Average Dad Reviews (2026)

18/11/2019

"Ford v. Ferrari"

Entertaining: Fascinating and the car action is great
Performances: Matt Damon and Christian Bale are terrific
What would my tagline be for this movie: Jason Bourne and Batman design and drive fast cars

I saw this movie with some other "Average Dads" and it got a very solid 5/5 recommendation! I, myself, am far from having any knowledge about cars except recognizing other Toyota Camry's on the road. This movie has some gearhead dialogue but the majority is pretty easy for novices to get in to.

The plot is simple: Ford hires Carroll Shelby to design a car that will beat Ferrari in the 24 hour race at Le Mans. Just like the race, the movie is long at just over 2 hours and 30 minutes, but the pacing is perfect and the time just zooms on by.

***Small Spoiler warning***

Best part is when Shelby takes Henry Ford II for a test drive!

Go and enjoy it! A great time at the movies! But drive home safely!

27/10/2018

"Venom"
Is it Entertaining?: Yeah
Is it scary? It looks scary: Nah
How is Tom Hardy's performance?: Actually, pretty good!

You may ask yourself if you really want to see a movie if the best thing about it is Tom Hardy's performance. Well, there are other factors.

While Disney owns a good chunk of the Marvel comic book characters and has the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and 20th Century Fox owns the "X-Men" characters... Sony owns the "Spider-Man" universe. They finally got something right with "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and casting Tom Holland as Peter Parker. Well, now they are creating the "Spider-verse". "Venom" does not acknowledge "Spider-Man" in any way and unless you knew that there was a connection, you may not really know.

"Venom" opens with an exploration spacecraft returning to Earth, but something goes wrong and it crash lands. It was carrying alien specimens that were to be studied. However, one escaped. As the scientists study this organic goo they realize it attaches to a host like a parasite. But not all hosts are created equal and the host and parasite must be in symbiosis.

A disgraced reporter, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), eventually comes in to contact with one of these "Symbiotes" known as "Venom". At first all he wants to do is eat something living but he and Eddie must work together in order for both to survive starvation and the bad guys.

Tom Hardy's "Eddie Brock" is charismatic, reckless with a touch of "he's not all there". This is unlike any Hardy character I've seen before and I was impressed. If he had played this straight, it would have been boring. He was easily the most interesting "human" character.

The effects were not the best, still looked like CGI, but the action scenes were fun and you knew you were watching a comic book movie. It's not too scary, nor very bloody but I don't recommend it for young kids.

Sony is hoping for a new franchise with "Venom". I think they have a good start and if they keep Tom Hardy and tweak a few other things, I believe they will have a blockbuster franchise.

18/10/2018

"Teen Titans Go! To The Movies"
Is it entertaining: I loved it!
Ok for kids?: Yes, some jokes over their heads
Is this dumbed down for kids?: There are a lot of easter eggs with jabs at both Marvel and DC

I never watched the "Teen Titans Go!" TV show but my daughter really wanted to see this film. So I took her... and laughed my butt off. It has been the funniest thing I've seen all year. I'm a bit of a DC comic book nerd and I loved all of the Easter eggs. I need to watch this at home and pause it every 10 seconds to explain the jokes to my kids.

All of the voice actors from the show return adding Will Arnett ("LEGO Batman") as the voice of "SLADE WILSON", aka Deathstroke (although he does not go by that name here).

It appears that all the superheroes are getting their own movies except for the Teen Titans and, especially, Robin. The hottest movie director in town suggests that there could only be a Teen Titans movie if only all of the other superheroes didn't exist, which lead the self-absorbed teens on a mission to erase them from history.

It all gets nicely wrapped up with the moral of the story retold at the end. There is also a surprise ending that had many parents laughing nervously.

"Teen Titans Go! To The Movies" is lighthearted and very funny. Do not think you are going to see something remotely close to the grim DC Universe films. This movie has color and humor, which those are sorely lacking. Let your inner child out and enjoy this full length Saturday morning cartoon with your kids.

18/10/2018

"Bad Times At The El Royale"
Is it entertaining: yes!
Action packed?: no
Are there twists? I like twists.: Yes, lots of twists!

Writer/Director Drew Goddard (Cabin In The Woods) brings out his inner Quentin Tarantino with "Bad Times At The El Royale". Seven strangers, from different walks of life, all meet at the El Royale, a hotel that has half of it's rooms in Nevada or California (for $1 more). It has lost a lot of its appeal since losing it's gambling license. It appears that there is only one staff member and many rooms haven't been used (or cleaned) in a long time.

