When Steeler Hall of Fame center, Mike Webster, ends up in the morgue Dr. Omaulu sets off a firestorm in the NFL with the findings that he discovers killed the former All-Pro center.

He discovers a condition, which he names Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CET). Its a condition that cannot be detected by a CAT scan. Only after a players death can it be identified by an autopsy. The condition is caused by the lifetime of head to head collisions received by players in the NFL. In the movie Dr. Omaulu describes the blunt force to the head as a force that is equal to a sledge hammer blow to the helmet. It is a report that the NFL immediately goes to work on to discredit. First they try to discredit the doctor as a quack and a "witch doctor" but when big name NFL players like Andre Waters and Dave Duerson, continue to die by committing suicide, it is a report that the NFL eventually has to acknowledge.

Smith is amazing as pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, He plays the role with a quiet grace and inner strength that reminded me of a classic Sidney Poitier performance. Gugu-Mbatha-Raw, the English actress who played Belle in the movie of the same name, plays Smith's love interest in the movie. She's a woman of few words but the words that she does speak are always words of kindness and encouragement. On screen the two actors have great chemistry.

Albert Brooks plays Dr. Omaulu's supervisor at the Pittsburgh coroner's office, Dr. Cyril Wecht and Alec Baldwin is Dr. Julian Bailes. He's a former NFL team doctor and he enlists with Dr. Omaulu based on the strength of the doctor's medical findings. The entire cast gives a great performance in this Oscar worthy film.

Concussion has a run time of just over two hours and it is rated PG-13 for some disturbing images and harsh language. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I give Concussion my highest rating, a JUMBO with extra butter.

Hollywood Hernandez

  

  

  







Movie Review-In The Heart Of The Sea

Award winning director Ron Howard teams up with actor Chris Hemsworth (Thor) again for an epic tale based on the true story of the circumstances that led to Herman Melville writing the great American classic, Moby Dick. Howard and Hemsworth collaborated previously on the Grand Prix racing movie Rush in 2013. Clearly Howard knows how to get the best out of Hemsworth. The actor is so convincing as the first mate on the whaling ship The Essex that I actually forgot that I was watching "Thor" on the big screen.

In the movie Ben Wishaw, who also plays "Q" in the current James Bond movie Spectre, is author Herman Melville. He travels to New England to speak to one of the remaining survivors of the ship wreck to find out the facts about the legendary tale of a giant white whale attacking a vessel on the high seas. After hearing the tale he pens the novel "Moby Dick", but what we learn in the movie is that there were other atrocities that occurred during the 90 days that the men were lost at sea. While he choose to omit the gory details from his novel we, as movie watchers, learn about all of the horrific things that happened to the crew of the Essex.

Howard weaves a brilliant tale and the scenes with the 100 foot long white whale on screen are amazing. The movie is shot in 3D so you almost feel as if you're going to get wet every time the whale splashes his mighty tale. The story, while horrific, is fantastic and it keeps you enthralled for the entire run time of the movie (121 minutes).

The movie is rated PG-13 for some pretty intense scenes. I won't giveaway any spoilers here but there are some disturbing scenes in the movie. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate In The Heart Of The Sea a JUMBO.   

Hollywood Hernandez

    





Movie Review-Creed

Creed is a very satisfying boxing movie staring Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) as the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, Rocky's (Sylvester Stallone) longtime nemesis and friend.

Young Adonis has boxing in his blood but he tries to hide his true identity as the heir to the former heavyweight champ by fighting under his mother's name, Johnson. That plans goes out the window when he enlists the help of Rocky as his trainer and soon the boxing world discovers that the former champ had a son, out of wedlock, while he was being portrayed as a loyal family man with his wife Mary Ann (Phylicia Rashad).

Creed has a little bit of something for everyone. It, of course, has boxing at the center of the story and with real media partners ESPN and HBO it comes off as a very credible boxing story. But the movie also has family drama, romance and a little bit of humor to go along with the boxing story.

Thankfully Rocky has retired from boxing in this latest installment of the Rocky Balboa franchise. (The 2006 movie Rocky Balboa was a real stretch with Stallone playing a sixty something year old fighter.) In "Creed" Rocky, who's affectionately known as "Unc", is purely along to train the young Adonis Creed in lessons he's learned both in boxing and in life.

The movie has a few plot twists that make for an enjoyable movie watching experience, but at the heart of the film is the music driven fight scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat cheering. Creed has a run time of 132 minutes and it's rated PG-13. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate it a JUMBO.

Hollywood Hernandez   



Bonus Review-Love the Coopers

My best buddy Lecia and me saw the new family Christmas comedy Love The Coopers this week. We both couldn't help but notice, with the exception of an appearance by Anthony Mackie as a cop, there wasn't anybody in the movie who looked like us. It felt like we crashed a holiday party that we hadn't been invited to.
If you'll notice in the past we seemed to get an alternating Latino or African American family Christmas movie every other year. ...I guess this is our year off in the rotation.

Love the Coopers has it's funny moments and there are some universal messages about family and love in the film, but I sure would have liked it a lot better if they coulda worked in a person of color into the family as a son or daughter in law. I rate the movie a MEDIUM on my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale.

Movie Review-The 33

The 33 is based on the true and inspirational story of thirty-three Chilean miners who were trapped in a collapsed gold and copper mine for over sixty nine days. The side of the mountain that collapsed on top of the men was twice the size of The Empire State Building. The movie chronicles the struggles and hardships that the men were faced with and had to overcome to remain alive. In the end all thirty-three men were rescued and became national heroes in Chile. 

The beauty of The 33 is the unity the men were forced to forge while trapped below ground. Men from different backgrounds, each with their own issues and personal demons, became a unit of support for each other and they survived by becoming their brother's keeper. I loved the strong message of brotherhood in the film. It was both uplifting and inspiring.

Antonio Bandares plays the lead character of Mario Sepulveda (he was nicknamed "Super Mario" after his heroics in the rescue). He's a simple miner and family man who is thrust into the role as the leader of the trapped minors. Lou Diamond Phillips, Juliette Binoche, and Gabriel Byrne also play strong and important supporting roles.

I loved this movie. It was 127 minutes of inspirational entertainment. The movie is both tender and funny as it tells the stories of the lives of the thirty-three men before they were left for dead 2,000 feet below ground. The movie is rated PG-13 for some intense scenes and some strong language. Be sure and stay until the very end of the movie as it features some black and white footage of the actual thirty-three miners, who remain friends today.

On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate The 33 a JUMBO!

Hollywood Hernandez 





Movie Review-Spectre

Spectre is a fine send off for the baddest Bond yet. It's the darkest film in the series of Bond films which the dashing Daniel Craig has played 007. He's an unapologetic assassin in his final go round as Bond and it makes for a very gritty and enjoyable movie.

In Spectre Bond discovers a phantom organization called Specter which has been behind the scenes in all of the tragedy and loss he has experienced in the previous Bond films. The final movie for Craig as James Bond ties up all of the loose ends in a nice little package.
Ralph Fiennes plays "M", Bond's direct supervisor who had to take over since the previous "M" (Judi Dench) was killed in the last Bond film (Skyfall). And the younger supporting cast of Ben Whishaw (Q) and Naomi Harris (Moneypenny) are back in a big way.
Former WCW pro wrestler David Bautista plays Hinx, the best bad guy/henchman to star in a Bond film in a long time. In the movie the guy is just indestructible (well almost).

Iloved the action and the interaction between the characters in the movie. This will be Daniel Craig's last appearance as Bond and already there is talk of who will be selected as the next 007. Mentioned most is the name of Idris Elba. Whoever is selected to play the next Bond, Craig has left the franchise full of life and ready to continue for the next episode.

On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate Spectre a LARGE.

