Sunday, November 29, 2015

"Creed" (2015)

Starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone and Tessa Thompson
Written by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington
Directed by Ryan Coogler
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language, sex
Running Time: 133 Minutes
Trailer

Adonis "Donnie" Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) is the illegitimate son of the late boxing champ Apollo Creed. He lives in Creed's old home with Creed's wife Mary Anne (Phylicia Rishad), and he even burns inside to be a boxer. But he rejects the Creed name, wanting instead to make a name for himself.

After losing a bout at his father's old gym because of his arrogance and hot temper, Donnie quits his job in finance and, against Mary Anne's wishes, moves to Philadelphia. There he tracks down Apollo's old rival, friend and trainer: Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). He asks Rocky to train him to be a boxer, and Rocky reluctantly accepts.

At the same time, the current champion of the world "Pretty" Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew) is looking for one last fight before he faces a prison charge for gun possession in the UK. When his manager hears that Johnson is actually the son of the legendary Apollo Creed, he sees a way for his man to go out on top. With little experience under his belt, and Rocky facing his own problems, Donnie struggles to embrace the legacy of his father while figuring out his own place in the world.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

"Spotlight" (2015)

Starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams
Written by Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer
Directed by Tom McCarthy
Rated R — Language, mature themes
Running Time: 128 Minutes
Trailer

In July 2001, a new editor came to the Boston Globe, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber). Initially thinking he might need to make cuts on the Globe's special investigative team, called Spotlight, Baron instead decides to sic Spotlight on a story written about a catholic priest accused of molesting children. Spotlight, led by Walter "Robby" Robinson (Michael Keaton), starts to dig into the Globe's archives and instead finds the beginnings of a conspiracy within the church.

Robby's reporters, Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian d'Arcy James) discover more victims and, astonishingly, more priests. But the team at the Globe, including Spotlight, Baron and assistant managing editor Ben Bradlee Jr. (John Slattery), faces opposition at every turn.

The Archdiocese of Boston is a powerful organization, and they're not about to let the Spotlight team break open a conspiracy they've been sweeping under the rug for decades.

Monday, November 9, 2015

"Spectre" (2015)

Starring Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz and Lea Seydoux
Written by John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language, some sexuality
Running Time: 148 Minutes
Trailer

British superspy James Bond (Daniel Craig) causes an international incident in Mexico City when assassinating a terrorist without authorization from his superiors. Bond's actions couldn't have come at a worse time as M (Ralph Fiennes) is struggling to keep MI6 and its Double-O Section alive. It seems a new intelligence chief, Max Dinbergh, nicknamed C (Andrew Scott), has convinced the higher-ups that M's old-school spy section is outdated and outmoded and has managed to build a massive high-tech drone system and networked it with the intelligence communities of nine other countries. This, C says, will eliminate the need for men like Bond, who C believes is reckless.

But Bond, driven by a message from his past, can't let this one go. His investigation leads him to a secret meeting in Rome, where he runs afoul of another ghost from his past: Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), leader of a powerful organization calling itself Spectre. Barely escaping with his life, Bond begins to realize that the conspiracy goes bigger and deeper than he ever expected. Stopping Spectre might take more from Bond than his past — it might mean his future as well.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

'Star Wars Rebels' - Season One (2014)

Starring Taylor Gray, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Vanessa Marshall
Created by Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg and Carrie Beck
Based on "Star Wars" created by George Lucas
Trailer

Fifteen years after the fall of the Republic, teenage orphan Ezra Bridger ekes out a living on the planet Lothal, stealing and scamming for food and collecting different stormtrooper helmets whenever possible. One day he attempts a bigger score, stealing a crate of unknown loot from some imperial couriers but runs afoul of another group trying to steal the same crate: point man Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.), pilot Hera (Vanessa Marshall), muscle Zeb (Steven Blum) and explosives expert Sabine (Tiya Sircar).

Ezra soon falls in with this gang of thieves aboard their ship, the Ghost, and discovers that there's more to them: they're actually rebels. More than that, Ezra discovers that Kanan is a former Jedi, and that he wants to train Ezra in the ways of the Force. But Ezra is used to being on his own, only having to think of himself. He doesn't understand what it means to be a part of a family, or to work toward a larger cause.

And he doesn't know that the crew of the Ghost is wanted by more than just the local Imperial authorities: The Inquisitor (Jason Isaacs) has been dispatched by Darth Vader (James Earl Jones, reprising his world-famous role from the films) to hunt down any remaining Jedi... and Kanan and Ezra have made it onto his radar.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

'Fear The Walking Dead' - Season One (2015)

Starring Kim Dickens, Cliff Curtis and Frank Dillane
Created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson
Trailer

A sickness is spreading over the sprawling city of Los Angeles. High school guidance counselor Maddy Clark (Kim Dickens) and her boyfriend, English lit teacher Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis), are having a spot of trouble. Maddy's son, Nick (Frank Dillane) is a heroin addict, and he's disappeared. The next they hear of him, he's in the hospital having been hit by a car. Nick tells a tale of waking up to see his girlfriend eating another addict in the abandoned church where they shoot up.

At the same time, one of Maddy's students tells her about a sickness sweeping the nation that everyone seems to be underestimating. He warns her that things are about to change for the worse, and Maddy's not sure he's making it up.

