Movie Review For May 1, 2015: AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, THE WATER DIVINER

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, James Spader, Paul Bettany, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Plot: The Avengers must work together to stop one of Tony Stark's creations that has decided the world must be destroyed
Trailer

Clint Says: Drop everything and go see this movie now

And the crowd said, "AMEN!"

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is two hours and 21 minutes of total awesomeness. It is fast-paced, high-stakes, and intriguing story-telling at its comic-book finest.

Director Joss Whedon should be given a lot of credit for allowing the cast to have the range they needed to explore and develop their characters even more. Because of that we get some of the best scenes we have ever had the privilege to witness in the MARVEL universe.

This movie is hysterically funny, way more so than any of the other MARVEL films, with the exception of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, but it is also deep and at times will pull at your heartstrings.

There is a freedom and a depth to this movie that we've yet to see in any other comic book flick that may even lead to its eventual nomination for awards other than just the technical stuff. It is fun and spectacular from beginning to end.

I don't say this often because the price of going to the movies is so ridiculous, but this is the movie you need to see in IMAX or RPX and in 3D. It's worth the money. This is easily the best popcorn flick of 2015 so far and it's going to take some serious doing to knock it from the top spot.




THE WATER DIVINER
Rated: R
Stars: Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney
Plot: A grieving father travels from Australia to Turkey to find the remains of his sons killed in the same battle during World War I, but he soon finds out that one of them may still be alive
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait for the DVD

This is an interesting film because it is a fascinating story that is heartbreaking and compelling yet it is brutally boring in its execution. It is an Australian film that has made its way to the US. Maybe they find this style of movie-making much more palatable down under, but for US audiences it feels slow, drawn out and dialogue heavy.

Russell Crowe is incredible and believable in his role, but it's not enough to overcome the nearly two hours of dullness on screen.

This film won three Australian Academy Awards including Best Picture, but it's not even worthy of a nomination here. It is worth seeing at some point if you like post World War period pieces, but it won't be a life-changing or even much of a moving experience for you.

DVD Review For March 3, 2015

FOXCATCHER
Rated: R
Stars: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo
Plot: The story of John du Pont and his obsession with USA Wrestling.
Trailer

Clint Says: See this DVD as soon as you can

Steve Carell received several award nominations for his spot-on portrayal of John du Pont this awards seasons, and all of them were well deserved. Carell is not on the screen, it is John du Pont, and it's not just because of the makeup.

Tatum and Ruffalo also hold up their end of the film as well as evidenced by the award nominations they both received .

This is one of the rare instances where I think it might be a better movie-watching experience if you don't already know the story. The twists and turns are fascinating and intriguing, but for those that know the story you will notice the major plot changes and the film will feel slow.

FOXCATCHER is a disturbing and creepy film that is strangely gripping and mesmerizing. It is the kind of film that gets into your brain and will sit there for days.




THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland
Plot: Katniss must overcome her demons to help lead the revolution against President Snow and the Capitol.
Trailer

Clint Says: Drop everything and buy this DVD today! (COMES OUT 3/6)

Wow. Just. Wow.

This franchise is slowly killing me...in a good way, but killing me nonetheless. I'm warning you now that there will be a collective groan when this movie ends. Not because it's a bad ending, but because the audience will be desperate for more. There was a moment that, for a split second, I thought they were going to end the film about 10 minutes earlier than they did. It would have been an incredible ending and there would have been riots in the streets. So, thank you, Mr. Director, for saving us from resorting to our own little revolution.

This film is dark, intense and brutal. If you are hoping to see a pretty Jennifer Lawrence, this is not the film for you. She is broken and beat down for nearly the entire film. Her portrayal of Katniss suffering in the depths of PTSD is spot on. At points it is almost difficult to watch because of the level of pain she is in.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Plutarch Heavensbee) gives a fine performance in one of his last roles. Elizabeth Banks (Effie Trinkett) takes her character to a new level, giving us some much needed comic relief. And Woody Harrelson (Haymitch Abernathy) continues to become more vulnerable and deep. They create a trio of support for Katniss that we see is one of the few things that keeps her going.

This film is incredible from beginning to end. In fact there was only one small part that bugged me, just some made up drama with Katniss not able to find Primm. If you liked the first two films you will really enjoy this one as well. If you liked the book then you will love this film, because you get so much more in the movie.


NOTE: I am now also doing the NERD RIDERS DRIVE THROUGH MOVIE REVIEW for YABooksCentral.com. If you would like to see that review, here you go:

Movie Review For December 28, 2014

THE GAMBLER
Rated: R
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Lange, John Goodman, Brie Larson
Plot: A university professor with a gambling addiction has one week to pay back a quarter of a million dollars to loan sharks.
Trailer

Clint Says: Don't even bother

THE GAMBLER is full of spectacular acting in a spectacularly bad flick. This is one of those films where I feel like I saw a completely different movie than most of the critics. I've seen many of them raving about this film, but I just don't get it.

When the film begins it dumps us in the middle of the story, which I am fine with and many time enjoy, but THE GAMBLER doesn't give us any flashbacks or back story to fill in the gaps. At no point are we shown why he has the addiction in the first place, nor do we ever see any motivation the main character has to do the things he does.

The romance feels weird and forced, John Goodman is a creeptastic, human version of Jabba The Hutt, and the editor must have been on vacation for most of the editing because there are many scenes that drag on endlessly for no reason.

This movie got so long, boring and annoying that near the end I was hoping the main character would get hit by a bus and the credits would roll. (You'll recognize the scene I'm referring to if you are unlucky enough to have to sit through this mess).

Wahlberg and Lange both give performances that are incredible to watch, unfortunately the story is total crap.



FOXCATCHER
Rated: R
Stars: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo
Plot: The story of John du Pont and his obsession with USA Wrestling.
Trailer

Clint Says: See this in theaters if you can find it

Steve Carell has already received several award nominations for his spot-on portrayal of John du Pont and I'm sure there are many more nominations to come. All of them are well-deserved. Steve Carell is not on the screen, it is John du Pont, and it's not just because of the makeup.

Tatum and Ruffalo also hold up their end of the film as well as evidenced by the award nominations they are both receiving .

This is one of the rare instances where I think it might be a better movie-going experience if you don't already know the story. The twists and turns are fascinating and intriguing, but for those that know the story you will notice the major plot changes and the film will feel slow.

FOXCATCHER is a disturbing and creepy film that is strangely gripping and mesmerizing. It is the kind of film that gets into your brain and will sit there for days.

Hopefully, this film will gain more attention and be released in more theaters as the bigger nominations come in, but as for now, you'll have to search it out to see it.