The Foreigner

The Foreigner, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan, is a timely action thriller from the director of Casino Royale.  The film tells the story of humble London businessman Quan (Chan), whose long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love -- his teenage daughter -- is taken from him in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism. In his relentless search for the identity of the terrorists, Quan is forced into a cat-and-mouse conflict with a British government official (Brosnan), whose own past may hold clues to the identities of the elusive killers.

This was a very enjoyable film when the action was happening.  Jackie Chan was awesome as always.  The only thing was that the movie was paced like a race between snails.  It dragged massively and really didn't have to.  They could have stepped on the gas a lot more.  

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  It's not great but is still a decent watch.

Happy Death Day

Blumhouse produces an original and inventive rewinding thriller in Happy Death Day, in which a college student (Jessica Rothe) relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer’s identity.

This was basically a scary movie version of Groundhog Day.  It seemed like it would be a really stupid idea/movie.  But I was very pleasantly surprised.  I enjoyed this movie a lot and it was done in a way that was both scary at times but very, very funny.  

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  Never thought I would be saying those words going in, but this movie was a lot of fun.  

Blade Runner 2049

Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.

This was one of the most amazing visual movies ever.  It is basically a current day wow type of movie visually like the original Blade Runner was way back then.  The number one rule of a great sci-fi movie is that it fully transports you to their alternate world and makes you feel like you are really there.  This movie absolutely delivered on that.  And it was a great, well developed story.  I will say that the movie is about twice as long as it had to be but it was still a very enjoyable watch.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It's a great watch and one of the more excellent visual movies ever.  

Flatliners

In Flatliners, five medical students, obsessed by the mystery of what lies beyond the confines of life, embark on a daring and dangerous experiment: by stopping their hearts for short periods of time, each triggers a near-death experience - giving them a firsthand account of the afterlife. But as their experiments become increasingly dangerous, they are each haunted by the sins of their pasts, brought on by the paranormal consequences of trespassing to the other side.

The original Flatliners was a favorite of mine growing up.  I used to watch that movie all the time.  I can't possibly do justice to how not excited I was to see that they were remaking this.  And my crappy expectations turned out to be dead on.  This was nowhere near the level of the original Flatliners.  It had some super small scares here and there but not nearly enough.  And the casting was horrible.  Especially the one guy that I guess was trying to do the Kevin Bacon role from the original.  Every time that guy spoke or did anything I wanted to yell shut up at the screen.  He was so bad.

I would not recommend that anyone waste their time with this.  It's definitely one of the lamer remakes with the flood of them that have been done.

Battle Of The Sexes

The electrifying 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) was billed as the "Battle of the Sexes" and became the most watched televised sports event of all time. The match caught the zeitgeist and sparked a global conversation on gender equality, spurring on the feminist movement. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposites sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With a supportive husband urging her to fight the Establishment for equal pay, the fiercely private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past. Together, Billie and Bobby served up a cultural spectacle that resonated far beyond the tennis courts and animated the discussions between men and women in bedrooms and boardrooms around the world.

This was an excellent autobiographical movie.  Emma Stone and Steve Carell were both awesome and brought so much more to each of the people that they were playing then just a tennis match.  The build up to the match was incredibly well done but it was them playing these people behind the scenes of it all and behind closed and very private doors that really made this movie a joy to watch.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  It has great build, great acting and really is an excellent story.  

American Made

In Universal Pictures' American Made, Tom Cruise reunites with his "Edge of Tomorrow" director, Doug Liman, in this international escapade based on the outrageous (and real) exploits of Barry Seal, a hustler and pilot unexpectedly recruited by the CIA to run one of the biggest covert operations in U.S. history.

This is one of Tom Cruise's better performances in a long time because he let go of the need to be in action all the time and just played a guy in way over his head with a situation spiraling more and more out of control.  This movie developed excellently and was basically a movie version of the Netflix show Narcos BUT through the eyes of a pilot transporter who never should have been involved to begin with.

I would sort of recommend people checking this out.  It's not a must see but it is definitely an enjoyable watch and nice to see that Tom Cruise can still actually act outside of running and fighting all the time.

The Glass Castle

Chronicling the adventures of an eccentric, resilient and tight-knit family, The Glass Castle is a remarkable story of unconditional love. Oscar winner Brie Larson brings Jeannette Walls's best-selling memoir to life as a young woman who, influenced by the joyfully wild nature of her deeply dysfunctional father (Woody Harrelson), found the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

This was a very well acted family drama.  Everything felt beyond genuine and real.  Brie Larson and especially Woody Harrelson really put in Oscar worthy performances and both really hook the audience into caring big time.  The back and forth between childhood and adulthood dealing with the family by Brie Larson made for excellent story telling.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  Excellent acting across the board and a dysfunctional family story that completely hooks you.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie

In this big-screen NINJAGO adventure, the battle for NINJAGO City calls to action young Master Builder Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja (Dave Franco), along with his friends, who are all secret ninja warriors. Led by Master Wu (Jackie Chan), as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat evil warlord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), the Worst Guy Ever, who also happens to be Lloyd’s dad. Pitting mech against mech and father against son, the epic showdown will test this fierce but undisciplined team of modern-day ninjas who must learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash their inner power of Spinjitzu.

This was yet another enjoyable Lego movie.  It's nowhere near the laughs and enjoyment of The Lego Movie or the Lego Batman Movie because the characters are not already known entities and what not.  I liked that it was a Princess Bride type thing with live action narration that they would go back to.  It also had tons of funny moments sprinkled throughout just like the others that were absolutely more for the parents/adults than the kiddies.  

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was a fun watch and the kids will love it.  

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Kingsman: The Secret Service introduced the world to Kingsman - an independent, international intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion, whose ultimate goal is to keep the world safe. In Kingsman: The Golden Circle, our heroes face a new challenge. When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded. In a new adventure that tests their agents' strength and wits to the limit, these two elite secret organizations band together to defeat a ruthless common enemy, in order to save the world, something that's becoming a bit of a habit for Eggsy...

I forgot how much I enjoyed the first one until I had a chance to rewatch it a second time a couple weeks ago.  It was lots of awesome off the wall action and Matthew Vaughn really doesn't make non-enjoyable movies.  This one is pretty much more of the same from the original.  The off the wall is definitely there.  The characters that you have come to love are definitely there.  Just an enjoyable ride.  The only knock I could make is that the movie was like a 1/2 hour too long.  

I would definitely recommend people check this out.  It's a fun take on the whole James Bond like world just like the original.  

American Assassin

American Assassin follows the rise of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) intent on starting a World War in the Middle East.

I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I was going to.  It was formula in every way and was kind of like a poor man's Jason Bourne but I liked the actors and the chemistry between Keaton and O'Brien was awesome.  Loving how Michael Keaton has come back from the dead.  Probably one of my favorite actors ever.  This movie was a very enjoyable action movie with lots of testosterone and adrenaline up there on the screen.

I would definitely recommend that people check this one out.  It was a fun watch and a great popcorn movie where you just shut off your brain and enjoy the 2 hour ride.

Home Again

Home Again stars Reese Witherspoon as Alice Kinney in a modern romantic comedy. Recently separated from her husband, (Michael Sheen), Alice decides to start over by moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles with her two young daughters. During a night out on her 40th birthday, Alice meets three aspiring filmmakers who happen to be in need of a place to live. Alice agrees to let the guys stay in her guest house temporarily, but the arrangement ends up unfolding in unexpected ways. Alice's unlikely new family and new romance comes to a crashing halt when her ex-husband shows up, suitcase in hand. "Home Again" is a story of love, friendship, and the families we create. And one very big life lesson: Starting over is not for beginners.

This is one of those enjoyable movies that ends up just sort of being there.  It was cute and a fun watch but I will forget about this movie in like 2 days.  There was no long lasting appeal to it even though it was a decent watch.  The characters were cute.  The story was cute.  The chemistry was cute.  But there really isn't much else to say about it.

I would sort of recommend people checking this out.  Again - its not a must see although its a decent watch because there really isn't too much memorable substance to it.

Mother!

A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. From filmmaker Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan," "Requiem for a Dream"), "mother!" stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer in this riveting psychological thriller about love, devotion and sacrifice.

This movie is exactly why artsy movies should not star huge actors and be advertised as a mainstream movie.  I knew going in that this would be one of those massively mismarketed movies and my expectations were spot on.  This is an artsy movie filmed in a visionary style that film studies people could easily examine and rave about.  It is NOT a mainstream movie in any way.  I honestly said "what the f am I watching" out loud about 70 times.  This movie was off the charts strange and all about being open for interpretation.

I would only make the suggestion that filmmaking buffs see this due to the visionary style of Aronofsky.  Outside of that - this will pretty much be seen as a massive turd by all.

IT

New Line Cinema’s horror thriller "IT," directed by Andrés Muschietti ("Mama"), is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, which has been terrifying readers for decades. When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.

This movie was everything that I hoped it would be.  It focused on the kids part of the story and took the time to develop all of them.  This gave the movie a real ET or Goonies feel in that aspect.  Penny wise the clown was AWESOME and creepy as hell.  Every time he spoke you were on the edge of your seat and it wasn't cheesy scares.  There was outright tension and fear throughout.  This was honestly one of the better overall Stephen King adaptations ever.  Like on the Stand By Me or Shawshank Redemption level.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  It was an excellent watch and easily one of the better made scary movies in a long time.

Wind River

The film follows a rookie female FBI agent (Olsen) who teams up with a veteran, local game tracker with a haunted past (Renner) to investigates a murder on a remote Native American Reservation in the hopes of avenging the girl’s death.

This is one of those movies that is a decent watch if you have the time but is ultimately just there.  It's not a must see but it's not necessarily bad either.  It's a decent story with decent characters but is really just kind of there.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone feeling the need to get to your local theater and pay for this.  Catch it in passing if you have the time once it shows up on cable or Netflix.

Leap!

11-year-old orphan, Félicie (Elle Fanning) has one dream - to go to Paris and become a dancer. Her best friend Victor (Nat Wolff), an imaginative but exhausting boy with a passion for creating, has a dream of his own - to become a famous inventor. In a leap of faith, Victor and Félicie leave their orphanage in pursuit of their passions. But - there's a catch, Félicie must pretend to be the child of a wealthy family in order to gain admittance to the prestigious and competitive Opera Ballet School in Paris. And with no professional dance training, she quickly learns that talent alone is not enough to overcome the ruthless, conniving attitudes of her fellow classmates, led by the devious Camille Le Haut (Maddie Ziegler). Determined to succeed, Félicie finds her mentor in the tough and mysterious school custodian, Odette (Carly Rae Jepsen) who, along with Victor's encouraging friendship, help her reach for the stars.

What a snoozefest.  I honestly can't remember an animated movie that was this boring for both kids and adults.  The material is not cutesy enough for kids honestly and it's too boring for adults.  There is a reason why this movie was in release limbo for what felt like years.  It should have completely been removed.

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this turd.  It's a total waste of time.

Logan Lucky

Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

This was a very quirky movie and a great cast.  I really didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did but the laughs were plenty even if they were mostly the shaking your head at the stupidity of the actors.  You could tell that it was a Soderbergh movie though because it very much had an Ocean's 11 kind of feel to it where what you were really seeing would be cleared up later.  

I would recommend people checking this movie out.  It's a fun watch with a great cast.  The quirkiness throughout really made it enjoyable.

Patti Cake$

In a coming-of-age story straight out of Jersey, an unlikely rapper finds her voice as a one-of-a-kind hip-hop legend in the making in "Patti Cake$," the first feature film from acclaimed commercial and music-video director Geremy Jasper. Set in gritty strip-mall suburbia, "Patti Cake$" chronicles an underdog’s quest for fame and glory with humor, raw energy and some unforgettable beats.

This was a pretty enjoyable watch.  If you were to take 8 Mile and make Eminem a white girl with a very random posse - you have Patti Cake$.  That being said, the movie was well done and enjoyable regardless of the feeling that you have kind of seen it before.  The characters and the freedom they are given acting wise really carried it.  

I would sort of recommend people checking this movie out.  It's not a must see by any means and honestly it barely opened so I'm not sure about how much it's possible for anyone to see it if they wanted to, but it's a pretty good watch.

The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature

Surly Squirrel (Will Arnett) and the gang are back. We are once again in Oakton where the evil mayor has decided to bulldoze Liberty Park and build a dangerous amusement park in its place. Surly and his ragtag group of animal friends band together to save their home, defeat the mayor, and take back the park.

This was poop and I stopped trying to watch it 30 minutes in.  I don't remember much about the first one which pretty much screams why was a sequel made.  Add to that how the portion of this movie I watched was a really lame rip off of Over The Hedge and I couldn't fight off pulling the plug on it.  

I would not recommend anyone wasting their time or money with this.  It's poop and not even worth taking kids to see it.

The Hitman's Bodyguard

The world’s top protection agent (Ryan Reynolds) is called upon to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world’s most notorious hitmen (Samuel L. Jackson). The relentless bodyguard and manipulative assassin have been on the opposite end of the bullet for years and are thrown together for a wildly outrageous 24 hours. During their raucous and hilarious adventure from England to the Hague, they encounter high-speed car chases, outlandish boat escapades and a merciless Eastern European dictator (Gary Oldman) who is out for blood. Salma Hayek joins the mayhem as Jackson’s equally notorious wife.

This was a throwback summer action movie.  Turn off your brain and don't question the logic/validity of the things happening on screen and enjoy the show.  Lots of crazy banter.  Lots of sarcasm between the leads.  Lots of silliness and some love stuff mixed in.  I have always been able to enjoy movies like this especially when there is great chemistry between the actors like in this one.  

I would recommend people checking this out.  It is by no means a good or great movie but it can be very enjoyable if you can turn your brain off.

Annabelle: Creation

She’s back! In Annabelle: Creation, several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a dollmaker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the dollmaker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.

This movie was impressively creepy.  It made me wish that I was more into the Conjuring universe because they did a good job of connecting all the movies.  There were more than enough scares and tension to make this an entertaining scary movie.  It was much better than expected.  

I would definitely recommend this movie to people that like scary movies.  This was a much better than average one and worth the trip to the movies.

Detroit

From the Academy Award winning director of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, Detroit tells the gripping story of one of the darkest moments during the civil unrest that rocked Detroit in the summer of '67.

Wow!  This was one hell of an intense movie.  It pretty much took you directly to this time and made you sit through some incredibly uncomfortable stuff. The direction was amazing and the performances were top notch too.  I left the theater beyond annoyed at the world that something like this could have happened and honestly continues to happen on a regular basis.  

I would absolutely recommend that everyone check this bad boy out.  It is an absolute must see from both a society/historical view point.  It's also an excellent example of filmmaking at its best.  Just be prepared to be very uncomfortable watching it.

The Dark Tower

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower is the most ambitious and expansive story from one of the world’s most celebrated authors. Now the story comes to the big screen starring Idris Elba as Roland Deschain and Matthew McConaughey as Walter O’Dim. The film is being directed by Nikolaj Arcel ("A Royal Affair"). 

This is one of the biggest movie disappointments ever for me.  I have read all the books and have been dying to see it end up on a big screen or a tv screen for what feels like forever.  I was thrown off when I first saw the trailers because they didn't make sense in terms of which book they were doing.  I kept putting off looking into anything because I didn't want spoilers or anything.  It turns out that they did not adapt any of the seven books.  Actually they just took bits and pieces from some of them and positioned the story AFTER the whole book series kind of.  It was very choppy and rushed and completely wasted the best parts of the movie - which were Idris Elba as the Gunslinger and what could have been McConaughey as the Man In Black.  They made the movie more about the kid and through his eyes with no adequate background given to everything else.  Basically, they tried to make the movie "down the road" so that you could enjoy it if you read the books but also enjoy it if you hadn't and failed on both fronts.  No fan of the book will be a fan of this movie because of how wrong it fells on so many levels and no newbie will be a fan becuase the books end up being like a prerequisite for understanding it.  

I would not recommend anyone bother with this movie.  It was flawed in so many ways.  The show really should have been brought to tv like Game Of Thrones or Westworld.  That would be the only way that I could see this whole story being given justice.

Girls Trip

Four lifelong friends who travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival and rediscover their sisterhoods and wild sides – enough dancing, drinking, brawling and romancing to make the Big Easy blush.

Wow!!!  I never saw this one coming.  This movie was by far the funniest movie of the summer.  Like nothing else was even close.  I can't tell you how many times this movie had me crying from laughing.  All of the characters delivered on one level or another but the unknown actress playing Dena stole the show.  She was beyond hysterical.  The only thing I can compare it to was Catherine Hahn in Bad Moms.  She literally stole every scene she was in and its the type of character that would normally get stale as the movie went on but not at all.  Even the running time of two hours for this movie should have been a major red flag.  Even the attempt to get dramatic at times that normally ruins comedies didn't ruin this one.  This was A LOT of laughs.  Definitely rated R laughs but so many of them.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  Again - easily the funniest movie of the summer.