When chaos explodes in downtown, Travis and Maddy prepare to take their family out of the city. Standing between them and safety in the desert are rioters, the crumbling LA authority structure... and a growing army of the undead.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

"Black Mass" (2015)

Starring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton and Benedict Cumberbatch
Written by Jez Butterworth and Mark Mallouk
Directed by Scott Cooper
Rated R — Violence, language
Running Time: 122 Minutes
Trailer

In 1975, FBI Special Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) moves back to his hometown in South Boston and joins an anti-mafia task force whose sole purpose is to bring down the Italian crime families controlling the North End. Connolly, realizing that standard FBI procedure isn't working, comes up with a bold plan: strike a deal with the Italians' biggest rival, Southie's Winter Hill Gang. Leading the gang is a cold-hearted bastard named Jimmy "Whitey" Bulger, whom Connolly knew as a kid. But how to reach him?

Bulger's younger brother, Billy, is now a state senator, and puts Connolly in touch with Jimmy. And a devil's deal is born. Over the next twenty years, Bulger rises to power in Boston and even expands his business into Miami. He's responsible for drugs and murders and who knows what else in Boston. And all the while, Connolly protects him from within the FBI, trying to claim that the good they're doing outweighs the evils of letting "Whitey" run roughshod over the city.

Connolly's mistake will ruin careers, end lives and leave a black mark on the FBI for decades to come.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

"Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" (1985)

Starring Mel Gibson, Tina Turner and Angelo Rossito
Written by George Miller and Terry Hayes
Directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie
Rated PG-13: Violence, language
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Trailer

"Mad" Max Rockatansky wanders the wasteland alone in a wagon pulled by camels that contains all of his possessions. When a scavenger (Bruce Spence) and his son ambush him and steal all of his stuff, Max tracks them to Bartertown, a small city ruled by Auntie Entity (Tina Turner) on the surface. Bartertown is powered by methane culled from pig feces, and the engineer in charge of it all in the underworld is a duo named Master Blaster — the diminutive Master (Angelo Rossito) and his hulking, silent bodyguard Blaster (Paul Larsson).

In exchange for the return of all of his property, Max agrees to engineer a fight against Blaster to help Auntie Entity solidify her control over the entirety of Bartertown once and for all. But once he enters the Thunderdome, a gladiatorial arena cage where "two men enter, one man leaves" and there are no rules, he discovers that Master Blaster is actually the benevolent one and Auntie Entity the villain.

"Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" (1981)

Starring Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence and Kjell Nilsson
Written by Terry Hayes, George Miller and Brian Hannant
Directed by George Miller
Rated R — Violence, language, nudity
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Trailer

Years after the deaths of his wife and son, after civilization crumbled, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) wanders the wasteland with only his dog as a companion, looking for food, water and juice for his modified police interceptor. When he happens across a gyrocopter pilot (Bruce Spence), he learns of a nearby refinery where the locals have more gas than they could possibly need.

But when they arrive, Max is dismayed to learn that the refinery is under siege by a war party led by Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson), whose gang had previously encountered Max. Humungus wants the gas, and promises to let the refinery residents go free if they give it to him. That seems unlikely.

Max, desperate for the gas, rescues one of the refiners from Humungus' men and enters the refinery, hoping to make a deal. But the refinery residents want more from Max than just the return of their dying friend. If Max wants gas, and if he wants to get out alive, he's going to have to help them escape Humungus' wrath.

"Monsters: Dark Continent" (2014)

Starring Sam Keeley, Johnny Harris and Joe Dempsie
Written by Jay Basu
Directed by Tom Green
Rated R — Violence, strong language, nudity/sex
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Trailer

Four buddies from Detroit — Michael (Sam Keeley), Frankie (Joe Dempsie), Inkelaar (Kyle Soller) and Williams (Parker Sawyers) — have one last debaucherous evening before shipping out to the Middle East. There, they meet their commander, Frater (Johnny Harris) and head out on patrol, where they must not only contend with the rising violence of insurgency but the massive alien creatures that roam the deserts.

When the team is decimated by an IED and the ensuing gunbattle, the survivors must make their way across the open desert, with danger closing in on all sides.

"Mission: Impossible III" (2006)

Starring Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan and Philip Seymour Hoffman
Written by JJ Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci
Directed by JJ Abrams
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language
Running Time: 125 Minutes
Trailer

Recently-engaged super spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is called in for an important IMF mission: a protege of his, Lindsay Farris (Keri Russell), has gone missing on a mission to investigate an arms dealer named Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Hunt and his team — Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Declan Gormley (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and Zhen Lei (Maggie Q) — head to Germany to free Farris, but Farris is killed by a bomb implanted in her skull when they reach her.

Ethan learns that Davian is attempting to acquire something called the Rabbit's Foot. IMF tech guru Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) can't figure out what the Rabbit's Foot is, only that if people that bad are willing to pay that much for it, it can't be anything good. With lives and possibly the world hanging in the balance, the only people standing between Davian and the Rabbit's foot is Ethan Hunt and his IMF team.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

"Mad Max" (1979)

Starring Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel and Hugh Keays-Byrne
Written by James McCausland and George Miller
Directed by George Miller
Rated R — Violence, language, nudity
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Trailer

Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is a young hot-shot cop with the Main Force Patrol, the only law enforcement left in a crumbling society. When Max runs the leader of a local gang, the Nightrider (Vincent Gil) off the road, killing him, the gang's new leader, Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) is keen for revenge.