I can't really get into any backstory without ruining the many twists this movie takes but the hotel may have more secrets than the seven strangers that are staying there. The performances are all terrific, the story keeps you guessing and it's laid out with flashbacks to tell the story the best way possible. Jon Hamm, Jeff Bridges and Chris Hemsworth lead an amazing cast that had me entertained and guessing for the next couple of hours.

If you like thrillers that keep you guessing, you'll have a good time with "Bad Times At The El Royale".

12/08/2018

"The Meg"
Entertaining: Yeah, somewhat
Meg vs Jaws: well that's not really fair but they are going to need a bigger boat
What's Jason Statham's character like?: It's Jason Statham

"The Meg" is, surprisingly, based on the first of a series of books by Steve Alten. It's about a giant shark. No, it's not a remake of "Jaws" which was written by Peter Benchley in 1974.

Billionaire Morris (Rainn Wilson) arrives on the research vessel "Mana One" that he has funded just in time for the exploration of the bottom of the sea. The theory is that the bottom is not the bottom... it's a thermal cloud. This layer of cold water separates the bottom of the sea creating a second underwater world. The exploration turns into a rescue mission as something (a BIG something) rams the vessel, disabling it. Enter Jonas (Jason Statham) to the rescue.

All this activity opens a sort of thermal doorway to let out the big something which we all know is the shark known as Megalodon; a prehistoric shark that's about 90 feet long. The rest of the film is the hunt to track it down and do as we humans are wont to do: discover and destroy.

Jason Statham is one of those actors who aren't character actors. Instead, you watch them for what their good at. And in his case, it's doing crazy stunts and heroic maneuvers that no sane person would normally do, which bumps up the entertainment factor for me. The rest of the cast was good but there was no real chance to build chemistry. But are you going to a giant shark movie for the characters? I didn't think so.

It's not cheesy like "Sharknado" but not as horrifying as "Jaws". It does have several thrilling moments but I wouldn't call it "fun". It just is what it is. I liked the film. It wasn't a bucket of chum for me but neither was it a nice filet of salmon.

30/07/2018

"Mission: Impossible - Fallout"
Entertaining: Is Tom Cruise nuts?
How many impossible missions can one guy do: At least six
Is Tom Cruise nuts: Yes, but he knows how to entertain

Tom Cruise is nuts. Have I said that yet? The stunts he performs in this are crazy. After seeing him on "The Late, Late Show" jumping out of airplane with host James Cordon, I can believe he does a lot of his own stunts, especially the free-fall that happens early on.

"Fallout" is the sixth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise starring Tom Cruise as agent Ethan Hunt. I was glad to see that he was on an actual mission and not just a rogue agent hiding from the government while trying to save the world. This marks the first "true" sequel the franchise has had as characters from M:I:5 (Rogue Nation) return.

An arms dealer seeks out a broker to "purchase" some missing plutonium and use it on the world's leading religious locations (Jerusalem, The Vatican, and Mecca). Hunt and his team find themselves racing against time, and two-timers, to stop the disaster. Maybe they should bring in Bond for this one as the plot sounds like it's from one of his villains. He's not available? Oh well, there's another MI6 agent that is.

It's been 22 years since the first installment and the "Mission: Impossible" series just keeps getting better and better. It holds up pretty well and doesn't show its age... kind of like Tom Cruise. That guy does pretty much everything in this: running, jumping, shooting, climbing (those skills from M:I2 help out), driving (cars, motorcycles, helicopters). Oh, and falling.

"Fallout" will definitely please fans of the series. Although be careful of drinking a large soda as the run time is 2hr 28min. And you will not want to miss the last "15:00" minutes.

13/07/2018

"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"

Entertaining: of course, dinosaurs!
Scary: Not at first but it gets there
How many more of the movies?: At least one more

"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" is the fifth entry in the "Jurassic Park" franchise. I love this series but even I will admit it's getting a little stale. The first half of the movie Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) return to run a rescue mission to save the dinosaurs from another extinction by getting them off the island before the volcano blows.

The second half finally gets the story in the direction started from the first movie where the dinos may be used for other purposes than just being attractions in the world's worst petting zoo. I won't give anything away though.

Jeff Goldblum does "return" as "Ian Malcolm" but only very briefly as he argues before the court on why the dinos should not be rescued. Goldblum has had a bit of a resurgence lately (Thor: Ragnarok, Hotel Artemis, Isle of Dogs and Independence Day: Resurgence) and it's great to see him as this character again giving monologues the way only Goldblum can do.

In an unexpected plot thread the movie scratches the surface on other uses of the DNA cloning technology. I should have seen it coming but it hadn't even crossed my mind in this series and that was a fun twist.

