Ed's Review Dot Com

Warner Bros., Atlas Entertainment, DC Comics,

Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot, Scoot McNairy, Michael Shannon

After his struggle against General Zod, Metropolis has been destroyed. Superman (Henry Cavill) is the most dangerous figure in the world. Some people still view him as good and a savior of mankind, but the rest think maybe he is a threat to humanity as he is like a god and answers to no one, not the military, not the government, just his own will. Bruce Wayne the Batman (Ben Affleck) thinks, Superman is a danger to the world because he has so much power and is not controllable. The rivalry between them is furious, unknowingly fed by Lex Luthor who eggs them on to war. Lex has a secret weapon and its an awesome monster of greater power than both Superman and Batman combined, unleashing it after his plan to have them destroy each other is complete.

This film was met with both undying love, and intense hate. I think the main fuel for the haters is simply Ben Affleck as Batman. I don’t think this is fair, as I think he did a pretty awesome job, but Batman is not a very nice guy in this movie which certainly cripples Ben’s ability to play him properly. I, not surprisingly, find myself in the middle somewhere. Am I glad I went out to see it with my grandson in 3D on the big screen? Certainly! Did I fall asleep in the middle of it? Well, the seats reclined and were very comfy, and for a good while the action died down to a crawl as we tried to spend time listening to the dialog and watch the script try to rationalize why Batman and Superman hated each other. I wasn’t the only one who fell asleep for a while. But the effects were awesome, the 3D was awesome, and that final battle and the surprise character to arrives in the nick of time was awesome! All kidding aside, this film was better than ok, and I’m certainly glad to see it, but I was not blown away by this movie. Although I have never been a big fan of superhero movies anyway, and typically Batman and Superman and the like leave me yawning. This is the same. The final ending surprised me. I hadn’t heard it and I didn’t expect it. But I don’t really believe it, either. We’ll see. You have to watch this, even if it’s on DVD, because it’s going to be part of pop culture for years to come. So you might as well do it and get it over with. It’s not bad at all.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

The Asylum,

Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassandra Scerbo, David Hasselhoff, Bo Derek, Ryan Newman, Jack Griffo, Mark Cuban, Ann Coulter, Michelle Bachmann, Jerry Springer, Chris Kirkpatrick, Kim Richards, Chris Jericho, Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson, Max Kellerman, Anthony Weiner, Frankie Muniz

Fin (Ian Ziering) is back, honored as the hero who fought and destroyed the flying sharks in Sharknado 2. His wife April (Tara Reid) is also back, but she’s expecting a child and out of the limelight, though Fin is on his way to the White House to meet with President Marcus Robbins (Mark Cuban) as a massive WALL of tornadoes is approaching the entire eastern seaboard bring sharks raining down all over the most populated cities of the country including Washington D.C. Fin and his father Gilbert (David Hasselhoff) set out to pull of a major miracle that could destroy the wall of tornadoes.

This TV movie from SyFy is the third installment of this parody movie of many great creature movies in the past. Here are my reviews of Sharknado the original film, and Sharknado 2: The Second One. As you would expect, these films are really, really BAD. In fact, that’s the entire point of the series. This one is the most ludicrous of the whole works, and the good news is that we do NOT know at the end of the film whether one of our major characters is alive or dead. Therefore it will require a Sharknado 4 sometime in 2016. There are so many cameo appearances in here that you won’t be able to count them all, and each one is a more pleasant surprise than the one before. You’ll see people here you haven’t thought of in years! Don’t expect to be wowed by the cool story. It’s the sense of humor these guy have without breaking up that is impressive. If the Three Stooges irritates the hell out of you, then this may not be your cup of tea, but if Moe clanking Larry over the head with a sledge hammer is your idea of fun, then join with me in enjoying Ian Zeering and Tara Reid and a whole bunch of non-actors hamming it up in the most ridiculous premise in history.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Lucasfilm, Bad Robot, Truenorth Productions,

Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow

It’s some time since the last part of the story, and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is missing, gone off to seek solace and to try to understand what has happened. The resistance is in hiding and trying to rebuild. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is now a General in the resistance, and with the help of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca they set out to try to follow the trail of Luke to get his help. Darth Vadar is long gone, but a new dark lord Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) has risen to power and will do anything to stop them, and the empire has a new secret weapon that is well hidden and will make the death star look like a firecracker.

