CLINT'S MOVIE BLOG: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Showing posts with label Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Show all posts

Monday, December 15, 2014

DVD Review For December 16, 2014

THE MAZE RUNNER
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Dylan O'Brien, Aml Ameen, Will Poulter
Plot: A group of teens, trapped in a maze, must find their way out and who put them there.
Trailer

Clint Says: Buy this DVD as a gift for the YA lover in your life

This is yet another Hollywood offering to the rabid fans of Young Adult Dystopian action flicks, and overall, it's a pretty good film.

The cast does a great job and the story is interesting and intense. In fact, there were several moments where I caught myself holding my breath due to the intensity of the action or situation on the screen.

As with most movies of this ilk, there are a few eye-rolling moments and a couple of minor plot holes, but overall the movie stands up well.

Young Adult fans will enjoy this film as will fans of sci-fi thrillers. I saw it with several uber YA fans and all of them thought the movie was great.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Megan Fox, Will Arnett
Plot: The four turtle brothers must work together to bring down the criminal rule of Shredder.
Trailer

Clint Says: If you have to watch it, make someone else rent it

This is one of this reboots that nobody asked for, but Hollywood made it anyway. The turtles are creepy, the story is tired, Megan Fox still can't act, and the action scenes move and jump so fast it's hard to tell what is going on.

There are several things that happen that are way too coincidental or convenient giving the audience ample opportunities to eye roll.

It's also a film that misses its core audience. The older fans are going to be turned off by the sheer stupidity of the film and it is too intense for the under 8 crowd.

This film is significantly less cheesy than the 1990 version, but it's still not worth seeing.

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU
Rated: R
Stars: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Jane Fonda, Corey Stoll
Plot: A mother and her four grown children return home to grieve the death of their husband and father.
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait for it to stream on Netflix

This is one of those films where the teaser trailer lies to you. It looks like a comedy with a little bit of heart-warming gooeyness thrown in for good measure. In reality, this is a sad, dark, weird, boring movie.

It's somewhat like THE BIG CHILL, only the Dysfunctional Family Feud version.

If I wanted to see a dysfunctional family peck at each other I'd just go home. If I have to see it on the big screen it should at least be funny. Unfortunately, almost all of the funny moments in the movie are revealed in the trailer. And in context, some of those moments aren't all that funny.

I stayed for the whole movie, but mentally I said THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU about 30 minutes into it. Save your money on this one.

THE SKELETON TWINS
Rated: R
Stars: Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson
Plot: Twins try to reconnect with one another after they both almost die on the same day.
Trailer

Clint Says: I haven't seen it yet, but I hear really good things about it

I am anxiously awaiting this DVD because I was unable to see it while it was in theaters. I've heard a lot of good things about this film and it is up for several awards.

If you have already seen it, please let us all know what you thought about it in the comments section below.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Movie Review for August 8, 2014

NOTE: I am currently traveling out of the country through August 22. There are several movies being released the next three weeks that I have yet to see and will not get a chance to see them before they are released. If you see any of these films, please feel free to write your own reviews in the comments section. I will do my best to catch up with the reviews when I return.

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY
Rated - PG
Stars: Hellen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal
Plot: Two rival restaurant owners clash when the son of one goes to work for the other.
Trailer

Clint Says: Save some money and see a matinee

This movie is straight up food porn for foodies. If you like slow-motion egg beating montages and people eating ripe, juicy fruits and vegetables as their eyes roll back in their heads, this is the movie for you.

I would be remiss if I didn't try to use as many food analogies as possible while reviewing this film so here we go...

While I did like this movie there were ingredients (1) that were missing making it rather bland to the palate (2). I wish the director had chosen to spice things up (3) a bit with more conflict between the characters
rather than figuratively throwing it in a microwave (4) to resolve it quickly.

The parallel love stories do heat up (5) well as the movie progresses and the story is intriguing. Although this is not a children's movie at all it is clean enough to take any little foodies in your family. In a summer filled with blockbuster action flicks, THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY is a respectable palate cleanse (6) for everyone.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Rated - PG-13
Stars: Megan Fox, Will Arnett
Plot: The four turtle brothers must work together to bring down the criminal rule of Shredder.
Trailer

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

This is one of this reboots that nobody asked for, but Hollywood made it anyway. The turtles are creepy, the story is tired, Megan Fox still can't act, and the action scenes move and jump so fast it's hard to tell what is going on.

There are several things that happen that are way too coincidental or convenient giving the audience ample opportunities to eye roll.

It's also a film that misses its core audience. The older fans are going to be turned off by the sheer stupidity of the film and it is too intense for the under 8 crowd.

This film is significantly less cheesy than the 1990 version, but it's still not worth seeing.

INTO THE STORM
Rated - PG-13
Stars: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh
Plot: A massive outbreak of tornadoes has people running for their lives.
Trailer

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

This is nothing more than an overdone, crappy version of TWISTER. The Director starts this film out using the "found footage" technique where all of the video the audience sees is shot by the characters in the movie, but about halfway through the film he starts using interspersed shots from an outside perspective. It felt like there were scenes that they really wanted in the movie, but couldn't figure out a way to have a character shoot it so they took the lazy way out and hoped the audience wouldn't notice.

There is one very compelling scene in the film where you actually feel for the two people that are about to die, but that covers about four minutes of the film. The other 100 minutes is eye-rolling stupidity.

I'm sure the planning meeting for this film included a brain-storming session with the title, "Forget About Plot And Continuity, What Cool Things Can A Tornado Destroy?"

Without giving away anything that the trailer didn't already show us, my favorite eye-rolling scene is when the massive, climactic uber-tornado hits the small-town airport and takes out a half-dozen 747's. Apparently, Silverton, Oklahoma is a major international hub.

The special effects are well done, but that alone is not worth the price of admission.

STEP UP ALL IN
Rated - PG-13
Stars: Ryan Guzman, Briana Evigan
Plot: The best of the best from other Step Up competitions come together to find fame and glory in Las Vegas.
Trailer

Clint Says: I didn't see this one yet

If you see this one, please let people know what you thought in the comments section.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Summer Blockbuster Preview

Now that we've finally made it out of the longest winter EVER and into spring, we can finally set our sights on the important things in life. Like, which summer blockbuster movies are going to be worth your time and money.

The summer of 2014 is shaping up to be one of the biggest and best yet.

Here are some of the movies you may want to check out this summer. (This list is based on the traditional summer movie schedule, Memorial Day through Labor Day). This is not a complete list. There are several other films coming out this summer, but these are the ones that seem to have the best chance at reaching "blockbuster" status.

Save up some cash or find a rich date in the next month and enjoy the movies this summer!

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST