Mind on Movies

R: September 22nd, 2017 | R: 101 minutes | R: PG

The Lego Ninjago movie follows Lloyd Garmadon and five of his high school classmates as they lead a double life of being normal teenagers mixed with being the ninja warriors that save their city of Ninjago. Lloyd however is fighting another battle because the villain that continuously attacks the city is his own father that goes by their last name of Garmadon.

Being a fan of legos and the last two lego movies released, I was excited about this one. After watching I think lego has really found a place in the movie world with their movies being so saturated with pop culture and jokes appropriate for both kids and adults.

I will say in comparison to the first two movies this one was a bit more tame but still a good movie to watch. It does have Jackie Chan in it too which helps a lot because how can one go wrong with Jackie Chan? Also the music played throughout the movie helps adds to the comedy as well as several other surprise elements such as a weapon and monster that reminds viewer that it is indeed a lego world.

I will say this movie might have added too many scenes of daddy issues because Lloyd and Gardmadon and after the first two it gets overplayed because the writers could have used that time to include more jokes or another fight scene or two. In my opinion this was the most emotional lego movie yet - not enough to bring tears to your eyes but more so an emotion of slight disinterest. The disinterest does not last long though as there are legos launched out of volcanos as well as sharks that make a nom-nom-nom noise.

If you're a fan of legos or the lego movies I suggest this movie for you. Also stay a little bit into the end credits because there's some outtakes with Jackie Chan.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Ashley (Senior Contributor) is an Orlando native who loves watching movies. Her favorite genres include comedies, thrillers and sci-fi.
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Rating: out of 5

Liz (Contributor) is an ardent cinephile from West Philadelphia. She enjoys all genres and generations of cinema and has a particular love for independent and foreign films
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R: September 22nd, 2017 | R: 141 minutes | R: R

The classy but ridiculous spy satire franchise returns to the big screen, but this time taking a trip to America. The second Kingsman movie attempts to reignite the flame that made the original so absurd but hilarious by ramping everything up and delivering even more explosions, wild plotlines, and unbelievable shenanigans. Although it doesn’t share the level of comedy or excitement of its predecessor, Kingsman: The Golden Circle gives us enough of what we expect to deliver a fitting sequel.

When calamity strikes the Kingsmen, they are left with no other option than initiating their doomsday plan. Bringing them to the United States, the British spies must team up with their American counterparts to stop an illegal drug mogul with a sinister scheme.

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Sequels typically struggle to find their own footing against the success of the first movie, and Kingsman shares this struggle. In a franchise built around insane scenarios that flip or push the envelope on conventions of the spy genre it is poking fun of, Kingsman naturally takes everything from the first movie and dials it up. The movie has more explosions, more fights, more death, and more satire which sometimes borders on fan-service. At times the movie seems to try so hard to top the original film that it ends up coming full circle. An almost identical bar fight takes place in both films and we are given another supervillain with a weird trait and a diabolical plot. By trying so hard to one-up the original film, it risks becoming predictable and stale.

Additionally, the sequel somehow teeter-tots between trying too hard to retain some of the characters from the original and at the same time tries too hard to distance itself from others. The approach to death the film takes, even considering the absurdity of the content, is not well-received. At times, the film is too flippant with who it decides to care off to the point of completely undervaluing its cast. The franchise is beginning to feel like a revolving door of castmembers, making it difficult to care about any of the supporting characters, especially since many of them get limited enough screentime as it is. Yet at other times, it just doesn’t know when to let go. The movie resurrects two characters from the first film in ways that feel forced. Overall, the movie ends up feeling like a less complete package as the first movie. The original Kingsman felt tight, focused, and hilarious while the second film just feels ever so slightly less of all of those things.

Yet despite its struggles, Kingsman: The Golden Circle still ends up feeling like a sequel fitting for the franchise. The best part of the original was how nonsensical and farcical it was, and the sequel retains that same energy and spirit. There is plenty of over-the- top violence and ridiculous action from start to finish. The same ridiculous supervillain with a nonsensical evil plan is naturally present, this time with the evil lair included. Most of all, Kingsman: The Golden Circle has one of the best cameos of all time with Elton John stealing the show. Even with an almost two and a half hour runtime, the film avoided dragging. The second Kingsman still retains its status as a wonderful satire of all of the spy tropes we’ve gotten over the years and is a fun return to the franchise.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Johnny (Senior Contributor) was born and raised in San Diego. He's been a fan of films the majority of his life. He enjoys the feeling it invokes and the power it has to take you to another place.
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I've found, over decades of watching movies, that films boasting non-stop action are often not so exciting once you've shelled out your $12. If you promise me explosions, cars somersaulting through the air, or monsters grappling on the streets of a major city, I'm anticipating having my face blown clear off of my head.

