A.X.L.

A.X.L. is a top-secret, robotic dog with advanced artificial intelligence created by the military. After an experiment gone wrong, A.X.L. is discovered hiding in the desert by a kind-hearted outsider, (Alex Neustaedter), who finds a way to connect with him after activating his owner-pairing technology. The two develop a special friendship based on trust, loyalty, and compassion. A.X.L. will go to any length to protect his new companion, including facing off against the scientists who created him and who will do anything to get him back. To protect his new best friend from being captured, Miles teams up with a smart, resourceful ally named Sara (Becky G) on a timeless, epic adventure for the whole family.

This movie was just as silly and pointless as the trailer made it out to be.  There was nothing outside of the trailer that you hadn't already seen or could figure out in like five seconds.  The amount of money that gets put into pointless movies like this will never cease to baffle me.  

This movie was a pointless turd and is pretty much out of theaters already after a week.  Rightfully so.  Nobody should really ever bother watching this.

White Boy Rick

Set in 1980s Detroit at the height of the crack epidemic and the War on Drugs, WHITE BOY RICK is based on the moving true story of a blue-collar father and his teenage son, Rick Wershe Jr., who became an undercover police informant and later a drug dealer, before he was abandoned by his handlers and sentenced to life in prison.

This was a very well done and incredibly real feeling movie.  The no-name actors did an excellent job.   Watching all of Rick's stuff spiral out of control was crazy and again all felt very genuine.  Matthew McConaughey did awesome job as his father and was convincing in every way imaginable.  

I would definitely recommend people check this movie out.  Great acting and story telling throughout.

Venom

Tom Hardy, who is said to be a "Venom" fan, will play Eddie Brock, the character who first became Venom. First appearing in the comic book series as an alien costume worn by Spider-Man in Marvel‘s “The Amazing Spider-Man” #252 in 1984, it was several years before the creature left Peter Parker and merged with photographer Eddie Brock, forming the antihero known as Venom.

Wow!  This was awful.  Like truly awful.  I have not been the annoyed by a comic book movie in a long time.  Like worse than DC Comic movies.  This was so horribly done across the board and a total waste of incredibly legit actors.  I was so annoyed at how bad this was that I was basically heckling the screen by the end of it.

I would not recommend anyone bother with this movie.  It really is a total piece of garbage.

The Predator

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe's most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.

This was by far the campiest of all the Predator entries in the franchise so far.  That's not to say that it's bad.  Its just that the team that was fighting against the predator was not your usual top notch team that you are used to.  The effects were still cool.  The action was still cool.  There was a TON of humor added to it.  But it was definitely over the top campy at points which was a weird decision overall.  

I would still recommend people checking this out.  It's a good continuation of the franchise but not what you would expect soldier wise at all.

The House With A Clock In Its Walls

Ten-year-old Lewis goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house that contains a mysterious ticktock noise. When Lewis accidentally awakens the dead, the town's sleepy facade magically springs to life with a secret world of witches and warlocks.

This movie could call itself whatever it wants to.  The bottom line is that it was a Goosebumps movie.  From every possible way - it looked like a Goosebumps movie.  The weird thing was that it was rated PG and definitely seemed like it should have at least been PG-13 based on the creepiness level at several times.

I would recommend people with young teenage kids check this out.  It's not for younger kids and if they are later teenagers they will not really care.  But that 10-14 year old range should definitely like this.

A Simple Favor

A Simple Favor, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily's husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.

This was a really enjoyable watch but confusing at the same time.  Was it a comedy?  Was it a suspense movie?  Was it a drama?  It really hit a couple of different chords and hit all of them really well.   There was a certain lingering level of interest and intensity throughout that really hooked the viewer and kept you wanting more.

I would definitely recommend that people check this one out.  It was a very surprisingly enjoyable watch.

Smallfoot

An animated adventure for all ages, with original music and an all-star cast, “Smallfoot” turns the Bigfoot legend upside down when a bright young Yeti finds something he thought didn’t exist—a human. News of this “smallfoot” brings him fame and a chance with the girl of his dreams. It also throws the simple Yeti community into an uproar over what else might be out there in the big world beyond their snowy village, in a rollicking story about friendship, courage and the joy of discovery.

