Geek For E!

Geek For E!

Creators of the TwitView! Reviews in 140 characters or less.

Movie Review – “Fast and Furious 6”

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I’m a fan of the Fast and the Furious franchise. You know what you’re getting when walking into one of these movies – fast cars, lots of action, and a plot that is simple with a twist at the end. To me, that’s not a bad thing. It means that I can check my brain at the door, sit back, and watch a movie without having to think too hard on what’s happening in front of me.

Fast 6 (or Furious 6 as the title on the print we saw had it listed) delivers on everything I listed above. There are fast cars and an incredible chase around the streets of London. There is lots of action and stunts that will blow your mind (and a few that may make you suspend reality for a few seconds, but again what were you expecting for this type of movie?). And there is a plot that actually takes plots points from the fourth, fifth, and sixth film making these a trilogy as well as answering some lingering questions that have been hanging around for a while.

Add all of this together and Fast 6 is one BAD-ASS movie!

fast-and-furious-6-release-dateGrade: 4 out of 5 stars

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Movie Review – “The Hangover Part III”

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It started as a simple bachelor party in 2009’s The Hangover. It continued in 2011’s The Hangover Part II as the group traveled to Bangkok. And it all comes to an end in The Hangover Part III. The boys are back…the boys are back…the boys are back in town!

the_hangover_part_3_movie-wideGrade: 3.5 out of 5

 

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Movie Review – Pain and Gain

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Pain & Gain is a movie so crazy, so out there, so “Michael Bay” that it’s hard to even think that the events in front of you really took place. It’s even harder to rationalize that three body builders from Miami in 1994 staged a staggering heist that netted them wealth beyond their dreams. Pain & Gain is a look into the have’s and have-not’s and don’t let the comedy fool you as these were bad men that did bad things to get where they got. And by the end, when the credits show the actor’s images next to the images of the actual people they portrayed, you realize that this did happen and that real people got hurt and killed between October 1994 and June 1995.

Mark Wahlberg plays Daniel Lugo, a personal trainer at Sun Gym located in Miami, Florida. He has big dreams and wants more and feels that the universe owes it to him. He concocts a plan with co-worker Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and fellow gym-nut Paul Doyle (Dwayne”The Rock” Johnson) to steal the wealth of businessman Victor Pepe Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub) whom also happens to be a client of his at the gym. Needless to say these three are not the best at executing a crime and it’s this comedy of errors that drive the plot of Pain & Gain.

 

Grade: 4 out of 5 stars

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Movie Review – “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”

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I saw a great magic trick the other night.  This trick was one that was skilled in the art of distraction, illusion, and even slight of hand. This trick had a few laughs but there were no moments of amazement or wonderment. And this trick was called  The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.  Director Don Scardino manages to take a movie that had some potential and allow it to become a not-so-funny comedy. Don’t get me wrong in that there are some funny moments and even a few that weren’t shown in the trailers and previews. But overall The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is a move that just falls flat in trying to do too much with what it has and not enough with what it should have been.

Grade: C+

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Movie Review – “Snitch”

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Interesting thing about Snitch is that the following quote which is directly from the movie, sums up the plot in a nice package.

Chase the drugs, catch the players. Chase the money, catch the King Pin.

Snitch is an interesting movie in that it’s not an action movie in the standard sense of the word “action”. It’s a slow build up to the finale. It builds on raw emotion as you watch how far a father will go to save his wrongfully imprisoned son. And when the “action” actually takes place it’s a jarring wake-up to a reality that is to true in today’s world.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays John Matthews a blue collar worker who owns a shipping company in Missouri. His ex-wife Sylvie Collins (Melina Kanakaredes) is doing her best at trying to raise their son Jason (Rafi Gavron). Jason’s world gets flipped upside down when he’s arrested in a DEA drug sting after a package containing Ecstasy arrives to his home. The DEA is willing to cut Jason’s sentence in half if he snitches on other sellers, however the only person Jason knows is his friend Craig – who happened to already cut a deal with the DEA.

