"Ben Hur" (2016) Review by Tim Hellman

'BEN-HUR': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The fifth feature film telling, of the 1880 novel 'Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ' (by Lew Wallace). It of course begs for comparisons to the Academy Award winning 1959 blockbuster, starring Charlton Heston, and no one should be surprised that it's horrendously inferior. This version was directed by the Russian-Kazakh genre film director Timur Bekmambetov; who's most well known for helming 'DAY WATCH', 'NIGHT WATCH', 'WANTED' and 'ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER'. This film definitely doesn't live up to any of those either. It was scripted by Keith Clarke and John Ridley (who amazingly also wrote the Academy Award winning '12 YEARS A SLAVE'). The movie stars Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer and Rodrigo Santoro. It was savaged by critics, and the Box Office alike. I pretty much hate it.

The movie recounts the story of Judah Ben-Hur (Huston); a nobleman who was falsely accused of treason, by his adoptive brother (turned Roman army officer) Messala (Kebbell). Judah then became a slave (for five years), on a Roman slave ship, before escaping. He returns home and challenges Messala to a chariot race. The entire time he keeps having mystical encounters with Jesus (Santoro).

The film is extremely slow-paced, uninvolving and dry (really dry). The acting is almost all bad, and the characters aren't at all likable. I could barely stay awake, for a lot of it, and I couldn't wait for it to be over; 2 hours is way too long for this (even though the 1959 epic is over 3.5 hours long). I expect so much more from Bekmambetov, and such a classic story! The chariot race is still pretty cool though.

"Now You See Me 2" Review by Tim Hellman

'NOW YOU SEE ME 2': Four Stars (Out of Five)

Sequel to the 2013 surprise 'caper flick' hit; about a group of four illusionists, that rob from the rich and give to the poor, during elaborately staged magic shows. This installment has the magic team being forced to pull off their most challenging heist yet, for a greedy tech genius. Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine all reprise their roles (from the original movie); while Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe and Sanaa Lathan join the cast (Isla Fisher is noticeably absent, due to her recent pregnancy). Jon M. Chu directed the flick (he's previously helmed films like 'G.I. JOE: RETALIATION', two Justin Bieber documentaries, and two 'STEP UP' sequels), and it was written by Ed Solomon (who also co-wrote the original movie) and Peter Chiarelli. The film is definitely a lot of fun, and consistently entertaining throughout (just like the original).

The remaining three members of the famous illusionist team, known as the Four Horsemen (Eisenberg, Harrelson and Franco), have been hiding out for a year. The FBI is still on their trail, and FBI mole, Dylan Rhodes (Ruffalo), is still protecting them. Then Rhodes helps them setup another elaborate magic show heist, that goes horribly wrong. The team wakes up in China, and finds themselves being blackmailed into another caper; by a tech genius named Walter Mabry (Radcliffe). A witty magician named Lula May (Caplan) joins the crew, on this new mission.

I'd say if you're a fan of the original flick, you'll probably like this sequel just as much (or close to it). It's filled with all the same cool magic tricks, detailed (and impressively involving) heists, and witty banter. The cast is all great again (I'm a huge fan of Eisenberg's) and Caplan is an awesome addition to the cast (she's definitely an improvement over Fisher). I can't really see any major faults in it; and at over two hours, it impressively flies by!

"London Has Fallen" Review by Tim Hellman

'LONDON HAS FALLEN': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Sequel to the surprise 2013 B-action flick hit 'OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN'; which (like 'WHITE HOUSE DOWN', of that same year), is basically 'DIE HARD' in the White House. This one is set on the streets of London; where Secret Service 'super agent' Mike Banning is once again defending President Benjamin Asher, from vicious terrorists. Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Radha Mitchell and Sean O'Bryan all reprise their roles (from the original film); they're joined by newcomers Alon Moni Aboutboul, Waleed Zuaiter, Mehdi Dehbi, Charlotte Riley (Tom Hardy's wife) and Jackie Earle Haley. Screenwriters Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt once again co-wrote the movie (they also co-scripted 'THE EXPENDABLES 3'), along with Christian Gudegast and Chad St. John. Iranian-Swedish filmmaker Babak Najafi made his American film debut, directing the movie (replacing Antoine Fuqua, from the original). I really enjoyed this film!