Atomic Blonde

The crown jewel of Her Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service, Agent Lorraine Broughton (Theron) is equal parts spycraft, sensuality and savagery, willing to deploy any of her skills to stay alive on her impossible mission. Sent alone into Berlin to deliver a priceless dossier out of the destabilized city, she partners with embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) to navigate her way through the deadliest game of spies. 

Charlize Theron was one bad ass mofo in this movie.  She was perfectly cast as a female Jason Bourne type.  The action was great.  The spy stuff was great.  The pacing was great. This movie was a very fun ride and the 80s soundtrack was awesomely worked in to the different moods on screen at that time.

I would definitely recommend peeps checking this out.  It was a very enjoyable watch and a hell of a ride of action.

The Emoji Movie

Hidden within the messaging app is Textopolis, a bustling city where all your favorite emojis live, hoping to be selected by the phone’s user. In this world, each emoji has only one facial expression – except for Gene (T.J. Miller), an exuberant emoji who was born without a filter and is bursting with multiple expressions. Determined to become “normal” like the other emojis, Gene enlists the help of his handy best friend Hi-5 (James Corden) and the notorious code breaker emoji Jailbreak (Anna Faris). Together, they embark on an epic “app-venture” through the apps on the phone, each its own wild and fun world, to find the Code that will fix Gene. But when a greater danger threatens the phone, the fate of all emojis depends on these three unlikely friends who must save their world before it’s deleted forever.

The unfortunate thing for this movie is that animated movies have stepped up their game so much with Pixar & Dreamworks pretty much leading the way that adults enjoy them just as much (if not more) than the kids.  That being said - we can sometimes lose sight of the general idea that these movies are technically for kids.  This movie has been the worst reviewed movie of the year.  And it very much was a mess of a movie in every way . . . . . For adults.  Thats the part that a lot of these critics shot right past.   Kids will most likely love or at the very least enjoy this movie.  The parents that take them and will want to go to sleep for the movie.  I did for a chunk of it.  But just grin and take it for the children, it will be over soon enough and they will be glad they saw it.

The movie was definitely garbage but . . . . I didnt think it was as bad as hyped and the kids still liked it.  That's really all that is supposed to matter with this.  Adults seeing it without kids?   You should hard pass on that!

Kidnap

A typical afternoon in the park turns into a nightmare for single mom Karla Dyson (Academy Award winner Halle Berry) when her son suddenly disappears. Without a cell phone and knowing she has no time to wait for police help, Karla jumps in her own car and sets off in pursuit of the kidnappers. A relentless, edge-of-your seat chase ensues, where Karla must risk everything to not lose sight of her son. 

How was this a full length movie?  Better question - how the hell has Halle Berry fallen this far?  It wasn't too long ago that she was a top actress in Hollywood, right?   Now she is in what should be straight to DVD movie or an extended Criminal Minds episode.  This is pretty much a giant waste of time and you have pretty much seen it by watching the commercial.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bother with this.  Really don't understand how this was made at all.

War For The Planet Of The Apes

In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

This movie was great just like the other ones.  It really is amazing how they make the apes seem like such fluid and normal characters.  And the fact that they develop the apes over the course of the franchise like they are legit actors is even more impressive.  You feel for this apes that you have been watching for three movies now and you get excited about new additions - especially Bad Ape.  That one had me laughing out loud so many times during this movie.  The only knock I'll make against this movie is that in the grand scheme of things it just felt like a long isolated battle.  It didn't feel like another chapter in this progressing story as much as the other two did.  It just kind of felt like well let's fight this group of humans now.  Not sure if that makes sense or not but it just seemed to be lacking a little bit of a hook that the other movies had.  It was also way too long considering what I just said above.  Sorry - that was two knocks.  

I would still recommend people check this movie out - especially if you are fans of the franchise.  It is a very enjoyable watch even if it kind of lacked as much substance as the others.  

Dunkirk

Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.

Wow!  This was one hell of an intense war movie from beginning to end.  And it was done in such an engulfing your senses way that you feel like you are there through all the chaos.  No time for a "story" or for character development.  Honestly, I don't even remember a single characters name.  And it didn't matter.  You were just there with these soldiers trying so desperately to survive through three different stories/vantage points that all eventually converge.  Christopher Nolan truly is the genius filmmaker of this generation.  

I would absolutely recommend that everyone check this out.  It's easily the best war movie I've seen since Saving Private Ryan and is a lock for one of the best movies of the year.