Toecutter and his minions start to take on the MFP, starting by killing Max's best friend, Goose (Steve Bisley). Worried that the job will take everything from him, a burnt out Max turns in his resignation and takes his wife Jessie (Joanne Samuel) and young son Sprog on vacation. But that won't be enough for Toecutter, not at all.

Monday, August 17, 2015

"Vehicle 19" (2013)

Starring Paul Walker, Naima McLean and Gys de Villiers
Written and directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language
Running Time: 85 Minutes
Trailer

Michael Woods (Paul Walker) has fled parole in the United States to reconnect with his ex-wife (Leyla Haidarian), who works at the U.S. Embassy in Johannesburg, South Africa. But he's having a spectacularly bad day: After delays at the airport and customs, the rental car company stuck him with the wrong car. But not just any car: this one has a woman tied up in the back, a cellphone in the glovebox and a silenced 9mm pistol hidden under the seat. The woman, Rachel (Naima MClean), claims she's a whistleblower who has uncovered evidence that the chief of police is heavily involved in the sex trafficking industry.

Now, hunted through a strange city, Mike has to get the evidence to a friendly judge, the only one Rachel trusts. Mike wants nothing more than to get out of this situation, but since he broke his parole, he's an easy target for a frame job...

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

"Mission: Impossible 2" (2000)

Starring Tom Cruise, Thandie Newton and Dougray Scott
Written by Robert Towne
Directed by John Woo
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language
Running Time: 123 Minutes
Trailer

While super secret agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is on vacation, a situation arises requiring his — and only his — attention. With Hunt unavailable, IMF boss Swanbeck (Anthony Hopkins) sends another agent, Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) disguised as Hunt. His mission is to meet up with an old contact of Hunt's who has developed a deadly biological weapon called Chimera and its antigen, Bellerophon. But instead of protecting the contact and delivering Chimera to the IMF, Ambrose kills the contact and steals it for himself to sell to the highest bidder, only to discover that he's actually stolen the Bellerophon.

To catch him, Hunt recruits Nyah Hall (Thandie Newton), a professional thief and Ambrose's ex-girlfriend. Despite their own budding romance, Hunt sends Nyah undercover to discover Ambrose's plans for Chimera and its location in order to help him steal it back. But when Hunt discovers what Ambrose is up to, the mission gets much more dangerous for everyone involved.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

"Run All Night" (2015)

Starring Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman and Ed Harris
Written by Brad Ingelsby
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Rated R — Violence, strong language
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Trailer

Jimmy "The Gravedigger" Conlon (Liam Neeson) is a hitman struggling to forget all the horrible things he's done. Haunted by the faces of all the people he's killed, Jimmy has fallen into a pit of despair and alcoholism. His best friend since childhood, Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris) —the local gangster for whom Jimmy did all this killing — tries to help him out, but nothing can erase the past.

No one knows this better than Jimmy's son Michael (Joel Kinnaman) who hates Jimmy for that very past, and tries his hardest never to be like his absent murderer father. With two children and a third on the way, Michael spends his time away from being a limo driver by mentoring under-privileged children at a local gym. One night while waiting for two Albanian clients, Michael encounters one of his boxing students, Curtis (Aubrey Joseph), and the two of them witness Shawn's son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) murder Michael's clients. Michael escapes Danny, who calls his father to tell him what happened.

Against his father's orders, Danny goes to Michael's home and attempts to kill him but is himself killed by Jimmy. Shawn can't abide the murder of his son, no matter how in the wrong he was, no matter who did the killing, and vows to get revenge on Jimmy by killing Michael. He frames Michael for Danny's murder, and the murder of two police officers sent to arrest him. Now father and son must put aside years of resentment to prove Michael's innocence and make it through the night alive.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

"Hercules" (2014)

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Rufus Sewell and John Hurt
Written by Ryan J. Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos
Directed by Brett Ratner
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language, brief nudity
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Trailer

The legendary Hercules (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) is leader of a band of mercenaries. They make their way by frightening their enemies with embellished tales of Hercules' victories against incredible monsters. Along with Autolycus (Rufus Sewell), Tydeus (Aksel Hennie), Atalanta (Ingrid Berdal), Iolaus (Reece Ritchie) and Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), Hercules is hired by King Cotys (John Hurt) to help defend the land of Thrace from a vicious enemy — the army of Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann).

But while Hercules and his cohorts attempt to keep their deception about Hercules' exploits from Cotys and his men, especially the skeptical General Sitacles (Peter Mullan), so do they suspect that Cotys is also keeping something from them. And all the while, Hercules himself is still tormented by his greatest failure: to stop the murder of his wife and children, the event that banished him from Athens and led him to the lonely life of a wandering warrior.

Friday, July 31, 2015

"Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation" (2015)

Starring Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson
Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language
Running Time: 131 Minutes
Trailer

Superspy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has been on the trail of a terrorist organization known as the Syndicate for some time. But he hasn't managed to prove to his bosses in the US that they actually exist, and when the Syndicate does reveal itself to him, it comes at the worst possible time: the IMF has been officially disbanded and its members offered to resign or work for the CIA. Hunt, knowing that CIA director Henley (Alec Baldwin) would never let him continue his search for the Syndicate, goes into hiding to do it himself.

