Caro the Movie Critic

Look at that cute kitty. Key & Peele, the cat, man...they are throwing everything they can to persuade us to laugh hysterically. I mean, comedy TV stars and/or SNL alumni do not have good track records...possibly the worst track records when it comes out to starring in a first film. I felt like so many directors try desperately to highlight what these comedians can do and force us to laugh while the material is not very funny and that is pretentious as a result. They want to manipulate us. Even though the movie is a bit manipulative in highlighting a cute cat to drive the movie, the result is that the movie is funny enough to marginally recommend it to people who are fans of Key & Peele. Two gunmen, the Allentown Brothers (Key & Peele in dual roles) shoot up the place and King Diaz comes out of hiding saying not to kill his cat but Diaz is killed. The cat runs through Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Clarence (Keegan Michael-Key) drives his mini-van, calling Rell (Jordan Peele...

Kevin Costner as the Criminal. I was lucky to live long enough to see some '90s action films for entertainment and not for logic. There are many action movies that are sorely entertaining at best because of its action stars and explosive sequences: The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off, Air Force One, True Lies, Terminator 2  and The Matrix . The last one of the bunch is a good Segway because this movie attempts to combine an action thriller with science fiction but it tries to do it competently well. However, it felt like an old-fashioned flashback to the 90s because the action is well-staged but the story is so convoluted that you don't care for the movie anymore. It becomes a generic product of disbelief. Anarchist Xavier Heimdahl (Jordi Mollà) arranges for the Dutchman (Michael Pitt) to create a wormhole program to bypass computer codes protecting the nuclear defense codes. He panics and makes contact with Bill Pope (Ryan Reynolds), a London-based agent. But, he is captured and...

There, there...now you will have power.  Another unnecessary sequel in 2016...I don't know if anybody was craving for another Huntsman movie. I'll grant you, though, its predecessor was not as bad as I thought but had some good things in it. This movie, again, is just another paycheck movie for big talented stars and producers to see dollar signs on. Heck, I don't even know what this movie is about because of its over bloated script that piles on so many random puzzles that it is a coherent mess. Before the origins of Snow White, Queen Ravena (Charlize Theron) killed her husband and ruled over his kingdom with the power of the Magic Mirror. Her sister, Freya (Emily Blunt) will be by her side once she rules. Freya is also carrying the Duke of Blackwood's (Colin Morgan) son, in which the Duke was promised to another. In flashback, Freya and the Duke had a daughter but she finds out that her kid had died due to her crib being burnt. Freya screams in sorrow, unleashin...

Someone may have powers. There are two types of science fiction movies in in my opinion: you have the action adventure soap operas and you have the movies that creates intellectual thoughts in your mind that allows you might have a conversation with over a cup of coffee and need to re-watch it over again to fully understand the movie. Many science fiction movies, nowadays, have the pleasure to entertain us and/or make us think what the screenwriters and director are saying to us both on-screen with images, metaphors and verbal dialogue. Jeff Nichols has the flair of magic and ambition that sort of spirals down into weak territory in the third act. Nevertheless, this is an entertaining sci-fi flick to absorb once the movie is over. The movie begins with an AMBER alert in which 8-year-old Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher) is missing. He is last seen with a man named Roy (Michael Shannon) who is traveling somewhere mysterious. Another man named Lucas (Joel Edgerton) comes along with th...

The Barber Shop crew is back. I had to watch the first two movies again to get to know the characters again because it was such a blur. The first one was solid and funny and really paints the portrait of a friendly community amongst the barber shop crew and I thought it was well-done. The second one was sort of a disappointment because it had too much going on and it felt there were three different movies going on and it seemed to try hard to overlap every single character in one tight focus. With this movie, even though it has the same problem as the second movie, it retains more of the humor and has a heartfelt message as to what is going on in the barber-shop in the present time and around the community. This was a big surprise. Calvin (Ice Cube) expresses his love for Chicago and the place where he has been running the barbershop business to support his family. Unfortunately, there has been gang violence and criminal activities surrounding the barbershop community and Calvin...

