Movie Review: Man of Steel

Brief Summary - Man of Steel retraces the origins of Kal-El/ Clarke Kent from his birth on Krypton to his tumultuous adolescent years and outcast-type existence as an adult. Audiences journey with him as he grows into his heroic ‘Superman’ persona and realizes why he was sent to Earth.

Rating - On a scale of 1 to 10 Man of Steels earns a 8.5

Movie Strengths – Casting (a round of applause for Russell Crowe, Henry Cavill and his severe butt chin), awe-inspiring visuals, exciting fight scenes and eye candy for the ladies... I think I may buy my bf a few unitards for Christmas lol!

Movie Weaknesses – This film has a serious theme and a heavy premise, it is not the typical feel good movie and after 2 hrs and 28 mins of doom and gloom some people may walk away wishing for more of a silver lining.

Final Thoughts – Man of Steel is dark, edgy, gritty, intense-bordering on brutal ...it paints a picture of Superman’s real-life struggle for modern audiences. The movie is long and it can at times feel as if the Director (Zack Snyder Mr. 300) tried to accomplish too much in too little time. However the movie is stimulating, the creative plot twists are exhilarating, overall this film is ambitions and realistic.

Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Brief Summary – Young Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew members are summoned to subdue an alien terrorist who has a personal vendetta and is determined  to sabotage the Star Fleet Federation.

Rating - On a scale of 1 to 10 Kirk and his gang earn a 7.5

Movie Strengths – Standing ovation for Mr. Spock & Khan...OMG Khan’s voice...I have not heard something so rich, deep, scary and sexy at the same time coming from someone that looks the like Benedict Cumberbatch WTH ! 

Movie Weaknesses – This films pacing and fluidity are a bit too slow at times.

Final Thoughts – This movie is a universal nerd pleaser; old trekkies and new fans will find this installation enjoyable. Non-trekkies can benefit from the captivating graphics, gun action and major hand to hand combat, solid plot and stellar performances from talented actors/actresses. 

Movie Review: The Great Gatsby

Brief Summary - Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's Classic American novel, audiences follow mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his next door neighbor (Toby McGuire) as he discovers who Gatsby really is and how he become so rich so quickly.

Rating - On a scale of 1 to 10 Gatz and company earn a 5.5

Movie Strengths – The Imagery in this film is a true treat for those among us that are visually stimulated.  The 1920's never looked so chic! 

Movie Weaknesses –  Leonardo Di Caprio lacks the emotional depth required to effectively portray such a complicated character, his version of Gatsby is bombastic at best.

Final Thoughts – Fans of the book can expect to be disappointed, classic themes such as  profound hope, the downside of the american dream, class struggle & entitlement are not given enough attention. Instead they take a backseat  due to the Director's (Baz Hurhmann) distracting fixation with razzle dazzle, glitz and jazz.

Movie Review: Oblivion

Brief Summary - For the greater part of 2 hrs Jack Harper (Tom Cruise)  enjoys his monotonous, plush life as a glorified ‘space mechanic’ stationed on Earth (in the future) after a War which forces the majority of humans to live in space. Of course he thinks that he and his lone female companion are alone on their mission to harvest Earth’s resources until...dun dun dun

Rating - On a scale of 1 to 10 Oblivion is worthy of a 5

Movie Strengths – Visuals, visuals, visuals...Joseph Kosinski the director of TRON: Legacy lends his skills and directs this spectacle of a movie

Movie Weaknesses – Talk about predictable script writing, a one ply sheet of toilet paper has more depth than this story line (seriously)

Final Thoughts – If you are a hardcore Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/ Fantasy film fan this film has the main ingredients to scratch your itch, if you can tolerate Tom Cruise for 2 + hrs and a thinly written script.