Six months later, the CIA is frustrated with its inability to find Hunt. Agent William Brant (Jeremy Renner) is an aide to Henley, while Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) is stuck working in a data center. Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) decided to retire — again — rather than betray Ethan to the CIA.

Ethan, managing to gather actual intel on the Syndicate and its leader, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) encounters Ilsa Faust, (Rebecca Ferguson) a spy like him who claims to want to take down the Syndicate, except Hunt can't figure out just where her allegiances lie — or why. Ethan and his teammates may soon realize that taking down and organization they can't even conclusively say is real may prove... impossible.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' - Season One (2008)

Starring Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker and Summer Glau
Developed by Josh Friedman
Trailer

In 1999, Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her son John (Thomas Dekker) have settled into new lives after believing they'd destroyed the genocidal Skynet computer. Sarah is a waitress once again, and engaged to be married to paramedic Charley Dixon (Dean Winters). But the engagement has freaked Sarah out a little, and she decides to go on the run again. Before they can even breathe in their next set of identities, another Terminator from the future manages to find them and tries to kill John at school.

But John is rescued by yet another protector from the future: this time, a Terminator disguised as a teenage girl, calling herself Cameron (Summer Glau), who has a plan to get John and Sarah to safety by transporting them eight years into the future.

Now in 2007, Sarah, John and Cameron begin their quest to ensure Skynet's destruction. They'll have to hide from FBI agent James Ellison (Richard T. Jones) who is shocked to find the Connors still alive a decade later, and from Cromartie (Garrett Dillahunt), the Terminator still hunting them after ten years in hiding. But they're not alone: friends and allies from the present and the future will join the fight to stop Skynet and save the human race.

Friday, July 17, 2015

"Ant-Man" (2015)

Starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly
Written by Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay and Paul Rudd
Directed by Peyton Reed
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language
Running Time: 117 Minutes
Trailer

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is struggling after his release from prison on burglary charges. As an ex-con, it's difficult to land — or keep — even the most menial of jobs, while his ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) and her new fiance Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) threaten to keep Lang's daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) away from him unless he can get his act together. Feeling desperate, Lang takes on a burglary job with his buddies Luis (Michael Pena), Kurt (David Dastmalchian) and Dave (Tip "T.I." Harris).

But Lang soon discovers that the job was a setup: reclusive genius Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) needs Lang for an even bigger job and wanted to test out his abilities. Pym was previously an agent of SHIELD, and the original Ant-Man, a super-secret soldier who could change his size at will. But now his former protege, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) is close to recreating the Ant-Man technology and plans to sell it to the highest bidder — no matter who that might be — and Pym wants Lang to break in and destroy it before the tech can fall into the wrong hands.

Lang, desperate for a second chance with his daughter, and perhaps just a little attracted to the thrill of the crime, joins forces with Pym and Pym's daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly) to bust into one of San Francisco's most secure scientific facilities and save the world. No small task.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

"X-Men: Days of Future Past — Rogue Cut" (2015)

Starring Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence
Written by Simon Kinberg
Directed by Bryan Singer
Unrated — Violence, language, brief nudity
Running Time: 149 Minutes
Trailer

In a dark, bleak future, the war between mutants and robotic Sentinels designed to destroy them has decimated much of the world. The few surviving X-Men, including Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Erik "Magneto" Lehnsherr (Ian McKellan), Logan "Wolverine" (Hugh Jackman) and their friends discover a means to alter the past: using Kitty Pryde's (Ellen Page) abilities, they will send Logan back to the early 1970s to avert the events that ultimately led to the rise of the Sentinels: the murder of their creator, Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), by Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence).

When Logan arrives, he's forced to contend with aspects of history he didn't anticipate — chief among them being young but bitter Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), a man who resents what his attempts to bringing peace to mutantkind has done to him. Worse, Xavier isn't the only one Logan has to convince of the importance of stopping Mystique from killing Trask. To do it and save the future, they're going to need the young, bitter and unpredictable Magneto (Michael Fassbender).

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

"Terminator Genisys" (2015)

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney
Written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier
Directed by Alan Taylor
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language, brief nudity
Running Time: 126 Minutes
Trailer

In a future decimated by machines controlled by the malevolent artificial intelligence known as Skynet, John Connor (Jason Clarke) leads a human resistance to take back the world. His best friend and lieutenant, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) is always loyal and by his side. On the night that the human resistance finally destroys Skynet, ending its machine reign of terror, John reveals the existence of Skynet's last and greatest weapon: a time machine. He also reveals to Reese that Skynet has sent a Terminator back through time to kill his mother, Sarah (Emilia Clarke).

Reese, in love with Sarah after all of John's stories and carrying around her picture for years, volunteers to go back in time to protect her. But as he appears in 1984, things are not as he expected. Instead of the T-800 (a young CGI Arnold Schwarzenegger) that he expects, Reese is attacked by a liquid metal T-1000 (Lee Byung-Hun) and rescued by Sarah and her guardian Terminator (the real Arnold Schwarzenegger).

With Terminators traveling to different time periods again and again, the timeline has become fractured. But although Skynet's Terminators get more and more advanced, the changing timelines has given Kyle Reese an advantage: memories of an alternate life he can use to stop it from ever happening. With a new and even more unstoppable machine after them, Reese, Sarah and "Pops" the Terminator travel from 1984 to 2017 on the ultimate mission to stop Skynet — forever.

