It has been a great debate for centuries about what happens to a person after they die, and it will continue to be a hot topic until there is definitive proof one way or the other. While some people say that they see a bright light and step away from it, others say that they saw nothing after they died, so the question still remains. It could just be a person’s brain unloading electrical impulses that causes someone to see something, or it could be another plane of existence that is bringing you in. The thing that frightens so many people about death is not knowing what it holds for them when the door is opened, and we may never really know despite people trying to put an end the controversial topic. 

A year after showing scientific proof that there is a life after death, the suicide rate skyrockets around the world and nobody is able to slow it down. Doctor Thomas Harber has taken to the airwaves in an interview about the Discovery, but the session is cut short when a member of the camera crew decides to kill himself on air. Needing to move away from the blame of his findings, Thomas has taken himself out the mainstream and is trying to help people that have tried to kill themselves and failed over the past couple years. Knowing that there is something more to death, Thomas is looking for a way to record what the mind sees and give a deeper explanation to what really happens when people reach ‘There.’

Wanting to put an end to his father’s work, Will catches a ride on the ferry to see him and winds up running into Isla who seems to have the same feeling about the Discovery that he does. Falling for the stranger right off the bat, Will has to get to his father’s new home and voice his concerns about what is going on. Seeing that it looks like a cult is living the new compound , Will’s brother Toby assures him that there is no death allowed in the area, unless of course it is for scientific purposes. Trying to convince his father, after he gets out of the death machine, that his work is hurting people, Thomas does not agree with his son’s findings and only wants to map out what really happens after someone dies to provide help for the people that need it most.

The burdens of creating a cinematic universe are not as plentiful as many studios would have you believe, in order to have a film as successful as Guardians of the Galaxy, you need not imitate its soundtrack, composed of a series of ye olde top 40's hits, as they did with Suicide Squad. But, in the case of Universal Studios’ second attempt at promoting an interconnected universe of action films based on its legendary film monsters, imitation is truly the purest form of flattery. Take an already well-established film franchise from well before the spawn period, which would be The Mummy trilogy, beginning in 1999. Hint at the existence of connectivity between a seemingly unrelated film, 2014’s Dracula Untold.  Toss in a few unassuming A-list actors like Tom Cruise and Russel Crowe, and fabricate a reason as to why all this should be set to boil in the same pot. What is probably the most praiseworthy of this particular remake of The Mummy, is that this all gets done within the span of this one film.
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Tom Cruise is Nick Morton, our roguish archaeologist protagonist. He and his partner Chris Vail (Jake Johnson) literally create in international incident for the sole purpose of dropping a bomb in the middle of an Iranian village, uncovering an ancient tomb that they intend to loot. After a bit of saucy dialogue with female roguish archaeologist Jennifer Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) Nick invariably does the thing that awakens the 890 year-old curse within the tomb. The rest of the film moves forward exactly as you’d expect, with Tom Cruise narrowly avoiding death at every turn while he’s both internally haunted and physically pursued by the titular mummy Ahmanet, played by Sofia Boutella, who wants to jump his bones and then sacrifice him so the Egyptian god Set will return to the world of the living.

At first, it doesn’t seem like this movie strays too far from that initial Mummy franchise, with even Tom Cruise playing a role that probably evokes Brendan Fraser’s career more than his acting ability. Ahmanet often uses tricks that serve as reminders, if not direct ripoffs of the Mummy in the original trilogy: bringing the dead back to life and sending swarms of scarabs, oops, I mean black crows and camel spiders, after our heroes at every turn. However, this soon merely becomes what the film WANTS you to think, for as we get into the second act, and Russel Crowe makes his entrance, we immediately begin to see the proverbial universe expansion.

Crowe’s character has a direct link to the classic movie monsters on Universal’s back burner, and while I won’t spoil the inevitable character reveal, he is very much the Phil Coulson/Bruce Wayne/Guy Lapointe of this would-be universe. He enters the picture with the intent to capture Ahmonet and the curse-transformed Nick and dissect him so he can continue his research on the pantheon of evil in the universe, a plot point that only fills about 20 minutes of the movie’s total runtime before Ahmanet rears her ugly head again, and they play up to her inevitable demise in a London sewer among the undead legions of crusader knights that are inexplicably buried there. Tom Cruise predictably pulls off some counter-mummy magic of his own and the whole thing ends in a comparative anticlimax to the original movies.
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Probably the most interesting element brought to this film is by Tom Cruise himself, who plays his part as if he’s still Mission Impossible’s Ethan Hunt, only without the obvious charm. The fact that the mummy’s curse has left him deathless is a good in-plot reason for Cruise to pull off his usual repertoire of impossible stunt escapes, and in-character he is redeemed by both his attraction of the movie’s female monster, and the love towards the film’s only other female lead. It works, I suppose, if you like Tom Cruise, and you assume this is the only formula wherein Tom Cruise can operate. But, it invariably comes off as off-putting, particularly to other members of the cast, who all seem to suffer gruesome fates while Tom remains unscratched. It’s hard to see him get a leg over literally everyone, including Russel Crowe, who still has a dozen of these movies to appear in. It’s also disheartening to see that, though this movie broke the glass ceiling in terms of portrayal of famous movie monsters, that Boutella’s Mummy only exists to seduce, terrorize, and ultimately be bested by The Cruise. I won’t even trouble you with how eye-rolling the ending is.

All in all. It’s a decent popcorn flick. It will remind you of the best parts of both the Universal Monsters franchise, and Tom Cruise’s career as it existed over the past, oh, twenty years? However, I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the movies that will supposedly 'link' to this one. The Universal Monsters franchise is definitely one that has some potential, and in some ways, was the 'expanded universe' of its day, creating a continuity between its classic films wherein Frankenstein got to meet The Wolf Man. But, I just can’t be sure that a takeoff, like what was given by this film, won’t wind up inevitably giving us another Van Helsing. 

You should never be ashamed for being good at your job, in fact, you should wear it like a badge of honor for all to see. There are so many people that seem to be afraid of showing off their skills to others for fear of being an outcast. Who cares what you are good at, if you are the best at what you do, make sure that everyone knows it, you may find that others have questions for you that could help them out as well. Keep your head raised high and show that you have pride in your work, since this is something that others will take note of and you might find yourself rewarded over time.

With his group of witch hunters being wiped out by The Witch Queen, Kaulder is the only one left to put an end to her reign. Being able to get his sword through her chest, Kaulder knows that victory is within his grasp, but when he steps forth to collect his prize, The Witch Queen has something up her sleeve. Cursing Kaulder to never be able to die, he is pulled from the rubble of the battle and recovers enough to be the last enforcer of the Axe and Cross sect. With years under his belt, Kaulder is the best at what he does when it comes to capturing witches, but as he finds out, that might not be enough as times are changing once again.

Meeting with Dolan the 36th to pass on his latest adventure, Kaulder is saddened that his longtime friend is going to be leaving him after fifty years of service. But with the times changing, Dolan 36 is ready to move on with his life and has briefed his replacement, the 37th, on what needs to be done in the job.  With the passing on ceremony already scheduled, Kaulder gets the worst news imaginable when he hears that Dolan 36 has passed away on the day of his resignation. Believing that there is foul play involved, Kaulder finds clues in his old friend’s apartment that points towards magic being used to bring about his death, but who could be breaking the truce that has stood strong for so many centuries?
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Checking his usual sources, Kaulder is able to locate the witch that killed his friend, but knows that there is much more to the story than he is privy to. As the Witch Council banishes the witch to eternal damnation, Kaulder is able to find out that his friend Dolan 36 is not dead, but under a spell that can only be broken with the killing of the witch that cast it. With clues being left by 36 as to where to look, Kaulder needs to remember something from his past, but when meeting with a witch that can help him obtain this, he is attacked by an old witch, Belial, who wants to stop the hunter from achieving his goals. With the help of his new witch friend Chloe, Kaulder is on the hunt for what happened in his past as he also works to uncover what could be the precursor to an all-out war on humanity that only he can stop.

