"dreamers need to stick together"

Tomorrowland

There has been a lot of talk about this movie, that has nothing to do with this movie. People saying that people do not want original stories, they just want sequels or remakes. If this is true then this movie is coming out at the right time.

This story is about a place when all the dreamers, scientists, thinkers, builders and doers created so that they are not burdened by the restrictions that come with trying to create something in the real world. But something happens that disables this wonderland and a true believer is needed to get it back on track. That is all you need to know, as I think this movie works better going in just knowing the very basics.

I really enjoyed this movie, but I did think it was missing that something extra. It had great visuals, and story and I thought the message it was telling was relevant, I just thought it was missing something, but I just can't put my finger on it. I was engaged through out, and thought that the story moved along at a great pace. It was a beautiful movie, the Eiffel tower scene is ah-mazing. I loved the whole retro future look of tomorrowland , and especially the audio-animatronics.

The acting was pretty good, and I particularly enjoyed Raffey Cassidy who played Athena. She is brilliant in it and she added a lot of fun to this movie. George Clooney was pretty good, I just thought his disappointment and gruffness could have been a bit more. There always seemed to be a smirk lurking behind his eyes.

Go see it and tell me what you think! And Carol you should recreate the menu from the Lunching Pad, and don't forget the frozen drinks, just make sure they have some kick.

Playing Catch Up

I have seen a few movies and been a little bit busy so here are a few quick reviews

Mad Max: Fury Road was a visual spectacle that was made to be seen on the silver screen. The movie is really about Furiousa(Charlize) and her journey and Mad Max(Tom Hardy) just happens to be along for the ride. Just like all the other movies it's a post apocalyptic world where we have off the wall tyrants, war boys, milk ladies and baby makers. Great car chases with amazing vehicles, I mean who has a vehicle made mostly of amplifiers and a guitarist on bungies? This was truly a fun movie to just go see and get lost in it. There is not a complicated story and it is full of action and spectacle. Go see it!

Pitch Perfect 2 was pretty much the same movie on a larger scale. The Bella's were beat down and needed to find their sound again as a team. It was cute and I laughed quite a few times. I also loved that Phat Amy and  Bumper had a love story, but there was nothing new brought to the table with this story. Too many side stories and it seems like they tried to hard to capture the magic of the first one.

I had high hopes for the Poltergeist remake. The original one is held high in my mind as one of the great horror films of all times. It has heart, a great story and truly terrifying. The new movie has none of that. It started off not so bad with the introduction of the family, but soon veered into a very bland and not a very scary movie. I liked how they updated the family unit and all of the acting was pretty good. One of the most scary scenes in the original movie was the clown, and what was so scary about it, was that it was one of the kids toys. In this new movie the boy finds a box of clowns in his room. Predictable, and why make all the clowns look like they are evil right off the bat?. And don't even get me started on the tree, or the lack of the pool(!) and how can you have a Poltergeist movie with out Tangina(!!) or have the girl named Carol-Ann???  Please!

"...you're starting to annoy me now because this is your insecurity talking, this is not your intellect"

Ex Machina

From first time director Alex Garland who has brought us such great stores as 28 Days and Sunshine, we have a story about a programmer, Caleb, that works for a large Internet search engine company that wins a week with the reclusive head of the company, Nathan,  in his secluded mountain retreat. He gets there and it is revealed that Nathan has created an Artificial Intelligence and he wants Caleb to do a Turing test on it, to determine it it has true intelligence or if it is just mimicking human behavior. We then meet Eva the AI, and the testing testing begins. Caleb is fascinated and in awe of Eva. We also learn that Nathan likes to get wasted almost every night, workout and Kyoko(the maid/chef that doesn't speak) and he like to do dance routines. As the test progresses we soon learn that not what it seems and have do decide who is testing who. I really can't say more or it will spoil things.

 It stars Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Sonoya Mizuno. Acting was really good and the especially Oscar and Domhnall interaction is awkward, tense, and very compelling. The real treat though is Alicia, when she is on the screen it is mesmerizing.Her movements and tone really draw you into to he character.

I liked the moves very straightforwardness, and it's zen like simplicity. While the story plot is very thin, I was glued to the screen the entire time, even after I had figured somethings out near the end. The movie is playing on a lot of different themes and issues regarding human interaction, Artificial Intelligence, deceit, manipulation and love/attraction. I would go see if you have a chance and I hear it's a completely different movie on a second view.

And Carroll if you are watching this at home sushi and a bold red would be fitting.

"Whoa ho ho! You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Avengers: Age of Ultron

 Director -  Joss Whedon

Stars -  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlet Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Betanny, Elizabeth Olson, Aaron Taylor- Johnson, James Spade

Story -  Tony Stark creates an Artificial Intelligence to keep the peace, but basically fucks everything up and creates Ultron, who has Stark's ego and wants to fix the human race. He uses the Internet so that he can be everywhere making it crazy impossible to kill. The Avengers fight between each other and then realize they need to work as a team if they are to defeat Ultron.

There are also two new quasi- villains; The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. They were created by HYDRA after their parents were killed with a bomb created by Mr. Stark. Surprised? So they team up with Ultron to get their revenge, but soon learn what Ultron's real motives and things go from there...

What Did I think - It was alright. It was a fun popcorn movie that had lots of action and great special affects. Basic story, with not much thought. The story tied into the infinity stone story-line that is weaved into most of the new Marvel movies and it was very fast paced. I did like Scarlet Witch(Weird and Amazing) and Quicksilver(Dreamy). Wish the interaction between Hulk and Black Widow was more developed. BOO, you know that my lullaby works just as good on you!

It was fun, but didn't bring anything new. And Nikki, I agree with Tony, too many Joss quips. Too many times did I want to roll my eyes.

Snacks & Bevvies - Pepperoni Pizza and Whiskey Lemonade