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets

In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha—an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

Yikes.  I had given this movie the benefit of the doubt hoping that it would be somewhat like The Fifth Element - a totally off the wall movie from years ago that I will still watch all the time as one of the ultimate guilty pleasure movies.  It was ridiculously bad though.  I pulled the plug halfway through because of how not enjoyable this movie was in every way.  Characters - poop.  Story - poop.  Pacing - poop.  Even the visual spectacle of it which should have been enough to carry the movie by itself?  Poop.

I would not recommend anyone bother wasting their time or money on this one.  This will end up being one of the worst movies of the year I'm pretty sure.

Wish Upon

In the latest thriller from the director of Annabelle, 17-year-old Clare Shannon (Joey King) is barely surviving the hell that is high school, along with her friends Meredith (Sydney Park) and June (Shannon Purser). So when her dad (Ryan Phillippe) gifts her an old music box with an inscription that promises to grant the owner's wishes, she thinks there is nothing to lose. Clare makes her first wish and, to her surprise, it comes true. Before long, she finally has it all: money, popularity and her dream boy. Everything seems perfect - until the people closest to her begin dying in gruesome and twisted ways. Now, with blood on her hands, Clare has to get rid of the box, before it costs her and everyone she loves the ultimate price.

This movie was beyond formula.  If you see the trailer you have pretty much seen the movie.  That being said - it was still kind of enjoyable.  It was like a Final Destination kind of twist with the way that they teased the deaths to come and the story was told quickly and easily enough that it didn't drag and get boring like a lot of recent horror movies like this.  

I would kind of recommend peeps checking this out.  It's a pretty decent watch even though you know every little thing that is going to happen from beginning to end.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.

This was easily the best Spider-Man movie to date.  It easily knocked Spider-Man 2 (the one with Doc Ock) out of the top spot.  They didn't insult us with the third take on the origin since we have already sat through that twice in the last 15 years pretty much.  They picked right up where Captain America: Civil War left off and tied it in to that in a truly hilarious way.   Tom Holland is beyond perfectly cast as Peter Parker.  Michael Keaton was awesome as the villain.  All side characters were given a good amount of development time and have a ton of room to grow as this franchise continues.  The writing was funny as hell and combined with the excellent direction made the movie play out so well that in the modern day where spoilers and plot points are given out months in advance this movie actually made me yell out HOLY $HIT twice by catching me off guard along with the rest of the audience.  Cannot do justice to how impressive that was to me.   

I recommend that everyone check this movie out.  I've always been a huge Spidey fan and this met and far exceeded all expectations of it.  This again is the best Spidey movie so far and definitely a top 5 - if not top 3 - Marvel movie to date.

The Beguiled

The Beguiled is an atmospheric thriller from acclaimed writer/director Sofia Coppola. The story unfolds during the Civil War, at a Southern girls’ boarding school. Its sheltered young women take in an injured enemy soldier. As they provide refuge and tend to his wounds, the house is taken over with sexual tension and dangerous rivalries, and taboos are broken in an unexpected turn of events.

What a snoozer.  It was advertised as this creepy build up kind of movie but the payoff was beyond weak.  And honestly, the build up to it was nothing that you had not seen in the trailer.  Honestly, I felt like I had seen the entire movie already just by watching the commercial.  This is just another log on the fire of Sophia Coppola being so loved by critics and me not understanding why whatsoever.

I would not recommend anyone waste their time checking this out.  There really is no reason this was made or no point for you to take the 90 minutes to watch it.

The Big Sick

Based on the real-life courtship: Pakistan-born comedian Kumail and grad student Emily fall in love, but they struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail must navigate the crisis with her parents and the emotional tug-of-war between his family and his heart.

I did not know until the end that this was based on a real-life couple.  Even before finding that out, this was one of the most real feeling movies I have seen in a while.  You get hooked by all the chemistry between the characters and with all the movies that try so hard to be all out comedies - this one didn't but was easily one of the funnier movies of the year.  Just the awkwardness of some of the conversations and being honest about them had me belly laughing at so many points.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this one out.  It was a very enjoyable watch with a great story and family dynamics.

Despicable Me 3

The team who brought you "Despicable Me" and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, "Despicable Me 2" and "Minions," returns to continue the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters—Margo, Edith and Agnes—and the Minions. 

