Movie Review: Central Intelligence

As some of you may have noticed, this is my second blog post this week. I decided to try doing two posts this week because I couldn't choose between which one I wanted to watch, so I went and watched both. This weeks other movie is Central Intelligence, which I don't know how to describe in one sentence. But, I hope you enjoy my review on it anyways.

The movie starts back in 1996 in the boys locker room where a young and fat Robbie Weirdicht (played by Dwayne Johnson) is singing and dancing in the school shower. Soon we see the school bully Trevor (played by Jason Bateman) standing there with friends watching Robbie shower. After some cruel laughing and comments we see them rush Robbie.

Meanwhile, in the gym, they are having a senior class assembly where Calvin Joiner (played by Kevin Hart) is being honored for being student of the year, and voted most likely to succeed. As the principal goes into a cheesy talk about Calvin being his all time favorite student and giving him a trophy, the gym doors burst open. Running through is Trevor and the other guys carrying a naked Robbie and throwing him across the floor. While almost everyone else laughs, Calvin is the only person to be kind and gives Robbie his jacket to cover up as much as he can so he can leave.

The acting was over the top, over done and cheesy, and it was perfect for this movie. Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson made a great comedic pair. They played well off each other and I enjoyed how they made the size difference between them work to their advantage.


The story plot had me confused as to what was going on at times, but with the characters and situations it made sense as to how they didn't make sense. Of course it is a completely outrageous story line with realistic and unrealistic situations, but that is what we look for in a good action comedy. However, the message of this movie is about over coming bullies and being happy with who you are, but with a good sense of action and comedy attached.

Overall, the acting was well done for this movie, and the message was clear to see. I think that there should be more movies like this one, and that's why I would rate this movie 8.7/10.

Movie Review: Finding Dory

This week it almost feels like I am jumping back in time to when I was just a toddler. Apparently, Finding Nemo was my first movie in theaters and favorite movie as a young child. Of course, me being two, I don't remember much of back then. I still know the movie though, but because I have watched it a lot more after that. But, the past aside, I hope you enjoy my review on Finding Dory.

The movie starts with a young Dory (voiced by Sloane Murray) introducing herself to her parents, Charlie (voiced by Eugene Levy) and Jenny (voiced by Diane Keeton), as practice for when she meets other fish. They start to play a game of hide and seek, but after just a couple of numbers Dory forgets and starts playing with the sand. When she looks at her parents and sees their faces she asks them "Did I forget again?" She then gets worried about whether she will forget her parents and if they will forget her. They comfort her by saying they would never forget her.

A few weeks later we find the same young Dory asking people if they had seen her parents, as she had lost them. As time goes on she forgets what she lost, only that she had lost something. That leads us into a mini recap of the Finding Nemo story when Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) and Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) first run into each other. This leads us to the beginning of this story, one year later.

The voice acting was very good in most all of the movie. The way that Ellen campaigned to have a Finding Dory movie, I expected nothing but the best from her, and she gave us that. What I enjoyed was hearing a young actor be the voice for Nemo again, this time voiced by Hayden Rolence. It continued the authenticity of the original Finding Nemo to this movie. I have to say, though, my favorite character was in fact Hank, the cranky octopus missing one leg voiced by Ed O'Neil. He really rounded out the cast and brought more depth to the movie.

The story plot was a little scattered here and there, but followed the same path towards the end. The scattering of the plot made it seem better in a way, however. In a way it really helped us understand what it was like to be Dory. The only thing negative I would have to say is that it does seem a little over repetitive after a while. I understand that is how Dory remembers things, but maybe a little less would have made this a perfect movie. The animation was also very good in this movie. This is definitely one of Disney and Pixar's better animated movies, while still following the same style of Finding Nemo.

Overall, the voice acting was excellent, the story plot was a little spread out, and the animation was really good. Some things would have been changed if I were able to, but not much, so I would rate this movie 8.8/10.

Movie Review: Now You See Me 2

 

I used to do magic when I was in elementary school, but I retired after my second talent show where I made milk disappear and money multiply. That is why I first watched the movie Now You See Me and enjoyed it. When I heard they made a sequel I was really excited and I am glad I was able to watch it for this weeks review.

