Because I was on vacation for the past few weeks, I did not get a chance to write about Dolphin Tale 2, which opened last week.
The reason I wanted to write about it was my family and I got a chance to visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) in Florida where the stars of the movie reside. We were, of course, there to visit the theme parks but Clearwater is in the Tampa Bay area and is only an hour-and-a-half from Orlando and we did not want to pass up the opportunity to visit dolphins Winter and Hope.
Although there are fictional elements added to the movie, the overall incredible story of both of them, and CMA in general, comes through in the movies and is made even more impactful after visiting the actual aquarium.
Keep in mind that CMA is a rescue and rehabilitation facility and they only keep animals there that they cannot release into the wild. If you are visiting Florida, plan to make a trip to Clearwater to not only the aquarium but also the incredible beach and Pier 60. If you cannot make it to Florida, do yourself a favour and see the movies.
Opening this week are three new movies. The Maze Runner is yet another movie based upon a young adult novel which promises to become another successful franchise. Described as a cross between The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies it is set in a dystopian future in which a young man and a group of other boys are placed in a maze without any memory of the outside world. Only by piecing together their former lives can they escape the maze.
This is Where I Leave You is a comedy about four grown siblings who are forced to return to their childhood home and put their dysfunction aside for a week to attend their father’s funeral. Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda and Rose Byrne are part of the ensemble cast that should initially bring in audiences but positive word-of-mouth could make this adult comedy a minor hit and a maybe even a cult classic.
Continuing his second career as an action star, Liam Neeson stars in A Walk Among Tombstones in which he plays an ex-cop who now works as an unlicensed private investigator who works just outside the law. When he reluctantly agrees to help a heroin dealer hunt down the men who kidnapped and brutally killed his wife, the PI finds out the perpetrators have done this before and will likely do it again.
