Central Intelligence: 8 out of 10
First I’ll just say I was definitely going to see this movie just because of my love for Kevin Hart and DeWayne “The Rock” Johnson. To my surprise I was highly enthused throughout the entire movie from beginning to end. Johnson showed us that funny side of him that we enjoyed from 2005 Be Cool and 2010 Tooth Fairy. The movie starts with both guys attending high school back in 1996 with Johnson as Robbie Weirdick (chubby victim of high school bullies) whose gratitude to Calvin played by Kevin Hart (the popular homecoming king and voted most likely to succeed) for an act of kindness during Johnson’s darkest hour senior year.
Flash-forward 20 years, and now these two unlikely friends are brought together by their 20-year high school reunion, an event to which the emotional core of the movie is rapidly hurtling. Hart is a bored junior accountant, still married to his gorgeous high school sweetheart but feeling unfulfilled and longing for his glory days. He is found by Johnson on Facebook and wanted to meet up for drinks before the 20-year high school reunion. Johnson, on the other hand, has transformed himself into a mountain-sized Adonis like operative for the Central Intelligence Agency now going as Bob Stone. Much is made of the difference in the sizes of the two leading actors and Johnson's proclivity for leaping headlong into deadly situations while dragging the timid Hart along for the ride.
Johnson is being sought by a team of CIA agents who believe he has gone rogue and has actually become a terrorist who goes by the code name "the Black Badger." Meanwhile, Johnson has his own theories about the identity of "the Black Badger." Johnson tells Hart he needs his number skills to help him save the compromised U.S. spy satellite system. Together, the former classmates encounter shootouts, espionage and double-crosses while trying to prevent worldwide chaos.
Both Johnson and Hart give good performances in their respective roles. Johnson digs down deep into in his artistic soul to reclaim and ruminate over the overweight, unpopular kid he was in high school.
Also, I have to admit I almost gave this movie a 10 out of 10 just for the class reunion scene towards the end of the movie. Johnson was giving us everything when he went on stage and like Kevin Hart said in his 2010 stand up Seriously Funny, “I wasn’t ready”. Thank you Johnson and for the record your tribal tattoo will forever be engraved in my mind and I appreciate you for that so much.
Finding Dory: 7 out of 10
Bringing back the nostalgia, Pixar always hits a home run! Dory's determination to return home, then, becomes a series of teachable moments about loss, parental nurturing, friendship, dealing with handicaps and loving others. And even if kid viewers don't reel in the full message, they'll certainly feel the parts that most directly align with their own lives.
The main setting of Finding Dory is a California rescue-and-rehab aquarium modeled on an actual one in Monterey Bay. Dory repeatedly recalls small memories of parental lessons encouraging her to always keep trying in difficult situations It's that brand of sincerity and positivity that win Dory a whole group of new friends who contribute to solving the mystery of her missing parents. She’s helped by the movie’s most marvelous new character, Hank. He’s an octopus that is still sore about lost an arm in an accident and would prefer to go to an aquarium in Cleveland. Hank goes from being a selfish grumpy old loner who doesn’t think he can survive if he’s returned to the ocean to embracing its possibilities thanks to Dory's friendship and optimism.
I love this film super cute film. Pixar hits you in the feels and also makes you laugh a bit. You can call this the avengers of Pixar films, there are so many new characters that the story lines catch up when you least expect it. The pacing is great, and they even leave some Easter eggs for you to find from the first film.
After all, we live in a world where things don't always seem safe. It's an age when everyone is perpetually connected but still somehow feels more lonely than ever. Finding Dory can't solve all that, of course, but it says there's hope; there are friends; there's the ongoing, loving embrace of family to help us cope.
And the movie does it all with whale-speak joy—delivering Pixar's patented brand of quirky characters, goofy humor and delightful animated sparkle in a package that even Dory won't soon forget.
The main setting of Finding Dory is a California rescue-and-rehab aquarium modeled on an actual one in Monterey Bay. (Relax, it’s not SeaWorld!) It has lots of different buildings — multiple stages for intricate slapstick set-pieces as Dory flops around (she reads signs and maps) looking for her parents. Visitors are guided over loudspeakers by the recorded voice of Sigourney Weaver, whom the fish regard as a friend and whose name becomes a running gag. Seriously, just hearing the words ͞Sigourney Weaver͟ gives you the giggles. But you also might think, ͞I miss Sigourney Weaver. What’s she doing these days? She isa friend to all living creatures.͟ (Too bad she doesn’t appear in the touch-tank scene, which is like a mini-horror movie. Children’s arms plunge into the water like the trunks of giant aliens and carry off howling starfish to be petted and/or mauled.)
You might be thinking, ͞Given that fish need to be in water, how does Dory travel among the complex’s buildings?͟ Good question. She’s helped by the movie’s most marvelous new character, Hank, voiced by Ed O’Neill. He’s an octopus. Make that a septopus — his term — since he lost an arm in an accident he’s still sore about. Hank is a selfish loner who doesn’t think he can survive if he’s returned to the ocean. He would prefer to go to an aquarium in Cleveland. On land, though, he’s super-resourceful. He can turn any color, slither anywhere, steer any vehicle. He’s the most delightfully dexterous creature since Bugs Bunny — and with three extra limbs to play with. I can’t do justice to the joy of watching him zigzag among human visitors in a baby carriage with Dory balanced in a sippy cup on his lap.
I can’t even begin to do justice to the movie’s climax, which takes place on a highway. The silliness escalates — the jokes build and build and pay off — until you’re slaphappy, punch-drunk, primed for anything.
Independence Day: Resurgence: 7 out of 10
It has been twenty years since the events of first Independence Day invasion, humanity has been “preparing” for an inevitable return of the extra-terrestrial race that nearly decimated earth in 1996. United by their near extermination, nations around the world worked together as one people to rebuild what was lost. This world peace would even be utopia if it weren’t ravaged by the cultural trauma of a largely orphaned generation, or living in perpetual fear of interstellar reprisal.
The new world union have established agencies to plan for future attacks. On top of the new agencies we are also introduced to our three new favor ethic alien fighter stars: Jessie Usher as the late Captain Steven Hiller’s step-son, Deobia Oparei as African warlord, and Angela Yeung Wing as female legacy fighter pilot. Not to mention a new alien species and new trigger happy United States of America President Landford played by actress Sela Ward. I don’t know if this is what the writers think Hilary Clinton would be like if she was our next President, but if so then count me out on that vote.
All in all, it was full of action, thrills, flying, guns, and fighting that weenjoy in our Sci-Fi extra-terrestrial film. The plot and story line was a little all over the place, but still, it’s an intriguing and appealing sci-fi proposition if you aren’t looking to be too taking away by a cohesive comprehensive script. Hands down one of my favorite scenes was when Deobia slid across the room to kill a prison alien from the back. By the end of the movie it looks like they are going to try to do a third Independence Day, but we’ll see what the future holds. My score is purely based on the action and special effects if you are looking for something deep and profound it wasn’t fully delivered in this film.
#movies #TNEEntertainment #TNEMagazine #TNEFeature #moviereview #ActingOutWithAkilah #centralintelligence #DwaynequotTheRockquotJohnson #KevinHart #CIA #Pixar #FindingDory #FindingNemo #California #aquarium #Cleveland #Disney #Dory #IndependenceDayResurgence #CentralIntelligenceReview #FindingDoryReview #IndependenceDayResurgencereview #IndependenceDay #SciFi #Kids