Arrival (2016) --- "Apparently Talking To Extraterrestrials Is Not As Easy As It Seems. And There's A New Concept About Time."

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Plot Summary

 When 12 mysterious spacecrafts touch down across the globe, an elite team - led by expert linguist Louise Banks - is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers - and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.(1) 

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     Alien invasion films have, quite frankly, been overdone. However, Arrival's script – written by Eric Heisserer and adapted from Ted Chiang's short story "Story of Your Life" – is an ingenious piece of work that takes “alien invasion films” to a whole new level. If you were expecting another Independence Day type action movie then you will be sadly disappointed. Arrival focuses on the struggle to communicate with the creatures, ‘Heptapods’, and what the aftermath of this could lead to should it not go to plan; a massive war depicting the bloodshed and trauma or an alien invasion, like Independence Day. Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners) has created a masterful aesthetic in every way Rather than portraying a darker and twisted look at humanity, like in Sicario and Prisoners, he instead chooses to go for a much lighter but still serious tone involving the mystery that surrounds the aliens. The film's soundtrack, created by the terrific Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, The Theory of Everything), is an inspiring collection of thumping horn arrangements and softer pieces. The cinematography by Bradford Young (Selma, A Most Violent Year) is breathtaking and brings in references and odes to other sci-fi classics - like 2001: A Space Oddysey - with successfully acting as the perfect match to the tone of each sequence.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) --- "Apparently There Is Something Important About A Pirate Legend's Heart In A Chest."

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Plot Summary

Once again we're plunged into the world of sword fights and "savvy" pirates. Captain Jack Sparrow is reminded he owes a debt to Davy Jones, who captains the flying Dutchman, a ghostly ship, with a crew from hell. Facing the "locker" Jack must find the heart of Davy Jones but to save himself he must get the help of quick-witted Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan. If that's not complicated enough, Will and Elizabeth are sentenced to hang, unless will can get Lord Cutler Beckett Jack's compass, Will is forced to join another crazy adventure with Jack. (1)

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     Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest does right by the first installment as it maintains the same carefree spirit of the original and creates an, even more, fitting story to the whole Pirates lore. Another aspect done right in this film is that everything bigger and better than the first film. Returning Director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer make sure that there is more adventure, more violence, more pirates, and more myth while still holding on to some familiarity from the original.

Ben-Hur (2016) --- "This Guy's Thirst For Revenge Leads Him To Join A Chariot Race With Morgan Freeman As His Mentor."

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Plot Summary

Its 33 A.D. Jerusalem and a crowd are gathered for a chariot race. Among the riders are Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), is a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted, and Messala Severus (Toby Kebbell), the adoptive brother and an officer in the Roman army. Judah has returned to his homeland after 5 years at sea to seek revenge but, instead, he finds redemption and learns the value of forgiveness for both yourself and the ones who wronged you.

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     Ben-Hur has had many negative reviews, and this is partly due to two reasons. The first reason is that many viewers were expecting it to be a more action packed movie and that is not the case here. Ben-Hur is a faith-filled movie about a Jewish man of very high standing being accused of treason and then ultimately him and his family being betrayed by someone that they loved as a family; despite not being blood-related. The second reason is that the negative reviews for this movie are primarily coming from non-Christian viewers and when you think about it, our current film culture is not very Christian-centered. I find this to be somewhat confusing as to why those viewers would go see a film that they will obviously find disagreeable. Now although I have never seen the 1959 version I have heard from a number of people that it was a bad and not even historically accurate movie. As a faith believe Christian myself, if you’re going to make a movie that ends up featuring events from history, particularly those revolving around the bible, then you need to get the film as accurate as possible.

Patriots Day (2016) --- "This Film Will Restore Your Faith In Patriotism In An Explosive Way."

