Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Directed by: Justin Lin

Written by: Simon Pegg & Doug Jung

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, & Anton Yelchin








After receiving a mission to help out a citizen take back her planet, the crew is ambushed by an unknown group that plans to take over the universe, starting with Star Fleet and the Federation.  In order to protect himself, his crew, and everyone else, Captain Kirk (Pine) has to rediscover the reason why he joined Star Fleet in the first place.

So this film is better than the second one, but not the first.  Well they are all reasonably around the same score actually.

I like this one more though because the film tests unlikely relationships, such as Bones (Urban) and Spock (Quinto); the most and least emotional ones.  Because of this strategy, it creates humor in a horrific situation.

Plus the characters have character arcs that might not have happened had it been the same relationships that have occurred in the past films.

Other than that, the CGI is great.  Makeup and costumes on point.  There isn't much to complain about really.  It's similar to the other films, but just a different adventure this time with some more information about what's to come.  4 popcorns.

Ghostbusters (2016)

Directed by: Paul Feig

Written by: Katie Dippold & Paul Feig

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, & Leslie Jones








When I first saw the trailer for this film I was not impressed.  It looked like a dud and not very funny. But trailers can be deceiving.

Erin Gilbert (Wiig) is a professor up for tenure.  But when she realizes a book that she made a while ago is up on Amazon, she becomes afraid that it might jeopardize her career.  She finds her used to be friend and co-author Abby Yates (McCarthy) to tell her to take it down and stop selling it.  But when they hear of a ghost nearby terrorizing a museum, they have to look into it.

Oddly enough, I thought this version of Ghostbusters is better than the original.  I was laughing throughout as each character added something to the film.  They all made the movie hilarious with their jokes and physical humor.

There are some people though that feel Kevin (Chris Hemsworth) was unnecessary and too dumb.  I liked Kevin.  He was a good contrast to the original secretary Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts), who was more negative, but also had the uncaring attitude that Kevin carries.  I thought he added more humor to the film since the women have to interact with the "dumb blonde" character that usually women play.  Instead, this film flips the stereotype and lets the women have the smarts and Kevin be the eye candy.

As for the other minor characters, such as the mayor, his secretary, etc...sometimes they were trying to compete with the main characters for laughs.  Sometimes it worked since usually Kristen Wiig had to play off it and it made her that much more humorous, but sometimes it seemed too much.

Other than that, the CGI was great and I loved how they brought the actors from the original into this film.  4 popcorns!

The Infiltrator (2016)

Directed by: Brad Furman

Written by: Ellen Sue Brown & Robert Mazur (book)

Starring: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, & Diane Kruger








Robert Mazur (Cranston) is the top infiltrator in U.S. Customs.  After being given the option to retire, he decides he'll do one last bust, which is the bust of the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

This film is pretty intense so don't bring your kids.  There were kids in the theater when I went.  Ridiculous...

Anyway, the acting was great and so was pretty much everything else.  Since this is based on a true story it makes it even greater.  But I did have a problem with the plot.  It was a little difficult to keep track of everyone that was involved with Pablo Escobar.  They were trying to bust his whole team and with the introduction of character after character, I couldn't understand how each person was connected to Escobar.

Other than difficulty of keeping track of who's who, there wasn't much I had trouble with.  I did find a continuity problem at the beginning when Emir Abreu (Leguizamo) is given a cup of tea and as he leaves, the tea disappears.  I couldn't find it on screen.  Maybe you can.

Overall all though, I thought it was an edge of your seat type movie and gives a terrific insight of what it takes to be undercover, such as the sacrifices one makes and the feelings that come with the job.  4 popcorns.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)

Directed by: Jake Szymanski

Written by: Andrew Jay Cohen & Brendan O'Brien

Starring: Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick, & Aubrey Plaza







Mike (Devine) and Dave (Efron) are two brothers who always ruin every party.  When their parents tell them that they need dates for their little sister's wedding, both head to Craigslist to post an ad.  They get about six thousand responses with none of them being the nice, respectable girls that they need. When Tatiana (Plaza) and Alice (Kendrick) see on the Wendy Williams show that they would get a trip to Hawaii, Tatiana comes up with a plan to bump into the boys.  After being asked to go to Hawaii with them, the girls show their true colors and essentially ruin the wedding along with Mike and Dave.

I thought this movie was hilarious...for the most part.  True, a lot of the funny parts were seen in the trailer, but there are also some that aren't, which I think are worth seeing.  There are a few parts of the film that drag, but then another comedic scene comes along and entertains you.

Crazily, this is a true story.  But the wedding was in New York.

If you want to laugh for an hour or two, I suggest seeing this to get you out of the dumps.  3 popcorns.

The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

Directed by: Yarrow Cheney & Chris Renauld

Written by: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, & Brian Lynch

Starring: Louis C. K., Eric Stonestreet, & Kevin Hart








The Secret Life of Pets is a cute family movie that's great for kids and adults alike, as long as you've had a pet or like animals that is.

Max (C. K.) is happy being the only dog in Katie's (Ellie Kemper) life.  They do everything together. But one day, Katie comes home with a new dog, Duke (Stonestreet).  When Duke begins taking over Max's home, Max devises a plan to show him who the real alpha dog is.  One day, while the dog walker is distracted, Duke takes Max on a ride and throws him away in a trash can.  But when cats steal their collars, animal control is after them.  Will they ever be able to get back to Katie or will they end up lost in the pound?

My favorite characters are Chloe (Lake Bell), the cat, and Gidget (Jenny Slate), the Pomeranian.  The cat acts just like mine with trying to fit in boxes, getting toys stuck to her nails, and more.  Gidget is just a love crazy dog who will do anything to find Max.

But Max and Duke are great protagonists that eventually get a character arc.  The story makes sense with everyone trying to find them from animal control to Snowball (Kevin Hart), the crazed bunny who hates humans and their pets, to Gidget and their other animal friends.

It isn't an amazing movie or anything, but it did pull at the heartstrings when I saw owners with their pets because you think of your pet.  But it isn't like anything is wrong with it.  I thought it was creative how they combined Illumination films in the story line for marketing purposes, the issue of what happens to pets that are abandoned, and more.  3 popcorns.

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

Directed by: Roland Emmerich

Written by: Nicholas Wright, James A. Woods, Dean Delvin, Ronald Emmerich, & James Vanderbilt

Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, & Bill Pullman







So I never saw the first one, but according to most, it's the same.

David Levinson (Goldblum) after the attack of '96 is still researching aliens.  President Whitmore (Pullman) has been labeled crazy and can connect to aliens.  His daughter though works for the new president and her boyfriend (Hemsworth) is a pilot currently on the moon.  When a random UFO comes towards the moon, President Lanford (Sela Ward) issues an attack despite Levinson's requests not to.  A few hours later, another UFO comes, much bigger and attacks the moon and basically starts a whole new war.

I thought it was good.  I liked the explosions and the slight humor within the different stories.  I was a little lost on some relationships, which probably would have been explained in the first film.  That's about all I got. 4 popcorns.

The Purge: Election Year (2016)

Directed by: James DeMonaco

Written by: James DeMonaco

Starring: Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mykelti Williamson, Joseph Julian Soria, & Betty Gabriel







I love the Purge movies.  I think they are so clever.

Senator Charlie Roan (Mitchell) is running for president against the NFAA (I don't know what that stands for).  The main reason she is running is because her family was murdered on purge night 18 years ago and she wants this night gone.  However, many like the purge and do not want to see it end.  This year government officials are not exempted from purge night, which means purgers can target the senator, and they do.  Leo Barnes (Grillo), her head of security, does everything in his power to protect her, because he too wants this night gone.

So this film to me has more of a purpose than the previous ones.  The stakes are higher because if the senator dies, then the NFAA's nominee would win by default, and keep the purge alive.

In addition to higher stakes, they insert more realistic components, such as drones and murder tourism.

Like the others, there's murder, blood, masks, and more.  It's just good.  It'll keep you on edge with some light humor provided by Joe Dixon (Williamson), who is just trying to keep his deli from being looted.  5 popcorns.

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

Directed by: David Yates

Written by: Adam Cozad, Craig Brewer, & Edgar Rice Burroughs (stories based on)

Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, & Samuel L. Jackson







Remember Disney's Tarzan?  This is basically the sequel.  Surprisingly Warner Bros. didn't make the same mistake as they did with Pan (which I also reviewed), in which they changed the entire story to something new.

Anyway in this film, Tarzan (Skarsgård) is called upon to accept King Leopold's invitation to travel to Africa.  By doing this he would be helping England's economy greatly.  But he'd rather not go back to revisit his past.  After some convincing from George Washington Williams (Jackson), he decides to go.  Once there, Williams, Tarzan, and his wife Jane (Robbie) discover that the African people are being enslaved to create an army by Leon Rom (Waltz) for King Leopold.  In an effort to stop them, Tarzan will have to go back to his animalistic ways.

Of course that isn't the whole story, but the gist of it.

I'm pretty neutral about this film.  I didn't think it was amazing, but at the same time I didn't think it was horrible.  The story is concise and makes sense. I liked how it related to actual events, but kind of wished the animals talked too.  But that probably would have ruined it.

But being me, I like to compare the "what I consider original" (Disney) to the the remake/sequel.  The main differences are that the animals do not talk (well in English I mean), less politics, more tension between races as well as Jane and Tarzan, new villains, and more.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that this film is great for adults, but not great for kids or those that loved the Disney version and expect it to be the same.  But I could be wrong.

The CGI is amazing, especially this part at the end that contains wildebeests.  Skarsgård and Robbie have great chemistry and Waltz is the perfect bad guy as always.  Jackson seemed randomly thrown in there, but he provides the humor for most of the film.

There are several subplots that get in the way of the main objective, which can be confusing on what part we are supposed to focus on.  In other words there are two competing conflicts that intertwine.  One involving Tarzan's past and one that I talked about in the summary about enslaving Africans.

One portion of the film that annoyed me was Tarzan's real name, which is John Clayton.  Clayton?  That's the villain's name from the Disney version.  Thanks for the confusion Warner Bros.  You couldn't have picked any other name?  But then again, maybe that's how the books are.  I didn't read them, but there's a list of them here, if you would like to.

Overall, I'm going to give this film 4 popcorns.  The characters are great and the premise is good.  I liked the conflicts, even though the seemed to be competing.  CGI was good and Skarsgård is hot. ;)