This movie was more of the same from the first sequel.  Nowhere near as good as the first one but still enjoyable for parents and kids.  The second one suffered from a very subpar villain.  This one's villain was one of the better parts of the movie.  But there was definitely not enough of the minions or of them with the girls or of Gru with the girls.  The whole group seemed very disconnected and it took away somewhat from the chemistry that was so awesome in the original.  

I would still recommend people checking this out.  It's a good family venture to the movies even with the knocks I made against it.

The House

After Scott (Will Ferrell) and Kate (Amy Poehler) Johansen lose their daughter Alex’s college fund, they become desperate to earn it back so she can pursue her dream of attending a university. With the help of their neighbor Frank (Jason Mantzoukas), they decide to start an illegal casino in the basement of his house.

This was pretty disappointing.  I wasn't really expecting much but had small hopes because of the short running time and that it was a R rated comedy.  But those hopes were not realized and I only laughed out loud once at a classic Will Ferrel random drunk scene.  The rest was pretty much what you saw in the trailer.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bother with this movie.  It's a pretty big waste of time and money.

Baby Driver

A talented, young getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

Wow!  This was the best use of music I've ever seen in a movie.  The music was like the best character honestly.  It was so woven into the dialogue and pretty much every scene.  On top of that some awesome acting from all the tough guy/girl criminals and this was a very enjoyable, edgy ride.  At a time of year where it's usually nothing but over the top effects sequels or retreads and zero originality - this was a very enjoyable break from the norm.  

I would definitely recommend people check this out.  The writing, acting, directing and editing were all top notch and made this a great watch.

47 Meters Down

On the rebound after a devastating break-up, Lisa (Mandy Moore) is ready for adventure while on vacation in Mexico. Even still, she needs a little extra persuasion when her daring sister Kate (Claire Holt) suggests they go shark diving with some locals. Once underwater in a protective cage, Lisa and Kate catch a once in a lifetime, face-to-face look at majestic Great Whites. But when their worst fears are realized and the cage breaks away from their boat, they find themselves plummeting to the bottom of the seabed, too deep to radio for help without making themselves vulnerable to the savage sharks, their oxygen supplies rapidly dwindling. 

I thought that this was going to be a cheesy single camera type of movie.  Like Paranormal Activity underwater.  They had done one a few years back and I can't remember what it was called.  But it wasn't.  This was actually a pretty decent shark scare movie.  They didn't show you as much I'm sure because of budget reasons but they did a good enough job of building the tension and kept it at a super tight running time of under 90 minutes.

I would kind of recommend people checking this out. It's not a must see by any means but I definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Rough Night

The stars play five best friends from college who reunite in Miami 10 years later for a wild bachelorette weekend. But when the partying ends up taking a dark turn and they accidentally kill a male stripper, the longtime friends are forced to put their heads together and cover up the accident.

This is absolutely one of those movies where if you have seen the commercial then you have seen the movie.  There were no big laughs that you had not already seen.  Honestly the movie really wasn't that funny at all.  There were a few scattered laughs here or there but not nearly enough to carry the whole movie.  

I wouldn't really recommend that anyone bother seeing this.  It's not worth the time or the money because you can just watch the two minute version on your tv during a commercial break.

Transformers: The Last Knight

The Last Knight shatters the core myths of the Transformers franchise, and redefines what it means to be a hero. Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Saving our world falls upon the shoulders of an unlikely alliance: Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg); Bumblebee; an English Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins); and an Oxford Professor (Laura Haddock).

Congratulations, Michael Bay!   You have done the unthinkable.  You have manage to push the guy that pretty much sees EVERY movie that comes out to announce that I will absolutely not be seeing any more Transformers movies.  I couldn't even make it through this one.  I pushed to get to about the half way mark but then the list of things I could rather be doing was so massive that I just couldn't do it anymore.  This is just more of the same crap from the other Transformers sequels.  They try the Fast & Furious idea of bringing actors back to the franchise but nobody cares.  The script is so beyond painfully bad that I was groaning out loud within the first 5 minutes and never stopped.  The action is just over the top - tons of crap happening on the screen stuff.  And all of this kills me because the original Transformers is absolutely one of my favorite movies ever.  Never have I seen something get this much worse as it goes on.  I pray that people stop going to see this garbage so that they will stop making them.  

I would absolutely not recommend anyone see this.  It is pretty much a lock for worst movie of the year for me.   I'm literally annoyed even writing about it right now.  I've literally been shaking my head in disgust the whole time.