This long, long awaited sequel to Star Wars continues the story far into the future and is the seventh in the series. As everyone remembers parts 4,5,6 were first, then years later Lucas brought the warmth of Jar-Jar Binks to the world in the parts 1 – 2 – 3. I am not a Star Wars fanatic, nor do I hold the harsh view on parts 1, 2, and 3 that some people have. I find myself in the middle. I thought all 6 of the films were not all that bad, although I do nod to the originals and I do feel George Lucas went a bit overboard with the special effects in the prequels that left the meat of the story in the dust with all the sparklies and explosions. Now the world was waiting with baited breath to find out if Disney was going to be able to handle the pressure after purchasing the rights to the Star Wars franchise and their first attempt to finish the story with 3 more films. I think most people were hoping for the best, but secretly expecting Disney to screw up big time. Well, they did, in my opinion, a very good job of staying true to the original series, and though I thought a few things were a little strange in the first viewing, as time passed and with additional exposure to the new film, I’ve really come to the conclusion that they really nailed it. I am anxious for the next film and the one after that. This is a must see film, whether you’re a fan of the original films or not. This is a worthwhile story with lots of fun and action, but with lots of serious life issues as well. There is plenty to talk about after seeing this film, and it’s going to be another big part of the world’s culture for years and years to come.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions,

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, Matt Smith, Byung-hun Lee, J.K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi , Courtney B. Vance, Michael Gladis

John Connor (Jason Clarke) is determined to stop Skynet, and so he sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and to protect the future, but something strange happens that interrupts the space time continuum sending him to a different past but with memories of both possible futures. He’s joined by the original Terminator (Arnold Swarzenegger) and together they set out to stop Skynet before it even comes on-line in this prequel to the original Terminator film.

This is not an extremely great film, but it was pretty darn good. There’s some great action sequences, with some pretty stunning CGI effects. The action and danger seems pretty real, and Arnold doesn’t take himself too serious and has a good time making fun of himself and the original series. He’s actually pretty funny sometimes. The movie is fast paced and has a lot of adventure in it, but it was a bit too familiar. The idea of an alternate past is a good add to the story, but it’s hard to follow things, and unless you really remember the original Terminator, you might, as I did, get lost a little. In the end it comes together, but it was a hard job trying to figure it out. Perhaps it’s just been too long in coming, but of course we had to wait until Arnold finished his governorship before he would able to do this. It might be good advice to re-watch the original before watching this, and it will probably be a lot easier to follow. I think I would have to mildly recommend this film just for the update to the Terminator story with something different, but my socks were definitely not knocked off by it. There were times when my mind wandered, and I had to make and effort to get back into the story. If you are a fan of the series, then this is worth watching.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Gotham Group, TSG Entertainment, Temple Hill Entertainment,

Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Aidan Gillen, Rosa Salazar, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Barry Pepper, Lili Taylor

Part Two of “The Maze Runner” series is upon us. In the first film, young people woke up in a place with no idea how they got there and with their memory erased. They managed to figure out the key to the maze they were really in and how to work it and at the end, they were rescued from the maze from some nice gentlemen who promised them safety. This picks up right after when they arrive at the holding destination waiting for their opportunity to be transferred to the safe haven where they would be able to live safe and free. Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) was obviously someone really special and valuable to WCKD, a powerful scientific corporation who is trying to find the cure for the curse which changed most of the Earth into zombie like creatures infected with a highly contagious disease. Thomas is skeptical of who is holding them and about the safe and free idea, and he does some detective work which ends up with the team of Gladers from his maze and some others on a journey through The Scorch, the burned remains of what used to be Earth looking for answers. The journey is anything but safe and free.

This is an excellent sequel to the first Maze Runner movie. I haven’t had the time to read the books, but as you know there are many of these kind of similar adventures that all started with Harry Potter, and then through the Twilight series, then on to such as Hunger Games and Divergent, and I’m sure you can think of a couple others. This is similar, but unique in a big way. It’s extremely well written and very exciting to watch. Non-stop adventure and action sequences, big explosions, car chases, gun battles and everything you could wish for in an action adventure. The cast is really good, and all are well cast. We have a mix of ethnic and cultural representatives. To offset the white guy, there is an Asian guy, an Indian guy, a Black Guy, etc. Politically correctness — check. But the story is so well done, and the settings and CGI of the destroyed Earth is breath taking. But the key is the excellent story and stunning suspense. The cliff hanger ending is a perfect lead-in for the third film, and I can’t wait. This is a big screen kind of movie, and I was glad I saw this in the theater with excellent sound and a brilliant picture. It’s an epic film and one that should be seen. I really enjoyed this, as much as the other big franchises in this genre, and I highly recommend it for you to enjoy.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog