By Debbie Schlussel

One semi-decent, but very violent adult movie among the new offerings at movie theaters, this weekend:

* “Mad Max: Fury Road“: This is a sequel/reboot of the previous “Mad Max” movies, and it’s from the same guy, George Miller. I had mixed feelings about the movie, but liked it more than not, since it is a stark fight between good and evil, and depicts the uprising/rebellion on behalf of the enslaved who wish to be free of an evil warlord. However, it’s very violent, a little lewd (with some semi-nudity), and definitely not for kids (or older adults who are not the target demo). I expected to hate this and be bored to death, but it was better than I expected. Not a great movie, but entertaining and non-stop action. The movie does try a little too hard to be avant-garde and campy, in that there are people with weird and unusual deformities, amputations, body pierces and so on. It has a “300” (read my review) kind of vibe to it, and if you liked that, you’ll probably like this.

If you’re over 50 and not a previous fan of “Mad Max” movies, you probably won’t like this, so you were forewarned. Don’t complain and blame me if you go see it and don’t like it. You probably know what Mad Max movies are about and whether or not this is for you. I saw this in 3D, and while there were a few cool 3D effects, you’d be fine seeing it in 2D and saving the extra bucks.

In this latest installment, Tom Hardy is in the Mel Gibson role of “Mad Max” Rockatansky and Communist-Cuba-and-Sean-Penn-lovin’ Charlize Theron is the female lead, Furiosa. Max is the leader of a small ragtag clan of warriors in the post-apocalyptic desert. He’s captured by the warriors of a major warlord, who is evil and enslaves, impoverishes, and kills the masses. The warlord has all of the water and greenery at his fortress in a world now dominated by desert and death. Max’s wife and daughter have been killed, and he is haunted by visions and imagined whispers and crying from their ghosts. Furiosa is one of the evil warlord’s enslaved soldiers. She goes rogue by escaping the warlord’s fortress with the beautiful waify women the warlord has impregnated, so that their children can be free. When the warlord and his men chase after Furiosa and the women, they take their prisoner, Max, with them, and he eventually escapes amid a great storm. Then, he and Furiosa join forces, trying to fight off the warlord, his warriors, and gangs around the desert. Max, Furiosa, and the pregnant women are seeking to “the green place,” an allegedly lush place with water and crops.

As I said, the movie is entertaining and full of non-stop action and stunts. It’s not the greatest movie. It’s just okay. But it was much better than I expected. And the righteous fights for freedom and against evil are always good and something that has become more and more of a rarity coming out of Hollywood. Also, it’s always good when the lead isn’t played by a Jew-hater like Mel Gibson. Mel, you’ve been amply replaced and then some.

ONE-AND-A-HALF REAGANS

Watch the trailer . . .

* “Pitch Perfect 2“: I like actress Anna Kendrick, who stars in this. But I wasn’t a big fan of the first “Pitch Perfect” (read my review), and this one makes that look like a masterpiece. The bathroom humor and sexually charged jokes aren’t funny. They’re dumb and dopey, just like the storyline and characters. I laughed maybe three times. Unless you think idiotic dialogue like, “I took my mother’s last name of ‘Junk’ because my father’s last name is ‘Hard-on,'” is funny, you won’t laugh either. Also we are expected to laugh at Rebel Wilson’s utterance of dumb straight-man lines merely because she is morbidly obese. “Hello, I’m a fat chick, now laugh” is not comedy.

You know a movie is bad when it relies on cameos by ABC News’ Robin Roberts, Snoop Dogg, and the Green Bay Packers. Sorry, Clay Matthews (and your hair). This is a movie that only nitwits could enjoy. It’s an IQ test for America. If you like this, you failed, and you’ll forever enjoy watching an endless loop of Kardashian shows. There is one redeeming thing in this movie, and that is the a cappella group singing. But even that is subpar, especially compared to the singing in the first “Pitch Perfect,” where it was far superior.

The story: an all-female a cappella group has had an embarrassing episode in which the fat chick’s pants split open on stage (and she wasn’t wearing underwear), all while performing in front of Barack and Michelle Obama (and, yes, the miserable Obamas grace the movie screen). The group, “The Bellas,” is threatened with being disbanded unless they can regain respect by winning an international a cappella competition against a more skilled German group. Yeah, I know, it sounds thrilling!

Stupid, silly, and an utter waste of time.

TWO MARXES

Watch the trailer . . .

Remember, you can always hear my movie reviews live, first thing every Friday morning on “The Mike Church Show” on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125 after 7:05 am Eastern, on “The Pat Campbell Show” on KFAQ 1170 AM Tulsa at 7:35 am Eastern, and on “The James Show,” on KWTX 1230 AM at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. I do my movie reviews on all three shows, as well as some discussion of current political issues and pop culture topics.