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.