Get Out


Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy (Catherine Keener) and Dean (Bradley Whitford).  At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined.

I never would have imagined going in how awesome this movie was going to be on so many levels.  It was creepy as hell because of the constant level of tension throughout.  Something as simple as drinks on the patio had you sitting on the edge of your seat.  It was an incredible social commentary about racism in today's society.  It was also absolutely hilarious at times due to the lead's best friend whenever he would pop up.  And the laughs were so amazingly timed to relieve the built up tension.  I really can't say much more without giving too much away and this movie is too good to be spoiled.  I am willing to guarantee that this movie ends on my Top 10 list at the end of the year.

I absolutely recommend that everyone check this out.  This movie is very worthy of Must See status and is an amazing surprise for a random February release.

A Cure For Wellness


An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps. He soon suspects that the spa's miraculous treatments are not what they seem. When he begins to unravel its terrifying secrets, his sanity is tested, as he finds himself diagnosed with the same curious illness that keeps all the guests here longing for the cure. 

This movie had a massive aura of creepiness and tension right from the start and it properly elevated as the movie went on.  It was written and directed in a way where the viewer slowly got bits of information but it didn't drag so your interests were kept throughout.  Can't really talk to much about the ending without giving anything away but it did go a little off the rails.  I was worried that it would be one of those movies with amazing buildup to an ending that doesn't payoff so a little off the rails was not a problem at all.  This movie reminded me a lot of Shutter Island from a few years back but with more tension, creepiness and an overall look to everything.

I would definitely recommend this movie to fans of creepy thriller movies.  It was a very enjoyable watch.


A United Kingdom


A United Kingdom is based on extraordinary true events. In 1947, Seretse Khama, the King of Botswana, met Ruth Williams, a London office worker. The attraction was immediate: she was captivated by his vision for a better world, he was struck by her willingness to embrace it.  Both felt liberated by the social upheaval that followed the war - Seretse sensed the opportunity for change as the Empire weakened, Ruth saw the possibility for a "bigger life" as women pushed for independence and equality.  They were a perfect match, yet their proposed marriage was challenged not only by their families but by the British and South African governments. The latter had recently introduced the policy of apartheid and found the notion of a biracial couple ruling a neighboring country intolerable. South Africa threatened the British: either thwart the couple or be denied access to South African uranium (vital for the British nuclear program) and gold (vital to replenish reserves following the war) and face the risk of South Africa invading Botswana.  Despite the terrible pressures they faced, Seretse and Ruth never wavered - they fought for their love every step of the way, and in so doing changed their nation and inspired the world.

This was a very well told and acted story.  The necessary against all odds chemistry between the two leads was there from the beginning.  You are definitely hooked and rooting for them on this crazy journey they go on with unimaginable hurdles they have to face.  I went into this movie expecting boredom and a nap and was very pleasantly surprised.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It was a very enjoyable as well as an educational watch.

A Dog's Purpose


Based on the beloved bestselling novel by W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog’s Purpose, from director Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, Dear John, The 100-Foot Journey), shares the soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog (voiced by Josh Gad) who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love. The family film told from the dog’s perspective also stars Dennis Quaid, Peggy Lipton, Britt Robertson, K.J. Apa, Juilet Rylance, Luke Kirby, John Ortiz and Pooch Hall.

This was a very cute movie with the Josh Gad commentary as the dog.  The difficult part was the dog passing from life to life.  To say that watching those parts were difficult is the understatement of the year.  But the movie did do a really good job of going back and forth between the joys and sadness of life with pets.  I've always been a cat person not a dog person but this movie made it very difficult to not love dogs.

I would recommend people checking this out.  It was a good watch as long as you can deal with the dog passing on multiple times.  Be warned taking kids to this that you will surely end up having talks about death.

Fist Fight


Ice Cube and Charlie Day star as high school teachers prepared to solve their differences the hard way. On the last day of the year, mild-mannered high school English teacher Andy Campbell (Day) is trying his best to keep it together amidst senior pranks, a dysfunctional administration and budget cuts that put jobs on the line. But things go from bad to worse when he accidentally crosses his much tougher and deeply feared colleague, Ron Strickland (Ice Cube), who challenges Campbell to an old-fashioned throwdown after school. News of the fight spreads like wildfire and ends up becoming the very thing this school, and Campbell, needed.

I had high hopes for this movie just because I'm a huge fan of Charlie Day.  I think that those expectations might have worked against this movie.  It ended up being absolutely hysterical towards the end but it took what felt like way too long to get there and there were not enough laughs along the way too.  Charlie Day playing the straight guy was weird and it really only started becoming funny once he was more unhinged. 

