No Escape

No Escape

Rating 6.5 out of 10

This is one of those what you see is what you get movies.  When you watch the preview if you like what you see and it looks interesting you should go see it.  That is the movie.  

Jack (Owen Wilson) after having a business go under has taken a job in an unnamed Asian country that borders Vietnam.  If I knew my world geography better I might be able to guess what country they are trying to be.  Doesn’t really matter.  Jack from the start proves not to be a great thinker when he takes his wife and two small daughters to the third world country to begin his new job.  No sense in flying over first to check things out.  Turns out the deluxe accommodations he and his family are slums.  Nothing works.  His cell does not work.  No internet or cable tv.  I’d be packing it in right there!  

As luck would have it the very day they arrive there is a terrible political uprising with crowds of rebels seemingly mad at everyone, especially Americans, going from place to place brutally killing with guns and machetes.  Mom (Lake Bell) is not happy.  Jack is forced to get on the move to keep him and his family a step ahead of the gangs.  Lots of nail biting running from place to place trying to stay alive and not smack the daughter who whines about losing her teddy bear when the guy before them was shot in the head.  Pierce Brosnan is the Englishman at the same hotel that helps fight off the bad guys.  

This movie will win no awards yet I was entertained.  My hot date enjoyed it.  It’s brutal but not in a Friday the 13th part 7 type of gory. If you like this type of movie go to the early show, grab some popcorn and hang on.

Hitman: Agent 47

Hitman: Agent 47

Rating 6 out of 10

Even though I was one of the few that liked the first Hitman movies back in 2007 with Timothy Olyphant the dreadful reviews this movie is getting (only 7% on www.rottentomatoes) had me going into the theater with the bar set low along with my expectations.  I like Rupert Friend from the tv show Homeland and Hanna Ware is pretty hot for a hitman (hit person?).  All things considered I did manage to feel entertained and having viewed this on the early show I got my monies worth.

It seems there is a Hitman video game that these movies are taken after.  I haven't played video games in a decade or two so I'm not sure how these compare to the video game.  There is action from the first scene to the last.  Lots of bad guys getting shot.  You know who the bad guys are because they are standing out in the open shooting wildly.

The plot, not that it matters, is amazingly simple (shocked look on face here).  A government agency begins the Agent program turning men into killing machines from birth with no emotions.  No fear, remorse or empathy.  Years after it is shut down an evil man wants to hunt down the old guy that designed the program and give it a nice reboot.  They can't find him so they track down his good looking daughter who is also looking for him.  Agent 47 is trying his best to protect her. Or is he?

The story is pretty thin, but you don't go to a movie with Hitman in the title for an elaborate plot.  Action is good.  Acting is as good as you would expect.  If you watch the trailer and think it looks entertaining you will most likely feel your money was well spent.  I liked it.

Shaun the Sheep

Shaun the Sheep 

Rating 7 out of 10

My buddy Mark Byrd has always been into the Wallace and Gromit movies.  Although many of his movie choices have been questioned by forth graders these are usually mildly entertaining and the animation is always amazing.

I had a date with my very cute granddaughter, Rylee Rose.  She gets excited to go to "popcorn movies" with grandpa.  So do I.  Which movie we go to does not matter as long as we don't run out of popcorn and skittles (lots of sugar before returning her to mom).

Shaun is as the title says a sheep on a farm outside the city.  He is looking for a day off from the grind on the farm.  He and the other sheep trick the farmer to fall asleep instead of working.  Problems arise when the trailer they store him in rolls into town.  He bumps his head and gets amnesia.  The sheep have to go into town and find the farmer while avoiding the dog catcher that wants to throw them in the pound.  Yes this is a true story and yes this is a documentary.  : >

Funny thing is my beautiful date after ninety seconds proclaimed she didn't like this movie.  A hand full of popcorn and a few more minutes into the movie and her attention was held.  Rylee sat still and watched the whole movie.  Laughed several times.  I was entertained.  I feel sure Mark Byrd will buy the dvd.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Rating 8 out of 10

I am old enough to remember the Man from U.N.C.L.E. tv show.  My dad liked it when I was a kid.  Don't remember much about it except Dad was a fan.  This movie is an interesting take on that time period in the 1960s with the cold war US vs the Russians.  That makes this movie sound boring and it is most definitely not boring.

