That's a bit more like it. After the disaster that was Week 2 I'd gladly take a 10-6 Week 3. Overall that brings me back up to 24-24, 50%. Last season after Week 3 I was 28-20, 58.33%. Hopefully things pick up a bit and I don't have anymore disaster weeks. Anyway, a few times finally got that elusive first win, others remain winless, and only three remain undefeated.
Giants @ REDSKINS
BILLS @ Texans
Panthers @ RAVENS
Packers @ BEARS
LIONS @ Jets
Titans @ COLTS
DOLPHINS @ Raiders
Buccaneers @ STEELERS
Jaguars @ CHARGERS
FALCONS @ Vikings
EAGLES @ 49ers
SAINTS @ Cowboys
Patriots @ CHIEFS
BYE WEEK: Bengals, Broncos, Browns, Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks
Last Week: 10-6, 62.5%
TOTAL: 24-24, 50%
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
REVIEWS - 'Bad Words' & 'Walk Among The Tombstones'
A couple of dark movies this week. Dark in vastly different ways, but still dark.
REDBOX
'Bad Words' (R) ***
Guy Trillby (Jason Bateman, who also directed) seeks revenge by exploiting a loophole in a spelling bee's rules that allows him, as an adult, to compete against children. Along the way he ends up befriending a fellow competitor (Rohan Chand) in addition to angering parents, angering spelling bee officials, angering reporters, harassing other competitors, and ticking off almost everyone else he comes into contact with. The cast also includes Kathryn Hahn, Allison Janney, Ben Falcone, and Philip Baker Hall. Think of 'Bad Teacher' and 'Bad Santa' but set in the world of competitive spelling. Often quite funny with a very good against-type performance from Jason Bateman. Although if you're not a fan of snarky, mean-spirited movies full of dry insult humor then you might want to stay away from this one.
THEATER
'A Walk Among The Tombstones' (R) **1/2
Set in New York in 1999, 'A Walk Among The Tombstones' follows Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson), an alcoholic retired cop turned private investigator who is hired by a drug dealer named Kenny (Dan Stevens) to track down the men who kidnapped and brutally murdered his wife. Based on a book that I've never read (or had even heard of). It's incredibly dark, bleak and disturbing. It's acted well and shot well, but I thought it was a bit inconsistent. Some scenes were were tense and thrilling, others just kinda dragged along. It does feature a rather good cover of Soundgarden's 'Black Hole Sun' over the closing credits.
TRAILERS
Look, I like trailers as much as the next person, but why so many? Why can't there just be two or three trailers and than have the movie start? Running seven trailers before a movie kinda gets me irritated before the movie even starts! Some of these I actually want to see, but when I'm trying to watch a movie and the trailers seem to never end it kinda ruins my level of excitement for a particular movie. Example: I really do want to see 'Unbroken', but when it's the seventh trailer in front of a movie I get very irritated and I just want the trailers to end and the movie to start. Anyway, rant over for now.
REDBOX
'Bad Words' (R) ***
Guy Trillby (Jason Bateman, who also directed) seeks revenge by exploiting a loophole in a spelling bee's rules that allows him, as an adult, to compete against children. Along the way he ends up befriending a fellow competitor (Rohan Chand) in addition to angering parents, angering spelling bee officials, angering reporters, harassing other competitors, and ticking off almost everyone else he comes into contact with. The cast also includes Kathryn Hahn, Allison Janney, Ben Falcone, and Philip Baker Hall. Think of 'Bad Teacher' and 'Bad Santa' but set in the world of competitive spelling. Often quite funny with a very good against-type performance from Jason Bateman. Although if you're not a fan of snarky, mean-spirited movies full of dry insult humor then you might want to stay away from this one.
THEATER
'A Walk Among The Tombstones' (R) **1/2
Set in New York in 1999, 'A Walk Among The Tombstones' follows Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson), an alcoholic retired cop turned private investigator who is hired by a drug dealer named Kenny (Dan Stevens) to track down the men who kidnapped and brutally murdered his wife. Based on a book that I've never read (or had even heard of). It's incredibly dark, bleak and disturbing. It's acted well and shot well, but I thought it was a bit inconsistent. Some scenes were were tense and thrilling, others just kinda dragged along. It does feature a rather good cover of Soundgarden's 'Black Hole Sun' over the closing credits.
