Movies in Review: "Independence Day: Resurgence"

I absolutely loved the original Independence Day, and was excited to see the trailer for the sequel, until I noticed there was no Will Smith in it...Huh? Kind of a big move to proceed with a sequel without having your star from the first film involved. Needless to say, by the time the trailer ended with no Will Smith in sight, I was less excited about the movie and more annoyed. I did not want to see this movie at all, and I should have went with my instincts and passed on it.

It was evident Will's presence wasn't there and they tried to fill the void with Liam Hemsworth and Jesse Usher, which didn't work, especially Jesse Usher, he was awful. I was more annoyed with the new young additions than entertained. Thankfully though, the remainder of the cast from the sequel reprised their roles, like Jeff Goldblum, and Judd Hirsh who plays Goldblum's father, also the crazy scientist from the first film played by Brent Spiner. They kept the movie entertaining. The visuals were amazing as always, even better than the first, but the new characters definitely killed it for me. Vivica Fox reprised her role, but she only had about 2 scenes that lasted about 10 secs each...smh...poor Vivica.

This movie could have used Smith. His absence was felt throughout the film, it definitely wasn't the same. With Smith this movie would have been a box office smash, and although it did well at the box office this weekend, I still don't think it's going to come close to the sales of its predecessor...C+

Movies in Review: "Free State of Jones"

I wasn't excited to see this movie, but I did have some interest in the story. Some people are tired of seeing anything that pertains to slavery, or has a slavery story line. I on the other hand don't mind them as much. Some of these movies shed light on a part of history I was unaware of, such as this one about Newton Knight and his armed rebellion against the Confederacy. I enjoyed the trailer, and McConaughey even more. So unlike most movie-goers, I was going to give this one a chance.

It was indeed a very interesting story. Story takes place during the Civil War around 1862. I am no one’s history aficionado by any means, and true stories like these always blow my mind. The fight and the story behind the defeat of the confederacy, this movie wasn't just about slavery. But slavery will always be an underlying story because that's where we were at that time. I enjoyed the performances, especially McConaughey, but the story lacked in power. I was definitely expecting a bit more. It kind of fell flat for me at the end, but still wasn't a bad movie in my opinion. I just wish it was stronger.

All in all not a bad movie. I enjoyed being introduced to the story of Newton Knight, and found it quite fascinating. I'm sure the book has more depth than the movie, but the movie wasn't a horrible interpretation...B

Movies in Review: "Hunt for the Wilderpeople"

When there is a weekend like this past weekend that has movie releases I'm hardly interested in seeing, I find myself in search of more limited release films that appeal more to me. That's how I came across this gem of a movie, see trailer. Now tell me you didn't enjoy that trailer. I cracked up off the simply hilarity of it all. Of course I was going to check out those other major released movies, but I was looking forward to seeing this one the most.

Omg...I can definitely say I have found myself more disappointed by this summer's movie releases, but this one was a winner by all standards. The story was great, the characters were everything you watched in the trailer and more. This characters in this film have over the top personalities that make the simple tone of this movie so entertaining. You will LOVE the kid who plays Ricky Baker. I am still cracking up off that dude...lol. His performance alone is worth seeing the film, but all the characters were exceptional. I enjoyed the writing, and the simple quirks in the story like the haiku's. My only complaint is that is dragged a little for me near the end, but still ended on a perfect note.

This movie is well worth seeing if playing in your area. If' it isn't in your area, this is one I would watch out for on Netflix or Redbox. Well worth any money you'd pay for it...A+

Movies in Review: "Finding Dory"

Well it's about damn time! Right!? How dare Pixar have us wait 13yrs for this sequel to come out...shame shame shame. However, I honestly wasn't expecting a sequel when the original ended...lol...but still! You know I was ecstatic when I watch the trailer for Finding Dory...Omg! I could not wait! My son was already on bored to also see this one, but of course I had to make sure he watched the first movie just to get him caught up. I think we watched Finding Nemo 6 times before the sequel came out. Finding Nemo is one of my favorite animated movies to date, and I had little doubt Finding Dory would fall right in line.

