Split

Split 

Rating 6.5 out of 10

I found this movie rather interesting from the previews.  Was on the fence whether I wanted to see it or not.  The fact that it was written and directed by M. Night Shymalan pushed me over the edge.  His first movie (The Sixth Sense) is one of my all time favorites and I keep hoping he will come close to replicating that magic.  This is a good movie although nothing like Sixth Sense.

The movie is pretty cut and dry from the trailers.  Three teenage girls get kidnapped from a mall parking lot.  When they wake up they are in some sort of basement dungeon.  A very strange man is there holding the key.  Quickly we realize this strange guy has several different personalities.  One more creepy than the next.  Mixed in the story is the mans relationship with his psychiatrist as she tries to figure this guy out.

James McAvoy gives an award winning performance as the guy with many personalities.  I'm kinda surprised they released this movie in early January.  Too late for a possible Oscar nod and so early in 2017 that the movie will be forgotten by next years nominations.

I was entertained although I would never want to see it again.  The theme of the movie along with an (unseen) child abuse would make a second viewing tough.

XXX: Return of Xander Cage

XXX: Return of Xander Cage

Rating 6 out of 10

Xander Cage is back!  I'm sure there were plenty wondering where he went.  It's been fifteen years since Mr. Cage went undercover to defeat some evil Russians intent on blowing up several major cities.  I saw the movie but don't remember what happened to him at the end of the movie.  I know that Vin Diesel went off to make other movies and later Ice Cube had a less than successful try at the franchise.

In making this movie I can see the producers getting all their stunt coordinators together and saying get me your top twenty stunts you'd like to do.  Make sure to throw in several explosions!  You still have connections with those X-Games guys?  Bring them in too!  Once they had all their stunts they brought in a couple story writers dumped it out on the table and said okay make a story with this.  Do the best you can.  This is not completely a bad thing.  Visually if you can park your brain at the door the movie you will be entertained.

They put together a great cast.  Donnie Yen is finally coming to American audiences (Rent the movie Ip Man. It's very good).  Tony Jaa (another martial artist).  Ruby Rose is getting into action (I see she is a bad guy in the upcoming John Wick II). The Hound from Game of Thrones and the lovely Deepika Padukone (she is very popular in India).

Some have accused me of picking apart a movie.  People like my kids, my friends, my mom, my preacher, my mailman and that guy at Quick Trip that takes my money.  Of course they are all wrong.  I am just picky enough.  This story is very much total nonsense yet I was mildly entertained.  If you remember/liked the first one you will probably enjoy this one too.

Patriots Day

Patriots Day

Rating 9 out of 10

Out of all the cities on the planet Boston may be my favorite.  It's an amazing mixture of old and new buildings.  When the bombing happened during the 2013 Boston Marathon it was horrible.  It was truly impressive how fast the police jumped on it and tracked these terrorists down. Director Peter Berg does a good job of building up to the bombing.  Introducing all the character in such a way to make you dread what is coming even if you remember how things turned out.  There were several things I had forgot and some others I did not know.

Patriots Day has an all star cast.  Mark Wahlberg, J.K. Simmons, John Goodman (looking strange after all the weight loss), Kevin Bacon and Michelle Monaghan.  The movie kinda centers around Sgt. Tommy Saunders (Wahlberg) and how he was working the marathon out of a punishment for something he did earlier.  He didn't want to be there, yet after the bombs went off he took charge.  This may be Wahlbergs best role to date.

I really can't say enough about this movie.  It holds your attention from start to finish.  It makes you feel sad when bad things happen then makes you proud of how the authorities tracked these two brothers down.  It is crazy how the Boston citizens came together to help out.

I was greatly entertained as was the Hottie.  She gave it a solid TEN.  This is a movie you need to see.

Monster Trucks

Monster Trucks

Rating 6 out of 10

When I saw a movie was coming out with/about Monster Trucks I knew I had to scoop up my only grandson (for now, have one more on the way!) Tristan and go to this.  He is nuts for Monster Trucks as most males are.  Didn't matter if the movie was good or not if it had trucks he would be amazed.  I was able to bring my granddaughter also.  Fun time for all.

As it turns out the star of this movie is Lucas Till.  Marietta native and step brother of my youngest sons girlfriend.  Some also call him Mr. McGyver from the hit tv show.  I have met him a few times and he's a good kid besides being a pretty good actor.  He was telling me about this movie three Christmas's ago.  He was finished with it and waiting for it to be released.  The fact that the studio sat on the movie for 3+ years and only released when Till hit with the tv show made me set the bar fairly low walking in to the theater.

