Justice League: War

Rating: PG-13

Cast: Jason O'Mara (Batman/ Bruce Wayne), Alan Tudyk (Superman/ Clark Kent), Michelle Monaghan (Wonder Woman/ Diana Prince), Justin Kirk (Green Lantern/ Hal Jordan), Christopher Gorham (The Flash/ Barry Allen), Shemar Moore (Cyborg/ Victory Stone), Sean Astin (Shazam/ Billy Batson), Dee Bradley Baker (Parademons), Melique Berger (Sarah Charles), Steven Blum (Darkseid), Kimberly Brooks (Darla), Rocky Caroll (Silas Stone), Ioan Gruffudd (Thomas Morrow), Georgie Kidder (Freddy Freeman), John Mariano (Ice cream vendor), Richard McGonagle (The President of the United States), Matthew Mercer (Guard), Georger Newbern (Steve Trevor), Andrea Romano (Green Lantern's Ring), Roger Rose (Pinstriped Loudmouth), Gary Sturgis (Teammate # 2), Bruce Thomas (Desaad), Hynden Walch (Hannah Grace)

Genre: Animated, Superheroes, Action, Fantasy

Director: Jay Olivia

Producer: James Tucker

Production Companies: DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation

Running Time: 74 minutes

Available On: Netflix, DVD, iTunes

"You bruise, but you don't kill... do you Clark?"

Before I start geeking out, let me first say that the cinematic works of DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation have been on the ball lately. The New 52 and/or DC Rebirth iterations of our favorite heroes, villains, and even some civilians are impressive and visually beautiful. It's quite the step up from the days of the original Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited cartoons, which are still perfect in my mind. In fact, I still enjoy the shows when I have time on Netflix.

With that out of the way, let me go a bit further and say... Holy mother of God this movie is the epitome of perfection. I won't spoil it, but I will say that this movie retells the creation of the Justice League, and does one hell of a job doing it. It covers the situation of Shazam, the creation/ rebirth of Cyborg, introduces Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash and Wonder Woman's uneasy shift from regal princess of war to Foreign Diplomat. What I love about the movie, other than...well, everything, is the way they bring the characters to life.

Batman is an extension of the darkness, and the darkness an extension of him. He's the sole protector of Gotham, and many (including Green Lantern) think him to be mythical, or even a vampire, given the way he vanishes without a trace into the night. Not only does he break bones, and crack skulls, but he's an intellectual first, which he shows when we encounter him. Green Lantern is an intergalactic policeman, charged with protecting his sector of the galaxy (which is Earth, by the way), from any threats, both human and nonhuman, and his ring is powered by his will. He's loud, mouthy, and talks a lot.

Superman is an alien from the long dead Krypton that has tasked himself with protecting Metropolis. His power is incredible and can do almost anything. Wonder Woman is the demigoddess of war, the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. She loves the roar of battle, the rage of war. The Flash is the fastest man alive, who struggles with the murder of his mother as well as his own powers.

Shazam is an orphaned kid, who has been taken in by a foster family. He was gifted with mystic powers by an entity known as The Wizard. Shazam's powers are almost on the same level as superman. Cyborg is half-man and half-machine. His physical prowess as an athlete combined with the technological aspects of his new body make him a force to be reckoned with.

Simply put, the movie is magical, and I easily recommend it to anyone; both nerdy and not-so-nerdy. It's an animated masterpiece, and I love to watch it. In fact, by the time this is posted, I will have finished reading it for the...fifth time.

Inside Out

Rating: PG
Genre: Family
Producer: Jonas Rivera
Director: Pete Docter
Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Richard Kind, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachian

"Riley needs to be happy, Sadness!"

Inside Out is the story of young Riley, a hockey loving, 11-year old girl. Her emotions control her via a control console in her mind. The controlling emotions are Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger and Fear. When an accident occurs at Command Central, Joy and Sadness are ejected and become lost in Riley's massive mind. As they journey continues, they are helpless to watch as Riley becomes emotionless. Hopefully they make it back in time to make everything right before it's too late.

Inside Out Movie Trailer:

The Gallows

Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Cast: Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos, Cassidy Gifford, John Tanskly, Alexis Schneider, Price T. Morgan, Mackie Burt
Directed By: Travis Cluff, Chris Lofing
Produced By: Jason Blum, Travis Cluff, Benjamin Forkner, Chris Lofing, Dean Schneider
Available: in theaters, iTunes

"Don't say that name!"

Freddy Krueger has his glove, Micheal Myers has his knife, and Jason Vorhees has his machete.... Charlie has his noose.

 

When a freak accident during a school play dealing with the Medieval execution device called a Gallow leaves a student dead, hanging in a noose, panic breaks out in the school. Years later, the play is being redone at the school, and this time nothing will stop it from being completed. When three students return to the school to trash the set, they are joined by another student; the star of the play. When they are trapped in the school, He will see that the play is finished. No one trapped in that accursed school will fall victim to His revenge and all will hang from his noose.

