Ready Player One

From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name. The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality- bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.

I had read this book and LOVED it.  Could not have been more excited to see the movie if I tried.  Spielberg directing a movie like this again finally?  Where do I sign!?!  There were MANY changes made from the book.  Normally this would royally set me off disappointment wise.  However, these changes majorly worked movie wise and both of them equally awesome.  This movie was basically a pop culture fan's dream.

I absolutely recommend people checking this out.  This was old school Spielberg at his best.  It was a very fun popcorn movie.

Sherlock Gnomes

The beloved garden gnomes from "Gnomeo and Juliet" are back for a whole new adventure in London. When Gnomeo and Juliet first arrive in the city with their friends and family, their biggest concern is getting their new garden ready for spring. However, they soon discover that someone is kidnapping garden gnomes all over London. When Gnomeo and Juliet return home to find that everyone in their garden is missing – there’s only one gnome to call… Sherlock Gnomes. The famous detective and sworn protector of London’s garden gnomes arrives with his sidekick Watson to investigate the case. The mystery will lead our gnomes on a rollicking adventure where they will meet all new ornaments and explore an undiscovered side of the city.

Ehhhhhhhh . . . . . this was pretty much garbage.  Not going to lie.  I was pleasantly surprised by Gnomeo And Juliet.  Went into it with no expectations and it was pretty good.  This one - was not.  What seemed funny and natural in the first one felt very forced and often missed its mark in this one.  The sight gags were totally not the same and nothing really generated the big laughs that Gnomeo & Juliet did.  

I wouldn't really recommend anyone bothering with this.  It's a pretty lame sequel offering to what was a pretty enjoyable family film out of left field with the original.  

Unsane

A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she is confronted by her greatest fear--but is it real or is it a product of her delusion?

This was a clever premise and the filming style that looked like it was all done from someone's phone was very catchy for a while.  Unfortunately, it kind of fell off the rails a little bit when it became more real than her just being crazy.  I can't say too much more without spoiling anything.

I would kind of recommend people checking this out.  It's not a must see by any means but was a pretty decent short watch for a while even if it plays out kind of flat.

Pacific Rim Uprising

John Boyega (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity’s victory against the monstrous “Kaiju.” Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)—who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction.  Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert (The Fate of the Furious‘ Scott Eastwood) and 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (newcomer Cailee Spaeny), as the heroes of the PPDC become the only family he has left. Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they will set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.

This was your textbook popcorn movie sequel.  Not much story.  Not much substance at all.  Some minor returning characters.  Ties between new characters and the ones that didn't come back.  Get back in the robots and fight the monsters again.  That was literally it.  If you like the action from the first one then  this is an enjoyable watch.  If you are looking for something better or with actual substance you are wasting your time.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to check this out.  Like I said - its a decent watch for the action but it really isn't anything that you have not seen before.

Love, Simon

Everyone deserves a great love story. But for seventeen-year old Simon Spier it's a little more complicated: he's yet to tell his family or friends he's gay and he doesn't actually know the identity of the anonymous classmate he's fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying and life-changing.  Love, Simon is a funny and heartfelt coming-of-age story about the thrilling ride of finding yourself and falling in love.

This was a very genuine and enjoyable movie.  I have never been a fan of overly dramatic and artsy fartsy movies about someone struggling with who they are or coming out like this.  It just always feel so over the top and fake.  This movie felt so real.  It felt real on the friend level.  It felt real of the societal level.  And oh my god on the parental level it felt so real and amazing.  This was a very enjoyable movie and it was great to go on the ride with this character as he comes to terms with who he is.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  It was an incredibly enjoyable watch with great laughs and a HUGE heart.

Tomb Raider

Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen. Now a young woman of 21 without any real focus or purpose, Lara navigates the chaotic streets of trendy East London as a bike courier, barely making the rent. Determined to forge her own path, she refuses to take the reins of her father’s global empire just as staunchly as she rejects the idea that he’s truly gone. Advised to face the facts and move forward after seven years without him, even Lara can’t understand what drives her to finally solve the puzzle of his mysterious death. Leaving everything she knows behind, Lara goes in search of her dad’s last-known destination: a fabled tomb on a mythical island that might be somewhere off the coast of Japan. But her mission will not be an easy one; just reaching the island will be extremely treacherous. Suddenly, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Lara, who—against the odds and armed with only her sharp mind, blind faith and inherently stubborn spirit—must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name tomb raider.

This is the movie that the original Tomb Raider should have been.  It felt more generic.  It felt more natural.  Not as campy and silly.  Alicia Vikkander was excellently cast as was the rest of the cast honestly.  The action was much more intense because of the more natural feel and the pacing of the movie was perfect.  I really enjoyed this.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this out.  It's a very fun watch and a great reboot start for the franchise.

