Hercules

Hercules, Heracles, or whoever he is, the Demigod son of Zeus is still a movie star. January's The Legend of Hercules died a quick death; let's see how this second 2014 movie, Hercules, does.

Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) made a name for himself performing the Twelve Labors. In reality, he has a crew of warriors helping him. They've been wandering the land ever since Hercules was exiled from Athens. His crime was the murder of his family ... but did he do it?

King Cotys of Thrace (John Hurt) summons Team Hercules to save his people. The evil King Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann) is out to conquer the land and the King needs their help to train his soldiers. A healthy sum of gold awaits them for a job well done. But is there really more to the story?

And that's all you need to know about the plot.

A comic-book miniseries, Hercules: The Thracian Wars, was the basis for the movie. Team Hercules is even presented like a sword-and-sandal superhero team. A death-seeking prophet, Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), stands out the most among his comrades.

Its premise is that it demystifies the Hercules myth. The monsters turn out to be either illusions or mundane. Hercules is strong enough to topple the humongous statue of Hera, and yet he can bleed. It would've helped a lot if the "truth" behind the labors was explained more. In consequence, the film acts like it's going back and forth on its premise.

Now we go to the technical aspects. Its sets and costumes looked OK. There were some good visual effects, but other effects were far too obvious. All in all, it was an adequate looking movie.

Available in both 3D and Flatscreen, Hercules is an OK matinee at the movies. If all you want is something big and dumb, this won't disappoint. Don't expect it to be anything substantial; don't even imagine how it could get worse.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The Apes are back in their first 3D feature, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Like its immediate predecessor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, this feature displays sound and fury, signifying something.

The brain-booster which enhanced Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his fellow apes went viral. The end result is a complete and utter collapse of the human race. Ten years later, Caesar rules his apes in the woods outside San Francisco. They haven't seen a human for two years; as far as they know, they really are dead.

One day, the apes meet actual, living humans. These humans just want to reactivate a nearby hydroelectric dam to bring back power to the city. The Apes just want to be left alone. One of the humans, Malcolm (Jason Clarke), decides to negotiate with Caesar for the dam. It's an uneasy process but it looks positive for both sides.

Caesar's lieutenant, Koba (Toby Kebell), used to be a mistreated lab animal. So naturally, he can't stand the idea of making nice with humanity. Koba pushes the Apes to war on the humans; Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), the other human leader, is more than willing to fight back. Caesar has to step in to save the peace.

Director Matt Reeves takes over for Rupert Wyatt for this sequel. With him comes composer Michael Giacchino, who once again composes a memorably epic soundtrack. Editors William Hoy and Stan Salfas contribute action and suspense to the film's set pieces. One case is a highly-advertised scene of Koba acting goofy for unsuspecting humans.

The film continues its predecessor's use of motion-capture Apes. Once again, the end result is a visual highlight. These computerized characters look and act like real Apes. You wouldn't guess they were computerized unless someone told you.

In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the tensions between man and ape keep the audience on edge. Its human characters are just as meaningful as the visuals. The visual effects amaze the audience rather than overwhelm them. The end result shows that there is great life in this old franchise.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

"Sound and fury signifying nothing."

That's how one might describe Michael Bay's filmography. The latest entry, Transformers: Age of Extinction, is a bit different. I found it tolerable, more so than the other two sequels.

This sequel retires the other three films' entire human cast. The new star is Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), a hapless inventor with a rebellious daughter, Tessa (Nicola Peltz). Cade specializes in turning junk into new junk. One day, he buys an old truck from a rundown movie theater. Cade takes a closer look and realizes that it is really the Autobot Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen).

In the last film, Prime and the Autobots destroyed the Decepticons once and for all. Their battle maimed Chicago. And now, a CIA squad called Cemetery Wind hunts down all Transformers. They do this with the help of another Transformer, Lockdown (Mark Ryan), who claims to answer to a higher power.

Years on the run have really wrecked Prime. But Cade's goodness gives him some hope for humanity. Prime assembles what Autobots he can to find the villains. What he finds shocks him: Transformers melted down into man-made drones. One such drone, Galvatron, is more than meets the eye. And his eye is set on "The Seed," a terraforming MacGuffin.

Anyone expecting lots of Robot action will get it. Prime and his fellow Transformers fight destructively across locations such as Texas, Chicago and Hong Kong. Its soundmix, co-supervised by consistently Oscar-nominated Greg P. Russell, handles the explosions and smashes nicely. The Transformers themselves look great. One set of Autobots, the Dinobots, are real highlights ... even if they did come out of mostly nowhere fast.

Out of all that sound and fury actually comes a story. It's about a shell-shocked Prime ready to quit fighting for the little man, and Cade the little man who eventually sparks his faith. It's really a captivating story. It's a bit ruined by the 165 minute runtime. We're made to think the last battle is in Chicago, but no, it goes on to Hong Kong. It felt slow at other times, but this was when the runtime was at its worst.

I said it about Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and I'll say it again here. Transformers: Age of Extinction is the type of film made for the big screen. That's one good thing about Michael Bay's style. Hopefully, someone will reel in the runtime of the next film. I can't imagine a four-hour toy commercial.

Jersey Boys

A jukebox musical on-stage, Jersey Boys plays on-screen more like Ray and Walk the Line than Mamma Mia or Rock of Ages. The plot allows the songs, rather than the songs make the plot. And of all directors you'd expect would direct, they get Clint Eastwood to do it.

In 1951, Frankie Castelluccio (John Floyd Young) and Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza) are frequent troublemakers. After much trouble with the law, the guys and Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) pursue an interest in music. Joe Pesci (Joey Russo) - that Joe Pesci - introduces them to Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen). Their group, eventually called The Four Seasons, struggles to get through the door.

Bob Crewe (Mike Doyle) finally gives them their own act. Frankie, now Frankie Valli, leads the group to many Number One hits. But Tommy's gambling debts, Nick's frustrations and Frankie's disintegrating family life tear the group apart. So it's down to a solo career for Frankie.

