MOVIE - Pitch Perfect 3

PG-13
Wide release 12/22/17

Viewed New Year's Eve 2017 - 10 degrees at Carlisle 8
IMBd: 6.2

RT Critic: 31   Audience:  53
Critic's Consensus:  Pitch Perfect 3 strains to recapture the magic that helped the original spawn a franchise, but ends up sending this increasingly unnecessary trilogy out on a low note.

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Trish Sle

Universal Pictures

Anna Kendrick, John Lithgow

My comments:  Oh, oh, oh, SO much better than Pitch Perfect 2!  Yay.  Thoroughly enjoyed this one.  Okay, the John Lithgow/Fat Amy part was a little weird, but added a nice bit of fun, and I like the way it started the movie with a scene that they came back to near the end.  There were some really funny parts, though a few of Fat Amy's fell a little flat.  And those girls sure can sing!  I love the USO aspect as well, and the other musicians in the movie were a great addition. I haven't seen the first one in awhile, but I'm thinking this one was pretty comparable.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Now graduated from college and out in the real world where it takes more than a cappella to get by, the Bellas return in Pitch Perfect 3, the next chapter in the beloved series that has taken in more than $400 million at the global box office. After the highs of winning the World Championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.

MOVIE - Father Figures

R (1:53)

Wide release 12/22

Viewed 12/26/2017 in Camp Hill
IMBd: 5/10

RT Critic: 25   Audience:  42

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Lawrence Sher

Warner Brother Pictures

Ed Helms, Owen Wilson, Glenn Close, Terry Brandshaw, J. K. Simmons

My comments:  This was a really funny comedy that I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was pretty impossible to believe throughout the entire movie that Ed Helms and Owen Wilson were actual twin brothers, but in theory they pulled it off and I laughed my butt off in many places.  They're both really good and really funny, and I thouroughly enjoyed Glenn Glose as their mom.  During the credits it said that one of the actresses was Katie Asleton - I'm pretty sure this is my old friend Jennifer's sister-in-law and when I looked it p, sure enough, she was born in Milbridge, Maine.  Don't you love it when small town local girls make it in the big time?  She's married to Mark Duplass.  Cool.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Two brothers (Owen Wilson and Ed Helms) hit the road to find their long-lost dad after they learn that their mom has been lying to them about his death. 

MOVIE - Ladybird

R (1:33)

Limited release 11/3/17

Viewed 12/23/18 at Carlisle Theater
IMBd: 7.9

RT Critic: 99   Audience:  81
Critic's Consensus:  Lady Birddelivers fresh insights about the turmoil of adolescence -- and reveals writer-director Greta Gerwig as a fully formed filmmaking talent.

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Greta Gerwig

A24 Studio

Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf

My comments:  Excellent acting.  The story was not something special, it was a look at the everyday life of a teenage girl living in Sacramento, California.  It was, in particular, an examination of the relationship between a mother and daughter.  There were some good funny bits, especially during scenes in the parochial school where Lady Bird attends.  If Laurie Metcalf had been my mother, I would probably have ended up a lot more screwed up than Ladybird seems to be.  The big question, never answered, was how Christine came up with the name Ladybird?  

RT/ IMDb Summary:   In Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig reveals herself to be a bold new cinematic voice with her directorial debut, excavating both the humor and pathos in the turbulent bond between a mother and her teenage daughter. Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mom (Laurie Metcalf), a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird's father (Tracy Letts) loses his job. Set in Sacramento, California in 2002, amidst a rapidly shifting American economic landscape, Lady Bird is an affecting look at the relationships that shape us, the beliefs that define us, and the unmatched beauty of a place called home.

MOVIE - Star Wars: The Last Jedi

PG-13 (2:32)

12/15/17 Wide Release

Viewed 12/21/17 at Carlisle 8
IMBd:  7.7/10

RT Critic: 92   Audience:  54
Critic's Consensus:  Star Wars: The Last Jedi honors the saga's rich legacy while adding some surprising twists -- and delivering all the emotion-rich action fans could hope for.

4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Rian Johnson

Walt Disney Productions

Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Carrie Fisher

My comments:  May the force be with you!  I wish I could remember more of the story from one episode to the next.  I am not a lover of the super shoot-em-up, bang-em-up explosion scenes, but the relationships between the characters are great fun to explore and watch.  So much subtle humor, and it was great fun to watch Carrie Fisher reprise her Princess Leia role.  It was pretty cool for even Yoda to make an appearnce!  And I have become quite an Adam Driver fan of late, I totally enjoyed him in this role as bud guy.  Just hearing the Star Wars music gives me goosebumps! So now both Han and Luke are dead in the movie and Leia is alive.  So odd that in real life it's the exact opposite, Looking forward to the next one - two years?  three?  

RT/ IMDb Summary:  In Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.

TV Show - Glitch

Just finished watching Seasons 1 and 2
Premiered:  7/9/2015 Netflix - Season 1 (but I think that was in Australia, in America it was 2016) Current season 2 began 9-14-17
Number of Episodes:12 (6 each season)
Length of Episode: 60 minutes
IMBd:  7.6
RT Audience Score: 90
cag: 6 (Loved, loved, loved it)

Characters:  James Hayes, chief of Police (Patrick Brammall)
                       Dr. Elishia McKellar (the doctor who helps Chief Hayes try to figure everything out)
                       Kate Willis (dead wife)
                       Sarah Hayes (current wife)
                       John Doe (Rodger Corser) a highwayman?
                       Charlie Thompson (Sean P. Keenan) WWI hero
                       Kirstie Darrow (18-year old from the 1980s)
                       Maria Massola  (pious wife, mother, and schoolteacher)
                       Paddy (Patrick) Fitzgerald (the town's first mayor)
                       Beau (the boy who witnesses the dead digging themselves out of their graves)       

My comments:  I was immediately sucked into this series, and the 12 episodes were over much too quickly!  The cast, all unknown to me since this is an Australian production, were mesmerizing, as was the story, the characters, and the setting (the fictional town of Yoorana).  I love it when you're constantly wondering what will happen next, right along with the characters. The lead - a young cop - discovers his dead wife is one of the people who have come alive.  Also "risen" are:  an 18-year-old girl who died in the 80s, a young WWI era war hero, an Italian-speaking refugee (?) from the early 20th century, the first mayor of the town, who died in 1864, a 39-year-old mother who died in 1969, and a mysterious (and might I say extremely hunky) 40 year-old who we learn about more slowly than the rest.  SO GOOD!!!  How did this happen?  Why?  How are these people connected?  Will they ever be able to leave the boundaries that appear to kill them if crossed?

Storyline from RT:  A drama series where six individuals suddenly appear in a cemetery in the middle of the night with no recollection of who they are or where they come from. Trying to identify these people, and the truth behind how they are connected, will turn the life of the police officer put in charge of the investigation upside-down.

MOVIE - Wonder

PG (1:53)

Wide release 11/17/17

Viewed around 12/1/17: 

RT Critic: 84   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:  Wonder doesn't shy away from its bestselling source material's sentiment, but this well-acted and overall winsome drama earns its tugs at the heartstrings.

Cag: 5/Loved it 

Directed by Stephen Chbosky

Lionsgate

Based on the book by Patricia Polaccio

Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson

My comments:  The ultimate feel-good movie.  They did a really good job re-creating the book, choosing excellent actors and creating a wonderful setting for the two schools and the city of New York.  Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson were almost too perfect playing the parents of Augie.  I really enjoyed the weaving of the story of Augie with the story of his sister, Via, who was four years older.  Hooray to R. J. Palaccio for writing such a heartwarming story, which I've not only read to myself, but shared aloud with two or three different groups of kids.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman. Born with facial differences that, up until now, have prevented him from going to a mainstream school, Auggie becomes the most unlikely of heroes when he enters the local fifth grade. As his family, his new classmates, and the larger community all struggle to find their compassion and acceptance, Auggie's extraordinary journey will unite them all and prove you can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

MOVIE - Murder on the Orient Express

PG-13 (1:54)

Wide/Limited release

Viewed sometime around 11/15/17

RT Critic:  58  Audience:  54
Critic's Consensus:  Stylish production and an all-star ensemble keep this Murder on the Orient Express from running off the rails, even if it never quite builds up to its classic predecessor's illustrious head of steam.

Cag:  4.5
Directed by  Kenneth Branagh

Studio 20th Century Fox

Based on the book by Agatha Christie

Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Willem Defoe, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench

My comments:  An excellent whodunit with an even more stellar cast.  I've never read this famous Agatha Christie novel, so it was really cool that I had no idea who the murderer was!  The locales and the cinematography was spectacular, as well as Kenneth Branagh's Hercule Poiret's amazing mustache!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  What starts out as a lavish train ride through Europe quickly unfolds into one of the most stylish, suspenseful and thrilling mysteries ever told. From the novel by best-selling author Agatha Christie, "Murder on the Orient Express" tells the tale of thirteen strangers stranded on a train, where everyone's a suspect. One man must race against time to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again. Kenneth Branagh directs and leads an all-star cast including Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley and Josh Gad.

MOVIE - Victoria & Abdul

PG-13 (1:51)

Wide release 10/6/17

Viewed Sunday, 10/15/17 at Gettysburg Majestic with Claudia

IMBd: 6.9/10

RT Critic:  68  Audience:  72
Critic's Consensus:  Critics Consensus: Victoria & Abdul reunites Dame Judi Dench with the role of Queen Victoria -- which is all this period drama needs to overcome its imbalanced narrative.

Cag:  6/Awesome  5/Loved it  4/Liked it a lot  3/Liked it  2/It was okay  1/Didn’t like it

Directed by Stephen Frears

Focus Features

Based at least partly on a true story, which the Brits hid for many years!

Actors:  Judi Dench, Ali Fazal (and Dumbledore plays the Prime Minister of England!)

My comments:  While watching, although I'd heard that this story is based on fact, I wondered how much.  After getting home I did a little research, and was delighted to find that at least some of the story is based on fact.  The humor included, whether real or not, was excellent.  I discovered that Abdul spends over 10 years with Queen Victoria.  I wish the movie had showed this much passage of time more effectively.  Judi Dench ROCKS!  Ali Fazal, who plays Abdul, is apparently a Bollywood star.  He did a really good job with the role, I enjoyed very much watching his expressive face.  One reviewer summed it up pretty well....it's how joy and humanity are combined that makes it.  How much you think is real and how much is fake is up to the beholder.  It's a good movie no matter which it is!  Recommended.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  The extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's (Academy Award winner Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.

MOVIE - Blade Runner 2049

R (2:44)

Wide release 10/6/17

Viewed 10/5/2017
IMBd:  8.4

RT Critic:  87   Audience:  81
Critic's Consensus:  Visually stunning and narratively satisfying, Blade Runner 2049deepens and expands its predecessor's story while standing as an impressive filmmaking achievement in its own right.

Cag: 4.5 (at least)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Warner Brothers Pictures

Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford

My comments:  Very impressive movie, though overly long.  There were two scenes with Jared Leno, the second one seemed endless - I'm sure it was to show off his creepiness and it sure was creepy.  Ryan Gosling is an amazing actor.  Period.  It was wonderful to see Harrison Ford reprising his original role 30 years later, but Ryan  Gosling certainly stole the show.  I remember enjoying the first Blade Runner, but I really loved this one.  Creepy and thought provoking and dark, convoluted, strange, and violent - a great package.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.

MOVIE - Home Again

PG-13 (1:37

Wide Release 9/8/2017

Viewed Opening Night (just a coincidence) at Carlisle 8
IMBd: 5.8/10

RT Critic: 34   Audience:  64
Critic's Consensus:  Home Again gathers a talented crowd of rom-com veterans on both sides of the camera -- all of whom have unfortunately done far better work.