Sometimes, trailers like to turn my internet browser into a house of lies. Examples that come to mind: Pacific Rim, Battle L.A., Transformers II and IV, Sucker Punch, and Fifty Shades of Grey.

Then, there are trailers that deliver what they promise. Movies like Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, and Kingsman: The Secret Service.

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Oops! Did I name all Matthew Vaughn movies? Do you know why I did that? Because he and his go-to stunt coordinator, Bradley James Allen, are like the Steven Spielberg and John Williams of the genre. They know how to blow your hair back, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle is no different.

Golden Circle picks up a year after Galahad (Colin Firth) involuntarily and violently retired, with Eggsy (Taron Egerton) taking over his role. When he's attacked in front of the titular storefront by former Kingsman intern, Charlie (Edward Holcroft), Eggsy narrowly escapes and, in classic Kingsman style, shakes off the ambush in order to make dinner with his girlfriend, Princess Tilde (Hanna Alström), and her parents.

Meanwhile, the world's most powerful drug lord, Poppy (Julianne Moore) -- living on her own 50s movie-style compound complete with its own diner, salon, and theater -- has some pretty dreadful plans. Masquerading as a pharmaceuticals company by the name of The Golden Circle, Poppy has the junkies of the world wrapped around her warped, sadistic little finger. After wiping out Kingsman HQ, she'll have the leverage she needs to make some demands.

The only surviving members, Eggsy and Merlin (Mark Strong) follow Doomsday Protocol, jetting them stateside to a bourbon whiskey distillery called Statesman. After getting rocked by a southern charmer with a big gun who goes by Tequila (Channing Tatum), they learn that Statesman is an American organization much like their own.

Statesman head, Champagne (Jeff Bridges), briefs the team on the Golden Circle business and pairs them up with agent Whiskey (Pedro Pascal). Tequila was supposed to join them, but comes down with something and is left under Ginger Ale's (Halle Berry) careful watch. While showcasing her prowess in tech support, she remains oppressively behind-the-scenes. The guys will need to reach Poppy's undisclosed whereabouts to basically save the world. Obviously.

Golden Circle was the most fun I've had at the theater since Baby Driver and Free Fire before that. It's rife with savagery both in combat and dialogue in the best way possible. This installment of Kingsman is impressively witty and comes chockablock with white-knuckle fighting, out-of-nowhere absurdity, and a script that would make any screenwriter swoon.

Based on the characters from The Secret Service comics written by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, Golden Circle gives new life to the Kingsman franchise. I, unlike some other Chicago based critics, understand and appreciate that the movie thrives on outlandish bloodshed and whimsical satire.

If Golden Circle is any indication of things to come, writers Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman should just never part. The screenplay -- coupled with brilliant cinematography, of course -- makes a 2 hour and 21 minute runtime feel like half of that and leaves you wanting more.

And, not that it needs to be said, but the cast is an absolute treat. Nobody plays a sociopath quite like Julianne Moore.

Best of all, as your resident score junkie, I was over the moon that Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson came back to compose for this installment. Though they aren't niche composers, but they do have one helluva a knack.

I'm thrilled that this movie is hitting theaters and everyone can go see it. It's one of my favorite movies of the year and meant to be seen in Dolby. If you're heading to the theater to see it this weekend, you might just see me there since I'll be seeing it at least twice more before it leaves the big screen. I'll be the girl in the "TARON EGERTON IS A BABE" t-shirt. See you at the movies!

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Rating: 5 out of 5

Katie (Contributor) is a cinephile and Chicago native who has been reviewing film for nearly a decade. Her heroes include Roger Ebert and Jay Sherman -- it stinks!
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John Denver is having a moment. First, earlier this year, FREE FIRE and OKJA featured "Annie's Song," then ALIEN: COVENANT and more recently LOGAN LUCKY used "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in a significant way to the plot. Matthew Vaughn's KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE fits in the latter group when the country roads take home our beloved characters.

Much like Denver, this film thrives in its empathy for the multi-layered transformations our hero Eggsy (Taron Egerton) goes through. Vaughn merely tweaks the formula of the first Kingsman, keeping the overly stylized action and whacky villains, but giving up substance in exchange for tiring comic relief (Elton John) and a structurally undefined film. Julianne Moore is a delight to watch as Poppy, but her insane and contradictory politics make the drugs ploy seem ridiculous, even by Kingsman standards. This undeniable insanity is only heightened in America, where Eggsy and company meet the Statesman, an American spy agency including a brilliant cast of Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, and Halle Berry.

