Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

PG-13
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebeca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Simon McBurney and Alec Baldwin
Running Time: 2 Hours and 11 Minutes

Wow, this movie is non-stop action from the very beginning to the very end. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back, he is definitely back! This is the fifth installment of the "Mission Impossible" series starring Tom Cruise. This begins with Ethan in quite an incredible predicament! I found that this movie just reels you in and holds you tight throughout the entire motion picture.
 Ethan and his team including William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) combine their efforts to take on the Syndicate, a wicked International organization designed to destroy the IMF. At the head of the Syndicate is a very sick and twisted leader, Lane (Sean Harris) who is completely evil and devoid of emotion.
Ethan finds himself caught and being held by some very ruthless and dangerous men who would do anything to get him to talk. A woman by the name of Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) is also there and takes pity on him. She suddenly jumps into action and helps him out. She allows him to escape and therefore saves his life. There is sequence after sequence of unimaginable action that take place in this movie. I don't want to give to much away with the story on this one, it is just a movie you will have to see to believe. I found the drama and the intrigue were both interesting and exciting.
This is a heart-pounding edge of your seat thrill ride that will take your breath away! There is a scene where Ethan has to hold his breath for three minutes under water that is just unbelievable, and also a motorcycle chase that will leave you breathless.The chemistry between Ethan and Ilsa also really worked for me too. This movie has it all, drama, suspense, intrigue and the "Mission Impossible" theme music. I think this is my favorite of The Mission Impossible movies.
Parents be advised: This is a PG-13 rated movie. There is a lot of violence and some incredible action sequences that are very realistic. I would not advise children under thirteen for this movie. There was one bikini scene and a clothes changing scene but no real sexual innuendos also some mild profanity
I am giving "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" four bags of popcorn.

Ant-Man

PG-13
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer and Abby Ryder Fortson
Running Time: 1 Hour and 57 Minutes

This is the movie Marvel fans have been dying to see with a new super-hero coming to life in
 "Ant-Man", I was also excited to see it and have already seen it twice!
 Paul Rudd stars as Scott Lang, an ex-con  with a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering. He is battling his way back to regain his ex-wife Maggie's (Judy Greer) respect as well as come clean and try for a new start in life. He would do anything to have the opportunity to be a part of his adorable little daughter Cassie's (Abby Ryder Fortson) life and spend time with her. She is his entire world!
He tries desperately to stay strong and maintain his new found independence. When things don't go his way, he turns to his friend Luis (Michael Pena) who entices him to commit another crime and score (hopefully) big money from the safe of a millionaire. But, when he finally breaks into the super strong 1910 safe, all he finds is the "Ant-Man" suit! Suddenly he hears the voice of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) telling him "I need you to be the Ant-Man"! Dr. Pym needs Scott Lang/Ant-Man to help him pull off a heist against the evil and corrupt Darren Cross/Yellowjacket (Corey Stoll) his protege. This is when the movie finally gets interesting! Yellowjackect is a dark and sinister character who will stop at nothing to bring his dream to fruition!
"Ant-Man" was a fun movie filled with a lot of comedy.The audience thoroughly enjoyed the humor and laughed throughout the entire movie. This is yet another movie based in San Francisco (I'm beginning to believe that San Francisco is the movie capital of the world)! If you just want to enjoy a fun-filled time escaping reality, this movie is for you. The special effects were great, especially when they transform  Scott Lang from a regular guy to teeny-tiny "Ant-Man". Seeing life from an insects point of view was interesting. Be sure and stay after the movie is over for the two extra scenes-they are  well worth it!
Parents be advised: "Ant-Man" is rated PG-13. I think children ages ten and over will enjoy this movie. There are some scenes with toys (yes toys) where the toys are enlarged and lose control. Thomas The Tank Engine for instance, is blown way up and ends up crashing, it was humorous but could be intimidating for young children. The insects could also be intimidating, but especially the nefarious Yellowjacket, He was a real bad guy!
I am giving "Ant-Man" three and a half bags of popcorn.

