CREED (Theatrical Release USA 2015)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.4|5.0 Starsìììì

Creed does justice to the Rocky series. The script is a spinoff of the rest of the Apollo Creed (the boxer who died in Rocky 4) story. Sylvester Stallone is back and once again completely takes us by storm in his role as the seasoned trainer, Rocky Balboa, who coaches and trains Apollo Creed’s son. This is one of the best spinoff films you’ll ever see. Director Ryan Cooglar really struts his stuff in this top-of-the-line boxing film. The final fighting scene, fast-paced and realistic, totally enters the ‘WOW! What a fight!’ category. Exceptionally well-done, the film completely absorbs that old Rocky feel that no boxing film achieved since the first release of the Rocky films. Great work for all involved.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

The illegitimate son, Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), of Apollo Creed, the fighter who fought in the Rocky 1 through 3 films and was killed in the Rocky 4 film, decides to follow in his father’s footsteps and looks up Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to train him.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Ryan Coogler for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producer Nicolas Stern for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Bianca (Tessa Thompson), Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad), Danny ‘Stuntman’ Wheeler (Andre Ward), ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew), Pete Sporino (Ritchie Coster), Stitch (Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran), Tommy Holiday (Graham McTavish), Amir (Malik Bazille), Padman (Ricardo ‘Padman’ McGill), and Leo ‘The Lion’ Sporino (Gabe Rosado).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. It lives up to the original Rocky series with an outstanding performance by Sylvester Stallone as a seasoned Rocky Balboa. The film is a complete winner and worth watching more than once. Thank you to everyone involved in the production of this film for giving us one more gourmet taste of Rocky Balboa. WOW! What a film!

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Ben Meyers

RAMBO: LAST BLOOD (Theatrical Release USA 2019)

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.2|5.0 Starsìììì 

Rambo: Last Blood—hardcore, gritty story—drives gore and violence to a new level that far exceeds previous Rambo movies. The movie has been tailored for the mature adult audience. The story is solid. The acting and presentation are good. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

A young girl is kidnapped by a Mexican cartel and Rambo goes to rescue her. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Adrian Grunberg for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton, Yariv Lerner, Les Weldon for making the film possible. Cast includes: Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Menchata, Adriana Barraza, Yvette Monreal, Genie Kim, Joaquin Cosio, and Oscar Jaenada. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes. This is a good watch for the mature audience and relies on a tough story backed with good acting and presentation. 

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Ben Meyers

RAMBO (Theatrical Release USA 2008)

 

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.4|5.0 Starsìììì 

Rambo—part 4 of five films with a 6^th film possibly in the works—raises in quality from the last three films. While this Rambo movie runs to blood and gore that is almost cringe-worthy over the last three films, it is not over-the-top, graphic violence such as The Suicide Squad movie shows. The acting comes in as much improved and the presentation is much better. The movie bypasses ‘campy’ and delivers a realistic package due to great film technics. Sylvester Stallone is great and surrounds himself with an effective and believable supporting cast. The movie shows the brutalness of Burmese pirate/guerillas when on village raids. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

Missionaries are taken prisoner by pirates and Rambo is asked to lead mercenary soldiers to rescue them. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Sylvester Stallone for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton, and John Thompson for making the film possible. Cast includes: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish, Reynaldo Gallegos, Jake La Botz, Tim Kang, Maung Maung Khin, Paul Schulze, Cameron Pearson, Thomas Peterson, Tony Skarberg, James With, and Kasikorn Nivompattana.

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes. This is a great watch for the Rambo fan. This Rambo movie moves the realism up a few notches and the storyline also has more richness and depth than previous Rambo movies. Great work for Director Silvester Stallone. 

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Ben Meyers

RAMBO III (Theatrical Release USA 1988)

 

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.2|5.0 Starsìììì 

Rambo III—Sylvester Stallone, Sylvester Stallone, and more Sylvester Stallone—has a camera crew who would make incredible male model photographers for high-end magazines. The audience will not miss one of Sylvester Stallone’s sultry facial features as fans travel with him through dangerous terrain to rescue Trautman (Richard Crenna). The movie has as many explosive action scenes as it has of very good mug shots of Sylvester Stallone. While the movie takes a while to wind down to its final concluding scenes, fans will not be disappointed in Rambo’s self-assigned impossible mission.  Overall, this is a great watch with good story and presentation. Watch for Kurtwood Smith from the television series That 70’s Show. This film is Part 3 of the Rambo series of movies. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

Rambo’s friend Colonel Trautman is captured by Russians and Rambo goes on a solo mission to free him. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Peter MacDonald for directing effort. Thank you to Producer Buzz Feitshans for making the film possible. Casting includes: Sylvester Stallone and Richard Crenna. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes. This is great to see, more than worth watching, and deserves a Part 4 sequel. 

