Movies in Review: "A Simple Favor"

The trailer for this movie left me hanging on a cliff and wondering what the hell happened to Emily. I wanted and need to know...that's a good trailer...lol. I am not the biggest fan of Blake Lively, I can honestly take her or leave her. However, she did look absolutely amazing in the trailer, and I'm always here for that. Besides, I can usually count on Anna Kendrick, so I rested most of the weight of this film on her. Well, also Paul Feig directed it, and I'm a fan of his work too. I took my chances and was confident I wouldn't be completely disappointed. If anything, I'd have Lively's wardrobe to take away as ideas to duplicate later. Still a win win ~shrugs.

This for sure is one of my favorite performances from Lively. It felt like she was being herself, which made her performance on-screen that much better. Not to mention she is drop dead gorgeous and killed the game with everything she wore. Her style alone gets points...seriously. Kendrick was a regular Kendrick self, which worked well with Lively. I have a warm spot for dark comedies, and this one was on point, if not on another level. There are moments in the movie that are so dark, but a comedic twist is put on it, so your feel that darkness and find yourself laughing at the same time. I enjoy movies that can twist my emotions like this. This movie has a Gone Girl feel too it, except with way more twists. A very well written story.

I kind of loved this movie. It had everything that in it that I enjoy about films, including a very complicated plot. I was glued to the screen, and my emotions were turned upside down. You will easily find yourself emotionally tangled in this film until the credits roll and walking out of the theater with your mind blown. This movie wasn't perfect, but I highly recommend seeing it...A-

Movies in Review: "White Boy Rick"

As a fan of films based off real life stories, it should be no surprise I went to see this film. The trailer was ok. I didn't love the trailer, but the story looked like it had the potential to be interesting. Also, the film co-starred one of my favorite young actors, RJ Cyler, who I have been obsessed with since seeing him in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (a film I highly recommend seeing). My expectations weren't up too high for this one, but from what I watched in the trailer, I was expecting to be entertained...at least.

I definitely enjoyed the performances from the cast, especially from newcomer Richie Merritt who plays Rick. He worked well on-screen with his co-stars and shined on-screen next to already seasoned actors. Although I enjoyed the performances, it felt like the story was lacking. The trailer was more intriguing than the actual film as far as the story is concerned. The story felt like there were too many gaps and the focus was more on Rick's family than what he did as an informant. The story was too choppy for me and failed to have real focus. The movie felt like it drifted at the end, leaving me feeling like "that's it?". ~shrugs

I didn't hate the movie, there were definitely some nice performances from the cast, but the focus of the story did rub me the wrong way. I was expecting more and felt a little gipped. It was marketed as him being an FBI informant, but that part of the story kind of fell by the waste side ~shrugs. Just another story about a corrupt system, guns, drugs, and bad decisions...B-

Movies in Review: "Peppermint"

I like a good revenge thriller film with Man on Fire, and Law-Abiding Citizen being two of my favorites. Although Jennifer Garner isn't one of my top-rated actresses, I found her appealing in this female led revenge thriller called Peppermint. I liked the trailer for this film. I thought Garner looked bad ass, and I the story seemed interesting enough to take a chance and see it. My expectations were about average for this film. I was expecting to be entertained, a maybe a little more ~shrugs.

Hmmmmmmmm...well...I was entertained, but that's about it. Garner was definitely a bad ass in this movie, but her action sequences were about the only thing going for it, and unfortunately it wasn't enough. Unlike some of my favorite revenge films, this movie lacked a great plot and depth. It was only filled with revenge. There was very little backstory into Garner's character's life. There was about 15min of her and her family life before it all went left. All of it felt a little rushed and sometimes unbelievable. I think Garner was great for the role, but I some of the actions were too over the top for me to believe any female of her stature could pull off ~shrugs. The revenge sequences should have fit the character. I wish there was more to the story than just revenge. It made the film less thrilling and a little dull. There was way too much of it.

This movie had the potential to be better than what it was, but very little was put in the story. This film has nothing new to offer to make it worth paying to see. Garner is great, but she will be just as great from the comfort of your couch on cable TV...ijs...D+

Movies in Review: "Searching"

Out of the new releases this weekend, Searching was the film I was most looking forward too. I am a fan of John Cho, who I am use to seeing play in comedic and supportive roles, but I found him intriguing taking on the lead in this thriller. I enjoyed the trailer and appreciated it only giving me enough to get me to come to the theater to see more. I seriously had to know how this story ended. I had come up with a number of conclusions from watching the trailer, but I had to get the real answer to what happened to Margot. I was very interested in seeing this film, but my expectations were still about average, because I believed the conclusion would be predictable. I walked into the theater hoping I was wrong.

I enjoyed the way this movie began as we are introduced to the Kim family and immediately get vested in the characters. The movie has a sweet and sad beginning that evoked a few emotions from me early. Margot goes missing pretty early and this is when the film really starts building, with John Cho and Debra Messing at the helm. The story builds very well as the pieces are put together that will lead to Margot's disappearance. The suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat, but it is the twist in the end that will get you and makes this movie well worth seeing.

This movie has decent performances and a story that is written very well. I enjoyed the emotional ride I was taken on. I became vested in every lead, in every twist, only to be totally surprised by the end...well sort of. I had an inkling who was involved with the disappearance halfway through the film, but their involvement was not what I expected, which made the ending that much better for me. This is a decent movie, especially if you are a fan of softer thrillers...B+

Movies in Review: "Kin"

I have to be honest, I had very little interest in this film when I watched the trailer. However, after having a week off of reviews and being pressed for time this weekend, I added it to my movie list because its movie times fit with my schedule ~shrugs. I could have just seen 1 movie, but I wasn't totally turned off by the trailer, and if this weekend's releases had something better to offer, I would have probably chosen to pass on this one. So needless to say, my expectations when going to see Kin were low to average. I wasn't expecting much, but I also wasn't expecting a total bomb.

This movie started out ok, however, with almost a 2hr running, the movie didn't really go anywhere and ended with a twist from left field. You will find yourself going on a 2hr journey across state lines with the 2 main characters with focus on this gun that was found and running away from trouble. I thought the movie was building up to something more exciting, but by the time it ended, it felt like movie of a Netflix film than something I would have seen on the big screen.

This film definitely has small screen attributes and you will feel better seeing it from the comfort from your home for free, if you have any interest in seeing it at all ~shrugs. I was less than impressed with this film, although I did love James Franco's character, but he wasn't given enough screen-time to excuse this lack luster story...meh. Kin is a made for television sci-fi film that somehow tricked someone into thinking it was worth the big screen...C-