PLOT: A clinic director of a Planned Parenthood
has a change of heart about abortion.
Based on the book
of the same name is about Abby Johnson (Ashley Bratcher) who had 2 abortions
herself-one the regular way and one chemical.
She is perfect woman to entice other women to do the same thing until
she sees what really happens to a fetus.
It is very GRAPHIC! After she sees that she becomes a pro-lifer
herself. It is a pro-life movie and very
well done. It does tell the other side that it is a business and it is corrupt.
You have to decide. Bratcher did an
excellent job. I hope she isn’t
blacklisted for doing this movie. The controversy is that the major
network-even Lifetime didn’t want to advertise and they should have! This is freedom of the press regardless of
subject matter. You have to search to
find the film but it is well worth it.
SHAZAM
ACTION/SUPERHERO
PLOT: Young boy has deity powers
by saying one name.
Billy Batson (Asher
Angel) is an orphan bouncing around from one foster home to another. He only was to find his mom so the last
faster home he meets Freddy, who is an authority of superheroes for he has a
bad leg and uses a crutch. He gets a
strange vision from The Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) gives him amazing powers with
one word, Shazam (Zachery Levi) which means Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus
Achilles and Mercury. The villain in the
film is Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) who wants Billy’s powers. OMG, this is good! It is better than I thought! ALL the actors are good in their parts. It is delightful movie about heroes who
doesn’t always wear capes and family.
PET SEMATARY
HORROR
PLOT: Remake of the 1989 movie.
Based on the novel
by horror writer Stephen King is about loving family and someone dies. One parent can’t accept death and brings the
dead child back to life with terrible consequences. The updated version is a bit creepier but the
theme is the same-never bring back the dead!
Critics and fans will compare the difference between the novel, the two
movies many times but if you like Stephen King you will like both versions.
PLOT: The dragon Night Fury is growing up and finds a mate along with his master.
Hiccup (Jay Barchel) is Night Fury (Toothless) friend and master. Both are getting older and discover love. There is also a place where dragons have their own land and Hiccup and friends must help the dragons go there. The movie is beautiful-especially when they go to the Hidden World. It has romance, drama and thrills. It seems like the last movie but don’t count on it. It is worth watching.
CAPTAIN MARVEL
ACTION/ADVENTURE
PLOT: How an exceptional female pilot becomes a powerful superheronie.
Carol Danvers (Brie Larson Oscar winner) is a pilot and through a series of events turns into an extraordinary super being. This is the movie version of Captain Marvel NOT the comic book version. She gets help by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and they make a good team. The film is not bad. The special effects are amazing!!! It has all the elements of a Marvel movies back-story, humor, action and it is connected to the Avengers’ franchise. The movie is getting bad press because of its star Larson saying things not relevant to the movie she is promoting. If you look pass that you will really enjoy this film.
FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY
DRAMA
PLOT: How amateur wrestler rose to become the youngest WWE female champion.
Saraya Jade Bevis aka Paige (Florence Pugh) is born into a wrestling family and all she dreamed of was to be in WWE but she never dreamed she would be picked and becomes WWE female champion on the first time on the big stage. It is not as funny as the trailer suggest but when it is funny it is hilarious! Her real family is from England, middle class and sometimes criminal. She goes through tough training then NXT. She learns the ropes-professionally and personally and she becomes victorious! It shows wrestling is not fake, not a joke either. It takes strength and stamina to survive so the next time your children want to be a wrestler-watch this movie.
PLOT: The final chapter of the Unbreakable trilogy.
In Unbreakable, we
are introduced to David Dunn (Bruce Willis), a man who is indestructible and
Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) who is very intelligent but his bones are
fragile-like glass. In the movie Split
Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) has 24 different personalities and kidnaps
young girls. They are in the same mental
institution Raven Hill supervised Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) whose specialty
is people who think they are superheroes.
WTF!!! The film is interesting
and has plot twists but it is slow and strange too. If you didn’t like the other two movies-don’t
see this! If you did like it by all
means go for you know the characters and you want to know the outcome.
UPSIDE
COMEDY/DRAMA
PLOT: A handicapped man gets an ex-con to assist him.
