The Possession Of Hannah Grace

A shocking exorcism spirals out of control, claiming the life of a young woman. Months later, Megan Reed (Shay Mitchell) is working the graveyard shift in the morgue when she takes delivery of a disfigured cadaver. Locked alone inside the basement corridors, Megan begins to experience horrifying visions and starts to suspect that the body may be possessed by a ruthless demonic force.

Wow!  What a giant piece of crap this was.  Like for real.  How was this even a legit movie that got a wide release?  I tried to push through all of it but after not giving a rats ass what was happening for the first two-thirds of it I just couldn't anymore.  This was downright awful.

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this movie.  Ever.  Total waste of time.

A Star Is Born

Cooper plays Jackson Maine, a country music star who is on the brink of decline when he discovers a talented unknown named Ally (Germanotta). As the two begin a passionate love affair, Jack coaxes Ally into the spotlight, catapulting her to stardom. But as Ally’s career quickly eclipses his own, Jack finds it increasingly hard to handle his fading glory.

Words do no justice to how much I loved this movie.  This is easily the best movie of this year for me and I don't see anything topping it.  The chemistry between these two is the greatest on screen chemistry I've ever seen in a love movie.  The talent that both of them showed on every level - acting, singing, directing, song writing - was on a whole other level.  And the music?  I've never seen music used so amazingly in a movie that was not a full blown musical.  I will be listening to this soundtrack forever thinking back on how much I enjoyed the movie.  And getting back to the directing done by Bradley Cooper.  Wow!!!  Just wow!!!  He did such an incredible job with camera angle usage and foreshadowing in what was such an amazing love story.

I couldn't possibly recommend people checking this movie out more.  It is legit from every possible way and an absolute must see.

Robin Hood

A war-hardened Crusader and a Moorish commander mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown in a thrilling action-adventure. Packed with gritty battlefield exploits, mind-blowing fight choreography, and a timeless romance, "Robin Hood" is a never before seen story of how Robin Hood became the icon and legend as we know him today.

I kind of liked this movie.  It was simple action but still good.  The cast was solid all around.  I really do like Taron Edgerton a lot.  The story moved along fast enough.  Can't really complain about this one.

I would recommend people checking this bad boy out.  It was definitely an enjoyable watch and a good take on the very often redone story.

Overlord

On the eve of D-Day, a group of American paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines to carry out a mission crucial to the invasion’s success. But as they approach their target, they begin to realize there is more going on in this Nazi-occupied village than a simple military operation.

This was an incredibly random movie but somewhat watchable for what it was.   There was good action and grizzly effects for what ended up kind of being a horror movie as it went on.  Started off as a war movie but then got isolated to one crazy house with weird stuff happening there.

I would kind of recommend people checking this out.  It really is tough to call though because the movie touched upon so many different genres that would ultimately detect if someone would like this or not.

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Melissa McCarthy stars in the adaptation of the memoir Can You Ever Forgive Me?, the true story of best-selling celebrity biographer (and friend to cats) Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) who made her living in the 1970’s and 80’s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend Jack (Richard E. Grant).

This is one of those movies where you know the movie is well done and the acting is really good but there was literally no hook fully keeping me interested in it.  Like I watched the whole thing.  Didn't want to pull the plug because it was bad.   But it was really just there without that hook.  Which is incredibly unfortunate because I love Melissa McCarthy and the story was really good.  I just don't know what it was.   It was definitely missing the emotional or attention hook.

I wouldn't really recommend people bothering with this.   It was just one of those "kind of there" movies.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury's lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. In the process, cementing the legacy of a band that were always more like a family, and who continue to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

Rami Malek deserves the academy award for his performance of Freddie Mercury.  He was amazing across the board.   The music was awesome and the explanation behind a lot of the songs and the development of them was very well done.  However, the movie was pretty much a fluff piece on the band and you could tell that they were holding back big time.  Not that the movie was bad.  It just was way to "prettied up" overall.

I would still recommend people checking this movie out because it was a very enjoyable watch.  But if you are looking for something of more substance than an excellent lead actor performance this is not that movie.

Nobody's Fool

Trying to get back on her feet, wild child Tanya (Tiffany Haddish) looks to her buttoned-up, by the book sister Danica (Tika Sumpter) to help her get back on track. As these polar opposites collide with hilarious and sometimes disastrous results, Tanya discovers that Danica’s picture-perfect life including her mysterious boyfriend may not be what it seems.

This is one of those movies where anything funny (and pretty much all of Tiffany Haddish) was in the trailer.  The rest of the movie was predictable as hell, had no laughs and had next to zero emotional hook in the characters it really focused on.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this.  It was pretty much a waste of time and a waste of Tiffany Haddish.

The Grinch

The Grinch tells the story of a cynical grump who goes on a mission to steal Christmas, only to have his heart changed by a young girl's generous holiday spirit. Funny, heartwarming and visually stunning, it's a universal story about the spirit of Christmas and the indomitable power of optimism.

This was another very enjoyable version of the classic story.  I thought that the animation was great and loved the voice cast.  There really isn't much else to say about the movie though because it really is just the same movie that you have seen several versions of already.  There was really nothing different as far as I could tell.

I would still recommend this for the family movie venture.  It's a great holiday watch for the whole family.