The first few minutes of this movie made me think that I was going to be watching a pretty drawn out action flick, so thank goodness the story ramped up the longer it played. While I was not blown away by the storyline, I did enjoy the characters. There's Kaulder with all of his past interactions with witches who want to kill him and the addition of Chloe who is a new breed and wants to help. Then there are the Dolans’ who are both great in their own ways, as 36 is trying to help his oldest friend while 37 does not want to get in the way of the Axe and Cross’s new initiative, and it was fun to see how the two stories collided. Now don’t get me wrong, this movie is full of action as well and with Vin Diesel at the helm, you should expect no less, but I cannot get over him playing Groot, so I am picturing a huge tree fighting witches, which would kind of line up with the story as well, since these witches are part of the earth and use trees to boot. With action, dark magic, fire and brimstone, a giant sword, more fire and a witch’s spell that will never die, it really is a story that you should pay attention to, but it won’t lose you if you have other things to do. Happy Viewing. 

There are jobs out there that can put a jump in your step and most of them involve looking for treasure. Finding something old that has been hidden from the world’s eyes for many years can put a different outlook on the way you see the world, in fact, it can make you love your job much more than you already do. As a huge fan of history, I am sure that I could get engrossed in doing this in my spare time, as long as the adventure keeps me on land most of the time. The excitement of finding something that people have been looking for for ages makes me wonder, why is everybody not doing this?

Looking for backers on his newest exploration, Finn has been able to secure funds from the famous rapper Bigg Bunny who demands nothing in return, other than results. Finding a plate off the coast of Bunny’s island, Finn is set adrift since his find will not bring the riches that the Bunny requires, but that is not the only down part of his day as he is supposed to be meeting with his wife and judge for his divorce hearing. Being able to catch a ride back to the mainland, Finn is shocked to see that he has been left with nothing, but sharing his find with his now ex-wife Tess, he has sparked one of the things that the two have always connected on.

The treasure of the Aurelia has been sought for many years since the ship went missing back in 1715, yet nobody has been able to find its riches. With a new clue, Finn knows that he will be able to locate the treasure, but will need help…and money to make the discovery. Hearing that a hundred million dollar man is near his island, Finn follows the wealthy man’s helicopter to try and secure funds for his next search, but has no idea who he is going to run into on the man’s yacht. Seeing Tess working there, Finn knows instantly he has an in and talks Nigel Honeycutt’s ear off about the treasure and a guarantee that it will be found since the now divorced couple is on the case. Agreeing to go along for a little adventure with his daughter Gemma Honeycutt, the yacht sets sail for the island where the treasure is hidden, but the group finds out that they are not the only ones on the hunt.

Famous undersea hunter Moe Fitch has secured the location with his crew and he is looking to uncover all of the Aurelia’s secrets, but there is one problem, the treasure is not where he thinks it is. Getting more clues while drinking on Bunny’s island, Tess and Finn come to the conclusion that the ship had run aground and change their search radius and come up with great results, but no treasure. When searching the beach for artifacts, there is only one more idea that they can come up with and that is to check out the local church that has been standing from the same time period. With old notes being translated, the couple finds out the exact location of the treasure, but Bunny and his goons are hot on their trail and looking to make the find of the century as well.

This might be one of my guilty pleasure movies, not because it is a great movie, but because when it is on, I have a hard time turning the channel. With a fun cast and my love for Donald Sutherland, it seems like everything that can go wrong, does and things still turn out all right. With characters stepping up at the least likely time to help save the day, it is hard to turn away, even when Finn gets hit in the head at every step. It makes me smile and laugh, especially Gemma Honeycutt who seems to be a little dim, but it works for her most of the time and I cannot get enough. With plenty of water, history notes, lost artifacts, the promise of riches and Finn getting the crap kicked out of him, it is a feel good movie that should leave a smile on your face. Happy Viewing.