That said the movie was actually better than I thought it would be.  Some kids movies are equally entertaining for adults or the small ones.  This one is aimed far more to the young kids.  I would say any human 3-12 years old will greatly enjoy this movie as did both that came with me.  Older folks will be mildly entertained.  Not sorry they came, but ready to go when the credits roll.

The movie takes place in North Dakota where the evil oil company in their haste to get to a huge oil reserve drills thru a water supply that they are not supposed to.  When they drill into the reserve an until now unknown creature (three of them) come flying out of the pipe. A kind of mix between Barney the Dinosaur and a huge octopus.  The oil company henchmen capture two of the creatures and intends on catching the third to destroy all evidence thus not messing up their billion dollar oil claim.  The third creature escapes and befriends high school senior Tripp (Till) who somehow figures out it can become the motor of his huge four wheel drive pickup.  The bad guys then chase them around.  Yes this is clearly a true story documentary (no it's not).

All the kids in the theater laughed heartily where as I said I was mildly entertained.  Spending time with the kids was priceless.

Underworld: Blood Wars

Underworld: Blood Wars

Rating 4 out of 10

Years ago when Jean Claude Van Damme was making movies (yes I am old)  he had a couple good ones to start his career followed by many stinkers.  I kept blindly going to one stinker after another hoping it would be good.  I've reached that same point with the Underworld movies.  The first one or two were pretty good.  The past several have not been good.  As I have said here before anytime Kate Beckinsale is in black leather I have to go to the theater.  I think with this movie I have reached my limit.

This movie is a mess.  I can't even remember what happened in the last one.  I think somehow Selene (Kate) delivered a baby while in a coma.  That baby was half vampire and half werewolf.  Somehow once she got older it was found her blood could make either breed superpowered! They don't really say how or why but that doesn't really matter.  The vampires fight each other as well as the werewolves.

In the past the fight scenes were reason enough to pay for your ticket.  I guess they ran out of budget for action scenes as now they fight each other with machine guns.  It comes across as silly rather than exciting.  When major characters die you don't care.

I wouldn't even rent this one folks.  If you need a vampire fix, or a Kate fix, rent one of the first two movies.  I"m not sure how this one even got made.

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures

Rating 7 out of 10

I was on the fence on seeing this movie.  I don't really care for any of the lead three female actress's and it seems like the NASA storyline has been beaten to death.  I was wrong on both counts.  The three actress's (Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae) all knocked it out of the park. Kevin Costner and Big Bang Theory's Jim Parson also did a good job.

The movie that is "based on a true story" from what I have read up on since turns out to be more true that not.  The story centers around Katherine Johnson and her two friends Dorothy and Mary.  Katherine was a math wiz from grade school who is being underutilized in what is called a computer division before they had actual computers.  They had groups of women that would do math problems all day trying to help NASA recover from the dreaded Russians getting into space before we did.

These ladies were fighting two issues at the time at NASA.  They were female and they were black.  NASA at the time was a white mans club where no women of any color were allowed into any important meetings.  This was also still a time of segregation including separate bathrooms.  Katherine Johnson and supervisor Al Harrison (Costner) help knock down the walls.  Katherine and her impressive math skills played a big part in getting John Glenn and our astronauts into space.

While the movie points out the issues of the day it doesn't beat you over the head with them.  It's more a movie of three women and how hard they worked to be hugely successful.  I was entertained.

Sing

Sing

Rating 8.5 out of 10

This was a movie I wanted to see from the first preview.  Couldn't find a grandkid to take so I grabbed the Hottie instead.  I was pleased from start to finish.  Animation is as good as you would expect from the people that brought you the Despicable Me movies.  Good voices.  Good songs. Some funny parts.

As you can see from the trailer Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) owns a theater that is in financial distress.  Being the showman he is he throws a citywide singing competition to save the day.  Not much more you need to know.  Of course all kinds of problems arise and magic happens at the end.  No big surprises.  Just good clean fun.

I would have given this movie a 9 had it not been for the "mom" and her two brats that sat behind us feeling the need to talk thru the whole movie while the little boy kicked the back of Lisa's seat.  Grrrr.

I was entertained.  Will probably grab a grandkid or two and see this movie again.