The movie starts out with us following a young Dylan (played by William Henderson) getting ready to watch his Dad perform his latest, most dangerous magic escape trick yet. As Thaddeus Bradley (played by Morgan Freeman) exclaims his doubts to the gathered audience and TV crews, Dylan has a moment with his Dad and syncs their watches together before he steps into the safe. We watch the safe get lowered into the ocean, and then focus on Dylan counting the seconds until his Dad reappears. When the time passes and his Dad has not come up, he starts to panic and rescuers rush into the river he was in. This is the point where Dylan starts his burning hatred towards Thaddeus.

It then goes to J. Daniel Atlas (played by Jessie Eisenberg) going under an underground subway track system. There he finds a symbol on some of the pillars and follows them to a door. In the door there is a well with broken mirror pieces inside. Atlas says that he wanted to speak with "The Eye", and a voice tells him some stuff to remember of which I cannot tell. After he is told this, he rushes back to his apartment where he finds one of the other magicians he knows from eight years ago, Lulu (played by Lizzy Caplan).

The acting was good for a sequel, but I expected a little more chemistry between the actors, so I was a little let down with that. I actually found that new comers Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Radcliffe brought fresh air to the movie. The one I was a little disappointed with was Brick Patrick, who played Chase McKinney. He had a loud and funny character at first, but after a while I grew tired and annoyed because he was playing his so extreme and cartoon like.

The plot was full of twists and turns, which was the charm of the first movie, so I expected it back in the second. However, I think they focused so much on that this time that the magic was lost a little from the movie. Then there is the fact that they focused so much on the hypnotizing part of it that I felt it took up much more of the movie than it should have, again losing some of the other magic. When they finally got back into what made the other movie so wonderful, the magic of the performances with the crowds, It was shorter than I had wanted it to be. Now with all this, I will tell you, I did enjoy the movie a lot. A couple of the twists I saw coming, but most others took me by surprise. I appreciate the touch of a more personal story going on with it as well.

Overall, most of the acting was pretty good, and the story was a little less as confusing as the things they said to hypnotize. Though there were some things that could have made the movie better, whether it be adding some things or removing them, I would rate this movie 8.5/10.

 

Movie Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

I am back after taking some time off to grieve for my Aunt. It has been 3 months since she passed and there are days I find I really miss her and it is hard to think about other things. She would want me to go on doing this, and so this weeks movie, after a long wait for another post, is a sequel. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows brings back the beloved pizza eating ninja crime fighters again, but this time the title hints they might no longer be the unseen hero's.

The movie starts with the turtles moving through the sewage pipes doing whatever ninja moves they can that make them move faster. After a few minutes of this, you see them come up through a manhole to grab a pizza from a delivery driver waiting for them. It then continues along with them playing a game of keep the pizza from Mikey (voiced by Noel Fisher) and showing their names in order of Leo (voiced by Pete Ploszlek), Raph (voiced by Alan Ritchson), Donny (voiced by Jeremy Howard) then Mikey. They continue this game until they get in the jumbotron at a basketball stadium just in time to watch a Knicks game. 

As they sit back to enjoy the game, Mikey comments on how he wished they could be sitting in the seats. Leo reminds him of why they have to remain working from the shadows, then continue talking. As they are talking, they notice, sitting in the floor seats is Vernon Fenwick (Played by Will Arnett), the camera man who took credit for saving the city from Shredder (played by Brian Tee) in the first movie. They start shooting spit balls at him while he does another interview. 

Some of the acting was a little stale, but still a bit enjoyable. The people who voiced the turtles had more emotion put into their voices than some of the live actors. Brian Tee didn't have much emotion in his voice, however it made sense for him due to playing Shredder. I think one of the bright spots for the actors was Stephen Amel who plays Casey Jones. He brought some of the spunk and impulsiveness key to the character while not getting cheesy about it. I am sure his work on the CW's Arrow helped with that. If you want to know what I mean by cheesy please checkout how Stephen Farelly and Gary Anthony William playing Rocksteady and Bebop respectively.

The story plot was slowed every now and then, and some parts didn't make sense to me, making the movie get long at times. It did have a flow to it though and that was nice, however it did not make up for the out of character story line for some things, like Shedder's reason for working with Krang (voiced by Brad Garret). It really did not make any sense. I think there were just some points they strayed to far away from the original cartoon series. 

Overall, it is a good movie to go and watch for a fun cheesy afternoon with the kids. If you are looking for a good sense of nostalgia from the 80's cartoon, I say do not watch this movie. I rate this movie 6.7/10 for at least giving me a short break from reality and a few good laughs.