The movie starts with a cat and mouse game against American super spy and Russian super spy trying to get their hands on Gabby Teller.  Her uncle is rumored to be on the verge of making a nuclear bomb and of course selling it to the bad guy of top dollar.  She can get to him.  Napoleon Solo (US spy- Superman Henry Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Russian spy- Lone Ranger Armie Hammer) can't stand each other.  They are forced to work together to save millions.  The cute Gabby Teller (Alicia Vikander) is there to help.

The movie flows well.  The acting is very good.  Good writing.  Lots of action when needed but not over done.  The movie has a tongue in cheek feel similar to the early Bond films.  I was entertained and when the next UNCLE movie comes out I'll go see it.

The Gift

The Gift

Rating 6 out of 10

This is a slow moving movie with an interesting premise.  A younger good looking couple, Simon and Robyn, move to sunny California from Chicago after he gets a new job and after a recent miscarriage.  Simon grew up near by and knows the area well.  Not long after moving in they see a guy from Simons high school at the local mall who becomes pushy wanting to be good friends.  When he figures out where they live he shows up unannounced and never wants to leave.  Gordon (Gordo) is definitely strange and turns out there is bad blood from the HS days.

This movie was written and directed by Joel Edgerton (who also plays Gordo).  I like Joel alot from the very underrated movie Warrior a couple years ago.  Simon and Robyn are played well enough by Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall.  Rebecca has fallen to the Hollywood starlet trend of cutting all her hair off which I'm not thrilled with.  I do like all the actors involved.

The problem with a movie like this is you have to show alot of it in the previews to get the people to go see it.  Then you have showed so much of it in the previews there isn't much new to see.  Until the last 10-15 minutes the movie plays out just as you expected.  Left me feeling a little bored wanting the big show down I knew as coming to get here.

I"m not sure why the movie critics have fallen in love with this movie.  It stands at 93% on www.rottentomatoes.com.  I was mildly entertained.  It would make a good rental if you don't watch the previews.

Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four

Rating 3 out of 10

You know me.  If it's a big action movie my butt is in the seat.  Make it a superhero movie where people fly around and blow up bad guys I am there.  Sometimes the critical movie critics don't give these cool action movies their due and reviews are unfairly harsh.  This is not one of those movies.  Fantastic Four currently stands at 9% on www.rottentomatoes.com and that may be a tad high.  This movie sucks folks.

Imagine a Spiderman movie where the first hour and forty minutes they show how the spider bit poor Peter Parker and allowed him to shoot webs from his wrists then finished with a lame eight minute showdown with an underwhelming bad guy.  That is Fantastic Four.  The movie starts with Reed Richards (stretchy guy) in the 8th grade and slowly proceeds from there.

I am a Miles Teller fan.  He was fantastic in Whiplash and funny in the underrated That Awkward Moment.  He tries here but there is just not much he can do.  The rest of the acting is not very good.  Most of the action scenes you will have seen in the flush of commercials over the past month or two.  Drives me nuts too when the leads get these super powers and instead of being rock stars in the world they are outcasts and can't wait to shed those powers.  Of course there is the obligatory evil military section to the movie.  How horrible that the satan general wants the Thing to go into battle and save American lives.

You need to skip this one completely folks.  Not even worth renting.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Rating 7.5 out of 10

I was looking forward to seeing this movie.  I have seen the previous Mission:Impossible movies and while I enjoyed them I never had the desire for a second viewing on DVD or cable.  The preview is packed with action and adventure for Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his gang.  I'm sure somewhere in there they would save the world.

The movie starts with the exciting Hunt on the outside of a plane trying to get in as it takes off.  The plane has enough nerve gas to wipe out a city and bad guys wanting to use it.  Some genius in Washington decides the IMF is obsolete and should be disbanded.  They are just not needed anymore.  didn't you read about the nerve gas on the plane???  When the government guy (Alec Baldwin) shuts everyone down Hunt goes rogue knowing there is one big plan to release enough money to fund the bad guys in terrorism for many years to come.

There is a ton of action and things that go boom.  Cool motorcycle riding and car chases.  My issue with this and all the other MI movies is they just tend to over think everything and make things way more complicated than they need to be.  The very cool scene where Cruise jumps in the big whirlpool of water holding his breath to get the bit of secret information is great to look at.  But hold a gun to my head and I couldn't tell you what exactly he was in there to get.

Still it is an exciting movie and I was entertained.  If you liked any of the first MI movies you will enjoy this one.