THE EXPENDABLES 3 – My rating 8.5/10

This was the best Expendable movie yet.  Director, Patrick Hughes managed to spring surprise after surprise after surprise. I especially liked the twist and turns in the story.  Some of the lines were hilarious and as usual we are taken on a real thrill ride.  The movie opens with the Expendable team rescuing an old friend (Surprise #1).  The team then goes on another mission before returning home.  After one of the team members gets shot pretty badly, Sylvester Stallone realizes how worn and torn the team has become, so he fires the current team (Jason Statham, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren and Terry Crews) and goes in search for a new team.  Another old friend (surprise #2) supplies Stallone with a selection  of candidates ready to do what’s needed to get the job done.  Some were accepted and some were not.  One rejected candidate goes out of his way to prove he belongs on the team (surprise #3) and is finally accepted.  After completing the new team, they embark on their new mission, authorized by (surprise #4).  Finally they are face to face with the enemy (surprise #5).   This is where the movie takes a twist, which I will not elaborate on because it’s a huge spoiler.  The end offers more surprises.  All in all the team is looking old and touched up but hey, we’re all getting old.  I think Expendables 3 is a good, solid movie worth seeing.  It is worth whatever they’re charging for a movie ticket these days.  Check it out, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

MARVEL AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. – My rating: 7.5/10

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. struck me as somewhat amateurish.  The stories are good, the acting is good so what else could be the problem?  I’ve finally figured out what’s wrong.  It’s the direction and the music.  Transitions between scenes sometimes seem slow and totally unconvincing, like an after thought.  The music also sounds corny, like it belongs in a children’s cartoon with toy guns.  It’s almost reminds me of children’s play acting.  The wrong music can really spoil a production.  This is truly difficult to verbalize.  I watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  regulary because it’s a good series that needs better direction.  If how to rid the show of it’s hesitant transitions and overall corniness, plus use better music, it would be an instant hit.  The S.H.I.E.L.D. team is dedicated to finding and helping individuals with extraordinary powers while protecting the world from the super powers of those gone bad.  The main team consist of 2 scienctist (Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons), 1 highly skilled fighter agent (Grant Ward), an action super star fighter with powers we haven’t yet seen (Ming-Na), a super hacker, computer and communications expert (Skye), and a highly dedicated S.H.I.E.L.D. leader (Phil Caulson).  The team lives on a plane that has everything one could want to do their job.  Each week the S.H.I.E.L.D. team goes out on missions saving the world.  I think as time goes on, Agents of SHIELD will get better.  One can only hope.  Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs on ABC.

 

HOUSE OF LIES – My rating: 8/10

House of lies is about Marty Kaan, played by Don Cheadle, who now leads his own consultant firm.  Marty is cut-throat and clever and will stop at nothing to get a high paying client.  His team, formulated from his former company worships his antics and will stop at nothing to get the job done.  It’s all about the money.  The team consists of Marty, Genie (Kristen Bell), Clyde (Ben Schwartz) and Doug (Josh Lawson).  Marty has an estranged wife, Monica (Dawn Olivieri) who’s not so estranged, a wanna be gay son, Roscoe (Donis Leonard Jr.) and a semi-quasi dying father, Jeremiah (Glynn Turman).  Marty has more sex than a hooker and strikes up more meaningless relationships than “The Bachelor”.  To complicate matters, Marty and Genie managed to sleep together and are now so uncomfortable around each other they can barely be civil.   The fast talking, cleaver team is something to watch.  Marty is a legend and together with his team are unstoppable.  This series  is aired on Showtime and is only 30 minutes an episode.