Self / Less

PG-13
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Ryan Reynolds, Matthew Goode, Natalie Martinez and Victor Garber
Running Time: 1 Hour and 57 Minutes

The idea behind "Self / Less" is  an intriguing one but it is very unrealistic. The story centers around
Damian (Ben Kingsley) an incredibly wealthy man who has helped to develop the New York skyline and is an infamous Real Estate tycoon. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he is desperate to find a way out of his catastrophic death sentence! He finds a top secret company located in New Orleans that can perform a unique and very unbelievable procedure called "body shedding".
Body shedding is a process where you take a human body and stop the heart and then switch the spirit out of that body into another body! You also have to sever all ties with any former family or friends and stage your death.
The understanding that Damian is under, is that if he pays this company two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, he can have this procedure done on him. He anxiously heads to New Orleans to join the brand new body that was cultivated just for his spirit and therefore he can continue to live. He jumps at the opportunity to live forever in a brand new healthy body. When he wakes up after the body shedding occurs he finds himself in the body of the younger Damian (Ryan Reynolds), a man about fifty years his junior. He is informed that the transformation will take some time and that he will have to take a special medicine until it is complete. He finds himself alone in New Orleans with a healthy young body. He plays local street basketball and party's and has affairs with many young women! He finds himself  having flashbacks and major confusion.
He sets out to follow a feeling he keeps having and finds out that the new body he was assigned was actually another human who previously lived and was killed. This ends up being a very convoluted and confusing story to follow. I really wanted to like it, but it made me feel very strange.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG-13, but it is a strong PG-13. I would not recommend it for anyone under 13. Young Damian has multiple affairs with many young ladies with suggestive scenes. There is some strong fighting and gun-fighting violence. Also a pretty intense car chase and crash scene that is upsetting. The F-bomb is also dropped once in this movie. It is definitely a thriller which I really was not expecting.
I am giving "Self / Less" two bags of popcorn.

Minions

PG
Starring the voices of: Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney and Steve Coogan.
Running Time: 1 Hour and 31 Minutes

"Minions" is a spin-off of the "Despicable Me" series.
The three Minions; Stuart, Kevin and Bob set out to work for Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock) who is an evil and villainous female who wants to take over the entire world! She and her nefarious inventor husband Herb (Jon Hamm) plot  together to undermine others for world domination!
I found "Minions" to be a fun little summer movie.
 A portion of the story takes place in London, which I found to be really fun having vacationed in London. I loved how they showcased some of the historical and classic tourist sights. I really enjoyed the way they incorporated all of the different music with the movie, it was very clever. It takes place in 1968 so they used pop music from this era, a total flashback to the infamous "60's"!
This was a fun and happy movie that I think the whole family will enjoy. I found it to be a little edgy at times and some of the story might go right over the children's minds. I thought it played for adults (maybe even more so for adults) as well as the children.
 Be sure and stay until the credits finish rolling for a little more "Minions" humor.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG, so it has your typical potty humor that seems to be so popular in the movies these days.
I am giving "Minions" two and a half bags of popcorn

Terminator: Genisys

PG-13
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney and J.K. Simmons
Running Time: 2 Hours and 5 minutes

Interesting that Arnold Schwarenegger would want to reprise his infamous role as T-800. Having missed the last Terminator movie, "Terminator Salvation" in 2009, possibly because he was serving as Governor of California? I would imagine so, but regardless of his absence, in this 2015 version, "Terminator: Genisys", he is back and he has definitely aged and grown older.
This is another time-travel and shape-shifter movie which transports Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back from 2029 to 1984 to keep Sarah Conner (Emilia Clarke) safe, (she is the future mother-to-be of John Conner).
 The humans of the future are still fighting the Skynet robots, who are trying to dominate planet earth.
 John Connor (Jason Clarke) is the leader of the rebel forces and battling his way through to save the future.
This movie takes place in San Francisco, seems like a lot of the recent movies are taking place in San Francisco these days. So as usual, they have to have the obligatory dramatic/traumatic scene take place as always on the Golden Gate Bridge.
This movie held my interest, I was a little lost in portions of it though. I felt like it became a bit convoluted at times.There was a lot of fighting and violence. The robots were dominating and very destructive.
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG-13. I am saying that this is a very hard PG-13! There is a lot of violence and there is some nudity as well. Male and female nudity, The male is completely nude from the backside and some scenes of his front, but not his lower frontal anatomy. The female is also nude from the backside.There is a scene of her chest but it is an obscure shot. I also seem to remember them dropping the F-bomb at the very beginning of the movie. There is however some other profanity. I would not recommend this movie for young adults under the age of sixteen.
I am giving "Terminator: Genisys", two and a half bags of popcorn.