Category: action
-
![The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1 [2014] ★★★](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/movkinjsy-0-fes.jpg?w=1024)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1 [2014] ★★★
Splitting a final book into two parts can be a burden, especially for part one. By that standard, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1” , the third film based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling trilogy should be a placeholder, stuck between the first two films and the grand finale. That’s not entirely true here. “Mockingjay- Part 1”, which builds on the…
-
John Wick [2014] ★★½
Ok, who’s kidding who? This tense, entertaining action thriller starring Keanu Reeves as a killer seeking revenge against the people who stole his 1969 Mustang and killed his puppy, isn’t new at all. You’ve seen it so many times before. Accept that and you’ll have a fine time at the movies. Reeves could play this routine stuff in his…
-
Fury [2014] ★★★
It hurts to watch “Fury”…literally. I have never seen a more visceral film about WWII; I can’t count how many times I winced or moved while watching the picture. But that’s what makes it so good. Director David Ayer (the underrated “End of Watch”), and his actors outdid themselves to bring this gripping story to the screen, and…
-
Left Behind [2014] ★
With horrible acting, cheesy effects and disastrous storyline, “Left Behind” reaffirms the fact that the only thing left behind is Nicolas Cage’s career. Fiasco!
-
Dracula Untold [2014] ★½
It’s been a horrible year for classic “Universal” monsters. First “I, Frankenstein” back in January and now “Dracula Untold”, which tells the story of Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans), before and after his days as the famous vampire monster. The movie has its moments, but the overall result is an insult rather than a tribute…
-
The Prince [2014] ★
A retired assassin (Jason Patric) must get back in the game when his daughter is kidnapped. That’s “Taken” minus Liam Neeson and minus the fun. Awful, to say the least. Fiasco!
-
The Equalizer [2014] ★★½
Confession: I thought this movie would suck. Denzel Washington back playing a killing machine a decade after “Man On Fire”? Please. Well, my bad. “The Equalizer”, this time directed by Antoine Fuqua, is a roller-coaster ride that takes off like a crazy-ass rocket. Your head will spin. Your palms will sweat. Your nerves will fry. What more do…
-
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For [2014] ★★½
The worst thing I can say about this brutal, sexy and surprisingly enjoyable screen translation of two stories from Frank Miller’s Sin City series of graphic novels is that it’s a sequel. The first film was released in 2005 and it was damn good. Naturally, fanboys expected a follow-up. But they had to wait nine long…
-
The November Man [2014] ★½
Wanna see a spy thriller that feels like leftovers from Pierce Brosnan’s days as James Bond? If so,”The November Man” is the movie for you. Brosnan plays an ex-CIA agent named Devereaux, who is pulled back into service by his old mates for one “final” mission and winds up in the middle of some conspiracy…
-
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2014] ★★½
If you grew up in the 90’s, you probably know that the Ninja Turtles were kind of a big deal back then. TV, video games, figurines…those guys were everywhere. The turtles live in the subways beneath Manhattan, where, exposed to radiation, they have grown into teenager-sized, intelligent creatures, and have been trained by their master…
-
Lucy [2014] ★★½
“Lucy” is exactly what you would expect from a Luc Besson movie: it moves like a bullet, and almost never stops to take a deep breath (hence the short running time). This is beneficial, because the story doesn’t always make sense…but when a film is this energetic and entertaining, it would be a shame to…
-
Into The Storm [2014] ★★
Disaster movie junkies may snap freeze their brains at “Into The Storm” just to see what a $50 million budget and an army of computers can do to show the horrors of a tornado. The small town of Silverton is invaded by a series of deadly tornadoes. That’s cue for a handful of folks to…
-
The Expendables 3 [2014] ★★
I wanted to like this series. Really. Veteran action stars Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Jason Statham and Arnold Schwarzenegger out to prove they can still kick ass. What’s not to root for? But the weaknesses show in “The Expendables 3“, even with flashy editing and an enjoyable soundtrack. Like the previous movies, this sequel…
-
Hercules [2014] ★★
After the crappy “Legend of Hercules”, I don’t think audiences needed to see another “Hercules” movie. Not so soon anyway. And yet Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson seems born for the role. The man is strong, funny and he knows how to entertain. Then director Brett Ratner comes along and decides to ruin everything. His movie,…
-
Guardians Of The Galaxy [2014] ★★★
If every summer blockbuster or comic-book movie were as unexpectedly entertaining as Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy”, I’d greet the upcoming summer flicks with a lot more enthusiasm…but there aren’t many writer-directors as witty as James Gunn. Indeed, it’s the writing that sets his film apart from the crowd, in harmony with perfect casting, first-rate visual…
-
Transformers: Age Of Extinction [2014] ★½
It’s tempting to dismiss Michael Bay’s long, loud and preposterous third sequel with one word: crap. On every level, this movie is ridiculously stupid. But there is more to be said about a movie this huge ($210 million spent on robot junk) and this stupid. “Age of Extinction” may not be as horrible as “Dark of the Moon” (oh the horror), but it’s still pretty bad. And please, you…
-
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes [2014] ★★★
Summer season takes an unexpected turn with “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, a spectacular follow up to the 2011 hit starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke and directed by Matt Reeves. I couldn’t be more surprised to be honest. After 7 movies and Tim Burton’s crappy remake, the series has been milked hard, it’s…
-
X-Men: Days Of Future Past [2014] ★★★½
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” is everything a comic book movie could hope to be: smart, original, exciting and funny. It is vastly superior to all the previous installments, and not just because it draws on one of the most admired stories in the series. Screenwriter Simon Kinberg has used the time travel concept as…
-
Godzilla [2014] ★★½
Now that the fanboy hype has cleared (or has it?), we can see “Godzilla” for what it truly is: borrowed inspiration coupled with impressive CGI, all in the service of a ballsy idea that a monster movie could maybe, just maybe, have a soul. As it turns out, Godzilla’s virtues are mainly mechanical, except for…
-
In The Blood [2014] ★★
If you like brainless action thrillers, “In The Blood” is probably the movie for you. It stars Gina Carano (who made a strong impression in Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire”) as a woman who sets off to take down the men who kidnapped her husband during their Caribbean honeymoon. The plot may be silly, but there’s no…
Let's Talk About Movies 