 

The Gallows Movie Trailer:

 

House of Wax

Rating: R
Cast: Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Mitchell Murray, Brian Van Holt, Thomas Adamson, Sam Harkess, Paris Hilton, Jared Padalecki, Jon Abrahams, Robert Ri'chards, Damon Herriman, Andy Anderson, Dragista Sherbert, Murray Smith, Emma Lung
Genre: Horror, Slasher, Thriller
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Producer: Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, Susan Levis
Length: 113 minutes
Available On: DVD, iTunes

In 2005, six college buddies are carpooling to a school football game only to be stranded in a ghost town. Though seemingly occupied, the occupants are wax statues created from the living bodies of the towns once living inhabitants. When the friends happen across an eerie wax museum, they are soon picked off one by one by the psycho responsible for the murder of the townsfolk, as well as their transformations into live wax statues.

House of Wax Trailer:

Grave Encounters 2

Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Cast: Richard Harmon, Leanna Lapp, Sean Rogerson, Dylan Playfair, Stephanie Bennett, Howard Lai, Sean Tyson, Ben Wilkinson, Arthur Corber, Brenda McDonald
Director: John Poliquin
Producer: Twin Engine Films, Pink Buffalo Films, Shawn Angelski, Martin Fisher
Running Time: 100 minutes
Available On: DVD, iTunes

"Finish The Film!"

Film student Alex Wright wants to produce a documentary about the horror production Grave Encounters, believing that it is a real documentary. Online as a YouTuber, he uploads a plea for any reliable information about the movie and/or cast, and receives a message from DeathAwaits666 that leads Alex and his friends to Canada. In Canada they find the Mental Hospital the film was taped in. Finding an oujia board where they were supposed to meet the mysterious DeathAwaits666, they come in contact with the spirits that both haunt and inhabit the Hospital. As Alex and his friends are picked off and killed by those angry spirits one by one, not only do they lose their sanity, but they also lose their humanity.

Grave Encounters 2 Movie Trailer:

Queen of the Damned

Rating: R

Actors/ Actresses: Aaliyah, Stuart Townsend, Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Perez, Paul McGann, Lenna Olin, Christian Manon, Claudia Black, Bruce Spence, Matthew Newton, Tiriel Mora, Megan Dorman, Johnathan Devoy, Robert Farnhan, Conrad Standish, Andrew L. Urban, Johnathan Davis

Genre: Horror

Director: Michael Rymer

Producer: Jorge Saralegui

Length: 101 minutes

Available On: DVD, iTunes
 

"Come out, come out... wherever you are."

 

Based off of the third novel by best selling author Anne Rice, Queen of the Damned follows a young French nobleman Lestat de Lioncourt, played by Stuart Townsend, as he is transformed into a vampire by Marius, played by Vincent Perez. In the beginning, Lestat unintentionally drinks blood from the mother of vampires while she is entombed in stone and sleeps for centuries until he is awakened by the sound of heavy metal music drifting past the crypt he inhabits. Using his enhanced senses, he quickly locates the band and joins them as their lead singer after revealing and proving that he is a vampire. Over time he grows famous, giving out secrets of the vampires which leads them to seek him out. Soon he meets a young woman named Jesse Reeves, played by Marguerite Moreau, and they take a strong interest in each other. Later, in his concert in Death Valley, it comes out that he has awakened Akasha, played by Aaliyah, whom is the mother of all vampires, earning her the title Queen of the Damned. She takes Lestat during his concert after this battle of vampires on stage where he tag teams with Marius to kill vampire coming to kill him. Before he is killed, Akasha kills the remaining vampires, leaving only Marius and Lestat alive, only to take Lestat as her king, but ultimately meets her very ironic demise.

 

 

Queen of the Damned Movie Trailer:

 

Tangled

Rating: G
Cast: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Brad Garrett, Ron Perlman, Jeffrey, Richard Keil, M. C. Gainey, Paul F. Tompkins, Delaney Rose Stein
Genre: Family/ Animated
Director: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Producer: Roy Conli, John Lasseter, Glen Keane
Length: 100 minutes
Languages: English
Available On: DVD, Blu-Ray, iTunes, Youtube, Amazon Instant Video

"I have magic hair that glows when I sing."

Loosely based on the written version of Rapunzel by the Grimm's Brothers, Tangled follows the story of Rapunzel, played by Mandy Moore, a teenage girl with long and blonde hair with magical healing properties and a pet chameleon. She is kidnapped from her kingdom as an infant and is raised in isolation by a woman named Mother Gothel, played by Donna Murphy. One day while Mother Gothel is away from the tower, theif Flynn Rider aka Eugene Fitzherbert, played by Zachary Levi, happens across the tower and spots Rapunzel. Acting on an impulse she hits him in the face with a frying pan and makes a deal with him, but once they set on the adventure, they get more than either of them bargained for.

Tangled Movie Trailer: