MOVIE - The Mummy

PG-13 (1:50)

Wide release 6/9/17

Viewed Monday, 6/12/17 at Carlisle 8 (comfy reclining seats)
IMBd: 5.8/10

RT Critic: 15 (Now that's pretty bad!)  Audience:  42
Critic's Consensus:  Lacking the campy fun of the franchise's most recent entries and failing to deliver many monster-movie thrills, The Mummy suggests a speedy unraveling for the Dark Universe.

Cag:  3/Liked it for the most part

Directed by Alex Kurtzman

Universal Studios

Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Courtney B. Vance

My comments:  I can't believe that both Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe would do such a silly, forgettable movie.  For the money?  Except....actually....as silly as it was, I enjoyed it for the most part.  I loved the ancient Egyptology, I loved going to Mesopotamia/Iran, I even enjoyed the legend...but why did they have to include zombies?  Her minions could've been done so much more cleverly.  It also seemed overly long.  Great ending.  Left it open for many more, and I'm guessing this one will be lucrative enough so there will probably be more coming.  Just not what I pictured as a Tom Cruise/Russell Crowe film.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy. Thought safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension. From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters. Cruise is joined by a cast including Annabelle Wallis (upcoming King Arthur, television's Peaky Blinders), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), Courtney B. Vance (TV's American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson) and Oscar (R) winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator). 

MOVIE - Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

PG-13 (1:58)

Wide release 10/21/16

Viewed 11/9/16 at Century Park Place

RT Critic:  37  Audience:  48
Critic's Consensus:  Monotonously formulaic, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is one action thriller sequel whose title also serves as a warning.

Cag:  4.5 Really well done, liked it a lot

Directed by Edward Zwick

Paramount Pictures

Based on the book by Lee Child

Tom Cruise

My comments:  This is the one where he saves the woman who now has his old job from false accusations and they both go on the run.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Jack Reacher must uncover the truth behind a major government conspiracy in order to clear his name. On the run as a fugitive from the law, Reacher uncovers a potential secret from his past that could change his life forever.

Movie - Jack Reacher

PG-13 (2:10)

Wide release 12/21/12

went on Saturday, Dec. 22nd to the Ellsworth Theater with Brian

RT Critic: 60    Audience: 75

cag: 3.5 (Very entertaining)

based on the series written by Lee Child

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

Paramount Pictures

Tom Cruise,  Robert Duval

Rotten Tomatoes synopsis:

MOVIE INFO

Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me. And sure enough, ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is coming. He knows this shooter-a trained military sniper who never should have missed a shot. Reacher is certain something is not right-and soon the slam-dunk case explodes. Now Reacher is teamed with a beautiful young defense lawyer, moving closer to the unseen enemy who is pulling the strings. Reacher knows that no two opponents are created equal. This one has come to the heartland from his own kind of hell. And Reacher knows that the only way to take him down is to match his ruthlessness and cunning-and then beat him shot for shot. --

Thoughts:  It was fun to go with Brian, although the theater was FREEZING.  If I didn't KNOW that part of Jack Reacher's appeal is that he's something like six-foot-five I would have been quite pleased with Tom Cruise's depiction of Reacher, but I couldn't get Cruise's under-six-foot stature out of my head.  The antagonist is a ruthless bad guy, an Reacher is not going to let him get away with it.  Very entertaining movie, especially if you're any sort of fan of the Lee Child books.