Captain America: Civil War

The much awaited Avengers-esque movie was a little different from the others. There is friendship tested and affirmed. It's very odd watching these heroes as they are forced to fight each other on grounds that neither is willing to budge on. The cast is excellent as always, adding Daniel Bruhl (Inglorious Basterds, Rush, and Bourne: Ultimatum) and Chadwick Boseman (42 & Get on Up) who are also excellent. The movie centers around the potential that Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier has returned and bombed a peaceful meeting, killing T'Challa's (Boseman's) father and many others. Bucky has been in hiding and completely off the grid, so it's a surprise. The debate is also raging on about the Avenger's unlimited global scope and scale on which they operate, under their own control and direction. These issues reach a boiling point and the Avengers split along those lines. Friends fight it out to keep Bucky out of prison, but also for their own future as a group. Who could be trusted to be in charge of the Avengers and what would they let them do? Can they really be told what to do by normal people? Interesting questions are brought up and, as always the special effects/CGI do not disappoint. It's another excellent movie to sit down, eat some popcorn, and be entertained for 2.5 hours to. I did have some beef with how quickly these "brother's in arms" were willing to start punching each other in the face. Similar to Batman vs. Superman, you simply refuse that reason couldn't prevail between friends who have fought side-by-side. Bottom Line: 8.8 out of 10. Another great offering from Marvel, but a cut below the others. Possibly because the eleven year old Jeff was greatly bothered by watching Iron Man and Captain America fight it out, but maybe on the absurdity of things evolving that quickly, I do have a valid point? You be the judge because it's worth watching on the big screen.

The Jungle Book: Not the Cartoon One

Went to the Jungle Book last night based on the strength of Rotten Tomatoes ratings, and they were not far off. This Jungle Book is heavy with CGI, but it's very good. It features Bill Murray as Baloo, Idris Elba as Shahir Khan, Scarlett Johansen as Kaa, Ben Kingsley as Bagira, and Christopher Walken as King Louie. They do a great job, the animation is excellent, and it's a fresh enough take on the story that you aren't bored by. Murray carries a good chunk of it as Baloo. Neel Sethi is excellent as Mowgli and I'm guessing he'll be in some other movies in the near future. John Favreau does a great job with this one. I think I'm going to start referring to fire as "the red flower" and think I'm pretty cool. Bottom Line: 8.4 out of 10. Really solid, but it's not as kid-friendly as the Disney one as a precaution. Worth paying a few bucks to see it in theatres in my opinion. There was a lack of children at the the one I saw interestingly enough.

Batman vs. Superman

I felt like I needed to see this in theatres despite noticeably mixed reviews. I like Zach Snyder's stuff generally, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Ben Affleck I actually enjoyed as an aging Batman, perhaps past his prime. Henry Cavill is a rather unfeeling Superman, but acceptable. Dude is at least shredded up, as is Ben. Amy Adams is rock solid as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishbourne is underutilized as Perry White. Great casting for Jeremy Irons as Alfred and Holly Hunter as a random Senator. Jesse Eisenberg I generally hate, but he's acceptable as Lex Luther. The story weaves a tale about how it's possible to turn Batman vs. Superman since both heroes refuse to believe either are as good as they try to be. It's frustrating to believe that two heroes as great as Batman and Superman could screw up so badly that they'd want to fight and destroy each other, but here we are. Bottom Line: 6.8 out of 10. Entertaining and solid acting for the most part, but the script and plot fall short. Gal Gadot is excellent for Wonder Woman and I can't believe I didn't add that earlier. Things are looking up for the Justice League at least.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is a simple, but beautiful movie. It's great on all the basics. Brooklyn follows the journey of Eilis (pronounced A-Lish) from Ireland, where she is quiet and working Sundays in a grocer/bakery, to America. We follow her as she grows tremendously as a person. She starts dating and goes to night classes. She falls in love with an Italian plumber named Tony. I want to tell very little about the story because I don't want to ruin any part of this movie. The movie is gorgeous with amazing shots of New York and Ireland. Saoirse Ronan is unbelievable in her first big-time role. She's outstanding in conveying feelings, but maintaining her Irish stoicism. Bottom Line: 8.8 out of 10. It's a simple, beautiful, and well done film. There is no weaknesses in my opinion other than the fact that nothing "WOWS" you. It just plays out slowly and beautifully.

