Mike's Movie Tips

2.5/4 Starring: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Emily Watson, Keira Knightly, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Sam Worthington, Michael Kelly Rated PG-13 for Intense Peril and Disturbing Images "Everest" is an intense film that will leave you reeling.  It is also insanely maddening because it could have been so much better.  I don't know what it is about big budget movies these days, but I prefer to be able to hear the dialogue over the special effects.  This is one of my biggest pet peeves, and boy, does "Everest" ever break it! Yes, I get it.  The majority of the film takes place on Mount Everest in the middle of a fierce storm, so naturally the dialogue would be set against a bunch of noise.  Well, so was " Vertical Limit ," and at least director Martin Campbell made sure that we were able to pick out the dialogue over the screaming winds.  The same cannot be said about Baltasar Kormakur, who thinks that this movie will work if we can...

1.5/4 Starring: Kate Mara, David Oyelowo, Michael K. Williams, Lenor Varela, Mimi Rogers, Elle Graham Rated PG-13 for Mature Thematic Elements involving Substance Abuse The good news is that the new Christian film "Captive" doesn't pile on the preachiness like " War Room " and no one utters a single Bible verse, unlike last year's monstrosity, " God's Not Dead ."  The bad news?  It's dull beyond words. Ashley Smith (Mara) is a meth addict struggling to stay sober.  Her young daughter Paige (Graham) is living with her Aunt Kim (Rogers) until she can stay clean, but it's a losing battle.  Brian Nichols (Oyelowo) is on his way to a lengthy prison term when he escapes and goes on a killing and carjacking spree that reminded me of "Grand Theft Auto."  He eventually takes Ashley hostage and hides out in her apartment while planning his next move.  Meanwhile, two cops, John Chestnut (Williams) and Carmen Sandoval (Varela) are...

2.5/4 Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, David Harbour, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Corey Stoll, Dakota Johnson Rated R for Brutal Violence, Language Throughout, Some Sexual References and Brief Drug Use I gotta hand it to Scott Cooper, the director of "Black Mass:" he's ambitious.  With this film, he seeks to profile the rise and fall of notorious gangster James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) through his dealings with John Connelly (Edgerton).  Unfortunately, it's too ambitious of a scope for Coopers limited talents (his previous film, " Out of the Furnace ," had a similar problem). By the 1970's, James "Whitey" Bulger was already a hardened criminal.  However, while he had served time in the slammer, he's not the FBI's most pressing concern.  That would be the Italian mafia.  An eager beaver of the FBI named John Connelly, who knows Whitey from the neighborhood, thinks that they can use him to get to the mafia.  Hi...

3/4 Starring: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Nicolas Martinez, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Magda Apanowicz, Richard Burgi Rated R for Aberrent Violence and Torture, Grisly Disturbing Images, Brief Graphic Nudity, Sexual Content, Language and Some Drug Use The road to hell is paved with good intentions... "The Green Inferno" is probably the most violent horror movie I have ever seen in a movie theater.  Check that, it's the most violent movie period t hat I have ever seen in a movie theater.  It is bloody.  It is shocking.  And it will turn off many people who watch it.  However, it is intense and scary, and since that is what horror movies are supposed to do, I'm giving the film a recommendation. Justine (Izzo) is an aimless college student at an unnamed university (judging by the setting, I'm guessing NYU or Columbia).  She blithely scoffs at the activist students protesting for the janitors on campus (director Eli Roth has some fun at the exp...

3/4 Starring: Charlie Bewley, Clive Standen, Ivan Kaye, Guy Flanagan, Michael Jibson, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Alexandra Dowling, Finlay Robertson, James Cosmo, Elliot Cowan Rated R for Bloody Violence, Language including Sexual References, and Some Nudity "Hammer of the Gods" seeks to be more than a " 300 " clone.  While it's got more than enough brutal bloodshed to satisfy gorehounds and adrenaline junkies, the plot is deeper and the characters are better developed.  Director Farren Blackburn has fashioned a more realistic action movie set in the ancient world. The Vikings have long since settled in Northern Britain, although their hold on it is weakening.  The Saxons are invading, and they don't have the strength to repel them.  King Bagsecg (Cosmo) has sent for his son Steinar (Bewley) to lead the reinforcements, but when the prince arrives, his father has been gravely wounded and has only about a week to live.  His half-brother Harald (Standen) is ne...

1.5/4 Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Ki Hong Lee, Rosa Salazar, Jacob Lofland, Kaya Scolodero, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Aiden Gillen, Patricia Clarkson, Giancarlo Espisito Rated PG-13 for Extended Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Thematic Elements, Substance Use, and Language Typically if it's longer than a day or two between when I see the movie and when I can get to a computer, I skip the review.  But I decided to review this movie despite the fact that it's been a week since I've seen it for two reasons: one, I remember full well exactly what I was going to write, and two, I need a review for when I compile my Bottom Ten list this year, as this stinker will surely be on it. " The Maze Runner " is yet another sci-fi/fantasy (both genres are okay for Hollywood these days) book series that's being turned into a movie franchise.  While not as financially successful as " Twilight " or " The Hunger Games ," last year...

3/4 Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Michael Ealy, Morris Chestnut, Holt McCallany Rated PG-13 for Violence, Menace, Sexuality and Brief Strong Language "The Perfect Guy" is closer to a misfire than a "perfect" movie, but that doesn't mean it's a waste of time.  The performances are effective and it packs enough thrills to satisfy despite editing mishaps and an overlong running time. This movie has been mismarketed, perhaps to make it seem different than the genre movie it actually is.  It's been marketed as a film where a woman has to decide which over her lovers is genuine and which is a closeted psycho, but that's not the case.  This is really a "stranger within" movie like " Single White Female " or " Fatal Attraction ."  It's closest cousin is " Fear ," and while it isn't in the same league, one must remember how high that movie set the bar. Lobbyist Leah (Lathan) is at a crossroads with her boyfr...