PreGameLobby

I have a long history with the Superman character.  It was one of my first comic books that I had ever read and spoke most directly to me.  The all-powerful being that chooses to protect, rather than to rule.  It’s how I like to think that I would be, if I had those abilities.  I am such a fan of Superman that I even watched all but one season of ‘Smallville!’  Thankfully, ‘Man of Steel’ succeeds where ‘Smallville’ continuously failed.  I was stuck on the far side of the front row, wearing 3D glasses with my neck craned awkwardly and I still can’t imagine this not being the best movie that I will see this year.

There are a number of things that the movie does well that I can talk about without spoiling anything for you, so I will stick to talking about those subjects.  ‘Man of Steel’ is more sci-fi than a superhero movie.  This was absolutely the right way to go with the origin story film.  There is quite a bit of Krypton and related lore.  It is presented, like Kal-El’s childhood, through time shifts and flashbacks.  Those shifts are never overly-lengthy, but serve to move the story along.  The viewer gets a good sense of who each character is without any heavy-handed dialog.  You get what you need and then the story goes on about it’s business.  The action sequences are well done and are evenly distributed throughout the movie, which is perfect, because the 3D can be a little overwhelming.  That may have been because I was ten feet from the screen, but I imagine that it would be a lot from any angle.  Also, there is no crystal that creates a fancy palace, nor is there any mention of kryptonite.  That made me very happy.  This is the story of an alien to this planet, finding his way on a new world and protecting those he loves.   And it’s good.  Really good.

Ticket price: Free screening

Trailers: Gravity, World War Z

Dom and crew are lured out of retirement by Hobbs to stop a military-grade racing crew (?) from building a super cyber weapon.  The bait?  The possibility that Letty isn’t dead, but running with this crew.  Oh, and full pardons, of course, so that they can be back in the states for Fast 7.  The military crew proves to be quite a match for our heroes and car chases/explosions ensue.

While watching Fast & Furious 6, one of the first things that I wondered was whether or not I had seen all of the previous movies in the series.  I don’t actually think that it matters.  Actually, I would advise against thinking too much during Fast & Furious 6.  There are plot holes, big enough to drive a tank into, and many of them at that.  The dialog is passable for this type of movie, but there were five or six times that a focus line would take me out of the fun of the movie.  And it is fun.  The fight choreography is really enjoyable, most notably the fights between Gina Carano and Michelle Rodriguez.  So, if you like girl fights, cars, racing, explosions and spear guns with high-tensile alloy cables, then you will have a blast.  Enjoy it.  Love it.  Just let this happen.

Seriously, what was the deal with all of the spear guns?

Ticket Price: $9.00 Matinee (courtesy of MoviePass)

Trailers: Now You See Me, World War Z, White House Down, The Wolverine, Man of Steel, 2 Guns, R.I.P.D.

If you are looking for an epic sci-fi pic, you will not find it in “After Earth.”  This movie is all about emotion, either having too much or too little, depending on the character.  It is also about interrupting the flow of the movie with a series of forced moments in the first half of the movie and then again interrupting with forced resolutions of the earlier moments.  It’s clumsy and awkward.  How is it that M. Knight Shyamalan movies are able to maintain this rate of decline?  In this case, I would say that it was due to working with Will Smith to write a vehicle for his son, Jaden.  A slow-moving, damaged vehicle.

Earth has been rendered uninhabitable by pollution and climate change, forcing an evacuation and the colonization of a new world.  This new world is the home of the Ursa, who do not take kindly to being invaded.  The Ursa are blind, but can smell fear, or at least the pheromones released by that emotion.  Will Smith, a Ranger, discovered that when one suppresses his fear, he can walk among the Ursa, killing them freely.  His son, played by his son, is athletic and intelligent, but has trouble suppressing his emotion, which keeps him from graduating to become a Ranger.  The father returns from being a hero and makes an attempt to reconnect with his son by taking him on a trip.  Their ship is inexplicably transporting one of the fear sensing Ursa, which is released when their ship crashes on Earth.  Dad is injured in the crash, leaving the son to trek across the dangerous terrain to retrieve a distress beacon from a different part of the wreckage.  All of that is well and good, except the entire time Jaden Smith is overacting his inability to control his emotions and Will Smith is overacting his suppression of his emotion.  It feels wooden and after-school special all at once.  It’s hard to tell if they even meant this movie to be good.

‘After Earth’ can be safely skipped over this summer.  There are way too many other entertaining movies to go see and way too much fun in the sun to be had.  If you absolutely feel you need to see this, wait two months and pick it up at RedBox.

Ticket price: $9.00 Matinee (courtesy of MoviePass)

Trailers: Ender’s Game, World War Z, Despicable Me 2, Pacific Rim, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, White House Down, Grown Ups 2

“Now You See Me” stars Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.  I described this movie to my brother before I went to see it as looking “kinda like Ocean’s Eleven with magic.”  I walked out of the theater with exactly the same impression.  I enjoyed it, but there isn’t much to review.  The characters are shallow, there is decent dialog, there is misdirection, there are heists.  It is “kinda like Ocean’s Eleven with magic.”  I had fully intended to write a comprehensive review, but there is no need.  If you are a fan of the Ocean’s movies, you will enjoy this.  Done.

Ticket Price: $10.75 Adult (courtesy of MoviePass)

Trailers: The Lone Ranger, Rush, Prisoners, Carrie, The Heat, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Red 2

*I had a nice pretty logo up, but then realized that I was violating the Terms of Service by posting it without their written consent!  Zoinks!

MoviePass is a subcription service that allows you to watch theatrical releases for one, relatively low, monthly fee.  Sign up for your membership, wait for your card to arrive in the mail and download the app for your smartphone.  The app will ask you to verify that you received your card, and when you have, you are off and running.  Go to the theater, check in to the movie and showing of your choice and then use your card to pay for the ticket at the kiosk.  Easier than it sounds.  But wait, there’s more!

There’s something that most people should know about MoviePass:  It’s probably not for you.  That being the case, I will tell you the potential pitfalls first and then lead into what’s great about it.

Let’s begin by reviewing the Terms of Service.  It is pretty restrictive and will leave you feeling as though they could come and take away any pets and/or children that you have if you violate the rules.  On top of that, they had to put in a lot of boundaries, due to how the service works.  No 3D movies, no IMAX, no seeing more than one movie per day, no seeing the same movie twice.  If you didn’t look closely, you would probably think that you could see a movie every single day.  The Terms will not make that easy on you.  Know what you are signing!

The subscription is $34.99/month, but you are agreeing to a year contract when you sign up, complete with scaled cancellation fees.  Your subscription is also limited to participating theaters, so make sure they work for you!

The process of buying your ticket is also inherently restrictive.  You must check in to the theater, movie and showing of your desired film using the smartphone app in order for your card to be credited the amount of the ticket.  Once your location is verified and the card is credited, you have 30 minutes to complete the transaction at the kiosk.  This means that, unless the kiosk happens to be selling advance tickets, you will only be able to buy a ticket for that day.  You can probably forget trying to see midnight openings and opening weekend showings for the big releases.

If that hasn’t scared you off, let me tell you the good stuff!  This subscription is for the movie lover that doesn’t care too much about the glitz and glamour of 3D and IMAX.  This is for the viewer that is looking for an excuse to see movies that they normally wouldn’t drop their hard-earned money on.  This is for a person who finds themselves with a few hours here and there throughout the week that they wouldn’t mind spending in the cool, dark comfort of a movie theater.  With the proper mindset, the service can be an incredible value, but potential subscribers will need to weigh the pros and cons carefully.

I will be writing mini-reviews for the movies I see, complete with ticket price and trailers.

P.S.  A word of advice:  If you want to get the most out of your MoviePass, look beyond your closest or favorite theater.  Some theaters hold onto movies longer than others or have access to films that others do not.  While browsing through the list of theaters on my phone, I noticed that one of the participating theaters showed second run movies.  This is a good way to go and see the cheap movies as well as the newest available.

*I signed up for the Regal Crown Club today.  I will post how well this works with the MoviePass service.

*This service is fully compatible with the Crown Club free membership.  I am now happily earning Regal rewards.