MIB3 - They should have stopped after the first one.

Will Smith is one of the biggest movies stars in the world.  Because of his money making ability, studios allow him to make movies no matter how good or bad.  Now, I'm not saying he makes a lot of bad movies.  I really can't think of a Will Smith movie I didn't enjoy even a little bit.  His worst one probably was Wild Wild West, and even that was sort of entertaining.  MIB3 falls into that category...sort of entertaining.  The Fresh Prince of Bel Air went over to the dark side with this one.  He usually makes kid friendly MIB movies, but this one has a lot of death, low level cursing, and a somewhat ominous subplot.  I definitely wouldn't bring anyone younger than 10 to this one.  There isn't a little song a dance to pep this one up.

As we know from the first two Men in Black movies, Agents K (played by Tommy Lee Jones) and J (Will Smith) go around and handle alien problems while trying to keep the fact that there ARE aliens from humans.  Even some of the most famous people in the world, according to these movies, are aliens like Michael Jackson, Elvis, and Lady Gaga.  MIB3 isn't any different.  A big, bad alien breaks out of jail on the moon, comes to earth only to go back in time to try and kill Agent K who jailed him and shot off his arm which will allow this horrible alien to come and take over earth in the present.  Agent J has to time travel back to spoil this aliens plans while learning some secrets about Agent K (Josh Brolin as a younger K) in the process.  Where do they come up with this stuff?

There were tons of pre-teens, teenagers, and adults in the audience.  I must say they were thoroughly entertained.  One man couldn't stop laughing those deep belly laughs that filled the theatre.  I, on the other hand, smiled at a couple of corny jokes, and lol'd once maybe twice, but that's about it.  There was a tearjerker moment towards then end, but I saw it coming a mile away.  The movie was cute to say the least, but not nearly as much fun as the first one.  There really weren't any new tricks to pull out of the bag to make it as interesting as the first one.  It'll do well at the box office with it being a long weekend, but I feel that it will simmer off not too much long after that.  This really should be the very LAST Men in Black movie.

You really see Will Smith's age in this movie.  He's no longer that goofy, big-earred kid from the 90's that we loved to watch on our tv screens and then later on the big screen.  He can't get away with these silly little antics anymore.  It's time to stick with the action-adventures and dramas that he does so well.    His original audience has grown up too, so I think we like to see him in more grown-up roles being a husband and parent like he and the majority of his audience is now.  Again, Men in Black 3 is sort of entertaining, and worth the $6 I spent going to the early matinee.  I don't think it's worth anymore than that.  Go see it if you must, or don't and just wait for it to come out on USA or FX during an MIB marathon.

You sank my BATTLESHIP...or did you?!?!

Remember that game we use to play back in the day with the little grey ships and red and white pegs?  Well, Battleship is based off of that game.  It's not nearly as cheesy as that commercial with the little boy saying, "You sank my battleship," and there are no white or red pegs, but it was extremely entertaining.  A feel good movie to say the least.

Without giving away too much, the movie is set on a naval base in Hawaii and after scientist send signals to an earth like planet, unwelcomed aliens show up reeking havoc on Hawaii and Asia during a naval mock war exercise between America and Japan.  I know that seems like a lot, but it's really not.  They have to explain a lot in a short amount of time, which is done pretty well.

I guess what makes this movie so interesting is that there really aren't any big name celebrities other than Liam Neison who's supporting role really could have been played by anyone.  True Blood fans will be happy to see Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) in this movie.  He's not as sinister in this movie playing Commander Stone Hopper as he is in True Blood, but he is easy on the eyes.  There are some unlikely heroes.  The one the producers and director want to you to like the most is double amputee US Army Lieutenant Colonel Mick.  He's actually a real Army Lieutenant Colonel who has never acted before this movie.  You kinda give his acting a pass because of the fact that you realize that he really has lost his legs.  Oh, and how could I forget to mention Rhianna?  If you are expecting Ri Ri to be the sexy celebrity she likes to play on the red carpet, you can forget it.  She's pretty much a rough looking chic in a bad wig covered by a ball cap the entire movie.  She does a decent acting job throughout the movie probably because they kept her lines short.

(SPOILER ALERT!!!)  If I was to say anything negative about this movie, I would say that it goes from realistic to ridiculous towards the end.  The USS Missouri comes out of retirement along with some of it's old naval officers to help fight the aliens.  I literally wanted to yell out, "SERIOUSLY!"  Everything else was plausible until that point, but in the end you were ok with this unlikely turn of events because it all worked out for the best.

Go see Battleship at the theatre because the special effects and action won't be nearly as exciting and entertaining at home on the couch.  I'm not a fan of 3D, but I think this might even be good in 3D.  I enjoyed it; I don't know if it's add-to-the-dvd-collection worthy, but I'd watch it again if someone bought the ticket or if it was on tv.  Of the two action movies so far this early summer, I liked this one best.

The Avengers - Why are we clapping?

I've seen Iron Man one and two, both Hulk movies, Captain America, and just about every other super hero movie that has come out over the last 15 years except Thor.  Who would have know that was the one I really needed to see to understand fully the plot of The Avengers Movie?  Countless hours watching superhero movie after superhero movie and I really only needed to watch 4 movies to get the point of this one.  Don't get me wrong, I knew that they would all tie in together, I just didn't think it was going to be completely necessary to see them all.  So I warn you now:  Make sure you have seen Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor, and Hulk (the one starring Mark Ruffalo).

Now that you've seen all of those, (I still haven't seen Thor, but I will ASAP) tell me that the Avengers isn't a bit of a bore trying to tie it all together.  I would have rather watched a 3rd installment of Iron Man.  Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr, is the most entertaining of them all, and his movies are the most entertaining of all the super hero movies that I've seen (Kick Ass not included since they're not really super heros).  There is action dispersed throughout and especially at the ending, but the movie is about 2 and a half hours long and only about 30 minutes of it is action packed.  That leaves for A LOT of talking and set up.