Hollywood Hernandez

Movie Review-Burnt

In "Burnt" Bradley Cooper plays a burnt out chef, who hit it big in Paris with his culinary skills back in the 90's, but when the film opens he's on self imposed exile in New Orleans shucking oysters as a part of his self assigned penance; after throwing his career away with excessive partying, drinking and women! With a new awareness, after shucking a million oysters, he sets off for Europe to revive his career as one of the tops chefs in the world. Once in London it seems he has a many people who want to kill him as he does that want to help him. His sobriety is the key if he wants to resurrect his once famous name as a top chef.

"Burnt" is a feast for the eyes (it'll definitely make you want to go home and cook) but, to continue with the cooking analogy, it needs a little more seasoning. Perhaps it's because of the choppy style of a director who is mainly known for his quality TV directing, John Wells. (He directed episodes of the award winning TV shows E.R. and Southland.) It seemed to me like he took the cake out of the oven a little bit to early and never allowed things to develop to their fullest in the movie. For example, Uma Thurman is in just two scenes in the movie as an influential food critic. I suspect part of her performance was left on the kitchen floor during the editing process.

Bradley Cooper gives a fine performance as Adam Jones, the chef who seems hell bent on self destruction. The supporting cast, including Sienna Miller as his protégée in the kitchen and Emma Thompson as a therapist who helps him find the error of his ways, are also stellar.

The movie has a good moral (which I won't ruin for you by disclosing) and overall it was an enjoyable film. It's rated R for strong language and has a run time of 101 minutes. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate "Burnt" a MEDIUM.

Hollywood Hernandez



Movie Review-The Last Witch Hunter

Just in time for Halloween, Vin Diesel hits theaters this weekend in The Last Witch Hunter.
In the movie Diesel plays Kaulder, a witch hunter who has been cursed with immortality by the queen witch. For over 800 years he has seen everyone he's ever loved die, while battling witches from the middle ages to the ones who now live in the modern world. Kaulder's long time assistant, who works through a secret organization in the Catholic church, is about to step down from his position when he meets his untimely death. Dolan (Michael Caine), who Kaulder calls "Kid", is the 36th priest in his position as the witch hunter's assistant. Elijah Wood is Dolan the 37th and he is more than anxious to take his position as the witch hunter's contact and assistant. The two investigate the murder of Dolan the 36th and soon discover that "Black Death", the type of magic used by the Queen Witch, was used on him. Now, The Witch Hunter is in a race against time to prevent all of the witches in captivity from resurrecting the queen and reeking terror on the modern world.  




The Last Witch Hunter is an action packed thriller. Diesel provides plenty of action in his fight scenes and the movie has plenty of chills to make it a fun Halloween date movie. Although Diesel plays only "one note" through out this "Dungeons and Dragons" type of screen play it's enough to keep you entertained for the entire movie, which lasts 106 minutes. The movie is rated PG-13 for violence and some scary images. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale", The Last Witch Hunter is a nice snack. I rate it a MEDIUM.

Movie Review-The Intern

The Intern is the new movie starring Oscar winners Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. De Niro won his Oscar for "Raging Bull" in 1980 (Best Actor) and Hathaway won her Oscar for Les Miserables in 2012 (Best Supporting Actress). The generational gap between the two actors is the main emphasis of the movie's story. De Niro plays Ben, a 70 year old widower who discovers his retirement isn't all that he had hopped it'd be. He takes advantage of a "Senior Intern Program" to get back into the work force and quickly has to adjust to the new technology and social order of the new millennium.

Hathaway plays Jules, the founder of an online fashion site that is growing by leaps and bounds. However the success of her business comes at the expense of the personal life of the company's CEO and founder. Enter Ben (De Niro) whose old school ways of chivalry and nose to the grindstone work ethic changes the entire company's attitude and it's corporate culture.

The Intern is a movie with a great trailer. As a matter of fact my fear was that the movie used all of it's good bits for the trailer, but the movie's preview doesn't even scratch the surface of the good stuff in this movie. The movie is really sweet, with out being schmaltzy. It's "Ooo and Aaa cute", not "kittens in a box cute". It's a movie that deals with life and love in a very funny and sincere way. De Niro carries the movie with his old school charm. He's like a grandfather to everyone in the movie and teaches his young male colleagues about old fashioned chivalry and manners; something sorely missing in most young men today (just my opinion).

