I Had Almost Forgotten The First One..."The Huntsman: Winter's War"

The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt, Nick Frost,

Directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

The Story:

A sequel and a prequel, all in one. This tells the story of Eric (Hemsworth) growing up under the "care" of Queen Freya (Blunt). His affection towards Sara (Chastain) caused him to be removed from the kingdom, and you know what happened next if you saw Snow White & the Huntsman. The rest of the movie shows Eric on the search for the Magic Mirror before it can be used to bring Ravenna (Theron) back to life.

First, they did the best thing by not bringing Kristen Stewart back for the sequel.

She was my least favorite part of the original, and she is definitely not missed.

:)

The new additions to the cast are enjoyable, but it's almost like they couldn't decide if they wanted to tell a prequel or a sequel.

Splitting time between both gives you enough storyline bouncing back and forth to make for one movie, but it seems a little less coherent that way.

At times there was almost too much plot going on with attempted plot twists and turns seemingly around every corner.

The cast is game though, and the movie looks great.

But at the end of the day, it's just an average movie, and doesn't inspire any reason to rush out to see it.

Final Grade: C

I Really Don't Get All The Fuss... "Sicario"

Sicario (2015)

Rated R

Starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

The Story:

Kate (Blunt) is a great member of the FBI hostage situation team. So impressive, Matt Graver (Brolin) wants her to join his anti-drug task force. She volunteers and rides next to the mysterious Alejandro (Del Toro). However, when they begin to do whatever it takes to get the bad guys, Kate begins to have a crisis of conscience. How far should we go to win the war on drugs against the cartels?

Okay, seriously, I don't get all the hype about how great this movie is, or more importantly, how great Blunt's performance in this movie is.

She does about 2 things in this movie:

1) Smokes
2) Whines quite a bit about not doing things by the book.

Repeat ad nauseam.

You want her as a hard as nails character in an action thriller? Go watch Edge of Tomorrow again. That movie was pretty darn entertaining.

Her character seems much like an afterthought about how can we show a cool war on the cartels...oh, I know, get a new person on the team and show what they do through her eyes and the conflict and tension it brings.

She was actually my least favorite of the three main characters in this film.

Josh Brolin did a better performance as the man who is trying to make a difference, regardless of what it takes to do it, and if they have to bend, break or flat out pretend the rule doesn't exist, so be it.

However it's Del Toro who makes the most of his role as a consultant who is much more than meets the eye and is not to be trifled with.

He steals the movie from everyone in any scene he is in, and is really the star of the film.

So if anyone in the film got robbed for an award from this film, you're looking at the wrong gender.

Final Grade: C+

This Movie Should Be Dragged "Into The Woods" And Left There

Into The Woods (2014)

Rated PG

Starring Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Daniel Huttlestone, James Corden, Emily Blunt, Christine Baranski, Tracey Ullman, Johnny Depp, Chris Pine, Mackenzie Mauzy, and a cast of thousands.

Directed by Rob Marshall

The Story:

What do you get when you combine Cinderella, Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk a wicked witch and an annoying baker and his wife into a musical?

If you guessed an excruciating 2 hours (plus change!) of your life sucked from the earth, congratulations, you've apparently already seen this movie.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I can see that on paper this might sound appealing. 

Apparently, it works on the Broadway stage.

But wow, this was a rambling, overblown mess of a movie that just wouldn't end.

You think it will, but no, it's like they remembered, no, we still have the big finale where all the tales must once again intersect with each other in the  most contrived way possible.

So why did I finish the whole film, you ask?

I'm not sure.

Boredom.

Train wreck style, I wanted to see if it could get any worse.

Well, it never truly got worse, but it never got any better.

It was a visually pleasing movie, and all of the actors were game for their roles.

It was simply too much.

And not even of a good thing, it was simply too much of everything.

I'm guessing that some of this was added for the movie, because I can't see a broadway production pulling off that massive of a storyline every night.

Plus, the one thing about a good musical, or even an average musical, is the songs which the cast should sing.

There isn't a memorable tune or melody to be found in this feature from start to finish.

Except one.

The one sung by Johnny Depp to a little Red Riding Hood.

This was perhaps the most cringe-worthy cinematic experience I've ever endured, watching a 50+ year old man dressed as a wolf, but only vaguely, expressing his desires for a child.

Unintentional I'm sure, but wow, does it just come off with a creepiness factor of about 11.

Final Grade: D

The Fate Of The World Is In Tom Cruise's Hands..."Edge Of Tomorrow"

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

PG-13

Starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton,

Directed by Doug Liman

The Story:

An alien menace has invaded earth in the near future, and they are wreaking havoc across Europe and Asia. The world forces are combined to stop them, and on the eve of a massive attack to stop them, an American officer (Cruise) who works public relations is forced to join the ranks of the fighters. While trying to survive, he notices the war's greatest fighter (Blunt) just before she is killed. Suddenly the enemy is upon him and then... he wakes up to start the last day over again. And again. And again. Can the valuable lessons he learns each day keep him alive, and help him turn the tide of the war?

So how did this movie fail at the box office?

It is a well-done production, from start to finish.

The easiest guess, the title blows. :)

It sounds like a cheesy soap opera from daytime tv that you must tune in to tomorrow to find out who's backstabbing who!

The tagline for the film: Live. Die. Repeat. is actually better (and much more accurate) than the title itself.

It could be the sci-fi genre itself. It doesn't exactly appeal to every moviegoer out there, although Guardians of the Galaxy could argue against that rule of movies.

:D

Or perhaps people have tired of Tom Cruise?

That seems the most likely scenario.

Which is both amusing, and sad at the same time.

Cruise has been playing Tom Cruise his entire career, so why are people getting tired of him now?

He actually does a fine job in this film, starting as a coward who grows into a hero as the movie progresses.

If you passed it by in theaters, don't let this one get away on DVD.


Final Grade: Solid B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch this one again, pretty entertaining from start to finish.

Sounds A Little Fishy To Me..."Salmon Fishing In The Yemen"

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Amr Wakad, Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom

The Story:

Sheikh Muhammed (Wakad) wants to bring his peaceful hobby of fishing to the dry arid desert of Yemen.  So working with a fisheries expert (McGregor), they plan to construct a river and fill it with Salmon.  However, the British government winds up only giving them hatchery raised salmon which don't know how to spawn upstream instinctively.  Couple that with some Yemen extremists who aren't thrilled with what the Sheikh is up to, and this dream may derail long before it even has a chance to succeed.

Meh.

Again, another film more appropriately labeled a dramedy, than a comedy.

There's some humor, but it's not "funny'.

I had high hopes for this one, but really, it was average, at best.

The performances were fine, but I was never really grabbed by anything else to make me invest more into the storyline.

Adding the complicated romantic subplot between McGregor and Blunt simply adds to the run time and really adds nothing to the story.

The best part of the film is the ending when we truly discover if the Sheikh's ideas would work or not.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nah, I'm good.  Once was plenty.