Movie Review-Gods of Egypt

Gods of Egypt is an epic fantasy about fictional gods who ruled a world where humans and gods lived together in harmony. That is until an evil god, Set (Gerard Butler), decides to invade Egypt on the day of the new king’s coronation. Horus (Nikolaj Costner-Waldau), Sets nephew, is defeated by the god of darkness and exiled from Egypt. Horus also loses his eyesight in the battle and his one true love, Hathor-the goddess of love (Elodie Yung). Once in power, Set enslaves the mortals and proclaims that gold and wealth, not good deeds, is now the only way to the afterlife.

Meanwhile, Bek (Brenton Thwaites), a human boy loses his one true love when she becomes the chief builders slave girl (you may get a “10 Commandments” vibe on this like I did). He seeks out Horus and together the man and god go on a quest to overthrow Set and bring Egypt back to the just society that it once was. The quest unfolds in 3D on the big screen in splendor as they battle gods, demons and monsters along the way.

Lavish effects rule in this big budget fantasy movie. For me it was a mash up of Clash of the Titans and Transformers, possibly an odd mix, but the combination worked for me. Butler is perfectly cast as the god of darkness, Set, and Geoffrey Rush has a small part in the film as Ra, Sets father. He overlooks the world from his position in space and protects Egypt from an evil creature that constantly tries to destroy the world below. Also Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up and 42) has a role in the movie as Thoth, the god of knowledge. He nails the English accent he’s asked to deliver and is one of the few actors of color cast in the film. (I’m guessing the movie’s producers didn’t get the memo about the Egyptians originating from Eastern African and the Middle East.)   

Overall the movie works for me. It’s a grand adventure with plenty of sci-fi shape shifting, fictional creatures and plenty of fantasy battles. Gods of Egypt is rated PG-13 for violence and some sexuality and the movie’s run time is just over 2 hours at 127 minutes. On my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” I rate Gods of Egypt a LARGE.

 

Hollywood Hernandez

         



Movie Review-Race

Race is the new biopic based on the life of Olympic gold medal winner Jesse Owens. Most of the story is well known from our grade school days and from the annual "Black History Month Vignettes" that we see and hear every year in the month of February on TV and radio. However, there are some parts of Owens life that are not commonly known. I won't spoil the movie for you by giving away any of the details, but there were things I learned about Owen's life that I'd never seen before in history books.

Besides being educational, Race is an inspiring and entertaining movie. Most of the credit for the soul stirring movie goes to the young 22 year old actor who plays Jesse Owens, Stephan James. He plays the role with dignity and portrays Owens as a man who has faults and fears, just like everyone else.

Much like the story of Jackie Robinson, Owens challenge was to be seen as a "runner" and not a "black runner". He did just that when he won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin at a time when Hitler planned to showcase his "superior race" of Aryans while Germany hosted the games. Owens not only won four gold medals, he won the hearts of people all over the world with his performance against incredible odds.  

Comic actor Jason Sudeikis plays up the yuks as Owen's track coach at Ohio State. Sudeikis provides the comic relief that breaks up the intense drama of the movie. The movie also stars Jeremy Irons and William Hurt and has a strong supporting cast that provide for Owen's support system in the film.

My only criticism of the movie is it's length. It runs well over two hours (134 minutes) and could have been a tighter and more entertaining movie if it was about 20 minutes shorter. Otherwise, I loved it.

Race is rated PG-13 for some intense scenes of bigotry and some harsh language, but I would not hesitate to take a young child to see it. I think our children would benefit greatly from seeing this movie. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" Race is a JUMBO!

Hollywood Hernandez   



Movie Review-DEADPOOL

DEADPOOL has been eagerly anticipated and much talked about since the anti-hero's first appearance in an X-Men movie. (In 2009 Ryan Reynolds first appeared as Deadpool in "X-Men Origins-Wolverine"). The time was well spent in creating the first "anti-hero, superhero in the Marvel universe. DEADPOOL looks more like a comic book come to life than anything previously has on the big screen. "The Merc with the Mouth" breaks down the fourth wall and talks directly to the audience during the entire movie. Deadpool is self aware and knows he's in a movie. His running commentary throughout the movie is hilarious and makes the audience feel like you are in on the inside joke that's going on inside his head. And, by the way, his dude is crazy!

Deadpool is a former mercenary and, after being convinced to undergo a series of medical treatments that he thinks will cure his terminal cancer, he develops the power of accelerated healing. So, basically his mutant power is immortality. He can recover from any potentially fatal injury. The X-Men want Deadpool to join the group of "do good superheroes" but he's not much of a "joiner" and choses to go it alone; until he needs some help from the mutants to help him get revenge on the man who ruined his life with his experimental medical procedures.

Again, the snappy banter between Deadpool, the X-Men, the villains, and the audience will leave you in tears; for example when X-Man Negasonic Teenage Warhead decides to "tweet" before she engages a foe Deadpool yells, "don't forget to hashtag it". I want to see the movie again because I feel like I missed some stuff because the audience was howling so loudly.

Ryan Reynolds is great as Deadpool. He's a little bit of Spiderman and a little bit of Jim Carey in "The Mask" all rolled into one. This movie is a hellavu lot of fun and the run time is one hour and forty eight minutes. Also, don't forget to stay through the end of the credits for one more bonus scene. I won't spoil it for you, but its worth staying for.  

Be warned that the movie is as violent as it is hilarious and this is not a movie for kids! It earns its R-rating with plenty of foul language, sexual situations and nudity. It is a guilty please that is strictly geared toward an adult audience. (OK, you've been warned.) On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" DEADPOOL is a JUMBO with extra butter (my highest rating).  

Hollywood Hernandez