The Pliley Review

  Genre:  Science fiction, Thriller, Drama, Suspenseful Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis:  In the near future, an advanced AI judge tells a captive detective that he's on trial for the murder of his wife. If he fails to prove his innocence within 90 minutes, he'll be executed on the spot. *** From the trailer I was intrigued about the premise of this movie, though honestly I am a little on the Terminator side of the AI discussion.  Each actor did great with the material they were presented with.  Chris Pratt as  Det. Christopher "Chris" Raven is  semi likeable and plays the part perfectly. You can feel the distress and emotion as the story progresses.  Rebecca Ferguson as  Judge Maddox  is great as the AI judge.   Right off the bat I could not help but compare this movie to the Tome Cruise movie, Minority Report. Very similar vibes in a good way. Though out of the two I would prefer Minority Report.  The atmosphere and A...

  Genre:  Science fiction, adventure Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis:  A young Predator outcast from his clan finds an unlikely ally on his journey in search of the ultimate adversary. *** I admit when I saw the trailer for this one I was very nervous.  My uncertainty with the predator having a companion seemed very out of place for their kind and I was not sure how it would play out in the story. I am glad I was put at ease early on by the type of relationship they had.  I was also very thankful that they did not have the predator speaking English as I felt he already looked way more human than usual and thought it would take away from what was left of his alien presence.  Speaking of the predator look, I have to say that I felt something was off about his face. Maybe something to do with his side 'panels' being too long, but they do say he is a younger version and the other Predators showed did not suffer the same look, so I put it to his younger age a...

  Genre: Action, Sci-fi Rating:   PG Synopsis: The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but who once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. *** Any fan of the Transformers can guess where this story is headed, but is worth watching? I do want to give props to the cast as they did put their talents to good use and expressed the emotions of each character perfectly as they dealt with each situation that came up.  The animation was visually stunning and I appreciated the details that had some that only avid fans would recognize. Also hearing about the backstory of the transformers, and planet and some of its history was interesting to learn, while each robot design was beautiful in its own way.  Overall the movie was interesting, yet it was predictable on some key points that I do not think were supposed to be, and had story based moments that made no sense towards the end. It is hard to...

  Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller Rating:   TV-MA Synopsis: After a global pandemic destroys civilization, a hardened survivor takes charge of a 14-year-old girl who may be humanity's last hope. *** I will go on record immediately that I love this game and have played it through many times over the years. So when I heard about the TV show I was very excited.  I will admit that at first I was unsure about some of the casting choices, however it was clear very early on that each person played their parts beautifully. Both Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal did an amazing job in the lead roles. Gabriel Luna also played a great Tommy. Yet my heart could not stop the happiness when I saw the video game voice actors, Merle Dandridge as the same character  M arlene, Jeffrey Pierce the original Tommy as  Perry. And of course, the amazing  Ashley Johnson, the original Ellie, playing a new character of Anna and last but definately not least, the...

  Genre: Sci-fi, Adventure Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis: After a war between humans and machines, robots lost their freedom, people lost themselves in tech, and Michelle lost everyone she loved - or did she? *** Hearing about this movie I was very intrigued to see where it would go. The answer all over the place.  Right off the bat, the movie is visually beautiful and the fight sequences between everyone is just amazing.  Props to human characters played by Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito. Each one brought their character to life in a very real way and performed perfectly against so much CGI. And while the characters were likeable, well the ones you were supposed to like, and you were cheering for the good guys, they could not help the writing or the storyline from crashing out in the final act. Without spoilers it is hard to discuss the storyline in more detail, but I will say that the storyline was very strange and t...

  Genre: Action, Sci-Fi Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis:   Eddie and Venom are hunted by both of their worlds and forced into a decision to end their last dance. *** Just by the title of this movie I had a sinking feeling. Without spoilers, it was really cool to see the origins of venom, though it was a little disappointing to hear things from outside sources who, up until this point we had not once heard of.  I could watch a million venom movies but this one felt like it wasn’t really about him or Eddie at all. They were just a means to an end so the story felt very much like someone else’s. I came to the movie to connect more to them and I had hoped it was going in a certain direction but then it went nowhere. There is the military vs scientist trope that I both like and hate at the same time. I was glad to see in this movie that it was not completely what I expected.  Tom Hardy as both Eddie and Venom are always a pleasure to watch. I will say that Juno Temple as Dr...

  Genre:  Action, Sci-Fi Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis:   Eddie Brock is still struggling to coexist with the shape-shifting extraterrestrial Venom. When deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady also becomes host to an alien symbiote, Brock and Venom must put aside their differences to stop his reign of terror. *** Honestly, I had high hopes for this one even though it is a sequel. I was right to believe in the power of Venom.  Right off the bat, I have to give a huge s hout-out to Cletus, Woody Harrelson, and Frances, Naomie Harris, as they are an amazing power couple. Both brought an enormous range of emotions to their relationship and as individual characters. They knew how they wanted their characters to come across and they were played perfectly. Even the smallest facial expression conveyed the love and craziness hidden below the surface.  The plot was an interesting way to introduce a new symbiote without having more spaceships or astronauts involved...

  Genre:  Action, Sci-fi Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis: Godzilla and the almighty Kong face a colossal threat hidden deep within the planet, challenging their very existence and the survival of the human race. *** I’m going to be a little hard on this movie considering we have had a few over the recent years and they all seem to suffer from similar issues.  Yes, this movie has both Kong and Godzilla doing what they do alone until they need to reunite and battle a greater enemy…again. However, like previous ones, this one is focused more on Kong. Which is fine, but give him the respect he deserves and give him his own movie.  With that being said Kaylee Hottle as Jia stole the show for me as far as the humans go. Her acting is pretty amazing to watch and her relationship with Kong makes for the best parts of the show. It is always good to see Dan Stevens so watching him as Trapper was a treat. And the returning mom of Jia, Rebecca Hall as Dr. IIene Andrews played the...

  Genre:  Sci-fi, Adventure Rating:   PG-13 Synopsis: Paul Atreides unites with the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future. *** Part Two wastes no time in jumping right back into the world of Arrakis and the war for control of the spice. If you have read the original book or watched the older movie version you will have some idea of where the story is going.  However, without spoilers, the ending does not match the book exactly, so even if you know, you will not know everything.   Like the first movie, the cast is brilliant and plays to their characters extremely well. Timothée Chalamet is still crushing it as the main character Paul. The introduction of the newest character, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen played by Austin Butler added the right amount of threat. I do have to shout out, Florence P...