The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower 

Rating 4 out of 10

First trailer I saw for this movie looked pretty good.  Idris Elba is definitely a star on the rise and Matthew McConaughey is usually good too.  Story looks interesting although the trailer doesn't really give much of it.  Smart move.  Then I realize this is a movie based on a Stephen King novel. While King may be a good writer (I personally haven't cared for many of his books) he does not have a very good track record when it comes to movies made from those books.  Unfortunately this movie falls into the bad category.

I saw the movie and I'm not completely sure what it was about.  Somewhere in a different world these alien things are stealing kids and putting them in something that looks like a ride at Six Flags then shoots them across the sky crashing into a big tower.  McConaughey plays a devil type of guy called the Man in Black that oversees the not so fun kids ride.  In this world there were gunslingers fighting for good.  Sadly there is only one left called Roland (Elba).  On our Earth there is a ten year old boy with some special powers (never really explained) that helps Roland save not only the planet but the universe.

The boy is badly miscast and McConaughey looks puffy, shiny and strange.  There are a few cool fight scenes that could easily fit in a two minute trailer.  Don't even bother renting this one folks.  I was not entertained.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Rating 3 out of 10

I had doubts on this one from the first trailer I watched but I had a rain day and this was the only movie that fit my time frame.  I should have followed my instinct on this one and found something else to do.

This takes place way in the future.  Some of the planets are having problems so a group start merging small planets together in one growing community.  Soon the community has (as the title says) has more than a thousand planets of all types of humans and aliens.  Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and his blonde sidekick Laureline (Cara Delevingne) and like cops of the universe.  Something happens and they are on the trail trying to figure out who the bad guys are.

Visually this movie is a NINE.  Nothing short of amazing.  The problem is the story is barely a ONE. You are two hours in to the 137 minute movie before it's explained what in the world is going on and sadly by then you just don't care.  You want it to be over.  Casting is terrible.  Dane and Cara smirk their way across the planets like they both think they are way better looking than they are.

This movie is a total waste of time.  I was not entertained at all.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Rating 7.5 out of 10

I have seen every Spider:Man movie since the first one way back in 2002. Some I have liked more than others.  Being an old school guy I liked Tobey Maguire best out of them all.  I do like this new kid in the reboot.  He is fun and likable and gives a fresh start to an older movie.

This Spider-Man starts off when Peter is young and learning his ropes yet does not make us sit through one more time of how he was bit by that dang radioactive spider.  Peter knows he has the spider powers and is working to perfect them.  He wants to be an Avenger superhero so bad but his mentor Tony Stark does not feel he is ready and wants him to stay under the radar for a while.

The good: Newbie Tom Holland is a good younger Spidey. He balances saving the world and wishing he could kiss his high school crush.  Michael Keaton is nothing short of fantastic.  Maybe his best performance although it won't get the recognition since it's a superhero movie.  The special effects are as good as you would expect.  It's a fun harmless movie that kids of all ages can see.

The bad:  Well it's definitely a more simplistic story than movies past.  It was almost like they took one of the Saturday cartoons and turned it into a movie.  Not necessarily a bad thing but I was kinda hoping for more.  I"m sure the next one will be even better.

I was entertained.

The Big Sick

The Big Sick

Rating 9 out of 10

I'm a afraid the more I try to explain how good this movie is the worse it will sound.  As I have said before I am very leery of any movie that ALL the critics love but they got it right with this one.  I saw an interview with the star Kumail Nanjiani on late night and it seemed like an entertaining movie.  Had a date night with the Hottie and had to decide between this and Spiderman.  The times for this one worked out better.  I'm sure we'll get to Peter Parker in the near future.

This movie is based on the real life courtship of Kumail and Emily.  Kumail is from a strict Pakistan family where it's not only expected you marry someone else from Pakistan but if you don't you are kicked out of the family.  Kumail is already on thin ice with is family by being a Uber driver and stand up comedy instead of going to law school.  When he meets Emily at the comedy school where he is performing at it's instant fireworks.  Before they can decide if the relationship will go anywhere Emily comes down with a strange virus and is put into a coma.  Emily's parents (Ray Romano and Holly Hunter) are not crazy about Kumail but grow to like him as he loyally comes to the hospital hoping she will be okay.