Mowgli and Baloo. There have been many versions of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book  that have been adapted on film. The most infamous version is the 1967 Disney-animated version that had a musical and fun flare but had dated animation and an episodic structure onto its film that seem dated but I still enjoyed the movie because of a few songs and the characters, mostly Baloo and Bagheera. Bottom line, it's a good Disney movie but not a classic. And, a version that I think it's a guilty pleasure for myself but has nothing to do with the novel is the Stephen Sommers directed film starring Jason Scott Lee as Mowgli, Lena Headey, Cary Elwes, Sam Neill and John Cleese. It was entertaining at the very least but violent. Thanks to the stunning visuals that entrance you into the world of the jungle, this latest version is a marvel with some great talent supporting the material to fulfill my expectations. The panther, Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley), narrates the beginning ...

The first action movie from a first person POV. I had moderate expectations with this movie because with the technique of having the cameraman being placed from a first-person point-of-view and tries to take the movie like an experience in a theater. And because I was excited from the technique standpoint, I was wondering how they are going to create a story to navigate the character into action set-pieces and some complex storylines. This is an action extravaganza that pushes the scenes to the edge of disbelief. And, some of the action was awesome, but the movie drags down to a story that is not credible and is treated as a footnote because this movie is more of a virtual reality experience than a product for moviegoers to routinely watch another time. An adult Henry wakes up in a facility and a woman named Estelle (Haley Bennett) brings him up from a water tank and he sees his left forearm and left leg replaced with robotic limbs. He is unable to speak since his voice box has n...

Melissa McCarthy is the boss. How do you make money? Well, there's plenty of ways to make money but some in the right way and some in the wrong way. However, this may be that type of movie from a comedic standpoint but it's handled in somewhat of a predictable and unfunny way. And, that is a shame because Melissa McCarthy headlines the movie with such fantastic talent but has an inconsistent record because of Paul Feig's record with her with some good movie and also working with others such as Identity Thief  and the terrible Tammy . I'd put this film in the latter category but it's better than those two movies at the very least but it's still a bad movie. Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy) is a businesswoman who has been treated miserably in the past as an orphaned child but then she says that she would be fine alone. She has a following because her many self-help books on how to get rich in life without their family. She tells readers and fans that they...

Summer 2016 movies.  I knew what my #1 is going to be but like last year, I will not include it on the list because Captain America: Civil War  will pass by in May and then my anticipation is over. So, this is a list of my top 10 most anticipated movies of Summer 2016 after Civil War. I have to admit based on the line-up, it is kind of a weak lineup compared to last year with many sequels. Like I said in the past, for Hollywood, their summer begins in May as one blockbuster will set the standard for the summer and no matter what, some movies in the summer will be unpredictable to see whether or not one movie is good or not. But, I think the theme will be "fun, stupid" movies or "fun" sequels. You know where I'm getting at. Here are the top 10 anticipated movies of the summer after Civil War: Captain America: Civil War (May 6th) 10. The Legend of Tarzan (Jul. 1) This rivals The Jungle Book for being the best movie set up in the jungle. I was mo...

No, it's not entirely about them this time.  My Big Fat Greek Wedding , its predecessor, was a surprise indie hit that charmed audiences including myself. I thought it was a heartwarming, funny and sweet romantic comedy that was relatable to not just Greek families but about every large family of any particular race. I, myself, have a big family and gossip spreads around sometimes and can particularly take things the wrong way...sometimes. But, all in all, you love them. However...this sequel, either we wanted one or not after the short-lived My Big Fat Greek Life  in 2003, is nearly cringe-inducing sitcom with forced jokes and dramatic soap-opera that you might need a laugh-track to manipulate you to laugh. The movie interweaves three plots amongst a big crowd or a big family that does not generate as much suspense as the other. Toula (Nia Vardalos) is working at Dancing Zorba's again, her parents' restaurant, after her travel agency has closed and she is not getting...