MOVIE REVIEW: Captain America: Civil War

Two iconic superheroes turning against each other due to misunderstanding and because of it forgetting the bigger enemy. Sounds like the other superhero movie released exactly a month ago but that's just the only similarity. Captain America: Civil War the third in the series of the all-American superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first with an all-star cast that can easily be mistaken as an Avengers movie.

The film starts where the Age of Ultron ends and the new Avengers still headed by Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) question their roles in world affairs when the U.S. Secretary of State (William Hurt channeling Kevin Kline) proposed a treaty that would involve the participation of the United Nations in determining if the superheroes can help fight evil in different countries around the globe. On the other hand, Captain America/Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) is opposed to it as his best friend turned assasin Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier will be the first target.

Except for Thor and The Hulk, most of the characters from the last Avengers film are back as they pick their side between Iron Man and Captain America. Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) joins in the fun and making its character debut is Black Panther played by Chadwick Boseman as well as the new Spider-Man played by Tom Holland. Peter Parker/Spidey brightens up each frame he is in and a big thanks should be given to Sony Pictures for allowing the character which is under contract from the Studio to appear in the Marvel/Disney production.

Captain America: Civil War is the darkest and most mature of the Marvel/Disney films but it does not forget to have fun. Looking forward to the Infinity War series that this film was set up for.

MOVIE REVIEW: Bastille Day

Idris Elba ventures into Liam Neeson territory in Bastille Day, an exciting and entertaining action thriller that's reminiscent of the first Taken movie which was also shot in the French capital.

Elba plays Sean Briar, a CIA operative who teams up with Game of Thrones' Richard Madden who plays an American pickpocket with an overstaying tourist visa in Paris, who after stealing a bag from a mule played with Charlotte Le Bon (The Hundred Foot Journey) opened up a vast network that maybe linked to terrorists. 

Director James Watkins (The Woman in Black) made great use of the film's 90 minute running time. A chase scene shot above the rooftops is beautifully shot and executed. It is just unfortunate that some scenes are a bit similar to the recent terror attacks on the city so maybe that's why the film did not get a release date in some other countries, notably the United States. There are a lot of holes in the plot that require you to leave your thinking outside the theater but it's compensated by the good chemistry of the cast.

Elba passes his first lead action hero flick and who knows maybe this is his audition to play the world famous super spy sometime hopefully in the near future.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Jungle Book

Disney's latest retelling of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book is best watched on the big screen and if you have some extra money to spare for 3D or IMAX then by all means go. Not since Avatar has the movies ever come up with a beautifully created world and not since The Life of Pi has there ever been CGI created animals brought to life vibrantly than this film which does not divert too much from the 1967 Disney classic.

Most of us already know the story of Mowgli played by newcomer Neel Sethi, a "human-cub" raised by wolves whose parents are voiced by Giancarlo Esposito and Lupita Nyong'o after the panther Bagheera voiced by Ben Kingsley entrusted him to them for better protection when he found him all alone in the jungle when Mowgli was just a toddler, after his father was killed by the tiger Shere Khan voiced with such evil authority by Idris Elba on an expedition. Guided by Bagheera and the bear Baloo voiced by Bill Murray to bring him to his fellow humans when the tiger came back to seek revenge, the three encounter different situations and meet different animals such as the slithering snake Kaa voiced with seductive perfection by Scarlett Johansson and King Louie the ape voiced by Christopher Walken.

Director Jon Favreau's (Iron Man 1 and 2) take on The Jungle Book is much more engaging than recent Disney live action remakes of their animated classics and it some instances jolting. I sometimes have to close my eyes at some scenes for you know that some predator might surprise Mowgli from the unlikeliest of places in the deep jungle. It's good fun but I know that some little kids might get scared. It's great too

that the film also used some of the songs from the animated version that I'm pretty sure that parents who grew up watching it will sing along much to the amazement of their kids.

MOVIE REVIEW: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Don't be dismayed by the critics reviews, this highly anticipated meetup between two of the most popular iconic comic book characters from the DC Comics universe won't disappoint fans of both Superman and Batman but also get you excited for the long awaited Justice League movie. The Avengers now have a threat to global (box office) domination.

I have to admit that I am not familiar with the comic book set up on how the two would meet up but there's nothing to worry. Director Zack Snyder who also helmed 2013's Man of Steel made both the cities of Metropolis and Gotham bleak yet entertaining with a lot of things going on and that's the major negative aspect of the film: there's indeed a lot of things going on which it can be trimmed down for a few less scenes from it's 2 hours and 38 minutes running time.

Henry Cavill is his old reliable Clark Kent/Superman self and Amy Adams is the thinking damsel in distress Lois Lane. The big revelation though is Ben Affleck. The naysayers who freaked out when Warner Bros announced that he was playing the Dark Knight a couple of years ago can now apologize to him. His Bruce Wayne and Batman is one of the best among those who played the character and he redeemed himself from the disastrous Daredevil more than a decade ago. Jeremy Irons is a welcome addition to the cast as a younger (compared to Michael Caine from The Dark Knight Trilogy) yet cool and sarcastic Butler Alfred. Jesse Eisenberg is channeling The Joker as Lex Luthor - it sometimes work but there are some cases in which he still reminds you of his character from his Academy Award nominated role as Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network. 

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is also the film that introduces Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to its fold of characters. There are also tidbits from the other characters of the upcoming Justice League movie and I was rest assured that the actors chosen to play the up and coming superheroes are great ones.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is best seen on the big screen. No need for that 3D upgrade. 

MOVIE REVIEW: Miracles from Heaven

Based on the book by Christy Beam about her family's experience when her ten year old daughter Anna (played by Kylie Rogers in a breakthrough role)

was diagnosed with an incurable, rare and likely fatal intestinal disease and the baffling way it got healed triggered by a freak accident.

Miracles From Heaven is produced by the Evangelical film division of Sony Pictures aptly named Affirm Films and anchored by the amazing performance of Jennifer Garner who portrays Christy, the movie elevates it from other faith based films released in recent years because it doesn't dwell too much on religion but more on the Beam family's struggle as one of their members was living on borrowed time. I dare say that this is Garner's best performance to date and is comparable to Susan Sarandon's Oscar nominated turn in the similarly themed Lorenzo's Oil in 1992. 

Also starring Martin Henderson who portrays the patriarch of the family, Queen Latifah providing the comic relief and Hispanic comic superstar Eugenio Debrez, Miracles From Heaven is the perfect family film as Easter approaches. You feel good in the end and better yet you knew that it really happened.

MOVIE REVIEW: Zootopia

Zootopia could not have come in a perfect time when the world is still grappling with the age old issues of intolerance and prejudice. In this wonderful new Disney animated film, predators and its  prey have come to learn to live together and co-exist in Zootopia, one big city which is divided into subcities that best fits the animals in their natural habitat.

Inspite of this, there are some issues that needs to be sorted out. When the lead character a bunny named Judy Hoops, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin (Walk the Line, Something Borrowed) dreams of becoming a police officer, she was dissuaded by her parents and the community that their family lived in, for she was a rabbit and no one that small has ever joined the police force. Judy pursued her dreams and after graduating at the top of her class at the academy, was assigned at first to issue parking citation tickets because of her size and she was a female. 

Fortunately Judy found an unexpected ally in a fox (the most despised animals in Zootopia) named Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman. He's a sly con artist who after having a run in with Judy at the beginning of the film, become her true and trusted friend. Other actors who voiced in the film includes Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Bonnie Hunt and recent Oscar winners Octavia Spencer and J.K. Simmons

Smartly written and directed by the team that also created Wreck-It-Ralph, Tangled and Big Hero 6. Zootopia is notches higher that those films mentioned. It has the feel of a classic Pixar animated film. This bound to be a Disney classic delivers both the laughs and it's strong message in a fun and entertaining way. 

MOVIE REVIEW: Triple 9

Triple 9 is one tense, exciting urban crime drama that's way above the usual films in this genre which usually gets released in the US during the dead of winter. A big difference primarily of it's outstanding cast with an Oscar and 11 nominations among them. 

Big credit is given to writer Matt Cook and Australian director John Hillcoat (Lawless and the Road) by rounding up the finest actors of the past years and connecting the Russian mob and Atlanta, Georgia and making it believable.

After a group of bank robbers who are also police officers and former soldiers (among them Anthony Mackie of Captain America and The Hurt Locker) with orders by the head of the mob (Kate Winslet playing against type with a flawless accent to match) to do an impossible task after a sloppy yet successful bank heist, they decided to do a Triple 9 which is code for officer down, so that the entire Atlanta Police Department would be easily distracted once they do it. It won't be that easy.

Triple 9 isn't an easy film to watch due to its convoluted plot and some scenes that were better left in the cutting room floor. Fortunately, aside from the cast which also includes Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Eijofor, Woody Harrelson, The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus and the new Wonder Woman Gal Gadot, Triple 9 has some great action scenes and an unpredictable ending which will keep you guessing.