This movie mixes between hold your stomach and laugh out loud with wipe your eye tearjerker like no other I have seen.  I haven't laughed at a movie like this one in some time.  Don't want to oversell it but I feel this will be a sleeper hit like Big Fat Greek Wedding was.  Or atleast it should.

Go see this one folks.  You won't be sorry.

Baby Driver

Baby Driver

Rating 6 out of 10

I am always leery of any movie where almost all the critics agree it's the best movie of the year.  I tried to tamper expectations but with this movie scoring a current 97% on www.rottentomatoes.com and several saying it's the best movie of the year I feel I set the bar too high walking into the theater.

As we see from the trailer Baby is a twenty something guy (Ansel Elgort) that is an expert getaway driver for a mobster guy (Kevin Spacey).  He was in an accident when he was young that killed his parents and left him with a ring in his ears.  The only way he can work with the ring is to have music playing via his ear buds.  Baby is working off his debt with the mobster by driving and is almost even.  About this time he falls for a cutie waitress at a dinner he frequents and has dreams of driving into the sunset with her.

As you would guess there are some great driving scenes.  The Atlanta police don't stand a chance of catching Baby.  As luck would have it every car Baby steals for the heists are turbo high powered vehicles that can out run police cars.  The crew of bank robbers the mobster employs are very bad and don't mind blowing away a security guard.  Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx are very good.

I was entertained with this movie.  It's fun while highly paint by the numbers story plods along.  Good music and Baby does a good job with his part.  For me it was mostly fun seeing all the Atlanta landmarks.  In fact last year they were filming a scene at a bank over by a job I was working.  I watched for a while but had no idea what movie it was.

Despicable Me 3

Despicable Me 3

Rating 6.5 out of 10

Anytime I can go to the movies with my granddaughter Rylee Rose I jump at the chance.  On a rainy day with a well stocked popcorn bin and slushie machine what could be better?  I have seen the other two Despicable movies so seeing this one was a given.

In this one our star Gru (fantastic Steve Carell) is still doing his best to be a good guy and not a criminal.  When he fails again to capture his nemesis bad guy Balthazar Bratt he is fired along with his wife Lucy.  His minions (scratching on chalkboard for me) want to return to a life of crime.  About this time he finds he has a twin brother who also is into crime.  They combine to try to capture Bratt before he destroys Hollywood.  Hilarity ensues.

There are some good belly laughs although the story is a little strained.  I was entertained as was five year old Rylee.  I liked the first Despicable movie alot.  I would say this is #3 out of the bunch while still worth a viewing for child or adult.

Transformers: The Last Night

Transformers: The Last Night

Rating 5 out of 10

The fifth in the series of Transformer movies.  I think I have seen every one.  This version is getting pounded pretty bad in the reviews but these movies never review well.  Probably with just cause.  Is this a good movie?  No.  Was I mildly entertained for 149 minutes?  Yes I was.  I have to take young son Rocky to all these movies so he can translate for me which one of the robots are good and which are bad.  It's always confusing for me when they start fighting each other which one I should be rooting for.

Mark Wahlburg coming back for his second and hopefully last Transformer movie.  Several years since the last movie.  Earth has waged war on all of the Transformers good and bad.  Sending military out to destroy any that are left.  Wahlburg still protects some and is trying for world peace.  Somehow the bad transformers again are headed to Earth with plans of destroying everyone on it.  Earth has something that their planet needs to survive in a story that is way too hard to follow.  This story goes back to King Arthur and Merlin.

If you are a fan of these movies you will be mildly entertained with this one.  The reported budget of $200+ million shows on the screen  It's pretty amazing to watch.  Anthony Hopkins is always good as he is here and the pretty Laura Haddock is good as the English professor that helps Wahlburg save the world.

Side note:  If you are a parent of small kids please teach them how to eat popcorn with their mouth closed!!!  Three kids sitting behind us were so loud eating their popcorn I thought Rocky was going to beat them.  We moved to the other side of the theater and could still hear them chomping. Ugh.