The Hurricane Heist

Under the threat of a hurricane, opportunistic criminals infiltrate a US Mint facility to steal $600 million for the ultimate heist. When the hurricane blows up into a lethal Category 5 storm and their well-made plans go awry, they find themselves needing a vault code known only by one Treasury Agent (Maggie Grace), a need that turns murderous. But the Treasury agent has picked up an unlikely ally, a meteorologist (Toby Kebbell) terrified of hurricanes but determined to save his estranged brother kidnapped by the thieves. He uses his knowledge of the storm as a weapon to win in this non-stop action thriller ride charged with adrenaline throughout.

This movie was literally nothing more than a 90 minute excuse to film stunts.  With the storm effects as the added threats this was just as many driving stunts as you could cram into a movie.  There really is nothing more to say about this.  Zero substance.  Just driving stunts and honestly not the most impressive ones.

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this.  I only did because it showed up online and am pretty sure I fell asleep for awhile during it and honestly I don't think I missed anything because I was able to still completely follow it.  

The Strangers: Prey At Night

A family’s road trip takes a dangerous turn when they arrive at a secluded mobile home park to stay with some relatives and find it mysteriously deserted. Under the cover of darkness, three masked psychopaths pay them a visit to test the family’s every limit as they struggle to survive. Johannes Roberts directs this horror film inspired by the 2008 smash hit "The Strangers."

Let me start by saying that the first movie was one of the scariest movies I've ever seen.  That movie messed my head up big time and I had a hard time sleeping for a while after it.  I actually insisted on seeing this during the day just in case.  It was nowhere near as straight up scary but it was still plenty creepy and very watchable for a horror movie.  This was more about violence/murder than the first one was.  They just started right up and sent straight through the really short run time.

I would definitely recommend horror fans checking this out.  It's a textbook creepy stalker movie.

A Wrinkle In Time

Meg Murry is a typical middle school student struggling with issues of self-worth who just wants to fit in. The daughter of two world-renowned physicists, she is intelligent and uniquely gifted, as is Meg’s younger brother, Charles Wallace, but she has yet to realize it for herself. Complicating matters is the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Murry, which has left Meg devastated and her mother broken-hearted. Charles Wallace introduces Meg and her fellow classmate Calvin to three celestial beings (Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who) who have journeyed to Earth to help search for their father, and together they embark on their formidable quest. Travelling via a wrinkling of time and space known as tessering, they are transported to worlds beyond their imagination where they must confront a powerful evil force. To make it back home to Earth, Meg must face the darkness within herself in order to harness the strength necessary to defeat the darkness rapidly enveloping the Universe.

Wow!  This movie was massively disappointing.  The key to any fantasy movie is to fluidly takes you to this different place and make you enjoy the ride.  There was nothing fluid about this.  It was all very forced.  It was way too wordy with explanations by the characters about what was going on.  That right there pretty much ruins any magic of the journey.  That on top of all the wasted talent involved in this really made it even more disappointing.  

I really would not recommend anyone bothering with this movie.  I'm a huge Disney fan but this was pretty much their most blah and disappointing offering in a long time.  

Death Wish

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures presents director Eli Roth's reimagining of the classic 1974 revenge thriller Death Wish.  Dr. Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) is a surgeon who only sees the aftermath of Chicago violence when it is rushed into his ER - until his wife (Elisabeth Shue) and college-age daughter (Camila Morrone) are viciously attacked in their suburban home. With the police overloaded with crimes, Paul, burning for revenge, hunts his family's assailants to deliver justice. As the anonymous slayings of criminals grabs the media's attention, the city wonders if this deadly vigilante is a guardian angel or a grim reaper.

This was a good modernized version of Death Wish.  It wasn't as viscious as the older one with Bruce Willis feeling his way through his desire for vengeance.  One still has to question if this was the right time for this movie to come out.  Kept asking myself if a movie about vigilante justice with everything going on in the world today was a good idea.  Still you definitely feel/identify for the vigilante and want to cheer as he takes out the guys that did those things to his wife and child.  I can't say that I don't identify with that line of thought.

I would recommend people checking this movie out if they were interested.  It's not a must see by any means but it was a decent watch for this type of movie.

Red Sparrow

Dominika Egorova is many things. A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs. A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit. A master of seductive and manipulative combat.  When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands, with her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, including an American CIA agent who tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust.

This was a very enjoyable and well told movie.  It probably could have been paced a little better.  And I felt like Jennifer Lawrence's Russian accent definitely could have been more consistent.  But outside of that this was a pretty good and tense spy movie.  Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton both did great jobs with their performances.   

I would recommend people checking this one out.  Like I said - it ran a little bit long but it was a good watch.