Watch The Space Between Us Full Movie

The Space Between Us

IMDB Rating : 6.4
Date Released : 1 - 26- 2017
Movie Genre : Adventure, Drama, Romance
Movie Stars : Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino

The first human born on Mars travels to Earth for the first time, experiencing the wonders of the planet through fresh eyes. He embarks on an adventure with a street smart girl to discover how he came to be.

In this interplanetary adventure, a space shuttle embarks on the first mission to colonize Mars, only to discover after takeoff that one of the astronauts is pregnant. Shortly after landing, she dies from complications while giving birth to the first human born on the red planet - never revealing who the father is. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Gardner Elliot - an inquisitive, highly intelligent boy who reaches the age of 16 having only met 14 people in his very unconventional upbringing. While searching for clues about his father, and the home planet he's never known, Gardner begins an online friendship with a street smart girl in Colorado named Tulsa. When he finally gets a chance to go to Earth, he's eager to experience all of the wonders he could only read about on Mars - from the most simple to the extraordinary. But once his explorations begin, scientists discover that Gardner's organs can't withstand Earth's atmosphere. Eager to find his father, Gardner escapes the team of scientists and joins with Tulsa on a race against time to unravel the mysteries of how he came to be, and where he belongs in the universe.

The screenplay mechanisms which lay out the overall story (space boy wants to live on earth and meet up with pen-pal girl and unknown father) are consistently forced, clunky, and a distraction to the point of being groan-worthy.

A little more behavioral (her portrayal of anger and angst, et al., was over the top) and physiological realism (his repeated on-screen sprinting, his bone-strengthening 'operation,' et al., were a joke) would have given the story more credibility. All the casting, special effect, locational ingredients were in place, but were wasted for the lack of a believable and more seamless script.

Films that fall considerably short like this make one realize how very special those movies are that are able to put all the movie making elements together and entertain the eye, heart, and intellect.

P.S. This movie will most certainly be viewed by and be appealing to young impressionistic teens, and to the extent that the content of movies seeps into their subconscious, the multiple carefree auto thefts with no consequence, and more particularly the glorified attempted suicide by drowning scene at the end were very poor, unnecessary, and irresponsible choices. 

You know how it goes. The boy (Asa Butterfield) meets the girl (Britt Robertson), there's mutual liking and they want to meet... but there's a space between them. So he will travel to Earth from the Mars colony where he was born.

Also starring: Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, and B.D. Wong, because even the coolest teenagers need some adults around.

"The Space Between Us" rides on the current wave of Young Adult, or YA for short, novels and movies which has dowsed the cinemas for the last ten years or so.

It's still about romance, some sci-fi and action like the most of them (or at least the most popular of them) but it brings some refreshing changes to the menu.

It's based on an original screenplay and not novel. It offers sci-fi and action without relying on done to death YA clichés (dystopian society, dating or fighting supernatural beings, etc). It puts characters in real danger so you can't always predict whether everybody's gonna make it. It doesn't have clear-cut good and bad guys...

And last but by far not least, the movie has a nice classic Steven Spielberg-ian feel which puts the sense of wonder and adventure back to sci-fi which, in my humble opinion, is often missing or buried under all those visual effects and pizazz setpieces.

Even good old Spielberg himself is not always able to pull it off: the movie makes you actually care about the characters because there's a real human backbone to the story. It's entertainment but it also has heart.

All this rests very much on the lead man Asa Butterfield who was 18 during the filming and turns 20 this April.

Former child star of "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas", Scorsese's "Hugo" and "Ender's Game" fame, this guy has grown to become a fine young actor indeed.

I very much enjoyed his soft but sure performance as an innocent and fragile alien braving the world unknown to him. He has found a seemingly perfect balance between strange, childlike and soulful that the role asks of him, and I'd be glad to see him getting some awards or nominations for this standout work.

He even has this memorable, Pinocchio-ish appearance and style of moving which seems suitable for a person not used to Earth's gravity.

The other characters stay more in the background, so this turns out to be Asa Butterfield's show, and he more than fulfills the promise.

The next most interesting performance comes from Oldman who ventures in the land of brashness and theatricality, in a good way. The aging thespian hasn't offered this kind of colorfulness for quite some time (in a big movie, at least) and I enjoyed it to the point of feeling that his character was underused. Holding him in the background makes sense in the context of a whole story, though.

If you find my score surprisingly high, please remember that it's made for a YA crowd, or at least a teenager in all of us. I would not recommend it alongside 8 out of 10 movies made for older viewer groups. Probably.

But 8 is not too generous. I liked "Space" very much and its overall quality more than compensates a shallow story which surely would work better longer. This could be a bona fide modern classic if the characters and events had more room to develop and breathe. Maybe in the form of (mini-)series or something.

If you like "The Space Between Us" and look for something similar to watch, I would recommend 2014's "The Fault in Our Stars" for moving YA story, or 2015's "Tomorrowland" as an uneven but good example of how to combine sci-fi and action in a YA movie.

The concept of the film is pretty intriguing, but once you actually watch it, there are a lot of flaws that appear. The big one being: no female astronaut would have been able to go to space while pregnant. It was also quite dramatic, the way they made that scene. Anywho, you'll just have to excuse all the questions that may arise when watching this film in order to enjoy it. I have been a fan of Asa Butterfield since watching him in Ender's Game, and then realized that he was in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, as well as in Hugo. All films that I enjoyed greatly. He's making a lot of movies in different genres which show his versatility. While I did not especially like this film, he did his part pretty well. A true 'Martian', the filmmakers knew how to play this to their advantage, to create some comedic scenes. And Butterfield did well at expressing the emotions of his character to portray his cluelessness of being on Earth.

His chemistry with Robertson is awkward at first, and doesn't get much better. To be honest, they don't really seem like a good fit together. She does look quite mature for him, and according to the dates on IMDb, she's about 7 years older. She doesn't look it, but he definitely looks quite young.

Also, I guess there isn't much substance behind the story. They are focused on that one mission to find his dad, and while obstacles come, everything is eventually fine and dandy. More backstory on the other characters would have been appreciated.

Nonetheless, the visuals are quite well done, and some of the aerial shots provide a nice touch. There are also some songs in the soundtrack that I enjoyed listening to.

Overall, an intriguing concept that suffers due to an insubstantial story.

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Watch T2 Trainspotting Full Movie

T2 Trainspotting

IMDB Rating : 7.7
Date Released : 1 - 27- 2017
Movie Genre : Drama
Movie Stars : Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller

20 years after betraying his friends and running off with (almost) all the money from a scam, Mark Renton is back in Edinburgh. It is his first time back since the events that split him, Spud and Simon apart. He looks up Spud and Simon but their lives are hardly much better than when he last saw them.

Spud, after getting his life together, has seen it all unravel, to the point that he is suicidal. Simon is running his father's loss-making pub, in between bouts of blackmail. Meanwhile, the fourth person in their caper of 20 years' ago, the psychotically intense Begbie, is in jail. He has no intention of staying incarcerated and revenge is foremost on his mind.

The film opens with Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) running on a treadmill at the gym. He sees flashes of himself in his younger days, and as he's distracted, he slips off the treadmill and goes unconscious.

We see a clip of Mark as a child with his best friends Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson (Jonny Lee Miller), Daniel "Spud" Murphy (Ewen Bremner), and Francis "Franco" Begbie (Robert Carlyle) as they play football on the streets with other kids from their neighborhood.

In the present day, Franco meets with his lawyer, Stoddart (Steven Robertson), who tells him that his parole has been denied due to his violent nature. Franco insults Stoddart for bringing him bad news. The lawyer is ready to push the yellow buzzer button under the table for the guards outside the room to come in to restrain him, which Franco can see. He then lunges at Stoddart.

Meanwhile, Spud is in a group meeting for drug addicts, as he is still unable to kick his heroin addiction. He tells everyone how because he didn't realize it was daylight savings time, he was an hour late for work and was fired, then an hour late to everything else in the day, including a custody hearing between him and his former partner Gail (Shirley Henderson). Spud cares deeply about their son, "Wee" Fergus, but Gail won't let Spud stay in their lives due to his habits.

Elsewhere, Simon approaches a businessman named Tulloch (Gordon Kennedy) in his car. He shows Tulloch a flash drive containing a video of Tulloch getting penetrated by a prostitute, who is really Simon's Bulgarian girlfriend Veronika (Anjela Nedyalkova). Simon blackmails Tulloch for money or else he will show the video to Tulloch's wife. Simon has also developed a serious cocaine habit.

Mark returns home to Edinburgh, Scotland for the first time in 20 years since he stole money from Franco and left £4,000 to Spud. Mark visits his father (James Cosmo), who tells Mark that his mother had passed away in his absence. She had always hoped Mark would return.

Spud writes a letter to Gail and Fergus to apologize for his screw-ups and say he only wants to see them smile again. Mark goes by his apartment and breaks part of the door off to see Spud attempting to suffocate himself with a plastic bag over his head. Mark kicks the door down and helps Spud as he pukes inside the bag. Mark rips the bag open and saves Spud. However, Spud isn't happy to see Mark after the last time they saw each other. Even after Mark left Spud with the money, Spud wasted a lot of it on smack. He's angry with Mark for ruining his life, and now his death.

Franco is in the hospital after getting an inmate to stab him in the abdomen. When he is left alone in his room, Franco leaves and knocks out a doctor to escape the hospital undetected.

Mark goes to the Port Sunshine pub that Simon runs. There is only one other patron there. Mark wants to make amends with Simon, but he is also not very pleased to see Mark again. The two start fighting violently around the pub until they're both hurt and tired. Simon later talks to Veronika about running into Mark again. He plans to bring him into their venture to create a "sauna" (brothel), but Simon is only using Mark under the pretense of friendship.

Franco returns to his old home to find his wife June (Pauline Turner) startled to see him again. He then sees his son, Frank Jr (Scot Greenan), older than the last time Franco saw him. He embraces his son and learns he has applied to go to university. Franco later tries to have sex with June but he cannot maintain his endurance.

Mark takes Spud running up Arthur's Seat in an effort to help his friend kick his addiction. He later goes to Simon's house as he's watching a bizarre music video. Mark admits he previously lied about having two kids, although he is going through a divorce and is losing his job. Mark also mentions having a metal plate in his chest after suffering an episode, and after doctors told him it would last him 30 years, he had a crisis about what he would do with another 30 years of life.

Franco takes Frank Jr. with him to burgle houses and then bring some of the stolen goods to Franco's old mate Mikey Forrester (Irvine Welsh), who has moved up in the world since he last saw Franco and the other guys.

Mark, Simon, and Veronika drive out to Glasgow to the 1690, a unionist pub. Veronika stays in the car while Mark and Simon go around picking peoples' cards out of their coats. They try to leave, but the pub owner tells them they can't leave without singing a song. The two awkwardly go up as Simon sits to play the piano. Mark makes up lyrics about the Battle of the Boyne, which gets the crowd cheering and uproarious as Mark sings about "there were no more Catholics left". He and Simon then leave feeling victorious. They and Veronika then continue to bond over their business venture and shared interests. Veronika jokes that Mark and Simon should just fuck each other, but also notes that they are stuck living in the past.

Franco learns that Frank Jr. wants nothing to do with his criminal activities and would prefer to go to uni. Franco insults his son and tries to egg him on to hit him, but Frank Jr. never makes a move, leading Franco to continue insulting him.

Simon gets arrested when one of his blackmailing victims comes forward to the police. He calls Mark for help getting a lawyer. Mark and Veronika visit Mark's old girlfriend Diane Coulston (Kelly MacDonald) to get Simon out. Diane asks Mark if he and Simon are still doing heroin. When they finish the meeting, Diane privately tells Mark that Veronika is too young for him.

After Simon gets out, he is visited at the pub by Franco. They discuss Mark and getting back at him while doing lines of cocaine.

Mark spends time with Veronika on his own as he is attracted to her, and she prefers his company over Simon's, even though she says she may like Simon more than he likes himself. Veronika asks Mark over dinner about his "Choose Life" shirt. He then goes into an updated "Choose Life" monologue that becomes very passionate. Veronika says she likes Mark, and they later go home and have sex.

Meanwhile, Spud is making active efforts to better himself. He takes up boxing lessons, cleans out his belongings, and has even written down stories based on his experiences with his friends.

Mark, Simon, and Spud go by a location their late friend Tommy MacKenzie took them to in their younger days. Simon blames Mark for Tommy's death as it was he that introduced Tommy to heroin. Mark fires back by reminding Simon of how his addiction led to the death of his baby Dawn, and how she would have been a woman now. Simon is left silent.

Mark and Simon go to the European Union to pitch their Port Sunshine venture for a loan of 100,000 pounds. They succeed in getting the money. They later do heroin for the first time in years.

The guys go to a nightclub. Mark goes to use the toilet, and doesn't know Franco is in the stall next to him. Franco drops his viagra pills into Mark's stall, and they exchange banter as they slowly realize they are speaking to each other. Mark runs like hell out of the club as Franco gives chase. He follows Mark to a parking garage. Mark hops on top of a van as it is driving away. Franco slashes Mark's arm as the van passes, but Mark still manages to escape him.

Mark and Simon are approached on the streets by a rival sauna owner in the area. He takes the two to the woods and forces them to strip naked and abandon their sauna venture so as to not have competition. Mark and Simon must go home nude until they pass a barn and take wrapping to cover themselves.

Franco visits Spud to learn of Mark's whereabouts. He discovers Spud's memoirs, including the incident in the first film where Franco chucked a glass at a woman's face and pretended it wasn't him. Franco also learns about the money that Mark left Spud. Veronika then visits Spud as she has been helping him out as well. Franco threatens them both but lets Veronika leave once she gives him her phone. Franco texts Mark and Simon to make it look like Veronika is asking to meet them both at the pub. Franco later visits June and Frank Jr. one last time, knowing they probably won't see him for a long time after this.

Mark and Simon go ahead to the pub, not knowing they were both called there. Spud runs in to try and warn them of Franco, but it's too late. Franco fights his old friends and knocks Simon out before he chases Mark upstairs. Mark tries to appeal to Franco by reminding him of when they met as children. Mark tries to escape over the open ceiling, only for Franco to push him through and cause him to get his neck wrapped in wires, leaving him hanging. Franco goes to finish Mark off, only for Simon to spray something in Franco's face, and finally having Spud knock Franco out with a toilet. They help Mark down and put Franco's body in the trunk of their car so they can return him to prison.

Veronika tries to convince Spud to go away with her and to take the money from Mark and Simon. Spud says he'd only use his money on drugs, but he wants to leave his money to Gail and Fergus. Using his forgery skills, he has their money transferred to another account, so Veronika can return to Bulgaria to reunite with her son and mother.

In the final scenes, Spud decides to write his memoirs into a book, which he has Gail read first. Mark and Simon, meanwhile, have repaired their friendship. Mark goes back home to be with his father. He goes into his old bedroom and plays "Lust For Life" on his record player.

Sequels long after its original is always risky business. Especially one that I did not think needed it. But director Danny Boyle is back with a follow-up to one of the most influential British films of all-time.

I had only seen Trainspotting for the first time several years ago. I remember being quite impressed by it, despite me never going nuts for drug-related films. I was more interested by the style of film- making and well developed characters. It also contain one of the most distressing scenes I have seen in any film.

21 years later, and now we see where the lads are now. I saw the trailer to see if it's going to be worth it, and I was surprised how good it looked. Some of the dialogue I was hearing sounded like we were instantly back in this mad environment. With the trailer doing plenty to get me intrigued, I had pretty solid hopes for a worth sequel.

Amazingly, I felt it managed to all come together. For something that I'm sure Boyle holds very dearly to his heart, you would expect him to never go near this work again. Especially when he has never done a sequel before. But we are now here, and I think everyone did a grand job. I did not get the sense that the makers made this for an easy box office return. I felt it was there to be an actual follow-up to the events from 1996, which is fantastic to see. The tone is definitely being aimed at the people who grew up with the original. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how it works to the generation that are of the age the cast were in the original, and see if it can relate to a broad age range.

The gang are back, and all four of them were great in their performances. Honestly, it was like they had never left. Ewan McGregor holds the film well as Renton, has many strong moments and you can tell he is enjoying getting back in the saddle. Roberty Carlyle continues to be as hilarious as Begbie was back in the day. Ewen Bremner as Spud shines the most for me, was given great development and became such a pivotal part of this sequel. I was really surprised to see Johnny Lee Miller give a great performance, as it is only recently that he has got back into movie acting after being busy with a TV series.

Another thing some sections of the audience like to see with sequels, is the level of nostalgia. The use of that and memory was cleverly done. It felt like it meant something, instead of just making us think "I'd rather be watching the original".

I have only very minor negatives. There were moments that felt a bit scattered at times and did not feel that well connected to the main story.

I was not expecting this to be so enjoyable. Boyle and his done have done a great job by keeping this a down-to-earth story and making feel like it deserves a second installment. I think what the films big strengths are, is what made the original so successful. The characters are still as memorable as ever, the writing is sharp and funny when needed, the visuals are engrossing and impactful, and the soundtrack is strong. They also managed to make the film worth seeing for people who haven't even seen the original, which was impressive to see.

When you think about it, a lot of Danny Boyle's work is about friendship, and this one is no different. I will continue to be excited for his next project, after making what will probably one of the big surprises of 2017. What a start to the year!

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Watch The Discovery Full Movie

The Discovery

IMDB Rating : 6.5
Date Released : 3 - 31- 2017
Movie Genre : Drama, Mystery, Romance
Movie Stars : Robert Redford, Mary Steenburgen, Brian McCarthy

In the near future, due to a breakthrough scientific discovery by Dr. Thomas Harbor, there is now definitive proof of an afterlife. While countless people have chosen suicide to reset their existence, others try to decide what it all means.

Among them is Dr. Harbor's son Will, who has arrived at his father's isolated compound with a mysterious young woman named Isla. There, they discover the strange acolytes who help Dr. Harbor with his experiments.

Writer-director Charlie McDowell returns to Sundance this year with a thriller about a scientist (played by Robert Redford) who uncovers scientific proof that there is indeed an afterlife. His son is portrayed by Jason Segel, who's not too sure about his father's "discovery", and Rooney Mara plays a mystery woman who has her own reasons for wanting to find out more about the afterlife.

In my opinion, the premise of this movie was a great one. Though I could have done without idea of a love story being pushed in the description, I felt that the plot made for a perfect psychological thriller, or just a perfect horror movie, if nothing else; though since the root of the concept the story ends up hinging on is pretty horrifying when the fuller implications of such are thought through, and especially when compared to the comforting finality of my own personal religion's afterlife, perhaps it did end up being a horror movie of sorts, for me, lol.