Friday, June 12, 2015

"Jurassic World" (2015)

Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Vincent D'Onofrio
Written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow
Directed by Colin Trevorrow
Rated PG-13 — Violence, frightening images, language
Running Time: 123 Minutes
Trailer

Two decades later, John Hammond's dream of a theme park whose attractions are genetically engineered dinosaurs is true. Jurassic World attracts tens of thousands of visitors a day who are wowed by living, breathing dinosaurs before their very eyes. In charge of this wonder is Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) who also happens to be hosting her two young nephews at the park while their parents get a divorce, and while the park prepares to unveil its latest attraction: a new hybrid dinosaur they've called the Indominus Rex.

The park's owner, Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), wants to make sure that the Indominus' paddock is truly secure, so he orders Claire to bring the park's raptor wrangler Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to inspect it. But when Owen arrives, he discovers that Indominus is not just any dinosaur. Not only is it vicious to a T, but it is extremely intelligent and has been engineered with a number of characteristics that give it the ability to camouflage itself along with other abilities. It tricks the humans into thinking it's escaped, which allows it to escape, and suddenly the chase is on.

But soon it becomes obvious that the thousands of park visitors are Indominus' target, and that the park's security systems are woefully inadequate against such an advanced adversary... with Claire's nephews lost somewhere out in the wilderness amongst the animals. Worse, Claire finds herself under pressure from InGen security, run by war-hungry Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) who may have other motives beyond simply recapturing the beast.

Monday, June 8, 2015

"The X-Files: Fight the Future" (1998)

Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Martin Landau
Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Rob Bowman
Rated PG-13 — Violence, language
Running Time: 122 Minutes
Trailer

FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) have been reassigned following the events of the fifth season of "The X-Files" TV series. When a bomb threat is called in to the Federal Building in Dallas, Texas, Mulder and Scully are among those ordered to search the building. Playing on a hunch, Mulder discovers the bomb is actually in a neighboring building, but is unable to stop it and the building is destroyed.

Later, Mulder is approached by Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil, who reveals to Mulder that the building actually contained a FEMA quarantine office, and that the bodies of three firefighters and a small boy found within it were already dead. With the FBI blaming them for the bomb's destruction, Mulder decides to investigate Kurtzweil's claims. The bodies they find weren't killed by the bomb, but by some kind of alien infection.

The deeper Mulder and Scully get into their investigation, the more resistance they encounter. And the more resistance they encounter, the more dangerous things get. But this is more than just a single cover up, because Mulder and Scully soon find themselves drawn back into the dark conspiracy to hide the existence of extraterrestrials from the people of Earth, and revelations about just what those extraterrestrials want with us.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

"I, Frankenstein" (2014)

Starring Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy and Yvonne Strahovski
Written and directed by Stuart Beattie
Rated PG-13 — Fantasy violence, language
Running Time: 92 Minutes
Trailer

Frankenstein's monster, called "Adam" (Aaron Eckhart), has been alive now for more than two hundred years. In that time, he has been hunted by the demon forces of Prince Naberius (Bill Nighy). After an encounter with the Gargoyle Order, Adam learns of a centuries-long secret war between the forces of Hell and the gargoyles, who defend mankind.

Not wanting any part in the war, Adam retreated from human society and trained himself to fight with the weapons of the gargoyles. Now, in modern times, he has returned, having decided to take the fight to Niberius. Leonore (Miranda Otto), queen of the gargoyles, wants to understand what it is Niberius wants with Adam, but her second in command, Gideon (Jai Courtney) wants Adam destroyed.

Meanwhile, Niberius, under his human guise as head of the Wessex Institute, has been funding Dr. Terra Wade's (Yvonne Strahovski) research into the work of Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, hoping to recreate it. Unknown to Wade, she's become a pawn in the war between demons and gargoyles, and if her work succeeds, one which could lead to the destruction of all mankind.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

"Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015)

Starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult
Written by George Miller, Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris
Directed by George Miller
Rated R — Violence, language, brief nudity
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Trailer

"Mad" Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) is a broken man. In the years following the total collapse of society after a series of wars over natural resources, he has wandered the wasteland alone. One day he's set upon by a war party from the Citadel. His prize possession, a modified police Interceptor, is taken from him and he's to be kept alive as a blood donor for warriors of the Citadel who worship their leader, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).

Joe keeps the thousands of people who have gathered at the Citadel at his whim, as he controls their water and food. His greatest warrior, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) is to drive her armored war rig to procure fuel from another community. When it's discovered that she has, in fact, made off with Immortan Joe's harem of wives, Max is loaded into the vehicle of Nux (Nicholas Hoult), one of the war boys, as part of the pursuit.

Soon enough, Max gets himself free and allies himself with Furiosa and her rebels, knowing none of them can ever go back to the Citadel or allow Joe to catch up with them. Furiosa has sold the wives on the promise of a safe haven beyond the desert mountains, but for Max, hope is a thing he left behind years ago. Maybe... just maybe, though, he can get it back.