A cast of alumni from the stage show (including Tony-winner Young) headlines the film. The cinematic Four Seasons, who perform their songs live, act and sound like an old-time rock'n'roll band. Joey Russo, as Joe Pesci, alludes to his character's future Oscar-winning role in Goodfellas (as a Tommy DeVito!). Christopher Walken has a notable supporting role as Gyp DeCarlo, Frankie's mobster father figure.

At 134 minutes, the plot takes a long while to get anywhere. It was hard to keep invested in the struggles of the characters. Speaking of characters, there were multiple characters with the same first name! Which one was which? The slow-pace is compensated by numerous hilarious moments.

A few more things to note. The characters only perform songs when they're really performing on-stage. But the Four Seasons narrate with asides to the audience. OK. The end-credits begin with a curtain call as the cast sings December 1963 (Oh, What a Night). ODD.

What may have been energetic on-stage was slow on-screen. Fortunately, Jersey Boy's humorous moments kept up the pace more than the plot did. And this is a Clint Eastwood movie. If you want a more traditional musical, wait this Christmas for Into The Woods.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Cresida Cowell's book series How to Train Your Dragon became a wonderful surprise success for Dreamworks. Now they're ready to go Dragon-Flying again with this sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2.

The first film followed young viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) as he made peace between his people and the "menacing" dragons. Five years later, he and his dragon Toothless have adventures mapping the world. But his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) wants him to follow him as chief. Typical family film issues.

One of Hiccup's adventures lands him in trouble with a band of Dragon-Trappers. Even more troublesome, these trappers work for Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou), the nastiest warlord in the world. Drago wants to conquer the world with a Dragon Army, so Stoick prepares to fight back. Hiccup runs off with Toothless to make peace with Drago; along the way, he meets a master Dragon Rider (Cate Blanchett) who happens to be his long-lost mother, Valka. Her expertise is needed to fight off Drago's bloodlust.

Dean DeBlois, co-writer and co-director of the first film, takes up both departments himself this time. The story he's created is actually rather simple. There's the main plot of Hiccup's struggles, which include trying to stop Drago and meeting Valka. There's also Stoick trying to reel in his son. Meanwhile, Hiccup's friends chase after him and run into Drago's main trapper, Eret (Kit Harington). Credit for DeBlois for keeping it cohesive (instead of subplots galore squeezing through the door).

Whether in 3D or Flatscreen, you'll still get the same visual experience. The Dragons, whether they be new characters or established ones, are wonderfully unique. Their flying scenes are an amazing display of animated cinematography; they were made for John Powell's magnificent score. The scenery they inhabit, which include Valka's sanctuary, are spectacular animated environments.

There are now two top animated films this year: The Lego Movie and this one. That's because How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a greatly-conceived and realized sequel. It's funny, heartwarming and tragic. It's worth any admission price.

Belle

Her first, and previous film, was 2004's A Way of Life. Now, director Amma Asante has unveiled her sophomore feature, a historical drama entitled Belle.

As the mixed-race daughter of a white Navy officer and an African slave, Dido Elizabeth Belle's (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) position in 18th-century England's unclear. Her uncle and guardian, Judge William Murray (Tom Wilkinson) and his family regard her as their own. But their snobbish neighbors regard her as beneath their station.

One gentleman, John Davinier (Sam Reid), regards Belle with fondness. But alas, she is persuaded to marry Oliver Ashford (James Norton) for his status. Her cousin, Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon), is likewise persuaded to marry Oliver's bigoted brother, James (Tom Felton).

Murray is called to preside over the case of the Zong, a slave ship whose crew threw 142 slaves overboard. The Zong crew claimed it was a necessary evil, but as it turned out, it was more evil than necessary. Belle's future, as well as that of the slave trade, rests on Murray's ruling.

The writing credit has been subject to controversy (credited to Misan Sagay, but the current shooting script was by Asante). The result of that screenplay is an engaging work. Much of the credit goes to Raw's endearing performance as Belle. Amongst her supporting cast, one who stands out is Miranda Richardson as Ashford's over-the-top mother.

Its sets and costumes help bring 18th-century England to life. They aren't eye candy, ala The Great Gatsby, but they're still memorable creations. Rachel Portman's score is just as memorable; it fits the tone of the film perfectly.

Let's hope it won't be long before Amma Asante does her next feature. Belle provides a captivating history lesson about a little known, yet still-important person. You'll be amazed at what you'll learn.

22 Jump Street

Since 21 Jump Street was a smash on-screen, Sony has now given the world more of the same. 22 Jump Street, as part of its parodist nature, actually admits that's the case.

The inept duo of Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) open the film by failing to catch big bad drug-dealer The Ghost (Peter Stormare). They're promptly reassigned back to Jump Street. But since the Korean owners of their former headquarters bought the place back, they've relocated across the street to 22 Jump Street.

Their case, just like last time, is to stamp out the source of a new super drug. In fact, their superiors expect the duo to solve the case in exactly the same ways that they solved their first case. Just like a formulaic movie sequel. But our heroes decide that they don't want to do the same thing over and over again. That results in their case, and friendship, turning complicated.

In plain-English: Jenko wants to play football rather than chase crooks. Schmidt dates student Maya (Amber Stevens). And an obvious clue turns out to be a red herring.

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller give this family unfriendly film the same delightful parodist nature that they did with this year's The Lego Movie. The screenplay, credited to four writers (Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman), makes fun of action movies, college movies and formulaic sequels. The end credits actually gives us plenty of hypothetical sequels (which include a one-movie actor replacement) and spin-offs.

Jenko and Schmidt are still a likable pair of co-leads. They're the kind you'll be laughing with instead of just laughing at. Wyatt Russell and Jimmy Tatro are especially notable as Jenko's football buddies and suspected co-villains. The real co-villain provides good comic relief before the reveal.

