Nathan Kahn gets his leg blasted off in the final days of the Civil War. His friend, Ben, takes care of him, going so far as to take him home and stay with him through his rough recovery. Nathan could die any day. If that happens, what will become of Nathan’s young daughter? Ben’s not exactly equipped to raise Belle. But he might know someone who is.
Additional Comments:
– Characters 4/5 Stars: Everybody is nearly sickeningly sweet, but I think that’s a genre thing. Allie’s nice. Sam’s nice. Belle’s unrealistically the perfect child. Nathan’s hardworking and handsome. Ben’s a saint. You get the picture. Despite this, there is some character development both in Nathan and Allie. Besides, they’re all likeable.
– Plot 4/5 Stars: This isn’t exactly a shoot-’em-up Western story, but it’s an interesting Civil War era recovery tale. The daily act of living was a struggle sometimes. Add in serious war injuries, emotional scars, and unexpected responsibilities and there’s enough action to keep things going.
– Mini-mystery: One fun thing woven throughout the book is a mini-mystery surrounding Nathan’s first wife.
– Content Warnings: None. Some awkward, married people conversations that serve the plot well but that’s about it.
Conclusion:
If you enjoy Civil War and post-Civil War, clean stories, this is a good one to check out.
Associate links to follow…
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Not my image… but it’s essentially same stuff as the general promo posters
*spoilers and more discussion after ads
Summary:
The latest in a long series of reboots of a character classic. Sophia Lillis plays a particularly young version of the plucky amateur detective. Having read over 500 books that were either Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys related, I can safely say, I’m a fan of the franchise. That said, this movie’s a decent addition, but I’m not entirely pleased with every choice they made in bringing her into his century. Most of that might have to do with the fact that I didn’t like the latest turn the books took either.
Additional Comments:
When I watch a movie, I judge it based on one question: “was I entertained?”. Answer for this movie, yes. Further though, I think about replay value. Answer this round: meh.
I know it can’t be the old school classic books many people fell in love with ages ago. That said, they changed quite a few details.
Cool changes: It’s modern. There are cell phones and the internet and greed as the center point for the mystery.
Weird changes (classic book series to 2019 movie): Carson Drew and Hannah are siblings. George is African American. (Don’t get me wrong, the actress, Zoe Renee, did a great job with the role. It just seemed like the casting move came more from a need to stay politically correct than to stay true to source material.) Bess isn’t blond. According to this, Bess is not the brainy one.
Not sure who they aimed at in making this movie. If it’s for kids, it’s probably a fail. If it’s for the millions of adults who loved Nancy Drew growing up, it’s a maybe.
Plot 3.5/5: There was at least one point where I was like “wait, what? How the heck would you conclude that?” (Rant later on some plot points.)
Conclusion:
Whether this is the right movie for you depends mainly on your expectations. If you’re looking for a decent movie very loosely based off a beloved classic character, go for it. If you’re looking for inklings of the actual Nancy Drew you grew up imagining, brace for disappointment.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
OR
Spoiler Section:
Minirant: At one point, they break into the high school and work overnight in the chemistry lab. As a chemistry teacher, I cannot condone that sort of behavior, ever. If this is a movie for kids, it’s setting an absolutely terrible precedent. No, I don’t think kids are likely gonna be like “she did it. Cool. I’m gonna do that,” but it’s still irresponsible to put that sort of behavior in a positive spin, even in a fluff movie.
Minirant 2 Characterization: Not sure I entirely like the characterization of Nancy here. She’s always been brave and bold, but this version starts out by pranking a cyberbully so that he turns blue. Amusing, yes. And she gets into trouble. Her father says she committed like 5 felonies, and she replies that they’re only felonies if you’re 18. BTW, in the books, she was 18. The old Nancy Drew was polite to a fault, always loved her father and the housekeeper who raised her. This new kid “borrowed” Hannah’s car to go save her father.
Besides making Nancy probably 16, they changed the plot point about her mother dying when she was three. Since I haven’t kept super close tabs on the many iterations of the series, I don’t know when that happened.