Monday, May 11, 2015

"Goodbye World" (2013)

Starring Adrian Grenier, Ben McKenzie and Gaby Hoffman
Written by Dennis Hennelly and Sarah Adina Smith
Directed by Dennis Hennelly
Rated R — Language, drug use, violence
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Trailer

When millions of people begin receiving a mysterious text message that only reads, "Goodbye World," society begins a quick collapse into chaos. Soon, the power is out everywhere and people are rioting.

Living in blissful ignorance are James (Adrian Grenier) and his wife Lily (Kerry Bishe) on their isolated, solar-powered ranch in California. They're currently letting their friend Benji (Mark Webber) live in their guest house, while college buddies Nick (Ben McKenzie) and his wife Becky (Caroline Dhavernas) are visiting for the weekend to patch up some bad blood between Nick and James.

When the world starts to go to shit, Benji comes home with Ariel (Remy Nozik), a girl he hooked up with the night before. Laura (Gaby Hoffman) arrives soon after with Lev (Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi) in tow. Together the group slowly figures out that the outside world is gone. Thankfully, James and Lily's ranch is pretty self-sufficient, with plenty of food and medicine stocked up, solar power and fresh water.

But survival isn't really their problem: each person has come to the house with baggage. Benji is fairly fresh out of a stint in prison for arson; James and Nick blame each other for a business venture gone bad; Nick is still in love with Lily, who it turns out is his ex; Becky used to be Laura's roommate, and everyone hated her; Laura is still reeling from the public release of a sex tape of her and a senator she was working for; and Lev is, frankly, suicidal.

Relationships among friends and lovers will collapse just as surely as society will.

Friday, May 1, 2015

"The Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and James Spader
Written and directed by Joss Whedon
Rated PG-13 — Superhero violence, language
Running Time: 141 Minutes
Trailer

The Avengers — Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) — finish their war against Hydra by defeating Baron Strucker (Thomas Kretchmann) and retrieving the scepter used by Loki to control the Chitauri during the Battle of New York. As the heroes take some time to rest following their victory, Tony Stark uses the opportunity to study the scepter and discovers that the powerful gem that gives it its power could be the secret to unlocking an artificial intelligence powerful enough to protect the world from future alien invasions.

Unfortunately, Stark's creation, Ultron (James Spader), is not the benevolent force he'd hoped it would be. Ultron is an artificial madman, and he vows to destroy not just the Avengers, but the entire human race. Using the power of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and her twin brother Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Ultron sets the Avengers against their worst fears, tearing the team apart from within, while he travels the globe attempting to put his plan to wipe humanity from existence into motion.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

"I'll Follow You Down" (2013)

Starring Haley Joel Osment, Victor Garber and Gillian Anderson
Written and directed by Richie Mehta
Rated R — Language
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Trailer

When Erol (Haley Joel Osment) was nine years old, his father Gabe (Rufus Sewell) disappeared. Twelve years later, his mother Marika (Gillian Anderson) has never managed to climb out of her depression. After her third suicide attempt proves successful, Erol is approached by his grandfather Sal (Victor Garber) who reveals that Gabe may have actually created a time machine and gotten lost in the past.

Thinking that if he can travel back in time to prevent his father's disappearance, Erol attempts to recreate his father's work. But as he gets closer and more obsessed with figuring it out, his girlfriend Grace (Susanna Fournier) wonders what their lives will be like in the new timeline. Will they still be together? Is their life together worth risking?

"Falcon Rising" (2014)

Starring: Michael Jai White, Neal McDonough and Jimmy Navarro
Written by Y.T. Parazi
Directed by Ernie Barbarash
Rated R — Violence, language, brief nudity
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Trailer

The poster says "America's new
action hero" even though the majority
of the movie takes place in Brazil.
Former marine John "Falcon" Chapman (Michael Jai White) is in trouble. Suffering from PTSD after his time in the military, he has descended into a pit of alcoholism and obsessive behavior. When he learns that his sister Cindy (Laila Ali) has been beaten nearly to death in a favela in Rio, he travels to Brazil and meets up with his old friend Manny Ridley (Neal McDonough) who works at the US Consulate.

Despite warnings that the favelas are dangerous and that he should let the local authorities handle the case, Chapman throws himself into the investigation. Rio detective Thiago Santo (Jimmy Navarro) decides to placate Chapman, but tells uniformed officer Katarina Da'Silva (Millie Ruperto) to keep him out of trouble. Not content to be sidelined, Chapman barrels his way through all obstacles, finding that his sister's beating was no simple mugging, putting him in the sights of a powerful conspiracy with global reach.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

'Daredevil' - Season One (2015)

Starring Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio and Deborah Ann Woll
Developed by Drew Goddard and Stephen S. DeKnight
Trailer

Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is blind lawyer, and he's just opened a new practice with his best friend, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson (Elden Henson). Their first client is Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), who has proof of shady dealings at a construction company dealing with contracts after the Battle of New York.

Karen has been framed for the murder of a coworker, and when she's nearly killed in her cell, Murdock and Nelson get her freed and promise to protect her. Thankfully, Murdock is more than just any regular blind man.

Due to a childhood accident involving dangerous chemicals, Murdock's senses beyond his sight have been heightened to superhuman levels, and he's been given some kind of sixth sense that functions almost like sight. For years, he's trained to become a masked vigilante. He patrols the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen by night, stopping criminals and helping people. The newspapers call him the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. But with Karen's case, he starts to realize that there's more going on than just simple street crime.