22 Jump Street is more goofy and meta-fictional than most R-Rated comedies. Its most vulgar jokes involved return cameos from its predecessor's villains. But other than that, this film isn't ashamed to admit its true purpose. Let's hope those hypothetical sequels don't come to pass.

Edge of Tomorrow

A Japanese novel with a Beatles-sounding title, Hiroshi Sakurazaka's All You Need Is Kill, was the basis for director Doug Liman's new sci-fi film, Edge of Tomorrow.

In yet another crummy future, eerie aliens called Mimics invade. They take out much of Europe with their adaptive abilities. Humans develop powered exoskeletons, Jackets, to fight them. The best soldier in the war is Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), "The Angel of Verdun."

Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) used to be an ad-executive. Now he's been sent to the front-lines as a jacket-wearing soldier. He'll be part of the human resistance's final assault whether he likes it or not. But the Mimics get the drop on them and kill the resistance. Cage kills a particular Mimic and is splashed with its blood...

Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) used to be an ad-executive. Now he's been sent to the front-lines as a jacket-wearing soldier. He'll be part of the human resistance's final assault whether he likes it or not. But it seems he's been through this before. The Mimics foil the assault and kill the resistance. Cage dies too...

Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) used to be an ad-executive. Now he's been sent to the front-lines as a jacket-wearing soldier. He'll be part of the human resistance's final assault whether he likes it or not. Cage now knows what'll happen next. The Mimics foil the assault and kill the resistance. Cage meets Vrataski, who also knows what'll happen next...

Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) ... is in a time loop. The Mimic's blood gave him their ability to reset time, which is their secret to success. He meets Vrataski again and realizes she's been through this before; in fact, that's how she got so good at killing Mimics. To stop the time loop and the Mimics, they'll have to find and destroy the central Mimic, the Omega.

You can best describe this as Starship Troopers meets Groundhog Day. Or rather, a video game of Starship Troopers. Plenty of enemies to shoot, amazing visuals and the ability to reset once you die. Makes the audience wish they can play it. It's still exciting, though.

The screenplay, by Christopher McQuarrie and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, initially has fun messing with Cage. Particularly so when he's offed in pathetically careless circumstances. But as the film goes on, we realize the downside of his situation. If the film is one big video game, then its main concept deconstructs the infinite continue. Losing a video game level repeatedly is soul crushing; losing your life especially so.

Cruise helps the film out of any potential dark spots. As Cage, he starts off as nothing but a coward. But we still find him likable and amusing. His many deaths may seem repetitively annoying, but that's the point. We want him to succeed; his climb from coward to warrior is a satisfying one.

Only a few of the other cast members get noticeable development. Most obviously is Blunt, who makes for a compelling shell-shocked warrior. Another is Bill Paxton, who plays our heroes' heavy drawled Commanding Officer.

Edge of Tomorrow is available, as usual, in both 3D and Flatscreen formats. See it either way; you'll still get the same amazing premise either way. See it multiple times if you want a similar experience.

Maleficent

Disney continues its live-action fairy tale ride with Maleficent, a centerpiece for the evil fairy of the studio's Sleeping Beauty. At least we think she's an evil fairy. But just like in Wicked, we see that the old fairy tale wasn't telling us something.

Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) used to be a happy fairy in the magical Moors. Next door is a kingdom of evil humans; one of which, Stefan (Sharlto Copley) grows up from peasant to scheming soldier. The evil King Henry tries to invade the Moors, but Maleficent stops him. So Henry tells his men that whoever beats Maleficent will be the next King. Stefan, who happens to be Maleficent's former childhood only human friend, does the deed. He only cuts off her wings, but that's enough ...

Maleficent promptly reinvents herself into the Evil Queen of the Moors. She crashes the Christening of Stefan's newborn daughter, Aurora, to give her the all-familiar sleeping curse. But the curse will break with true love's kiss. She watches over the Princess to pass the time before the curse is to take effect. That comes with the unfortunate side effect of Maleficent actually caring for her. 

It's the directorial debut of production designer Robert Stromberg (Avatar, Alice in Wonderland). His production designers, Dylan Cole and Gary Freeman, populate the film with plenty of visual splendor. It's especially so with the Moors, a land populated with many unique creatures. When Maleficent "corrupts" it, the only bad thing that happens is that there's no day. That eternal night is a luminescent wonderland. 

But what about the star of the movie? As portrayed by Jolie, Maleficent's evil side is subtly hammy. Her best scenes are her awkward encounters with her intended victim. She just doesn't know what to do around that little princess. Her shift back to good makes dramatic sense.

Maleficent is a good twist on some old fairy tale cliches. Though flashes of other modern fairy tales may come when watching it, particularly near the end. Especially Sleeping Beauty; the cursing scene is recreated here almost word to word. 

As for a verdict. Whether in 3D or Flatscreen, it's a good family matinee. But be careful that certain scenes in the opening are beyond disturbing.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

The mid-credits of last summer's The Wolverine hinted at something big. Now we see that something big. It's X-Men: Days Of Future Past, which sees the return of director Bryan Singer and a few alumni from the first three films.

It's the near future which means it's not good? How not good? Robots. That kind of future. These robots are Sentinels, originally built to get rid of the perceived threat of mutantkind. But they also went after humans who'd one day have mutant kids. The Sentinels can adapt to any mutant, so any fight with them is a no-win scenario.

And how'd this get started? Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), formerly known as Raven, assassinated Sentinel creator Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) in 1973. The Government caught her and studied her to give the Sentinels their adapting ability.

So in future-time, Shadowcat (Ellen Page) beams back Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) consciousness to 1973. He has to get disillusioned Professor X (James MacAvoy) and mean Magneto (Michael Fassbender) back together to sway Mystique from her plan. It's not that easy.

