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