MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM (Released to the Toronto International Film Festival Toronto, Ontario Canada 2013)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.4|5.0 Stars ìììì

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom—superbly done, based upon Nelson Mandela’s autobiography—becomes a study in: when law does not establish justice, then one man resorting to love, no war, and no rebellion works quite well to establish freedom from repressive governmental systems. Idris Elba’s acting for character Nelson Mandela is a little stiff, but it still works and creates a classic film. Impressive work by Director Justin Chadwick.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia 

Storyline

Nelson Mandela's story...how Mandela grew up in a native African family, his aspirations to make his parents proud of him, his desire as a lawyer to solve the growing unrest between Africans and government, his failures and his successes as this becomes a lifelong quest, and the impact this has on his personal life.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Justin Chadwick for directing efforts, Thank you to Executive Producers Basil Ford, Harvey Weinstein, François Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Philisiwe Mthethwa, Geoffrey Ohena, Sudhir Pragjee, and Sanjeev Singh for making the film possible. Cast include: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, and Riaad Moosa.

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. A well written film...Idris Elba makes a really good performance after 'getting' over initial stiffness.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

STAR TREK BEYOND (Theatrical Release USA 2016)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.8|5.0 Starsììì

Star Trek Beyond—special effects hide many of the faults in this movie— has a weak story line that questions its relevancy and clarity. An audience may question what direction Director Justin Lin is taking this film. It is what it is. Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia Storyline Krall (Idris Elba) attacks the Enterprise and its crew scrambles for survival and means of escape.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Justin Lin for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Jeffrey Chernov, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Tommy Harper for  for making the film possible. Cast include: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, and Sofia Boutella.

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe.  Hard core Trekkies will love the special effects.  Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (Released in Theaters USA 2024)

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.1|5.0 Starsìììì  Sonic the Hedgehog 3—Jim Carrey returns as Doctor Robotnik and the grandfather of Doctor Robotnik—follows the Sonic story with the addition of an alter-ego of the lovable Sonic as the protagonist. The movie has a well written story.  Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images Storyline  Sonic becomes involved with his alter-ego and must fight for justice.  Additional Thanks   Thank you to Director Jeff Fowler for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara, and Hitoshi Okuno for making the film possible. Cast includes Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Krysten Ritter, Natasha Rothwell, James Marsden, Idris Elba, and Keanu Reeves. Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. This movie is not as good as the last two Sonic films but definitely follows the flavor and fun of the first two movies.   Video Critique Available Here: Ben Meyers

28 WEEKS LATER (Theatrical Release USA 2007)

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.7|5.0 Starsììì 

28 Weeks Later—over-the-top violence and some gore—serves highly cringeworthy entertainment with an interesting storyline that basically is just another ‘zombie-type’ movie. Nothing new here. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images

Storyline 

The military have made a safe zone from the Rage Virus within London’s Isle of Dogs. A boy and his sister compromise the zone. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Enrique Lopez-Lavigne, Andrew Macdonald, and Allon Reich for making the film possible. Cast includes: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne,  Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack, Makintosh Muggleton, Imogen Poots, and Idris Elba. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Maybe. The movie is very violent and gory to the point of difficult to watch at times. The characters are not fleshed out well and no real attempt is made to make the audience care a great deal about them. It uses shock and awe to keep its audience in its seat. 

Video Critique Available Here: 

Ben Meyers

PACIFIC RIM (Theatrical Release USA 2013)

 

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.2|5.0 Starsìììì 

Pacific Rim—better than most monster films—has some difficulty making sense at certain junctures of its story, but displays well on screen. Everything moves quickly in the movie. It’s good to see Charlie Hunnam, Edris Elba and Ron Perlman, and Rinko Kikuchi cast together in this movie. The movie works for the monster-movie fan. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

America is attacked by huge monsters from under the ocean. America responds by building machines called Jaegers to defend the coastline. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Guillermo del Toro for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Guillermo del Toro, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, and Mary Parent for making the film possible. Cast includes: Charlie Hunnam, Diego Klattenhoff, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr. and Ron Perlman. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes. The film is one of the better monster movies on the market. Even though the special effects may not always be well defined, the basic story contains all the expected elements in a monster movie and becomes a good watch for that audience. The movie has a sequel:  Pacific Rim: Uprising. 