There's much to Marvel at in the visual department. The Makeup department creates not just wild mutant looks, but 70's hairstyles as well. The Visual Effects team render a wide array of awesome mutant powers such as teleporting, elemental shapeshifting and super speed. That last power belongs to Quicksilver (Evan Peters), who puts it to good use to break out Magneto from his specially designed prison and then to stop a potentially lethal showdown (hilariously). He exits the movie after this, most likely because he'd resolve the plot right away.

The rest of the movie builds up the stakes. There's only three X-Men in 1973, and the "best there is" isn't yet. Meanwhile, scenes back in the future emphasize the deadline of their situation. It's one of those movies that you know things will go well but you can't help but tense up.

X-Men fans dissatisfied with the results of X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine may be happy to know that this movie kicks their events to the curb. As for me, it irks me in hindsight as to why not much thought went into those movies' creative process in the first place.

As for this one, it's simply the best of the X-Men films. It's the most fun I've had with this franchise in a long time. This one is worth remembering.

Stay all the way to the end and you'll meet the titular antagonist of the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse.

Godzilla

The King of the Monsters has returned.

Ten years after his last Toho adventure in a model city, Final Wars, Godzilla is back to stomp on a real town. Of course, there was that American version, but not a lot of people want to talk about it anymore.

In 1999, something destroys the Janjira Power Plant in Tokyo. The Government says it was a natural disaster, but scientist Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), whose wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) died in the disaster, thinks it was something else. That something else is a MUTO, a flying, city stomping thing that eats radiation for lunch. It was in hibernation, but now it's free and is ready to feed. Even more, there's two of them.

The two MUTOs decide to make San Francisco their nesting grounds. The Government decides to nuke them before that happens. Of course, that would screw them up even more than they already are. So, Dr. Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) suggests they conscript something capable of beating up a set of city stomping monsters.

That something? The very city stomper whose name is the title. What more can there be said?

Let's talk about the visual effects. Needless to say, they're nothing like Toho's man-in-suit in model city formula. Whether or not you find this a good thing depends on how much you like the older films. As for me, someone who's into the older films, the visual effects are amazing. Especially in its designs of Godzilla and the MUTOs.

His name may be the title, but Godzilla only first appears fifty minutes into the film. Before then, there's plenty of human drama that may disinterest many a monster fan. I wasn't bored by the drama; at the very least, they did establish what threats the MUTOs were in-between scenes of Godzilla. At least there was one benefit of minimum Godzilla: the climactic unveiling of his signature Atomic Breath was utterly spectacular.

Those looking for a monster stomping through cities won't be disappointed. Godzilla may take a while to get to the "good stuff," but when it does, it gets good. Per usual, I'll let you decide on seeing it on Flatscreen or 3D.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

His Broadway adventure didn't pan out in the end, but Spider-Man's film career is still going strong. His latest film adventure, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 once again has Andrew Garfield in the familiar costume.

Peter Parker's life as the swinging superhero is going well. But his love life with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) isn't doing good. He wants to commit to a relationship, but he also wants to honor her father's (Denis Leary) dying wish to keep away from her. Because if any super-villain found out Peter is Spider-Man and he's dating Gwen ...

Meanwhile, nerdy scientist and number one Spidey fan Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) gets into an accident involving electric eels and becomes the super-villain Electro. Peter's former best bud Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) returns from boarding school to take over his father's company, Oscorp. Oscorp is up to no good, as Peter's dead father, Richard (Campbell Scott) realized. And Harry decides to put the no good to (his) good use.

Director Marc Webb's second swing with Spidey looks and sounds good. Spidey's web-swinging is awesome, but Electro's appearance, which combines CGI with makeup, is just as impressive. Meanwhile, Daniel Mindel's cinematography has some amazing use of the color blue. The music department, headed by Hans Zimmer, contributes a pretty good score.

There's a lot going on and that's the film's biggest problem. A few of the plots aren't adequately developed to their fullest extent. Take Electro for example. He starts out as a nice guy before becoming a bitter super-villain. He's defeated like a standard super-villain, rather than a tragic super-villain. There's a large difference between them. Still, a major end twist leaves the audience wondering about Spidey's future.

Book-ending the film is Paul Giamatti as a thug named Aleksei, who gains the super-villain identity of the Rhino. He's delightfully hammy both as bad man and super bad man. But Spidey's wisecracks are the comedic highlights of the film.

As it stands, Spidey's latest film adventure gives the audience a good ride. The plot-line could've used more work, but the amazing set-pieces make it worth it. Let's just see how Spidey's next adventures, which include a super-villain get-together called The Sinister Six, will play out.

Stay tuned mid-credits for a scene from another upcoming Marvel movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Transcendence

One film I'm really waiting for this year is Interstellar, Christopher Nolan's thought-provoking sci-fi about a wormhole to another universe. What's on the other side?

In the meantime, we can all see Nolan's (executive) producing skills at work in another thought-provoking sci-fi film, Transcendence, which sees the directorial debut of his long-time cinematographer, Wally Pfister.

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) and his wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) create PINN, a really-advanced supercomputer. Their goal with it is to make it smarter than everyone ever, or as they call it, Transcendence. Nobody, however, bothered to inform them that an anti-technology terrorist organization called RIFT is lurking about. Which makes it easy for a RIFT representative to shoot Will with a radiation bullet.

(What? Were they too good for normal bullets?!)

Now that Will is dying a slow, painful death, Evelyn decides to save him by uploading his consciousness into PINN. Digital Will has Evelyn connect him to the World Wide Web to expand his influence. End result: They take over a small town and attract test-subjects for their healing, individuality-robbing nanobots. It's up to RIFT, of all organizations, and the Casters' former partner, Max (Paul Bettany), to stop them.

This film has a lot of ideas about advancing technology. The only thing I got out of it was, "It's not nice to make people into a hive mind! Even if it is to heal them from things!"

