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Trailer for Replicas (2018)


Trailer for Replicas (2018)

Replicas is a film about a scientist who becomes obsessed with bringing his family back from the dead after they died in a car accident.

Keanu Reeves continues to make excellent choices in the movies that he decides to make.  This appears like it will be a fun and dark Sci-Fi thriller.  It looks like a sort of new-age Frankenstein.  It is hard to go wrong with Keanu because he is usually likable in whatever film he decides to make.  I am looking forward to this one.

The film was directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff and the noteworthy cast includes Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch, John Ortiz, Emily Alyn Lind, and Emjay Anthony.

The movie is currently set to release on August 24th, 2018.

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Crossing Over (2009)


Crossing Over Poster

Crossing Over (2009)

 

Crossing Over is a Wayne Kramer written and directed movie that fell through the cracks.  Kramer is known for Running Scared (2006), The Cooler (2003), and most recently Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013)Running Scared was excellent and The Cooler and Pawn Shop Chronicles were both very solid films.  Crossing Over did not appear to me like it would be any good.  I wanted to give it a try however, because Kramer usually makes quality movies and the noteworthy cast includes Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Jim Sturgess, Cliff Curtis, Alice Eve, Alice Braga, Mahershala Ali, Josh Gad, Michael Cudlitz, and Marshall Manesh.

Crossing Over

Crossing Over is about multiple stories of immigration to the United   States.  It follows multiple immigrants from all over the world who are trying to become legal citizens in Los Angeles.  Some go through the proper process of trying to become legal citizens, while others try to do so illegally or skip the process altogether.  Sometimes their stories intertwine and other times they do not.  The film also follows the lives of the people who are trying to help these immigrants to become legal and also the ones who are trying to deport them.  It deals with how sometimes mixing different cultures together can clash and how sometimes it can bring people closer together.  It is all different perspectives on immigration in America.

The movie jumps all over the place from story to story.  There is not a lot of character development because the movie is trying to tell too many stories instead of concentrating on one.  As a result, it is hard to feel anything for the characters and it turns into a jumbled mess.

Crossing Over Liotta Judd

Ford gave a standout performance in the film.  He was not given a lot to work with, but he managed to be likable anyway.  He single-handedly tried to hold the broken pieces of the movie together, but there is only so much that one actor can do.

Overall the movie was hard to enjoy because it jumped around way too much.  It was a waste of a quality cast and it was a waste of time.  This is by far Wayne Kramer’s worst movie.

Crossing Over Curtis Ford

I rate this movie a 4 on a scale of 1-10.

Buy, rent, or run?  Run.

Note:  Michael Cudlitz has been in 3 Wayne Kramer movies: Running Scared, Crossing Over and Pawn Shop Chronicles.

Jim Sturgess and Josh Gad were both in the film 21 (2008) together.

It’s always interesting to me to find different movie connections.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)


Star Trek into Darkness Poster

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

I have not really ever been a big fan of the Star Trek franchise.  I have seen some of the earlier movies and an assortment of episodes from a few of the television shows.  For one reason or another, I just could not get into Star TrekStar Trek Into Darkness appeared like it was going to be different than the previous movies.  This new movie looked intriguing and it made me decide to give Star Trek another chance.

Star Trek Into Darkness Chris Pine

Star Trek Into Darkness follows the crew of the Enterprise lead by Captain Kirk (Chris Pine).  He is tasked with tracking down a man responsible for attacking their organization.

Star Trek Into Darkness Ships

I saw the film in 3D and the special effects were wonderful.  It’s the best 3D movie that I have ever seen.  Technology has sure come a long way.  This was one film that I think is completely worth the extra cost to see in 3D.

Many parts of previous Star Trek movies have seemed a little too corny at times.  They all have had a lot of cool ideas mixed with some cheesy dialogue.  There has also been some great technology and some things that have seemed so far out that they come off as tacky.

Star Trek Into Darkness Volcano

In Star Trek Into Darkness, they seem to have gotten all of the tweaks out.  I felt that the filmmakers did an excellent job of updating the entire concept of Star Trek.  They successfully made it more appealing to a wider audience.  I am living proof of that because they got me to go out and see it, when I wasn’t going to let that happen before.

Star Trek Into Darkness Group

The movie is directed by J.J. Abrams and has a very solid cast that includes Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Peter Weller, Alice Eve, Anton Yelchin, and John Cho.

The film was exciting.  The computer graphics, special effects, etc., etc. were all amazing and made everything a bit more believable, considering the subject matter.  The dialogue was well-written and didn’t get cheesy this time around.  There was a bit of humor thrown in throughout the whole film to help make it more entertaining.  The characters were well-rounded and the story kept my attention.

Star Trek Into Darkness Cumberbatch

Overall, in my opinion, Star Trek Into Darkness is the best Star Trek movie that I have seen and likely better than the few that I haven’t seen.  Do yourself a favor and see it in 3D to make your movie watching experience even better.  Star Trek Into Darkness got me into Star Trek.  I might just have to go back and watch Star Trek (2009) and we’ll see where that takes me.

I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.

Buy, rent, or run?  Buy.

Star Trek Into Darkness Red world

Trailer for Star Trek into Darkness (2013)


Star Trek into Darkness Poster

Star Trek into Darkness (2013) (click on the title for my full review)

For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a huge Star Trek fan.  With that being said, Star Trek into Darkness actually looks semi-decent.  I just may have to check it out when it releases.  If I like it, I may have to go back and give some of the other movies a second look.  This new Star Trek does not look like your average Star Trek.  Even the poster looks intriguing for a Star Trek movie.

The film is directed by J.J. Abrams and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Jon Lee Brody, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Nolan North, Nick Tarabay, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, Tom Archdeacon, Heather Langenkamp, and Christopher Doohan.

The movie is set to release on 5/17/13.