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Plot Summary

On April 15th, 2013, Boston, Massachusetts, Police Sgt, Tommy Saunders Wal (Mark Wahlberg) is pulling security duty on the annual Boston Marathon when the Tsarnaev brothers strike with their homemade bombs in an act of terrorism. In the resulting chaos as the wounded are cared for, Saunders and his comrades join forces with the FBI to get to the bottom of this attack. As the investigation continues, the Tsarnaev brothers realize that the authorities are close to identifying them and attempt to flee the city to continue their fanatical mayhem. To stop them, a police manhunt is performed that would have bloody confrontations and a massive dragnet shutting down the City of Boston to make sure there is no escape from the law. (1)

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     I was excited to see this film because I am a sucker for true story based movies. Patriots Day commensurately tells the story of the police involved in the 2013 Boston marathon bombing, focusing in on Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg), a fictional character who exists as an amalgamation of many cops involved in the case. It also focuses on the bombers themselves (Themo Melikidze, Alex Wolff), as they attack Boston in an act of terror, and then try to escape to New York City for another attack. Law enforcement agencies work quickly and effectively in identifying the bombers, while the citizens of Boston – although in shock and hurt - rallied together in helping support law enforcement capture of the suspects; this is how they earned the title ‘Boston Strong.’

Pirates of the Caribbean : Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) --- "Caribbean Pirates Try To Break A Curse Involving A Black Pearl."

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Plot Summary

 William Turner, a resourceful young blacksmith, teams up with the eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the Governor's daughter, Elizabeth Swann, who has been mistakenly captured by the clever and treacherous Barbossa, a former ally of Jack, to make a blood sacrifice so as to end the curse that has been put upon him and his crew. After gathering an "able bodied" crew, Will and Jack set sail to save Elizabeth and take back Jack’s ship the Black Pearl. Meanwhile, Barbossa discovers that not Elizabeth's but someone else's blood was required for the sacrifice. Whose blood is it?(1)

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     Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl has two beginnings, one in the past and one in the present. Both beginnings are signaled by the swell of the theme music; the second starts with the appearance of Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). The plot is pretty enjoyable, allowing for a lot of fights as well as enough twists and turns to hold the interest. Although at some points the story does not make total sense but the film moves on before viewers have the chance to think too hard on the minor plot holes. One thing viewers need to understand is that Pirates of the Caribbean doesn't take itself very seriously nor does it make fun of itself either. And while the film is consistent with having its tongue in its cheek – implying that a statement or production is humorously or otherwise not seriously intended, and it should not be taken at face value –, this seems to have a more gentle humor running through the dialogue, action, and characters. In other words, the film is having fun so it is easy for the audience to do so too.

F&F 8: The Fate of the Furious (2017) --- "10 Steps To Determining Fate. #8 Will Make You Furious."

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Plot Summary

Now that Dom and Letty are on their honeymoon and Brian and Mia have retired from the game and the rest of the crew has been exonerated-the globetrotting team has found a semblance of a normal life. But when a mysterious woman seduces Dom into the world of crime he can't seem to escape and a betrayal of those closest to him, they will face trials that will test them as never before. Now forcing to team up with Mr. nobody and Deckard Shaw, the team must travel from the shores of Cuba and the streets of New York City to the icy plains of the arctic Barents Sea, the elite force will crisscross the globe to stop an anarchist from unleashing chaos on the world's stage... and to bring home the man who made them a family. (1)

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     Movies have been doing action sequences with cars since Bullitt (1968) destroyed around 80 cars, The Blues Brothers (1980) destroyed around 103 cars, and The Junkman (1982 ) destroyed around 150 cars. Then along came The Fast and the Furious (F&F) movies with the films destroying more than 1,000 cars in total. Of course, with the F&F franchise, it is not only about destroying cars, it's about the creativity. Fast Five (2011) demonstrates the destructive power of a large safe being dragged up city streets at high speeds. Furious 6 (2013) answers the question “how many cars it takes to stop a tank and a plane?” And Furious 7 (2015) offers insight into a perfect world where a car can drive straight from the upper floors of one skyscraper to another, proving that cars can fly – or perhaps it's falling with style. Many fans may be wondering if there is anything left in the tank for this 8^th installment and apparently there is. Director F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton, The Italian Job) delivers action sequences that are even more creative, daring, and entertaining than ever before.