The rest of the ideas are somewhere in a 119 minute film that's dull and overlong. You realize both problems the moment you realize Will was shot with a radiation bullet. A weapon that slowly kills. A real bullet could've saved RIFT, and the audience, a lot of time. Afterwards, things move along so slowly that you'll surely check your clocks more than once.

RIFT also goes from a terrorist organization to the "good guys." Sorry, but they weren't interesting good guys. Or even that good.

Transcendence falls flat in its goal to give its audience some intellectual sci-fi. The only question the audience will get from this is "what?" If anything, this makes me want to see Interstellar even more; expect that review when it comes out in November.

Rio 2

Birds of a feather, blue or lavender, aren't that together.

Since the first trip to Rio was a hit, Fox and Blue Sky Studios booked another one. Rio 2 has a lot of stuff going on, but what does it all mean?

Blue (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hatthaway), established last time as the only Spix's Macaws, aren't alone anymore. They have kids: fun-loving Carla, brainy Bia and adventurous Tiago. News reports come in that they're even less alone. A whole flock of Spix's Macaws exist in the Amazon, and the Birds of Blue Feather fly off to meet whatever family is there.

And the family is huge. There's Jewel's father, Eduardo (Andy Garcia), resident tough-bird Roberto (Bruno Mars) and Jewel's Aunt Mimi (Rita Moreno). They're happy to see Jewel again, but not her "pet" mate.

Meanwhile:

Evil loggers threaten the Macaw Habitat. Jewel and Blu's humans get abducted by the nameless foreman (Miguel Ferrer).

Side-characters Nico, Pedro and Rafael (Jamie Foxx, will.i.Am and George Lopez) host auditions for a talent show.

Nigel the Cockatoo (Jemaine Clement) gathers some new sidekicks to seek revenge on Blu for dispatching him in the last film.

And there's a flock of Scarlet Macaws that hate our Blue-feathered friends.

What's a bird of Blue Feather to do?

As with the first movie, it's a display of nature at its most colorful. The animals look great, especially Nigel's new sidekick, Gabi the Tree Frog. Unlike the first movie, the soundtrack is just average. None of the songs are bad, but none stand out on their own.

Now to the subplots. Team Nigel's subplot acted like background noise for most of the film; but when Nigel threatens to impede Blu in the climax, suddenly he's a threat. The talent show auditions feature a pair of turtles, slow as molasses and funny for it. The loggers, save for the foreman, were typical human villains; the Scarlet Macaws were just extraneous.

The main plot with our Blue-Feathered friends was OK for the most part. Nothing unique. But then we see the loggers advance and we realize how capable Blu is in this crisis, while tough-bird Roberto isn't. That moment got my attention.

Rio 2 should be a decent family outing in either 3D or Flatscreen. It should appeal to kids most of all. It's not the best family film out now, but let's not imagine how this could get worst.

This is another place to catch the Almost Home short, a set-up for this fall's Home.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Welcome to The Grand Budapest Hotel. We hope you never leave ... until the end credits.

Wes Anderson's latest eccentric comedy states it's a tribute to writer Stefan Zweig. Zweig was an Austrian writer best known for his autobiography The World of Yesterday. He also hated Naziism.

(He was a name best known back then than now.)

Anyone more familiar with Zweig can spot the physical similarities with him and the film's nameless Author (Jude Law). He visits the titular establishment in 1968. Once a highlight of the Ruritanian State of Zubrowka, it's now a shadow of its former self. Its aged-owner, Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), decides to tell the writer of his early days in the hotel.

In 1932, Zero (Tony Revolori) is hired as the Hotel's Lobby Boy by the dandy concierge, M. Gustave H. (Raph Fiennes). Gustave is well-versed in serving the guests, and one of its former guests, Madame D. (Tilda Swinton), is dead. She willed him a painting, Boy with Apple. Her scheming relatives, including son Dmitri (Adrien Brody), don't want Gustave to have it. Coincidentally or not, Gustave is accused of Madame D.'s murder.

It's up to Zero to help Gustave prove himself innocent of murder. All the while, they have to dodge the evil thug Jopling (Willem Dafoe) and the threat of Civil War.

The first thing you'll notice about this feature is its artistic style. Its sets and costumes wonderfully render the 1930's in a wonderfully cartoonish fashion ala Dick Tracy. The film's constantly changing aspect ratio was off-putting at first until I realized it was for each time period. The images captured on-screen, by Robert Yeomen, are incredible.

Anderson's ensemble is made of well-cast actors delightfully hamming it up. Aside from the aforementioned, there's Jeff Goldblum as an honest lawyer, Bill Murray as a fellow concierge, Harvey Keitel as Gustave's cellmate and Edward Norton as an affable Army Inspector. You'll have little trouble laughing along with their antics. Though be warned that it can get really violent at times.

The film's madcap presentation occasionally made it hard to follow a few key story-points. While Anderson made other story points vague, one can easily fill in the blanks to their satisfaction. A few revelations at the end were rather downbeat, so be warned on that too.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is, for the most part, a stylishly-silly comedy. You won't be disappointed if that's what you're looking for. And hopefully, this will be a movie we'll hear about next year.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The patriotic Marvel has returned.

Once again played by Chris Evans, Captain America returns in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Whereas the previous one was a Big Budget Movie Serial directed by Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer), this is a modern day spy-thriller directed by the Russo Brothers ... best known for episodes of Community.

And yet it works.

Captain America, the product of World War II, has been adjusting OK to life in modern times. Except for the fact that spy-agency SHIELD has three new Helicarriers (flying Aircraft Carriers) set to launch. What worries Cap' is that the Helicarriers are there to shoot any "threat" from the sky. SHIELD thinks it'll save freedom that way; Cap' disagrees.

SHIELD director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is soon eliminated by a Spook called The Winter Soldier. A data-drive with sensitive Intel was the motive. Another SHIELD official, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), wants Cap' to hand it over. That doesn't happen, so Cap' and Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) go on the run. What they find on the drive is a conspiracy dating back to the founding of SHIELD itself.

