La La Land

La La Land

Rating 2 out of 10

Normally this is not a movie I would go see.  Not a big fan of musicals.  This movie was getting such glowing reviews I thought I'd give it a try.  A reviewer on NBC morning news called it the best movie of the decade.  Give it the Oscar now.  Reviewer Jim Slotek of the Toronto Sun says "I have yet to meet someone who's watched it and come out in a bad mood". Well Jim, here are two.  The Hottie and I didn't care for it a bit.

Again, I'm not big on musicals.  Especially not musicals where most if not all the songs are jazz.  I like both the lead actors, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.  Ryan is a struggling jazz musician.  Emma is a struggling actress. They don't like each other a bit when they first meet.  Then of course fall in love.

If this is your type of movie you will love it.  I'm sure it will win awards.  Not from me and the Hottie.  We were bored and tired.  Left before it was over.  The only thing up in the air was trying to figure which one to blame out of us two for picking it.

Passengers

Passengers

Rating 6 out of 10

This was one of the Christmas movies I was really looking forward to seeing hoping to add it to my Top Ten list in a couple weeks.  Sadly it is a good movie (mostly because of the actors) but not a great one.

If you have been near a tv or talk show in the past several months you know that Passengers is about a time in the future when earth is getting way overpopulated and people are paying hefty prices to travel to far distant planets to live.   The planets are so far away everyone included the crew has to be put to sleep for 120 years to be awaken in time to start their life in the new world.  Only problem is due to a malfunction in the ship Jim (Chris Pratt) wakes up ninety years too early.   Soon after Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) wakes up.  They together try to fix a plan to solve their sleeping problem and also fall in love as two good looking young people will do.  Ultimately the problem that caused the original malfunction comes to a head and Jim and Aurora need to find a way to save everyone.

Visually the movie is top notch.  The huge space ship really is amazing.  Where the movie lost points for me is it is mostly slow.  Jim trying to cope with being alone then them as a couple living alone on a big ship.  The many trailers and commercials on this movie show most of the plot and pretty much all the good parts.  The story is a little predictable too.  Not long in you can guess what the outcome is going to be.

The two stars make the movie entertaining.  It's good enough rainy day movie or maybe a rental.  I was hoping for better.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rating 8.5 out of 10

You might remember from my review that I didn't really care for the last Star Wars movie.  It was bloated, predictable and not very good.  I am glad to say this movie is none of that.  Rogue One moves right along at a zippy pace, has a great cast and WAY better than the last Star Wars movie.

If you haven't seen the original Star Wars since 1977 I'll remind you that the key to young Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star and saving all the good guys was someone slipping the information to Princess Leia where the weak spot was.  She then gave the plans to R2D2.  This movie  explains how they got those plans.

Young Jyn watches her father being hauled away by some of Darth Vadar's henchmen.  He has the knowledge on how to build the Death Star. Jyn escapes and takes on crazy jobs until fifteen years later when she joins the revolution.

The cast is spot on.  There are some very funny scenes.  Some touching scenes.  Good action. Good movie.  I was entertained.

Edge of Seventeen

Edge of Seventeen 

Rating 6.5 out of 10

Rainy days are unpaid vacation days for us roofers.  That often means a trip to the movie theaters for this roofer.  I narrowed my choices to this movie and the Harry Potter prequel.  This movie fit my timetable.  Plus a friend of mine recommended it.

This is a cute coming of age movie about young Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) as she copes with high school life.  Not really alot more you can say about it.  She deals with the loss of a parent.  She has the ultra good looking athletic brother that everyone loves. A kinda crazy mom.  She is looked at as the nerdy type and not many friends.  She has a crush on the school bad boy that doesn't know she is alive.

It's funny in parts.  Sad in others.  The type of movie that used to be the After School Special type.  Ms. Steinfeld does a great job and I think she is already getting some award nominations.  Woody Harrelson is great as the apathetic teacher she is able to confide in.

This movie will make a good rental shortly as it's almost out of theaters now.  It only had one showtime.  I was entertained.