I was genuinely surprised by the direction the story took, despite the fact that, to agree with the other reviewer, it does end up boiling down to an over-sweet love story. I mean, the plot explains why such a strange pairing with such improbable coincidences bringing them together, would take place, but still, I think it's a shame that a story that was interesting on its own, had to suffer by being made the afterthought of such a shallow love story. ESotSM did it better, and actually had a reason for romance to be the root of it.

Nevertheless, though the movie tried to be prolific and profound, it was neither. Interestingly presented concept (and a phenomenally crafted opening scene), sure, but overall, it's an afterlife concept that's far from new and overused in other movies on the subject that try, but are unsuccessful at putting a new spin on an old religious idea.

So in the end, other critics were unfortunately correct in saying that the premise was good, but that little else was. A saving grace is that at least the production quality was there, however, which put it on par, in my opinion, with the likes of Melancholia, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Bokeh, etc.

So, Robert Redford plays a scientist, Dr. Thomas Harbor, that has discovered proof of the afterlife, at least in some basic form. Dr. Harbor decides to go public with his findings, unexpectedly leading to a sharp rise in worldwide suicides as folks from all walks of life try to make it "there" (as the afterlife is so nonchalantly referred to by characters in the movie). Only problem is, Dr. Harbor doesn't know exact what "there" is, and whether "there" is a good thing or bad thing.

To find out, Dr. Harbor sets up a Flatliners (1990)-style lab in an old, abandoned mansion reminiscent of any mental hospital of yesteryear. But then Harbor's oldest (Prodigal) son shows up to stop his father from "playing God" along with a mystery girl. And so now we have family drama, romance, and a syfy/thriller rolled into one, right? Well, yes, and no. Let me explain…

The Discovery starts out as more than just promising with Redford doing what first rate actors do, and without really doing much. However, what promises to be a more in-depth take on the dark, but thought-provoking plot of Flatliners from nearly three decades ago, soon takes a backseat to a contrived love story between Dr. Harbor's son and the mystery lady.

Sorry, but the love story can't carry The Discovery on its own. For one thing, the son, Will (Jason Segel) and the mystery woman, Isla (Rooney Mara) have zero chemistry and believability. A vacuum cleaner and a 1960s toaster oven could get together as replacements for Mara and Segel's scenes and there'd be more sparks. The half-baked script doesn't help matters either. Such a shame writers felt this relationship needed to be center stage at the cost of the afterlife syfy/thriller stuff. I really wanted to see what unique concepts they'd come up with for explaining the afterlife.

Well, those answers do come, sort of... But by the time the plot gets to that point, any enthusiasm the viewer has, has been killed by the utter boredom that transpires up to that point. There's also a big plot twist that isn't that big and combined with the revelation of what goes on in the afterlife, they both amount to one big snoozefest. This mess of a film just might cause folks to contemplate suicide in real life.

I also have problems with the plausibility of some things that go on in the film. For instance, Dr. Harbor has made arguably the greatest discovery in human history, and yet he has to resort to stealing cadavers to further his studies? I would think folks would be waiting in line to donate their corpses to Dr. Harbor's work after such an otherworldly discovery that has totally redefined life/mankind. Also, I'd think the government would help fund this man's quest to find definitive proof of what's on the other side, at the very least in an attempt to head off (or justify) all the suicides. There are other absurd happenings, but I think I've spent enough time on this dreadful film.

Redford's acting brings a little life to Discovery; however, everything else sinks it to bottom-barrel status. I've "discovered" this film is nothing more than a B-rated romance with Sundance-drenched syfy thriller lipstick on. And you know that saying about pigs and lipstick?

When I began watching this movie I was very excited, I imagined all the directions they could take it. Without ruining anything, the plot is another plane of existence after death was discovered. People suddenly assumed it would be a better place than their current situation.

About 4.5 million people killed themselves because of this. They clearly stated that they did not know what this plane of existence was.I was thinking that maybe the afterlife was hell or some unimaginable nightmare. This would have been extremely interesting. Spoiler: It wasn't

They decided to take it in the lamest way they could. There was a big reveal in the last 40 minutes which completely ruins the tension and mystery.

There is some comedy in the film but the biggest laugh I got was the exposition given by one of the main characters. In the last 10 minutes they try to tie everything up in a neat bow almost as if they ran out of money or foresight shooting the film. It comes absolutely out of nowhere. There is no explanation nor is there any kind of resolution other than an implication that the main character finally finished what he needed to do.

Despite these issues, It's a movie worth watching. Robert Redford, Jason Segel, and Jesse Plemons absolutely kill their roles. Rooney Mara was totally miscast as Isla. At first she seemed great but towards the end I was frustrated in the way she played it. It was likely not her fault but the directors.

The Discovery is a slow burning but frustrating film. Deep down it really is a convoluted love story that borrows a little from sci-films such as Looper or Source Code.

Set in the not too distant future, Dr Thomas Harbor (Robert Redford) has discovered proof of the afterlife. When you die, your soul goes to another plane, wherever that is. This knowledge has led to a surge in suicides as people unhappy with their present life wish to move on elsewhere. The government actually keeps a running total of the suicides which is now over 4 million worldwide.

Dr Harbor's son, Will (Jason Segel) has hopped on to a ferry visiting his father's secluded estate, which is almost a cult like retreat. Dr Harbor is conducting further experiments but also guides people who in the past tried to kill themselves. Will's other brother Toby assists his father but it seems this is Will's first visit in a while. Ironically it was Will's childhood incident that actually lead to his father to research the afterlife.

On the ferry, Will meets a young woman named Isla (Rooney Mara). Isla looks familiar to him, but she icily puts him down with some wisecracks. Isla has her own reasons to visit the island, but realising who Will's father is, she spends more time with Will and helping in his father's research.

Redford plays an ambivalent scientist, shocked that his discovery has led to an upsurge in suicides, yet also at times playing like a cult leader, wanting people to open up their emotions. He is nearing a breakthrough as to where exactly the souls of the departed might be going to.

The central roles in the film belong to Segel and Mara. Although Will seems to be appalled by his father's discovery he goes on to play detective as to what his father's secret machine has actually recorded after death.

This is a low budget film, it does not overplay its sci-fi origins with elaborate special effects.

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Watch xXx: Return of Xander Cage Full Movie

xXx: Return of Xander Cage

IMDB Rating : 5.4
Date Released : 1 - 13- 2017
Movie Genre : Action, Adventure, Thriller
Movie Stars : Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone

Xander Cage is left for dead after an incident, though he secretly returns to action for a new, tough assignment with his handler Augustus Gibbons.

Extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) comes out of self-imposed exile, thought to be long dead, and is set on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior Xiang (Donnie Yen) and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora's Box. Recruiting an all-new group of thrill-seeking cohorts, Xander finds himself enmeshed in a deadly conspiracy that points to collusion at the highest levels of world governments.

The film opens with a satellite falling out of orbit and hurtling toward Earth.

In Brazil, Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) is trying to recruit Neymar, Jr. in a restaurant for a position as the next xXx agent. Neymar declines because he doesn't see himself as a hero. Moments later, a thief enters and tries to rob the place with a gun. Neymar grabs a napkin dispenser and kicks it at the guy's head. Gibbons is excited and starts trying to get Neymar in the program, but the satellite crashes down and blows the place up.

At the CIA headquarters, Jane Marke (Toni Collette) is telling her colleagues about what caused the satellite to crash: a military device known as Pandora's Box. The people that crashed the satellite can use Pandora's Box to bring any other military satellite down like a warhead. Meanwhile, four people - Xiang (Donnie Yen), Serena (Deepika Padukone), Talon (Tony Jaa), and Hawk (Michael Bisping) - infiltrate the headquarters and start taking out all the agents one by one. Xiang is quick with his hands and feet, and he swipes Pandora's Box from them. The team makes their escape. Marke then tells her superior that Gibbons knew someone who could handle these guys.

Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) has been living in the Dominican Republic. He skis from a tower and picks up a skateboard from some people in town before riding his board to fix an electrical issue that allows everyone to view the soccer game. Xander then goes home to his girlfriend Lola (Ariadna Gutierrez), and then leaves her some love-making.

Xander goes to Santo Domingo and notices something suspicious. An American man sits next to him on a bench and leaves a bag on the ground. Xander opens it and sees a bomb inside. Immediately, a SWAT team comes in and tells Xander to not move, then to get on his knees. Xander starts being a smartass to annoy the captain. Marke steps out and admits to everything being a ruse, which Xander knew about already. Marke starts trying to get Xander to rejoin the xXx program and mentions that Gibbons is dead.

Xander joins Marke in a church as they discuss the situation with Xiang and his team. Xander isn't eager to rejoin the program as he has been enjoying his self-imposed exile, but he mentions someone he knows in London that can help.

In London, Xander meets his friend Ainsley (Hermione Corfield), who helps him track down Xiang and his team to a location in the Philippines. He then spends time with Ainsley's girls for some "undercover work".

As Xiang and his team are hiding out, Serena approaches him about Pandora's Box. She knows that they are being hunted and she wants to destroy the device, but Xiang says they need it for what they want to do.

Marke brings on a Special Forces team led by Paul Donovan (Tony Gonzalez) to help Xander. He and Donovan do not get along, and Xander ejects Donovan and his team from the plane while they're attached to a cargo load with a parachute. Xander says he doesn't want these guys watching his back, so he picks a few people who he does trust.

We first meet Adele Wolff (Ruby Rose) as she appears to be hunting a lion. In reality, she is stalking out a trio of hunters set to harm the lion, but Adele shoots the three of them in the leg and leaves them to be chased by the lion. Xander calls her first. Next is Tennyson Torch (Rory McCann), a mad driver with a record 198 crashes to his name. Finally is Nicks (Kris Wu), a DJ that serves as a great distraction. The three are brought in to meet with Xander and Marke to go over the mission. They aren't interested at first, but eventually decide to join.

The team meets Becky Clearidge (Nina Dobrev), a hyper tech specialist that gives the team some fresh gear like bionic gloves.

The team arrives in the Philippines to a hideout run by a man named Lazarus (Nicky Jam). Xander gives him 22.5% of their ammunition in order to gain entrance to the place. It looks like a nightclub with people dancing and playing music. Xander approaches Serena as Nicks plays DJ to distract Talon from following Xander. After some "foreplay", Xander meets Xiang. The three of them sit down as Adele is up in a tree with her rifle waiting for a chance to make her move. Xiang takes out some grenades in a game of Hot Potato to see how quick Xander is. Xander learns that Xiang and his team are xXx agents with their own agenda. Moments later, a team of Russian soldiers storms the place. Xander and Xiang's teams spring into action. Adele shoots the goons and then follows the others as Xiang and his team get away.

Later on, Xander chases after Xiang on motorcycles that are equipped to surf on water. They ride through the waves as Xander tries to take Pandora's Box. He succeeds, but when he gets back to shore, Serena shoots and destroys it, then decides to join the xXx team.

Marke informs the team that Pandora's Box was used to destroy a Russian stadium. The one Xander took was just a prototype. The team realizes that someone in the CIA was in on the plot to help Xiang. They review footage of when Xiang broke into the headquarters, and Xander sees that Director Anderson (Al Sapienza) was the only person not to flinch when Xiang arrived.

The team tracks down Xiang and his team. Xander chases Xiang on the streets while Tennyson brings Adele, Nicks, and Serena to chase after Hawk, which leads to them crashing vans (which sets Tennyson's record to 200 crashes). Xander and Xiang fight one-on-one before Xander continues chasing Xiang to a warehouse. They end up helping each other avoid the gunmen before they reach Anderson. Adele is in a building across the street trying to get a shot on Anderson, but can't see with the thermal reading because the heat is cranked up. Anderson admits he crashed the satellite that killed Gibbons. Xander stands by the window and tells Adele to "read between the lines". He holds up his fingers and makes an opening for Adele to shoot Anderson in the head.

Marke and her men recover Pandora's Box and they apprehend Xiang. As they are leaving on the jet, Marke gets a phone call and says to Xander that the xXx program has been shuttered, so the agents must be eliminated. She reveals her true intentions and shoots Xander three times. She then sends for an extraction team to get Xander and Xiang's teammates, but they quickly discover the team are a bunch of hitmen sent to kill them. Both teams join forces to fight back. Adele and Serena shoot at the villains, and even Becky gets in on the shooting (albeit a bit clumsy). They are then joined by Darius Stone (Ice Cube), the last xXx agent recruited by Gibbons back in 2005. He comes in with a grenade launcher and blows up the villains.

On the plane, Xander recovers thanks to some armor. He and Xiang team up to fight Donovan and his goons. Donovan breaks out the bionic gloves and starts punching all the equipment on the plane as Xander dodges the punches. They fight in the bathroom, and Donovan punches the toilet, causing him to burst a hole in the plane that Xander pushes him out of. Marke uses Pandora's Box to send a satellite to the safe house to kill the teams. She shoots Xiang but he notices her foot is stuck on a strap. He pulls a parachute open and sends Marke falling out of the plane. Xiang falls out with his own chute. Serena calls Xander to inform him that the satellite is headed their way. Xander flies the plane in the direction of the satellite kamikaze-style. He runs and jumps out of the plane before it collides with the satellite. He lands safely using a cargo load. Once at the bottom, he stomps on Pandora's Box, destroying it for good. Xander and Serena kiss, and then Darius pulls up in Xander's old car. The two xXX men meet for the first time.

The now larger team attends Gibbons' funeral. Xander is up at the top when he is visited by none other than Gibbons himself. He faked his death once again and is keeping a low profile. Gibbons is also glad that Xander is back in action. He tells Xander all he has to do is "kick some ass, get the girl, and try to look dope". Gibbons leaves with Neymar while Xander continues to watch the service.

How do you make a hit film? It's simple. Cast some of the biggest stars in the industry and you are halfway through, add a lot of mindless action, do some promotional stunts (like Vin wearing a Lungi and dancing on a Hindi song) and you are done. Audiences are bound to go crazy.

I have never been a fan of any of the XXX films but this one I watched for Deepika. But Oh My God, what was I thinking? This film is awful beyond measure. There is nothing to watch. I mean it's the same thing you must have seen at least a hundred times by now. Same clichéd story, same mindless action sequences and people reading their lines like they are mannequins who have been brought to life my some magic. Even the origami did a way better job in Kubo and the two strings and they are made out of paper, mind you.

People are saying Deepika was good and I completely disagree. I can say that she did a good job with action sequences but her acting was pathetic. In fact there were only one or two people who actually tried to act.

So, don't waste your money on this awful experience. If you are watching it for Deepika then drop your plans. The screen time she gets is longer than I anticipated but nothing good comes out of it. It is another of those meaningless action films that you forget the moment you walk out of the Cinema. There are better movies playing in theaters that deserve your money instead of this crap. Do something meaningful with your money.

I and two friends of mine spent a lot of money between us to watch this movie today on the day of its release. Apart from wanting to watch Deepika, I had enjoyed the original XXX movie (this one is a sequel), plus I am a huge fan of Vin Diesel.

However I came out of the theatre in a state of total shock! In my life I have watched thousands of movies, be it from Hollywood or Bollywood or from other parts of the country and the world. But today, and I am putting this down in writing, I got to see the worst movie of my entire life so far!! Yes really, I know what I am saying! So please please please ... try not to watch this movie ... it is so bad that it will make you want to cry. Or it will actually put you to sleep, like with the guy behind us in the theatre who was actually snoring within the first half hour itself!

The movie has no story. It is not exciting as action films are meant to be, because the action itself is very cartoonish and very boring. It does not even have a proper climax, because it doesn't actually have a real villain who can pose a bit of a challenge to the hero! Yes it has several stunts, but you get to see most of them in the various trailers of this movie on YouTube. Let me put it another way: the best action scenes in this film are very very bad copies of scenes from the Matrix movies, and the two James Bond movies GoldenEye and Die Another Day. Plus the direction too is horrible, which results in many dialogues not being properly audible, poorly lit scenes, extremely erratic editing, poor acting ... or no acting, cos a lot of guys simply standing around doing nothing is not really acting ... this list is endless!

Last but not the least: Deepika Padukone! Though I have always liked her until now, I still say it is not worth spending money to go and see her in this movie. Firstly her English sounds terrible over here. I have earlier heard Deepika speak English on TV and she sounds smart enough. So why is she speaking with a distinct South Indian accent in this movie ... when her name here is Serena Unger and not Meenamma from Chennai Express ... I mean could she not point out to the director that it would sound ridiculously out of place? Also her role is pretty small and her character is poorly etched out ... and so she doesn't really get a chance to act. And as for her looks in this movie, well, she easily looks much more prettier or glamorous in most of the Hindi films that she has starred in.

So is this a movie review? Naw, it is more of a warning! Because XXX: Return of Xander Cage is so bad that it is not even a time pass movie. I score it a 1 ... out of 1000!

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Watch The LEGO Batman Movie Full Movie

The LEGO Batman Movie

IMDB Rating : 7.6
Date Released : 2 - 8- 2017
Movie Genre : Animation, Action, Adventure
Movie Stars : Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson

There are big changes brewing in Gotham City, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker's hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

Bruce Wayne(Batman) is scared of having a family and he has to deal with it when he accidentally adopted Dick Grayson (Robin). After The Joker gets sent to the Phantom Zone, Batman soon finds out it was The Joker's plan to get sent there and get all the villains in there out. It is Batman and his friend's job to stop The Joker.

A cooler-than-ever Bruce Wayne must deal with the usual suspects as they plan to rule Gotham City, while discovering that he has accidentally adopted a teenage orphan who wishes to become his sidekick.

Over Gotham City airspace, two best friend pilots are transporting an insane amount of explosives. They are hijacked by The Joker (voice of Zach Galifianakis) and his minions. Across the city, Joker has set loose some of Gotham's most notorious criminals, including Harley Quinn (voice of Jenny Slate), Two-Face (voice of Billy Dee Williams), The Riddler (voice of Conan O'Brien), Scarecrow (voice of Jason Mantzoukas), Catwoman (voice of Zoe Kravitz), Poison Ivy (voice of Riki Lindhome), Clayface (voice of Kate Miccuci), Bane (voice of Doug Benson), Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, and some C-list villains like Calendar Man, Gentleman Ghost, and Condiment King. The pilot knows Batman (voice Will Arnett) will stop Joker, but he believes otherwise.

Beneath the city's central core, Joker has Killer Croc plant a bomb that would level Gotham and plunge it into an abyss. Commissioner Jim Gordon (voice of Hector Elizondo) tries to use the Bat-signal to contact Batman, but Eggman has egged it down. Jim and Chief O'Hara go downtown to spring into action while the villains continue to run amok. Jim meets with Mayor McCaskill (voice of Mariah Carey) before she is airlifted to the central core. Joker and his villains are all gathered to watch the city be destroyed, but the Mayor reveals herself to be Batman in disguise. He proceeds to single-handedly beat down every villain before trying to catch The Joker. Batman latches onto Joker with his grappling hook but Joker reminds him that the bomb is still active. When Joker calls himself Batman's worst enemy, Batman rebuffs it by stating that Joker means nothing to him, and that nobody does. Joker looks heartbroken as Batman rushes to stop the bomb. He succeeds, and the city cheers Batman on.

Batman returns to his home on his own island. He spends his free time alone in the Batcave, eating leftover lobster thermidor and cackling maniacally during "Jerry Maguire". Batman later stares at a portrait of himself as a child with his parents on the night they died. He starts addressing the portrait and says his parents would have been proud that he saved the city again. He is then startled by Alfred (voice of Ralph Fiennes), so Batman accidentally dropkicks him into the piano. After apologizing, Alfred realizes that Batman is going through another one of his phases and is just sad at the prospect of having another family. Alfred then reminds Batman that there is a gala later that day for Jim Gordon's retirement, which Batman reluctantly goes to.

On the way to the gala, Batman (now out of disguise as Bruce Wayne) watches a news report on how Superman (voice of Channing Tatum) sent General Zod into the Phantom Zone. Joker is watching the same report in his lair with Harley and sees certain famous villains beyond the realm of Gotham City are contained there. Thus, Joker hatches his latest idea.

At the gala, Bruce is approached by an orphan, Dick Grayson (voice of Michael Cera). He's a sweet kid who longs for another family. Dick asks Bruce if he would consider adopting him, just as Bruce's attention is caught by the new commissioner, Jim's daughter Barbara (Rosario Dawson). She gets up to talk to the citizens of Gotham about her latest idea: she wants the police force to team up with Batman because on his own, he hasn't done much to take care of the huge crime problem in the city. Bruce does not like the idea one bit, and moments later, the gala is interrupted by Joker and his villain team. Bruce goes into Batman mode and Master-Builds himself a vehicle while Barbara attempts to confront Joker on her own terms. To everyone's surprise, Joker surrenders himself and all the villains (except Harley) to the police. With Gotham's worst all locked up, Barbara receives credit while Batman is left to go home in disbelief.

Batman stalks Arkham Asylum for any suspicious activity. He sees a van driven by Harley (now out of disguise as Harleen Quinzel) with the logo "Phantom's Own Laundry Service". He knows something suspicious is going on, but Barbara sees him and tells him to let the police worry about it.

Back at Wayne Manor, Batman tries to access Joker's plans through the computer, but Alfred put a parental lock on the computer. He tells Batman that he should spend time with Dick, whom he had adopted over a week ago. Batman is baffled and refuses to do anything with the boy until Alfred purposely leads Dick into the Batcave. Dick is amazed to know that Batman is one of his new dads. Meanwhile, Batman schemes to put Joker in the Phantom Zone, but he must steal the Phantom Zone Projector, which is located in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. When the computer determines that Batman is way too "jacked" to fit into the vents that would take him to the Projector's location, he gets the idea to have Dick join him so that he can fetch it. Dick goes through Batman's costumes for a cool outfit to wear, and he settles on Batman's "Reggae Man" outfit and names himself Robin.

The Dynamic Duo arrive at the Fortress of Solitude. While Robin goes to find the Projector, Batman creates a diversion by knocking on Superman's door. To Batman's surprise, Superman and the rest of the Justice League - including Green Lantern (voice of Jonah Hill), Flash (voice of Adam Devine), Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and the Wonder Twins - are celebrating an anniversary party without having invited Batman. A dejected Batman leaves when nobody is looking just as Robin has gotten through the complicated security system to retrieve the Projector. Batman almost admits that he's proud of Robin, but he's also too proud to admit it.

Batman and Robin head on down to Arkham to take on Joker. Barbara finds them and has them go through security. When Robin is caught trying to smuggle the Projector, the two beat up the guards and run to Joker's cell. Just as he expected, Batman confronts Joker and hits him with the Projector, sending him into the Phantom Zone.

In the Phantom Zone, Joker is met by a sentient brick called Phyllis (voice of Ellie Kemper). After scanning Joker for badness, she has him meet some of the most notorious villains of all time, like Lord Voldemort (voice of Eddie Izzard), Sauron (voice of Jemaine Clement), King Kong (voice of Seth Green), The Kraken, Jaws, Agent Smith, Dracula, Medusa, The Wicked Witch of the West, the Gremlins, and the Daleks. He tells the villains that he has a plan to get them all out of there. Back in Arkham, Harley steals the Projector and uses it to bring back every last villain. Joker unleashes them all on the city to cause mass mayhem. Sauron floods the streets with lava, Voldemort turns people into animals, and King Kong smashes through the city.

Batman (who got himself and Robin locked up) asks Barbara to let him go so that he can go save the city. She agrees only on the condition that he allow her to join and help. Batman begrudgingly agrees, and he is now joined by Barbara, Robin, and Alfred (who somehow made it from Wayne Manor to Arkham on his own). The heroes take the Batwing across the city as they try to locate Joker. Sauron has his eye locked on Batman and has led Joker to Wayne Manor, where Joker finds Batman's stash of romantic comedies.

The Gremlins start tearing into the Batwing, leading Batman to hop outside and leave the Batwing on autopilot with some rope tied to the controls. Robin and Alfred join him in taking out the Gremlins. Robin falls off the Batwing, and Batman jumps to rescue him. Alfred falls off too and nearly plummets to his death, but Barbara takes control of the Batwing and saves him. Batman then comes up with a plan and has Barbara fly toward Sauron's eye, just as Kraken blasts a fireball at the Batwing. At the right moment, Barbara steers the Batwing away and causes Sauron to get blown to bits, meaning Joker no longer has an eye on Batman.

The heroes make it to Wayne Island and applaud each other for their accomplishments. Robin takes a selfie with everyone as his new family, which then strikes a nerve with Batman. The other three go into the Batwing for more gear, but Batman locks them in there and has the computer send them to the border of Gotham City and Bludhaven so that he can protect them and fight Joker on his own.

Batman finds Joker inside his home, but Batman is surrounded by all the villains, completely outnumbered. Joker only wants to hear Batman say that he hates him and considers him his worst enemy, but Batman is stubborn and refuses to acknowledge it. Joker takes the Projector and sends Batman to the Phantom Zone.

Batman meets Phyllis, who scans him and determines that while he's not bad enough to be considered a villain, he has done a lot of bad things to people that care about him. Batman realizes he has been trying to protect himself from getting hurt again. He makes a deal with Phyllis to bring back all the villains if she lets him go back to Gotham.

Batman's computer overrides his commands to protect him and sends Robin, Barbara, and Alfred back to the island to fight the villains. Batman is sent back as well, and he apologizes to his friends for deceiving them. He opts to get help not only from them, but from all of his enemies broken out of Arkham. He even gives Barbara her own suit, dubbing her "Batgirl".

The team faces off against Joker's villains, with all of them being gradually sent back to the Phantom Zone. However, the bomb from earlier goes off and starts to break the city apart. Batman and his friends all form a chain link using their heads and feet to pull the city back together, along with the citizens of Gotham. It's still not enough, so Batman is forced to ask for Joker's help. Batman admits to Joker that he truly is his greatest enemy and that they need each other. Joker is touched and helps Batman pull the city back together.

With the city saved, Batman must fulfill his end of the bargain and return to the Phantom Zone. He reveals himself as Bruce Wayne to Robin and finally accepts him as a son. They have a tearful hug goodbye as Batman ascends to the Phantom Zone. However, he gets blocked from going up. Phyllis appears and tells Batman that she has seen how he changed to help those that he cares about, and has decided he can stay with his friends. Batman and Joker then part ways as Joker heads off with the rest of the rogues. Batman decides to give them a 30-minute head start before he and his team go catch them.

Batman and Robin are both now part of a new family. Batman hangs up the family selfie in his room. As the credits begin, Robin asks Batman if he can play a song that he's written specifically for the credits. Batman and all his friends and enemies get together to perform the song.

I'm not sure how anyone can criticize this movie for anything. Its 2 movies in one. The kids see Lego's with colors, action and subtle lines they understand, but children are more focused on the action and not dialogue. For adults, it is full of Innuendos that keep you laughing non stop. I literally cried from laughing so hard.

So if a movie for a family is entertaining for the kids and makes adults laugh and not look at watch to see "when this is over", then that's a 10. No kids here. And my fiancée was like omg, what! When you leave a movie still laughing and repeating lines....10.

Kid tested, parents will hoot!  

I love the Lego Batman! And I love this movie! It is so good! The LEGO Movie is one of my favourite films, and The LEGO Batman Movie is just as good! Of course the universes are a bit different. The LEGO Movie is a mix of, well, every possible universe, while The LEGO Batman movie is mostly DC universe - with a mixture of different villains released by Joker. Also that certain meta feeling is not there, that was in The LEGO Movie, but that might've been good. The difference between the two is that The LEGO Movie was, in a way, about Legos. Now the characters in The LEGO Batman Movie are made of legos, sure, so are buildings and all that, but it's not addressed so much. We don't have to think about it. It could be just another superhero movie, apart from few jokes that require Legos.

This was so much fun! Since I obviously went to see this in English (and since the subtitles didn't work), the audience was mostly grown ups, and every one of us was laughing. And there were so many kind of jokes. One of my favourites is Batman saying it would be stupid to have villains fight villains.

And of course The LEGO Batman Movie isn't just action and fun, even though that would've worked too. There's some pretty deep and important stuff about Bruce getting over his fear of intimacy and all that. Of course all that is kind of sappy, but hey, when isn't stuff like that sappy? It's still really nice to see Bruce Wayne / Batman actually have more character development in The LEGO Batman Movie than in the whole Nolan trilogy. Also there are probably a lot of adults out there who might actually see their own issues in Bruce Wayne, who is not going to just be dark brooding Batman and never let anyone close. And also I mean it gives children a nice lesson about family as well. Altogether all the life lessons in The LEGO Batman Movie were so nice, and even if they were sappy, even someone with cynic's traits might melt a bit. I know I did.

Right now I can't think of anything wrong with this movie. It was a great experience! It has the best parts of a children's movie and a superhero movie. It's an excellent movie, better than any other Batman movie, and the only Batman movie I've given a full 10/10.

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Watch Smurfs: The Lost Village Full Movie

Smurfs: The Lost Village

IMDB Rating : 5.9
Date Released : 3 - 30 - 2017
Movie Genre : Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Movie Stars : Ariel Winter, Michelle Rodriguez, Joe Manganiello

In this fully animated, all-new take on the Smurfs, a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty on an exciting race through the Forbidden Forest leading to the discovery of the biggest secret in Smurf history.

In this fully animated, all-new take on the Smurfs, a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her best friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty on an exciting and thrilling race through the Forbidden Forest filled with magical creatures to find a mysterious lost village before the evil wizard Gargamel does. Embarking on a roller-coaster journey full of action and danger, the Smurfs are on a course that leads to the discovery of the biggest secret in Smurf history!

Well this is the first time Smurfs movie was done in 3D animation. The previous 2 movies were all combined with humans with some well known actors and actresses played in the movie such as Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays and Hank Azaria. The animation of this movie was done very beautifully and I am pretty sure the 3D effects are very good (although I did not see the movie in 3D, but I can imagine some scenes that would be very great seen in 3D). Furthermore, the movie was shot in 3D and not converted into 3D at later stage like other recent live action movies. So the effects would definitely be good.

The movie seemed to be aimed for children and family as there was no heavy story line and the movie also felt very colorful, with few nice songs here and there. The jokes/humors were not the adult type and should be easily understood. So parents should not be worried of bringing their kids to see this movie. My wife and I enjoyed the movie as it was quite light and was funny with some touching moments as well, plus some good moral message.

Because the movie was aimed for the younger children audience and putting emphasis on the cuteness of the smurfs, it should not be compared to heavier animated movies like Disney or Pixar production such as Toy Story, Moana and so on. I am confident that if you go to see this one with the objective of being entertained and had some good laughs and to see those cute smurfs, you would definitely be satisfied.

In addition to the above, it also had some other well known names providing their voices such as Julia Roberts, Michelle Rodriguez even Meghan Trainor who also sung a song titled I'm A Lady. By the way, during the end credit, there was some brief funny scene that you could enjoy. So be sure to wait in the cinema and watch this part before you leave.

So if you are a fan of Smurfs and want to see them running around, providing funny moments, plus the usual chasing of Gargamel and Azrael, then you would not be disappointed. But if you are looking for some serious animated movie, then beware that this is not that kind of movie.

The only female Smurf, Smurfette, is desperate to discover her purpose, having been created by the evil wizard Gargamel. One day while out in the forbidden forest she stumbles upon a lost village of Smurfs which may just uncover her destiny.

Having seen the trailer I was expecting the worst and was pleasantly surprised. I mean of course it's rubbish, but there were quite a few well written moments that I chuckled at (like the introduction of the Smurfs). The sound is well created too, particularly the effects, but the visuals are not quite so consistent. The creatures themselves look like PlayStation 2 characters yet the scenery surrounding them look a lot more vivid and textured (especially the river). The cast is pretty abysmal though, an unrecognisable Julia Roberts being just about the best thing about the emotionless speech. The story is strong enough to keep the audience's attention and there are more than enough gags to satisfy the under 8s, even if as a parent you might get a little bored. But all in all, it's a reasonable attempt at making a fun kids' film with a message.

On first view this might seem like an unnecessary reboot, but there's actually more than enough merit to warrant it, even if there's not enough to make it a success. 

"Smurfs: The Lost Village" is a story that fits nicely between the classic Peyo comics and the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon. The animation is beautifully done. There is no way you can take every little detail in with just one viewing. The plot is fairly straightforward with adventure at the forefront. This film avoids the misplaced pop culture references and overused Smurf puns that many disliked about the previous movies. "Smurfs: The Lost Village" aims for a younger audience, but adults shouldn't have a problem remembering why they liked these characters themselves.  

I went to see this film with my family today. It was beautifully made and had plenty of laughs involving Gargamel and his minions. I also liked the way that the plot from the Smurfs 2 sort of carried on a little, but only having ONE human in this film made it much better. No New York or Paris. Firmly in the Smurfs world where they all belong. My only gripe is that some of the pop songs were a bit annoying. I would recommend anyone to go and see this film. Forget about Smurfs 1 and 2 and even Hannah Barbara! This is TRUE Peyo! 

So as a Smurf collector & fan everyone assumes I will be biased ... but having watched Smurfs & Smurfs 2 & only felt they were OK ... The Smurfs: The Lost Village is in a completely different league! The animation is fantastic, glossy and so detailed without the characters seeming too perfect or losing their Smurfy appeal. My 5 year old son was in awe & visibly absorbed into the journey & it held his attention for the duration ... he giggled, laughed, was scared, even had tears at one point. A perfect response to a great movie! Even my husband - definitely not a smurf fan - chuckled throughout & admitted enjoyment! Highly recommending this film for families & individuals alike ... it will not disappoint! Well done Sony Productions! Another one please!

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Watch Fifty Shades Darker Full Movie

Fifty Shades Darker

IMDB Rating : 4.7
Date Released : 2 - 8- 2017
Movie Genre : Drama, Romance
Movie Stars : Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson

Christian and Ana decide to rekindle their relationship, except this time there are no more rules or punishments. As they begin to get used to their newfound relationship, Christian's past begins to haunt Ana as Christian struggles with his innermost thoughts.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her.

In this sequel to 'Fifty Shades of Grey', the opening scene shows Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) having a nightmare about his childhood. He overhears his mother being abused by his father. Young Christian hides, but his father finds him and prepares to abuse him with his cigarette.

Meanwhile, Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) has found a new job at the publishing firm Seattle Independent Publishing as an assistant to her boss Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson). Christian sends her flowers to congratulate her. She is about to throw them out but decides to keep them. As Ana is out around town, she is followed by a strange woman (Bella Heathcote).

That night, Ana attends an art show for her friend Jose (Victor Rasuk). She's unnerved to find six pictures of herself hanging from the walls. The art director then approaches Jose to tell him that somebody has bought all six pictures. Of course it's Christian. He approaches Ana and wants to fix their relationship over dinner. Ana agrees only because she's hungry.

Over dinner, Christian explains that he wants to take Ana back to be his submissive mate, and he is willing to negotiate with her on her terms. She just wants him to not inflict his dominant desires upon her, to which he agrees. Eventually, they renew their relationship and start having kinky sex again.

Jack invites Ana out for drinks. Before meeting with Jack, Ana is approached by the woman who was following her. She knows Ana's name and says little before Jack pulls Ana away. Christian finds them in the bar and is suspicious of Jack's true intentions when he catches Jack acting a bit flirty toward Ana. Later at home, Christian informs Ana that he bought SIP and will essentially be her and Jack's boss. Ana isn't too thrilled at this concept.

Ana sees the same strange woman out on the streets while out for breakfast with Christian. She asks him who the woman is. At Christian's home, he takes out a file with pictures of this woman. Christian explains that the woman's name is Leila Williams, and she was a former submissive of Christian's. She wanted more from the relationship than Christian did, so they parted ways. Leila got married to another man, but he later died in a car accident, leading to Leila having a nervous breakdown. Ana asks Christian if he has a file on her as well. Without an answer, she know he does and demands to see it.

In Christian's room, Ana sees a picture of his birth mother, who slightly resembles Ana. Christian mentions that she was a crack addict who died of an overdose when he was age 4 and was not found for three days while he stayed with her body. He later met his stepmother Grace (Marcia Gay Harden) at the hospital, and she would later care for the boy.

Christian invites Ana to a ball. He takes her to a salon in preparation and runs into Elena Lincoln (Kim Basinger), the woman that got Christian into the BDSM lifestyle. Ana is none too happy since she knows Elena was Christian's dominant. Christian assures Ana that Elena is just a business partner since they co-own the salon. It does nothing to ease Ana's mind.

Before they head off to the ball, Christian takes out Ben Wa balls for Ana to put in her vagina for consistent pleasure during the party. He then tells her it is a masquerade ball. The two meet with Grace and Christian's adoptive sister Mia (Rita Ora). They sit for a bidding to a luxury vacation, which Ana wins when she bids $24,000 that Christian had transferred into her bank account. In the bathroom, Elena approaches Ana and urges her to break it off with Christian before both of them get hurt. Ana tells Elena to leave them alone.

In the parking garage at Christian's home, he and Ana find that Ana's car has been vandalized.

Ana and Christian later go on their romantic getaway on Christian's boat, which he named after Grace.

Back at work, Jack is more cold to Ana after learning Christian is her boyfriend. He reminds her to set up a meeting in New York between himself and other publishers, plus to get a room for herself since his assistant needs to be with him. Later, Jack tries to seduce Ana in his office but comes off like a predator. Ana kicks Jack in the groin and runs out of the building. Christian is outside as Ana runs into his arms telling him what Jack tried to do. Christian later has Jack fired.

With Jack gone, Ana is given a temporary position to his old job as acting editor. She attends a meeting with the higher-ups and offers a suggestion that they reach out to a broader demographic instead of just publishing to established readers.

Christian asks Ana to move in with her, and she agrees. As they go to pick up Ana's stuff from her place, Leila is there, having been stalking both Ana and Christian. Leila pulls out a gun. Ana tries to placate her by making it seem like Christian still cares about her. Christian and his bodyguard Taylor (Max Martini) arrive after Leila has already fired a shot at the wall. Christian orders Leila to get on her knees, and she immediately obeys. Ana thinks Christian can't get off without being dominant, and she leaves the house for hours. Meanwhile, Leila is sent to a psych ward to get help.

When Ana returns home, Christian is pissed at her until Ana explains her feelings toward his dominance. He then turns submissive to Ana and gets on his knees so that she won't leave him. Ana gives in and they go off to have sex.

Christian has another nightmare while Ana is awake. She goes over to comfort him in bed. He then asks Ana to marry him, but she doesn't give an answer because she needs time to consider.

Christian goes with a business partner to a trip in Portland. As he returns from the trip, his helicopter's engine breaks down, causing them to crash into a forest. Ana hears the news while out for drinks with Kate (Eloise Mumford), Elliott (Luke Grimes), and Jose. Ana waits and watches the news with Christian's family. Just as it is reported that Christian was found, he walks into the apartment. Everyone embraces him.

Ana later finds out from Mia that Christian's birthday is coming up, as he failed to mention. Ana gets him a keychain with "Yes!" written on the back, meaning she has accepted his proposal. Christian is elated.

The couple attend a birthday party for Christian. He announces his and Ana's engagement to the whole party. Elena later confronts Ana and accuses her of being after Christian's money and not actually loving him. Ana throws her drink in Elena's face. Christian orders her to leave. Grace overhears the confrontation and slaps Elena before demanding she leave the house.

Christian takes Ana to a nearby boathouse where he proposes with an actual engagement ring. She accepts, and fireworks start to pop. The couple join Christian's family to watch the fireworks together. Meanwhile, across the lake, Jack is watching the fireworks and looks really worn out. He holds a picture of the Grey family and burns out Christian's face with a cigarette.

Note: After the end credits, there is a brief teaser for "Fifty Shades Freed", which sees Ana and Christian about to get married, plus the promise of more kinky sex.

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Watch The Shack Full Movie

The Shack

IMDB Rating : 6.6
Date Released : 3 - 83- 2017
Movie Genre : Drama, Fantasy
Movie Stars : Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Tim McGraw

After the abduction and presumed death of Mackenzie Allen Phillips' youngest daughter, Missy, Mack receives a letter and suspects it is from God, asking him to return to The Shack where Missy may have been murdered. After contemplating it, he leaves his home to go to The Shack for the first time since Missy's abduction and an encounter that will change his life forever.

What would have been a fun weekend of camping for a man and three of his children turns into a horrid nightmare that will forever change them all. Some time later he receives a note inviting him to a same shack where the nightmare began. This invitation will bring him face to face with God where God's manifestation will in the most of the untraditional forms.

Oh man, where to start with this one. I went in to the movie not knowing anything about it, aside from that it is about a missing girl and her father who sees her in another world. The first 20 minutes or so were okay to me, interesting, scene- setting, and at times emotional. The family was actually nice to see all together and the initial panic of their missing child felt real.

Then things went downhill, and very quickly. Once Mack enters the shack and travels to the other world, I quickly lost interest. Let me start by saying I have no issue with Christianity or any other religion for that matter, so long as it doesn't harm others. That being said, the entire remaining film length felt like one big "God is great and always loves you" chore to sit through. Another reviewer here said it felt like a big long advertisement and I couldn't agree more. The excuse of having evil be its own force that god can't interfere with felt lazy, and meant only to reaffirm ones belief that god can do no wrong. Every single lesson the film tried to teach felt WAY too ham-fisted and forced. An example that springs to mind is when Mack is made to judge others. He ends up having to choose one of his two children to send to heaven, while the other is sent to hell. He is made to pick between two people who have done no real wrong and told that one must burn. This is supposed to make the viewer see how difficult it must be for God to judge any of his children (who he loves very much), nevermind how many little girls they murder. The whole God world portion of the film felt like it was just there so people could stroke each other off to the idea that they are loved by God, he heals all, and that we must trust in him that everything happens as it should. Watching this movie made me feel like I was sitting in class on a bright sunny day, wanting to be anywhere except in my seat, but instead of learning anything, I was just preached at for nearly 2 hours.

There were a few moments in "The Shack" that felt as though they could have been truly moving and emotional, but came across as stale and forced. One particular interaction is between Mack and his father. I was ready to feel real pain at their meeting, but a vast majority of it was squashed in part by poor acting on the father's part, and again, ham fisted shoehorning of the re-occurring themes. As such, the times I felt emotion could have been real tear jerkers, but came across as flat and unconvincing

All that being said, the movie was visually quite gorgeous. I loved the whole camping, forest, lake, snow and mountain visuals. They were pleasant and beautiful, but not forced upon the viewer in an overbearing way. The weather was a bit too emphasized in my opinion, but fitting in their themes. There were also some good quotes and humour sprinkled throughout the length of the film.

I would strongly advise against watching this film as it's the only one I've ever seen in theaters that made me so badly want to leave. If it wasn't for my girlfriend beside me, and the two elderly ladies blocking us in, I would have been out of there with an hour left on screen. At least it was on half price movie night.

"The Shack" is a beautiful, profound, and moving film. I'm a lifelong movie fan and I always look at reviews before I go to see movies. Of course I went to Rotten Tomatoes and saw that "The Shack" had received uniformly bad reviews. There is something wrong with the critics who panned this movie. They probably have a problem with Christianity. I think if a similar film had been made in Iran, about Islam, with English subtitles, it would receive an Academy Award nomination. Don't let these bitter, twisted souls keep you from seeing "The Shack."

The plot is simple. Mack, (Sam Worthington), an American husband and father, suffers an unbearable loss. He and other family members sink into depression. One day, Mack receives an invitation to return to the shack, the site of the worst moment of Mack's life. He does return, and there he meets spiritual guides played by Octavia Spencer, Aviv Alush, Sumire Matsubara, Graham Greene, and Alice Braga (niece of Sonya Braga). Mack engages in conversation with these spiritual entities. He eventually returns to normal life with a changed outlook.

The film gets off to a rocky start. There is an unnecessary and amateurish voice-over narration by country music star Tim McGraw, who stars as Mack's friend. Otherwise, though, McGraw is excellent on screen, displaying an understated charisma and authenticity that are totally beyond the film's actual star, Sam Worthington. In fact I wish Tim McGraw had played Mack and Sam Worthington had played the best friend.

Too, there are many shifts in time in the opening scenes. There are flashbacks on top of flashbacks and a shocking crime that the movie never makes much use of. Once the movie gets started, about fifteen minutes in, it gets good.

Sam Worthington is okay as Mack. The thing is, his Australian accent is evident in virtually every word he speaks. Again, I wish the filmmakers had made McGraw the star.

Radha Mitchell is good looking but chilly as Mack's wife. She looks like a movie star, not like a wife, and that took away from the film for me.

The rest of the cast is excellent. Octavia Spencer is assigned to play an almost impossible part, and she handles it with great professionalism and depth. Aviv Alush is especially good. Moviegoers have waited a long time for a star like this to play this part, and he knocks it out of the park.

The production values are high. The scenery is lush. I was especially moved by how this family-friendly film handles the tragedy at the center of Mack's depression and alienation from God. The exact words are never used. Graphic images are never shown. Yet we know exactly what happened, and it breaks our hearts and causes us to ask the same questions that Mack asks.

Either you want to see a movie where an average man works out how to deal with unbearable tragedy or you don't. Me, I loved sitting there watching Mack wrestle with his pain and his faith. Many self- identified Christians hate this movie with a white hot hatred. Big name Christian leaders have denounced it as heretical. One man told me that seeing the movie would be the equivalent of shooting heroin.

It think these folks are wearing their shorts much too tight. The film is an allegory. Any thinking person who has been through pain has had the same questions as Mack, and anyone who has read the Bible or other spiritual literature has pondered the same potential answers. I sincerely doubt that any film-goer is going to leave the theater thinking that he or she has actually seen God on screen, or heard God's thoughts about human tragedy. Rather, like any good allegory, the film sets us on our own path of spiritual exploration. That's a very good thing.

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Watch Vengeance: A Love Story Full Movie

Vengeance: A Love Story

IMDB Rating : 5.3
Date Released : 1 - 1- 2017
Movie Genre : Thriller
Movie Stars : Nicolas Cage, Anna Hutchison, Talitha Bateman

A gulf war veteran seeks vengeance against those who assaulted a single mother.

I can see why this film did note score well as it has lots of fall downs, but as a film its worth watching. If you accept the fact its all been done before and it panders to both cage and Johnson's ego's you will enjoy it, the daughter and mother will make you smile, chuckle and cry, cry a lot. Cage is trying to stay relevant in films but is still acting like its 2000. Don Johnson, 1991, love them both as icons. Once you admit that this is a Nick Cage produced film and enjoy it as a story, it actually is a good film.

Cage is his usual self. Not as cringy as lately, actually tolerable. The movie could have been good, but it is not. I suspect some other reviewers to be in the movie industry...or they just haven't seen that many movies yet. I give it 4 stars because the young girl is really good and the beautiful mother could have been edited to be excellent....BUT, this movie is the prime example of how NOT to edit a movie. Some of the scenes are waaay to long and downright unnecessary. But some of the cuts are so long (the mother in the hospital scene with cage) that it makes the actors look like overacting imbeciles. In one scene the beautiful mother goes through 5-6 moods/expressions. From scarred, confused, elated, relieved to sad and tormented relieved again...in the same cut. And at the end, the dialogue follows the two actors by way to rapid cutting. I have never thought about editing before in my life...but this opened my eyes to the importance of that job. Got through about an hour, and just had to quit. I will think long and hard before I rent another Cage movie.

