Hercules - movie review

Setting off to see Hercules I did not have any expectations of what I was going to see.  If there were any, they weren't very high. I was pleasantly surprised.  Should have realized Dwayne Johnson was not going to be in something which did not have some substance. Plus Brett Ratner as director usually spins a good, tight story. This they did.


At the end of the movie, I turned to my movie companion Trish and "I enjoyed that". This movie has all what you expect in a myth tale. It contains great stunts, and you did not feel you were watching generated ones, you thought you were watching real people doing them. A story line of betrayal and heroism. The good guys definitely win, when you think they may lose. Of course the hero has to come out on top. Hercules and his group of friends save the day in more ways than one.


The line up of actors supporting Dwayne Johnson was good. John Hurt as Lord Cotys, always plays a bad guy well. Ian McShane as Amphiaraus was great as the 'seer' of the bunch.  He supplies the most humor with his comments. Rufus Sewll as Autolycus (I always love his eyes) as Hercules's longest friend.  Reece Ritchie who plays Iolaus, Hercules's nephew - the constant story teller gives a sense of humanity to the story.


If you like adventure, if you like good stunts, if you like a myth coming alive then you will enjoy this movie.  I did.  Oh yes, Dwayne Johnson must have worked out considerably to get his muscles to be that big!!!!  Forget Arnold is his day, Dwayne wins!
4 out of 5 for entertainment.

Fast & Furious 6 - movie review

I could not wait to see this movie. My appointment book had when it was opening Fast & Furious 6. Unfortunately I had to wait a whole day before I could go and see it, but last night saw me and my movie goer friend Trish walk in and take our seats (I had bought them ahead when I went back to see Star Trek - phenomenal movie - again.).
I own the DVD's of the other movies and just loved seeing, Van Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordara Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris aLudacrisa Bridges and Elsa Patakg with Dwayne Johnson from Fast and Furious 5, and then adding Michelle Rodriguez who had died at the end of Fast and Furious but was reborn (having forgotten her memory) in 6.
I found it a bit slow for the first quarter (picky me) but then the action started and once again was tremendously impressed with the stunts.  Wow, there are some beauties in here. Worth seeing again for that. The plot was not as important to me as the message 'family is the most important'.  I could not agree more.
You want action, phenomenal stunts, and seeing the 'gang' back in action, then you have to see this movie. There are some surprises and yes, some deaths, but the ending sets up for Fast and Furious 7. Can't wait.
4 out of 5.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Movie Review

When G.I. Joe; Retaliation came I was once more looking forward to the over the top action and enjoyment and I was not disappointed.  The sad thing within the movie was Channing Tatum gets killed early. What a shame he will no longer be part of the G.I. Joe franchise, but I presume his career is such he doesn't do support roles any more. Sadly.  Regardless, Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palicki and Arnold Vosloo keep the audience entertained. Some of the stunts I thought were spectacular, especially when they were running along the cliffs on wires, and the tanks near the end. Definitely great entertainment and can't wait for the next one to come along.
Really what can you say, if you want to see things being blown up, and everyone doing their part to take down the enemy, you can't beat G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
3 1/2 out of 5.

After seeing Olympus has Fallen (see previous review) I was glad to sit and watch a regular action, blow 'em up, movie.  I'm still upset about Olympus - and now there is another movie coming out relating to the White House. I'm almost scared to go see it, but I will.  Watch how I write about that one - oh yes Chaning Tatum is in it with Jamie Fox.

Snitch - Movie Review

I'm a bit late getting my movie review of Snitch typed up.  Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson plays the lead of a father who goes into the 'drug' business in order to stop his son going to prison for 10 years. The story is based on an actual story. A young man does his friend a favor and then his friend turns on him and he is found with drugs. The mandatory jail term is 10 years. (more than first time rape and other serious crimes).  Dwayne as the Dad, remarried with another child, running a successful trucking business, gets one of his employees to put him in contact with a drug dealer, stating he can 'ship' drugs (in his trucks). By stating he needs money in this down turned economy, they go on trial run and then the fun really begins.

Dwayne has set up a 'deal' with the District Attorney, played by Susan Saradan, if he can get the main people behind the drug deals his son could go free.  Once Dwayne is in, the truck, the gangs and money, lots of money, come to play the deal gets changed a bit. Benjamin Pratt plays the big drug lord who sets up Dwayne to go across the line into Mexico with millions of dollars. Dwayne, not being stupid, knows if he goes over there he will be killed, so in one of the best big truck driving scenes I've seen (I don't think I took a breath for several seconds at one point) he wins the day.  Not without some nervous moments though and then at the end the son is released and they are all going into protective custody. (Of course you don't see what happens with that story, although I'm sure there is one - protective custody can't be much fun after running a successful business, but then again putting that against your child being in prison for 10 years - no contest).

I enjoyed this movie, fast paced, had a motive, and again the good guys won in the end. The stunts were great, and looked natural, like they could happen. Yes, Snitch was worth seeing.  3 out of 5.

Fast Five

Saturday night saw me entering into the theatre to watch Fast Five. I think I've seen all the previous Fast and Furious movies, and usually enjoy them and this time no different. I had fun, and found myself laughing several times. I had four young men (late teens early 20's sitting in front of me) and I think they were wondering what on earth I was laughing at, but I did find it quite funny at times. The juxtapositions of personalities and situations. I was concerned that the stunts that I had seen on the TV advertisements and in the movie trailers were all that there would be, but there were a couple of others. The stunts are great! Ones in which you wonder how on earth they could pull them off, but they do.
Also, the main actors, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and the other supporting actors all did their jobs well. The muscles on the arms of both Vin and Dwayne when they were struggling made me think "wow they must have spend hours pumping iron to have muscles like that". Women you would enjoy those muscles.
If you enjoyed the previous movies of this series, if you like car chases and speed then I think you will enjoy this one.
As I said I enjoyed it on all levels, acting, speed, crashes, humor and whatever else it takes to entertain one on a Saturday night when they need a little escaping. I look forward to seeing this movie again.
3 1/2 stars out of 5.