The Intern is rated PG-13 and it has a run time of 121 minutes. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate The Intern a JUMBO.
Hollywood Hernandez

Movie Review-Black Mass

Black Mass is the new gangster film based on the 2001 book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill. The movie stars an unrecognizable Johnny Depp as one of the most notorious criminals in American history, James "Whitey" Bulger. The movie is based on actual events that took place during the 1970's through the 1990's in South Boston. Events which landed Bulger on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. Which was ironic because during that period of time Bulger was an actual informant for the FBI.

The story centers on three friends who grew up playing cops and robbers in the Irish neighborhood of South Boston. Two were brothers; "Whitey" and his brother Billy, who grew up to be a corrupt state senator (Benedict Cumberpatch) and John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), a friend from the neighborhood who grew up to be an FBI agent. Connolly recruits "Whitey" as an FBI informant, but the head of the Irish mob instead uses the FBI to do his dirty work in bringing down the Italian mob in South Boston.

Depp is pure evil in his portrayal as the gangster "Whitey" Bulger. At first I thought the movie needed more of Depp's character, because he is so good in the movie, but after chewing on it I realized the parallel stories about the FBI and agent his brother, the corrupt government official were also needed to tell the whole story of the events which occurred during that time. Still, it's Johnny Depp's performance in this movie that send chills down your spine. 

Black Mass is full of graphic violence and it contains strong language. It's rated "R" and has a run time of 122 minutes, but I swear if felt longer. It's a compelling story, but the movie just seems to jump off the track at times. Overall though I enjoyed Black Mass and on my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate it a LARGE.

Hollywood Hernandez

      

Movie Review-American Ultra

American Ultra is a very odd, but entertaining movie. Jesse Eisenberg plays Mike. He’s the town stoner, who also works at the local convenience store, and his creative outlet is drawing a cartoon series about a superhero monkey.  Mike seems like a real loser who lives in a real dump with his girlfriend but, in this movie, things are not always as they seem.  Kristen Stewart plays his girlfriend Phoebe, but is she really his girlfriend?

It turns out that Mike is a “sleeper agent” who’s had his memory erased and was placed in this small, backwoods town. So when one of the C.I.A.’s top agents decides to “terminate” all evidence of the project Mike is attached to, “the stoner” wakes up from his deep sleep and suddenly starts realizing he has unexplained abilities to survive and killing skills that would rival the top ninja or Navy Seal.

The killing spree he goes on, almost apologetically is crazy. He uses frying pans, spoons, shovels and, of course standard weapons like guns and knives to kill anything the C.I.A throws at him. This is one bloody and violent movie, but it has a real sense of humor. For example when he explains to his girlfriend, after he kills his first two men, “but they were real d****”.  Thankfully the movie only has a run time of 96 minutes because I was growing numb from all the graphic violence.

American Ultra is not for the squeamish but, if you can handle the blood and gore, it is a really smart comedy that I really enjoyed. I groaned as much as I laughed.

The movie is rated “R” for strong, bloody violence, drug use and sexual situations. On my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” I rate American Ultra a LARGE.

Hollywood Hernandez

 

Movie Review-Straight Outta Compton

Straight Outta Compton, for me, plays more like a documentary than just a movie. I lived this era in music. The movie depicts events in time that changed the entire landscape of music. In 1986 urban radio was playing funk, R&B and ballads. Artists like Cameo, Janet Jackson, Morris Day, Levert and Michael Jackson ruled the airways with a mixture of dance, pop and some hard driving funk. That all changed when NWA hit the scene. It was literally a “fork in the road” for urban music. An entire genre of “Reality Rap” followed. NWA was the first to “report” on the situation of the inner city. Their music reflected their environment.

Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, as executive producers of the film, got it all down on film with Straight Outta Compton. I’ve never seen a more accurate depiction of what really occurred during the late 80’s in Hip Hop. The movie starts with NWA and goes into the evolution of the L.A. hip hop “gangster rap” scene from The D.O.C. to Snoop Dogg and further. But this movie begins and ends with Easy E. It shows how Easy bankrolled the group, with his stash of money as a drug dealer, to the tragic end to his life of excess with his death in 1991 at the age of 31 from AIDS.

The cast, including Ice Cube’s son playing his dad, is right on point. You feel the emotions of the rappers from Straight Outta Compton. You see the genuine love they had for each other before contracts and money issues tore them apart. And then of course there’s the music. That old school gangsta hip hop still rocks the house.

The movie is rated “R” for strong language, nudity, sexual situations, violence and drug use. (This movie is hard core!) And it runs a little long at 2 hours and 27 minutes. This will be a huge movie and I am already predicting an Oscar nomination (it’s that good). Straight Outta Compton gets my highest rating on my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale”. I rate it a JUMBO (with extra butter). Go see it!

Hollywood Hernandez   

Movie Review-Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four takes the Marvel super heroes back to the drawing board and re-boots the series with a younger and hipper cast of characters. Miles Teller (Whiplash) plays Reed Richards. The movie shows him as a young boy in elementary school who, along with his best friend Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), is already working on his invention for time teleportation. Rounding out the cast’s lead characters are Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station), who plays Johnny Storm, and his adopted sister, Susan Storm, is played by Kate Mara (American Horror Story).

The new cast seems more age appropriate to play a group of wide-eyed, young scientists who work together to build a full scale time teleportation machine. The team’s goal is to travel to a different dimension and bring back the mysteries of the universe. Enter Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell) who’s original design for a time teleportation machine failed. He joins the team and immediately becomes rivals with Reed Richards, who not only figures out the mystery of time teleportation, he also becomes his rival for the affections of the lovely Susan Storm.

 

To prevent the government from using their completed machine Richards, Von Doom and Johnny Storm devise a plan to use the machine to become the first humans to travel to an alternate dimension. Richards invites his best friend, Ben Grimm, to tag along to watch his back. Instead the four travelers have a horrible accident and they are transformed into humans with super human powers. Susan, who helps the boys make the trip back safely, is also affected by the energy from the dimension traveling ship. Von Doom doesn’t make it back with the group of dimension travelers. However; he does show up again at the end of the movie to play the villain that every super hero teams need to create some type of conflict in a movie.

 

The contrived situation for the villain was one of the issues I had with the movie. I would have liked to have seen more of the “bad guy” in the movie. However; because the movie has so much more to like than not, I’ll recommend it. Fantastic Four runs for 100 minutes and is rated “PG-13” for sci-fi action and violence. On my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” I rate this movie a LARGE.

Hollywood Hernandez

Movie Review: Mission Impossible-Rouge Nation

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back with another super spy thriller in the latest installment of the Mission Impossible series called, “Rouge Nation”. And the latest installment is the best one yet. In “Rouge Nation” IMF is shut down by the C.I.A. because they are implicated in a terrorist plot and Ethan is classified as a rouge agent. However; Ethan has discovered a shadow agency, made up of former agents from all over the world, who are plotting a terrorist attack. He’s a one man wrecking machine as he travels the world to find out who is leading this rouge agency against the IMF.

“Rouge Nation” has more of a “buddy movie” feel to it with Simon Pegg as Ethan’s sidekick Benji. Ving Rhames and Jeremy Renner are also back as members of the Mission Impossible team but most of the camera time, and action, is focused on Cruise and Pegg. They’re a buddy team in the tradition of Murphy and Nolte and Gibson and Glover. There’s also a very hot, and deadly, female lead played by Rebecca Ferguson (Hercules). She's deadly with all kinds of weapons and kicks butt right alongside the boys in this action-adventure flick.

Cruise on the Red Carpet at New York premiere

The bad guys are all sinister and clad in black leather (which as we all know is the chosen attire of gangsters worldwide) and the action in this movie is non-stop. The special effects are all dazzling and most of them were actually done by Criuse himself. The opening scene of the movie has Cruise hanging onto an airplane door, while the plane is in take off mode, and the action continues to build from there.

I loved Mission Impossible-Rouge Nation. It’s the kind of movie that is destined to become a summer block buster. It’s a fun adventure, with a runtime of 131 minutes, to be enjoyed in a cool theater with a Jumbo tub of popcorn. The movie is rated PG-13 for violence and some partial nudity. On my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” I give Rouge Nation my highest rating…a JUMBO (with extra butter).

Hollywood Hernandez

 

Movie Review-Pixels

In Pixels Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Josh Gad are three nerd buddies who spent their formative years in the arcade playing video games and saving the world from aliens. However; after a video of kids playing video games in the 80’s is sent into space as part of a time capsule, they end up defending the world for real from aliens who take the video games as a serious challenge to war. In their current lives Sandler (Brenner) works as a home audio/video installer, Josh Gad (Ludlow) is a paranoid introvert who still lives with his grandma and Kevin James (Cooper) is the president of the United States. So when space aliens, in the form of 1980’s video games, attack the earth President Cooper calls on his childhood friends to help him safe the world.  

Pixels is light on story line but it’s heavy on special effects and action. The 1980’s video games come to life on the big screen and it’s enough to keep you engaged as if your were at an old school arcade feeding quarters into the machines. The movie will definitely bring back fond memories for “Gamers” who spend Saturday afternoons in the 80’s feeding the machines quarter after quarter from your mom’s laundry mat money stash. 

Peter Dinklage played my favorite part in the movie. He’s plays a diminutive gamer with a huge ego. He was Sandler’s rival in the old days, beating him at Donkey Kong at the first ever World Video Game Championships. He’s since fallen on hard times and his criminal ways have landed him in prison. So President Cooper (Kevin James) gets him out of jail to join his team of world defenders. His outrageous demands to join up are part of what gets the movie a PG-13 rating. (Look for a few major cameo appearances in the movie as well).

Pixels is a fun summertime move. It has a run time of 105 minutes and most of that time you’ll find yourself laughing. On my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” I rate it a LARGE.

 

Movie Review-Ant-Man

Ant-Man may be my favorite of all the Marvel super hero movies yet. Comedic actor Paul Rudd (who always seems to play a smart-ass in his movies) makes the movie with his laid back attitude. And then there are his streetwise friends, T.I. Harris and Michael Pena. This by far is the coolest “super hero movie” ever.

In Ant-Man Rudd is a former convict who’ll do anything within his power to get right with his remarried ex-wife so he can have visitation rights to see his daughter. After failing at his attempt to get and keep a straight job he goes back to his old life of crime and, with a little bit of help from his old friends, finds himself in a bad situation with the long arm of the law.

However, not by coincidence, the house he breaks into is owned by inventor Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and the inventor gives him a chance to make everything right if he’ll go through the rigorous training involved to become Ant-Man. As Ant-Man he has the chance to save the world from Dr. Pym’s evil protégé, who now runs the company Dr. Pym created invented and he’s prepared to sell the technology that creates Ant-Man to the highest bidder.

The action is great and the film has a real edgy sense of humor. After all, Ant-Man’s crew consists of a group of gangsters. The contrast with the intellectual Dr. Pym and the world of white collar criminals vs. Ant-Man’s “keeping it real” gang of hustlers is one of the biggest sources of humor. They kept me howling.

Ant-Man is rated “PG-13” and has a run time of 117 minutes, but you’ll want to invest a little extra time to sit through the credits for, not just one but, two bonus scenes that give you a little insight into the next Avengers movie. On My “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” Ant-Man is a JUMBO.

Hollywood Hernandez  

Movie Review-Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland is an original story that is 100% Disney! In this new Disney film George Clooney is a one time young inventor who now holds up in his secure home in fear of the future after his experience in a secret place called Tomorrowland.Meanwhile an optimistic teenage girl with a love for science, Casey (Britt Robertson), also has her own experience with a visit to Tomorrowland. The shared experience brings the two together as they try to get back to this magical place.

