The Hundred-Foot Journey

Spanks – 5

Director – Lasse Hallström

Writer – Steven Knight

Starring – Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal & Charlotte Le Bon

Release Date – 8 August 2014

MPAA Rating – PG

Run time – 122 Minutes

I went to see The Hundred-Foot Journey because the “Former Future Mrs. Spanky” wanted to see it. I watched the trailer before we went and it seemed like I would like it. In the end, it was a really good film and I really liked it.

The film is about an Indian family that leaves Mumbai for Europe after a mob destroys the family restaurant that leaves the mother dead. While the family is driving through France, the van breaks down and they have to spend the night in the village. The father finds a restaurant for sale that he decides that he was going to buy and turn it into an Indian restaurant. The only problem the family faces is the owner of the upscale restaurant with a Michelin Star that is 100 feet away across the street.

The film has everything you want in a film. It is funny, it has a great cast, its got some romance, and a good plot that could inspire you. If you enjoyed The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel then you will enjoy The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Spanks – 4

Director – Jonathan Liebesman

Writers – Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec and Evan Daugherty

Starring – Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Pete Ploszek, Jeremy Howard, Johnny Knoxville (voice) & Tony Shalhoub (voice)

Release Date – 8 August 2014

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 101 Minutes

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was much better than I was expecting. From the trailers I was skeptical about it. It ended being done well. Yea, the turtles did look a little funny, but the characters were done the way they were supposed to be.

The film is an origin story and it starts with reporter April O’Neil investigating the foot clan. She gets into some trouble in a subway station which leads her to meeting Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and eventually Splinter.

The movie was written well for a summer tent-pole. It made me laugh, had a good villain, and the new origin was interesting. The one thing I had a problem with is the long drawn out action sequence on the mountain that seemed to be there just to show off the special effects. Overall, the filmmakers did an excellent job in bringing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to a new generation of fans and keeping it interesting to us older fans.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Spanks – 5

Director – James Gunn

Writer – James Gunn and Nicole Perlman

Starring – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel (voice) & Bradley Cooper (voice)

Release Date – 1 August 2014

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 121 Minutes

Guardians of the Galaxy is the best of the Marvel movies so far and there are a lot of good ones. The film is the first in the series that does not take place on Earth (Earth makes a cameo in the introduction). The film is about a group of renegade fugitives who come together because of an orb that Starlord, the leader of the group, steals while scavenging. Little did Starlord know that the Nova Corps, Thanos, and other mercenaries are after the orb because of its powers.

The film is also the best space opera movie to come out in the longest time that isn’t Star Trek. I can only thing of a few that have come out in the past decade. I hope I can make it back to the theater to see the movie again.

Guardians has an awesome plot. It is very funny. The characters were cast perfectly and are all great. The special effects used to create this world were flawless. I am going to have to say that it is the best movie of the summer, if not all of 2014 so far.