Putting It All On Two Great Lead Performances And A Strong Script Lead Mississippi Grind To A Big Win

I'm always fascinated by major turning points in an actor's careers, that moment where you can clearly see how one movie changed the trajectory of their careers. Think of how Leslie Nielsen forever became associated with spoofy comedies with Airplane! I'm especially fascinated by contemplating what would have happened if those major turning points hadn't happened. Take Ryan Reynolds for instance. He finally secured A-list leading man status with 2016's Deadpool, but between that film and 2013's blockbuster box office bomb R.I.P.D., Reynolds did a number of offbeat indie projects like The Voices, The Captive and Mississippi Grind that allowed him to show off his talents as a performer beyond just cracking wise and breaking the fourth wall. 

3 Generations Is A Scattered And Clumsy Mess

3 Generations was supposed to come out in a general theatrical release domestically all the way back in September 2015 with the title of About Ray. After it garnered a critical thrashing at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Weinstein Company pulled it from its release schedule and it basically vanished. Then, earlier this year, it was abruptly announced that the studio would be releasing About Ray under its current title and in a smaller theatrical release under their Radius-TWC banner, which had been discontinued for over a year but was briefly brought back to life solely for the purpose of getting this feature finally released.

99 Homes Review

Michael Shannon is a top-caliber actor that, for my money, does not get enough praise for his acting accomplishments in his career. Here's a dude who has mastered the art of intense acting, but he always manages to bring a new angle to this type of performance. In Revolutionary Road, for instance, he has his intensity stem from indignation from those around him, whilst the David Koepp bicycle action film Premium Rush has him become one helluva hostile individual due to overwhelming desperation.

The Intern Review

To say me and The Intern got off on the wrong foot is a gross understatement. For the first few minutes of this movie, I was pretty much certain I would despite this feature, mainly because the only thing the film was serving up in these early scenes were vapid jokes about the age disparity between the titular intern, Ben, played by Robert De Niro, and his far, far younger co-workers. The moment Ben told his 20-something interviewer he used to work for a phone book printing company, I knew just what the tired as hell punchline was and please Lord, get me out of this movie.

Hotel Transylvania 2 Scares Up Big Numbers, The Intern See's Lots Of Clients And Everest [Insert Mountain Pun Here]

For the first time in over 8 weeks, a new family movie entered the marketplace, and Hotel Transylvania 2 prospered in a landscape sorely lacking family films. This Genndy Tartakovsky film grossed $47,5 million over the weekend, about 15% above the opening weekend of the first film, as well as the second biggest opening weekend of Adam Sandler's career and the largest September opening weekend of all-time (not adjusted for inflation). Interestingly, four of the ten biggest September opening weekends now belong to features from Sony Pictures Animation.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Series Premiere Review

For the majority of comics brought to the big screen, there are a number of previous incarnations of characters like Spider-Man, Batman or the X-Men in the form of traditional comic books as well as television and even past film adaptations. These can provide inspiration on how to properly or improperly treat the character, as well as lend audiences a preconception of the characters they're about to watch in this new movie. For the Guardians of The Galaxy, though the term had existed in the Marvel universe since 1967, the team roster consisting of Star-Lord and Groot has only existed for seven years. Compared to the likes of Captain America, Superman or even Spawn, these Guardians were nobodies in the pop culture landscape.

Hotel Transylvania 2 Review

There are a few parts of Hotel Transylvania 2 to admire, but the structure of its plot is most certainly not one of those positive aspects of the feature. At first, the primary flaw to be found in how it dishes out is story is the rapid pace at which it goes through various plot developments (the marriage between vampire Mavis and human Johnny, then the reveal of Mavis being pregnant, giving birth and then flashing forward to when the offspring is a few years old) that honestly could have filled out further Hotel Transylvania chapters in their own right.

Black Mass Review

Johnny Depp has always had a knack for making the outsiders accessible, for twisting the unconventional into the lovable. While his unorthodox protagonist shtick became tired by the time his racially discomforting turn as Tonto came around, characters like Jack Sparrow and Rango were entities that provided immense amounts of humor and enjoyment. What's really surprising in his turn as Whitey Bulger in Black Mass is how much it rails against those sort of characters Depp has played in the past; Bulger is idiosyncratic, no question, but he ain't lovable. He's not even a tragic character who becomes heinous during the story like Sweeney Todd.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Review

Even after watching both of these Maze Runner movies, I still have no idea who the main character of both features, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), is. Is he a cunning fellow? Is he smart? Is he funny? Charismatic? Cocky? There's nothing here in terms of concrete personality traits, he just lumbers around and leads his ragtag group of 20-something comrades across various generic adventures. There's very little in the way of him connecting on an emotional level to his "friends", and while the very first scene of The Scorch Trials attempts to establish a "tragic" backstory to Thomas (he's separated from his mother as a kid), it never figures back into the films story.

Film On The Television (9/18/2015): John Wick on HBO2

Stinging from the epic failure of 47 Ronin, Keanu Reeves needed a comeback and fast. Luckily, he got one in John Wick, a fast-paced, excellently filmed and light on its feet action film that was one of last years most enjoyable surprises. Mixing a bombastic approach to everything from the action to even the subtitles with the emotional connection between the titular characters deceased wife and a beagle puppy and you've got yourself one helluva potent combo.

Everest Review

From the studio that brought you The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything and Legal Eagles, comes Everest, a harrowing tale of human courage and determination. A group of mountain climbers, led by Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) begin an expedition to climb to the top of Mt. Everest, a task that proves to be one not for the faint of heart. However, their daunting undertaking proves to be even more challenging once an enormous storm arrives, leaving many of the climbers stranded and fighting for life trying to get down the mountain.

Oh What A Blu-Ray...WHAT A LOVELY BLU-RAY; Mad Max: Fury Road Hits Blu-Ray September 1st

One of the summers best movies, Mad Max: Fury Road will arrive on Blu-Ray and DVD just before the summer movie season concludes. Typically, Labor Day signals the conclusion of whats typically the most financially lucrative part of the year for Hollywood, and just a week before that holiday arrives this year, you can pick up George Millers epic action film on Blu-Ray and DVD on September 1st and on Digital HD on August 11th.