Sisters

Sisters

Rating 2.5 out of 10

I love Tina Fey.  Have always thought she was funny.  Watched the tv show 30 Rock because of her and how great she was.  Amy Poehler not as much.  She can be funny, but is not money in the bank like Fey.  One thing I have liked about both ladies is they could be funny without lowering down to the vulgar attempts of humor scattered with F-bombs.  Unfortunately that stops here with this dog you should avoid if you are above the age of twelve.  This is one of those movies where every funny part is in the commercials and even then the laughs are few.

Fey and Poehler were funny on Saturday Night Live.  Sadly this movie seems like a SNL skit stretched into a two hour movie that seemed more like three.  They must have had a handshake agreement with the SNL alumni that if they made a movie together they would include as many as they could.  This was not a good thing.

When mom and dad decide to sell the family home and move into a retirement condo association the two daughters Jane (Fey) and Maura (Poehler) are given a couple days to clean their stuff out of their old rooms.  Maura is the younger more responsible of the two.  They decide to throw one last party in the house before the new owners take over.  Invite all their old high school friends and go nuts.

The biggest problem is in the writing.  It is just not funny.  I wanted to laugh.  I wanted to like it.  Nope.  Avoid this movie.

Spotlight

Spotlight

Rating 8 out of 10

This movie has been getting great reviews and mentioned on many top ten lists so I thought I'd give it a try.  I remember when this was in the news several years ago and then it died out.  I'm sure the movie will suffer with so many Americans being Catholic and I feel most will avoid this movie which is understandable in not being a great time in the history of the Catholic church.

The movie takes place in 1990s (I think) Boston when a new editor takes (Marty Baron- Live Schreiber)  over the Boston Globe newspaper.  He is the first Jewish editor in the papers history and isn't afraid of taking on religious (Catholic) issues in a town very much dominated by Catholics.  When news comes up about a priest molesting a young boy Baron orders the paper to investigate it instead of sweeping it to the side like they have in the past.  The paper had a small group of investigative reporters called Spotlight that specializes in hard hitting stories just like this one.

After alot of digging they find evidence of nearly 90 priests in the Boston area alone that have been accused of molesting young children.  To make a horrible situation even worse they unearth evidence that many in the church hierarchy know about the molesters and instead of doing anything they pay off the victims and move the priest to another church.

The movie is not out to slam Christians or even the Catholic church.  They mostly zero in on the bad apples that let things get out of control.  They make that clear.

I will say this movie will probably be shown at film schools for how acting is supposed to be done.  Michael Keaton is fantastic.  Way better than last years Birman.  Mark Ruffalo, Rachael McAdams, Stanley Tucci (always great), Schreiber, Billy Crudup, ect.  Everyone does a great acting job.

The movie is a little slow in building when you already know how it turns out.  Yet it kept my interest the whole time.  The two hour movie moved along and never once had me looking at my watch.  Probably not for everyone but good rainy day movie for me.

Sleeping with other People- Rental

Sleeping with other People

Rating 8 out of 10

I was recently on a long plane ride with plenty of time to kill.  Delta had quite a few movies that were free to watch.  I had seen a commercial for this movie months ago and thought it looked interesting yet never saw it come to theaters.  The hottie and I clicked go and gave it a try.  It turned out to be a sweet and entertaining movie we both enjoyed.

I find myself surprised that I like the star of the movie, Jason Sudeikis, as much as I do.  I liked him in Horrible Bosses and thought We're the Millers was better than the reviewers gave it.  I like the female lead, Alison Brie, also but I'm not sure where I have seen her before.

Jake (Sudeikis) and Lainey (Brie) meet in college and end up being each others first time.  They drift apart and over the next several years date alot without finding the special one.  They agree they are not meant for each other while they do like each other and become friends.  Jake is a serial dater that can't commit.  Lainey always commits to the wrong guy who is with someone else.  The movie tests the When Harry Met Sally theory that a man and woman can't be friends.  That sex thing always gets in the way.

While the name and theme of the movie leads one to think it's a teenage sex romp stupid comedy.  It really isn't.  It's more a fairly well written movie about a friendship over the years.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed this movie.

Creed

Creed

Rating 8.5 out of 10

I had reservations about his movie in the beginning.  Looked like it could be good or could be a hammed up extension of the mostly very good Rocky saga.  After a few people I know saw this movie and liked it I decided to go.  A rainy day in Kennesaw means unpaid vacation days for roofers.  So I scooped up my friend Mark and we were off to the local NCG for an early movie.