Cag:  6/Awesome  5/Loved it  4/Liked it a lot  3/Liked it  2/It was okay  1/Didn’t like it

Directed by Hallie Myers-Shyer

Open Road Films

Reese Witherspoon, Candace Bergen, Michael Sheen

My comments:  A really lighthearted comedy that could happen to absolutely anyone as long as they're gorgeous, rich, have famous parents, beautiful children, and unlimited money so they don't really have to work.  Cuteness abounds.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  HOME AGAIN stars Reese Witherspoon as Alice Kinney in a modern romantic comedy. Recently separated from her husband, (Michael Sheen), Alice decides to start over by moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles with her two young daughters. During a night out on her 40th birthday, Alice meets three aspiring filmmakers who happen to be in need of a place to live. Alice agrees to let the guys stay in her guest house temporarily, but the arrangement ends up unfolding in unexpected ways. Alice's unlikely new family and new romance comes to a crashing halt when her ex-husband shows up, suitcase in hand. HOME AGAIN is a story of love, friendship, and the families we create. And one very big life lesson: Starting over is not for beginners.

MOVIE - Logan Lucky

PG-13 (1:59)

Wide Release 8-18-17

Viewed 9-3-17 at Carlisle 8
IMBd: 7.3/10

RT Critic: 92   Audience:  76
Critic's Consensus:  High-octane fun that's smartly assembled without putting on airs, Logan Lucky marks a welcome end to Steven Soderbergh's retirement -- and proves he hasn't lost his ability to entertain.

Cag:  5 Loved it

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Fingerprint Releasing/Bleeker Street

Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Katie Holmes, Hillary Swank

My comments:  Now this was a really, really good comedy.  Not a silly comedy, or stupid one.  Not a black comedy or even a slap happy one.  It was smart, fun, and very, very funny.  For me, Adam Driver really stole the show.  Between his Forrest Gump-like accent, artificial hand, and straight-faced delivery of all his lines, I couldn't wait for the next scene he was in.  And believe it or not, the entire movie was full of good, positive family values even if it was about a heist!  Channing Tatum was his usual charming self an Daniel Craig, Hillary Swank, and Katie Holmes were all superb.  The only off note for me was the character that Seth MacFarlane played.  Too over-the-top, more silly than the rest of the movie warranted.  A really well done move, not Oscar Material, but clever, well acted, and well made.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

MOVIE - Wind River

R (1:51)

Limited release 8/4/17

Viewed 9/2/17
IMBd:  7.8

RT Critic:  87  Audience:  91
Critic's Consensus:  Wind Riverlures viewers into a character-driven mystery with smart writing, a strong cast, and a skillfully rendered setting that delivers the bitter chill promised by its title.

Cag:  6/Awesome

Directed by Taylor Sheridan

Acacia Filmed Entertainment

Written by the director

Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen

My comments:  This was definitely one of the best movies I've seen in a while.  Captivating story - horrific as it was.  It included some of the best acting I've seen in a long while, complex characters.  A frigid cold winter, with scenery shots just right so that they accentuated the plot.  The devastation of the Wind River Reservation and the lives of the people trying to eak out an existence there was the centerpiece for this devastating story.  And then there was Jeremy Renner.  He was incredible, backed superbly by a cast of Native American actors that I've seen often enough to recognize, including Graham Greene.  The story will be hard to forget, and so will Jeremy Renner's performance.

RT Summary:   WIND RIVER is a chilling thriller that follows a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) who teams up with a local game tracker with deep community ties and a haunted past (Jeremy Renner) to investigate the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American Reservation in the hopes of solving her mysterious death. Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, WIND RIVER also stars Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal, Julia Jones, Kelsey Asbille, and James Jordan.
IMDb Summary:  A veteran tracker with the Fish and Wildlife Service helps to investigate the murder of a young Native American woman, and uses the case as a means of seeking redemption for an earlier act of irresponsibility which ended in tragedy.

