Transformers: Age of Extinction 3D

Jean: This may be the biggest blockbuster of the summer. If you have already seen Noah, Captain America, Godzilla, Amazing Spiderman, X-Men, Edge of Tomorrow and 22 Jump Street, this may beat them all. It is a tour de force of a movie. You know what you are going to get from Michael Bay but this may be his masterpiece.   He starts by beginning with a new cast with Mark Wahlberg replacing Shia and a more current story line about government secret plans, etc. He also gives us some dazzling new looks at the robots with high definition details of the machines showing edges and shading on their plates and broader almost panoramic action views and well developed personalities. You will want to see more of Galvatron and Lockdown, for example. 

From a small beginning on a farm  and an old crashed semi to Optimus Prime, Bumble Bee and the all the others, it is a wild and crazy ride. If you are into action/adventure and war of the machines, this is your movie and 2 hours and 35 minutes of it . (It is a little too long.) The metal on metal sounds adds to the realistic details you are shown of the robots, even their full face expressions come through, including their emotions. I did the 3 D choice and thought it amazing.  Dad

P.S. The 3D for me was almost uncomfortable when you are flying between the valley walls in the beginning or walking on the cables between the space ship and super high-rise building over Chicago.

P.P.S. The previews were:

Hunger Games

Into the Storm

The Boxtrolls(3D)

Hercules(3D)

Guardians of the Galaxy(3D)

Dawn of Planet of the Apes(3D)

Edge of Tomorrow

 

 

Jean, This is one of the most fun, entertaining movie I have seen in months. Tom Cruise shows he is still a fine action hero, with humor. Emily Blunt joins him as an equally strong action star. She can handle all those heavy weapons and take on hand to hand combat with the best. (She starts where Linda Hamilton left off.) The story involves mimic biology and mimics (like hyperactive land squids) and Alphas and the great Omega. The story takes you to London, the shores of France, a dam in the mountains of Germany and even the Pyramid at the Louvre. There is a central theme of being cursed or blessed to relive one day over and over again. I guess the steepness of your learning curve can save your life or not. Doug Liman, the director has put together a fast paced action movie that makes you think. If you do not think fast, you will miss what is happening.  Dad

The previews were:

The Rover

Welcome to Yesterday

A Most Wanted Man

Get On Up

Into The Storm

Jersey Boys

The Other Woman

Jean, This is a story of three women who join forces to get revenge against a philandering husband. It has some very funny scenes and most of them are due to the actions of Leslie Mann. She can steal a scene just by staring at someone. There are also some very funny lines but you have to listen carefully as the actresses just run over them. This movie is just too long, but it does have it's moments if you have patience. I would not go out of my way to see this movie unless you also are a big fan of seeing Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton in white bikini bathing suits on a beach or two or three. Dad

The previews were:

Words and Pictures

Wish I Was Here

Chef

Begin Again

Faults in Our Stars

Obvious Child

The German Doctor

Jean, This is a movie about some of the "missing years" of the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele while he was hiding n Patagonia, Argentina in the early 1960's. He stayed with a family who were not aware of his true identity. It is a short but quite interesting and chilling story. The Spanish actor who plays Mengele, Alex Brendlemuhl, is just excellent in his portrayal. It is shot in many of the actual areas of Argentina which adds a lot to the atmospherics of the film. They also show his many medical journals that he kept during his medical experiments and observations.  I enjoyed it ,even if it was only about one hour and one half.  Dad

The previews were:

Begin Again

Chef

A Most Wanted Man

Wish I Was Here

Fading Gigolo

 

 

 

Jean, This is a gentle comedy, very gentle. (There are not a lot of laughs.) It was written and directed by John Turturro, but Woody Allen acts in many, many of the scenes.The story revolves around of Woody coming up with the idea of having his former employee works as a high priced male prostitute in Manhattan. It also stars some glamour girls like Sharon Stone and others . There is a lot of ethnic society customs shown, mostly hasidic Jewish rabbis. If one is interested in a convoluted story line, acted out in the ethnic neighborhoods of Manhattan, then this is their movie. Look for more social commentary from Woody in his stuttering , stand-up comedy  manner, but more pedantic than humorous.  Dad

The previews were:

Wish I was Here

Palo Alto

The Most Wanted Man

The Immigrant

Obvious Child

Boyhood

Godzilla

Jean, This is an example of..if something is good then more is better. They give you such a long series of mindless scenes of monsters tramping on skyscrapers, bridges and even themselves. You have to wait a long time before you even see the star. Godzilla, but they serve up a new monster, the MUTO meaning Massive, Unidentified, Terrestrial, Organisms.  I immediately thought of the monsters in Spielberg's "War of the Worlds". This movie is too long at just over two hours and I did not see Godzilla enough. But I am afraid that I will get another chance to see him in the future.  Dad

The previews were:

The Rover

Edge of Tomorrow

Into the Storm

22 Jump Street

A Most Wanted Man

The Signal

Noah

Jean, This is one big, sweeping movie on the big screen. It is quite impressive as they bring into the Bible story some new characters and imaginative creatures to make the story work. The location shots done in Iceland are very scenic and add authenticity. Russell Crowe is back in his Gladiator mode and carries his role of Noah off impressively. The shots of the animals, including the birds and the snakes are quite starling to see.  The ark being built and then on those wild ocean waters looks very realistic and scary.I was surprised how you were drawn into the personal life of Noah and his family. Some of the folks entering the theater were asking the ticket taker if they were going to get  wet. On coming out of the movie,  there were many of those viewers with teary eyes. It worked for them and it worked for me as well. It was one audacious bit of story telling that worked.  Dad

P.S.  The previews were:

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Heaven is for Real

Draft Day

The Maze Runner

 Hercules

Transcendence