Maze Runner: The Death Cure


In the epic finale to the Maze Runner saga, Thomas leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all. Anyone who makes it out alive will get answers to the questions the Gladers have been asking since they first arrived in the maze.

This was a pretty disappointing ending to what was a pretty enjoyable franchise.  It was the same problem with the books that it started out so great and got a little more eh with each offering but I think that the final chapter of the movies was actually more disappointing than the final chapter of the books.  They didn't do as good of a job as they could have and the movie was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long.  

I would recommend fans of the others still watch this to get the "closure" of the series but just keep your expectations not too high because it was pretty disappointing.  Anyone who has not watched the others should obviously not bother with this one.

Paddington 2


Paddington 2 continues the story of the enduringly popular little bear in the trademark blue coat and red hat that touched audiences worldwide. The new story finds Paddington (Ben Whishaw) happily settled with the Brown family in Windsor Gardens, where he has become a popular member of the community, spreading joy and marmalade wherever he goes. While searching for the perfect present for his beloved Aunt Lucy's hundredth birthday, Paddington spots a unique pop-up book in Mr. Gruber's antique shop, and embarks upon a series of odd jobs to buy it. But when the book is stolen, it's up to Paddington and the Browns to unmask the thief.

This was a very cute family movie sequel.  It's pretty much more of the same with Paddington making people's hearts warm up - even those of criminals in jail.  The material is mostly for younger kids but it's not terribly painful for the parents taking them because it is a pretty cute and heartwarming movie.

I would recommend that families check this out.  You could definitely do much worse than this for a family trip to the movies.

Den Of Thieves


Den of Thieves is a gritty Los Angeles crime saga which follows the intersecting and often personally connected lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles.

Wow!  This movie was waaaaaaaaaaaay too long.  They took a run of the mill cops and robbers movie with dime a dozen, stereotypical characters and a boring to non-existent story that would be rough for a 90 minute movie and decided to add another 45 minutes to it.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this.  It's a very long and not interesting movie you have pretty much seen ten times over at this point.

Hostiles


Fresh from 2015's gangster film Black Mass, director Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart," "Out of the Furnace") has turned to another venerable American genre, the western, for Hostiles, the raw and compelling tale of an embittered and battle-hardened US Cavalry officer ordered to accompany a Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their tribal lands in Montana. The flinty-eyed Captain Blocker (Christian Bale) has seen more than his fair share of violence and bloodletting on the frontier, but this mission, which he is forced to accept, is a particularly bitter pill to swallow: Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) has been his mortal enemy for years due to a conflict that killed many of Blocker's friends. The Chief has also lost friends in the conflict.  Setting out through dangerous territory, much of it inhabited by hostile tribes, the small band of soldiers and Cheyenne navigate the beautiful prairies and wilds of the west, while facing a series of challenges. Blocker — much like John Wayne's character in the John Ford classic The Searchers — is a racist, a man who harbours a deep hatred towards the former prisoners now placed in his care. As the challenges mount, Blocker is forced to confront his own bigotry while carrying out his orders. To complicate matters, the ragged party is joined by a stricken widow (Rosamund Pike) who has just seen her family massacred in a raid.

This was a really good watch.  I don't understand how this didn't get a wider release or get more attention.  It had the big name actor and was a very well done movie all around.  I guess it just kind of got lost in the shuffle.  Great story.  Great pacing.  Great all around film.

I would definitely recommend that people check this bad boy out.  It really should have gotten more fanfare when being released as far as I'm concerned. 

The Post


Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post's Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers - and their very freedom - to help bring long-buried truths to light.

Never would I have thought that a movie about a newspaper could be this suspenseful and intriguing.  This movie was a pretty intense watch and was paced in such a way that you were sitting on the edge of your seat as it played out.  All of the actors were excellent.  Spielberg's direction was top notch.  They managed to take the kind of material that usually bores the hell out of me and totally hook the audience for an awesome ride.  

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  It's excellent filmmaking and storytelling all around. 

The Commuter


In this action-packed thriller, Liam Neeson plays an insurance salesman, Michael, on his daily commute home, which quickly becomes anything but routine. After being contacted by a mysterious stranger, Michael is forced to uncover the identity of a hidden passenger on his train before the last stop. As he works against the clock to solve the puzzle, he realizes a deadly plan is unfolding and is unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy. One that carries life and death stakes for himself and his fellow passengers.

Most boring action/suspense movie ever.  I get that Taken was a pretty badass movie.  But how did that turn Liam Nesson into a regular action movie star.  I just don't get it.  And this movie was a prime example of it.  Every fight scene was boring as hell.  The movie felt like twice as long as it had to.  I didn't care about anything that was happening or any of the characters.  If I had been watching this online - I never would have made it to the end.  I'm actually shocked I stayed until the end in the theater.  

I wouldn't recommend that anyone bother with this one.  Huge waste of time and boring as hell.

The Greatest Showman


Inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

I very much enjoyed this movie.  The spectacle and cinematography of it all was excellent.  The music was great and made you want to sing and dance along with it several times throughout.  They didn't really develop all the characters too much but I really don't think that they had to.  The movie was more about imagination, expectations,  humanity and perspective than the individual characters.   It was a very enjoyable journey.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  Movies like this are why I love going to movie theaters.  The big hook and journey/music make you really enjoy being there.

Molly's Game


Molly's Game is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.

I don't know that you will find better on screen chemistry between two actors like there was between Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba in this movie.  Every scene with the two of them going back and forth was a shining example of excellent screenwriting and the kind of delivery that can only happen when they have that kind of chemistry.  The back and forth storytelling of this movie only made it all even better.  Again - a testament to the screenwriting because choppy timelines like that can sometimes totally undo a movie.  

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out.  It was a very entertaining watch with great performances and writing.

Proud Mary


Taraji P. Henson is Mary, a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad.

Wow!  This was really bad.  Like really bad.  Zero substance whatsoever.  It was like an hour and 15 minute blah blah session just for one badass car scene with Taraji to the Tina Turner song.  Seriously.  Like that was it.  All forced.  All pointless.  Wow.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this total waste of time.  Although the super short running time was the best part.  This is a shining example of not seeing movies released in January.

All The Money In The World


All the Money in the World follows the kidnapping of 16-year- old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to convince his billionaire grandfather (Christopher Plummer) to pay the ransom. When Getty Sr. refuses, Gail attempts to sway him as her son’s captors become increasingly volatile and brutal. With her son’s life in the balance, Gail and Getty’s advisor (Mark Wahlberg) become unlikely allies in the race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money. 


This was one hell of a twisted "true" story.  There were so many different emotions at play.  The grandfather being obsessed with money.  The mother willing to do anything.  The kid being scared.  Even the kidnappers covered all different kinds of angles of looking at what they were doing.  This was very well told and played from beginning to end with the audience hooked on where it was going.  As for the controversy about this movie - the removal and reshooting of Chrisopher Plummer taking over for Kevin Spacey ended up being awesome because there is no way that Kevin Spacey could have been as good in that role.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was a hell of a story and a very entertaining watch.

Phantom Thread


Set in the glamour of 1950s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love. With his latest film, Paul Thomas Anderson paints an illuminating portrait both of an artist on a creative journey, and the women who keep his world running. 

This is another one of those movies that you know you are watching film making and acting excellence but unless you are really into artsy movies like this - it is the biggest snooze fest that you could possibly see.  I fall into that latter category.  I only saw this because of Daniel Day Lewis (who was really, really great as always) and the fact that it was the only movie nominated for Best Picture I had not seen.  It was boring as hell and I took a nap for a middle chunk of it.  The artsy peeps in the audience seem to love it though so take that for what you will.

I would not recommend anyone outside of extremely artsy film making fans seeing this.  There is no way you will not be bored otherwise.