O.M.G....Yes! Can I say I loved this movie, adored this movie...Yes! Everything I loved about Finding Nemo was only elevated in Finding Dory. Another great fish adventure filled with beautiful animation and characters. I found it hilarious that the story for Finding Dory is 1yr later in the movie...smh...13yrs! Anyway, I loved how characters from the first film made appearances in this film. I loved the introduction of new characters even more. Some of my favorite new characters were the octopus, sea turtles, whale shark, and beluga shark. They were voice so wonderfully, especially the octopus, voiced by Ed O’Neill, and the black sea lion, voiced by Idris Elba. 

The writing for this sequel was excellent and fit right in line with its predecessor. The adventure was just as much fun and had great visuals and movement to keep all parties entertained. I was more than pleased with this, and I know you will be too...A+

Movies in Review: "Central Intelligence"

Marketing for this movie was definitely heavy, and started early. You could see Johnson and Hart everywhere together. I enjoyed the way they chose to market this film, having these two team up at different events, commercials and social media. It was definitely this marketing strategy that got me into the theater, more so than the trailer. I found Johnson and Hart to be absolutely hilarious together whenever I would see them. I was hoping that this chemistry would translate just as strongly in the film.

I am kind of still cracking up a little off these 2. Honestly, the movie wasn't that great, well at least the plot wasn't, but that doesn't mean this film still isn't worth seeing because Hart and Johnson showed up and showed out. I loved their on-screen antics. They were a perfect pair, each making the other better in each scene. This is one of my favorite roles from Hart, who sometimes can be a little over the top and annoying to me. I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed him in this movie. These two had me smiling and laughing until the end. However there are some things that I had to look past in order to enjoy this film as much as I did. I tried not to get annoyed at the scenes where bullets were flying all over the place but hitting nothing, and how Johnson and Hart are able to escape impossible circumstances...smh. It's a comedy, so I took some of these things as part of the comedy ~shrugs.

I honestly would love to see these 2 team up again. I love it when a duo works. Sometimes the chemistry between two characters is the best part about the movie. This one aced that...B+

Movies in Review: "Now You See Me 2"

From this weekend’s movie releases, Now You See Me 2 is the one I was looking most forward to seeing. I enjoyed the tricks of the first film, and thought they could only improve...or at least that's what I was hoping. I was sad to see Isla Fisher would not be returning. The addition of Lizzy Caplan as her replacement didn't really appeal to me in the trailer, but I was interested to see how this new character would fit. I wasn't expecting much from this movie, but I was definitely expecting to be entertained.

Hmmmmmm...There wasn't a lack of entertainment, but the plot for this sequel wasn't as strong as the first one. Sanaa Lathan was added to the cast as an FBI agent. She was super regular. I enjoyed the British Detective from the first movie way better. The Horseman were great as usually, and the addition of the character Lulu (Lizzy Caplan) worked really well. As a matter of fact, I kinda enjoyed Lizzy more than Fisher, so this was a plus. She was funny and brought most of the excitement to the group. I thought Mark Ruffalo's character kind of got lost and played the background in this movie. He wasn't as strong as in the first film. Daniel Radcliffe was also a nice addition, but I wish his story line was stronger. The tricks were decent, especially the computer chip scene, but I felt the finale trick fell a little flat. I wasn't impressed with the finale as I was in the first movie...eh.

All in all not a bad movie, just not exceptional. I would call this one a Netflix and Chill flick, or something to pass the time at a matinee. Although I was hoping to be more impressed, I'm still looking forward to the third movie...B-

Movies in Review: "King Jack"

Ok so I know many of you haven't even heard of this film. I hadn't heard of it either, until I was looking for another movie to see after I had decided I would take a pass on Warcraft. Warcraft was a big hit at the box office this weekend, but there was something about that movie that didn't appeal to me...Oh wait...it was Paula Patton...lol. But anyway, in my search I came across King Jack, which received a super fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes (not that that matters that much to me), so I checked out the trailer and decided to give it a go. Unfortunately this review will mean nothing to most of you, because this film likely won't be playing in your area, since it was only playing at 1 theater near me. But since I watched it, I will review it...

Sometimes I have to give Rotten Tomatoes a side eye...smh. 96% Fresh rating? I mean, not to say that anything was wrong with the movie, but I can understand why it's only playing in 1 theater. There was nothing super exceptional about it. I was hoping to feel something about the characters, or even the story, but I seriously left the theater feeling nothing...thinking...okay???? This will likely be one of my most least in-depth reviews because this movie was about a teenage boy doing teenage boy ish ~shrugs. At least that's how I left the theater feeling. It wasn't a bad movie, but definitely one I would have felt worth my time watching at home on the couch falling asleep to...ijs. 96% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and I left the theater like "that's was it?". This is why I don't trust "critics". They seem to be far less in tune with what really appeals to audience...eh.

I really don't have much to say about this one, except it wasn't bad, but it felt irrelevant ~shrugs. The story was ok, but doesn't do much to draw you in. Watching teenagers do dumb ish, isn't really one of my favorite past times, so I didn't really get much from this one...B-

Movies in Review: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows"

Ok so I'm having a hard time writing a review for this sequel because it seems that critics and fans felt this movie was a little better than this one, and I truly remember liking the first movie, and this one, not so much...lol. Unfortunately I really don't remember much about the first movie, except that I liked it enough that I was super excited when I saw the trailer for the sequel ~shrugs. No one but me, and my kid, really seemed excited about its release anyway. Unlike everyone else, I enjoyed the first, and I was expecting the same for this one.

Bleh...ok...I have no idea why I disliked this movie more than the other. All I know is there wasn't much about it I enjoyed. For some reason Megan Fox definitely annoyed me more in this one than the first, with her poor acting and over-sexed persona...smh. I also felt I enjoyed the action scenes more in the first than in this one too. I remember there being some really great scenes in the first movie, and in this film, the action was just ok. I wasn't a fan of the 2 characters that were changed into animals. They were obnoxious. The new character they added, Casey, was nice to look at, but he didn't really add much to the story. I also remember adoring the Turtles in first movie, but found them to be drab in this movie. They were cute, funny, and exceptionally entertaining in the first movie, but didn't really shine in this one. The only new character I liked was surprisingly, Tyler Perry as the scientist Baxter. He worked well in this character.

I definitely got less than I expected, but did catch a few Zzzzzzz's. I found myself dosing off more than once for this movie, and it wasn't entertaining enough to even keep my kid glued to his seat. Fans and critics enjoyed this one more than the first, although neither movie received an exceptional rating. I however was bored to death by this one ~shrugs...D+

Movies in Review : "Me Before You"

I am truly a sucker for romantic films. As hard as that sounds for anyone who knows me, or may have come across my "hard" exterior. I am an undercover hopeless romantic, so films like this always tear at my heart strings. Every time I watched the trailer for this movie, I truly got weak. The soundtrack in the trailer along with the 2 main characters in the film turned me into a pile of mush...Ugh. This was a movie I definitely had to see. I'm a pessimist when it comes to love, but films like these give me a change of heart...for a day or two...lol.

Get ready to break out those tissues ladies. Not many films like these get me emotional, but this one definitely had me on the brink of shedding a tear. What I enjoyed most was the alluring and undeniable chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin who play the main characters Lou and Will. Emilia is perfect as Lou and gives some of the best facial expressions I have seen. Her expressions probably would have annoyed me in any other case, but they looked like true expressions that just fit the moment. She and Will had me smiling and laughing throughout the film. The performances of the co-stars were also great, adding more humor on a hard subject the story touches on.

I thought that I would like this movie, but I honestly loved it. This is one I could watch over and over. This is one of those films you watch after a break-up on a rainy day with a box full of tissue and a pint of ice cream...alone...lol...A-