Willing to do whatever he can to get his son out of jail and get the sentence cut to as short a time as possible, John meets with Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon) and Agent Cooper (Barry Pepper) to make a deal – John will go undercover and get a “big fish” to help his son. Knowing that he has ex-cons working for him, John looks for one that will help him with getting into the “drug world” in hopes of landing a big enough catch that the DEA will work with him. Daniel James (Jon Bernthal) is an ex-con that ran the streets with Malik (Michael K. Williams); Daniel is trying to move on with his family and get away from that world and lifestyle while Malik is running the show with the street dealers – both used to know each other from running in the same gang years ago.

After a trial run in which John and Daniel are ambushed by a cartel run by Juan Carlos ‘El Topo’ Pintera (Benjamin Bratt), we learn that Malik and ‘El Topo’ work together as they are part of the same supply chain. Eventually John is brought in by ‘El Topo’ to run the cash the receive from Malik into Mexico and the DEA want their top prize in this war against drugs.

Chase the drugs, catch the players. Chase the money, catch the King Pin.

So what did I think of Snitch? Read after the break to find out….

Grade: B-

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Movie Review – Bullet to the Head

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Stallone won’t go away…and that’s a good thing because Bullet to the Head is one of his best outings yet! Bullet delivers a combination of action and fun – and just like that time you put your peanut butter with my chocolate – it works. Based on Alexis Nolent’s French graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tete, Director Walter Hill manages to bring an interesting take on the “buddy” pictures we’ve seen before yet modernize it for today’s audience with characters and plot that make you feel invested till the end.

But you want to know what I liked about Bullet to the Head because, well, that’s why you’re here. So here you go…

Grade: B+

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Movie Review: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

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You know the story of how it begins…two kids left in the wood on their own. Lost, tired, and hungry they stumble across a house made of gingerbread and candy. The Witch who lives there captures and tortures them to eventually try and  eat them. Using her street smarts, Gretel breaks free of her chains and frees her brother Hansel who was being forced to fatten up and eat as much sweets as possible. They team up to destroy the Witch by pushing her into the oven and slow watch her roast away and burn. We’ve read/heard this Fairy Tale for years. But what happens after they kill the Witch and escape back into the woods and society? This is the question that “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” attempts to answer.

What did I think of H&G:WH? Well since you asked nicely I’ll tell you as I write a letter to the cast and crew with my thoughts. Read on why don’t ya!

Grade: F (for epic failure)

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Review in the Round – “Jack Reacher”

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Ever see a movie with a friend? Of course you have. Share your thoughts and see if you can come to a collective agreement on what you saw, how it flowed and how good or bad it was? Probably every weekend, right? We at Geek For E call that a ‘Review In The Round’ and this week it’s “Jack Reacher” with Rock & Alex.  Overall Rating: A-

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Movie Review – “Seven Psychopaths”

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Brilliant! That’s how I felt about Martin McDonagh’s written and directed movie Seven Psychopaths when it was over and the credits were rolling. This intelligent, dark-comedy was just damn brilliant. From the overall story to the story-within-a-story, Seven Psychopaths delivered an interesting look at Hollywood and managed to deliver a solid heist/revenge flick.

Marty (Colin Farrell) is a struggling Hollywood screen writer, has a mixed relationship with his alcoholism and his girlfriend Kaya (Abbie Cornish), and is trying to balance both along with his career and friendship with Billy. His best friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) is a struggling actor. Billy has another friend names Hans (Christopher Walken) and the two of them have a con-game where they “borrow” (really steal but they call it borrowing) a dog from their target and then return the dog to the owner in hopes of collecting the cash reward. It’s a means to an end as Billy hopes to make it big in Hollywood and Hans is doing this to help pay for his wife’s cancer treatments. However, when Billy steals a small Shih Tzu that belongs to Charlie (Woody Harrelson), one of the biggest mob bosses in Los Angeles, things start to unravel for Marty, Billy, and Hans.

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Movie Review – Taken 2

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There is a rule that should always be followed when making a sequel….make it better then the first. Most times this happens and in some instances we’ve had sequels that were even better then the original. We’ve also had sequels that have fallen flat to the point you wonder why it was even produced for the public to view. So where does Taken 2 fall into this hierarchy of sequeldom? Is it better then the first, much about the same, or so bad that you wonder why it was even created?

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