In Creed we have Adonis Johnson.  Turns out Apollo Creed while being a great boxer was not always a great husband.  He got a woman pregnant just before he decided to fight this big blonde Russian guy that did not end well.  Adonis is born after Apollo dies and never meets his father.  When his mother dies he spends several years in orphanages fighting all the time until Apollo's wife takes him in.  He gets a proper education and has a fancy finance job.  Yet fighting is still in his blood.  He flies off to Mexico to do backstreet fights.  He quits his job and decides to become a boxer like his dad.

When he goes to Philadelphia looking to Rocky for help he finds reluctance.  Of course it would be a short movie if Rocky held to his guns and refused to train Adonis.  Through a couple amazingly lucky breaks Adonis lands a huge fight just as Rocky did so many years ago.

With this movie the fight is not really a big part of the movie.  It's the relationships Adonis builds and cultivates as he goes along.  While it's agreed Sylvester Stallone has not been in many runs for an Oscar award I feel this may be his best job of acting ever.  Michael B. Jordan does a good job as Adonis.  Acting overall is very good.

I was highly entertained and will probably pay to see this one again.  Good movie folks.

The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur

Rating 4 out of 10

Normally a Pixar movie is an easy bullseye.  So many classic movies.  A new Pixar release and you automatically order the DVD.  The Good Dinosaur has an interesting premise.  What if the meteor that hit Earth many years ago that killed all the dinosaurs instead skirted by our atmosphere and years later humans and dino's are living together.  The voices are great.  I find it distracting when I recognize every voice in the movie.  Besides the always cool Sam Elliot I didn't know a single one.  With Pixar you know the animation is going to be first rate.

The main problem here is the story.  Our start dino that has battled everything in his life since being born the runt of the litter gets washed down the river in what appears to be weekly flash floods.  He is so far away and given up for dead by his family the only one that can help his is a little caveman (cave boy?).  The story is rather dull even with a trio of T-Rex's that have a heard of prehistoric buffalo.

I wouldn't say this cartoon is for little kids.  I went with three grandkids who often turned their heads when cute little gerbil looking animals are eaten alive by long sharp toothed flying beasts.  The animation is mostly nothing short of incredible.  The flowing fields, majestic mountains and rivers are so realistic you think they smuggled in film stock.  Then they made the main dinosaur stars of the movie look like Saturday morning cartoons.  I don't get that.

I was hoping for much more and three little ones under five were not impressed either.  I'd take their opinion over mine every time.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Rating 5 out of 10

The Hunger Games trilogy stretched into a fourlogy comes to an end with this finale.  I started reading the books.  Thought the first one was pretty good.  Got half way thru the second one and became bored then gave up.  I have to say I kinda feel that way about the movies too.  The part 1 of Mockingjay was slow with very little action.  In part 2 we get lots of action yet it still manages to be boring.

For those following the perils of Katniss Everdeen the good guys have finally come knocking on the Capital doors with thoughts of killing the evil President Snow and ending his reign.  Peeta is still crazy yet they insist on bringing him along on every adventure.

I quit playing video games years ago when it seemed every war movie had you going from area to area killing all the bad guys but never really knowing where you are going.  This movie gave me the same feel.  Once they get in the gates they go from area to area coming across some sort of bad guy occasionally losing a good guy then moving on.  Snow has cameras that let him know where they are yet he only sends a few soldiers each time.  It has a twist at the end that turns out to be so obvious you see it coming a mile away.

I thought the whole thing was a mess. Lots of random scenes glued together that didn't make much sense.  I guess those that loved the books will love this movie.  It will make million$.  I was not entertained and wish I had gone to something else.

Secret in their Eyes

Secret in their Eyes

Rating 6 out of 10

This movie looked very interesting to me.  Great cast.  Chiwetel Ejiofor (always good), Julia Roberts (leaving the pretty woman looks behind), Nicole Kidman and Alfred Molina.  In the trailer we see three cops showing up at a crime scene of a murdered girl in a dumpster only to find out it's Roberts beloved daughter.  The movie is set in early 2002 in LA.  Not long after 9/11 when hysteria of another terrorist attack is high.  When the main suspect is also someone linked to the Muslim community and may be considered an asset politics play into his prosecution or lack there of.

Flash forward thirteen years and Ejiofor who is no longer with the department has tracked down the bad guy and begins to make efforts to locate him.  Kidman is now the D.A. They are not sure even if they find him that they have enough to prosecute him.

The problem with this movie (besides it being pretty slow) is all the flashbacks.  Instead of telling the movie in order the director gives us chunks of now mixed with pieces of thirteen years ago. The main way of telling what time you are in is by Kidmans hair length.

There is a nice twist at the end but over all with this cast it should have been much better.  Will make a good rainy day rental.