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Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Gerardo (Contributor) is a film student living in Philadelphia. He usually prefers independent and classic films, but he will watch anything in theaters.
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Eggsy Unwin is back with the Kingsman (some who you assumed were dead in the previous film) to stop a new villain, Poppy, and the deadly disease she releases across the world with the help of her followers in the Golden Circle. While the action and fights promise solid entertainment, how silly is too far in this satirical yet stylish spy movie?

Even if you have not seen the first installment, you will not be lost as the film moves along starting with a background as to who the Kingsman are and what they stand for. It is easy to pick up who is good, who is bad and who is just outright strange. If you have seen the first film however you will notice Eggsy's change from street smart charming boy to a dapper young spy. The movie also includes several celebrities and actors including Colin Firth, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges and even Elton John, who drops the f-bomb at least 10 times which is funny but extremely random.

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Ashley (Senior Contributor) is an Orlando native who loves watching movies. Her favorite genres include comedies, thrillers and sci-fi.
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Sequel to the successful Kingsman: The Secret Service, our favorite British spy organization is back in Kingsman The Golden Circle. This time there’s a new mission, new villains, and a new way to make a martini. However, we still have the same stylish suits and deadly weapons that made us fall in love with the Kingsmen in the first film. In this movie, there’s a new enemy threatening the world…. Again… and when our beloved spy organization faces a major obstacle, they must team up with their American spy counterparts, The Statesman, to work together to stop this enemy from terrorizing the world.

Walking into this movie, I already had high hopes. I think the reason the first one did so well was because it was a movie nobody thought would be really good, but had the action, comedy, and thrills to become a nice surprise. I personally also loved how the first parodied a real life global crisis (global warming and overpopulation) by using a highly outrageous solution (kill the weak people, save the celebrities). And thankfully, this sequel kept those same unique film qualities by parodying the “War on Drugs” with lots of violence and a lovely appearance with a cranky

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Elton John.

The one pet peeve that I have about sequels are when filmmakers are not able to use the same actors we originally fell in love with, yet still go on to make the sequel. In this film, I am proud to announce that our beloved misunderstood Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is still here as well as our favorite tech operative Merlin (Mark Strong). However, of course we’re able to meet new characters to fall in love with including Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore) and well… honestly that’s about it. Similar to the first film, the comedy does start to cross the line towards being a little too ridiculous and the fact that they made the American spies Kentucky Cowboys with southern accents and names like “Whiskey” and “Tequila” just didn’t sit too well with me.

The good news is that the film still kept their very violent action fight scenes and somehow may have even found a way to make it even more gruesome (which… was… awesome) by adding deadly meat grinders (WARNING do not attempt to eat popcorn if you have a weak stomach) and murderous robot dogs. Obviously like I said before, the ridiculousness is still there, but I doubt anyone would really be surprised considering the first movie ended with exploding rainbow heads. The bad news is that the director did appear to have a little too much fun with his CGI graphics in which some scenes did feel a bit too cartoonish and unrealistic.

Plot-wise, I did enjoy that identical to the first film, this one had the same use of an evil, brilliant, and very eccentric villain with a cyborg, serial killing sidekick (The more I write, the more I realize how crazy this movie is). The movie action did seem to slow down a bit towards the middle and there were a few scenes that probably could have been left out of the movie altogether, but overall I actually never found myself yawning. Some of the characters did exhibit what I would refer to as “horrible acting” (I’m looking at you Mr. President and Elton John) that almost made the comedic vibe of the film disappear. I also found myself rolling my eyes at a very millennial Tinder reference. I was also a bit annoyed that despite Channing Tatum being all over the TV ads and posters, he was only in the movie for about 10 minutes (Just in case some ladies were only planning on watching the film for him). Despite a few setbacks however, the film still managed to keep me entertained and a little nostalgic about the first film.

Overall, the director did a great job of using a modern, relevant plot and making it slightly overdramatic assuming that was his intention. Not every movie can be perfect and despite a few small mistakes, I enjoyed that this one still had the violent, impressive spy moves and bar fight scenes that we all enjoyed from the first film.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Ariel (Contributor) is a Military brat currently living in Texas. When she's not watching the current box office hit, she spends her days reading, cooking, and finding new activities to try.
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Rating: out of 5