Friday Flicks: Unsane

Unsane
★★★

What It's About
The unsettled victim of a stalker, Sawyer reaches out to a therapist and gets committed to a mental health hospital. As if things couldn't get any worse the stalker has gotten a job there. Starting to question her own sanity, Sawyer fights to survive.

I debated with myself about whether to review this one or not. I'm guessing most of you haven't heard of it??? But I decided to go ahead any way. I was very excited to see it since I love psychological thrillers and the entire movie was shot with an iphone so I was curious.

I had a few disappointments with this one. First, my iphone won't do half the things this one did. Night vision video? What the hell?! Come on! I guess I should get the iphone X if I want that feature. ;)

My real disappointment was that the previews lead you to believe that you're going to be trying to decide if Sawyer is actually sane or not. I don't know why they marketed it that way. There was never any doubt in my mind that she was sane. They should have just marketed it for what it was. A twisty, disturbing tale of a girl held against her will in the one place where no one will believe her.

So if you decide to go see this one, just go into knowing she's perfectly sane and it makes the unfairness of it all so much more disturbing and creepy.

Claire Foy was quite different than she is in The Crown and even puts on a passable american accent. Her stalker, Joshua Stine did an excellent job of being maddeningly creepy.

Besides feeling a bit too long, I enjoyed this one.

Let's Talk
Why do movies and even books often mislead us in their advertising? It's so annoying!

Recommendation
You don't have to pay full price at the theater but it's worth renting from Redbox or Amazon and enjoying a chilling thrill ride in the comfort of your home.

Friday Flicks: A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time
Rating ★

What It's About
(Jenny style) A father and mother scientist have this idea that one can travel through the time and space with just your mind. People laugh at them. Then the father goes missing and hasn't been seen for four years and his daughter, Meg, grows increasingly angsty while her younger brother, Charles Wallace,  who probably can't even remember their father acts a thousand years older than he really is. Then this neighbor kid, Calvin, shows up and these crazy ladies with way too much makeup show up too and bring them into another world to find Meg's father. And of course, because OF COURSE, Oprah Winfrey plays The Universe. *eye roll*

 I'm almost 99% sure that if I'd taken LSD or at least gotten really drunk before watching this one I would have loved it...that, or ended up under the theater chair on the sticky ground rocking back and forth humming Ingrid Michaleson's Be OK.

Either way it would have been better than watching this one stone cold sober and wondering what in the hell I was watching.

Before you lash out at me I feel like I should explain. My mom and sister tried for most of my childhood to get me to read the books this movie was based on and I tried but I could NOT get into it. After watching the movie I remembered why I couldn't get into the books. This story doesn't even make sense. At least not in THIS movie. You can't just take a bunch of people, plaster twenty pounds of makeup, glitter and sequins on them throw in a bunch of CGI and pretend it's a deep and entertaining story. It's not.

I rolled my eyes so many times in the movie I got a headache. I had to fiercely apologize to my husband for making him go see it too. But, hey, at least there was popcorn.

Let's Talk
Oprah as The Universe? Really?

Recommendation
Honestly, just skip it, if you must see it, wait till it's free. Don't spend a dime of your hard earned money.

Friday Flicks: Oscars Edition

I'm doing something a little different today! The Oscars are on Sunday and I've seen all but one of the best picture nominees. I'm excited to watch them because of this. Usually I've only seen a few of the movies or none at all. 

So I thought I'd talk about the best picture nominees and my thoughts on each of them. Are you ready? Just pretend you're excited.

Lady Bird
My Rating  ★★★★
I started with this one because I think it's going to be the one to win. I'm not basing this on anything but intuition so I guess we'll see. I liked this one but didn't think it was the best picture of the year. It's funny, relatable and entertaining and the actors and actresses did an amazing job and worked well together. Even my husband enjoyed it and it's about a teenager girl and all her angst so that says something. 

The Shape of Water
My Rating ★★★
This is the movie I was most looking forward to seeing and had a scare for awhile thinking it wasn't coming to my state. Luckily it finally came and I was able to see it. And...I loved the music and the sets but found the story a little lackluster and shallow and the villain too cliche. All in all I was a bit disappointed and only found it to be OK.