The Mystery itself: There’s a town feud going on about whether or not they should run a train through. While on community service for the prank she pulled to avenge Bess’s humiliation, Nancy hears an old lady speaking to the Sheriff about her hunted house. Naturally, she wants to investigate. Grounded or not, she gets permission to sleep over and experience the hauntings. Turns out they were dosed with a chemical in nutmeg and hallucinated. Nancy’s father is trying to keep the train out. When he fails to check in, she tracks him to a motel and sees him get kidnapped. She then concludes he must be taken to the haunted house with the hidden staircase and goes save the day.
An unusually touching look at WWE’s Paige’s (Florence Pugh) journey from obscurity to superstardom. We don’t get to control our families, but sometimes, their obsessions take control of our futures. That’s sort of what happened for Paige.
Additional Comments:
Pretty sure they changed some stuff for the movie, but it still worked.
Saraya Knight had quite the upbringing. She ended up filling in for her dad in one of their wrestling events and fell in love with the whole thing. She then grew up doing regular bouts with her brother and parents. That part’s glossed over, but they only have so much time to tell a film.
It was interesting to see the lady who played Cersi play Saraya’s mother (Lena Headey). She did a decent job with the performance, but I’m probably forever gonna type cast her in my head.
Rest of the cast did a nice job too. (Nick Frost played Ricky Knight – her father; Jack Lowden played Zak Knight – her brother; Vince Vaughn played Coach Hutch) Had to read it on a cast list, but it’s cool that Zak Knight got to play a bit part in the movie.
The movie covers a pretty wide range of emotions from the mixed elation/agony of winning a slot to go to Florida to train but not having her brother make it too to the public bullying that’s only part “showbiz” to the final battle and triumph.
The parts with the Rock were amusing. It’s only mildly disappointing that they didn’t actually happen.
Content warnings: crude humor.
Conclusion:
A surprisingly moving film that follows a young woman and her family through the journey to WWE fame.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Hiccup, Toothless, and the How to Train Your Dragon crew returns for a final adventure to the trilogy. (Though let’s be honest, if it makes money, they’ll find a way to get a 4th story and make it a cycle.) Hiccup and company have fought hard to create a dragon-human utopia. And it works, sort of. It also draws a lot of unwanted attention.
Additional Comments:
– Dragon based stories generally fall into the “dragons are adorable” or “dragons are terrifying” sides. Though they’re definitely mostly on the “adorable” side, the makers of this movie managed to include some super scary dragons as well.
– Story 4/5: Hiccup’s way of life is threatened, so he tries to move on. His clan faces big trials. Toothless meets a lightfury and falls in love (not a spoiler since that’s pretty much all the trailer and the posters focus on). There’s good balance between the two halves of the story.
– Fight Scenes 4/5: Most reminded me of the Battle for Naboo (plains side), where Jar Jar Binks is fighting off droids and succeeding despite complete ineptness. There is an exception to that noted below. Hiccup’s sword is pretty awesome though and there are some pretty sweet moves here and there.
– Flashbacks 4/5: Not usually a fan, but I think it worked well here.
– Conflict 4.5/5: Toothless and Hiccup are at an interesting point in their relationship and in life. They handled the themes with care.
– Humor 3/5: The comic relief characters had way too much screentime, and they weren’t particularly funny. On the other hand, the awkward scenes with Toothless and the Lightfury were downright hilarious.
– Epilogue 4.5/5: Not really a huge fan of epilogues, but this one worked for me. More on that later…
– Visuals 4.5/5: comments below.
Random trailer comment: I’m such a sucker for Nancy Drew, I’ll probably watch the reboot.
Conclusion:
Excellent movie worth seeing a few times. One of the rare movies where I think it matters to have it in 3D. Entertaining and fun as well as pretty (if you can get past the overdone sections of stupid humor.)
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
OR
Spoiler Section:
– Music 4.5/5: Favorite score was the one playing while Toothless and the lightfury weave in and out of the campsite.
– Visuals 4.5/5: It’s a very pretty movie when they’re not focusing on stupid humor. The Hidden World piece is only like 5 minutes long, but it’s beautiful and majestic. I think you see the best part in the theatrical trailer.