The storyline itself isn't very new.  I mean does aliens coming to take over earth starting with NY sound familiar?  Or how about that scene when the aliens are coming and the people are running down the streets of New York and the cars flip over?  Or, the bad arse chic who kicks butt with a sad story about why she's a bad arse chic?  Scene it?  So have I many, many times.  The thing that kept dumfounding me were the people clapping at this overused action.  They're clapping and I'm yawning waiting for something new to happen.  It never does.  If I was to clap for anything or anyone, it's be Robert Downey Jr.  He makes a darn good Tony Stark.  He's the only thing close to eye candy in this movie and he's funny as always.  I hope they do bring him back for Iron Man 3 that is in the works now for 2013.

You want to go see this movie?  Go right ahead.  Just remember that it's nothing special, really long, kind of boring, full of the same ol' same ol' and surprisingly will make you want to clap (it made me want to take a nap).

Badd Ass Bruce Willis, The Rock, and Channing Tatum...nuff said

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Think Like a Man - So funny I'd laugh twice

I don't usually pay to watch ROM/COMs.  My dvd collection has very few mostly from the 80's and 90's when ROM/COMs were actually funny.  I don't usually watch black movies.  They are usually horrible. Not because they are black but because they are poorly written and/or directed with horrible stereotypes and poor acting.  I mean how many times do we need to see TP dress like a woman?  (Clearly infinite amounts of times since he has YET another Madea movie coming out...) Again, my dvd collection has very few, but the ones I do have are mostly from the 90's when Eddie Murphy was the black movie God not Tyler Perry.  I've seen 3 this year, so I've made my quota to keep my black card.  Think Like a Man is not only a black movie, but a ROM/COM, and worth breaking my I don't see ROM/COMs or black movies rule.  

I really went to see it because of Kevin Hart.  That man is a fool!  I've seen his stand up on tv and died laughing, so I wanted to see what he would do in this movie.  Not to mention, the cast is outrageous, and the storyline seemed to be plausible no matter your race.  Kinda like The Best Man; it crossed all color lines to debut as the #1 movie in the country in 1999.  A brief synopsis of Think Like a Man:  Steve Harvey, a comedian, plus radio, talk, and game show host, wrote a serious book about relationships call Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man.  Someone decided to make a movie with this very real book as the basis for the movie.  We watch as 4 couples traverse new relationships with the women getting advice from Steve Harvey and his book.  The guys in these relationships are all friends and get together and discuss how things are going often while playing basketball or having drinks. 

One of the reasons I don't watch comedies is because I never think they are very funny.  This movie is the funniest I've seen since The Hangover (I went to see it on a date.  Would never have seen it on my own).  In fact, I think it's funnier than The Hangover.  I laughed so hard over and over again.  At one point I had tears in my eyes.  It wasn't just Kevin Hart, although he was the major reason for the laughs, but there were other funny moments when he wasn't involved.  The story moved well which could have been very difficult when trying to tell several different stories in one.  (Did you see Valentine's Day?)  As most movies are these days, the ending was predictable but the cameos were not.  Wendy Williams, Lisa Leslie, La La Anthony, Keri Hilson, Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland, and Ron Artest (I refuse to call him by his new ridiculous name) just to name a few.   

It was all done very well.  I would pay to see it again.  I wasn't the only one who felt that way.  Another cinema patron said the same thing to her friend as she was leaving the theater.  I will definitely be adding it to the dvd collection, and maybe I will give ROM/COMs and black movies more of a chance...maybe.  This movie was entertaining, funny, full of eye-candy for women and men, and you will learn a little relationship advice in the process.  In the gymnastics world (I'm a gymnastics coach), we'd give it a 10.0!

Wrath of the Titans - For the easily entertained

I have a friend who says that he rarely sees a movie that he feels is bad because he's easily entertained.  I on the other hand have seen a couple (Mirror, Mirror is one) in the last couple of weeks that were bad, but I guess it takes a lot to entertain me.  In general, I only watch sci-fi, fantasy, suspense & thrillers, scary movies, books turned into movies, and Disney movies.  Very rarely will I pay to see a rom-com or a comedy.  Wrath of the Titans fall into my fantasy category.  It also falls into the category of one of those bad movies.  Ok, so maybe bad is a bit strong.  I wasn't entertained, but my friend who easily is will enjoy it.

The storyline was very weak.  Let's see if I can get it right:  Remembering your greek mythology, Zeus needs Perseus to help him keep Chronos, his father, enslaved in Tartarus.  Hades and Ares have teamed up together to trap Zeus, and give all of his power to Chronos.  I didn't quite understand what Chronos was gonna do once he got out of Tartarus, but he did zap Zeus of his power and begins to make an escape.  While all of this is going on Queen Andromeda, Perseus, and Poseidon's son try to help.  How do these demigods and humans help?  Well, I'm not gonna tell you everything.  You'll have to suffer through it like I did to find out.

If trying to rely on the not-so-great special affects was the goal, then they fail there as well.  At one point I saw someone's silver fillings.  Really, not only did we not take the time to make a good movie or have bad arse special affects, but we couldn't take the time to properly edit the movie either.  I often felt like I was watching the screening before they cut and printed it.  But again, it takes a lot to entertain me.  So, I'll say this:  this movie is only worth the $6 I pay when I go to the first showing of any movie at the theater that day.  I wouldn't pay any more than that.  I honestly could have waited until it came on cable in a couple of years.  Who am I kidding; it's be on tv this time next year.

Despicable Me 2

Despicable Me 2 Teaser Trailer. Can't wait!!!

Trailer