The Darkest Hour
My Rating ★★★★
I really loved this one! I wasn't expecting to but I did. Gary Oldman did a awesome job and the make up was so well done you can hardly recognize him. The music in this one is on all the time at my house now because I loved it so much. The story was done so well I cried like a baby at the end. And then I read how accurate it was. Apparently not very, which is why it dropped a star for me. I still loved and enjoyed it but it would have been better if I could have kept thinking all the wonderful bits in the movie were real.

Dunkirk 
My Rating ★★★
I actually talked about this one in one of my mini movie reviews awhile back. It was one I really didn't want to see but my husband did so we went and I actually ended up liking it. The events of this movie were also talked about in The Darkest Hour which I found fun. Since I'd seen Dunkirk I knew what they were talking about in The Darkest Hour. I felt so smart! ;)

Phantom Thread
My Rating ★★★
Had I not just read The Way of the Superior Man I'm sure I would have despised this one. Daniel Day Lewis' character was a complete jerk. However, reading that book gave me a different insight into this one. I actually just ended up laughing through the end and liking it a lot more than I ever would have before.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri 
My Rating ★★★★★
This was my favorite of the bunch and pick for best picture. I LOVED it. I found its portrayal of events just that. More of a portrayal then an agenda. The acting was superb with incredibly memorable characters. Moments in the film will stick out in my mind for a long time. I want to own this one! I also think Sam Rockwell who's nominated for best supporting actor should TOTALLY win. He is such a great actor and he deserves to win for his role in this one. 

Get Out
My Rating ★★
I'm afraid this one might win too and I can NOT get behind that. This was a stupid horror movie that's only nominated because of its political nature. I'm so disappointed in the academy. They totally were trying to be politically correct when they nominated it and it doesn't deserve it. My actual opinion of the movie is that it was OK. Just that. OK. It was funny and, yes, a bit horrifically disturbing but an Oscar nomination? No.

The Post
My Rating ★★★
I didn't particularly want to see this one. It seemed like it would be nothing but dialogue and I was right. Still, I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. I'm a bit too young to remember the events that this movie was based on and I always love learning more about history so I liked that aspect. I wasn't blown away by the acting but I liked Meryl Streep's character. She was fighting an uphill battle in a male dominated world and I admired her choices.

Call Me By Your Name
I haven't seen this one. It kept fluttering in and out of theaters around me after its nomination but I kept missing it. Now it's too late. Oh well.










So, what do you think of the nominees? Have you seen any? Which one do you think/hope will win? Are you even watching the Oscars? Inquiring minds want to know!

Friday Flicks: Black Panther

Black Panther
Rating ★★

What It's About
I consider myself a Marvel fan but mostly I'm an X-Men and Spider Man fan so I knew virtually nothing about the Black Panther.
So there's this hidden city in South Africa that has this amazing technology but they've stayed hidden for hundreds of years under the ruling of a generation of kings endowed with gifts and known as the Black Panther. Each time a king dies, their son becomes the new king and new Black Panther. When an artifact of theirs that ended up in a museum gets stolen and an enemy arrives and challenges our hero, current king and Black Panther he'll find out a secret about his father and have to fight not only for his title and kingdom but for what he believes in.

Of course I wanted to see this one. It's a Marvel universe movie! I wasn't sure what to expect, though. I knew nothing about the Black Panther. I guess I can't REALLY call myself a Marvel fan. Oh well.

I'm going to be honest, guys. I found this one to feel overly long and was really bored through most of it. AND something just felt off.

After reflecting on it I think I've decided that it just didn't FEEL like a Marvel movie. It felt more like a fantasy movie than a super hero movie. And sometimes it's like the director or writers remembered it was supposed to be a super hero movie and would throw in something but it was too little and just felt weird.

I also was bothered by the villain. If this movie was trying to address racism they shouldn't have made the villain such a stereotypical thug. It did nothing to fight racism in my opinion. Maybe that's just me, though.

I will say that I really loved the MCs sister Shuri. She was great. I'd rather have watched a movie about her.

