DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2014) – My rating: 9.5/10

OMG!  There’s not much more to say.  You would think after seeing 7 or more Planet of the Apes movies, a new addition would serve to be over kill and in poor taste.  Under the direction of Matt Reeves, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was absolutely the best of the Planet of the Ape movies.  The story was feasible which made it believable, the special effects were outstanding and the plot was sensible as well as understandable.  A team of Humans lead by Malcolm (Jason Clarke) are on a mission to restore equipment so that the city they live in would have lights and communications to the rest of the world. They arrived at their destination only to make an incredible discovery, intelligent, talking Apes.  Leader of the Apes, Caesar (Andy Serkis) has to decide if they will trust the Humans to keep their word.  Malcolm revealed to Caesar that their objective is to get back to the way life was before a deadly virus wiped out most of mankind. Now they are faced with a brand new problem, trust between the Humans and the Apes. What ensues after this chance encounter makes for a heart felt story, worth every penny spent on this movie ticket.

[DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is nominated for Visual Effects]

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (2014) – My rating: 9/10

X-Men: Days of Future Past is one of the better films in the X-Men series.  It was clear, clean, crisp, entertaining and good story telling.  Wolverine/ Logan, played by Hugh Jackman, is sent back in time, to 1973, in hopes of stopping an event that would eliminate a fatal future for the Mutants and Humans as well.  As usual, the special effects are impeccable and the stellar cast, totally enjoyable.  I was happy to see former X-men like Ororo Munroe/Storm (Halle Berry) and Jean Grey/Phoenix (Famke Janssen ) back in this sequel.  Jennifer Lawrence has played the role of Raven/Mystique in the last 2 films and is eye candy whether she’s in human or mutant form.  The truly great surprise is Dr. Bolivar Trask, played by Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones.  I can’t say enough about Peter’s on screen presence and acting ability.  He is magic in any role he plays.  The question is can Charles Xavier/Professor X, played by both Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy and Eric Lehnsherr/ Magneto, played by both Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender, really come together for a good cause?  Spend the time and money to see X-Men and find out.  This movie was rated high by the viewers who didn’t make a mistake — it’s really a good one.

[X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST is nominated for Visual Effect]

RIDDICK (2013) – My rating 6.5/10

I was so looking forward to seeing Riddick (Rule the Dark).  In a sentence, I didn’t like it.  Trapped on an alien planet, Riddick is forced to rely on his ability to survive the likes of thirsty night creatures who attack and eat anything moving.  Riddick cleverly summons ships and hostile humans via a beacon.  He has a price on his head but more importantly, an eclipse is coming that will make the planet dark for a month.  All beefs will have to be put aside if anyone is to survive. And of course, Riddick has all the answers.

For me, this movie was too dark.  Riddick was too full of himself and the movie moved way too slow.  Most of the action was near the end.  I felt like I was watching Cast Away with Tom Hanks.  Watch out Hollywood, you wouldn’t want Vin Diesel to end up like Stephen Segal.  The Riddick character needs to be knocked down a peg or two.  Special effects were pretty good but not good enough to save this lack luster sequel.  I would venture to say, see it on DVD.

THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES (2013) – My rating: 7/10

I really didn’t expect much from this movie.  It was a little corny through two thirds of the film, leading up to the the last third which was pretty exciting.  It seemed like some of the HBO crew (Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors and Lena Headey – Game of Thrones) saw an opportunity to keep their movie appearances current by starring in this demon vs human vs everything else (sort of True Blood themed) film.  There were many different species involved in this movie that was basically about demons.  A young girl, played by Lily Collins, found out she is a Shadow Hunter.  Her mother disappears and her home is trashed by demons looking for a sacred, gold chalice.  She is forced to find out her true heritage and calling.  The adventure gets a little weird as she learns the truth about her mother and herself.  Lots of action and nice special effects.

There is a series of books (6 in all) so look for a sequel.  It’s worth seeing on the big screen.  No love loss if you wait for the DVD.