Video Critique Available Here: 

Ben Meyers

THE SUICIDE SQUAD (Theatrical Release USA 2021)

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.6|5.0 Starsììì 

The Suicide Squad—better writing in some places than the last film—has over-the-top gore and violence that can cause an adult to feel queasy.  Almost every scene presents the unexpected mini-climax that keeps a viewer from being able to build toward a conclusion. It’s an unexpected presentation format that is interesting for its novelty but creates difficulty for the critic to find common ground to compare it to other movies within this genre. It’s like mixing evil with evil and then wondering how that cake is going to taste after baking. Casting chose an excellent cast that includes, but is not limited to: Idris Elba, John Cena, Margot Robbie who reprises her role as Harley Quinn, Michael Rooker, Viola Davis who reprises her role as Amanda Waller, and the voice of Sylvester Stallone (as King Shark), and Pete Davidson. This film may be watched best at home rather than the theater setting as free vetting of verbal ‘Uggghhh’ and averting of eyes can be done privately rather than publicly.

 Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images

Storyline 

This spy action film is about Amanda Waller sending two new teams of super human criminals undercover to stop scientific work that does not serve United States’ interests. 

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director James Gunn for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Charles Roven and Peter Safran for making the film possible. Cast includes: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, and Viola Davis. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Maybe. The graphic, violent gore is over-the-top…enough to make a grown adult feel queasy. It definitely is not for children. But, to be fair, it is creative with a fresh story quite unlike any presented in previous superhero films.

Video Critique Available Here:

 

Ben Meyers

BEAST (Theatrical Release USA 2022)

 Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.8|5.0 Starsììì 

Beast—short storyline stretched into a full-length movie—may have presented itself better as a documentary movie about an actual event rather than as a movie. The film has nowhere to go. No story with enough depth to encourage a televised series or a sequel movie unless it goes the route of movies like Sharknado. Everything about the movie is suitable and the acting works, as does the action scenes.  But the script does not have enough storyline to run a whole movie nor does it provide depth of story. It works better if severely edited and given a short film presentation for television rather than a film release. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

This outdoor action film is about a rogue lion who hunts humans. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Baltasar Kormákur for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Baltasar Kormákur, James Lopez, and Will Packer for making the film possible. Cast includes: Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, and Leah Sava Jeffries. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Maybe. The movie does not work with a fresh storyline nor is it a high-quality watch. 

Video Critique Available Here: 

Ben Meyers

THOR: RAGNARÖK (Theatrical Release USA 2017)

 Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.3|5.0 Starsìììì 

Thor: Ragnarök—a better Marvel film—incorporates much more comedy into its dialogue and storyline. This welcome diversion increases the entertainment value and makes it unique among the more serious, action-oriented superhero movies. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as Thor. The movie works on a creative and highly original structuring than previous Thor-related stories. Good watch, worth both time and money expenditure. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

Thor insists his brother Loki help him find their father, Odin. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Taika Waititi for directing effort. Thank you to Producer Kevin Feige for making the film possible. Cast includes: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes. The movie is very well done and exceptionally fun to watch. It is the third film in the Thor series. 

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

THOR: THE DARK WORLD (All-Media World-Wide USA 2013)

 Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.2|5.0 Starsìììì 

Thor: The Dark World manages to bring a large story to the big screen on higher-than-average levels. The storyline is okay to good and presents itself well. The acting is good, the film is entertaining, and worth watching. It gets the job done for the superhero audience and is worth the time and money spent for that audience. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

Thor and Loki compete head-to-head for control and dominance. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Alan Taylor for directing effort. Thank you to Producer Kevin Feige for making the film possible. Cast includes: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akkinnuoye-Agbaje, and Kat Dennings.

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes.  This is worth watching. The graphics special effects are a bit overpowering, but befitting for the realm in which Thor lives. The concluding scenes offer a nice twist that makes a sweet conclusion for the audience. 

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

THE LOSERS (Theatrical Release USA 2010)

 Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.0|5.0 Starsìììì 

The Losers—interesting film—has a fairly good storyline supported with great acting and presentation. Its directing has good execution thanks to Director Sylvain White. There are some sexual scenes, but besides that it presents good entertainment value. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images                                                                                                               

Storyline 

A special ops team goes to Bolivia to take out a drug lord’s operational base. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Sylvain White for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Joel Silver, Akiva Goldsman, and Kerry Foster for making the film possible. Cast includes: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Chris Evans, Columbus Short, Oscar Jaenada, and Jason Patric. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes. The movie runs as an okay watch, a good film to fill time.

 Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers