Pete's Dragon

A reimagining of the 1977 Disney classic, Pete’s Dragon will blend live action and CGI to tell the story of the special bond between an orphaned boy, Pete, and his best friend, Elliott, who just happens to be a dragon. 

The original Pete's Dragon was one of my favorite movies growing up.  I used to watch it over and over again at my grandmother's house.  I was a little worried about them messing the movie up by reimagining it.  Thankfully, I was dead wrong.  This movie was an awesome family film.  It was the type of movie that made me fall in love with movies way back in the day.  Sure it was cute and fluffy at times but it was all about imagination and love.  I laughed, I cried, and I connected several aspects of the boy's adventure to moments throughout my life.

I would absolutely recommend people check this movie out.  This is especially true for families looking for a great all around movie going experience.  

Don't Breathe

A group of friends break into the house of a wealthy blind man, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect heist. They’re wrong.

See how simple that synopsis was?   That's easily what made this movie so great.  It had a short running time, didn't waste time with over development, and jumped right into the creepiness and thrills.  The movie was very enjoyable and had you sitting on the edge of your seat plenty of times.  Just when you think the movie is going to get a little played out, it switches gears and gets you hooked for the second part of the story.   

I would definitely recommend this movie to thriller fans.  Its short, well directed and paced in a way that keeps you hooked and makes you jump plenty of times.  

The Wild Life

From the over-exuberant parrot Tuesday to the snack-obsessed tapir Rosie, from the persnickety echidna Epi to the acrobatic pangolin Pango, from the ditzy goat Scrubby to the commonsensical kingfisher Kiki and the always-cool chameleon Carmello, things are larger-than-life on a tropical isle that is pure wild animal paradise. Then Robinson Crusoe, a marooned human, arrives in the midst of a furious storm, and their lives are forever changed by this bewildering new “creature.” No matter their differences, castaway human and quirky animals embark on an hilarious new adventure, building the island’s first tree-house and surviving together. But when two conniving members of the animal kingdom — the savage cats Mal & May – pounce into a battle for control of the island, Crusoe and his animal posse must uncover the true power of friendship against all odds (even savage cats).

This movie was eh.  It was kind of watchable but there really was not the necessary hook that comes with most animated movies today.  The characters had moments but there were none that really carried the movie.   It almost felt like the animators kind of mailed it in on this one.  

I wouldn't really recommend people checking this out.  It's just kind of there and is one of those blatant money grabs by it being released when there really are not any other options out there for kids or families.

War Dogs

War Dogs follows two friends in their early 20s (Hill and Teller) living in Miami Beach during the Iraq War who exploit a little-known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on U.S. Military contracts. Starting small, they begin raking in big money and are living the high life. But the pair gets in over their heads when they land a 300 million dollar deal to arm the Afghan Military—a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people, not the least of which turns out to be the U.S. Government.

This was a great movie due to the awesome chemistry between Miles Teller and Jonah Hill. I actually think this was one of Jonah Hill's better overall performances.  The story was paced perfectly and was given the proper time to develop.  You get really hooked by the friendship and it was a perfect balance between Teller's WTF type of reaction to everything and Jonah Hill's nothing to worry about reaction.  Even though it really was a drama movie due to the subject matter and Jonah Hill's character development, there were a ton of laughs throughout.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was a great watch and very surprising to find such a great movie in theaters in late August.

Kubo And The Two Strings

Kubo and the Two Strings is an epic action-adventure set in a fantastical Japan from acclaimed animation studio LAIKA. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato, Hashi and Kamekichi. But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey and Beetle, and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen - a magical musical instrument - Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King and the evil twin Sisters to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and fulfill his heroic destiny.

This was an awesome movie.  It's not your normal animated movie for kids because the subject matter will probably go flying over their heads.  But the animation was amazing and kept getting better as the movie went on.  And the story of the boy and his parents and finding out about your ancestors and history was great.  

I loved this movie and would definitely recommend people checking it out but it really is not a mainstream movie in any way.  Kids won't necessarily like it because it is a pretty deep story overall but it was incredibly well done and told.

Mechanic: Resurrection

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) returns as the Mechanic in the sequel to the 2011 action thriller. When the deceitful actions of a cunning but beautiful woman (Jessica Alba) force him to return to the life he left behind, Bishop's life is once again in danger as he has to complete an impossible list of assassinations of the most dangerous men in the world.

Pretty much your standard Jason Statham entry.  Lots of action.  Good pacing.  No reason to bother with overdevelopment of story or characters.  Some of the stunts and the inventive ways of him taking out the opposition were crazy and really hooked you a little more than just the usual hand to hand combat movies he churns out.

If you are a fan of Statham movies, you will like this one.  Like I said - not much substance just more of the usual stuff from him.  If that's your thing - check it out.  If not - definitely pass.

Finding Dory

Finding Dory reunites Dory with friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale?