Naturally, knowledge of the prior Marvel movies is required. But fortunately, the plot brings the uninitiated up-to-speed. It even brings back past plot points, like Garry Shandling's annoying Senator character from Iron Man 2, and shows there's more to them than we thought. Even the Winter Soldier's true identity is a past plot point.

Those expecting super-heroics won't be disappointed. There's plenty of incredible action scenes in the story. Among the highlights include the opening rescue mission, the first attempt on Fury's life and the final battle. Cap' and Black Widow's successful evasion of SHIELD Agents in a shopping mall was both tense and funny.

Returning screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely give the characters much to do. You won't have any problem either liking them or hating them. Cap', Black Widow, and Fury make for a great screen trio. New character Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is a fun guy even before he gets a superhero ID, The Falcon. And Redford seems reasonable before we see how low he goes. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is among the best solo Marvel movies with Iron Man and Iron Man 3. It's a pre-Summer blockbuster with much to think about. Whether you see it in Flatscreen or 3D, you'll still get the same amazing adventure either way.

As usual, stay tuned through the end credits for two extra scenes. The first one sets up next year's Avengers: Age of Ultron. The other is one last scene for our titular antagonist.

Noah

After years of development, director Darren Aronofsky's take on the Biblical story of Noah has finally set sail.

The basics of the story are the same. God (referred to as "The Creator" in the story) plans to flood the World to get rid of the bad people ruining it. Noah (Russell Crowe) is told by God to build a big Ark to save the world's animals from the storm to come. Storm comes and Noah, his family and the critters ride it out. New World.

Here's a bit of what Aronofsky put in. Fallen Angels called Watchers who've become Giant Rock Monsters. An evil King named Tubal-Cain (Ray Winstone) who stows away on the Ark. And Noah, who's become convinced that not even his family is supposed to live past the Flood.

It's not an easy film to evaluate. It's a good looking film thanks to ILM and cinematographer Matthew Libatique. Its flashbacks to the time of Eden are colorful, while the approaching flood is appropriately scary. Inside the Ark, Tubal-Cain's inconsiderateness is the scariest thing. He eats an animal or two, the last animals on Earth. Whole generations of animals are ruined. The confines of the Ark lends gravity to the situation.

Anyone expecting a "light" Bible story should look elsewhere. The film's 138 minute run-time is seriousness upon seriousness. And it was a bit overwhelming when all was said and done. So much so that if you're greeted upon leaving the theater with an actual rainstorm, as I was, you'd have cause for concern. Or not.

In the end, Noah is about our hero learning that there is good in Man. So the seriousness of it all is a bit warranted. It's only in Flatscreen here, though some countries have a 3D version just for them. Be prepared for how unconventional this take on the story gets.

Divergent

Summit Entertainment, looking for the same audience it attracted with Twilight, and its parent company Lionsgate attracts with The Hunger Games, has a new franchise straight from the bookshelf. This is Divergent, by Veronica Roth.

In yet another post-apocalyptic future, Chicago is walled-off from the rest of the world. Inside Chicago, the people belong to one of five factions determined by their strongest virtue. So they're either with Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the kind), Candor (the honest), Erudite (the wise) or Dauntless (the brave). Or, they're Divergent, which makes them qualify for any of the above. But the ruling class doesn't want that; so, the Divergent are either made dead or Factionless.

Anyway...

Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) of Abnegation, like the other kids her age, is to choose the Faction she'll spend her life in. Her aptitude test exposes her as Divergent, so she officially declares herself Dauntless. The Dauntless are the Security Class, so "Tris," as she calls herself, is dropped into basic training. During training, she discovers a plot by corrupt Erudite against Abnegation.

Call this a rehash of other Young Adult franchises all you want. My problem with Divergent is that it's too long. Tris is an established Divergent within the first twenty-minutes or so. This plot point isn't brought up again until about an hour later, maybe more. In the meantime, there were characters I kept forgetting about and at least one I didn't really get her name. Being unfamiliar with the Book Series didn't help me.

Fortunately, director Neil Burger enlisted some great talent. Chief among them is composer Junkie XL (real name: Tom Holkenborg), whose score is quite a listen. The real and digital set design which created future Chicago was really good. Those two elements come together in a scene where Tris zip-lines through the Chicago Skyline. 

Divergent's pluses make this a respectable try for this genre instead of something I'd rather forget. This should at least satisfy fans of the book series and let everyone else know what this is all about. The next book, Insurgent, is due on-screen next year and whether or not you choose to follow the story is up to you.

Muppets Most Wanted

Because their last big screen adventure was a hit, The Muppets have a new one. Their eighth feature is Muppets Most Wanted and here's the review.

It literally opens at the moment The Muppets ended. 

So now that The Muppets have reclaimed their studio and have become relevant again, what do they do? A sequel! But they have no idea what do this time. 

Enter Dominic Badguy (Ricki Gervais), who suggests that they take The Muppet Show across Europe. That's one idea, what else?

The evil thief Constantine has escaped from a Siberian GULAG. Badguy is his "Number Two," as he constantly reminds him. Badguy sets up the aforementioned tour to give Constantine a cover for his heists. And since Constantine is a dead-ringer for Kermit the Frog, the old switcheroo is easy to do.

So Kermit's now in the GULAG, where a law-abidingly dense guard, Nadya, (Tina Fey) runs the show. And with Not-Kermit running the Muppet Show, the Muppets can do any act they want. Will someone figure out which frog is where?

As is typical with The Muppets, there's lots of self-referential humor, musical numbers and celebrity cameos here. There's even a musical number where they make fun of the idea of sequels. And among celebrity cameos, check out Christoph Waltz doing the Waltz. And oh yes, the musical numbers were catchy.