All Eyez On Me

All Eyez on Me tells the true and untold story of prolific rapper, actor, poet and activist Tupac Shakur. The film follows Shakur from his early days in New York City to his evolution into being one of the world’s most recognized and influential voices before his untimely death at the age of 25. Against all odds, Shakur’s raw talent, powerful lyrics and revolutionary mind-set propelled him into becoming a cultural icon whose legacy continues to grow long after his passing.

After Straight Outta Compton, I was kind of excited about this movie.  I remember growing up during all of this and even though I was never really the biggest fan of Tupac, I wanted to see how they covered everything.  I ended up royally disappointed.  Outside of the fact that the actor really looked like Tupac, this movie was a giant waste of time.  The acting and storytelling was mailed in.  Most of the huge events were just cutaways to news reporters telling about it.  And why in the blue hell did this movie have to be almost 2 1/2 hours long when it breezed through so much!?!

I would definitely not recommend people waste their time with this.  It was a major disappointment and pretty much just mailed in trying to cash in on the success and great job done on Straight Outta Compton.

Cars 3

Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen is suddenly pushed out of the sport he loves. To get back in the game, he will need the help of an eager young race technician, Cruz Ramirez, with her own plan to win, plus inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet and a few unexpected turns. Proving that #95 isn’t through yet will test the heart of a champion on Piston Cup Racing’s biggest stage!

This was an excellent rebound for this franchise.  Cars 2 is pretty much recognized as the one big turd that Pixar has ever made.  They pretty much made that movie as a blatant attempt to sell a bunch of merchandise.  Everything about it was very much mailed in.   This movie is absolutely the worthy sequel to Cars.  This had all the same writing and emotional hooks that the original did and was a very pleasant surprise since I had gone in to it expecting another turd in an animation franchise that I have never really been hooked by even though I liked the original. 

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was a very enjoyable family film with great messages for kids and adults alike.

The Book Of Henry

Sometimes things are not always what they seem, especially in the small suburban town where the Carpenter family lives. Single suburban mother Susan Carpenter (Naomi Watts) works as a waitress at a diner, alongside feisty family friend Sheila (Sarah Silverman). Her younger son Peter (Jacob Tremblay) is a playful 8-year-old. Taking care of everyone and everything in his own unique way is Susan’s older son Henry (Jaeden Lieberher), age 12, whose creativity is without limits. Protector to his adoring younger brother and tireless supporter of his often self-doubting mother – and, through investments, of the family as a whole – Henry blazes through the days like a comet. Susan discovers that the family next door, which includes Henry’s kind classmate, 12-year-old Christina (Maddie Ziegler), has a dangerous secret – and that Henry has devised a surprising plan to help. As his brainstormed rescue plan for Christina takes shape in thrilling ways, Susan finds herself at the center of it.

Wow!   This movie is the dictionary definition of being all over the place.  This was like three very different movies in one.  They should have picked what type of movie they wanted it to be and gone with that.  The kid actors were great.  Honestly - so was the mom.  But the story was something that the great acting simply could not solve.

I doubt anyone will be seeing this regardless since it came out very strangely in summer and will be buried, but nobody really should bother anyway.   It was an unfortunate disappointment because with proper direction this could have been a really good movie.

It Comes At Night

Imagine the end of the world— Now imagine something worse.  Award-winning filmmaker Trey Edward Shults follows his incredible debut feature "Krisha" with It Comes At Night, a horror film following a man (Joel Edgerton) as he learns that the evil stalking his family home may be only a prelude to horrors that come from within.  Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, the tenuous domestic order he has established with his wife and son is put to the ultimate test with the arrival of a desperate young family seeking refuge.  Despite the best intentions of both families, paranoia and mistrust boil over as the horrors outside creep ever-closer, awakening something hidden and monstrous within him as he learns that the protection of his family comes at the cost of his soul.

This was a well done psychological thriller but is very much not a mainstream movie.  There is no straight delivery of fear or answers to any questions.  Almost all of the tension is built between the creepy score and the filming style of slowly zooming in during tense situations. The it from the title refers more to the unknown or paranoia about it.  And that is what all the suspense and fright in this movie is about.  

This was a pretty well done movie that a lot of people with different expectations will end up not liking.  Knowing that it is a thinker instead of just a scary movie might help.  I liked it but didn't love it.