– Best fight scene: The escape from Grimmel’s trap.
– Most of Ruffnut’s dialogue was stupid but the part where she annoyed the heck out of Gimmel was quite impressive. (Even though the evil mastermind planned for it.)
– Epilogue comments: Baby dragons! Awwwwww. They’re so flippin’ cute.
Picking up a few years after the last Lego movie ending, this one has our heroes facing a bleak existence in a post-apocalyptic world. Nevertheless, dear Emmet is still just his happy-go-lucky self. Lucy would like him to grow up and face reality.
Additional Comments:
So corny, it hurts.
You have to expect that it’s going to have the same oddball brand of humor that the first did. There’s an entire song about credits as the credit roll.
There are a few intriguing twists.
Most of the humor is aimed at adults.
Character development is decent.
I loved the building scenes and enjoyed the little references to which set numbers applied to each unique piece.
I enjoyed how they wove the people and the Lego stories together again.
Kid-friendly movie.
Songs as a whole here kind of stink.
I pretty much knew from the trailer what to expect.
Totally jealous of the Lego collection these people have. Literally thousands of dollars in the little building toys.
Conclusion:
Not going down as my favorite movie this year, but I’m glad I saw it once.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
This is a very, very short children’s book that explores most of the sounds common farm animals make. Since the total runtime of the audio is 3 minutes and 16 seconds, my review probably has more words than the book. Literally a minute of that runtime is a note to kids, parents, and teachers.
Additional Comments:
– It’s cute.
– There’s not much of a story though. It’s just a survey of various animal noises because the kitten’s asking them how to meow. How would a kitten know the word without knowing how to do it?
– I know I’m way overthinking it, but the lack of logic drives me nuts. She’s also a lost newborn kitten in the beginning but talking to her mother at the end. She’s also a lost, newborn kitten trekking all over a farm. They don’t tend to walk that far for a few weeks. (Yeah, yeah, I get it, the whole animal talking thing didn’t bother me one whit. That meets general suspension of disbelief standards.)
– Also, if you’ve ever tried to teach anybody anything, you know that demonstrating it once isn’t really going to stick.
– Animals included: dog, owl, horse, goat, pig, chick, cow, mouse, duck.
– What this book has going for it is the very clever wording. There’s a nice, poetic cadence to the arrangement.
– Audio performance is okay. The rendition of meow at the end is stellar, but the whole audio has a slight tinny quality to it. (That might be ACX’s processing of it.)
Conclusion:
I’m going to chalk this up to I am NOT the target audience. If you have a small child or really love children’s stories, this will probably be a great experience for you.
Associate Links:
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
The discussion contains spoilers, but then again, so does the back cover copy and the subtitle. You know what’s going to happen in Beyond Broken Pencils. It’s really all about the how and why. Still, if spoilers aren’t your thing, just listen without the explanations.
I’ve recently made 3 lists, and as usual, I tried something different this time. They’re in order for ease of listening and the meaning they take on. Roughly, they’re in order of inspirational, then what would be going through one of the MC’s heads, danger, and aftermath.
Can’t Hold Us Down by Tommee Profitt and Sam Tinnesz
I love Sam’s voice! Knowing what’s coming, this is a reminder that even these sorts of tragedies can’t kill a community.
Take the World (Let’s Go) by The Phantoms
A nice, rousing, inspirational tune.
Strange by The Score
“Lately, I’ve been thinking everyone around me is insane.”
The song bounces back and forth between thinking the world’s gone mad and then thinking there’s something wrong inside. Teenage years are sort of confusing for most people.
High Hopes by Panic! At the Disco
“I was gonna be that one in a million.”
A lot of kids/people in general want to stand out from the crowd.
Never Going Back by The Score
I’ve put this song on a few different playlists, including the one I prepared for my current students. “I can’t slow it down.” “I’m never gonna follow just because they say so.”
“Never giving up. Never gonna crack. Never giving in. Never going back.”