F&F 7: Furious 7 (2015) --- "An Old Enemy's Big Brother Makes 7 Friends Furious."

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Plot Summary

Dominic and his crew thought they'd left the criminal mercenary life behind. They'd defeated international terrorist Owen Shaw and went their separate ways. But now, Shaw's brother, Deckard Shaw, is out killing the crew one by one for revenge. Worse, a Somalian terrorist called Jakarde and a shady government official called "Mr. Nobody" are both competing to steal a computer terrorism program called "God's Eye," that can turn any technological device into a weapon. Torretto must reconvene with his team to stop Shaw and retrieve the God's Eye program while caught in a power struggle between the terrorist and the United States government.(1)

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     The most interesting part about this franchise was that it did not seem like it was going anywhere since The Fast and the Furious (2001), especially since the first two sequels seemed to follow different stories and characters. When the fourth installment, Fast & Furious (2009), came out and they got most of the cast back together, it was entertaining and amusing but I did not believe that it would be going anywhere. However, it was not until Fast Five (2011) came out that I was really started to fall in love with the series; it felt like we were finally getting a worthy story for an amazing series. I enjoyed the first two sequels Justin Lin created, Tokyo Drift (2006) and Fast & Furious (2009), but I was not overly impressed to the extent that I would be the first in-line to see or buy. Nevertheless, when Fast Five (2011) came out he decided to have fun with the overblown action scenes and audiences embraced it completely. One of my favorite team has been reunited twice so far, being chased by tanks, plans, and pulling off Mission Impossible-worthy tasks. I was very excited for Furious 7 (2015) and was not aware that it had changed directors until after seeing the movie.

The Zookeepers Wife (2017) --- Watch A Polish Couple Turn Their Zoo Into A Human Smuggling Ring Right Under The Nazi's Noses."

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Plot Summary

The time is 1939 Warsaw, Poland, the homeland of Antonina Zabinski and her husband, Dr. Jan Zabinski. The Warsaw Zoo flourishes under Jan's stewardship and Antonina's care. When the Germans invade Poland and their Zoo is turned into a military post, their country is invaded by the Nazis, Jan and Antonina are forced to report to the Reich's newly appointed chief zoologist, Lutz Heck. Based on the non-fiction book of the same name, The Zookeeper's Wife recounts the true story of a husband and wife couple, who despite the dangers secretly shelter Jews from 1939 to 1945 on their premises of the Warsaw Zoo. Thus enabling the Resistance and putting into action plans to save the lives of hundreds of Polish Jews from what has become the Warsaw Ghetto.

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     Of course, there have been many stories told about ordinary men and women who have displayed extraordinary heroism during the Holocaust, and such tales are often told with flattering hero worship that goes against the nature of the characters. However, The Zookeeper's Wife stands out among one of the better ones by simply displaying extraordinary bravery and telling a story without embellishments or exaggeration. The film highlights the emotional devastation of war without having to use violence or gore but rather place an emphasis on authenticity; laying bare communities being torn apart by invaders, the utter hopelessness of those who were oppressed, and the sacrifices of those fighting to make a difference during such challenging times. Director Niki Caro (McFarland USA, Whale Rider, North Country) knows her way around such worthy tributes, by placing emphasis on the difficult circumstances of the war in order to demonstrate the Żabińskis' bravery rather than acclaiming the characters as being untouchable. Every scene is played out with an attention to detail and realism – the Warsaw Zoo looks astonishing, huge, and beautiful – so that condition the Żabińskis’ were living under, as well as the dangers they were putting themselves in, are felt deeply and overwhelmingly, thus revealing the measure of courage and self-sacrifice that their deeds exemplified.

F&F 6: Fast and Furious 6 (2013) --- "Watch Both Sides Of The Law Team Up To Track Down The Biggest Felon Of All."

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Plot Summary

Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian's (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin's empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete. Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again.

- Written by Universal Pictures

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     Fast & Furious 6 reunites the entire gang to take on bigger stakes and the vision for this film is to be bigger, more absurd, and more awesome than before. This is Justin Lin’s fourth film in the franchise and once again he has managed to create a movie that makes us forget all previous ones. Of course, most of the films budget and time was more dedicated to high-speed dueling, massive explosions, inspired stunt-work and creative property damage; yet this allowed for part of the plot to suffer in the long run. Now the plot was good, I have nothing against that. But there are plot holes and many of the action scenes are hectically shot and weakly edited so it can be hard to tell what's going on in some scenes. However, the film does have the merit of presenting a cast of villains that are practically the mirror image of the cast of heroes and the story, thanks to the production team, pulls out a few surprising twists. This film uses an overabundance of quality sets, props, costumes, and loads of flashy cars at its disposal. In addition, the acting is generally fun and enjoyable from the whole cast. Whether or not you like this film will depend on whether or not you like the characters and their dynamics.

F&F 5: Fast Five (2011) --- "A Team Of Felons Destroy A City When They Drag A Bank Vault Behind Their Cars."

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Plot Summary

Former cop Brian O'Conner partners with ex-con Dom Toretto on the opposite side of the law. Since Brian and Mia Toretto broke Dom out of custody, they've blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he's not the only one on their tail. Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can't separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey... before someone else runs them down first.

- Written by Universal Pictures

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      It has been 10 years since the first installment and since then the Fast and Furious franchise has been hitting the ground in top gear and with this fifth installment, it shows no signs of slowing down. Starting a new direction for future films to take by shifting gears from a film showcasing hot bodies and fast NOS enabled cars into the classic heist film with a growing ensemble that could give Ocean's Eleven a run for its money.

     The action in this film is superb. Every shot is deliberate and clean. Rio De Janeiro provides the perfect backdrop for Fast Five, not only has it been a popular location for films recently but it is also a great place for our characters to hide from authorities after breaking out Dom en route to prison. This time they are putting aside the rather repetitive and surface theme of races and wheels on the roads, and instead focusing more on the heist and staying out of jail despite not having many of the signature cars this time. The big bang finale, which you would have seen in the trailer, is a fittingly noisy last act of destroying everything in their path. The movie does slow down in the middle to what looks like Ocean's Eleven meets Fast and Furious and at times it feels like a parody action film filled with cheesy cliché's that are sometimes so subtle you'll miss it. But director Justin Lin (his 3^rd film in the Fast and Furious franchise) and writer Chris Morgan always manage to toss in another scene in case you did see the cliché, and often it is in a hilarious way. Every shot is clean and deliberate, and aside from the action, the ensemble of both old and new characters is amazing.

The Ghost in the Shell (2017) --- "A Cyborg-Enhanced Soldier Discovers Her Origins Are Not What She Expected Them To Be."

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 In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to: her life was not saved, it was stolen. She will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this to her and stop them before they do it to others. Based on the internationally acclaimed Japanese Manga, "The Ghost in the Shell."

- Written by Paramount Pictures 

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     Let me start off by saying that I have never seen the original Ghost in the Shell (1995) and the end credits of Ghost in the Shell (2017) clearly state that this film is not based on the 1995 original but rather it based on the manga, which I have not read, and cannot compare to the 2017 version

F&F 4: Fast & Furious (2009) --- "See How Ex-Friends Get Revenge For A Mutual Friend Against A Drug Cartel."

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Plot Summary

Heading back to the streets where it all began, two men rejoin two women to blast muscle, tuner and exotic cars across Los Angeles and floor through the Mexican desert. When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto reignites his feud with agent Brian O'Connor. But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmaneuver him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what's possible behind the wheel.

- Written by Universal Studios

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     The best way to describe Fast & Furious would be a guilty pleasure and while there is not enough weight in this film to be an Oscar contender but as with The Fast and the Furious (2001), there is something that gives it meaning. I believe that it is because we have Vin Diesel returning to the franchise.