1. Escape Plan. This movie is from 2013. It has Sylvester Stallone playing a private contractor that tests the security of prison systems. He gets sent to a prison as an inmate and then attempts (always successfully) to break out. That is until his partner sells him out and he is sent to a place he can’t break free from. He encounters a character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger who helps him break out. The acting in it, is about what you’d expect from a Stallone film, but I really enjoyed it. It’s got all the elements of a good, mindless action film–big fight scenes and bad guys you can’t stand. It’s rated R, so I don’t recommend for the kiddos.
2. Escape Plan 2: Hades. Part 2, I’m sad to say, didn’t have any of the punch that the first one had. It was obviously directed by someone else that seemed to have missed the whole point of what made the first one successful. In this one Stallone has a protégé that ends up being a bad guy that has designed a prison (called Hades) based on all the tips that Stallone’s character has written about in a book. It was an ok story line, but the acting was atrocious. I honestly didn’t care for it much at all. It’s rated R, so not for kids.
3. Spiderman 3. We continued our Spiderman marathon with our boys. In this one Spiderman encounters an alien substance that turns him into a much darker character–Venom. He becomes someone he’s not supposed to be. When he realizes it, he sheds the poisonous suit which ends up on another character. There’s also another nemesis, The Sandman, and Spiderman–back to being his old self again–must battle him and Venom. His friend Harry, who knowing Spiderman’s identity as his best friend Peter Parker–and believing that he killed his father– wrestles with his desire to kill his friend or help him. It’s really good and closes out this particular collection of Spiderman movies. It’s rated PG-13. Some of this one has some intense action and a dark vibe to it. Venom is especially scary at the end–with big sharp teeth and a lot more violent (you can read the parent guide here).
4. Ratatouille. Super Rockstar had a private gig this week, so the boys and I watched a movie together. I absolutely loved this movie. It’s about a rat–who knowing his nature and what’s expected of him (to steal food and scavenge)–discovers he has a gift of cooking. He ends up with a bumbling aspiring chef and the two of them create master pieces in a fancy restaurant in Paris. It is absolutely delightful and I highly recommend if for kids and adults of all ages. It’s rated G.
5. Escape Plan 3: The Extractors. In this one, Stallone’s girlfriend is captured and put in a prison. He and his team have to work to save her and a chinese dignitary’s daughter before they are killed. It was better than the second one, but the story line was very disjointed and I had a hard time with the believability of it all. There was nothing special about the prison (an old church of sorts) and it was mostly just a lot of shoot em up scenes with bombs. I give it a solid….meh. It’s Rated R, so not for kids.
6.F9: The Fast Saga. We have enjoyed all the Fast and the Furious movies and this one had all that we loved in the first 8–good action, fast moving car chases and impossible stunts. In this one I would say the stunts went above and beyond impossible and were all unbelievable (James Bond couldn’t compete with these), but none the less thoroughly enjoyable. Like the Escape Plan movies–you don’t watch these for their great acting. It’s all about the action. I will note that even though there’s some bad language throughout, this one didn’t have any of the scantily clad women and nudity that so many of the previous ones did. I would consider letting my boys watch this one. It’s rated PG-13 (you can read the parent guide here).
I would love to hear your opinions and any suggestions you may have of what to watch.