Murdock, Foggy and Karen, along with newspaper reporter Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall) find themselves embroiled in a conspiracy that seems to turn the entire world against them. The police, business leaders, the media, even the drug trade, they're all owned or controlled by Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio).

As things go from bad to worse, as Fisk seems to grow more powerful and gets closer to enacting his mysterious plan for Hell's Kitchen, Murdock begins to realize that he can't just be any plain vigilante with a mask. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen will have to be something more...

Sunday, April 5, 2015

"Kingsman: The Secret Service" (2015)

Starring Taron Egerton, Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson
Written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Rated R: Violence, strong language
Running Time: 129 Minutes
Trailer

Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton) is a young man with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, Eggsy squanders it by tooling around with his friends and not accomplishing much of anything except pissing off his mother's abusive boyfriend and getting into scrapes with the law. One day when one of those scrapes ends up involving a stolen car and a high-speed chase, he calls the number on the back of an old pendant given to him years earlier when his father died. He's soon in touch with Harry Hart (Colin Firth), who Eggsy learns is actually a secret agent working for a covert independent agency known as Kingsman. Years earlier, Eggsy's father had been on a mission with Hart and saved the man's life.

Hart, codenamed "Galahad," introduces Eggsy to the Kingsman service, run by "Arthur" (Michael Caine), and Eggsy soon begins his training under "Merlin" (Mark Strong). Meanwhile, Hart investigates the death of another Kingsman agent, "Lancelot" (Jack Davenport). Lancelot's last transmission leads him to a climate change professor named James Arnold (Mark Hamill), who is killed before he can tell Hart what he knows. But soon enough, as Eggsy continues to impress his training masters, his new skills will be put to the test as Hart uncovers a nefarious plan by billionaire philanthropist Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) which has the potential to destroy the entire human race.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

"Furious Seven" (2015)

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jason Statham
Written by Chris Morgan
Directed by James Wan
Rated PG-13: Violence, language
Running Time: 140 Minutes
Trailer

After defeating Owen Shaw and finally returning home to the United States with full pardons for their crimes, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner think they're in the clear. But while Dom struggles to help Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) deal with her amnesia and Brian can't quite seem to settle into domestic life with his wife Mia (Jordana Brewster) and his son Jack, something is going quite wrong. Shaw's brother Deckard (Jason Statham) is out for revenge. In short order, he puts Hobbs (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) in the hospital in LA and kills Han (Sung Kang) in Tokyo.

A CIA agent calling himself Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russel), in need of some help, makes Dom an offer he can't refuse: rescue a genius hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) from a terrorist organization led by Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou) and Dom will be granted use of a top-secret surveillance system that can find anyone, anywhere in the world, to track Deckard Shaw and end their feud once and for all.

To pull off this job, Dom reassembles his crew including Brian and Letty, as well as Tej (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson). And then it's on.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

"Dead Snow: Red vs Dead" (2014)

Starring Vegar Hoel, Orjan Gamst and Martin Starr
Written by Tommy Wirkola, Stig Frode Henriksen and Vegar Hoel
Directed by Tommy Wirkola
Rated R - Strong violence and language
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Trailer

Following the events of the first film, Martin (Vegar Hoel) barely manages to escape the Nazi zombies that killed all his friends on their mountain vacation in Norway. He crashes his car, and is brought to a nearby hospital where he's horrified to hear upon waking up that not only is he being charged with the murders of all his friends, but also that the doctors say they've reattached his severed arm. The only problem with that is it's not his arm they found — it's Herzog's, (Orjan Gamst) the zombie leader. The arm turns out to be super-strong and have something of a mind of its own and a lust for blood.

To find out why, Martin contacts the Zombie Squad, a group of Americans he thinks will be able to help him kill the zombies once and for all. The Squad, led by Daniel (Martin Starr) is actually just a trio of nerds who have seen too many movies, but they come to Norway anyway. Along with a World War II museum guide named Glenn (Stig Frode Henriksen), they'll have to figure out a way to stop Herzog from completing the last mission given to him by Hitler decades earlier: the destruction of an entire town as revenge for sabotaging Nazi war plans.

"Mission: Impossible" (1996)

Starring Tom Cruise, Jon Voight and Emmanuelle Beart
Written by David Koepp and Robert Towne
Directed by Brian de Palma
Rated PG-13 - Violence, language
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Trailer

Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) of the IMF has just been framed for the murder of his entire team. They were tasked with preventing the theft of a non-official cover or NOC list from an American embassy in Prague, but the mission went disastrously wrong. Worse, Hunt learns that as the only survivor, he's now the prime suspect in the agency's mole hunt and that the list was a fake to draw out the mole.

Hunt has no other choice but to go on the run. He soon finds another member of the team has survived: Claire (Emmanuelle Beart), wife of team leader Jim Phelps (Jon Voight). Together, Hunt and Claire hatch a plan to draw out the real mole, this time by stealing the actual NOC list which happens to be kept in one of the world's most secure locations: CIA headquarters.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

"Parallels" (2015)

Starring Mark Hapke, Jessica Rothe and Eric Jungmann
Written and directed by Christopher Leone
Unrated - Violence, language
Running Time: 83 Minutes
Trailer

Estranged siblings Ronan (Mark Hapke) and Beatrix Carver (Jessice Rothe) both receive a cryptic message from their father (Yorgo Constantine) demanding that they go to a certain address before a certain time. When they arrive, with their friend Harold (Eric Jungmann) in tow, they find an abandoned building, the interior of which is covered in strange graffiti that references things that never happened.

