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.

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.