Vacation: Ed Helms isn't Chevy Chase

I really enjoyed Vacation, the movie picking up where Rusty Griswold has a family of his own. Ed Helms is Rusty, Christina Applegate is his wife, and there are wonderful cameos from Chris Hemsworth particularly and Beverly DeAngelo, Norman Reedus, Ron Livingston, Charlie Day, Keegan Michael-Key, and Chevy Chase. The tale jumps into Rusty's life where things are boring suburbia heaven and he wants to go on that magical trip to Wallyworld made 30 years earlier with his own family. There are a bunch of really funny gags and a few recurring ones that are great as well. The story is very similar to one we've seen before, but it's much edgier and racier. I love that they reintroduced the filthy mouthed kid in this one to a whole new generation. Hemsworth steals the show for his cameo. HE really just wants to show of his huge abs... Bottom Line: 7.7 out of 10, particularly if you're a fan of the other Vacation movies. It's a worthy remake that really has enough funny stuff going on to carry the same story you've seen many times before. Worth watching for sure.

Warriors Looking for 73 and Why I'm an Old, Bitter Man About It

The Golden State Warriors are knocking on the door of 73-9 for an NBA season. Amidst all the studies showing all the travel and back-to-backs are worse than other sports and hard on the players we have a team looking to break what seemed unbreakable. A team that's perfectly adapted to what the league gives you. NO handchecks or contact on the perimeter and great passing and shooting. It's a team that would be successful in any era, but I feel like that 1995-97 Bulls team, if played in the 90's, would beat the Warriors. I'm not sure about this era, but I still think they'd win in a seven game series since Michael Jordan in that stage of his career never lost a series. The Warriors are a great team featuring the best shooter, and probably another top ten shooter of all-time with Curry and Thompson. Draymond Green is VERY underrated and so versatile it's always impressive to see him play. He defends larger players, sometimes the offense runs through him, and he hits 3's, like just about everyone on the team. Their second unit is VERY underrated with Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa never allowing the other team to breathe as two veteran point guards that control the tempo and essentially guarantee a lead won't slip away while their out there. Bogut in a reduced role offers a VERY good defensive big who also is still an excellent passer in the post. Andre Igoudala has to be the most overqualified role player ever as in his prime with the 76ers he was a top ten player. They move the ball so well and Curry can get off a shot in a phone booth while being defended. They move without the ball incredibly well too. Mo Speights and Festus Ezeli gives them two more bigs to throw if a team tries to rough it up on them. I still think Jordan, Harper, Pippen, Kukoc, and Rodman with Kerr, Longley, THE MAYOR (Freddy Hoiberg), Randy Brown, Bill Wennington, Judd Buechler (THIS IS ALL FROM MEMORY BY THE WAY) and whoever I have forgotten would win in a seven game series. The significantly bigger guards would limit Curry's shots, though he can pull-up from 35 feet with accuracy akin to most player's open jumpers. I feel like the Bulls wouldn't need to utilize their bench much, but that bench could hold it down in short stretches when the starters rest. Rodman on Green would be interesting since Rodman rarely spent time on the perimeter, so that does fascinate me. I also wonder if 90's rules vs. 2010's rules would differ the outcome greatly or not? This has been a random process of typing thoughts down, but that's where I'm at with this. Hopefully the Warriors lose on Wednesday night.

Spy

Melissa McCarthy stars in Spy, a movie following Susan Cooper (McCarthy), a woman who helps CIA covert operations from the basement, where she directs Bradley Fine (Jude Law) during his covert ops. Fine is killed by a mystery woman "Reyna", played brilliantly by Rose Byrne. This prompts Susan to jump into the field and try to find Reyna and a stolen nuclear weapon. Jason Statham jumps in as a Rick Ford, another CIA agent in the field. There's some funny stuff, but the movie struggles in my opinion since I'm not much of a McCarthy fan. The action scenes they do an alright job of piecing together since McCarthy is obviously limited when it comes to stunts and action. The comedy is pretty good at times and the story isn't terrible, though you've certainly seen it before. Byrne and Statham are good in their roles, Law & McCarthy are pretty much their standard roles. Bottom Line: 6.2 out of 10. I enjoyed it at times, but the story seemed to just drag and bore me.

The Big Short: I Finally Know What Credit Default Swaps Are! (Kind Of...)

I finally took a night to see The Big Short. Knowing I really like the financial world, I was really excited to see this one. The cast of Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, and some Brad Pitt was also impressive. The movie jumps into the financial world in early 2007 when awkward mega-genius and hedge fund manager Dr. Michael Burry spent time investigating how bad the housing market loans really were. By investigating the sub-prime mortgage packages he determined way too many of the loans inside these packages were defaulting and the whole market was a problem. Sitting down with banks Dr. Burry negotiating creating credit default swaps insuring when the housing loans failed he'd get paid substantially, like 20/1 on it. Since the housing market was deemed infallible, he was assumed to be crazy. Only a bank employee and a couple of other hedge fund managers picked up on how bad the housing market really was. You find out about the world through primarily the eyes of Steve Carrell and his hedge fund managers. They meet mortgage brokers, explore some of the Florida homes in foreclosure, and go to a Vegas conference to meet up with the people who create the subprime mortgage portfolios. It's frustrating because, like usual, those who suffered the majority of a few people's out of control greeds backlash were primarily middle class Americans. Did the Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and the other bailed out giant banks pay back the insane amount of money they fleeced by issuing brutal adjustable ARM and rates that people couldn't possibly handle. Did the CEO's pay back the variety of bonuses they continue to receive post-bailout? Of course not. There were no winner's really, but this at least shows some of the mavericks willing to work hard and not take S & P, Moody's, and other rating companies and banks at their word. Bottom Line: 8.9 out of 10. This is certainly worth watching. Bale is especially impressive, but the entire cast in excellent. The story is painful, but necessary to understand at least some of it. Understanding personal finance, loans, and investing is critically important and if YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SIGNING MAKE SURE SOMEONE EXPLAINS IT. IF THEY CAN'T EXPLAIN IT, FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN AND BUY FROM THEM.

Judgement at Nuremburg: 1961 Greatness

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) around the Oscar's brings the wood playing great classic that won various Oscar's. Judgement at Nuremburg follows the trial of German judges during WWII and the Holocaust. The issue at hand is what was their duty to their country vs. human decency? It's an incredibly difficult question that is probed in depth during this three hour drama. Maximillian Schell pulled out Best Actor for his portrayal of the German attorney defending the accused. Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, William Shatner (he's aged wonderfully), and Richard Widmark round out the great cast. The movie probes into Nuremburg and what was known by everyone (mistreatment of Jews/"undesirables") vs. unknown, the concentration camps mass exterminations. Emotion is laid bare and examined deeply by a great cast. Bottom Line: 9.1 out of 10. I found it riveting and excellent. Highly recommended viewing for movie fans.

Inside Out: Another Pixar Home Run

Inside Out is a tale that follows the five feelings inside a child's head: Joy (Amy Pohler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith- AKA Phyllis from the Office), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader), and disgust (Mindy Kaling). Joy primarily runs shop in Riley (The child's) head as Riley grows up a happy girl in MN. Then, Riley's family moves to San Francisco and her life changes completely. The voice talent in this movie is excellent, they are all awesome. The movie attempts to bring a playful way to how someone becomes depressed and essentially lost at life. The animation and story are typical Pixar excellence. There was an awesome part extra interviewing women at Pixar describing their ascent to their current roles in the company that's also fascinating and recommended viewing. Bottom Line: 8.9 out of 10. Another Pixar movie that's essential viewing for the world. They play with your emotions like Mozart & a piano.