Anywho, I was honestly just disappointed in this one. I wanted a great new addition to the Marvel universe and this one was just all off.

Let's talk
 Have you ever noticed how long a movies sometimes feels? I think it's because certain stories tend to be more episodic rather than one, single, sweeping arc. That episodic trend seems to be coming into a lot of movies and it just makes it feel SO long. What do you guys think?

Recommendation
Sadly I'd just say wait to rent it on Redbox or Amazon.

 

Friday Flicks: Winchester

Winchester 
Rating ★★

What It's About
Heir of the Winchester rifle company, Sarah Winchester believes she is cursed and haunted by the spirits of those killed by the rifles her company produces. To alleviate this curse she is driven to have her sprawling mansion under constant construction. Rooms are added and taken away daily. The construction on her house is constant. Not even stopping at night. Dr. Eric Price is sent to evaluate the heiress. A skeptic, Dr. Price has been offered compensation for concluding the heiress is insane so that she loses her share of the company. But as he stays in the ever growing and changing mansion, Dr. Price quickly becomes convinced that something is indeed haunting the mansion and that Sarah Winchester isn't insane at all.

I didn't have high expectations going into this one. I knew it was going to be an entertaining horror movie and that's exactly what it was. Filled with creepy make-you-jump moments, I found it very typical. Nothing special or new with the the it's-over-but-not-really-over ending included.  Drives me nuts.

The acting was alright. Again, nothing special. Helen Mirren once won an Oscar and I can't help but think about "how the mighty have fallen" but that makes me sound like a snob and I really don't care about what roles and actor or actress takes.

Despite my lack luster feelings, I think most of the other people in the theater liked it. The girl next to me was curled up in a ball whimpering and jumping at every "scary" moment. You know me, I'm always the exception to the rule but the critics weren't jumping to praise this one either so there is that.

I did like the tiny nod at the historical story that inspired this one. Sarah Winchester really did have a mansion she never stopped working on. It's still standing and called The Winchester Mystery House.

Basically it's pretty much what you'd expect. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't amazing either and as far as scary movies goes, I've seen much, much scarier.

Let's Talk
Do you think actors and actresses can take whatever role they want or do you think they should only take Oscar worthy roles? I actually find those actors and actresses that are always taking Oscar seeking roles annoying. Which is why it's weird that I got snobby during this movie.

Recommendation
Wait till it's on Redbox, Netflix or Amazon.

Friday Flicks: Hostiles

Hostiles
Rating ★★★★

What It's About
Captain Joseph Blocker has been tasked with escorting a Cheyenne chief and his family that have been held prisoner back to their home in Montana from New Mexico. Our man Captain Blocker is NOT happy about this task. He despises the native Americans because of the horrors he's seen inflicted on his own people by them. On their way they run into a young mother who's husband and three children were killed by Indians. Unable to abandon her, Captain Blocker takes her with his group. As they travel the treacherous road faced with hostility and prejudice on both sides, Captain Blocker begins looking at things in a different light.

My husband wanted to see this one and I don't mind westerns (or popcorn) so we headed out to see it. Another great pick by my husband. I ended up really loving this one.

This movie is not for the feint of heart. It starts out with this poor mother's family being massacred that sets the tone for Captain Blocker's (played by Christian Bale) loathing for the native American people. It's easy to understand his hatred after you've seen this women's two little girls get shot in front of her as they just saw their father being killed and scalped and are fleeing in terror. Then the mother's little baby she's holding takes a bullet and dies. Yeah, you start feeling a prickle of hate yourself for these "savages".

Of course as you get to know the Cheyenne chief and his family you're reminded people are just people and it's really hate that is the problem, not the color of a person's skin. And once you see the white people's hate and prejudice and what THEY are capable of it's easy to become furious with them and start taking the native American's side.

While, I'm sure the movie was maybe sort of pushing its little agenda it didn't feel like it to me. It did an excellent job of making you see both sides and FEEL both sides.

I cried like a baby at certain parts and was very moved by the change in Christian Bale's characters. The ending was heartbreaking and yet hopeful. I really loved it!