Kids like dinosaurs. And some kids have seen this franchise. I will warn you that the second half of the movie is pretty intense. I wouldn't quite call it horror but it gets pretty dark.

"Jurassic Park" was a milestone. We had never seen anything like it. We all experienced the wonder that Alan Grant and Ellie Sadler did when seeing the Brachiosaurus for the first time. That scene is emulated here as well as an emotional farewell. I'm used to being excited and scared during a "Jurassic Park" movie but not sad.

The eventual third movie should wrap up this trilogy (and the franchise?). The park may be gone but that doesn't mean the dinosaurs are. Or the audience willing to pay for another entry. No judgment here; I'm one of them!

13/07/2018

"Ant-Man And The Wasp"

Entertaining: oh yeah!
Better than the first?: About the same
Fun Factor: Less than "Thor: Ragnarock" but more than "Infinity War"

Marvel's "Ant-Man" series is lighter in tone than most of the rest of their movies. It doesn't always feel like a part of the main structure, it's a side note, but there is more connective tissue in this one to tie itself to current events in the Marvel Universe.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp" takes place before "Infinity War". One of the big questions coming out "Infinity War" is where was Ant-Man? He was used in "Captain America: Civil War" so why not "Infinity War"? This movie does explain that but you will need to sit through the credits.

Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas and Michael Pena all return. Scott Lang (Rudd) is under house arrest after the events of "Civil War". He is three days from retirement... I mean from completing his sentence when he is forced to do one more heist. Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas) and his daughter, Hope Van Dyn (Lilly), who now has a fly suit and is the Wasp, are attempting to rescue Pym's wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the Quantum Realm. She has been trapped there for 30 years and it was thought you could never return, until Lang did just that in the first movie. They need the suit that Lang has in order to complete their project.

They are being chased by the FBI who is after Lang for leaving the house, and for Pym and Van Dyne who are on the run since the last movie. Sonny Burch (Walter Goggins), a "businessman" who deals in obtaining things for the right price, needs Pym's shrunken lab for a client, and so does the new mysterious enemy known as Ghost, who can phase through solid objects.

There is a lot of fun in the fight scenes as Ant-Man and the Wasp use their size changing abilities to get the upper hand on their enemies. Even a Pez Dispenser can be a weapon if it's large enough! The gag with the cars changing size always made me laugh and I wish that my Hot Wheels cars could do that.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp" is a great time at the movies and is a very fun entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

13/07/2018

"Skyscraper"

Entertaining: a little
As good as "Die Hard"?: Not even close
What about "Die Hard 5"?: Well, yeah, better than that!
Can you smell what "The Rock" is cooking?: No, but there's lots of fire.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ("Central Intelligence", "Baywatch") stars in this "Die-Hard" wannabe from wrter/director Rawson Marshall Thurber ("Central Intelligence"). I did enjoy their previous collaboration, "Central Intelligence", I found this one not as entertaining. It really feels like it's trying to be "Die Hard", and as much as I like Johnson, the dialog, performances and the general plot were too much for me to be able to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the mindless action.

Let me see if I can recap: A billionaire builds the world's largest tower in Hong Kong. In order for the residence floors to open up he needs to have an insurance policy. Will Sawyer (Johnson) is hired as a third party to approve of all the safety measures so the insurance company will underwrite the policy. Sawyer's wife (Neve Campbell, "Scream") and two children are with him.

While Sawyer is heading to the offsite control the bad guys begin their plan by starting a fire. He soon discovers that his family is trapped inside the inferno and he risks everything to get back inside. We eventually learn the motivation behind the evil plot but it, well.... it's just meh.

When I saw the very first trailer, it felt intense. How was he going to survive a fall from the skyscraper? When that scene is finally shown on screen, I really didn't care. So, kudos to the guy who cut the trailer.

It's not a horrible film, it's just OK. If you like Dwayne Johnson and movies that want to be "Die Hard" then you might enjoy it. But it's pretty average.

07/06/2018

Upgrade

Entertaining: Yes!
Is that John Krasinski?: No
Is this "Robocop"?: No
Is this "The Terminator"?: No
Is this "Short Circuit"?: Uh, no.

Man, Blumhouse is cranking out the movies this year. The studio that is know for it's horror movies ("Truth or Dare?", "Paranormal Activity" and "Insidious" franchises) released this little gem that is more Sci-fi/Action than it is horror. Although, director Leigh Whannell used his experience working on the "Saw" franchise to his advantage with several special effects.

"Upgrade" follows Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) after he and his wife are in a horrible car accident and subsequently attacked leaving his wife dead and him a paraplegic. A reclusive genius, Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson), offers Grey a chance at having a normal life if he allows him to implant a new technology called STEM, allowing it to bridge the signals from his brain to his nervous system.