The movie was a decent watch with decent laughs that got much bigger towards the end.  I wouldn't really recommend it though because of way too much dull and down time building up to the laughs though.

John Wick: Chapter 2


In this next chapter following the 2014 hit, legendary hitman John Wick [Keanu Reeves] is forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest killers.

Wow!  This was really like massive amounts of testosterone and adrenaline in film form.  The fight scenes were crazy.  The shootouts were crazy.  Any time that there was driving included it was crazy.  This movie was a very enjoyable watch if you like these kind of action movies just like the first one.  They don't waste too much time with senseless stories or too much build up.  It's just badass across the board on the screen from beginning to end.  The only knock that I could make against this is just that maybe it didn't need to be as long of a movie.

I would absolutely recommend anyone who likes action movies checking this movie out.  Keanu Reeves career has really been brought back from the dead by this franchise that can easily continue as long as they keep the action as top notch. 

Fifty Shades Darker


Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele inFifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, the second and third chapters based on the worldwide bestselling “Fifty Shades” phenomenon. Expanding upon the events set in motion in Fifty Shades of Grey.

This movie was god awful.  Like painfully bad.  I didn't think that it could be worse than the original but I was wrong.  The acting was worse.  The story was nonexistabnt.  And the couple had zero chemistry.

I wouldn't recommend anyone watching this and hate that there is still another one on the way.  

The Lego Batman Movie


In the irreverent spirit of fun that made The LEGO Movie a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – LEGO Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure: The LEGO Batman Movie. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

This movie was very enjoyable.  Not as funny as The Lego Movie but pretty close.  The constant making fun of Batman history was awesome and Will Arnett's egotistical voicing of Batman was also great.  The incorporating of villains outside of the D.C. Universe was an excellent surprise.  The Lego franchise definitely has a very bright future as long as they keep up the humor for the adults too.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  It's a great watch for both the kids and adults.

Rings


A new chapter in the beloved "Ring" horror franchise. A young woman becomes worried about her boyfriend when he explores a dark subculture surrounding a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after he has viewed it. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before…

This was poop.  Total poop.  Wait 12 years and deliver a mailed in and forced sequel.  Good idea.  I was so not scared at any point.  I was so not hooked or entertained that I literally said I'm going to sleep - wake me up if I start snoring and took like a 30 minute nap in the middle of the movie.  I was not too big on the first two Ring movies but this one was much, much worse.

I would absolutely not recommend anyone wasting their time with this.  It's a blatant money grab by the studio and a total waste of time and money.

Gold


Gold is the epic tale of one man’s pursuit of the American dream, to discover gold. Starring Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar, Dallas Buyers Club, The Wolf of Wall Street) as Kenny Wells, a modern day prospector desperate for a lucky break, he teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on an amazing journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia. Getting the gold was hard, but keeping it would be even harder, sparking an adventure through the most powerful boardrooms of Wall Street. The film is inspired by a true story.

This movie basically relied entirely on the performance of Matthew McConaughey.  There was pretty much everything else around him just mailed in.  The performance was good but nowhere near good enough to carry the entire movie.  Especially since it could have been so much shorter.  I figured something had to be up when it was bumped from a high profile Christmas Day release date to the end of January wasteland and that was basically the studio admitting that the effort was pretty much a waste. 

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this.  It's an overdone 2 hour movie that felt much longer and is definitely not worth your time and money. 

The Great Wall


Starring global superstar Matt Damon and directed by one of the most breathtaking visual stylists of our time, Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Legendary’s The Great Wall tells the story of an elite force making a valiant stand for humanity on the world’s most iconic structure. The first English-language production for Yimou is the largest film ever shot entirely in China. 

I watched this entire movie with a confused dog look on my face.  A . . . . . How the hell is Matt Damon in this movie.  Could not get past this at any point during the movie.  It was worst casting than Tom Cruise back as The Last Samurai.  He looked so massively out of place and on top of that - why would he choose this movie that is really just . . . . . . B . . . . . This is a alien invasion type of movie.  Kind of like Starship Troopers based near or on The Great Wall of China.  That's it.  No joke.  It is advertised as this epic movie that is visually amazing (which at times it was) but it's them fighting against this big lizard alien army.  I really only watched it as long as I did because I was laughing so hard at how this was a big budget movie with a huge actor.  

I would not recommend anyone checking this out.  It's one of the sillier movies made in a long time all things considered and will most likely end up being a punchline to Matt Damon's career.