Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – wow so moving, a must see with the amazing Idris Elba #movies #reviews #brownmovieguy

Mandela Long Walk to Freedom is a MUST see.

First the movie and story itself will open so many eyes on a topic and a country that so many people (specifically i think Americans) never really understood …most of us never new what was happening or Mandela’s roots/history that made him the man he became. It doesnt portray him as some saint..and i want to believe it was accurate

And most of what happened was recent! we’re talking the 80s and 90s!

then add the fact that one of the best actors (and i believe most underrated) of our time Idris Elba is in it..its a must see. I can only hope he gets some award nominations for his performance.

Go see this now ..stop reading and go

 

Ninis

Grudge Match: Funny, but such a missed opportunity to be more! #movies #reviews #brownmovieguy

Grudge Match was a fun movie..its not gonna win any awards but its also not gonna piss you off.

It had a few great laughs.  But WOW what a missed opportunity by the marketing team for this movie! I mean here you have 2 guys that had some of the most iconic boxing films ever (Rocky movies and Raging Bull)..that should have been used so much more in the promotion!  The sheer fact that De Niro and Stallone got in a ring together..for any movie buff..is a wow moment

So it really had more potential!  Plus they could have been much funnier and edgier …though there were a few good laugh out loud scenes.  I think the problem here is they played the line between drama and comedy too much…you should pick one or the other because very few can pull off both!

I will say Alan Arkin and Kevin Hart were a great offset ..Arkin was a nice addition to round out the movie.  Plus they should have let Kevin Hart loose a bit more

Worth at least a rental for On Demand or future Netflix fodder

Ninis

American Hustle: Super slow for the first 70% of the movie! but some great acting, not as ground breaking as it could have been #movies #reviews #brownmovieguy

American Hustle has a dream cast..really it doesnt get any better than Christian Bale, Brad cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams and more…even Louis C.K was in there!

But wow for a movie with such hype and critical acclaim/expected oscars etc..it was So SLOW! the 90 minutes  just crawled by and really gets you tired.

It picked up significantly at the last portion ..which doesnt quite redeem itself but is really entertaining with the twists and fun.

I will say though, i rarely call out amazing performances..you really have to be something special to me to be called out for acting (think Heath Ledger as Joker) …so when i say Jennifer Lawrence’s performance was great..i mean it was great even in the slow parts it stood out.

So worth seeing because of the cast and its going to be an oscar contender..but ive warned you its a slow burn..until the last half

 

Ninis

47 Ronin: Really great! Dont listen to critics, good action and supernatural fun #movies #reviews #brownmovieguy

47 Ronin was realy entertaining and fun! Great samurai action plus a decent mix of supernatural/magic/monsters etc.  Anyone that likes Japanese folklore or anime will appreciate some of the references in it.  Whats really funny is its based off a true story in Japanese legend, of course without a lot of demons etc they added! haha

Keanu Reeves was actually great in it, and some great fun laughs as well

My only criticism is that they didnt go far enough with the magical super power monster stuff. If you are gonna go there..might as well go even farther!

Ninis

Anchorman 2: just ok…some very funny parts mixed with awkwardly bad part #movies #reviews #brownmovieguy

Its funny..my feelings on Anchorman 2 are almost exactly the same as my original feelings about Anchorman..I didnt like it when i first saw it…but i grew to love after a few more times.

Anchorman 2 had some really solid laughs..i give it that..but there were also too many just awkward non-funny jokes that could have cut down the movie time..it did feel long at one point..which to me is a sign of too many unfunny jokes.  The scenes with Ron and the black family at dinner were hilarious and they should have explored that more than they did. Maybe to avoid controversy

Everyone that is a Will Ferrell Fan and Anchorman loyalist will see this anyways..but i suggest go in with low expectations and you will like it better

Im guessing i’ll like it more once i see it a few more times

Ninis

Hobbit Desolation of Smaug: Way better than The Hobbit, but abrupt ending #movies #reviews #brownmovieguy

The Hobbit was a very slow and disappointing movie..so i was pleasantly surprise by the second installment.  It felt a bit more like the original Lord of The Rings…and frankly finally didnt bore me. It was full of action which i liked.

I think the scenes with Smaug the dragon were great, and i love how the world gets expanded with more creatures and some familiar names are brought up.

The annoying part was the abrupt ending …felt like one big tease and then just stopping forcing us to wait until #3.

But any LOTR fan should like this better than number 2 ..

Ninis

Hunger Games Catching Fire: much better than the first but a horrible ending! #movies #reviews #brownmovieguy

 

The first Hunger Games was so slow up until the last 20 mins i wasnt a fan….so i was really happy when Catching Fire was all action all the time! Really keeps you watching and doesnt slow down.   I havent read the books so i like not know whats going to happen next..BUT a huge issue which i hate when directors do this…they just stopped the movie suddenly..leaving you in suspense for the 3rd installment

At the least finish the movie you are making ..find a good place to stop..dont just stop and go dark in the middle of a dramatic scene etc!

So fun movie but horrible segway to #3

 

Ninis

Ender’s Game: really great sci fi action and worth seeing! #movies #brownmovieguy #reviews

 

The critics had Enders Game wrong, and i went in with low expectations esepcially given all the recent kid novel adaptations have been sorta crappy.

But Ender’s Game was really great! Plenty of real story and funny parts, mixed in with some great sci fi space action scenes and of course a dash of Harrison Ford.  Even sir Ben Kingsley made an appearance!   Underrated but worth a look.

This is definitely worth seeing for anyone that like sci fi movies

Ninis

Thor 2: Dark World – better than the first but still not hard hitting! #movies #reviews #brownmovieguy

 

 

Ive been behind on reivews so catching up

I really didnt like the first Thor..i think he was weak and the movie was slow (except all the parts on Asgard)…I loved what they did with Thor in the Avengers…so when Thor 2 came out i had higher expectations

I will say they did finally give us more action like we were all hoping…but yet again it seemed like the action scenes were too slow, and he wasnt as strong or as fast as he should be! It needed to be harder hitting ..darker..stronger..faster less family friendly in my eyes.  But that said it was a big step up from the first

All of this is really just filler until we get Avengers 2..so its worth seeing though not really worth staying for the credits at all

Ninis

12 Years a Slave : Moving, Sad, and heartbreaking because its true with great cast #movies

 

Wow.  12 Years as Slave was so sad, disturbing, and moving.  True stories like this always get to me, but it takes really great acting and a cast to pull this off…and it had it!  The cast was amazing and full of the best !  Chiwetel Ejiofor has been so underappreciated i think his whole career, and im happy he was perfect for the leade here.  Of course im always a fan of  Michael K. Williams (from the Wire and now in Homeland), Michael Fassbender and even Brad Pitt was in it.

Go see this now, if you are an American we owe it to ourselves to see this movie and remember what kind of history we had regardless of your race.

 

Ninis