Month: November 2019

Dark Waters

“Dark Waters” is based on the true story about a tenacious attorney (Mark Ruffalo) who uncovers a dark secret about water being polluted and its connection to a number of unexpected deaths. The investigation uncovers the fact that a large corporation is responsible and the attorney risks his future, family and his own life to bring the truth to light. The story unfolds from there…
The span of the “Dark Waters” story covers 3 U.S. Presidential terms between 1998 and 2015.

“Dark Waters” is a very interesting and thought provoking movie. There is nothing fancy or striking about it. It’s just a well-acted tale of epic proportions and shows how a large corporation tries to sweep something dire under the rug.

“Dark Waters” is currently opened in “Limited-Release”. It opens wide Friday Dec 6th

This is a 5 Star Movie!!

Knives Out

“Knives Out” is a fresh “Who Done it”, Think “Murder on the Orient Express” in a quiet modern upscale Estate with many twists and turns.

Everything gets chaotic when renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead after his 85th Birthday at his estate. Everyone is a suspect. Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is on the case. Detective Blanc and his team find themselves digging through a web of decent and red herring to get at the truth. No stone will be left unturned. The story unfolds from there…

“Knives Out” is very entertaining, has some comic relief and many twists and turns. The movie is fresh. The cast at times is hilarious. If you like Agatha Christie type mysteries, you should definitely check out “Knives Out”.

This is a 5 Star Movie!!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Are you old enough to remember Mister Roger’s Neighborhood?

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is based on the TV show Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. The movie illustrates the real-life friendship of Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod.

Tom Junod is a jaded journalist who is assigned to profile Fred Rogers. As Tom goes about writing the story he finds out that spending time with Fred Rogers introduces many life lessons such as empathy, kindness and decency and that Fred Rogers is America’s most beloved neighbor.

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is very entertaining, eye-opening and thought-provoking. The movie is loaded with “Life Lessons” that no matter your age or lot in life everyone can learn something from Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.

This is a 5 Star Movie!!

The Good Liar

Based on the best-selling novel, “The Good Liar” is about the ultimate Con Artist, Roy Courtnay (McKellen) trying to work his magic on his latest mark, a widow (Mirren) who happens to be worth millions, but there is something big brewing under the surface that could up-end Roy’s carefully laid plan. The story unfolds from there…

“The Good Liar” is an excellent suspense drama! The movie is intriguing, suspenseful, engaging and fun to watch unfold. This is one of those movies where you think you have it all figured out and then something happens to destroy that theory.

Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen do not disappoint.

“The Good Liar” is definitely worth the price of admission.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Ford v Ferrari

Academy Award winners Matt Damon and Christian Bale bring the true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the fearless British Driver Ken Miles (Bale) story to life on the big screen. They battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and gravity to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company. They then take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. The story unfolds from there…

“Ford v Ferrari” is everything I had hoped it would be. The movie is very entertaining, emotional, moving and just plain fun to watch. The cinematography is excellent. This movie contains one of the best cast I have seen this year. Strong performances from Matt Damon and Christian Bale make this movie what it is.

“Ford v Ferrari” is definitely a must see movie.

This is a 5 Star Movie!!

Charlie’s Angels

Another reboot of the TV classic “Charlie’s Angels”. I guess it’s if you don’t succeed try, try again until you do.

Sabina, Elena and Jane are working for the mysterious Charles Townsend Agency that has successfully taken the security and investigation business International. There are many “Bosley’s stationed around the world.

Elena is a Systems Engineer for a scientific company who has developed a device that can be told what to do and the device will do it. This includes everything from turning on lights to killing people… Of course the device falls into the wrong hands and there are many people trying to buy or get their hands on the device at any means possible. So in comes Charlie’s Angels to the rescue. The story unfolds from there…
The plot is good, it’s the execution of the plot that is the problem with “Charlie’s Angels”. The story has holes that don’t get filled. The cinematography is not that great. There are some missed opportunities to showcase places like Istanbul and London. Some of the action scenes are hard to follow. There is also some bad acting that also contributes to the problems with “Charlie’s Angels”.

Charlie’s Angels is best left on the small screen.

We can watch the reruns of the original Charles Townsend Agency.

This is a 2 Star Movie!!

Last Christmas

From the trailers “Last Christmas” looked like it would be a fun movie, so I decided to give it a look.

Kate (Emilia Clarke) is a walking accident in London waiting to happen. She meanders endlessly through her days without much direction. Then along comes Tom (Henry Golding) who seems too good to be true. After many semi dates with Tom, Kate let’s her hair down and wants to get close, but Tom can’t let that happen. Kate thinks Tom is rejecting her but that is not the case. The story unfolds from there…

“Last Christmas” ends up having a very interesting twist. You have to weed through most of the movie to get to the real meaning. The story starts off a bit disjointed. There is a sort of comic relief to some of the events that occur. While the movie is fairly decent, its not a memorable Holiday movie that will have a lasting effect. While watching “Last Christmas” I felt there were undertones to “Bridge Jones Diary”. There were scenes that kept reminding me of that movie.

Check out “Last Christmas” if you dare. Although it is worthy of waiting for it on cable.

This is a 2 Star Movie!!

Harriet

“Harriet” is about the incredible life of Harriet Tubman. The iconic freedom Fighter who pioneered the Underground Railroad to free slaves. Harriet herself was a slave who eventually ran away to freedom. Once she had been free for a short time she risked her life and freedom to go back many times to lead family and friends to freedom.

During Harriet’s life she freedom over 750 slaves. The movie showcases events in Harriet’s life about her courageous efforts to free slaves. Harriet’s efforts changed the course of history.

The movie is excellent! It’s moving, heart-wrenching and at times sad. There is some comic relief. “Harriet” is definitely worth the price of admission, if for nothing else a bit of History learning/revealing. I am looking forward to the $20 Dollar Bill that will showcase Harriet Tubman.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

Motherless Brooklyn

“Motherless Brooklyn” is set in the 1950’s New York. The movie follows Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton) who is a private detective living with Tourette Syndrome. Lionel sets out to solve the murder of his long-time friend and mentor, Frank Minna (Bruce Willis). Along the way Lionel stumbles upon and unravels a few addition mysteries and secrets that could affect the whole city. The story unfolds from there…

“Motherless Brooklyn” is a long movie and requires patience as the plot unfolds and the mysteries unravel. All actors involved give strong performances and that’s what makes the movie worth viewing. There is action although it’s slow in coming and more of the gangster variety.

The movie soundtrack is excellent if you like jazz. “Motherless Brooklyn” is worth a look.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!!

Terminator: Dark Fate in AMC Dolby

Calling all “Terminator” Fans!!

It’s been over 20 years since Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton) halted Judgement Day and changed the future for the human race. Now she is going to have to get involved again. The machines have targeted Dani Ramos (Mackenzie Davis) who is living a simple life in Mexico City with her brother and father.
The machines believe that Dani represents the future and they cannot let that happen. A super enhanced human named Grace also arrives in Mexico City. Together Grace and Sarah must save Dani from the machines. The story unfolds from there…

“Terminator: Dark Fate” is an excellent re-boot to this franchise. It has non-stop edge of your seat action and violence. The movie is very entertaining. Great special effects and a good back story tie-in help boost this movie. This installment is definitely better than the previous reboots.

“Terminator: Dark Fate” is definitely worth a look.

This is a 3 1/2 Star Movie!!