Smallfoot

An animated adventure for all ages, with original music and an all-star cast, “Smallfoot” turns the Bigfoot legend upside down when a bright young Yeti finds something he thought didn’t exist—a human. News of this “smallfoot” brings him fame and a chance with the girl of his dreams. It also throws the simple Yeti community into an uproar over what else might be out there in the big world beyond their snowy village, in a rollicking story about friendship, courage and the joy of discovery.

I had no expectations whatsoever of this movie being this much fun.  It was very cute the way that they covered the communication issues between the two worlds and the music throughout made this feel a hell of a lot like a Disney movie.  The voices were great and the story moved along with great pacing.

I would absolutely recommend people checking this movie out.  It is a perfect family movie at a very quiet time in theaters.

Night School

Star Kevin Hart and producer Will Packer, who partnered for the hit "Ride Along" and "Think Like a Man" series, bring their signature style to Night School. Based on a story by Hart, the comedy from director Malcolm D. Lee ("Girls Trip") follows a group of misfits who are forced to attend adult classes in the longshot chance they'll pass the GED exam.

I was worried that this would be one of those movies where the trailer showed all the funny parts.  I was happily wrong.  There were tons of laughs throughout this movie and while the two leads delivered plenty of them, it was the supporting cast that really delivered some of the best stuff.  They kept everything fresh enough that the movie never dragged or fell flat like I kind of expected it to.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.  It has plenty of laughs throughout and is well worth the time and money.

The House With A Clock In Its Walls

Ten-year-old Lewis goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house that contains a mysterious ticktock noise. When Lewis accidentally awakens the dead, the town's sleepy facade magically springs to life with a secret world of witches and warlocks.

This movie could call itself whatever it wants to.  The bottom line is that it was a Goosebumps movie.  From every possible way - it looked like a Goosebumps movie.  The weird thing was that it was rated PG and definitely seemed like it should have at least been PG-13 based on the creepiness level at several times.

I would recommend people with young teenage kids check this out.  It's not for younger kids and if they are later teenagers they will not really care.  But that 10-14 year old range should definitely like this.  

Life Itself

As a young New York couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes.

This is one of those movies that totally does an incredible job of connecting everything in the end and leaves you feeling much better about the movie as a whole at that point.  However, it really did take waaaaaaaaaaay too long to get there.  And there was some stuff in there that was major WTF level in terms of pulling heart strings and what not.  

I would not fully recommend that people check this out.  You can tell its from the creators of This Is Us but I think that their stuff translates better to the small screen than the big screen.

White Boy Rick

Set in 1980s Detroit at the height of the crack epidemic and the War on Drugs, WHITE BOY RICK is based on the moving true story of a blue-collar father and his teenage son, Rick Wershe Jr., who became an undercover police informant and later a drug dealer, before he was abandoned by his handlers and sentenced to life in prison.

This was a very well done and incredibly real feeling movie.  The no-name actors did an excellent job.   Watching all of Rick's stuff spiral out of control was crazy and again all felt very genuine.  Matthew McConaughey did awesome job as his father and was convincing in every way imaginable.  

I would definitely recommend people check this movie out.  Great acting and story telling throughout.  

The Predator

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe's most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.

This was by far the campiest of all the Predator entries in the franchise so far.  That's not to say that it's bad.  Its just that the team that was fighting against the predator was not your usual top notch team that you are used to.  The effects were still cool.  The action was still cool.  There was a TON of humor added to it.  But it was definitely over the top campy at points which was a weird decision overall.  

I would still recommend people checking this out.  It's a good continuation of the franchise but not what you would expect soldier wise at all.  

Kin

KIN, a pulse-pounding crime thriller with a sci-fi twist, is the story of an unexpected hero destined for greatness.

What a joke of a synopsis for this movie.  They make it seem like some legit movie.  It is very much not one.  This should be a made for tv movie on the sci fi channel basically.  It's completely pointless in every way and was released quietly at the end of August for a reason.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this movie at all.  It's a very pointless waste of time.

Peppermint

Peppermint is a revenge story centering on a young mother who finds herself with nothing to lose, and is now going to take from her enemies the very life they stole from her.

This was exactly what you thought it would be from the trailer.  It was entertaining and pretty bad ass at times as long as your could totally suspend reality.   The movie was a little bit long overall but the action was good and Jennifer Garner was more believable than I thought she would be.  

I would recommend people checking this out.  Its basically female Taken and an enjoyable watch.  No rush but it's pretty good.

The Nun

When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in “The Conjuring 2,” as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned. 

This movie was not as overall scary/creepy story wise like The Conjuring movies were.  This was much more about the jump scares than those though.  Creepy sounds.  Creepy visuals.  Lots of watching from behind your hands in this one.   I definitely enjoyed it but not as much as the others in the franchise.

I would still recommend people checking this out.  Just don't expect such a well done story.  This is just straight up about the scares.

Alpha

An epic adventure set in the last Ice Age, ALPHA tells a fascinating, visually stunning story that shines a light on the origins of man’s best friend. While on his first hunt with his tribe’s most elite group, a young man is injured and must learn to survive alone in the wilderness. Reluctantly taming a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, the pair learn to rely on each other and become unlikely allies, enduring countless dangers and overwhelming odds in order to find their way home before winter arrives.

This movie was total garbage.  I made it like halfway through.  No emotional hook.  No character that you were enjoying watching the development of.  It was just a lame excuse to show some decent cinematography.  Literally nothing more.

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this.  Like ever.  Total hot garbage.

A.X.L.

A.X.L. is a top-secret, robotic dog with advanced artificial intelligence created by the military. After an experiment gone wrong, A.X.L. is discovered hiding in the desert by a kind-hearted outsider, (Alex Neustaedter), who finds a way to connect with him after activating his owner-pairing technology. The two develop a special friendship based on trust, loyalty, and compassion. A.X.L. will go to any length to protect his new companion, including facing off against the scientists who created him and who will do anything to get him back. To protect his new best friend from being captured, Miles teams up with a smart, resourceful ally named Sara (Becky G) on a timeless, epic adventure for the whole family.

This movie was just as silly and pointless as the trailer made it out to be.  There was nothing outside of the trailer that you hadn't already seen or could figure out in like five seconds.  The amount of money that gets put into pointless movies like this will never cease to baffle me.  

This movie was a pointless turd and is pretty much out of theaters already after a week.  Rightfully so.  Nobody should really ever bother watching this.  

Searching

After David Kim (John Cho)'s 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter's laptop. In a hyper-modern thriller told via the technology devices we use every day to communicate, David must trace his daughter's digital footprints before she disappears forever.

I never in a million years thought that this movie would be as good and as enjoyable as it was.  I expected it to be another one of those desktop computer movies where they are using technology and social media to tell a story instead of actually filming it.  It was in fact one of those kinds of movie but this was by far and away the best one that has ever been made.  The movie did such a good job of continuing to build the desperation and the mystery with very well timed twists and turns.  

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  Never in a million years expected to be saying that going in but this was a really well done movie.