The Expendables 2

It’s very rare that a sequel is better than the original but in this case it is.
Mr. Church, Bruce Willis, reunites Stallone’s band of dysfunctional heroes for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of his men is murdered on the job, his quest for revenge puts his team deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat. You can see that more money was invested in this version which equals more action scenes and more stars. Director Simon West, who directed one of my favorite action movies Con Air, does a good job of maintaining the essence of the original.
Crews, who almost drowned on the new Reality show Stars Earn Stripes is hilarious. We also get to see Lone Wolf McQuade, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme (who were not in the original) in superb appearances. One appearance that was not up to par was the Govonator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has not been in a major film of late so the audience has not been able to see him age. When you first see him he looks weathered. His lines that are given him in the movie are the same old lines he had 100 years ago. Hopefully Arnold gets his rhythm back and we can see him in one last great action movie.

Verdict:

Better than the first. If you want to see an action movie skip Bourne Legacy and see this. What do you think?

Sparkle

This is a reboot of a movie that precedes the hit Dreamgirls. If you take Dreamgirls out of the equation then this movie would be fair to good. However when you watch it you can’t help comparing it Dreamgirls.
The story is set in the 1960s, where three sisters form girl group and soon become Motown sensations, but fame becomes a challenge as the close-knit family begins to fall apart.
This is a breakthrough role for American Idol winner Jordan Sparks but the true star of this movie is an
Carmen Ejogo who plays one of her sisters. Carmen and Mike Epps (who plays her fiancé) steal the movie. For Whitney Houston fans it’s a sad film to watch. (A lady next to me in the theater was crying every time she came on screen). You don’t see the once vibrant ingénue that we saw in The Bodyguard, what you see in Sparkle is someone who can no longer act with bad makeup and a horrible wigs. Even the one song she sings in the flick is poorly synced with the movie.
You are left wondering what could have been if she stayed away from drugs. There is one scene in the movie where one of her daughters says that she looks tired and that pretty much sums up her performance.

Verdict:

Jordan Sparks is a fine singer but Carmen Ejogo is a damn good actress. I only recommend seeing this movie to discover a new star which is Carmen. What did you think of Whitney in this movie?

The Campaign

I love both Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and I expected this movie to have me crying from laughter, but it didn’t.

The story is about two CEOs who seize an opportunity to oust long-term congressman Cam Brady (Ferrell) by putting up a rival candidate. Their man: naive Marty Huggins (Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center.
There are some moments where the jokes are funny but they are few and far apart. It was however refreshing to see Galifianakis play a new character other than the one he plays in The Hangover. There is nothing more I can say about this movie other than don’t see it.

Verdict:
The true life Campaign that is playing out across America now is way better than spending time in a theater watching this. What do you think?

The Bourne Legacy

Matt Damon, like Sean Connery as James Bond, owns this franchise.

So now we have an awesome actor Jeremy Renner (who looks like a young version of Daniel Craig the current James Bond) taking over the role.
Renner is the perfect actor to take over this franchise but the direction and editing leaves a lot to be desired.
The story is about an expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum's novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films.
The one thing that audiences loved about the previous films is the action sequences. This new movie has hardly any and spends too much time with talking heads.

Verdict:
Bourne is Boring!!
What do you think, should this franchise continue or is it done?

Total Recall

Most millenniums’ don’t even remember the original movie, nor do they realize how huge a star Arnold Schwarzenegger was back in the day. So huge that he was able to take a “B movie” and make it a blockbuster hit.
Total Recall is a movie about a factory worker who begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
This reboot has the best looking cast of the summer. Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, & Jessica Biel. The story is pretty much the same as the original however the cast is not as good at reprising the roles or filling the shoes of the original actors.
Colin Farrell does not have the charisma to pull this off and he is not an action star ala Jason Stratham and The Rock. Jessica Biel is probably one of the worst actresses ever and Kate Beckinsale pretty much plays the same character that she plays in Underworld.

Verdict:

This movie is like somebody re-gifted a present they received and put shiny new gift wrapping on it. You end up wanting to re-gift it yourself once received.