Let's Talk
This movie did an excellent job not taking sides and trying to guilt you into feeling like crap for any prejudices you might have but letting you see and feel both sides. I love when a movie or a book can do that. Often I find these movies too agenda pushing. What movies have you seen that are good and bad at this?

Recommendation 
As much as I loved this one I don't necessarily think it needs to be seen in theaters but I'd still recommend it. I think we might be seeing this one in next year's Oscars.

Friday Flicks: The Greatest Showman

The Greatest Showman
Rating ★★

What It's About 
A VERY loosely based account of P.T Barnum with songs every 5 seconds.

I've been so hesitant to see this. I don't mind musicals but I'd only heard one song from it before seeing it and was unimpressed so I was imagining hating all the songs and being bored out of my mind.

And I was bored out of my mind. BUT I liked quite a few of the songs. I actually ended up humming the song that I'd heard before I'd seen it after I saw it. Strange, right? It was This Is Me. I also really liked the song Jenny Lind sang but really hated her. He doesn't like her so she screws him over and refuses to finish the tour? Talk about a woman scorned. Geeze!

My husband read up on P.T Barnum after the movie and said there was very, VERY little truth in the movie which I suspected but still found depressing.

BUT at least Zac Efron was in it. He's kind of annoying but not bad to look at. Not bad at all. And he had a great voice (No I haven't seen The High School Musical Movies). I liked his voice much better than Jackman's.

So besides some eye candy and a few catchy tunes, I found this one rather slow and boring and I felt completely out of place in the theater. I could tell everyone loved it and a lot of them has seen it before and were trying really hard not to sing along and dance. I think my husband liked it more than me which I found shocking. Oh well.

Let's Talk 
Is the catchy music and the eye candy what everyone else loved? Do we even care about plot anymore? I mean, this one had a plot but it was a made up plot about a real person.

Recommendation
I'd wait till it was on Netflix.

Mini Movie Reviews #13

Oi! Not only am I so behind on movie reviews that I find myself doing a mini movie review post
instead of a Friday Flicks post but it's almost 6:00pm and Friday is almost over. I've been trying to blog more but...well...best laid plans, right?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi
I told you I was behind! Unlike everyone else I just saw this one a few weeks ago. It was too over-hyped and over-crowded to bother before that. We actually went and saw this one on our Oregon coast vacation at a little theater in Tillamook. Guys, I was disappointed. I really like The Force Awakens and I even liked Rouge One but this one felt...different? Wrong? Everything that happened and everything that was said just had me wondering what was going on. I almost felt like someone was going to stop the movie and step out apologizing and saying it was all a joke and NOW they were going to play the real movie. It was that bad. I know a lot of people had issues with this one but I wasn't bugged by all the little details that seemed to bug everyone else. I just thought it felt like a joke. It didn't feel like a Star Wars movie at all.

All The Money in the World
This is one my husband wanted to see and I obliged. Aren't I a peach? ;) I found slightly less intense than I wanted but very fascinating. I didn't even know about J. Paul Getty. Did you? The man was infuriating and I'm glad the whole thing ended the way it did. I'm sure Hollywood changed things up quite a bit but I'm glad of it. I bet in real life (I have't bothered to look it up) it didn't turn out as nicely.

Insidious: The Last Key
Of all the dumb, horrible, b-rated horror movies I've seen, The Insidious movies are my favorite. They follow a slightly different formula than most horror movies and I love it. Curious what that difference is? You know how horror movies always end with you thinking they solved things but in the last 30 seconds of the show they show you it wasn't solved? The evil is still out there? I freaking hate that! The insidious movies don't do that. There's a problem, they investigate, get the crap scared out of them, and then solve the problem. For real. There's no cheap dun dun duuun! moment at the end. Unless it's hinting at the next installment. This one felt a little off to me like Star Wars but I still enjoyed it and was very happy where the ending left us.

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle
This one was exactly how I thought it would be. Most of the funny moments were shown in the previews which made for a somewhat boring experience but the cast was great. Both casts. I was entertained but didn't necessarily feel like I should have paid full price to see it in theaters. I easily could have caught it on Netflix in a few months and been glad I hadn't spent money on it.

