JackusBlackus

This is a good movie. It has a broad mix of sci-fi, mystery, suspense, action, and clever twists. It is not an action movie or a CGI-fest. Don't go in expecting super-heroes, spectacular explosions, choreographed battles or thrilling chase scenes. This is a thought-provoking story about a dystopian future when humans live under the subjugation of aliens. Think of the French Resistance operating in the shadows of the German occupation during World War II. The movie focuses on the life of a person who is working to escape to the wilderness. He has minor interactions with the rebels in the beginning, but unknowingly becomes an important part of their plan.

Who? Why? How? The mystery unfolds and a secret is revealed as relationships between family members and between families are explored. There are many characters and many relationships to establish, so it takes a while for the story to get started. But once the plot gets going you listening to every word and analyzing every action.

While the performance by Ethan Hawke stands out and the Billy the Kid character is kind of interesting, they are not enough to rescue the rest of the movie. The movie is about a boy searching for a moral compass in a world of moral ambiguity, but there is little continuity and progression as the movie stumbles from scene to scene up to a finale that makes no sense except in a Hollywood script. It is as if somebody created a list of Western tropes and the plot was later developed around that list. The dialogue is clumsy and sometimes barely believable and it is filled with tired cliches and neo-cowboy philosophy. Some of the minor characters end up being distractions that detract from the movie. The biggest distraction is Leila George. Nobody's sister is that beautiful, especially if she is only a minor character. Finally, I like Chris Pratt, but he was miscast. His character is supposed to be an evil drunken psychopath, but instead he seems too much like Andy Dwyer from Parks and Recreation.

I suppose that if you have seen two other movies by M. Night Shyamalan, Unbreakable and Split, you might quickly figure out that this is the sequel that was previously alluded to, and it might be what you have been waiting for. You will be disappointed. The movie starts out well, but soon deteriorates into a formula super-hero action movie with some mystery, horror, and suspense thrown in. It is a M. Night Shyamalan movie, so it has a twist at the end, of course. Unfortunately, the twist is ridiculous and absurd, and it adds nothing. I suspect that its sole purpose is to set up yet another sequel in which the two twenty-somethings get married and have a baby with mutant powers. Bruce Willis does a good job playing the stoic hero and James McAvoy handles his role with precision. Samuel Jackson plays Samuel Jackson.

A friend convinced me to see this because it steps outside of the Transformers formula. I applaud the creators for that but I was not expecting a teen-girl-getting-past-tragedy movie. I imagine that it might resonate with some people, teens perhaps, but it did not work for me. I was ready to leave about halfway through the movie. I was also bothered by the portrayal of Bumblebee as a bumbling half-wit pet throughout the film, when he is supposed to be an elite rebel fighter and a real "person" with intelligence.

This is great animation. It has a great old-school vibe with some classic looks at times, but then there are some animation techniques that I have never seen before. The art and the atmospheric effects reminded me of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings. Spiderman fans (and super-hero fans, in general) might not like the story because it's not your typical comic-book story. But, I am not a fan of super-hero movies and the story is ok with me, except that the fight at the end is too long (like in every other super-hero movie).

This is a very beautiful film that excels in every way, except that it seems slow in places. Some scenes seem to drift or linger a little too long, perhaps in order to give the viewer a chance to reflect. Other than that, the story, the script, and the acting are great. It deserves awards.

Melissa McCarthy delivers in this story of an author who can no longer make it writing biographies of long-forgotten celebrities and stumbles into a lucrative, but short-lived, scheme for writing an unusual form of fiction.

There are a few humorous moments sprinkled into what would otherwise be a long, slow, dull, and completely forgettable spy-movie spoof. Avoid this unless you must see Rowan Atkinson.

This is a truly incredible documentary film about an incredible feat: the climb of El Capitan without any protection by Alex Honnold. The film is for climbers and couch potatoes alike. It gives you some perspective about climbers and climbing. It shows the months of mental and physical preparation by Alex and all of the people involved. And then it shows you the climb. There a two very good reasons why a person might not want to watch this film: 1. The camera work is spectacular. You are right there on the rock face, 1000's of feet above the valley floor. If heights make you squeamish, it might be difficult to watch. 2. The mood throughout the movie is one of impending death. It might be difficult to watch how people deal with the real possibility of Alex falling to his death.

Don't go into this movie thinking it is "The Right Stuff". This is a very personal story of the space program from the perspectives of Neil Armstrong and his wife, Janet. While other accounts focus on the spectacle and heroics of the Gemini and Apollo programs, this one focuses on the people and their experiences. I think it gives new insight into what it must have been like to be an astronaut. As a side note, the sound is incredible -- I expect it to win some awards.

I must say that I enjoyed the movie with its intrigue and mystery and the assortment of curious characters. But I left feeling like it could have been a great movie rather than just a good movie. The first half of the movie had my full attention, but then it seemed to lose its way. The mystery and intrigue just evaporated at some point and what was left seemed like a different movie.

It is annoying when a movie's trailers misrepresent the movie. White Boy Rick is not a gangster/crime drama or a dark comedy as the trailers portray. It is really much better and more compelling. It is a sad story of a teenager in a poor broken family growing up in a poor neighborhood in Detroit. Overall, the movie is decent and the acting is solid. Bel Powley is particularly noteworthy in a supporting role as the sister. My major complaint about the movie is that it gets sidetracked at the end by calling out the injustice of the outcome. The movie is not about injustice and the detour at the end does not fit.

I found the movie to be very enjoyable, though it has rough patches with stilted dialog and some difficult-to-swallow moments. Otherwise, Anna Kendrick is quirky and Blake Lively is hot, and that's about all that can be said about the movie without spoiling it.

In short, the film is watchable and even enjoyable in some respects due to good individual performances and good dialogue; however, I found it to difficult to remain engaged for several reasons. First, the various stories seem unrelated with only minor interactions. The transitions are abrupt, ending one story and then moving onto the next. While the plot ties them all together in the end, waiting for it takes some effort. Second, all of the stories are centered around tragedy and I just stopped caring at some point. Third, with the amount of time spent on the "unreliable narrator" device in the beginning, I expected (or even hoped for) it to play a significant role in the movie, but it doesn't. Sure, there is a little twist in the end that ties it all together, but it is ineffective and unimportant. Finally, the resolution at the end that ties everything together was a disappointment.

I think that people expecting to see big-budget Hollywood romantic comedy are going to be disappointed. This is a lighthearted and well-executed film about how three adults who are stuck in a rut learn to get on with life. The movie avoids complicated plot twists, zany antics, and characters with undeveloped brains. Instead, the comedy is thoughtful and clever and sometimes subtle.