The British Prime Minister has passed away, and all the western world leaders are invited to his funeral (in London). Mike Banning (Butler), the toughest secret service agent that ever lived, is once again escorting President Asher (Eckhart). Hundreds of armed mercenaries, under the command of a ruthless terrorist (Aboutboul), attack everyone in attendance; killing several world leaders, slaughtering hundreds of civilians and destroying multiple London landmarks. Banning will stop at nothing, to get the President out of there alive.

The movie is such a great throwback to the B-action flicks of yesteryear (especially the 80s and early 90s); back when almost everything was a 'DIE HARD' ripoff! I was so surprised at how brutally violent it is. Butler seems like he stepped out of a time machine, to play his 'badass' role! The movie is filled with cheesy dialogue, weak special effects and completely unbelievable action scenarios; but it's also relentlessly entertaining in the process. I enjoyed it a lot more than the original (and 'WHITE HOUSE DOWN' as well). It's just so much more fun than I was expecting (in a 'so bad it's good' nostalgic way)!

First Trailer for the Upcoming Summer 2016 Film "Now You See Me 2"

Summit Entertainment recently released the first trailer for their upcoming summer film "Now You See Me 2". The film stars  Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

"Now You See Me 2" hits theaters on June 10th, 2016

Plot Synopsis:

THE FOUR HORSEMEN [Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan] return for a second mind-bending adventure, elevating the limits of stage illusion to new heights and taking them around the globe. One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public's adulation with their Robin Hood-style magic spectacles, the illusionists resurface for a comeback performance in hopes of exposing the unethical practices of a tech magnate. The man behind their vanishing act is none other than WALTER MABRY [Daniel Radcliffe], a tech prodigy who threatens the Horsemen into pulling off their most impossible heist yet. Their only hope is to perform one last unprecedented stunt to clear their names and reveal the mastermind behind it all.

"Now You See Me 2": Teaser Trailer

"Ted 2" Review - Written by Jim Herling

Ted 2 is very much a Seth MacFarlane movie, which, if you’re wondering whether or not you’ll enjoy this movie, should tell you everything you need to know. MacFarlane directed the movie, wrote the screenplay (along with frequent collaborators Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild) and, of course, is the voice of Ted. MacFarlane’s last movie, A Million Ways to Die in the West, is also the first movie I reviewed for this site, which should tell you something about how I feel about MacFarlane’s stuff and how much I probably enjoyed this sequel.

After the events of the first movie, Ted 2 picks up with Ted marrying his girlfriend Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth). The ceremony is once again presided over by Flash Gordon himself, Sam J. Jones (who is once again a great sport about himself throughout the movie). We find out that since the end of original, Ted’s best friend John (Mark Wahlberg, who apparently has a “no sequels” rule he broke for this movie) has divorced Lori (Mila Kunis, who does not make an appearance), and hasn’t dated anyone else since. Fast forward a year, and Ted and Tami-Lynn’s marriage is falling apart. Their solution? Have a baby! Of course, since a stuffed bear can’t exactly procreate, they go through some hilarious hijinks involving the sperm donor route before settling on trying to adopt. The adoption procedure brings to light the fact that Ted isn’t a person, and he loses things like his job and bank account because of it. Worse, the state annuls his marriage. John and Ted decide to fight back legally, and find themselves a lawyer in the form of Samantha L. Jackson (Amanda Seyfried), who is moved by their plight and a mutual love of marijuana and agrees to help them. They’re opposed by corporate lawyer Shep Wild (John Slattery), who is hired by Hasbro to make sure Ted stays in the “property” category so they can make billions selling more of him.

From there, Ted 2 becomes a fight to have Ted declared a person. It is filled with returning stars from the original (Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton, and Patrick Stewart as the narrator) and hysterical cameos from newcomers (Jay Leno, Michael Dorn, the cast of Saturday Night Live, and, the best of the bunch, Liam Neeson), and it uses them all to hysterical effect. Even Morgan Freeman gets in on the act, and much like the rest of us, Ted would just like to make a bed out of his voice and sleep in it forever. Admittedly, not all the jokes work; some fall flat and fall flat hard, but when the comedy hits the mark, it is absolutely uproarious. The cast is great together; everyone is funny and it’s obvious they enjoyed working together on this movie. Wahlberg and Seyfried have great chemistry, but of course it’s the relationship between Wahlberg and Ted… I mean, MacFarlane, that holds the movie together. It might not be as good as the first one, but those two thunder buddies still hold down a hell of a funny movie. Ted 2 gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Ted is Back with the Teaser Trailer and Poster for "Ted 2"

Universal Pictures recently released the official teaser to one of the summers most anticipated comedies "Ted 2" Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane return for "TEd 2" with Amanda Seyfried and Morgan Freeman joining them this time around.

"Ted 2" hits theaters on 6/26.

More more information on this film, you can visit the film's official site at: www.LegalizeTed.com

Press Release:

Seth MacFarlane returns as writer, director and voice star of Ted 2, Universal and Media Rights Capital’s follow-up to the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy of all time. Joined once again by star Mark Wahlberg and fellow Ted writers Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild, MacFarlane produces the live action/CG-animated comedy alongside Bluegrass Films’ Scott Stuber, as well as Jason Clark and John Jacobs.

"Ted 2": Teaser Trailer

Box Office Hit "Lucy" Set to Thrill Audiences on DVD and Blu-Ray

Universal Studios recently released information for the upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray of the Scarlett Johansson box office hit "Lucy". The film is the latest from director Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional, The Fifth Element)and stars Johansson (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Morgan Freeman (The Dark Knight Rises, Oblivion), Choi Min-Sik (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance) and Amr Waked (Syriana, "House of Saddam").

Special Features on the DVD and Blu-Ray include "Cerebral Science: The True Science of "Lucy" narrated by Morgan Freeman. The Blu-Ray will also have the exclusive featurette " The Evolution of Lucy". "Lucy hits DVD and Blu-Ray on 1/20/2015.

Press Release:

In Lucy, the "exciting and smart" (San Francisco Examiner) #1 action blockbuster by visionary director Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional, The Fifth Element), starring Scarlett Johansson (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Avengers) and Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman (The Dark Knight Rises, Oblivion), a woman altered by a dangerous drug that allows her to use 100% of her brain, transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic. Lucy debuts on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, including Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD with UltraViolet™, and On Demand on January 20, 2015 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Lucy will also be available on Digital HD two weeks earlier on January 6, 2015.

Also featuring Choi Min-Sik (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance) and Amr Waked (Syriana, "House of Saddam"), Lucy is a "heart-pounding, 100% entertaining" (The Wall Street Journal) thriller that explores the possibility of what one person can truly do when the furthest reaches of the mind are accessed.

Anthony T's #TBT: "The Dark Knight

Welcome to this week's edition of Anthony T's #TBT. This week with Christopher Nolan's"Interstellar" heading into theaters and IMAX this week, I decided to go back into the vaults and find my review of his 2008 "The Dark Knight". With all the superhero movies out there today, "The Dark Knight" still ranks up there as one of the best superhero films ever made. It also garnered a Best Supporting Actor win for Heath Ledger, who was great in this film and still deserves his Oscar for that film to this day.

Repost from 7/27/08 with minor changes

The Dark Knight is the second film in Warner Bros' re-energized Batman franchise but most of the film’s hype has been surrounding the death of Heath Ledger. This is his last completed film before he passed away this past January from a drug overdose of prescribed drugs.

The Dark Knight is set one year after the events of Batman Begins, where Batman’s (Christian Bale) crusade to rid Gotham City of crime has been going very well, with the help of Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and the city's newly appointed District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Everything is fine until a new sadistic villain known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) starts creating chaos in Gotham City. In the amidst of this, his alter-ego Bruce Wayne is caught up in love triangle with his childhood friend Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who is in love with Harvey Dent even though he still has feeling for her. Now Bruce Wayne must put side this romantic triangle aside, as his alter ego Batman must use every means necessary to stop the Joker before his reign of terror burns Gotham City down and turns it into a city of chaos. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Eric Roberts also co-star in this film.

Before I go into my review of this film, this is definitely not a film that your seven or eight year old kid should see as this is very violent and the subject matter may frighten them. So take them to go see Wall-E or Space Chimps instead.

With that said, I remember watching the review on Ebert & Roeper that Richard Roeper said that “The Dark Knight” was the best superhero movie ever and a film that should be nominated for Best Picture with Heath Ledger being nominated for Best Supporting Actor. My thought at the time that the Oscar talk that Roeper talked about was absolutely so far fetched. Also when I heard that Health Ledger was cast as the Joker sometime last year, I didn’t think that it was good casting. Man, was I totally wrong with both the casting of Ledger and Roeper’s highly praised review of the film. This is definitely a film that we might be talking about during Oscar season.

The Dark Knight is truly the year’s best film so far. Director Christopher Nolan does a great job again with the direction. I liked how he goes for a more realistic approach with the action. He achieves that in the way he directs the action scenes and the actors. The action scenes was realistic and includes one the best chase scenes since the shootout in Michael Mann’s Heat. The acting felt top-notch. This was something that you would see in an Oscar caliber film. Christian Bale turns in a very good performance again as Bruce Wayne, but the main star of this film is the late Heath Ledger. This is a performance that I would be still talking in this manner, if he was still living today. His performance as the Joker is up there with Sergi Lopez’s Captain Vidal in Pan’s Labyrinth as the most sinister performance ever. It’s definitely an Oscar-worthy performance, as the performance was terrorizing and frightening. The supporting cast was also good. Aaron Eckhart was very good as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, playing two variations of one character, as the character was likeable one minute and unlikable the next. Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine are also back from the first film along with Maggie Gyllenhaal taking over for Katie Holmes role in the first film.

The screenplay written Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan Nolan was very good. I would even go to the lengths to say that both of them should get an Oscar nomination for this screenplay. The reason I say that because this film didn’t feel like your average superhero movie. It felt like an epic crime film like “Heat” and “The Departed”. The Nolan Brothers did a very good job writing the characters here, as each of them were different from one another. They also do a great job with the Joker in this film. He was more sadistic and frightening which makes the character more better than in Tim Burton’s Batman where the character seemed comic-bookish and comes off as a prankster than a heartless villain. The Nolan brothers also do a great job developing the themes and the characters. They do explore the society of Gotham through some of themes that are currently happening today like surveillance, terrorism and the media. It's done effectively well here as it added to the film’s dark tone. The character development was also very good, as it added to the whole Batman mythology. But what made this film different from Batman Begins was the fact the story had a lot of twists and turns. Those were done very well, as it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Please note that this is not the last time you’re going to hear me talk about this film. "The Dark Knight" is truly the best film of 08 so far and yes, I’ll say it like Richard Roeper did - “It’s the best superhero movie ever.”

Review Rating: 5 Stars

Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplin and Jay Chou Join the Cast of "Now You See Me 2"

Summit Entertainment recently send us some casting information for the upcoming sequel "Now You See Me 2".  Daniel Radcliffe (“HORNS,” “KILL YOUR DARLINGS,” “HARRY POTTER FILMS,”), Lizzy Caplan (Showtime's "MASTERS OF SEX," the upcoming "THE INTERVIEW") and Jay Chou (Taiwanese mega-star) joins Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine, and Dave Franco for this film. "Now You See Me 2" is slated to hits theaters

Press Release:

It's OFFICIAL! - Daniel Radcliffe (“HORNS,” “KILL YOUR DARLINGS,” “HARRY POTTER FILMS,”), Lizzy Caplan (Showtime's "MASTERS OF SEX," the upcoming "THE INTERVIEW") and Jay Chou (Taiwanese mega-star) will star in Lionsgate's NOW YOU SEE ME 2.

DANIEL RADCLIFFE (“HORNS,” “KILL YOUR DARLINGS,” “HARRY POTTER FILMS”) will play WALTER in Lionsgate's NOW YOU SEE ME 2. Radcliffe is repped by UTA and ARG in the UK and attorney Fred Toczek.

LIZZY CAPLAN (Showtime's "MASTERS OF SEX," the upcoming "THE INTERVIEW") will play LULA in Lionsgate's NOW YOU SEE ME 2. Caplan is repped by WME, Mosaic and Jackoway, Tyerman, Werthheimer, Austen, Mandelbaum & Morris.

JAY CHOU (Taiwanese mega-star) will play LI in Lionsgate's NOW YOU SEE ME 2. Chou is repped by JVR Music.

The ensemble cast includes JESSE EISENBERG, MARK RUFFALO, MORGAN FREEMAN, WOODY HARRELSON, MICHAEL CAINE and DAVE FRANCO.

One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public’s adulation with their mind-bending spectacles, the Four Horsemen resurface in NOW YOU SEE ME 2 only to find themselves face to face with a new enemy who enlists them to pull off their most dangerous heist yet.
NOW YOU SEE ME 2 will be directed by Jon M. Chu (GI JOE: RETALIATION) from a script by Pete Chiarelli and Ed Solomon. Producers are Bobby Cohen, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.
Erik Feig, Co-President of the Motion Picture Group, along with Geoff Shaevitz, President of Production, will oversee the project for Lionsgate.

"Lucy" Review - Written by Tim Hellman

'LUCY': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Sci-Fi action flick written and directed by Luc Besson. It stars Scarlett Johansson as an American woman, living in Taiwan, who's forced into transferring a powerful drug, hidden in her abdomen. When the drug starts leaking it allows the woman to use her brain's full functioning capacity, which in turn gives her super powers. The film costars Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-sik and Amr Waked. The film deals with some interesting theories but it's much more fantastical than intelligent science fiction. Still it's action-packed and pretty entertaining.

Johansson plays Lucy, a young American woman who's living in Taipei, Taiwan. She just began dating a drug mule there, named Richard (Pilou Asbaek). After Richard makes Lucy do his job for him, and he's killed, the Korean gangster he was working for, Mr. Jang (Min-sik), forces Lucy to take his place. A powerful synthetic drug, called CPH4, is sewn into her stomach and she, and three others, are forced into transferring the drugs into Europe. After being beaten, by one of Jang's men, the drug begins to leak inside her. This makes her increasingly smarter; which gives her special abilities. Freeman plays a Professor that Lucy goes to for help.

The theory that we only use 10% of our brain's capacity is heavily explored in this film (although most scientists say it's just a myth). In this movie when Lucy begins using 20% of her brain, and increasingly higher amounts, she develops super human abilities; like telekinesis and mental time travel. She keeps getting more and more powerful, self aware and also increasingly emotionless. This makes her character seem extremely unrelatable; she's still an awesome action heroine though. Besson is well known for doing action flicks with really strong female characters (like 'LA FEMME NIKITA', 'THE FIFTH ELEMENT' and 'THE MESSENGER: THE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC'). Johansson's character here continues that tradition. As an action flick it works but it's definitely not full of intelligent big ideas. It does try to do something different but it's still highly reminiscent of other recent sci-fi flicks like 'TRANSCENDENCE' and even 'HER' (which also featured Johansson). It's definitely entertaining enough for 90 minutes though.