TRAILERS
Look, I like trailers as much as the next person, but why so many? Why can't there just be two or three trailers and than have the movie start? Running seven trailers before a movie kinda gets me irritated before the movie even starts! Some of these I actually want to see, but when I'm trying to watch a movie and the trailers seem to never end it kinda ruins my level of excitement for a particular movie. Example: I really do want to see 'Unbroken', but when it's the seventh trailer in front of a movie I get very irritated and I just want the trailers to end and the movie to start. Anyway, rant over for now.
- Gone Girl - first time seeing a trailer for this in the theater and it's a different trailer than the one I had already watched online. It looks pretty good.
- Dracula Untold - first time seeing a full trailer for this outside of quick thirty-second TV commercials. And boy does it look...stupid.
- The Judge - soon, very soon, I won't get another trailer for this movie. It looks good, but I don't want to see the trailer again anytime soon.
- Kill The Messenger - still looks to be all right.
- Fury - Might be an awards contender. We'll find out mid-October.
- Into The Woods - Saw a videotaped production of the Broadway musical in my theater class in college. That would be the main reason I would want to see this adaptation.
- Unbroken - still looks really good.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
NFL 2014 Week 3 Pick 'Em
Saying that last week was a horrible week for picks is putting it lightly. Heck, that was my worst week of picks ever. Nothing really went my way for Week 2. Almost correctly picked the Colts upsetting the Eagles but the refs made sure that that wouldn't happen. Might take a little while to dig myself out of this hole but we'll see how things go. My main goal every year I've done picks is to at least get no lower than 60% correct and stay within 100 losses. If I have another week like Week 2...well, hopefully that doesn't happen again. But if Week 3 ends up being a repeat of Week 2 I'll be all hopped up on medication from having two of my wisdom teeth removed so it'll be all right. On with the picks.
Buccaneers @ FALCONS
CHARGERS @ Bills
RAVENS @ Browns
Titans @ BENGALS
COWBOYS @ Rams
PACKERS @ Lions
TEXANS @ Giants
COLTS @ Jaguars
Vikings @ SAINTS
Raiders @ PATRIOTS
Redskins @ EAGLES
49ERS @ Cardinals
BRONCOS @ Seahawks
CHIEFS @ Dolphins
Steelers @ PANTHERS
Bears @ JETS
Last Week: 5-11, 31.25%.....#ouch
TOTAL: 14-18, 43.75%
Buccaneers @ FALCONS
CHARGERS @ Bills
RAVENS @ Browns
Titans @ BENGALS
COWBOYS @ Rams
PACKERS @ Lions
TEXANS @ Giants
COLTS @ Jaguars
Vikings @ SAINTS
Raiders @ PATRIOTS
Redskins @ EAGLES
49ERS @ Cardinals
BRONCOS @ Seahawks
CHIEFS @ Dolphins
Steelers @ PANTHERS
Bears @ JETS
Last Week: 5-11, 31.25%.....#ouch
TOTAL: 14-18, 43.75%
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Awards Season Preview
Fall. That time of year when smaller movies suddenly get a lot of attention, hoping that that attention will propel them into the awards conversation. Usually if such a movie finally gets released near me I'll try and go see it. If it ends up being nominated for Best Picture or if it's a movie that's almost guaranteed a Best Picture nomination I make sure I seek it out. As I've said in other posts, sometimes these movies are good. Other times...not so much. Since I don't live in that big of a city, sometimes it takes a little while for a movie to get to a theater near me. So here are a handful of movies either currently doing the festival circuit or have simply yet to be released that are creating a lot of buzz this year.
BIRDMAN (R) - limited release Oct. 17
An aging actor (Michael Keaton), once known for playing a superhero, is battling his own ego, career, friends, and family as he attempts to mount a comeback by putting on a Broadway play. Co-starring Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, and Amy Ryan. Coming out of the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals, some pundits are putting this as the front runner for Best Picture and that both Keaton and Norton are locks for acting nominations. The trailer looks...different, to say the least.
BOYHOOD (R) - out now
Shot in 45 days over a period of 12 years, 'Boyhood' is a series of vignettes that chronicles various events in the life of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), from the age of six through the age of nineteen and heading off to college. Co-starring Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and Lorelei Linklater. The latest from Richard Linklater, the director of 'Dazed & Confused' and 'School of Rock'. So far this is the best reviewed movie of the year, currently sitting at 99% on RT and a perfect 100 on Metacritic. So even though it's out now, why haven't I went to see it yet? Simply put I just haven't made my way downtown to the artsy movie theater for a 2 hour, 45 minute movie. Judging by the trailer it doesn't look half bad.
FOXCATCHER (R) - limited release Nov. 14
Based on the true story of Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), an Olympic wrestler whose relationship with sponsor John du Pont (Steve Carell) and brother Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) would lead to unlikely circumstances. From Bennett Miller, the director of 'Moneyball' and 'Capote'. Just go to YouTube right now and watch the trailer for this. Definitely a change of pace in the careers of Steve Carell and Channing Tatum.
FURY (R) - wide release Oct. 17
'Fury' follows a WWII tank battalion led by Sgt. Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt) as they are outgunned and outnumbered deep inside Nazi Germany. The rest of Wardaddy's crew for their particular tank consists of "Walking Dead"'s Jon Bernthal, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, and Michael Pena. From David Ayer, director of 'End of Watch' and the recent Schwarzenegger bomb 'Sabotage'. Definitely looks dark, to say the least.
GONE GIRL (R) - wide release Oct. 3
Based on the book of the same name by Gillian Flynn, 'Gone Girl' follows a woman's (Rosamund Pike) disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, with more and more attention being turned onto her husband (Ben Affleck) when it's suspected that he may not be innocent. Co-starring Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry. From David Fincher, the director of 'Fight Club', 'The Social Network', and the American remake of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'. Haven't read the book, but David Fincher knows what he's doing with this particular genre and the trailer looks good.
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PG-13) - limited release Nov. 7
Biopic of Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) based on the memoir of his first wife Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones). This chronicles their relationship, his rise to being a renowned physicist, and his diagnosis. This made a huge splash at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Academy always loves biopics. The trailer makes it look like a fairly routine biopic, but the performances look like they could be good.
UNBROKEN - wide release Christmas Day
Based on the non fiction book of the same name by Lauren Hillebrand (author of 'Seabiscuit'), 'Unbroken' tells the true story of Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell), who during WWII survives a plan crash, spends 47 days out at sea battling the elements, and then spends the next few years in a Japanese POW camp. I had to read the book for my WWII Pacific Theater class at Ball State, so this is one I will definitely be checking out. It helps that the trailer looks great.
WHIPLASH (R) - limited release Oct. 10
A young jazz drummer (Miles Teller) attends one of the best music schools in the country under the tutelage of the school’s fearsome maestro of jazz (J.K. Simmons), who pushes his students above and beyond their limits. This made a splash at Sundance earlier this year so it'll be interesting to see if it keeps up the awards buzz throughout the rest of the year. Not gonna lie, the trailer is a little intense. And very good.
WILD (R) - limited release Dec. 5
Based on the memoir by Cheryl Strayed, 'Wild' follows Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon, who also co-produces) as she hikes the Pacific Crest Trail alone after she goes through a divorce, her mom dying, and years of some rather destructive habits. It's from the director of last year's vastly overrated 'Dallas Buyers Club'. I don' know. The trailer doesn't look all that bad but if it's similar to 'Dallas Buyers Club' in terms of pacing than I'll pass. Unless it gets nominated for Best Picture.
BIRDMAN (R) - limited release Oct. 17
An aging actor (Michael Keaton), once known for playing a superhero, is battling his own ego, career, friends, and family as he attempts to mount a comeback by putting on a Broadway play. Co-starring Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, and Amy Ryan. Coming out of the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals, some pundits are putting this as the front runner for Best Picture and that both Keaton and Norton are locks for acting nominations. The trailer looks...different, to say the least.
BOYHOOD (R) - out now
Shot in 45 days over a period of 12 years, 'Boyhood' is a series of vignettes that chronicles various events in the life of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), from the age of six through the age of nineteen and heading off to college. Co-starring Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and Lorelei Linklater. The latest from Richard Linklater, the director of 'Dazed & Confused' and 'School of Rock'. So far this is the best reviewed movie of the year, currently sitting at 99% on RT and a perfect 100 on Metacritic. So even though it's out now, why haven't I went to see it yet? Simply put I just haven't made my way downtown to the artsy movie theater for a 2 hour, 45 minute movie. Judging by the trailer it doesn't look half bad.
FOXCATCHER (R) - limited release Nov. 14
Based on the true story of Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), an Olympic wrestler whose relationship with sponsor John du Pont (Steve Carell) and brother Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) would lead to unlikely circumstances. From Bennett Miller, the director of 'Moneyball' and 'Capote'. Just go to YouTube right now and watch the trailer for this. Definitely a change of pace in the careers of Steve Carell and Channing Tatum.
FURY (R) - wide release Oct. 17
'Fury' follows a WWII tank battalion led by Sgt. Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt) as they are outgunned and outnumbered deep inside Nazi Germany. The rest of Wardaddy's crew for their particular tank consists of "Walking Dead"'s Jon Bernthal, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, and Michael Pena. From David Ayer, director of 'End of Watch' and the recent Schwarzenegger bomb 'Sabotage'. Definitely looks dark, to say the least.
GONE GIRL (R) - wide release Oct. 3
Based on the book of the same name by Gillian Flynn, 'Gone Girl' follows a woman's (Rosamund Pike) disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, with more and more attention being turned onto her husband (Ben Affleck) when it's suspected that he may not be innocent. Co-starring Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry. From David Fincher, the director of 'Fight Club', 'The Social Network', and the American remake of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'. Haven't read the book, but David Fincher knows what he's doing with this particular genre and the trailer looks good.
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PG-13) - limited release Nov. 7
Biopic of Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) based on the memoir of his first wife Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones). This chronicles their relationship, his rise to being a renowned physicist, and his diagnosis. This made a huge splash at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Academy always loves biopics. The trailer makes it look like a fairly routine biopic, but the performances look like they could be good.
UNBROKEN - wide release Christmas Day
Based on the non fiction book of the same name by Lauren Hillebrand (author of 'Seabiscuit'), 'Unbroken' tells the true story of Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell), who during WWII survives a plan crash, spends 47 days out at sea battling the elements, and then spends the next few years in a Japanese POW camp. I had to read the book for my WWII Pacific Theater class at Ball State, so this is one I will definitely be checking out. It helps that the trailer looks great.
WHIPLASH (R) - limited release Oct. 10
A young jazz drummer (Miles Teller) attends one of the best music schools in the country under the tutelage of the school’s fearsome maestro of jazz (J.K. Simmons), who pushes his students above and beyond their limits. This made a splash at Sundance earlier this year so it'll be interesting to see if it keeps up the awards buzz throughout the rest of the year. Not gonna lie, the trailer is a little intense. And very good.
WILD (R) - limited release Dec. 5
Based on the memoir by Cheryl Strayed, 'Wild' follows Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon, who also co-produces) as she hikes the Pacific Crest Trail alone after she goes through a divorce, her mom dying, and years of some rather destructive habits. It's from the director of last year's vastly overrated 'Dallas Buyers Club'. I don' know. The trailer doesn't look all that bad but if it's similar to 'Dallas Buyers Club' in terms of pacing than I'll pass. Unless it gets nominated for Best Picture.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
NFL 2014 Week 2 Pick 'Em
Week 1 is in the books. The Colts are still a second-half team, the Jaguars lost a 17-point lead, and the Patriots were upset by the Dolphins. And the Seahawks and the Broncos still appear to be the best in their respective conferences. Super Bowl rematch in February perhaps? Time will tell.
Much like last season, I started off 9-7 in picks. For it being Week 1 I'll take it. I just hope that I do a little bit better as the season progresses.
STEELERS @ Ravens
DOLPHINS @ Bills
SAINTS @ Browns
LIONS @ Panthers
FALCONS @ Bengals
Cowboys @ TITANS
JAGUARS @ Redskins
PATRIOTS @ Vikings
CARDINALS @ Giants
SEAHAWKS @ Chargers
Rams @ BUCCANEERS
Chiefs @ BRONCOS
Jets @ PACKERS
TEXANS @ Raiders
Bears @ 49ERS
Eagles @ COLTS
Last week: 9-7, 56.25%
TOTAL: 9-7, 56.25%
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Updates and Random Thoughts
I'm finally all caught up with reviews from over the summer, and now that it's finally September that means three things:
So with football, Oscar bait movies, and employment it should be an interesting next couple of months. In addition to the above, here are a few other things:
- Football season is finally upon us. With football back in full swing my weekly NFL picks have also returned. Looking through statistics, the average number of views for the NFL picks posts wasn't that much lower than the average number of views for my normal movie reviews. That is why I have brought this back, but if the views for the posts get lower and lower then I will put the NFL Pick 'Em series to pasture. I enjoy doing these but I also don't want to constantly be doing something that barely anyone is reading.
- Movies that are gunning for awards consideration are now slowly starting to come to theaters. Most are hitting the festival circuit and making there way across the country via limited release. Usually once a possible awards contender finally gets to a movie theater near
me, I'll try to go see it. These are a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes
they're great, such as 'Safety Not Guaranteed', 'The Artist', 'The
Tree of Life', 'The Spectacular Now', 'All Is Lost' and 'The Ides of March'. Sometimes they're okay, like 'Tinker Tailor Soldier
Spy' and 'Lawless'. And other times they're so pretentious and slow
that they just make for one very miserable experience in the theater,
such as 'The Master' and 'The American'. Sometimes it's a bit of a long wait until it finally gets to a theater near me. Case in point: I remember last year getting trailers for '12 Years A Slave' saying that it will be released in mid-October. I eagerly awaited the movie only to find out that the trailer listed the limited release date and that I would have to wait until it finally came somewhere near me. The first weekend in November it came to the Landmark Theatre at the Keystone Mall in Indy so I drove down to Indy from Muncie to go see it. Of course a week later it was in Fort Wayne movie theaters, and the following week it was finally in Muncie movie theaters. A little patience could've saved me a trip to Indy but it's all good. The drive was more than worth it.
So at some point in the future I'll be posting a preview list of films that fall under this category that I'll be keeping my eye on and hopefully seeing at some point before the year is over. - In non sports and non movie news, I gotta start paying off student loans soon so I actually have to get a job. I have a few jobs that I've applied for and waiting to hear back from, and a few more job opportunities to look into if the ones I applied for fall through. One way or another, I plan on being employed by the end of this month. So what will that mean in regards to this blog? For now I just don't know the answer to that question. I'll have less free time that's for sure. So we'll see how it goes.
So with football, Oscar bait movies, and employment it should be an interesting next couple of months. In addition to the above, here are a few other things:
- I will try to do two blog posts a week, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. Tuesday's will primarily be reviews with Thursday consisting of NFL picks. If I didn't see anything that I could review, then I'll come up with something else movie related to post. I'll try to stick to this schedule but hey if inspiration strikes on a day that's not Tuesday or Thursday then I'll post something and not wait until one of those days.
- As always, I could use feedback. Feedback, feedback, feedback. Can't improve things or change things if I don't hear from you, the reader. Looking through stats can only give me so much in terms of feedback.
Well that about does it for today. Time to get back to applying for jobs...
Thursday, September 4, 2014
NFL 2014 Week 1 Pick 'Em
After a rather interesting off season and preseason full of suspensions, fines, altered rules, ESPN constantly bringing up issues that no one cares about, higher contracts, retirements, arrests, the draft, and the runaway box office dud 'Draft Day'...the regular season is finally upon us. I don't pretend to be a football expert. I'm just a normal person who likes
football. With all of that out of the way, here are my picks for
Week 1. Picks are in bold, underlined, and italicized.