Soon enough they discover that the building itself is somehow a portal to alternate versions of Earth. Every 36 hours, anyone inside the building "jumps" to a new world with an alternate history. The first world the trio encounters is a post-apocalyptic wasteland where they meet Polly (Constance Wu) who explains the "rules" to them. Together, the four of them embark on an adventure to find Ronan and Beatrix's father, discover the nature of the building and the strange device their father left that Polly says could be technology from something called "The Core World."

Friday, March 27, 2015

"Brick Mansions" (2014)

Starring Paul Walker, David Belle and RZA
Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
Directed by Camille Delamarre
Rated PG-13 - Violence, language, drugs
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Trailer

In the near future, the city of Detroit has become so dangerous that the government declares martial law and cordons off a section of the city, giving it up to the criminal element that has taken over a huge section of housing projects known as the Brick Mansions. Inside is a war zone ruled by criminals, gangs, drug cartels and weapons dealers, while the rest of the city is allowed to prosper.

Undercover cop Damien Collier (Paul Walker) is sent into brick mansions to recover a dangerous neutron bomb that the mayor (Bruce Ramsay) tells him was stolen from a military convoy. To aid him, Collier arranges the escape of a prisoner named Lino (David Belle) who knows his way around the brick mansions like the back of his hand. Together, they have to infiltrate the criminal organization led by Tremaine Alexander (RZA), who has taken control of the bomb and kidnapped Lino's girlfriend Lola (Catalina Denis).

But even with millions of lives hanging in the balance, this is more personal for Damien: Tremaine is the man who killed his father years earlier.

Monday, March 9, 2015

"Big Hero 6" (2014)

Starring Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit and TJ Miller
Written by Jordan Roberts, Dan Gerson and Robert L. Baird
Directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams
Rated PG - Animated superhero violence, peril
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Trailer

In the city of San Fransokyo, young Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) uses his robotics genius to win money hustling underground bot fights. His older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) worries that Hiro is going to get hurt or waste his life not tapping into his potential, and encourages him to join the robotics program at his college. There, Hiro meets Tadashi's friends: GoGo (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) and Fred (TJ Miller). Hiro also discovers that one of his idols, Professor Robert Callaghan (James Cromwell) is one of Tadashi's teachers, and Hiro immediately decides he needs to become the school's next student.

To do so, he'll have to come up with a project that impresses the great Professor Callaghan. And so Hiro invents a revolutionary new form of robot: microbots, controlled by his own thoughts, which can form any shape or do any action he can think of. But on the big night, a fire breaks out at the robotics expo, claiming the lives of his brother Tadashi and Professor Callaghan, and destroying the microbots... or so Hiro thinks.

Hiro soon discovers that someone is mass-producing his microbots, and using them to commit crimes across the city. To find out who this mysterious villain is and stop him, Hiro activates Tadashi's last project: Baymax (Scott Adsit) a puffy inflatable robot designed to administer gentle medical care. He also recruits Tadashi's friends, and together, they'll solve the mystery, save the city, and heal Hiro's grieving heart.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

"John Wick" (2014)

Starring Keanu Reeves, Alfie Allen and Michael Nyqvist
Written by Derek Kolstad
Directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch
Rated R - Violence, nudity, strong language
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Trailer

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) grieves the loss of his wife (Bridget Moynihan). Not long after her funeral, a package arrives at his door — a small puppy named Daisy, a gift from his wife so that John will have something to love and won't have to grieve alone. Unfortunately for John Wick, his bad luck is going to continue. Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen), the spoiled son of the mobster John used to work for, takes a liking to John's car — a 1969 Ford Mustang. When John refuses to sell it to him, Iosef gathers his buddies and breaks into John's home in the night. They beat John, kill Daisy and steal his car.

Big. Mistake.

Because John Wick, as Iosef's father Viggo Tasarov (Michael Nyqvist) explains, was the Boogeyman — an assassin so good, and so feared, that killing him will be next to impossible. Viggo is not unsympathetic to John's plight, but he certainly can't allow him to simply kill his son. And so, Viggo puts a contract out on John Wick... and prays someone will get lucky.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

"The Frozen Ground" (2013)

Starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and Vanessa Hudgens
Written and directed by Scott Walker
Rated R - Language, violence, drug use, nudity
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Trailer

In Anchorage, Alaska, in 1983, a young prostitute named Cindy (Vanessa Hudgens) claims that Robert Hansen (John Cusack) abducted, raped and held her captive in his home. But since Hansen is an upstanding member of the community with a wife and kids, the police won't even bother investigating him. One officer, however, thinks more is going on here than meets the eye and hands the case over to the Alaska State Police, catching the attention of Jack Halcombe (Nicolas Cage) who is investigating a series of bodies found strewn throughout the Alaskan wilderness.

Halcombe begins to suspect that Hansen might be a serial killer, and attempts to connect him to more than a dozen murders across more than a decade. Even as the evidence mounts, however, Halcombe discovers that it may not be enough to catch the meticulous and overly-cautious Hansen. And when Hansen discovers that Cindy is helping the police, she becomes his next target -- the one that got away.