Dune Part Two

Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

I always found the original to be a little too sci-fi even though I watched it a ton of times as a kid.  I watched the first one at a time where my head was not fully in it and thought it was eh.  I rewatched it last week because of this one coming out and was shocked at how good the movie actually was and enjoyed it a ton more.   This one was even better than that one.  Like credit where its due - when a movie is almost 3 hours long and you wish that they would have given certain aspects more time you have done a great job with this movie.  The cast was awesome.  The action was awesome and the sci-fi rule of taking you fully to that world definitely worked amazingly.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  Especially in theaters.  This is the type of movie that makes going to the movies so enjoyable.

The American Society Of Magical Negroes

A young man gets recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to making white people's lives easier. Although initially enamored with his new powers, he begins to question the value of using supernatural means to do the very thing he's felt obligated to do his whole life.

The concept of this movie was very tongue in cheek and sarcastic and was more than enough of a hook to keep me watching.  Even though it ended up being pretty formula they definitely were able to deliver on the central idea and keep you laughing throughout while at the same time keeping your eyes open to a lot of things.

I would recommend people checking this out.  It is a very smart and fun watch.

Imaginary

When Jessica moves back into her childhood home with her family, her youngest stepdaughter, Alice, finds a stuffed bear named Chauncey. As Alice's behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize that Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be.

This movie was trash.  Hella trash.  Nothing happened for like an hour and 15 minutes.  And then when it did it was like cartoonish and cheesy.   I thought that there would be at least a little something of substance here with how much they had marketed it.  But I was very much wrong.  This is a lock for Bottom 10 movies of the year.

I would not recommend that anyone bother with this movie.  Ever.  It really was god awful.

Mean Girls

New student Cady Heron gets welcomed into the top of the social food chain by an elite group of popular girls called the Plastics, ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George. However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina's ex-boyfriend, she soon finds herself caught in their crosshairs.

Was always a fan of the original movie.  Was a fan of the musical.   So was kind of psyched to see the movie version of the musical for a whole new generation.  Was a little nervous that they went out of their way to not advertise it as a musical but ended up loving the movie.  There were great shout outs to the originals.  The songs from the musical translated really well in the movie.  The new crew of actors were great and seeing it in a sold out nostalgia enjoying audience made it a pretty fun experience.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  It was a very fun watch with some huge laughs.

Ordinary Angels

A struggling hairdresser finds a renewed sense of purpose when she meets a widowed father working hard to care for his two daughters. With his youngest critically ill and waiting for a liver transplant, the fierce woman single-handedly rallies an entire community to help.

This is one of those annual faith above all movies where every heartstring is pulled mercilessly and what not.   These movies are either waaaaaaay too much or actually very enjoyable watches if done right.  This one was done right and I liked it very much even though I knew what a sap fest it would be.  It was done well enough that you get caught up in the story even though you know how it's gonna go.  The two lead actors did a really good job with their parts.

I would recommend anyone who is feeling down and at the end of their rope checking this out.  It could definitely inspire you in one way or another hopefully.

Madame Web

Cassandra Webb is a New York City paramedic who starts to show signs of clairvoyance. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she must protect three young women from a mysterious adversary who wants them dead.

Yuck.  Just yuck.  This was such a pointless turd of a movie in every way.  The script was crap.  The story was crap.  The acting was crap.  Sony's handling of all things Spider-Man not under the control of Marvel is off the charts bad.   Like I'm not even sure that this was like a legit movie.  It was like a really lame set up for something that is clearly never going to happen.  What in God's name was the thought process here?

I would never recommend anyone watching this.  Ever.  You essentially forget about it as you are watching it.

The Beekeeper

One man's brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after it's revealed he's a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers.

The Beekeeper ……… Transporter 32 ……….. Jason Statham 71.   Doesn’t really matter what you call this.  It’s just another Statham movie without The Meg.  Fights for the rights of a victim friend.  Kick kick kick punch punch punch.  Roll credits.  You see it because of the mindless escape and you forget about it twenty minutes later.

If you like his repetitive movies check it out.  It’s more of the same.  If you don’t why would you start now?  

Drive-Away Dolls

In search of a fresh start, two women embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, Fla. However, things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.

The Coen Brothers are one of those directors where the movies are always greatly reviewed and I am left like what the hell did I just watch.   This one was only one of them so I was hoping that the movie would be a little more watchable.  It kind of was.  But it was still a very random and weird movie.  Had some good quirky laughs but a lot of WTF moments.   The best part is that it is incredibly short and wastes no time with any kind of unnecessary build and what not.

I would still not really recommend anyone rushing to see this.  It's not a bad movie but it's honestly not that good either.

Lisa Frankenstein

A misunderstood teenager and a reanimated Victorian corpse embark on a murderous journey together to find love, happiness, and a few missing body parts.

What in the blue hell was this?  I basically watched almost the whole movie asking that question before I snapped out of it and moved on.   There was like a tongue in cheek kind of approach that made me hope a little bit that it would pay off or make it worth watching but that very much did not happen.

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this.  I honestly have no idea why this movie was made and even more questionable is how it got a wide release.

Night Swim

Forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, former baseball player Ray Waller moves into a new house with his wife and two children. He hopes that the backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for himself. However, a dark secret from the home's past soon unleashes a malevolent force that drags the family into the depths of inescapable terror.

This movie was trash.  Complete and total trash.  No scares.  No suspense.  A textbook lame January horror movie that is a waste of 90 minutes.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone bothering with this.  Ever.

The Iron Claw

The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who make history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.

This was a very good and enjoyable biographical drama.  The performances were good (except for the guy playing Ric Flair - that was terrible) and the story was heartbreaking.  My only knock against it would be the pacing was a little off.   Like they spent so much time with you getting to know the characters and then it was one thing after another in rapid fire with the family even though there was a lot of time inbetween the incidents.

I would definitely still recommend people checking this out.  It was one of the better end of year biographical offerings this year.

The Book Of Clarence

A down-on-his-luck man struggles to find a better life for his family while fighting to free himself of debt. Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah, he risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, ultimately discovering that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out.  

Another movie that I really liked the premise of but the pacing and how it played out kind of lost the hook.  It kept going back and forth between being a satirical comedy and a character drama.   This reminded me alot of a bit coming off of the show Atlanta where it might have been too smart for its own good to fully deliver.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie only because of the spiritual satire that I found kind of entertaining.   Otherwise, its not a bad movie but its not great either.

I.S.S.

Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station when a worldwide conflict breaks out on Earth. Soon, the U.S. and Russian astronauts each receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary.

This was actually a really good premise and the movie was actually really good as it started to play out and stuff but it didn't really pay off after that.   The pacing kind of went eh and the hook that they had let up.  Kind of disappointing because it actually had a lot of good supporting actors and actresses in it that you recognize from other shows and movies but have no clue what their name is.

I would lukewarmly recommend this movie.  It's not a bad watch.  They just kind of dropped the ball as the movie went on from a really interesting premise.

Poor Things

Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.

This was a weird weird weird movie.  LOL!   Like next level weird.  The filming style of it, the subject matter, the performances were all off the charts weird.   I'm actually very surprised I was able to make it through this movie but the social commentary throughout really had me hooked and made me want to see how things play out.  It also definitely helped that I love Emma Stone.   I'm pretty sure this movie will be up for a lot of end of year awards but this is about as far from a mainstream movie that you can get.

I would have to know who was asking whether or not to recommend checking this out.  Like I have said it was very arthouse weird but it managed to keep me hooked.

Wish

Young Asha makes a wish so powerful that it's answered by a cosmic force, a little ball of boundless energy called Star. With Star's help, Asha must save her kingdom from King Magnifico and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.

I just didn't like this movie.  I can't really put my finger on it but something about it just annoyed me.  Like the movie didn't really know what it wanted to be and I guess I was expecting something more straight forward Disney princess wise.  The music didn't work and fell very flat.  The characters were all pretty forced and dull.  I was very surprised at how not enjoyable this movie really was.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone checking this movie out.  I thought it was easily one of the lamer Disney entries in a long long time.