Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a delightful animated film, directed by Rob Minkoff, based on the TV series created by Jay Ward.

Mr. Peabody (voiced by Ty Burrell) is a genius dog, who has adopted a young boy named Sherman (voiced by Max Charles).  In this story, Sherman has a confrontation with “mean girl” Penny Peterson (voiced by Ariel Winter) at school and is in danger of being removed from Mr. Peabody’s custody by child protective services.

In an effort to assuage the Peterson’s, Mr. Peabody invites them over for dinner.  Good idea?  Well, trying to ingratiate himself with Penny, Sherman disobeys Mr. Peabody’s order not to show her the Way Back time machine he invented. 

 

This sets off rifts in the time continuum and sets up a lot of fun adventures to set things right.

It’s a sweet, clever and witty film that might be more entertaining to adults than to young children.

If you remember the TV series, you’ll agree that it’s worthy of a 4 out of 5.  But, even if you’re new to Mr. Peabody & Sherman, you’ll find it equally enjoyable.

300: Rise Of An Empire

Director Noam Murro’s 300:Rise Of An Empire is a non-stop kill-fest that will be enjoyed only by fans of the initial 300, those who love the most violent action thrillers and students of battle tactics.

To its credit, the movie is better than the initial film, it gives a clear and concise understanding of the history of the age, the effects are strong and, best of all, it has Eva Green and Lena Headey.

In this movie, it’s the women who are of most interest.  Eva play Artemisia, the wicked admiral of the Persian fleet, and Lena plays Queen Gorgo, the vengeful wife of Leonidas, who died at Thermopylae in the initial film.   The male players are only interesting, when they wear their helmets and can’t be recognized.

 

For the fan base, 300:Rise Of An Empire gets a 3+ out of 5.

Non-Stop

Non-Stop is aptly named for the excitement and thrills never stop once Director Jaume Collet-Serra takes us up to 40,000 feet on an international flight to London.

Liam Neeson plays Bill Marks, an alcoholic, depressive Federal Air Marshall, who starts getting text messages that someone on board will be killed every 20 minutes unless $150 million will be put into a numbered account.  And, it turns out the account is in Marks’ name!

Julianne Moore starts out as the Marshall’s seatmate, but is she to be trusted?  Who is?  Marks, himself?

Though there are logic gaps, to be sure, you really don’t have time to think of them until you’re out of the theater.  Collet-Serra utilizes his Writers’…John W. Richardson, Chris Roach and Ryan Engle…thrill-packed script to keep you on edge and guessing right up to the climax.

If you’re looking for thrills and excitement, Non-Stop is a good bet.  I give it a 4 out of 5. 

Pompeii

Don’t believe all the negative reviews you might have read about Paul W.S. Anderson’s Pompeii. 

I, myself, was wondering what kind of story was created around this terrible natural disaster.  But, Writers Lee and Janet Scott Batchler, along with Michael Robert Johnson have crafted an interesting story about a young gladiator, known as The Celt (Kit Harington), who, as a boy, witnessed his family killed by a, now, Roman Senator (Keifer Sutherland). 

Sold into slavery, the boy has, 17 years later, become the greatest gladiator in Londinium (Britain) and has been brought to fight in Pompeii, which is a first century holiday resort for Romans.  

Of course, timing is everything and this timing is ambivalent, at best.  The good news is that the Senator is in Pompeii, chasing after a noblewoman (Emily Browning), who becomes enamored with The Celt.  That provides an opportunity for vengeance.  But, the bad news is that it’s 79 A.D. and Mount Vesuvius is about to pop.

There hasn’t been a good gladiator movie since The Gladiator, so young (and old) thriller fans, who are interested in this genre, should enjoy this film.  The action is thrilling and the effects are excellent.  Plus, unlike many other 3D movies, Pompeii makes good uses of this medium.

I give Pompeii a 4 out of 5.