This Muppet Caper is 113 minutes long, which is ten minutes longer than the last one. And it certainly feels long at places. All but Animal, of all Muppets, figures out the switcheroo early on. Nadya figures out off-screen, but she still keeps Kermit in the GULAG! The fact that this is a silly comedy makes this a bit forgivable. And the physical comedy bits definitely kept me through the film.

Those looking for an energetic family movie outing won't be disappointed. Muppets Most Wanted is a suitably silly Muppets adventure. Who knows where it ranks among Muppet movies? All that matters is this was a fun time.

And there's also a Pixar short starring the cast of Monster's University, Party Central. That was the best part of the picture.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Rocky & Bullwinkle's time-traveling co-stars Mr. Peabody and Sherman are back. This time, they make their cinematic debut in the latest CGI 3D Animated escapade from Dreamworks.

Mr. Peabody is the world's smartest dog. Sherman is his human adopted son. They spend their time going around time in Peabody's WABAC time machine. One minute, they're in the court of Marie Antoinette. Another, they're in the Trojan War. So forth and so on.

But Sherman has to go to school now. On his first day, he makes enemies of the mean girl, Penny Peterson. Their ensuing fight puts Peabody's custody of Sherman at risk. So now, Peabody invites Penny and her family for dinner so she and Sherman can make nice.

Penny and Sherman use the WABAC behind Peabody's back. This brings about some temporal chaos, so our heroes have to fix it. One thing leads to another and ...

It wants to entertain both kids and adults at the same time. I say it does it pretty well. Kids will surely enjoy the animated action scenes as our heroes evade such foes as Madame Guillotine and the Trojan Army. Adults will get a chuckle out of the movie and historical references through out the picture. Peabody's illustrated thinking process was also a highlight.

Its biggest running gag is someone reacting to a joke with a deadpan "I don't get it." Its story execution might have you saying the same thing. There's a lot of time paradox stuff later in the movie; by a lot, I mean a lot. Penny also goes from hostile to supporting Sherman too quickly. Fortunately, the fun factor isn't smashed into the pavement by these story flaws.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman is an admirably fun early year animated film. It's certainly worth going to a Flatscreen Showing on a Matinee. But only go on a 3D showing if you really, really want to.

It's preceded by a funny short called "Almost Home," which features cuddly Aliens in search of a new planet. It's also a stealth preview of Dreamworks' Thanksgiving release of Home.

Tune in Next Time for "Muppets Most Wanted" or "Frog Prevention."

300: Rise of an Empire

THIS! IS! ...

Uh, I don't know what this is.

What I am aware of is that it's 300: Rise of an Empire, a continuation of the Frank Miller graphic novel cinematized as 300. You can also call this a precession, intercession and continuation of the ultimate macho Greek story.

Leonidas and his 300 Spartans have fallen at Thermopylae. But first, a flashback!

Precession: The heroic Themistocles of Athens (Sullivan Stapleton) slew the Persian King Darius I (Yigal Naor) at the Battle of Marathon while his son, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) watched. The Evil Artemisia (Eva Green) goads him to become "a God," the only thing that can thwart the Greeks. And in due time, Xerxes reinvents himself into the bald, golden giant introduced in the first film.

Intercession: Xerxes plans to conquer the world and only the 300 Spartans decide to thwart him. Except that Themistocles also wants to thwart Xerxes; but to do so, he has to get the Greek City States together. Queen Gorgo of Sparta (Lena Headey) tells him to count her out. So ...

Continuation: Now that the 300 Spartans are dead, it's up to Team Themistocles to finish the fight. Artemisia proves to be a formidable adversary.

Yes, it's that kind of sequel.

Noam Murro, known mainly for directing commercials, makes his first film since the Indie movie Smart People. Zack Snyder, director and co-writer of the first film, produces and co-writes this one.

The end result is a computerized bloody display of stupidity. It's not the good kind of bloody stupidity; it's all violence and no impact. It's the "Uh, OK," kind of violence instead of the intended "Oh, wow!" or "So stupid it's funny" type of violence. A scene involving two confused Masked Persian Guards was the only thing that got a laugh out of me.

Green, as Artemisia, is supposed to be a psychotic villainess with a sad backstory. But she's so psychotic that her backstory doesn't even compute. I found her more repulsive than sympathetic; if you want to find a sympathetic villain, watch Captain Phillips.

Fans of the original film may get their money's worth in either 3D or Flatscreen. Those ambivalent to the first movie, whether they've seen it or not, should find something else.

RoboCop

The 80's movie superhero has returned.

This new RoboCop, from director José Padilha, replaces the bleak satire of Paul Verhoeven's original blockbuster with more "grounded" super-heroics. It's a different entity, but this new one is still worth it.

In the somewhat distant future, the US Military patrols the world with its drone army supplied by the diabolical OmniCorp. But a Senate Bill prevents the drone army from coming to the homefront. OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) decides to get around it by making a cyborg warrior. After all, that would make it somewhat human.

Detroit Officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) discovers corruption within his bureau. He's then blown up by a car bomb from the crooked cops. Dr. Norton (Gary Oldman) of OmniCorp rebuilds Murphy into the company's new crime-fighting cyborg. "RoboCop" proves so good at his job that the pesky Senate Bill's days might be numbered. But Murphy becomes a liability to OmniCorp when he decides to investigate the incident that changed him.

I must emphasize again that this is a different entity than the 1987 movie. And never is this difference more obvious than the eponymous character's suit, which goes from the original film's silver-and-white color scheme to an all-black one. It may take some time to get used to the latter suit colors; still, they look great in the film's nighttime scenes. A few fans may be happy to know that the original colors aren't forgotten about by the end.

Like the original film, this new one does take aim at today's most political topics. This is mainly done in the show-within-the-show, "The Novak Element," whose host is played by Samuel L. Jackson. Amongst the highlights: "Illegal American Immigrants in Mexico." Jackson, as Novak, is entertaining, even if his character is unhinged.