Straight to the point - this is a dreadful film. It has all the subtlety and breadth of a 3-year-old child's crayon drawing. Without exception, the support cast are absolutely awful in this. Their performances are clichéd, highly predictable and as wooden as a 2 by 4. The direction is unenthusiastic and the editing looks like it was done using Windows XP.

The story-line is something we've all seen a thousand times before - only, even the worst version of this hackneyed story is better than this. Every prejudice you can imagine is wheeled out, beaten with a stick until it screams 'stop, stop', and yet, is beaten again. I know we live in age of the 7-second attention span but this film is a waste of 6 of them.

Don't go to see it. And, sure as heck, don't pay money to see it.

The Death Wish series from the 1970s, in spite of shaky dialog and ponderous intervals in the story when nothing much happened, was considered a A-List B-Movie in its day, offering unusually raw violence, badder than bad villains, and, oh yeah, sending Charles Bronson's career into hyperdrive.

Now, if someone had blogged that they were going to do a knockoff of that story in 2017 starring an older and slightly washed out Nicholas Cage (now in his 50s) I would have answered, "you're kidding." But nope, not kidding, the movie was made anyway.

I am a big fan of nostalgia films, and this all the ingredients, right down to characters so overwritten you would almost expect them to be wearing either a "white hat" or a "black hat" (for the sake of children in the audience), but the fact is that this is neither an engaging film nor an entertaining one. Which does not leave much on the table.

It could however sort of serve as a "curiosity" film, with lots of strange things going on:

* Don Johnson, once called "the sexiest man alive" overacts to an almost criminal degree as a .... criminal lawyer.

* Deborah Kara Unger plays one of the hottest grandmas in the history of film. I wish I could say this was my original observation but I first noticed it in a mainstream review cross-referenced by IMDb. So the best I can do is agree with the comment.

* in the middle of this otherwise dull film, there is an homage to that infamous scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where a baddie pulls a knife on Cage and, Cage nonchalantly shoots him in the head without even breaking stride or changing expression. The whole scene takes 30 seconds, tops, but it is the highlight of the film. It may even end up on Youtube.

* Anna Huthison may possibly be auditioning for another movie entirely, and uses the film to show a pretty amazing range, from shameless tease to rape victim. One suspects she will be noticed. Deservedly so.

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Watch John Wick: Chapter 2 Full Movie

John Wick: Chapter 2

IMDB Rating : 8.1
Date Released : 3 - 8- 2017
Movie Genre : Action, Crime, Thriller
Movie Stars : Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ian McShane

After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life.

John Wick is forced out of retirement by a former associate looking to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to aid him, Wick travels to Rome and does battle against some of the world’s most dangerous killers.

In the opening scene, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) heads to a warehouse owned by Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare) to get his car back. Abram wants payback against John for killing his brother Viggo and nephew Iosef. John is killing all of Abram's guards before he finally gets to his car. As he drives away, a whole mess of Abram's goons start attacking John. His car gets banged up, and the henchmen slam into John with their cars, but the man is persistent and easily kills all the goons before making his way to Abram's office. John simply pours Abram and himself a drink. He chooses to spare Abram in a peace offering. Abram questions John as to whether or not he can actually find peace.

John returns home to the still unnamed dog he took at the end of the first movie. He calls Aurelio (John Leguizamo) to come pick up the car, which is a total wreck. Still, Aurelio claims he can fix it. After he leaves, John reburies his weapons beneath cement, as he feels he is done with the assassin life. He watches a video on his phone of himself and his late wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan)

Later that night, John is visited by another assassin named Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio). He presents John with a marker that John gave him, which is essentially a blood oath used to get out of the assassin life when he decided to be with Helen. Santino wants John to kill his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini), who is set to ascend to the High Table, a group of powerful assassins. John refuses, despite knowing full well what will happen if he does so. Santino leaves John's house and then grabs an RPG launcher to destroy John's house. Thankfully, the dog survives this time.

John goes to the Continental hotel to meet with Winston (Ian McShane) to discuss the marker and what Santino has requested of him. Winston cannot do anything about it since John took the oath, and if he continues to refuse it, his life will be up for grabs. John then heads off and leaves the dog in the care of the hotel's concierge, Charon (Lance Reddick).

John heads off to Rome to complete the task. He stays at the Continental there, owned by Julius (Franco Nero). John then meets with several people to get the weapons he needs to kill Gianna.

John attends a party that is basically Gianna's "coronation". She is accompanied by her loyal bodyguard Cassian (Common). John confronts Gianna alone. He tells her that Santino sent him. She chooses to die on her own terms and slits her wrists. Gianna lays in a pool as she dies. John holds her hand and puts a bullet in her head to make it look like he killed her.

Cassian spots John as he is leaving. Knowing John is working again, Cassian tries drawing his gun on John, but John is faster. He gets away and starts killing the other hitmen that go after him when they find out Gianna is dead. John shoots them all dead as he gets away. Cassian catches up to him and fights him up until they crash through a window of the Continental. Since no blood may be spilled on Continental grounds, John and Cassian sit at the bar to calm their nerves with drinks. John explains the marker and that Santino sent him to kill his sister. Cassian understands but also cannot allow his ward's killer to go unpunished. He pays for John's drink and leaves. John then spots Ares (Ruby Rose), Santino's mute bodyguard. She lets him know through sign language that she'll be seeing him.

As John is heading back to New York City, Santino puts out a $7 million contract to kill John. The contract goes out to all the hidden assassins in the area. A female violinist in the subway pulls out a gun from the violin and tries to kill John, but he subdues her and breaks her neck. A heavyset Asian man goes after John and gets his brains blown out. Two men in the subway try to get in on it, and John brutally kills them with a PENCIL. Cassian finds John as he gets on the subway and fights him in the train. John stabs Cassian and pushes the knife into his aorta. He tells Cassian that if he pulls the knife out, he will bleed to death. John leaves Cassian on the subway. John runs into an assassin posing as a homeless man and asks for help as two assassin janitors go after John. The homeless assassin kills the janitors.

John goes to seek sanctuary from the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), an assassin that once had a run-in with John and was left with a scar on his neck. John spared him, and so now the BK sees himself as unbreakable. He also knows of the bounty on John's head. With BK's help, John is able to locate Santino's whereabouts.

John heads to a museum where Santino is set to take his place at the High Table. John crashes the shindig and starts going after all of Santino's men. John chases Santino through a hall of mirrors before having to fight Ares. John manages to stab Ares and leave her to die.

Santino rushes to the Continental to seek refuge, knowing that he can't be touched there. John finds him in the lounge. Winston knows what John is about to do and tries to calm him down. Still, John blows Santino's brains out. He then goes to pick up his dog from Charon.

The next day, John goes with his dog to meet with Winston at the park. Winston informs John that because he killed on Continental grounds, the High Table has doubled the contract and sent it to every assassin across the globe. Winston must mark John as excommunicado, but he gives him one hour before the contract takes effect. It then becomes evident that every single person in the park is an assassin, and they have their eyes on John. John tells Winston to let everyone know that if they go after him, he will kill them all. Winston agrees. John leaves as Winston puts the word out. Every passing person looks at John, knowing who he is and what they want from him. John is forced to take the dog and keep on running. 

"John Wick: Chapter 2" is first true great action movie of the year. Bigger and better. It takes everything you enjoyed about the previous film to a whole other level of excitement. For lack of a better word, it's f***ing hardcore. There's something beautiful about the scope, the choreography and the thrill of this film's violence, you just can't get enough of it. And Keanu Reeves is relentless.

In this sequel, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins' guild. As you fans of the first film would know that there's a mythology, a secret underworld created for this and so the sequel reveals the wide reach of its extent. It goes global. Reeves is bound by a marker, a debt he made in the past, so he travels to Rome to pay it but in doing so squares off against some of the world's deadliest killers.

I think one of the things that makes "John Wick: Chapter 2" effective is that many of the creative talents return, and screenwriter Derek Kolstad doesn't rehash the first film, which is usually a mistake done by many sequels out there. They take John Wick to international stage this time around but this film is not about 'hey look we're setting him somewhere else,' it's still character-based, it's about this assassin who struggles between living by his code and wanting to leave this whole once and for all.

And this is every action fan's wet-dream, to tell you the truth because you have a character who basically can use anything, whatever he gets his hands on, to kill. So what you see is once again a mix of martial art and gunplay or gun-fu, and on top of that, you also get to see him use a car as weapon, for example. No shortage of surprises in "John Wick: Chapter 2." The fight choreographies are some of the most complex I've seen on the big screen, definitely the most badass since "The Raid," kudos to the stunt coordinators and also to the actors themselves who are committed to making those sequences look and feel like the perfect bloody dance.

In "John Wick: Chapter 2" the mythology expands and becomes multi-layered, this whole secret society of assassins is irresistible, luxurious, sexy, and lethal. It's so cool that pretty much anybody, any character, on the streets can be a potential assassin, you just never know who might launch at John Wick at any time. With John Wick, Keanu Reeves has found his latest iconic character, in addition to Neo, and Keanu delivers him like it's nobody business, tactical and precise. "John Wick: Chapter 2" is how action sequels should be made.

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