I was afraid of Pixar giving this the mailing it in treatment of Cars 2 as opposed to the Toy Story sequels and Monsters Inc prequel.  Happily - that was not the case.  While the move was nowhere near the greatness of Finding Nemo, it was still a great ride with lots of laughs, emotions and new characters.  This one definitely felt more forced when compared to the natural progression of Finding Nemo but the story was still good and the pacing was great.  As with all Pixar movies, the film was just as enjoyable for the adults as it was for the kids that take them.

I would absolutely recommend this movie to everyone.  It's a great ride with characters you are used to and flawlessly introduced new ones.

Sausage Party

Sausage Party is a raunchy animated movie about one sausage's quest to discover the truth about his existence. After falling out of a shopping cart, our hero sausage and his new friends embark on a perilous journey through the supermarket to get back to their aisles before the 4th of July sale.

The movie had several moments of absolute hilarity that had the whole audience laughing.  The innuendos and references made were so well written and off the charts funny.   But there were definitely times where I would have probably preferred the innuendos as opposed to them actually showing some stuff.  At one point there was like an actual food orgy and it was weird as hell to watch.  The movie was definitely raunchy as hell but like I said so damn funny at times.  The only movie that I can compare this to with its laughs and wtf moments of what you were actually watching was Team America.

I would recommend people checking this out if they are interested in some big laughs and total raunchiness is not a turn off for them.  Otherwise you should absolutely not see this.  And parents of young teenagers be warned - this is absolutely a R rated movie that you don't want your kids to see or for you to foolishly go with them to see it.

Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond, the highly-anticipated next installment in the globally popular Star Trek franchise, created by Gene Roddenberry and reintroduced by J.J. Abrams in 2009, returns with director Justin Lin (The Fast and the Furious franchise) at the helm of this epic voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her intrepid crew. In "Beyond," the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

I was never a huge fan of Star Trek growing up.  Star Wars was pretty much my religion.  I never watched any of the Star Trek shows but did see the movies.  They were not bad but they just always seemed too sci-fi for my tastes.  When JJ Abrams reintroduced Star Trek to movie theaters a few years back with a great, young cast he made me a fan.  I have enjoyed both films that he did and I enjoyed this one alot too.  It had a lot of great actions, great laughs with characters bickering and great visuals throughout - especially the space attack scenes that looked amazing.  It was very well paced and was an enjoyable ride overall.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was a very fun movie and I continue to be surprised that I can refer to myself as a Star Trek fan now.

Bad Moms

In this new comedy from the grateful husbands and devoted fathers who wrote The Hangover, Amy has a seemingly perfect life - a great marriage, over-achieving kids, beautiful home and a career. However she's over-worked, over-committed and exhausted to the point that she's about to snap.  Fed up, she joins forces with two other over-stressed moms on a quest to liberate themselves from conventional responsibilities – going on a wild, un-mom-like binge of long overdue freedom, fun and self-indulgence – putting them on a collision course with PTA Queen Bee Gwendolyn and her clique of devoted perfect moms.

This movie was hilarious with a heart.  The mom stuff was great and very touching at times but the laughs were off the charts.  The three leads really played their parts to perfection and their chemistry was perfect.  That being said - Kathryn Hahn stole the show.  She was as hilarious of a supporting character in this as Will Ferrell was in Old School and Zach Gallifinakis in The Hangover.  She really was that damn funny.

If you are looking for laughs I absolutely recommend this movie.  It's pretty raunchy at times but really was hilarious.

Lights Out

From producer James Wan (The Conjuring) comes a tale of an unknown terror that lurks in the dark. When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger…once the lights go out.

The trailers for this movie were terrifying so I was expecting to pretty much crap myself from this movie.  There definitely were plenty of scary moments.but not as much as I expected.  That's not to say the movie was no good.  It definitely was.  I'm just saying it could have been even scarier.  The good thing though was how simple the story was and how short the running time was.  They didn't waste any time and they didn't have a whole convoluted story.  Always a fan of that.

I would absolutely recommend that fans of horror movies check this out.  It was a great watch but was not as scary as I had thought it would be based on the trailers.

Nerve

Industrious high school senior, Vee Delmonico [Emma Roberts], has had it with living life on the sidelines. When pressured by friends to join the popular online game Nerve, Vee decides to sign up for just one dare in what seems like harmless fun. But as she finds herself caught up in the thrill of the adrenaline-fueled competition partnered with a mysterious stranger [Dave Franco], the game begins to take a sinister turn with increasingly dangerous acts, leading her into a high stakes finale that will determine her entire future.​

This was a decent movie.  It really puts into perspective how screwed up the YouTube generation really is that this could be a legit game/app that would be a HUGE success with everyone's addiction to their five minutes of fame.  The chemistry between the leads was definitely there making the movie watchable for the appreciated short running time.

The movie was a decent watch like I said but I don't know that I would necessarily recommend it.  Watchable doesn't really make it worth time and money.

Alice Through The Looking Glass

Alice Through the Looking Glass reunites the all-star cast from the worldwide blockbuster phenomenon, including: Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska and Helena Bonham Carter along with the voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall. We are also introduced to several new characters: Zanik Hightopp (Rhys Ifans), the Mad Hatter’s father and Time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen), a peculiar creature who is part human, part clock.  Alice Kingsleigh (Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following in her father’s footsteps and sailing the high seas. Upon her return to London, she comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland and her friends the White Rabbit (Sheen), Absolem (Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Fry) and the Mad Hatter (Depp), who is not himself. The Hatter has lost his Muchness, so Mirana (Hathaway) sends Alice on a quest to borrow the Chronosphere, a metallic globe inside the chamber of the Grand Clock which powers all time. Returning to the past, she comes across friends – and enemies – at different points in their lives, and embarks on a perilous race to save the Hatter before time runs out.


This movie was very much like the first one.  All scenery but not a lot of substance.  Visually the movie was just as great as the first one, but there just fails to be a big enough hook for you to care.  It feels very much like an unnecessary and forced sequel.   I thought the first one was decent but this one would be just okay or maybe even worse.  It's funny that Alice In Wonderland is the movie that started Disney turning all their animated classics into live action movies but the two Alice movies are probably the worst ones.

I would not recommend people bothering with this movie.  It's really not worth the time or money.  It's sad to see how far Johnny Depp has fallen.

Independence Day: Resurgence

We always knew they were coming back. After Independence Day redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global spectacle on an unimaginable scale. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.

Wow!  This movie was off the charts awful.  Like I expected garbage but what I got was like hot steaming garbage that was covered in a massive layer or poop.  It was literally that bad.  I loved Independence Day.  I remember seeing that and it feeling like an event.  You couldn't help but get hooked and enjoy the crazy ride.  This sequel to that is downright insulting and should never have been made.  It had nothing in it that made the first movie awesome except for the pointless returning characters.  But even they were awful because they were just there and pushed on you.  If they were trying to hook the next generation of viewers, those viewers have no idea who these characters are or why what they are saying should be considered funny.  The new characters were even more forced.  Will Smith said no to the movie (Side note - probably should have pulled the plug on this right then and there) so you kill his character off in memorial and have his son be a fighter pilot now?  UGH!!!   A huge part of what made Independence Day a successful movie was because it was us (current world society) verses them.  This movie took place 20 years later - which would make it the current time period we are in but the world had made much more sci-fi related advances and we were fighting them with their technology.  This pretty much caused an immediate disconnect with the audience that was the root of the first one's event feel.  And the ending?  All I will say is that the main action scene at the end was a huge mother alien chasing a school bus full of kids.  Yes.  You read that right.  That was the finale chase.  School bus vs alien.  

I would only recommend people seeing this to take in how god awful it was.  It is easily the worst movie of the year so far and will go down as one of the sequels that absolutely should never have been made.   

Ghostbusters

Thirty years after the original film took the world by storm, Ghostbusters is back and fully rebooted for a new generation. Director Paul Feig combines all the paranormal fighting elements that made the original franchise so beloved with a cast of new characters, played by the funniest actors working today. Get ready to watch them save the world this summer!

It goes without saying that this movie was probably the most scrutinized in advance movie of all time.  Any time that you are "rebooting" one of the most beloved movies of all time you are going to go through that.  Ghostbusters is probably one of my favorite movies of all time and I was beyond skeptical about them being able to pull this off.  I was fine with the all woman cast and I'm actually a huge Melissa McCarthy fan and love Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones on SNL too.  I've never been a big fan of Kristen Wiig so that was lowering my expectations for this alot too.  Regardless - all of the knocking of the movie in advance ended up being wrong as this movie was actually good.  Not great - but good.  It didn't destroy the movie or whatever that they were all women.  I was fine with that.  My only real complaint was that Melissa McCarthy was kind of wasted by playing the straight character.  She could have delivered much bigger laughs in the Bill Murray-ish part as opposed to the Dan Aakroyd one.  And Kristen Wiig was the exact disappointment that I expected.  It was like they both played the Dan Aakroyd part honestly.  Kate McKinnon was easily the best part of the movie and stole every scene she was in.  Leslie Jones was good.  The cameos were all good.  Again - the movie was good.  Not great - but good.  And the bottom line is that this movie is more for the next generation not ours.  My niece who is 10 years old saw this movie with us and watching her reaction to it all was exactly how I remembered reacting to the original one.  She was crazy scared at the ghost like parts but loved the movie overall and was talking so excitedly about it.  That is what Ghostbusters is all about.

Pretty sure that most people are going to see this regardless of my review.  It was a good watch.  The knocking of it ended up being unwarranted.  The women were funny.   It could have been better but it was still enjoyable and the new generation will undoubtedly love this movie.