Packers @ SEAHAWKS
Bills @ BEARS
Bengals @ RAVENS
Browns @ STEELERS
Redskins @ TEXANS
Jaguars @ EAGLES
Titans @ CHIEFS
PATRIOTS @ Dolphins
Vikings @ RAMS
SAINTS @ Falcons
Raiders @ JETS
PANTHERS @ Buccaneers
49ERS @ Cowboys
Colts @ BRONCOS
Giants @ LIONS
CHARGERS @ Cardinals
Last week: 0-0
Overall: 0-0
Last season: 154-102, 60.16%
Playoffs: 7-4, 63.64%
TOTAL: 161-106, 60.3%
Packers @ SEAHAWKS
Bills @ BEARS
Bengals @ RAVENS
Browns @ STEELERS
Redskins @ TEXANS
Jaguars @ EAGLES
Titans @ CHIEFS
PATRIOTS @ Dolphins
Vikings @ RAMS
SAINTS @ Falcons
Raiders @ JETS
PANTHERS @ Buccaneers
49ERS @ Cowboys
Colts @ BRONCOS
Giants @ LIONS
CHARGERS @ Cardinals
Last week: 0-0
Overall: 0-0
Last season: 154-102, 60.16%
Playoffs: 7-4, 63.64%
TOTAL: 161-106, 60.3%
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
REVIEW - 'The Expendables 3'
Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) decides to recruit newer, younger members to the Expendables team for a personal battle: to take down Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), the Expendables co-founder and notorious arms trader who is determined to destroy the team. Expendables members returning from the previous movies include knife expert Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren) and barrel-weapons specialist Hale Caeser (Terry Crews). Former Expendable Yin Yang (Jet Li) and mercenary Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger) also appear.
The newer recruits include: former Navy SEAL John Smilee (Kellan Lutz), nightclub bouncer Luna (Ronda Rousey), computer expert Thorn (Glen Powell) and weapons expert Mars (Victor Ortiz). Also new to the team are skilled sharpshooter Galgo (Antonio Banderas) and original Expendables member Doc (Wesley Snipes), who is busted out of prison during the movie's opening. Also new to the movie are CIA operative Drummer (Harrison Ford) and mercenary recruiter Bonaparte (Kelsey Grammar).
This isn't exactly Oscar material we're dealing with here. The whole point of this franchise is to see famous action stars get together, spew out their famous lines, and for us the audience to watch $#&! blow up amid all the excessive violence and blood. Why? BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME....that's why. And that's how action movies used to be made. Does this movie succeed on it's rather simple terms? Well....yes and no.
Yes in that it does feature action stars spewing out their catchphrases and stuff exploding.
No, in that it partially abandons why this franchise even existed in the first place. The 'Expendables' movies were meant to be throwbacks to the ultra-violent action movies of the 80s and 90s. Stallone wanted this one to appeal to a younger and broader audience, so this is the first in the franchise to be rated PG-13. The first two 'Expendables' reveled in their R-ratings, with tons of bloody violence to go around. Not really a good sign for a franchise all about violent excess to tone things down to a lower rating, but the PG-13 rating isn't a deal breaker for someone like me. Heck, 'Live Free or Die Hard' is the only one in that series with a PG-13 rating and in my opinion it's the second best 'Die Hard' movie. 'Expendables 3' still does feature a lot of violence and some awesome action scenes....but there's no blood. At all. Even as knives are thrown into henchman and throats are being sliced, not a drop of blood is spilled because of that PG-13 rating. Kinda like how 'World War Z' is a PG-13 rated zombie movie that has no blood being spilled either (yet blood was spilled and brains were eaten in the PG-13 'Warm Bodies). This really should have just stuck to the status quo and stayed with an R rating. Without all the excessive, over the top blood and carnage the movie is missing a certain je ne sai quoi.
Rating aside, the movie itself is all right. It isn't as good or as fun as the previous two 'Expendables' movies. The cast appears to be having fun and the new additions to the cast (for the most part) do very well in their roles, particularly Kelsey Grammer as the mercenary recruiter Bonaparte. And it still does feature some awesome action scenes, and some funny moments as Stallone and Schwarzenegger reference a few of their other movies. But it's not without it's problems. Half of the fight scenes I could barely tell what was going on because of the frenetic "Bourne Identity"/"Hunger Games" style editing, but it does get clearer and clearer as the movie progresses. It also could've been maybe twenty minutes shorter, but perhaps I'm only complaining about the movie's length because of the eight, full-length trailers that came before the movie. I love watching trailers and I make sure I'm on time to a movie to be able to watch all of them. But eight? My goodness. Just play three or four and then start the movie all ready.
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