DVD Review For June 2, 2015: JUPITER ASCENDING, FOCUS, McFARLAND USA, and THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER

JUPITER ASCENDING
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean
Plot: A young woman finds out she is royalty from another planet and must figure out who to trust before she gets killed and the earth gets destroyed.
Trailer

Clint Says: Buy this movie now and enjoy the ridiculousness for a lifetime

It's finally here! Channing Tatum with dog ears and eyeliner can now live in your home! The best, worst movie of the decade is now available on DVD. This film shot to cult-classic status in its first weekend in theaters, and is now ready for your own play-at-home version of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

JUPITER ASCENDING is a visual masterpiece, the action scenes are incredible, and the world building is fascinating. The downside though is that the story is pretty thin, there are several holes in the back story that make it difficult to understand why certain things are the way they are, and the acting is mediocre. (Granted it's got to be nearly impossible to act out a scene when you are running around on green boxes in a green room and pretending that you are in mortal danger).

This is a really fun popcorn flick. It's not going to rock your world, but it will afford you a great night. Even if that night is nothing more that 2 hours of mocking what you see on the screen.





FOCUS
Rated: R
Stars: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Gerald McRaney, Adrian Martinez
Plot: A con-man brings on a female apprentice, but it's all a game of who is conning who.
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent this DVD as soon as possible

If you are looking for a fun, edge-of-your-seat, high-stakes con movie, FOCUS will completely satisfy. This film is exciting, smooth, intense and has enough twists and turns that, even though the information is right in front of you, you won't figure out the con until the very end.

For the most part everything in this movie is done well and rings true. There are a couple of things that are put in for convenience, but those can be easily forgiven since the rest of the film holds up so well.

This is a nice change of pace for Will Smith and a much better introduction to Margot Robbie than we got in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. Their chemistry is great, which is nice because we will be seeing them together again in the near future in SUICIDE SQUAD. The show stealer, though, is Adrian Martinez. He is pee-your-pants funny and just a great all-around character.

I was surprised that this film was rated R. It deserves that rating, but just barely. I think they could have made a much better and wider-reaching film had they edited down to a PG-13 rating.

The best thing about this film is that you can just sit back and enjoy the con. It doesn't take a lot of brain power, nor does it keep important details from you. Everything is there, you just have to focus.




THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER
Rated: PG
Stars: Tom Kenny, Antonio Banderas, Bill Fagerbakke
Plot: Spongebob goes on a quest for the stolen Krabby Patty recipe and ends up as a super hero on land among the humans
Trailer

Clint Says: Buy this for the Spongebob fan in your life

Fans of the Spongebob TV series will really enjoy this movie. Like the TV show it is funny, goofy, slapstick and heartwarming. For those of you worried about the transformation of drawn Spongebob to computer generated Spongebob, never fear. The CG version is well done and only about one third of the movie is in CG.

The story is simplistic, but still interesting and the references to pop culture are really funny. Plus there is an awesome rap battle that is worth the price of admission by itself.

Even if you've not seen any episodes of Spongebob before, this movie will make you laugh and feel good.




McFARLAND, USA
Rated: PG
Stars: Kevin Costner, Ramiro Rodriguez
Plot: A cross country coach in a small town transforms the lives of his athletes through his teaching
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent this DVD as soon as possible

This is another formulaic inspirational sports film offered up by Disney, but it's also a really good movie. If you liked MILLION DOLLAR ARM you will love McFARLAND, USA.

Kevin Costner seems to have really hit his stride with the last few films he's been in, and the rest of the cast does an outstanding job as well.

The movie does run a bit long, but it's worth it in the end.

If you are looking for a good flick for the whole family this week, give McFARLAND, USA a shot. It might inspire you and your family.

Movie Review For February 20, 2015

THE DUFF
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne
Plot: A girl tries to change her high school social status after she learns she is a DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait until after opening weekend, but see this in theaters

This may well be the first great high school comedy since John Hughes gave us everything awesome about the 1980s. It is funny, heartwarming, a great story, but above all else it rings true. There isn't a scene or even a line that feels like it was written by an adult trying to get into the mind of a teen.

The book was written by Kody Keplinger, a 17 year old high school senior, and thankfully the powers that be let her writing stand for itself in the transition from book to screen.

The casting for this movie is spot on. Whitman is brilliant, Amell is great as the dumb jock with a heart, and Bella Thorne kills it as the girl everyone loves to hate.

As I watched THE DUFF I found myself constantly smiling like a goofy idiot, that is, when I wasn't laughing so hard I could barely breathe.

This is a movie that will become an instant classic and a must-own by teenage girls everywhere when it comes out on DVD.




HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2
Rated: R
Stars: Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke
Plot: Three friends must travel through time to solve the murder of one of their own
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait for the DVD and let someone else rent it

This movie is absolute proof that nobody on earth has the ability to time travel. How do we know this? Because this movie is so bad I'm sure the movie execs searched high and low for a time machine so they could go back and either make a better movie or let the franchise live a pleasant existence with only the original film released.

The film does have a few good moments. The "you look like a..." improv scenes are great, even though they go on too long, and there are some other moments of genuine comedy, but the plot is simply ridiculous.

This might have been a better movie if it was about half as long seeing as though almost every joke was told and rehashed at least twice throughout the film. And it could have been a great film if they had focused the story on the things we finally see in the last three minutes of the movie.

This could have been another BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, unfortunately we got BOGUS JOURNEY. Lame.




McFARLAND, USA
Rated: PG
Stars: Kevin Costner, Ramiro Rodriguez
Plot: A cross country coach in a small town transforms the lives of his athletes through his teaching
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait until after opening weekend, but see this in theaters

This is another formulaic inspirational sports film offered up by Disney, but it's also a really good movie. If you liked MILLION DOLLAR ARM you will love McFARLAND, USA.

Kevin Costner seems to have really hit his stride with the last few films he's been in, and the rest of the cast does an outstanding job as well.

The movie does run a bit long, but it's worth it in the end.

If you are looking for a good flick to take the whole family to this weekend, give McFARLAND, USA a shot. It might inspire you and your family.