There's plenty of good visual effects to speak of. Among them include the CGI update of the original "ED-209," whose movement might satisfy those who found the original's stop-motion too lackluster. Another good, yet shocking effect, was the reveal of what's just underneath Murphy's suit (not much). More optimistically, the film's use of holographic flashbacks was great. They're amazing for a film from so early this year.

RoboCop may be different from the original; but then again, a beat-by-beat take on the original would have been pointless. For what it's trying to be, this new Robo greatly succeeds. Only time will tell if it will be as respected as its cult classic originator.

The Lego Movie

Yeah, they made one of those.

And it's cool.

The Lego Movie stars Emmet (Chris Pratt), a generic construction worker in Lego World. He's so generic that none of his "friends" know him. One day, after hours, he spots the mysterious Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) sniffing around for something. Emmet finds the something that the evil Lord/President Business (Will Ferrell) wants.

The something is the "Piece of Resistance" that can plug up the mysterious "Kragle." Lord President Business wants to use it to glue the Lego folks into place so that they'll be as "they should be."

Only the Master Builders, able to quickly build anything without instruction manuals, can oppose Business. And Emmet is the prophesied "the Special," the greatest Master Builder ever. Or, at least that's what they all think. But Emmet is so un-original that one might think the prophecy made a mistake. Or did it?

The incredibly silly story by directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (with Dan and Kevin Hageman) is no detriment at all. Adults will have a good time laughing at the cliches thrown around and spoofed. Kids will have a good time laughing at the silliness of all the characters. And of course, there's a twist that changes the whole nature of the movie.

Lord Business's henchman, Bad Cop/Good Cop, is a real stand out. That's because the alternatively cheery/gruff villain is the last character you'd expect to be played by Liam Neeson. The passive aggressive Uni-Kitty (Alison Brie) is also a fun character.

The Lego Movie may be a toy commercial, but it's a good looking one. The CGI makes the characters so Lego-like that you'd think it was real Lego. And it was fun to see normally serious characters getting spoofed light-heartedly.

Last year, I waited all year before a great animated movie showed up (that was Frozen). This year, that great animated movie has come already. The Lego Movie wants its audience to have fun and it succeeds. Hope there's more great animated movies after this.

The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men was supposed to be one of this year's Oscar contenders. But when production hit a snag, it got deployed over here. Now, it remains to be seen if voters will remember it next year.

Director/Star/Co-Writer George Clooney's latest film documents the formation of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Program during World War II. The program, whose members were nicknamed The Monuments Men, hunted down artwork that the Nazis had purloined. It was the subject of a book by Robert M. Edsel, from which the screenplay was derived.

In this movie, Clooney is Art Professor Frank Stokes, leader of the band. His fellow Monuments Men are art experts, including curators and architects. They go into Axis territory during the last year of the war to steal the stolen art.

They're not the only ones with an investment in the artwork. The Soviets want the art as restitution for their loses. The Nazis want to destroy it all should the Third Reich fall. The Allied superiors wonder what's so important about the mission. As it turns out, preserving the history of entire civilizations is very important.

The film has some lively production design from James D. Bissell. But its plot is rather stiff. We know that the Nazis and Soviets have plans for the art. But the film moves along so leisurely that it diminishes the narrative tension. A few individual scenes, such as one with a broken landmine, do not have this problem.

Composer Alexander Desplat's score is a great contribution to the picture. It gives the film the suitably heroic mood that it wanted to invoke. You'll remember it even if your attention starts to wane. It's truly the film's best quality.

The film's casting is good. Asides from Clooney, there's the likes of Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett. They're all good fits for the character types they're playing. Especially Murray as the deadpan Chicago architect. None are miscast.

It's a respectable effort from this cast. But The Monuments Men isn't that much of a lively history tour. It's watchable, but not above-and-beyond memorable. Instead, it lands in the middle-ground of World War II pictures.

August: Osage County

A cast of big names brings Tracy Letts' prize-winning play August: Osage County to the big screen. The end result is like watching the play on screen. For better and worse.

Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard) used to be a well respected poet. His career long in decline, Beverly's taken to the bottle. He opens the story by interviewing a live-in nanny, Johnna (Misty Upham). Almost immediately, he jumps in a lake and drowns. His wife, Violet (Meryl Streep), is supposed to bring the family together in this time of need. But she's suffering from cancer of the mouth and is utterly insane and bitter with the world.

Some of the other family members aren't better.

Eldest daughter Barbara (Julia Roberts) tries to bring the family together. But her sinking ship of a marriage makes her just as bitter as her mother. Violet's sister Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale) seems like a nice woman. But she's uncharacteristically harsh towards her son, "Little Charles" (Benedict Cumberbatch) for reasons later explained. Middle daughter Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) plans to elope with Little Charles. And youngest daughter Karen (Juliette Lewis) has a fiancé, Steve (Dermot Mulroney), who has designs on Barbara's daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin).

(Excuse me while I catch my breath.)

The secret word of the day is "BLUNT." That word describes director John Wells' rendition of the play, whose screenplay was written by Letts himself. When people get yell, they REALLY YELL. When they're sad, they're REALLY SAD. And when Meryl Streep, as Violet, acts insane, she's REALLY INSANE. It's like the play itself was performed right next to the screen. Not on the screen. Next to it.

It's been described as a Dark Comedy. But the presentation makes it just too dark to be darkly funny. I was just wondering many times what was supposed to be funny. The only thing I honestly laughed at was the climactic lunch scene, if only because it was overacted kind of stupid.

The only saving grace was Chris Cooper as Charles Sr., the nicest and sanest man in the movie. At first, he lacks the power to stop his wife's treatment of his son. But when he gets it, he rightfully calls her out on it. His performance was the best because it was the quietest of the movie.

Is this a work that only works on stage? No. I think this work should have been executed better on film. If it was, August: Osage County would have been a great family dramedy. Oh well.