Movie Review-X-Men: Apocalypse

In X-MEN: APOCALYPSE the X-Men battle the original and most powerful mutant ever, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac). The movie is another X-Men prequel. After a brief introduction to the origin of the invincible Apocalypse he is set free after being entombed for hundreds of years. When he’s awakened he’s enraged to discover that his race is no longer treated as gods. 

 

With the help of some powerful mutants, including Magneto; who’s distraught after he faces a horrible personal tragedy and becomes obsessed with revenge on humans, Apocalypse sets out to destroy everything on earth and create a new world where he will reign as a god over all who survive. The X-Men, led by Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) and Professor X (James McAvoy) are all that stand between him and the destruction of the entire world.

 

In the movie The X-Men and Apocalypse are joined by some familiar characters from previous X-Men movies, but they show up as the younger versions of themselves. Most of them are still discovering how to use their special powers. The younger version of Storm, played by Alexandra Shipp (who played Aaliyah in the TV movie), was one of my favorites of the new/old characters. She plays the part well of a conflicted mutant who’s trying to control her newly found powers and decide if they should be used for good or evil. 

 

X-Men Apocalypse is filled with almost non-stop action. Although the movie is two hours and twenty two minutes long it never drags or hits any dull spots. It’s an epic battle from start to finish. Apocalypse is rated PG-13 for some sci-fi violence. I’d feel comfortable taking a child to see the movie who was at least 9 or 10. On my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” X-Men Apocalypse rates a JUMBO. Also, be sure and stay until the end of the credits. There is a tease for the next X-Men movie where Mister Sinister is introduced.

Hollywood Hernandez

Movie Review-The Nice Guys

Let me start by letting you in on the joke…The Nice Guys is a movie about two low class private detectives who are anything but “nice”. The movie is set in the swinging 70’s and Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling play the two private eyes. They are unscrupulous bottom feeders who’ll do almost anything to make a buck. Jackson Healy (Crowe) is an enforcer who beats up and threatens people to make them leave someone alone and Holland March (Gosling) is a crooked P.I. who’s living his life from the inside of a bottle. These Guys aren’t nice.

However, they do try really hard to do the right thing when they catch a case involving a murdered porn star named Misty Mounds (Murielle Telio) and they both end up on the trail of a girl named Amelia (Margaret Qualley) who is supposed to be dead but her grandmother swears she’s seen her alive.

The Nice Guys is a sexual romp back to the 70’s filled with strippers, porn stars and plenty of drug use (ah, the good old days). Gosling and Crowe have a real “Laurel and Hardy vibe” going on between them. It’s just a funny situation to see these two, usually dramatic, actors play such bumbling clowns.

Shane Blake is the movie’s director and co-writer. He was the hottest screen writer in Hollywood thirty years ago when he wrote the script for the first Lethal Weapon movie. The Nice Guys has that “Lethal Weapon feel”, but it’s not as good. However, there are plenty of laughs in this one hour and fifty six minute long movie.

The Nice Guys is rated a hard “R” for adult situations (nudity, strong language and drug use) and on my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” I rate it a LARGE.

Hollywood Hernandez

Movie Review-Money Monster

Money Monster could easily be a story ripped from today’s headlines. George Clooney plays a TV talk show host on a news network that amazingly resembles CNBC and Julia Roberts plays his producer. When an investor, who lost all of his money on a stock Clooney’s character (Lee Gates) recommended, takes over the live broadcast at gunpoint the clock starts ticking on this drama to find out how a major corporation lost $800 million dollars of the investors money in one day.

The movie moves at a fast pace. We quickly discover that some “human involvement” was at work at the time the stock took a huge tumble and that the CEO of the company was not where he claimed to be on the company’s corporate jet. It all unravels “live on the air” while most of America has their eyes glued on the TV show Money Monster.

Clooney drives this movie. He’s on camera for most of the film and carries off the task of holding the audience for the entire story; both on camera for the TV viewers in the film and for the movie watchers in the theater. The movie also has a few funny moments that are a release for the intense drama on the big screen.

Money Monster runs for only one hour and thirty eight minutes. I liked that. The movie tells the story quickly and gets right to the payoff for the film. (I wish more movies were like that.)

Money Monster is rated “R” for strong language throughout the film and it also contains a few comical sexual references. It’s not an epic film, but Money Monster is a satisfying one. On my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” I rate this movie a LARGE.

Hollywood Hernandez