Tomorrowland is an inspiring movie. For those of us who have forgotten, it reminds us of the possibilities to make the world better. It's a message that runs through out the movie, but it doesn't come off as preachy and you don't feel like you're being hit over the head, but in the end you get it.

The movie is grand and Tomorrowland, a place that could only exist in your imagination, seems like a real destination. The movie is rated PG for some intense adventure scenes but there's nothing in the movie that I'd be afraid for a small child to see without any fear of them having nightmares.

The movie is a bit long (2 hours and 10 minutes) but the story unfolds at a nice pace that keeps your interest throughout the film. I enjoyed Tomorrowland. It's a great family film that I'd recommend for the long holiday weekend. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate Tomorrowland a JUMBO!
Hollywood Hernandez

Movie Review-Avengers: Age of Ultron

Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, even though it comes out before Memorial Day Weekend, is the first blockbuster of the summer. The highly anticipated sequel is expected to gross over $200 million in it's opening weekend. So, is it worthy of the hype? The answer is yes!

The movie's rumored $250 million budget is laid out all over the big screen and add in the 3D special effects and you've got something that feels more like the latest Disney theme park ride than a movie. All of your favorite Marvel superheros are back and James Spader joins the cast as the voice of the evil of Ultron.

In the sequel the cast has more chemistry than in the first movie. They seem to have more genuine concern for each other and that adds another level of drama to the film. We even meet Hawkeye's (Jeremy Renner) family when the Avengers need a safe house to regroup in after a battle with Ultron's army.

There is plenty of bang for your buck in the new Avengers. The plot is light and the fight scenes are plentiful; exactly what we expect from an action, superhero movie. (And yes, the movie is set up at the end for another sequel.)

Age of Ultron is rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi violence and destruction, but young kids shouldn't be traumatized by the violence on screen. It's pretty evident that the movie is all fantasy (you never see a speck of blood in any of the fight scenes). The movie also runs well over 2 hours (141 minutes) but it goes by pretty quickly.

Go see the summer's first blockbuster. It's a thrill ride that will leave you wanting more. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate Avengers: Age of Ultron a JUMBO!

Hollywood Hernandez

   

Movie Review-Furious 7

Furious 7 is the latest and probably the best movie so far in The Fast & Furious franchise. In Furious 7 Jason Stratham plays Shaw, a black ops, covert super spy who is out for revenge after Dom’s (Vin Diesel) crew put his little brother in the hospital on their last Fast and Furious romp through the country of England. Shaw is hell bent on killing the entire team and he proves it by beginning with Han (Sung Kang) in Tokyo and making plans to knock off the rest of Dom’s “family” one by one. 

The movie starts off with a bang (literally) as Shaw delivers a package to Dom’s front porch in L.A. with a bomb that blows up his home and endangers everyone he cares about. So Diesel and the entire crew saddle up to settle the score with the bad guy. That’s about the entire plot you need to know. The rest of the movie is filled with car chases, explosions and action stunts that are out of this world. The movie will leave you breathless and on the edge of your seat. The stunts in Furious 7 easily out rank anything you’ve seen in any previous Fast & Furious movie. 

There is also the sentimental theme of the movie that we are all aware of before the movie begins; the tragic passing of Paul Walker. Furious 7 has a few tender moments that tear at your heart when you think about the fact that the actor died in a tragic car crash in real life. There are also some bonus scenes of Walker at the end of the movie (so, don’t get up and leave too early). 

Furious 7 is also shot in some exotic locations, like Abu Dhabi and Japan, and features lots of exotic fast cars, some smoking hot beautiful women and, of course, the testosterone fueled cast is all back including Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese, Vin Diesel and Ludacris.  

The movie is rated PG-13 for scenes of intense violence, mayhem, and strong language. It is a non-stop, action packed thriller that keeps your attention for the entire 137 minutes of the film. Furious 7 is a fitting final tribute to a beloved actor and it’ll make even the strongest man in the audience shed a tear or two to his memory. On my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” Furious 7 is a JUMBO! 

Hollywood Hernandez