STEM does allow Grey to walk, run, do everything he could before. But soon, STEM begins to talk to Grey (think Tony Stark's "Jarvis" or Michael Knight's "KITT") and it is able to control his body. The rest is nearly a buddy cop movie as they track down Grey's wife's murderers with plenty of action and humor to lighten the mood in the right places.

I wouldn't say it's all original, but there are a few twists that keep it fresh. Everything moves at a quick pace and they don't dwell on the origin story too long. There are several camera techniques and the way Grey moves when being controlled by STEM that I thought was very interesting.

This is not a big budget film. The cast is probably not familiar to you, the script may not be as polished and it wasn't shot on IMAX cameras. Yet, if you like Sci-fi/Action/Violent-revenge films you will enjoy the ride.

25/05/2018

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Entertaining: Fun in spots but mostly flat
Ok for kids: Nothing offensive but may not connect with young ones

I had high hopes for this, I really did. To bring back Lawrence Kasdan ("Empire Strikes Back") to co-write the script for a Han Solo solo film to be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller ("The LEGO Movie", "21 Jump Street") sounded like a lot of fun! Yes, they brought in the right guys! But then Lord and Miller were fired by Lucasfilm and Ron Howard was brought in half way through production to complete it. How much was reshot or changed, we may never know as it doesn't feel like two different movies. There is a lot that goes on and the pace moves fairly quickly. But there was nothing to elevate it beyond the norm. I'm sure the rushed production didn't help. (I think "Justice League" suffered from that as well, but that's a whole different story.)

However, the effects were top notch and our three recast leads did fairly well. Alden Ehrenreich is fine as Han but Harrison Ford's shadow is awfully large. Donald Glover as Lando was perfectly cast but not quite as smooth as Billy Dee Williams. But then again, who is? Chewbacca was portrayed by Joonas Suotamo taking over for Peter Mayhew. Chewie looks and sounds the same but something is missing. There's a magic that the original cast brought that has not been duplicated... yet.

I say "yet" because it's obvious that they have more story to tell by the time the end credits roll. I was surprised by that as I thought the spin-offs were "one and done", such as "Rogue One".

The casual Star Wars "movie-only" fan may be confused by many of the Extended Universe references, or may not catch those little nods. But I'm curious to know if those that have gone that deep will enjoy this movie. There is a lot on the surface but not much beyond that. There is also a lack of danger as we all know how certain characters turn out. It takes a lot to shock us. But there is one thing that is shocking, but I will not spoil that here.

It is great to see the early adventures of Han and how he meets our favorite fuzzball and scoundrel. It is also interesting that the two spin-off "Star Wars" movies are basically heist films. If Obi-Wan Kenobi gets his solo film, I wonder what he'll be stealing.

"Solo" is not the worst "Star Wars" film but it certainly is not the best. You'll have some fun but may be confused by certain events if you don't know the back story. It all leaves room for future "Solo" movies.

18/05/2018

Deadpool 2
Entertaining: Yes
Emotional: Surprisingly, yes, in spots
Pop Culture References: Too many to count
Is this about a superhero?: Yes, but not for kids. Older teens should be ok, but it's rated R for language.

If you enjoyed the first Deadpool, you will definitely enjoy the second one. He is not a superhero for everyone, as he is vulgar and crass, but he is also extremely funny and has a bit more heart than you would expect.

I have never followed the comics so I can't compare them to the movie. However, this chapter has introduced X-Force: mutants who don't fit the X-Men mold. Will they become Deadpool's new family, or quickly find their way in to a wood chipper?

Josh Brolin ("The Goonies", "MIB 2") makes his second appearance in a Marvel movie in less than a month as Cable, the "time traveling super soldier". He feels perfectly cast as the foil for Ryan Reynold's ("Two Guys, A Girl And A Pizza Place", "Green Lantern") Deadpool. Cable has travelled back in time to take out a mutant who will kill his family in the future. Hilarity ensues.

I give props to 20th Century Fox, the studio behind "Deadpool 2", for giving the creators the ability to do, basically, whatever they wanted. This is not a Disney/Marvel film. The marketing for the film has been spot on. I found the DVD re-releases of certain Fox movies with Deadpool on the cover especially hilarious. You can find those at Walmart.

I had a great time during this movie, having to work overtime to try to pick up on all of the references and a few cameos. If you don't mind the language and crude humor, you will have a great time, too.

Average Dad Reviews

18/11/2019

27/10/2018

18/10/2018

18/10/2018

12/08/2018

30/07/2018

13/07/2018

13/07/2018

13/07/2018

07/06/2018

25/05/2018

18/05/2018

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