Friday Flicks: The Man Who Invented Christmas

The Man Who Invented Christmas
Rating ★★★

What It's About
It's about the man who invested Christmas. Duh! I tease! This quirky little tale follows Charles Dickens as he is inspired to and writes A Christmas Carol. After his huge success with Oliver Twist Dickens has bitten off more than he can chew. His latest books were flops and he needs something to succeed. As Christmas approaches, Dickens is inspired in little ways by those around him to write a Christmas story.

Hey look! A Christmas movie review! There's tons of classic Christmas movies to pick from each year and I'm happy to say we have another one.

The Man Who Invented Christmas is quirky and fun. I'm not sure how accurate the story is but I enjoyed it all the same. And I'm not even a Dicken's fan. The man annoys me. But not in this one. Well, OK, he was a bit eccentric and hard headed but I enjoyed watching him work through his personal issues in order to write one of the most beloved Christmas stories we have.

The cast was fun. Christopher Plummer was great as Scrooge. I want them to make another Christmas Carol now starring him! And Dan Stevens (from Downton Abbey) was great as Dickens.

It's always fun to for me to watch movies that take place in London and it's even better if they take place in the past. Mix the two and you can't go wrong, am I right?

Beautiful to watch and entertaining, I recommend this new addition to Christmas movies.

Let's Talk
You're all going to go see it now because of Dan Stevens, aren't you?  

Recommendation
Normally, I'd say it was cute but you don't have to pay full price, but I think you should go see this one. It's the only  family friendly Christmas movie in theaters this year and Star Wars is sold out anyway!

Friday Flicks: Wonder

Wonder
Rating ★★★


What It's About
We have this cute little boy (yes I said cute. Because he is!) who was born with a facial abnormality. His mom has home schooled him but, starting with 5th grade, he'll be going to real school. Here he'll struggle to make friends and face the world, face first, and learn the true meaning of friendship.

I read the book this movie was based on back in 2015 and, while I wasn't blown away by it, I thought it was cute. I was very interested in how the movie would be and thought the previews looked adorable. So me and my friends went to check it out.

As often happens, the movie was just so beautiful and fun to see. The characters were perfectly cast. Each kid did such an amazing and cute job with their parts.

They also stuck very closely to the book, if I'm recalling right, and I appreciated that. It's always annoying when they go way, way off from the book.

The kid that played Jack Will was so freaking cute! I know, I was supposed to be in love with Auggie but I couldn't help it. This kid was so cute and did such a great job with his part. They all did.

Much like my review of the book, I felt that this one was cute with an important message but not anything life altering. I did get a little choked up at one point but that was it. Meanwhile I know my friends cried through most of it so maybe I just have a stone heart.

Let's Talk
Do you like when movies follow the book or do you like when they take their own twist?

Recommendation 
Redbox or Netflix. It was cute but maybe not full price at the theater good.

Friday Flicks: Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express
Rating ★★

What It's About
Detective Poirot is finally retiring. Taking a train from his last case, he's looking forward to a relaxing journey reading Dickens but he boarded the wrong train. A murder takes place and it becomes apparent that the murderer is still on the train, Poirot must come out of retirement to solve the murder but this will be the strangest and most difficult case he's ever worked.

There was so much buzz about this one, am I right?! At first I thought it was because it has such a large and famous cast but then, silly me, I realized it was based on a book. An Agatha Christie book. Sorry. I never read her books. I couldn't get into them. Anyways, After realizing why it was so popular I decided to give it a try; I like a good mystery, after all.

And it definitely was a mystery. I tried very hard to guess what was going on but they did a very good job of keeping you guessing (if you hadn't already read the book) and I appreciated that. Of course, now I'm trying to figure out why you'd want to see this one if you read the book. If I hadn't been guessing what was going on the whole time I might have been bored.

I did guess what was going on, right before the big reveal but maybe that's what I was supposed to do. And what a strange reveal it was. Suddenly this murder mystery was trying to be all important with a moral question presented. Meh. I wasn't blown away.

The cinematography in this one was beautiful! Seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets nominated for an Oscar for that or at least costume design. It was a feast for the eyes. I loved it.

 Kenneth Branagh was a delight as usual. He was quite funny and you could tell he brought his personality into the directing.

All in all, I only found this one pleasing to watch for its cinematography. The mystery had me guessing but when all was revealed I was just left with a lot of questions.

Let's Talk
This movie really made me want to take a train ride on this kind of train minus the murder. Do these kind of trains even exist anymore? If not, I'm sad.

Recommendation
While I want to tell you to see its beauty on the big screen, you should probably just Redbox it or wait till it's on Netflix.

Friday Flicks: Thor Ragnarok

Thor Ragnarok
Rating ★★★★

What It's About
If you've been hiding under a rock it's time to come out. Come on, it's ok. Out you come. There's a good boy! Alright! I'm done. So anyway, I'm assuming you know all about the Marvel Universe and their movies. I love how they all fit together, don't you? This one follows Thor as he discovers he has a sister. A sister that was so power hungry and crazy that their father locked her away. But she's free now and back to her old ways of power mad controlling! It's up to Thor to stop her....without his hammer. Eeeep!

 I got to see this one opening weekend because my awesome friend Jenni had a spare ticket. Thanks Jenni! I'll be honest. I've only see the first Thor. I know! Sacrilege. But I have seen the Avengers etc so I wasn't completely lost. Now I don't know if I'm just remembering wrong or if they took a different approach to this movie but it was hilarious! Way funnier than it's predecessors. And I don't mean silly little jokes here and there amidst some serious action. I mean a laugh a minute, not taking itself too serious funny. I loved it!

And the story was fun too. I liked watching Thor figure out who he really was without his hammer. I loved all the Marvel cameos and the newcomers were great too. It was such a fun ride! If you're a Marvel fan and a fan of 80s videogames this one will be right up your alley.

My only beef with the movie, the reason it's a four star instead of a five, is I felt it was a bit long. Now if you're loving a movie or book so much that you don't want it to end then length is great. And I was loving this one but it was crowded and hot in the movie theater and enjoyable or not, it had a few unnecessary things that could have been cut in my opinion. Still, it's totally worth the watch and I guarantee you'll laugh your head off. Go see it!

Let's talk

    Chris Hemsworth fan? Cause I am. Damn!

Mini Movie Reviews #12

Oi! I've fallen behind in movie reviews. Life is not going so great for me right now and blogging is becoming a last priority.  Still, I'm seeing movies so I thought I'd do my old style Mini Movie Reviews to catch you up.

Flatliners
I'm not sure why they felt the need to remake this one. There's not some amazing story here that's worth retelling but since I never saw the original I figured what the hell. I was more entertained than I thought I'd be. It was creepy and enjoyable enough but nothing special...or memorable.

Victoria & Abdul
I was really excited to see this one. It seemed like it would be cute and fun. And it was...to a point. And then it just got weird. I don't know how accurate this was to real history, I'm guessing not very. And while I wanted to just watch and appreciate the relationship between these two it just got a little "what's-the-point" and I was left slightly disappointed.

Made in America
This one was the husband's pick. I had no desire to see it. And, as usual when I don't want to see it and he convinces me, I ended up liking it. I know Tom Cruise isn't anyone's favorite anymore but I thought he did a great job. It was very entertaining to watch this guy's life. It does end sadly but you know it's coming. I'd actually recommend this one. I guess I should listen to the husband's recommendations a little more often, huh?

 The Mountain Between Us
Why I didn't realize this one was going to be a romance I'll never know. I thought it was going to be about these two completely different people surviving some horrible stuff together. And it was but...then romance came into it. And the romance wasn't bad but when you're not expecting it and have to adjust your perception mid movie it can be a bit jarring.  It was still very entertaining and emotionally investing, though. I'd recommend it.

Friday Flicks: The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower
Rating ★★★★


What It's About
Another Stephen King book made into a movie. There's a magical tower that holds the universe together. Roland, a Gunslinger, is sworn to protect the tower and The Man In Black is determined to destroy it. There's a prophecy that a child's mind is the only thing that can destroy the tower so, of course, The Man In Black is kidnapping kids from different universes and trying to use them. But he needs to find THE kid. Enter the plucky but tormented Jake, who's been plagued with dreams and visions of the Tower and The Man In Black since his father died. Jake's mom is at her wits end and, wanting to help, has decided to send Jake off to a type of "psychiatric camp" for troubled kids. Little does she know that the people who run the camp are actually working for The Man In Black and she's sending her kid to his doom. Taking matters into his own hands, Jake discovers a portal to another realm where he finds Roland and the two join forces to the stop The Man In Black.

I actually saw this movie some time ago. I wanted to review it on here but was trying to keep up with the latest movies so I figured I'd just have to skip a review. However, I was out of town this weekend and didn't go see a movie with my husband this week so I'm using this opportunity to review this one. And I'm happy I get to review it because. I really liked it.

Full disclosure. I have not read the books this movie is based on. I tell you this because I could tell just from watching it and without researching it that the book fans were going to HATE this movie. And I think it's safe to say they did. I, however, had nothing to compare it to and while I thought some parts were maybe a little hokey, it was a very fun, entertaining film.

Newer star Idris Elba did a good job of being a serious, kick ass hero who managed a few comedic moments with his younger co-actor beautifully.

While, I almost didn't see the movie because they cast McConaughey as the villain, (sorry, not sorry) I didn't mind him as much as I thought I would. I expected to find him annoying and doing his usual overacting theatrics but he wasn't too bad. I still

thought he had too much screen time but all in all found him tolerable.

I haven't seen the young kid that played Jake in anything else, I don't think, and I really liked him. He did a great job of being tormented, funny and the unwilling hero.I was impressed.

The story was a fun fantasy that now has me interested in the books. So if nothing else, the book readers who hated the movie benefit from this one because now those of us who've seen it want to read the books. Now they'll have more fans in their club, right?

Let's Talk
Strange topic but what are your feelings on McConaughey? The man drives me nuts. I used to like him but now I think he's only typecast in movies and can NOT get rid of that western slang no matter what role he's playing.

Recommendation 
See it in theaters.

Stay tuned for the last few seconds of this trailer. It's worth it. ;)

Friday Flicks: Mother!

Title Mother!
Rating ★★

What It's About
Depends on who you ask. We have a young woman in an isolated house with her husband. We're to understand there was a fire there and she's been renovating the house to it's original glory. A stranger shows up and for reasons unknown to us or the young woman, the husband allows the man to stay with them. Then the man's wife shows up and she decides to stay too. Obviously the woman is a bit flustered. Then things get really weird.

The preview for this one is very misleading. It leads you to believe that this movie is a horror movie. It's not long before you realize it's not. Although it is a bit horrific. Sadly, I was bored out of my mind for this one. It was fun listening to the sold out theater muttering things like, "what the hell is going on?" and "wait? what?". My husband turned to me at some point and and said, "do you know what's going on?"

After the movie was over everyone was talking about it. Why? The movie is not a story about a young woman and her husband and some very rude house guests. It's symbolic...the whole thing is an analogy. And yes, I did know what was going on....mostly. I'm not being arrogant. My dad was obsessed with symbolism so I can usually see it.

Then the question becomes do you want to go see it knowing nothing and be confused or would it be more entertaining knowing what's going on? Personally I was so bored I considered getting on my phone to pass the time and be one of THOSE movie goers. But I didn't. I think I would have liked it better if I'd known what to expect.

***Spoilers***

So, if you want to know what it's about going into it here you go. The woman represents Mother Earth and her husband is God. That's the symbolism I saw. The director claims it's basically parts of the bible. The weird couple is Adam and Eve. Their two sons are Cain and Able etc. That's all you really need to know. NOW it will make more sense for you to watch....if you're even still interested. My husband, after discovering what it was all about was a little miffed that he got tricked into watching a religious movie. I was just bummed that the writer/director ripped off the oldest story in time and I payed money to see it.

Let's Talk
Do you like symbolism in movies or do you just like a story? I prefer a story. I just want to be entertained.

Recommendation
Wait till it's free on Netflix