Phillip Lacasse
(Bryan Cranston Breaking Bad) is very rich and paralyzed from the neck
down. Out of spite to his good friend
Yvonne (Nicole Kidman) he picks Dell Scott (Kevin Hart), a parole to take care
of him. The film is a remake of a French
movie The Intouchables made in 2011. It
is not as funny as you think from the trailer but it does have funny moments. It
is about friendship, responsibilities and not judging people of what they look
like. Cranston and Hart are very
good-especially Hart. He has very
touching moments.
ALITA:
BATTLE ANGEL
SCI-FI/ ADVENTURE
PLOT: In the distant future a cyborg-woman will
rise and become a hero...
Alita has a human
brain, a human face but she is a robot.
She is found by Dr. Ido (Christopher
Waltz) in a junkyard. He puts her
together based on her daughter’s body.
Alita learns about her past,
falls in love and finds out she is very powerful! OMG is this good! It is Manga (Japanese
comic) brought to life. Alita has big
anime eyes and fearless like a warrior.
The visional are amazing and the action sequences are fantastic. The only thing is the story. You have seen the same story done a thousand
times but the special effects and action makes it all worthwhile.
IF BEAL STREET COULD TALK
DRAMA
PLOT: Young black couple are in love then he is
arrested for rape.
Tish Rivers (Kiki
Layne Captive State and TV show Chicago Med) is 19 and falls in love with
Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James, Race, Selma and TV limited series Shots
Fired). They have their lives ahead of
them when Alonzo is accused of sexual assault to a Latino woman. Tish is under stress for she is having a baby
for him, she is trying to pay the lawyer and family is angry with her for they
are not married. It is based on a James
Baldwin novel. The cast is great especially Regina King trying to keep her
family together and get Trish’s boyfriend out of jail. It is a sloooow movie and a lot of
flashbacks.
THE FAVOURITE
HISTORICAL DRAMA
PLOT: Queen Ann who is sickly makes very bad
decisions.
Queen Anne (Oscar
winner Olivia Colman) has gout yet she must make tough choices for England in
the 18th century. The real queen in charge is Lady Sarah (Rachel
Weisz) manipulates Queen Anne until Sarah’s distant cousin, Abigail comes to be
a maid but she is a social climber. The
film is called The Favourite because Sarah and Abigail fight for Queen Ann’s
affection! Hard to believe this is a true story! The film is beautifully film
for such a low budget. The acting is
good. If it was modern film it would be
on Lifetime movie or on Masterpiece Theater!
It is funny, strange not for everybody.
THE WIFE
DRAMA
PLOT: A
woman questions her life choices while her husband wins the Noble Peace Prize
for literature.
Joan Castlemen (Oscar nominee Glenn Close)
is married to writer Joe Castlemen (Jonathan Pryce) and wins the Noble Peace
Prize for literature. She is happy for
him as any wife should be but she was born at time (in the 50s) where women
could not excel, be successful in anything so she becomes his ghost
writer. It is nice to see people talk
with intelligence to each other-at times.
Close is amazing as a woman who is reserved but filled with rage and
when she makes a decision it is tragic.
The Transformers franchise by Michael Bay was good. The first was the best then it started to fade to bad but the special effects were great. Now they have created a new movie with the autobot star Bumblebee. It is a prequel to Transformers 2007. He is the hero for he is the first to come to earth and to summon the rest. The acting is great by Hailee Steinfeld (Pitch Perfect 2 and 3) and part-time wrestler John Cena as macho military man Agent Jack Burns. The special effects are amazing but the best part is humans help the story as well as robots and has heart. If you like the Transformers you WILL enjoy this film!
MORTAL ENGINES
ACTION/SCI-FI
PLOT: In the future cities will be on high-powered wheels and steal from each other to survive and one young woman can stop it.
Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar) is a on a mission to kill Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving Lord of the Rings franchise, Matrix franchise) for revenge for disfiguring her face among other things. She is the key to saving the world from a device that can destroy the world lead by Valentine. She gets helps from a rebel, Anna Fang (Jihae) and Tom (Robert Sheehan). Director Peter Jackson from Lord of the Ring franchise did not director the film but produced and wrote the screenplay of the same name by Philip Reeves in 2001.
You have seen this story before: in the distance future is ruined; a young person has to save it and has allies. The female leads Hilmar and Jihae are impressive, the visual effects are wonderful and Weaving as always great as the villain but who stands out is a CGI character named Shirke and important to the film. It is not doing well at the box-office for it wasn’t marketed correctly but it is worth seeming on video or On Demand.
CREED II
DRAMA/SPORTS
PLOT: Adonis Creed must fight his toughest opponent yet.
Creed (Michael B. Jordon, Black Panther) is now champion and Ivan Drago’s son Viktor Drago wants to fight him. Creed is now married and soon to be a dad so he has a lot on his mind. He loses the first fight with Drago then Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) steps in to be his trainer for he wanted no part of training the first time for the death of Apollo Creed. OMG Rocky boxing movies are so much more than boxing. It is about being the underdog and defies the odds. The cast is nothing short of amazing and the fight scenes very realistic. It is an updated version of Rocky IV so if you like these kinds of movies you will love this!
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
MUSICAL/FANTASY
PLOT: The magical nanny comes back to help the Banks family.
Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) is a whimsical nanny who helps the older brother and sister from losing the house. I never saw Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews in 1964 so I can’t compare but I believe the songs in the 1964 version are much better but it does have imagination and heart. Blunt is not bad. She sense she knows what is going on all the time even if no one else does. It is a family film. You will enjoy Blunt’s performance and maybe nothing else.
SPIDER-MAN INTO THE SPIDER VERSE
ANIMATED
PLOT: Miles Morales is the new superhero and help other “Spiders “go back to their own dimensions.
Miles Morales (Shamiek Moore) is a teen dealing with teen issues and he is bitten by a radioactive spider to become the new Spider-Man of New York. The problem is there are many other superhero “Spiders” who he must guide back to their own era. OMG what a movie! If you enjoy Spiderman comics and cartoons you will enjoy this! The animation is odd but good and there is a reason for that. It is action-packed too and a lot of heart. WATCH IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!
ROBIN HOOD
ACTION/ADVENTURE
PLOT: Another version of the classic legend.
There are so many versions of this movie-some are good, some are bad and some are very different and this is different when Jamie Foxx is Little John (!) this a unique telling of a familiar story. The narrator does tell you forget what you have heard and he is right. Robin (Taron Egerton, The Kingsman) of Loxley is a king and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn) drafts him and he goes to war and he sees true horror. When he comes back the love of his life Marion (Eve Hewson) she has moved on for she was told he was dead and because of all the taxes his castle is reduced to shambles he does become a thief and a hero. The movie didn’t do well in theaters-I hope it does well on video because it does have action.
PLOT: Another version of the classic children’s book by Dr.Seuss
The Grinch is angry, lonely green creature who hates Christmas. His only friend is his dog Max. He gets a crazy ideal to steal all the presents from the people in Whoville. It is a timeless story by Dr. Seuss and they have made a live action movie with Jim Carrey; the classic Christmas cartoon with Boris Karloff and now this. This Grinch is mean but very funny too. He is voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch ( Dr.Strange) who doesn’t try to do a Karloff imitation but he is very good and very amusing. Whoville is beautiful in this version especially when they light their tree. It is great for kids and adults.
NIGHT SCHOOL
COMEDY
PLOT: High school dropout tries to receive his GED.
Teddy Walker (Kevin Hart) is a great salesman but he didn’t graduate from high school. He has a beautiful girlfriend Lisa (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and tries to impress her by telling her he is working in a topnotch business firm. In a series of funny, crude events he must go to night school so his friend will get him an entry level job. This is a Kevin Hart movie so if you don’t like Hart and knows his humor you shouldn’t go. The same goes for Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) as his teacher who uses unorthodox ways to learn. She sounds smart but ghetto too. The moral of the movie is you have a second chance to do well and be determined.
A STAR IS BORN
MUSICAL DRAMA
PLOT: Another version of one singer rising while the other is hitting rock bottom.
Do you know there are three other versions of this tragic love story? The first was in 1937, Janet Gaynor and Frederic March, 1954 with Judy Garland and James Manson 1976 with Barbara Streisand and Kristofferson. Now they have Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are lovers who can’t deal with love, success and failure. The pair works very well together. Cooper also directed the film and I must say he got good performances out of Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay and Dave Chappelle to be his debut as a director. The music is good and she sings the songs great!