Good song for capturing the indomitable human spirit
Stand Out The Phantoms
Pretty straight forward message about standing out. Even school shootings are a desperate cry for attention in at least some of the cases. “Ya gotta break some rules. You gotta take some chances.” This message appeals to most people, teenagers included.
Tightrope by The Score
“I can’t be everything that you want me to. Fill my mind up with silly dreams.”
“People look like specs of dust when you’re this high off the ground.”
“I am walking a tightrope. I am walking it for you.”
“I’m fighting with gravity. Trying not to fall.”
Haven’t had a chance to think too deeply about this one, but on first few listens it comes through about the weight of expectations, some fairly and some unfairly placed upon people.
Little Voice by for King and Country
Roughly the midpoint of the list was a great spot for an instrumental piece. In every arrangement, there’s always that calm before the storm. It’s from the soundtrack for Priceless, which I haven’t seen, but I believe has to do with setting someone free from human trafficking. In the face of darkest evil, shine the brightest lights.
Will I Make It out Alive by Tommee Profitt and Jessie Early
The title’s pretty descriptive. In the middle of a horrific event like a school shooting, I imagine that’s a thought that goes through most people’s head. Also, when it comes down to instinct, how will I react?
Only One by The Score
You’re probably sick of hearing this band on this list, but they just happen to have a lot of songs that capture the right mentality.
“It’s time to break out, so everybody just scream out. I’m the only one.
“I cut the strings a long time ago”
I’m probably not grasping the whole message here. I’m going to key in on the last line: “No chains, no chains won’t hold me down.”
Heroes by Zayde Wolf
“We are heroes in the darkest time when there is no light.”
“… we’ll rise above
Tragedy has a way of bringing out the best and worst in people. Some rise as heroes. Ordinary people placed in extraordinary positions show what we can be. If it were a movie, I think this is the kind of thing to play during a montage of various responders doing their jobs.
Carry Me by For King and Country
Another instrumental piece when the chaos is ending but nothing’s truly sunk past the horror of what’s going on around.
Hold Me Up by Sam Tinnesz
“It’s been some long days and some hard nights”
“I’m losing this fire in the valleys of my heart.
“I need somebody to lean on.”
“Can you hold me up?”
“I know it’s out of my hands,
But I can’t do this again.”
Great song about coming together after something awful has happene
Walk through the Fire by Zayde Wolf and Ruelle
“I’m always wonder if it’s ever gonna end
I can feel it in my bones x2
Standing in the dust of what’s left of us
I can see you in my soul x2”
“Did we take too many chances?”
“Did we light too many matches?
Turn ourselves into these ashes?”
“We walk through the fire…”
After the dust settles, comes a time of reflection and bandying about blame.
“Try to understand, how we’re here again
In the middle of the storm.”
As a society, how did we get here again and again? Also, just a lovely, haunting song.
“Is there a way out?”
Ubi Caritas by Audrey Assad
After the Parkland shooting, I happened to be sent this song by a friend. The timing fit perfectly. I could hear this song as a memorial for the lives lost. It’s in Latin, but there are translations available. Audrey’s voice is amazing in most of her songs, but especially so here.
Heaven Come Down by Becca Bradley
Kind of a mini-synopsis of what happens when there’s a school shooting (or any mass shooting incident). Beautiful cry for mercy and grace from above. “Will it ever change?
Oh everyone’s got someone to blame
For the hurt and fear and pain
In the mess, in the madness we will pray…
Heaven come down.”
“Nothing on Earth can give us what we really need…”
“No law, no money, nobody else can save us.”
Live Life by Zayde Wolf
If this were a movie, I think this would be a nice way to begin the credits. “What am I gonna do?
Live life like I never had
Live life through the good an bad”
Life goes on for those who survive tragedies. They might be haunted by events and struggle in other ways, but there is hope for them.
joy. (Fransis Derelle and Jinco Remix) By for King and Country
Joy is sometimes a choice.
“Gotta get that fire fire back in my bones.”
“Oh hear my prayer tonight…
Time has come to make a choice
And I choose… joy.”
“Let it move you.
Conclusion:
Ultimately, this is the whole reason to write a contemporary drama story like Beyond Broken Pencils. We can’t always bottle the crazy. Sometimes, people unleash their inner demons on the world at large and innocents to down with them. At such times, after the natural course of mourning, you have to make a conscious choice to return to joy.
Associate Links to Follow:
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
I don’t own any of these. They were all promos for their respective movies.
Introduction:
Midway through the year I ended up joining AMC’s A List. That’s the program where you pay a flat fee each month and can see up to 3 movies a week. I’d been debating myself most of the summer if it was worth it. So far, it has, but I’m not sure how it will work moving forward as I return to more writing and less movies. It also depends on the movie releases in 2019. (You break even if you see 1 dolby movie or two of almost anything else in a month.) Unless you’re not terribly picky, it’s kind of hard to find 3 movies a week you’d want to see. Personally, I rewatch really good movies, but I only managed to see 3 movies 1 week so far.
Saw about 40 movies this year.
*Top picks after ads.
What I saw in 2018:
(This is what I have ticket stubs for or AMC’s app could tell me. The ratings might have changed since I actually reviewed them because I’m going from memory. Incidentally, how well I liked something is actually subject to change over time. Guess this is more a “what is my feeling this moment” rating.)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 4/5 stars (1/1/2018)
I remembered liking the original Jumanji movie when I was a kid, so I gave this one a shot. It turned out surprisingly entertaining. Didn’t watch it again, but if it happened to be on TV, I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
The Last Jedi 4/5 stars (2/8/2018)
One thing a body learns being a Star Wars fan is that you’re not obligated to like every single one of the movies. They’ve definitely turned out some bombs. Still, I saw this multiple times, and I would see it again. It’s not ever going to make it as my absolute favorite Star Wars movie. I never was a fan of the middle story in a trilogy anyway. They’re always terribly dark. The end of next year should launch the conclusion to the trilogy, so I guess it’s all good.
Black Panther 4/5 stars (2/23/2018)
Enjoyable movie typical of the Marvel universe. It had plenty of action and a decent sprinkling of humor throughout.
Tomb Raider 4/5 stars (3/16/2018)
This reboot definitely follows more of the video game than the old school Tomb Raider stories, but both are nice prequel setups. The first game in the reboot series was absolutely fantastic. I remember playing it quite a few times. The only thing I didn’t do was finish all those silly shoot the target achievements. Anyway, it looks like that poor actress did a heck of a lot of work for that movie and it showed, big time.
Ready Player One 4/5 stars (3/29/2018)
Starting to think that my secret to enjoying movies is not really knowing the source material it comes from. I didn’t particularly like the main character in Ready Player One, but it’s an interesting world with some cool special effects. Reminded me a lot of Tron. A potential issue the story had was lack of stakes. Sure, the big, bad company’s after the kid, but what’s the impact for the rest of the world. A big company would have just as much motivation to keep things running smoothly for the mindless masses as a kid fighting for freedom on the Oasis.
Avengers: Infinity War 4/5 stars (4/27/2018; 5/4/2018)
Despite it’s infuriating lack of closure, Infinity War brought high stakes to new heights. It’s pretty much part one of its story arc because you know another movie’s coming. One of my friends really, really, really hated it, but I’m in the “eh, that’s a cheap trick, you studio meanies” category. I ended up seeing it several times as people could make it.
Solo 4/5 stars (5/24/2018; 5/25/2018)
Saw an early screening that was part of a fundraiser for my school. Then, I saw it the next day as well, as planned. That concludes the number of times I saw the movie. Although a decent film, it didn’t have a lot of sticking power. If it hadn’t been labeled Star Wars and used the familiar enemies and such, it could have been any middling scifi flick. I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t motivated to see it endlessly.
Incredibles 2 4.5/5 stars (~7/3/2018; 6/15/2018)
Despite them having one of those stupid “thanks for coming to see the movie” messages at the beginning, I enjoyed the movie. Why can’t they save that junk for the blu-ray/dvd extra section? My favorite part is still the baby’s fight with he racoon. Pretty sure I saw this a few times.
Ant-Man and the Wasp 4/5 stars (7/17/2018)
I can’t remember if I saw this more than once. I think so. It had good action, but in hindsight, I don’t think the main characters had much chemistry. Heroes don’t necessarily have glamorous lives.
Christopher Robin 3.5/5 stars (8/3/2018)
Enjoyable but forgettable. I like Ewan McGreggor and Haley Atwell. She’s better in Agent Carter, but that’s besides the point. The story is sweet, but it’s kind of like adults trying to cling desperately to their childhood dreams and cash in on a stagnant franchise.
I’m not even a huge fan of the franchise, but this movie turned out swell. As usual, it’s a non-stop, the world’s gonna-end-if-we-don’t-stop-this kind of tale. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is running over buildings and jumping off them as expected. The chase scene with the helicopters (last 1/5 of the movie) is intense and crazy.
The Meg 4.5/5 stars (8/14/2018)
Jason Stratham typically plays tough guy characters. This round that’s not much different, though there are less guns involved, more swimming. A giant company is exploring the depths of the ocean and accidentally releases a megaladon (really big shark). It wrecks havoc on the heroes.
Blackklansman 4/5 stars (8/28/2018)
Glad I saw this one, but it’s not exactly my usual movie fare. I like Adam Driver who plays a supporting character. Seems there was a whole rash of “based on a true story” movies this year, though that could simply be me finally paying attention to such things. I’d never have seen this without A-List because I just wouldn’t have bothered to pay to see it.
Crazy Rich Asians 4.5/5 (8/30/2018)
Another surprisingly enjoyable movie. One of my friends wanted to see it, and a group of my friends wanted to try a new dine-in theater. The theater experience turned out to be just okay because they needed a better variety of food, but I’m glad we went. Romantic Comedies aren’t typically my thing, but it was worth watching. Not sure I’d ever go out of my way to read the books.
Peppermint 3.5/5 stars (~9/10/2018)
Woman on a revenge spree. Jennifer Garner (I think) takes on the role of a mother playing avenging angel. Typical everything-must-die thriller.
A Simple Favor 4/5 stars (~9/12/2018)
Creepy mystery, though not a murder mystery per se … more of a twisty friendship gone weird thing.
The House With a Clock in Its Walls 3.5/5 (~9/19/2018)
One of the stupidest titles for a movie I’ve ever seen, but it was okay. A mindless Halloween kiddie movie.
Smallfoot 4/5 (~9/26/2018 – lost stub)
Has one of the catchiest songs.
Venom 4/5 stars (~9/30/2018 – lost the stub somewhere)
Dark but fun.
Night School 3.5/5 stars (~9/30/2018 – can’t find the stub)
Fun for a weird comedy.
Bad Times at the El Royale (~10/17/2018)
I was entertained, but this is the kind of movie that makes you feel like you knocked yourself unconscious and had a weird dream.
Hunter Killer 5/5 stars (10/29/2018)
If you’ve kept up with my reviews this year or even just within this post, you’ll know that I don’t just hand out 5’s like candy. It takes a lot to move me beyond 4 stars. It’s a simple must-stop-x-to-prevent-the-world-from-blowing-up story that’s terrifyingly plausible. Gerard Butler plays a submarine captain who’s tasked with finding out what’s going on deep in the waters near Russia.
The Nutcracker 3/5 stars (11/2/2018)
Reminded me a lot of the “new” style Willy Wonka. Had a lot of garish colors and weirdo characters. Pretty sure that’s what it was meant to have, but maybe I’m just old. I was bored. I’m generally cool with most movies, but I can’t help feeling this one just wasted part of my life.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web 4/5 stars (11/7/2018)
Still haven’t seen the rest of the movies in the series or read the books. That might have helped with me figuring out who’s who and what’s what, but the movie’s enjoyable alone. There’s part at the end with a house set in the middle of nowhere that involves some very cool tech.
Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch 3/5 stars (11/9/2018)
Love Benedict Cumberbatch, but he’s so much better as Sherlock Holmes. I’m only marginally familiar with the story of the Grinch. Still, it’s a fairly forgettable movie.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4/5 stars (11/19/2018)
A fun movie set in the world of Harry Potter, but besides the main character and possibly one of the newbies, it’s like they worked very, very hard to get certain characters in (Jacob) just to tie it to the first movie and call it a sequel. Also, besides the cool fight scene at the end, there’s really not much going on. It’s essentially the middle story of however many they can justify making, so there’s a decided lack of closure.
Robin Hood 4/5 stars (11/21/2018; 11/26/2018)
New take on an old tale. I saw this several times with different friends. It’s a fun genre breaking fantasy story. The costuming felt decidedly modern. The dude who played Krennic in Rogue One essentially plays the same character here as the Sherriff of Nottingham.
Ralph Breaks the Internet 4.5/5 stars (11/21/2018)
Great sequel, and yes, they did a horrific “thanks for watching the movie” thing. This time, it was even longer and more painful than others because they were pretending to be on voice group chat. Besides that, the movie itself was a lot of fun. It’s a great depiction of the internet.
Widows 3.5/5 stars (11/28/2018)
Intriguing heist thriller, though it’s technically not really about the heist itself. It’s about the characters. It’s a rather complicated tale. Satisfying to see once, but not worth it in the long run.
Instant Family 4/5 stars (12/4/2018)
This might be the most surprising in terms of me actually enjoying it. The story focuses on a couple who decides to liven up their lives by becoming foster parents to 3 kids, a teenager and two elementary school aged kids.
Creed II 4/5 stars (12/7/2018)
Don’t typically watch sports movies. They generally end the same, but all the side stuff about his struggles helped balance things out. Creed is on top of the world but gets challenged by the son of the guy who killed his father in the ring ages ago. It would have been so much more satisfying if one of them could have punched out that idiot promoter. He was such a slimeball.
Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse 3.5/5 stars (12/13/2018)
This is the type of movie that will continue to drop in stars if I think about it. It doesn’t make much sense, but then again, it’s based off a super hero so the unexplainable is sort of a given. I liked Miles Morales’s story, but the animation was a little hard to watch. They messed with the frame rate to make it more like a comic book. The end fight was like watching a nightmare fight (direction didn’t matter).
Mortal Engines 4/5 stars (12/14/2018)
Not sure why people keep making YA series into movies. While it turned out decently, I think it’s like the gold rush. Everybody’s hoping to recreate the giant success of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games (maybe even Divergent or The Maze Runner series, though I haven’t seen or read either of those). They come close but there’s so much in the books that it’s hard to adapt. I’ve not read the books so it didn’t bother me. The movie had some stellar and beautiful landscapes, but the story seemed convenient.
Green Book 4/5 stars (12/17/2018)
Not really about the story. Very much about the characters. It’s another “based on a true story” deals. An Italian guy and a world-class black pianist travel the deep South in the 1960’s. Racial tensions are still high, but in a different way than today.
Aquaman 4/5 stars (12/20/2018)
A genre-hopping wonderful hot mess of a movie. I had a great time and would definitely see it again. Jason Momoa is an excellent choice to play the title character. The guy who really wants revenge on him seemed like an annoying gnat of a character, but I think he means more to those who read the comic books.
Bumblebee 4/5 stars (12/21/2018)
Never saw the rest of the Transformer movies. Although a good movie, I doubt this would tempt me to see the rest of them. They spent a lot of time building Charlie’s backstory. While I liked her as a character, her longevity for the franchise is pretty much nil, so it seems a wasted investment of screentime.
Conclusion:
Great year for movies. Lots of intriguing tales of adventure. I’m still drawn to action/thriller or Disney type animated family safe types.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
OR
Top Picks of 2018:
Incredibles 2 – family/ animated; funniest scene (Jack Jack vs the Racoon)
Mission Impossible: Fallout – action/thriller; top thriller
Ralph Breaks the internet – family/animated; fun film
Instant Family – family/drama; most surprising that I liked it
Nutcraker and Grinch – tie for worst movie I saw this year
Clarence’s father is dying from some unknown illness. A Reaper comes by every day to see if he’s ready to travel the long road to Ganedyn, which I’m assuming is paradise. Many who travel the road don’t need it. While his mother’s willing to sacrifice years from her life, she doesn’t want the kids, Clarence and Jessi, doing the same. Desperate they resort to different tactics. Jessi sneaks next door and steals a bird from the Neighbor’s garden. That buys a little time. Clarence goes to speak to the neighbor and gets sent on a quest to dislodge the Reaper in the Tree, who’s presence there is pretty much the source of the problem.
Additional Comments:
World-building (3/5) – A lot of imagination went into creating this bleak, colorless world. Much of the lore is explained fairly naturally, but the worlds don’t make much sense. There’s a normal, mortal world, a paradise, and The End. Part of what bothered me is the naming system or lack thereof. The Neighbor, the Red Reaper, The Reaper in the Tree, etc. I wish they had real names instead of titles. Caggers (sorry about spelling) are fears from one of the worlds creeping into the mortal realm.
Characters (3.5/5) – Clarence, Wakoba, and Jessi are stereotypical questing kids. Clarence is the one given the quest. Jessi’s his sister, the brave one who carries a bat around. Wakoba’s the timid friend who has to face his fears to fulfill his part of the quest.
Plot (3/5) – It follows a logical path, but I don’t get a good sense of the world space or time passing. Part of that might be that time in the dark place they travel to (forest?) and nearing the Pit gets skewed. The characters go from one conversation to another talking about what’s happening with little actually happening until the final confrontation.
It’s 100% kid-friendly.
Disclaimer – it’s probably more literature-based fantasy than I’m used to. There are probably deep roots of moral lessons in here about taking care of the Earth/world you have, one person making all the difference, and the power of kids. Guess I just look for more direct, sword or bow-wielding action in my fantasy. There are plenty of scythes about because of the Reapers, but there are too many restrictions on them to make for a good old-fashioned fight. (Can’t kill a reaper with his own weapon.)
Conclusion:
Fans of RK Gold will probably enjoy this tale. Those who gravitate to Middle Grade literature too might find lots to love within. It reminds me of Treasure: Seed Savers by S. Smith. They’re both books about a world on the brink of collapse due to mismanagement of resources.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Margo Martindale (I love her), Isabela Moner, Tig Notaro, Olivia Spencer (Love her too), and many more
4/5 Surprisingly Touching Family Story
Summary:
A husband and wife consider adopting through the foster system because they want to shake up the monotony of their lives. They take an 8-week course and go to a fair where they can meet and greet some of the kids in the foster system. They talk themselves into and out of the situation several times, but finally, doubts from their family pushes them to take the leap. They’re interested in a teenager who just happens to come with two younger siblings.
Additional Comments:
I’m not a huge Mark Wahlberg fan because a lot of them are truly ridiculous, but this one turned out fine.
The trailer made the movie seem like it would be funnier than it was.
Like anything truly to do with family, this movie took turns being charming, frustrating, amusing, and heartwarming.
It’s not an easy road to walk. Kids from troubled homes have all the normal kid problems plus a few dozen more unique to those in the system.
Characters: I don’t remember much about the kids’ names, except that the teenager went by Lizzy. Can’t even remember the parents’ names. I do remember Grandmother Sandy.
Drama: The filmmakers did a nice job catching a good variety of sweet and hellish moments with the kids.
Conclusion:
Worth watching. Don’t think it’s a movie that really encourages people to go out and enter foster classes, but it’s a worthwhile tale. Would be good to watch alone, with friends, or with family.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
OR
Spoiler Section:
Favorite Moment: When Grandmother Sandy tells them plainly that their court speech stinks, and they need to rewrite it pronto.
Sometimes, I wonder how much of the “based on a true story” part is true. There are certain things these people say and do, like punching out the janitor or being slapped by the people they went to for help, holds truth. A lot of what they said, especially in confronting the high school kid they thought had sent lewd pictures to the teenage girl, seemed highly inappropriate in and of itself.
