​This Mechanic won’t repair your car. I give Mechanic: Resurrection a B-.
Hitman Arthur Bishop thought he’d retired when he staged his own death, but a former friend turned gun dealer finds out and sets up Arthur to do a few jobs for him. Knowing that Arthur wouldn’t do anything for his old nemesis, Crain manipulates Arthur into doing the jobs using the threat of death to someone he cares for.

​This is the second of the Mechanic movies but the fifth or sixth movies where Jason Statham is a hired hitman. The plot of Mechanic: Resurrection borrows heavily from his movie Killer Elite where he must perform three impossible hits and make them look like accidents to keep a woman safe. 

​Unlike Bond who jumps into a situation and charms his way out, Arthur Bishop thinks through his strategy and plans the attack down to the smallest detail. It was interesting to get into his character’s head for the planning. However, some of the timelines in this movie didn’t work. He had 36 hours to get from a prison in Malaysia to Australia for another hit. I’m also amazed in all shoot-em-up movie how poorly the people shoot. With assault rifles, it took almost a whole clip to kill just one person. Yet, I do give Mechanic: Resurrection bonus points for use of a grill cooktop during a fight scene.

​While Mechanic: Resurrection does have eye candy for both the men and women (a shirtless Jason Statham and a bikini-clad Jessica Alba) the relationship between the two characters didn’t make sense. Arthur knew that she was sent to him as a trap. They discussed it. Yet supposedly he was willing to kill all the people to save her after one night in her bed. I knew Jessica Alba was special but wow…that’s really special. I believed he felt more responsible for keeping her safe. However Crain shared that Arthur must have truly loved her to have given her his father’s watch. If James Bond had given anyone a watch, it would have come with a tracking device, hidden camera and secret way to kill another person.

​All in all, Mechanic: Resurrection keeps your attention with the non-stop action and amazingly unbelievable kills. The pool one is my favorite. Just remember going in that it makes about as much sense as Ryan Lochte explaining how shoes are made.

If you are looking for an epic action packed movie, Ben-Hur falls flat. I give it a C.
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Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince. Messala (Ma-salla) Severus is an adopted Roman who was raised among Judah’s family and treated as a brother. Yet Messala feels less than equal and sets out to become great through serving in the Roman Empire. When these two meet up again, years have passed. Judah is married and strife is rampant in Jerusalem. Eventually the two brothers are pitted against each other as a result of anger, revenge and jealousy. 

​Ben-Hur takes place during the time of Jesus’s life and we get to see his message of love and how it eventually impacts Judah and Messala, as well as their surrounding families. This movie was based on a book written in 1880 and was made into a 1925 silent movie. Most people remember the epic 1959 movie starring Charlton Heston, becoming one of the highest grossing movies of all time. Yet the age demographic of people who remember it are older and the audience at the theater proved it.

​The movie is more about relationships and loving your enemy but the two amazing scenes will steal your breath. The Roman sea battle where the ship is attacked is hard to see at times but fascinating when you think this is how life was back in the days. The other wonderful scene was the chariot race. I did make sure that no animals were harmed because I still didn’t believe it after the horrible things that happened to them. The rest of the movie is slow and seems to ramble. There are some unbelievable events like everyone in the Roman fleet dies but Judah. How likely is that? 

​Unless you are dying to see this movie on a big screen, wait and catch it at home. Better yet, rent both and make it an epic Ben-Hur night.

​However, most people won’t hear about the movie. It’s hasn’t received much promotion, other than the trailer showing Pete and Elliot. No one mentioned Robert Redford being in it. With other big names like Bryce Dallas Howard and Karl Urban (Bones from Star Trek), there’s a lot of star power. 

​Also people are confused about the movie. There was an older movie called Pete’s Dragon, which featured a cartoon dragon and a totally different story. While most people don’t recall the movie, they also weren’t sure about this story. But taking a chance on seeing Pete’s Dragon was worth the wonderful surprise!

​Elliot reminded me of Falcor from The Neverending Story. There are scenes where you see Pete on Elliot’s back and it takes you back to the other movie. At times, I also held my breath to see if Karl Urban would scream out a line from Star Trek. 

​Make sure to bring tissues. There are moments which will pull at your emotions with loss and love. This movie will appeal to both the young and the young at heart. 

​When going against supernatural problems that the ordinary military can’t handle, send in the Suicide Squad. I’m giving the movie an A-.

​What I enjoy about superhero movies is the way we learn about the characters. We see their amazing abilities but also their humanity. From Ironman’s insecurities to Deadpool’s humor used to cover up his feelings. We see the pain from the loss of loved ones (Wolverine) to the weight of the decisions that are made for humanity, not themselves (Batman). Suicide Squad gives us such a look at some of the characters. We really gain insights into Diablo, Harley, Katana, and Deadshot and grow to admire them. 

​The action in Suicide Squad is fun as it builds to the final confrontation, all the while audiences are guessing at everyone else’s motives. Flashbacks give us history into characters and we see different scenes from different points of view. The audience is always left wondering…Are the bad guys going to walk? Are they going to stay? Who is Amanda really working for? And why doesn’t some other super heroes (Batman and Flash) who have cameos, show up and help save the day?? 

​Stay for the after credit scene to see another glimpse into the bigger DC Universe and I know many fans are willing for a sequel…After all, if you have thugs like these… you might as well use them.