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Epic, this is not. A young and lonely teenage girl is transported into the secret forest world and makes friends and family of the leaf people as they band together with the goal to save the world from decay. This latest film from the creators who brought us Ice Age and Rio falls short of being epic and creates nothing more than an average unoriginal children’s film at best.

To go along with an average plot, there was average, unemotional voice acting from a diverse cast of actors with no real standout performances other than the comedic voices of Aziz Ansari and Chris O’Dowd. The two play a slug and snail and deliver some much needed laughs after a long and dry first half hour.

However this movie makes up for limited laughs with action. For a children’s movie there is a lot of action as the forces nature versus decay battle against each other. Parents take note, the 4 year old child who watched the movie with me got a little scared at parts, but made it through to the end when held safe in the lap of his mother for the remainder of the film.

Visually, the film is pleasing and its 3D is solid, especially during any scene where the characters are flying on top of birds. In the end I left the theater without a second thought for the film. Enjoyable, but it does not have the charm as recent family films like The Croods. Kids may not mind the average story, but it is one that is easy to forget.

2.5 out of 5

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When “The Hangover” came out in 2009 it did so with modest expectations. Few critics expected it to become a box office smash much less the highest grossing R rated comedy of its time. Naturally a sequel followed and despite mixed reviews, “The Hangover 2” reaped in millions and vaulted over the original in terms of earnings. So, it was no surprise when “The Hangover 3” was announced and that the cast and writer/director Todd Phillips would be back again for the further adventures of The Wolfpack.

The films starts with dysfunctional Alan (Zach Galifianakis), creating a spectacular mess and being his usual spoiled and oblivious self though the consequences which have tragic ramifications. His friends Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha), decide that an intervention is needed and convince a reluctant Alan to get some help from a clinic in Arizona.

En route, the group is run off the road which results in Doug being held hostage by a criminal (John Goodman) who wants to use the group to bring in insane criminal Leslie Chow (ken Jeong). The group is told they have three days to find Chow and save Doug. It turns out Alan is the only one to have any contact with Chow since he was incarcerated. The guys  soon find themselves in Tijuana hatching a desperate attempt to capture and return the demented Chow.

Naturally things do not go as planned and despite their best intentions the group only makes matters worse and sets a chain of events into action which bring them full circle in a race against time to save Doug.

This time out the film has ramped down the gross out humor of the first films aside for one epic scene following the credits. The film has some chuckles along the way but lacks the jaw dropping shock humor that defined the previous films. I spent the majority of the film enjoying the cast but waiting for the big comedic payoff to arrive which sadly did not come until the after-credits scene.

The cast works well with the material but it does seem like they have run out of ideas and are going through the motions. The addition of Melissa McCarthy does add some nice moments to the film and does leave open some ideas should they decide to continue the series despite promising that this is the conclusion. In the end it is a nice enough diversion but for me was neither as enjoyable nor memorable as the previous efforts.

2.5 stars out of 5.

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Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are back in “Fast & Furious 6” the latest chapter in the hugely popular “Fast & Furious” series. This time out the renegade crew is enticed from their comfortable and no-extradition lifestyles with the promise of full pardons by Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson).  Hobbs is willing to meet the team’s high demands due to the international threat posed by a team of drivers who are headed by a former military specialist named Owen Shaw (Luke Evans).

A rough first encounter and pursuit through London not only proves just how dangerous and skilled Shaw and his crew are, but brings Dominic (Vin Diesel), face to face with Letty (Michelle Rodriquez), who was thought to have been killed years ago. Battling conflicting emotions with finding Letty not only alive but also on the team he’s trying to bring down, Dominic must get the crew into shape to discover where Shaw will strike next. Thankfully Brian( Paul Walker) is able to use his skills from his law enforcement days in order to get a much needed lead despite the peril it costs him to do so. In a race against time, the crew must risk it all to thwart Shaw who is the most skilled and dangerous foe they have encountered to date. What follows is an action-packed, adrenaline-fueled all out romp that is a solid action film.

The movie requires you to take great leaps of logic and faith even for a film of this type and while it does not work as well as the previous two entries, Director Justin Lin knows his audience and delivers what they want. There is plenty of racing and action and the film does use plenty of actual stunts rather than CGI and the Fast & Furious crew throw themselves into the highly physical roles. The cast works well with one another and seem to be having a good time being back with one another, which is a good thing as the jaw-dropping after credits scene promises that the series still has enough gas in the tank to thrill audiences.

3.5 stars out of 5.

Second Review by Christopher Daniels

For those of you with a love of fast cars and hot women, or maybe the other way around, you’ll get your fill of both with Furious Six.  This action-packed, high-octane, turbo-boost of a ride will leave you amazed.

Furious Six, as the title implies, is the latest film in the Fast and Furious franchise. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and the rest of the crew are back alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who reprises his role from the previous film.

I had high hopes for this movie, and I am happy to say it delivers — assuming you’re looking for fast-paced action and a large-budget, big screen spectacle.

While this film felt longer than its predecessor, it still held a note of finality, as though it might be the last one in the franchise.   The stunts were much bigger, but halfway through, they started to become entirely unrealistic.  This film is unapologetically over-the-top, and doesn’t worry at all about being believable. The last scene, which I shall not spoil for you, involves an airplane and a runway that couldn’t possibly be any shorter than about 10 miles. Since no airport runway in existence is that long, the scene detracts from the mystique of the believability of previous films.

Furious Six’s director seems to have been tasked with making the film bigger and better than all the previous entries. However, the different ways he went about doing so in an absurd and often unbelievable fashion gave the film many moments where the entire audience in my theater erupted in laughter — at points where laughter was not expected or anticipated. Even I found myself laughing.

This film’s dialog also contains many cheesy lines. Fast and Furious 1 through 5 did not have nearly as many. They kept it to a minimum — no more than one or two — but Furious Six had a dozen or more. It leads me to believe that the filmmakers’ effort wasn’t put into the script, but focused instead toward the action Thus, I give the movie a rather low score on the writing.  That said, the comedy was done well; it was paced appropriately, and it interlaced nicely with the more serious moments.

As regards the action, I can only say (and must admit): Furious Six was definitely top-notch. However, the film was so fast-paced, and the scenes change so rapidly, (by design, I expect) that it was hard to keep up. It was very similar to the first 10 minutes of James Bond: Quantum of Solace. There’s so much going on, it’s hard for the eyes and brain to process and understand what is happening

All in all, the acting is respectable, the cars are fantastic, and the action is unbelievable (literally, incapable of inducing belief), but it’s still worth seeing, especially if you’re fond of the franchise.  You won’t be disappointed

4 out 5 stars

Edited by: Jeff Boehm

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While the national media has largely written scathing responses to the pending Xbox One, Microsoft has likely entered damage control mode and has their best marketing and spin doctors hard at work on their next step.

While I was less than impressed with what we saw all is not lost for the system but it is vital that Microsoft improve the image of the console before launch especially with the heavy momentum that has already been established by their main rival Sony’s Playstation 4.

E3 is when many expected Microsoft to announce the console and due to the unexpected early announcement by Sony, we believe that Microsoft was forced to come forward earlier than they had originally planned to.

Microsoft has a June 10^th Xbox event planned for E3 as the main event opens the following day in Los Angeles. This is a key moment as not only can the company do some much needed damage control, but this is a make or break time for the console as legions of media as well as key buyers will be able to get a good look at what Microsoft has to offer and will be able to ask questions.

This is not the time for Microsoft to be evasive over such topics like used games, hardware specs, launch titles, and so on. They need to put their cards on the table and sell the good points of the system rather than trying to hide areas that consumers want to know about.

For a company that had to endure lots of bad p.r. with the Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death issues when the system launched, Microsoft cannot bury their heads in the sand. If they are serious when they say that the Xbox One is a gaming system, then show us. I do not care about being able to watch tv, browse the web, and use voice commands on a console if I cannot get a gaming experience that justifies the purchase price.

Perhaps I am to old school on this approach but I have always thought if there are features of a product that a company is unwilling to talk about to consumers and the media, then perhaps this should be a huge red flag that changes need to be made.

We know about Madden, Destiny, Call of Duty: Ghosts and the games that it will feature but for me, the success or failure of the system will depend largely on the exclusives that are offered. I play my games first and foremost on a PC and then go to the consoles for exclusives.  If Halo and Gears of War are the main exclusives than for me, this is simply not enough to justify the purchase of the Xbox One at launch. E3 can do a lot to reverse the negative trending following the announcement of the system but Microsoft must go all out in the next few weeks to make sure they show off the gaming abilities of the system and not focus on trying to impress gamers with gimmicks and celebrity appearances.

The clock is ticking Microsoft, and I am looking forward to seeing what comes next.

I am looking forward to seeing how this comes out.

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BURBANK, Calif. – May 23, 2013 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
today announces Dying Light, a first-person, action survival horror video
game with a portentous day-night cycle set in a vast open world. Currently
under development by Techland, the game will be available in 2014 for Xbox
One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft,
PlayStation(R)4, plus Xbox 360, PlayStation(R)3 system, and PC.

During the day, players will traverse an expansive urban environment overrun
by a vicious outbreak, scavenging the world for supplies and crafting
weapons to defend against the growing infected population. At night, the
hunter becomes the hunted, as the infected become aggressive and more
dangerous. Most frightening are the predators which only appear after
sundown.  Players must use everything in their power to survive until the
morning’s first light.

“We are excited to partner with Techland on Dying Light, which is an
original gaming experience for next-generation consoles,” said Kevin
Kebodeaux, Senior Vice President, Sales and Operations, Americas, Warner
Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “The partnership with Techland allows us to
combine their successful development capabilities with Warner Bros.
Interactive Entertainment’s one-of-a-kind publishing expertise to deliver on
this title.”

“The next-gen technology allows us to create a truly dynamic open world that
features a game-changing day-night cycle,” said Paweł Marchewka, CEO of
Techland. “Inventive free running mechanics also allow for nearly
unrestricted exploration and weapon-crafting to further enhance the action
survival experience.”

The contest is open to U.S. residents, to enter write us at gareth@sknr.net and tell us what franchise Director Justin Lin is rumored to be working on next.