Widows

From Academy Award®-winning director Steve McQueen ("12 Years a Slave") and co-writer and bestselling author Gillian Flynn ("Gone Girl") comes a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. "Widows" is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms. "Widows" also stars Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry.

I had pretty high hopes for this movie considering the cast and the people involved behind the scenes.  But the movie massively failed to meet those.  This was not necessarily a bad movie.  But it also definitely was not good either.  It ended up just kind of being there.  It's not awful to watch but you forget about it 5 minutes after you watch it.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone bothering with this.  Definitely not in theaters.  It's not worth the time and money.

The Girl In The Spider's Web

The Girl in the Spider’s Web will be the first in the best-selling series to be produced into an English-language film in its initial adaptation. The previous books in the series have been adapted into Swedish-language films, and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was a remake of the Swedish film. It became a global hit for Columbia Pictures, taking in over $230 million worldwide.

I was a huge fan of the original Swedish trilogy and loved the books.  I even really enjoyed the American version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and hated that they didn't make the rest of that trilogy.  I actually never got around to reading the book that this one is based on but was still excited to see the character back on the screen.  That being said - I was pretty disappointed with this movie.  It wasn't necessarily bad but it was definitely subpar to the edginess of all previous offerings.  Claire Foy did a pretty good job in the title character role but everything else around her was just kind of there.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone bothering with this one.  It was definitely a really disappointing entry in the franchise.

The Nutcracker And The Four Realms

All Clara (Mackenzie Foy) wants is a key – a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother. A golden thread, presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer’s (Morgan Freeman) annual holiday party, leads her to the coveted key—which promptly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. It’s there that Clara encounters a soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), a gang of mice and the regents who preside over three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers and Land of Sweets. Clara and Phillip must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), to retrieve Clara’s key and hopefully return harmony to the unstable world.

This was a somewhat decent watch I guess.  It really was just an overdone production though.  That's what all effort/budget was put into.  The story and acting didn't matter.  It was just the over the top cinematography and scenery.

I would not really recommend anyone rushing to see this.  Pretty sure that if you wanted to see it you already would have.

First Man

Based on the authorized biography "First Man: A Life Of Neil A. Armstrong" by James Hansen. NASA historian James R. Hansen got rare direct access to Armstrong, a test pilot-turned-astronaut who was so driven to reach the moon and play the role of American hero that he became known as "the Ice Commander." Armstrong had a family tragedy before Apollo that turned him into this driven astronaut, and he became such a perfect hero that while Buzz Aldrin was announced to be the first man on the moon, NASA reversed its decision because Neil was regarded as more heroic. Armstrong returned from the moon as one of the most famous men on Earth but didn't capitalize on it with a political career or endorsements. He reconnected with his family, shut out the world and became an intensely private man.

This was an incredibly well done movie.  The direction was great.   Everything felt off the charts real and genuine.  Such an amazing amount of detail clearly went into all of this.  The acting was also top notch and the story was clearly interesting.  The movie was definitely on the too long side though and could have been scaled back a bit.  And in all honesty - there were definitely long stretches of the movie where I could see people feeling like it was a bit of a snoozefest but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  It is a very great movie and will surely be nominated for a ton of awards later this year.

Johnny English Strikes Again

Johnny English Strikes Again is the third installment of the Johnny English comedy series, with Rowan Atkinson returning as the much loved accidental secret agent. The new adventure begins when a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all active undercover agents in Britain, leaving Johnny English as the Secret Service’s last hope. Called out of retirement, English dives head first into action with the mission to find the mastermind hacker. As a man with few skills and analogue methods, Johnny English must overcome the challenges of modern technology to make this mission a success.

All I can really say is how is this a franchise?  I literally watched this and immediately forgot about it five minutes later.  Legit.  Don't remember a damn thing from it besides saying over and over again "how is this a three movie franchise?"

I wouldn't recommend anyone bother with this.  It really is a waste of time.

Halloween

Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. Greer would play Karen Strode, the daughter of Curtis’ character.

I wish that all reboots or way after the fact sequels or whatever you want to call them were this good.  This is easily the best Halloween movie after the original two . . . . . . although it technically doesn't even acknowledge Halloween II.  LOL!!!   That was the weirdest part of the whole thing is that it literally is erasing the last 40 years and 10 movies from the franchise.  But honestly - you get over that real quick as you watching because this is the EXACT movie that you want.  No over the top stuff - just crazy psycho killer back and on the warpath.  Lots of creepiness.  Lots of those uncomfortable laughs.  EXACTLY what made these kinds of movies great in the first place.  

I would absolutely recommend that horror fans check this out.  It was great addition to the franchise . . . . . again - even if it technically wiped out the whole franchise in the process.

Night School

Star Kevin Hart and producer Will Packer, who partnered for the hit "Ride Along" and "Think Like a Man" series, bring their signature style to Night School. Based on a story by Hart, the comedy from director Malcolm D. Lee ("Girls Trip") follows a group of misfits who are forced to attend adult classes in the longshot chance they'll pass the GED exam.

I was worried that this would be one of those movies where the trailer showed all the funny parts.  I was happily wrong.  There were tons of laughs throughout this movie and while the two leads delivered plenty of them, it was the supporting cast that really delivered some of the best stuff.  They kept everything fresh enough that the movie never dragged or fell flat like I kind of expected it to.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It has plenty of laughs throughout and is well worth the time and money.