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

RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II (Theatrical Release USA 1985)

 Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.3|5.0 Starsìììì 

Rambo: First Blood Part II does not disappoint Sylvester Stallone fans or Rambo story fans. It causes a person to think about rescuing war prisoners and presents that scenario quite well. Sylvester Stallone is in character. The scenery and stage settings do a very good job of depicting jungle living conditions and the courage it takes for American military to operate in those conditions. It is what it is: an honest action thriller with a little romance thrown in as an added feature.

 Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images

Storyline 

Rambo is offered a pardon for his prison sentence if he will go to Vietnam to see if there are any prisoners of war still detained there. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director George P. Cosmatos for directing effort. Thank you to Producer Buzz Feitshans for making the film possible. Cast includes: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, and Steven Berkoff. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes. Action film fans will enjoy this film. 

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (Theatrical Release USA 2017)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.7|5.0 Starsìììì

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II—inspired fun—writes its story with terrific creativity and becomes one of the best film releases of 2017.  The movie’s borders are boundless and could easily, due to the heavily defined characterizations, become a long running television series on par with Star Wars. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II serves up 137 minutes of great entertainment for the Teen/Adult audience.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) father, Ego (Kurt Russell), reveals himself and Peter discovers the cause of his mother’s death.

Additional Thanks

Thank You to Director James Gunn for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Victoria Alonso, Louis D’Esposito, Nikolas Korda, Stan Lee, and Jonathan Schwartz for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Baby Groot (voice of Vin Diesel), Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper), Yondu (Michael Rooker), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Stakar Ogord (Sylvester Stallone), Ego (Kurt Russell), and Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. This movie does not equal the entertainment quality of Guardians of the Galaxy, but it comes in a very close second to that film’s entertainment value. Introductory scenes are particularly outstanding with special effects, costuming, make-up artistry, background scenery, and casting consistently presenting fresh visuals that harmonize quite pleasingly.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

RATCHET & CLANK (Theatrical Release USA 2016)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.3|5.0 Starsììì

Ratchet & Clank, an animated feature that bases itself on the video game, wants so badly to be an action animation movie. The meager storyline, however, does not justify a movie and despite an all-star voice cast fails at every juncture. If one must see Ratchet and Clank in action, it’s better to get the Play Station game than watch the movie.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

The Blargs are systematically destroying one planet after another which results in a deployment of Galactic Rangers. Wannabe Ranger, Ratchet (voice of James Arnold Taylor), finds himself on the reject list when he attempts to join the fight. Rejects have the day, however, when Ratchet teams with Robot Clank (voice of David Kaye).

Additional Thanks

Thank You to Director Kevin Munroe for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Delna Bhesania, Xinyu Bian, Connie Booth, Brian Cleveland, Jason Cleveland, Alan Elkin, Jeremy Fan, Michael Hefferon, Sun Ming, Kevin Munroe, Jin Na, Edward Noeltner, Bryant Pike, Dan Reardon, Richard Rionda Del Castro, Riley Russell, David Charles Sheldon, Jared Underwood, Slava Vladimirov, Vincent Ye, and Harley Zhao for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Drek (voice of Paul Giamatti), Grimroth (voice of John Goodman), Cora (voice of Bella Thorne), Elaris (voice of Rosario Dawson), Owark (voice of Jim Ward), Dr. Nefarious (voice of Armin Shimerman), Brax/Solana Trooper (voice of Vincent Tong), Zed/Blarg (voice of Andrew Cownden), Victor (voice of Sylvester Stallone), and Mr. Micron (voice of Lee Tockar).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. For the hardcore Ratchet and Clank video game fan, the film may suffice. For the general audience, this animated feature fails due to its inability to imagine a strong backstory and future story.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

THE EXPENDABLES 2 (Theatrical Release USA 2012)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.4|5.0 Stars ììì

The Expendables 2—at some points stupidly funny with quite good action scenes—stars our favorite action heroes: Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris (a new addition from the last Expendables), Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme (a new addition from the last Expendables), Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, and Terry Crews. While the Ben Meyers’ team prefers them individually, the all-star cast presents a ‘hard to pass it by’ appeal. The mixture of younger with seasoned actors in this genre seems a little unsettling and raises the question would it have been better to work with seasoned actors only in the story. But, this critic team likes the film and evidently box office likes it, too, as it grossed approximately $3 to every $1 invested. We’re looking forward to Expendables 3 which includes Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, and Kellan Lutz. Sylvester Stallone, as of this writing, is working on Expendables 4 for a 2017 release. This film starts with a good bang for your buck. Audiences definitely will not be bored.

Movie Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Our favorite body builders show muscle power across Nepal, New Orleans, Albania, and Bulgaria as they track villains and correct wrongs.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Simon West for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Guymon Casady, Guy Avshalom, Basil Iwanyk, Zygi Kamasa, Trevor Short, Samuel and Victor Hadida, Danny Dimbort, Jason Constantine, and Boaz Davidson for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Booker (Chuck Norris), Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Church (Bruce Willis), Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), Toll Road (Randy Couture), Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth), Hector (Scott Adkins), Stephan (Alexander Moskov), and Bojan (George Zlatarev).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. The film can’t be faulted for its terrific presentation of our favorite body building actors.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers