3/24/19 Capernaum (6)
This was one incredible movie. So many pictures I can't get out of my head after seeing it - the birds-eye-view of Beirut, tall buildings with tire-covered roofs going on for miles and miles. Slums. Poverty, unimaginable poverty. Refugees from Syria and Ethiopia who end up here. Real eye-opening, almost documentary-type information. Directed by a female. Gritty. The young man who played Zail, whose real name was also Zail, was truly amazing. Wow. Got to give it a 6.
6/9/19 ?? Wonder Park (2.5)
With Tristan. Another one of those cute, animated stupid movies the kids seem to enjoy. Not me. When I asked Tristan what he would rate it, one being not very good at all and five being the best, he said he would rate it a 4...... 2.5 for me.
5/3/2019 Long Shot (4)
It's fun to see a funny, feel-good movie once in awhile, and there haven't been many appearing lately. I totally enjoyed the story - a female Secretary of State and a male journalist, very strong in their convictions (similar to mine, which is a plus) as they fall in love. It was cleverly pulled together without either one of them having to let go of too much. The 10-minute ending/happily ever after/aftermath was just wonderful to see. I'm so glad there was an ending that actually worked! Yep, I do indeed like HEA. Both main actors were wonderful, Seth Rogen was certainly Seth Rogen-y, and Charlene Therizon showed more than I've seen before. Pretty cool.
4/28/19 After (4)
Mechanicsburg on the Carlisle Pike with Ella on a Sunday afternoon after a picnic in the car. This was a very sweet teenage romantic flick without a sad ending...just a feel good movie with some decent acting and storytelling. No complaints from me here! Ella rated it a 5.5. I'll go for a 4.
6/9/19 Dark Phoenix (3)
Well, stupid me. I did not realize that this was an X-Men movie. Even though I had no background, I was able to follow it pretty well. It was interesting until it came to the end scenes that were just those crazy (boring) battle scenes that make me roll my eyes. Lots of big names in this one, but for the life of me I couldn't warm to the main character, Jean Grey. Didn't care what happened to her, which unfortunately was exactly what the entire movie was about. Oh well, an early summer rainy Monday evening entertainment.
6/21/19 Pets II (4)
I took the kids, a really cute movie, very humorous, very much better than most of the animated movies I see - don't like many of them. I've got to give this one a two thumbs up. Really loved the humor.
6/30/19 The Dead Don't Die (4)
2 o'clock at the Majestic in Gettysburg. Note: It's so much fun going to this theater! What a funny, ridiculous, creepy, random movie. I guffawed through all the creepiness and violence of killing the poor zombies, I hate to admit. Bill Murray and Adam Driver played off each other so perfectly, I loved them. And to throw in the OMG-what's-this-all-about funeral director was so random and bizarre and added to the WTF format. The entire movie was a WTF!!! It was also really fun to watch.
8/11/19 Dora (2.5)
With the kids on a Sunday afternoon. Kids really enjoyed it, I expected more. There were some really cute touches, heralding back to the TV series, but otherwise it was just a little too silly/stupid. I've been looking forward to it, so was disappointed.
8/17/19 Where'd You Go Bernadette (4)
Camp Hill. The movie certainly kept the integrity of the book, not changing information but giving it at different times and different ways, which was kind of fun because it kept you on your toes. I loved the book and very much enjoyed the movie. It was good, but not great.
8/29/19 Peanut Butter Falcon (5)
Saw at Camp Hill, but it's not being shown in a lot of the major theaters.
Clever and very different story of a Down Syndrome young man, a down-and-out Outer Banks fisherman, and a young woman whose mission in life seems to be to help others. Zach, also the real name of the actor who plays the part, is 20-years old, his family has apparently abandoned him, and the state has placed him in an old folk's retirement home so he can be "watched over." He wants to get out and live his life. So one night he sneaks out (soaping his body to wriggle between barely opened bars on his window) and all he has as he runs away are his tightie whities. He hides and falls asleep in a decrepit fishing boat under a tarp, and that's how he meets Tyler. The two go on the run together and it's pretty darn heartwarming how they make friends and fulfill promises. It was a wonderful movie...good guys and bad guys, people caring about other people, scraping by by the seat of your pants. Definitely liked this one a lot. Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson starred, Shia LaBeouf particularly did a really good job.
9/14/19 The Goldfinch (5)
I think this was a wonderful adaptation of the book, all the same information and facts but told in a bit of a different way. Instead of telling the story this happened, then this happened, then this, and this is how it ends.....they started near the end and told much of the story in flashbacks. I think it was quite cleverly done, actually. Loved the actors. I wonder what people who have never read the book think. I've read so many books that I only remember the general gist of most of them, but nothing specific. For some reason I didn't forget most of this story, and it's been years since I listened to it on audio. I wonder why that is. Other than it being particularly long - I guess it had to be - I really liked it. Well done. It cracks me up that the reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes only gave it a 25%! I'll have to go read why, but it's probably all technical stuff that I could care less about.
12/13/19 Jumanji: The Next Level (3.5)
With Laura, Tristan and friend, Ella and friend. Funny, funny, funny and clever. Great actors taking on the affectations of others extremely well!
1/23/20 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (3.5)
The first 45 minutes were so incredibly boring that I wanted to leave and almost did. It picked up after that. It had the requisite flying crazily through the galaxy, saber sword fights, and running and jumping around. Carrie Fisher was in quite a bit of it, they used outtakes from the previous movies of her face and speech, working it into the dialogue. Interesting. I DO love Adam Driver!
2/13/20 Downhill (2, and that's stretching it)
A complete waste of time. Over-acting. Looks like it should be a comedy with two major comedians and it wasn't a comedy at all, just a sad story with of lot of pissing me off. I can't believed it actually made it to the big screen. And it opened on Valentine's Day - absolutely ridiculous. This is so not a Valentine's Day movie! When is a decent movie going to arrive?
2/25/20 Sonic the Hedgehog (3.5)
Saw with Tristan, of course. Surprisingly, a really fun movie! Didn't realize James Marsden or Jim Carrey were in it, so that made it an added treat.