Moana

Moana

Rating 8.5 out of 10

When I saw previews for this movie I was lukewarm on viewing it. Looked kinda hokey to me.  But the chance came up to take the grand kids to the movies and to be honest I'd sit thru a Tyler Perry movie to spend time with the kids.  When daughter Mandy heard what movie we were going to she dropped the baby at the sitter and joined us.  Bonus.

I have to admit right off this movie was WAY better than I thought it would be.  I loved this movie and feel it will become one of the Disney Classics.  The movie starts 3000 years ago on a small island of Oceania.  Young Moana is the daughter of the king and being the only child next in line to take over.  She is very adventurous and drawn to the sea which is strictly forbidden by her father.  No one is to go past the reef.  When the fishing and food begin to run out Moana follows her grandmothers story and sets sail to find the god Maui whom it's said can save the islands.

While Dwayne Johnson is the big name in this movie (I think he had something to do with the making of the movie), but the little Hawaiian girl that voices Moana steals the show.  I'm not even going to try to spell her name.  She is fantastic.  Dwayne is very good too.  He even sings.

The movie is very funny.  I laughed out loud several times.  Then it had some touching moments too. The animation is as good as you'd expect from Disney.  Clearly I liked it.  Luckily I have a few more grandkids I can get to go with me for repeat viewings.

I do recommend this movie.  You don't have to be a kid to enjoy it.

Allied

Allied

Rating 6 out of 10

This wasn't real high on my list to see but it was on the top of the Hottie's list.  That means it becomes the top of my list too.  I'm thinking I saw this was based on a true story but that could have been one of the many previews I saw before this one started.

Here Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) is an undercover Canadian spy sent in to kill a bad Natzi officer (as opposed to all those good natzi officers).  He is paired us with Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) who plays his wife yet he has never met her.  They play man and wife for a couple weeks and begin to fall for each other.  When the assassination goes down (the whole thing fits in the two minute preview) they meet up again in London and get married and soon after have a baby girl.

After a little more than a year word comes that Marianne may not be who she says she is.  There is a German spy in town passing important information to the bad guys and it might be us.  Max has 72 hours to find out for sure if the mother of his child is a spy.  If she is he must kill her or be shot as a spy himself.

The movie is mildly interesting and fairly well acted.  Seemed everyone in the movie except the baby smoked and smoked alot.  That kinda got to me after a while.  The story is fairly predictable especially if you have seen the preview more than once.  It was a harmless afternoon movie that I'm not sorry I saw.  I'd recommend to also catch it on an early show or wait to rent.

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange

Rating 8.5 out of 10

Since my comic book reading stopped at about age ten (unlike my comic book nerd Brother inlaw) I was not really familiar with the Doctor Strange character.  I think after the release of this movie most all of us will be very familiar with Doctor Strange.

I think casting on this movie is spot on.  Benedict Cumberbatch is perfect at Dr. Steven Strange.  He is a pompous surgeon that thinks he is a god that can do no wrong.  Talks down to everyone and is not beloved.  When a bad car wreck leaves him unable to operate he goes into a deep depression refusing to believe his medical career is over.  When all else fails Strange travels to an Eastern monastery where a bald woman with a cool version of kung fu begrudgingly takes him in.  Here he gets his version of Neo choosing the red pill or the blue pill.  Doctor Strange learns of a whole hidden world that blows his mind and will blow yours too.

As I said casting is perfect.  Tilda Swinton is good as the kinda creepy bald woman.  Chiwetel Ejiofor  is probably the best actor with the strangest name.  He plays sidekick Baron Mordo.  Rachel McAdams takes a smaller role as a doctor that somehow loves the cranky Dr Strange and helps him later on.

The effects are nothing short of spectacular.  They make the crazy effects in 2010's Inception look like a Saturday morning cartoon.  This is not a storyline like Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy where you can sit back and enjoy.  You need to pay attention to follow what is going on.  At times I found it a little confusing, yet felt it paid off in the end.

I was highly entertained and would recommend it.