I had no expectations whatsoever of this movie being this much fun.  It was very cute the way that they covered the communication issues between the two worlds and the music throughout made this feel a hell of a lot like a Disney movie.  The voices were great and the story moved along with great pacing.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  It is a perfect family movie at a very quiet time in theaters.

Peppermint

Peppermint is a revenge story centering on a young mother who finds herself with nothing to lose, and is now going to take from her enemies the very life they stole from her.

This was exactly what you thought it would be from the trailer.  It was entertaining and pretty bad ass at times as long as your could totally suspend reality.   The movie was a little bit long overall but the action was good and Jennifer Garner was more believable than I thought she would be.  

I would recommend people checking this out.  Its basically female Taken and an enjoyable watch.  No rush but it's pretty good.

The Equalizer 2

Denzel Washington returns to one of his signature roles in the first sequel of his career. Robert McCall serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed - but how far will he go when that is someone he loves?

The parts of this movie that you want to see (the "equalizing" if you will) are very enjoyable and great.  The problem is that there is ALOT of this movie where he is not getting revenge on the scum of the earth.  Those parts drag to no end and really weigh this movie down.  If this was a 90 minute movie or less I would have loved it.  Two hours and 10 minutes?  No need for that at all!

I wouldn't really recommend people bothering with this.  It's a sequel that really did not need to be made and should have been majorly shorter and to the point than it was.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.

Wow!  This movie was awesome.  As if the usual twists and turns were not entertaining enough - the action in this one went to a whole other level.  This might honestly have been the most enjoyable of the six movie franchise to date and that says A LOT!  Cruise was great.  The returning cast was great.  The new additions were great - especially Henry Cavill who was such an awesome badass opposite of Cruise.  

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  This is easily one of the best movies of the summer and possibly one of the best movies of the year honestly.

The Nun

When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in “The Conjuring 2,” as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned. 

This movie was not as overall scary/creepy story wise like The Conjuring movies were.  This was much more about the jump scares than those though.  Creepy sounds.  Creepy visuals.  Lots of watching from behind your hands in this one.   I definitely enjoyed it but not as much as the others in the franchise.

I would still recommend people checking this out.  Just don't expect such a well done story.  This is just straight up about the scares.

The Happytime Murders

No Sesame. All Street. The Happytime Murders is a filthy comedy set in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles where puppets and humans coexist. Two clashing detectives with a shared secret, one human (Melissa McCarthy) and one puppet, are forced to work together again to solve the brutal murders of the former cast of a beloved classic puppet television show.

Honestly, this was a very stupid movie.  That being said - there were enough aight gags and laughs that I was more than able to enjoy it even though it was so stupid.  Melissa McCarthy mixed in with the completely vulgar muppet stuff killed me at times.  I definitely expected it to be worse than it was so that might have helped it but the laughs were worth it and the movie was kept to a short running time.

Would I recommend this based on it being a great movie?  Absolutely not.  Were there enough laughs in 90 minutes though to watch it?  Absolutely yes.

Operation Finale

Fifteen years after the end of World War II, Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad and security agency Shin Bet – led by the tireless and heroic agent Peter Malkin (Isaac) - launched a daring top-secret raid to capture the notorious Eichmann (Kingsley), who had been reported dead in the chaos following Nazi Germany’s collapse but was, in fact, living and working in a suburb of Buenos Aires, Argentina under an assumed identity along with his wife and two sons. Monitoring his daily routine, Malkin and his operatives plot and execute the abduction under the cover of darkness just a few feet from Eichmann’s home. Determined to sneak him out of Argentina to stand trial in Israel, Malkin and Eichmann engage in an intense and gripping game of cat-and-mouse.

This was a surprisingly well done under the radar movie.  They did a great job with "taking you there" and making you feel like you were in that time.  They did a great job with the escalating tension of if they would complete the mission or not.  They did a great job with the team struggling with its emotions while performing said mission.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  Pretty solid cast and well told story from beginning to end.