MOVIE - The Glass Castle

PG-13, (2:07)

Wide release 8/11/2017

Viewed 8/26/17

RT Critic:  51  Audience:  72
Critic's Consensus:  The Glass Castle has an affecting real-life story and a hard-working cast in its corner, but they aren't enough to outweigh a fundamentally misguided approach to the material.

Cag:  5.5

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Lionsgate

Based on the memoir by Jeanette Walls 

Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts

My comments:  Terrific movie.  Based on the book which is based on the memoir of Jeanette Walls.  Didn't read the book, though I contemplated doing so several times.  What a beautifully told, sad, exhilarating, painful and joyous story.  Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts were brilliant.  I particularly liked the way that the story was told with three different sets of actors depicting three different time periods, flashing back and forwards, showing the full and total picture of what it would have been like to be in this family's shoes.  During the end credits, photos of the real people were shown and labeled, putting a crowning touch on a really good couple of hours.  Alcoholism is a horrible disease....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Chronicling the adventures of an eccentric, resilient and tight-knit family, THE GLASS CASTLE is a remarkable story of unconditional love. Oscar (R) winner Brie Larson brings Jeannette Walls's best-selling memoir to life as a young woman who, influenced by the joyfully wild nature of her deeply dysfunctional father (Woody Harrelson), found the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

MOVIE - Maudie

PG-13 (1:55)

Limited release June 16, 2017

Viewed date at Carlisle Theater (downtown) onFirday, July 21, 2017
IMBd: 7.7/10

RT Critic: 90   Audience:  93
Critic's Consensus:  Maudie's talented cast -- particularly Sally Hawkins in the title role -- breathe much-needed depth into a story that only skims the surface of a fascinating life and talent.

Cag:  5.5.Loved it

Directed by Aisling Walsh

Sony Pictures Classics

Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke

My comments:  About halfway through the movie I realized that it had to be a biopic, based on a true story.  Had to be.  Maudie Lewis was Canada's Grandma Moses, born in 1903, died in 1970.  Sally Hawkins was amazing as a arthritically crippled painter, aging, becoming more bent and stooped while looking for the good in her curmudgeonly husband, played by Ethan Hawke.  He was pretty decent, too (but MUCH better looking than the real guy probably was), but Sally Hawkins stole the show completely.  Their actual life was lived in Nova Scotia, but the movie was filmed in Newfoundland and was just gorgeous.  The credits at the end of the film were interspersed with some of Maud Lewis's real paintings.  Superb movie, easily a five.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  MAUDIE, based on a true story, is an unlikely romance in which the reclusive Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) hires a fragile yet determined woman named Maudie (Sally Hawkins) to be his housekeeper. Maudie, bright-eyed but hunched with crippled hands, yearns to be independent, to live away from her protective family and she also yearns, passionately, to create art. Unexpectedly, Everett finds himself falling in love. MAUDIE charts Everett's efforts to protect himself from being hurt, Maudie's deep and abiding love for this difficult man and her surprising rise to fame as a folk painter.

MOVIE - Wonder Woman

PG-13 (2:21)

Wide release 6/2/17

Viewed date at 7/11/17
IMBd: 7.6

RT Critic: 92   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:   Thrilling, earnest, and buoyed by Gal Gadot's charismatic performance, Wonder Woman succeeds in spectacular fashion.

Cag:  4.5 It was really good, with lots of WWI history

Directed by Patty Jenkins

Warner Bros. Pictures

Actors: Chris Pine, Gal Godot

My comments:  This ended up being an unexpectedly good movie.  From the supernatural Amazon tribe, hidden away for many years in preparation to bring down Aries, comes Diana, daughter of the Amazon queen Hippolita.  When WWI spy Chris Pine breaks through the invisible barrier and crashes into the ocean near the island, he is saved by beautiful Diana.  The backstory of Wonder Woman proceeds from there.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny.

MOVIE - Baby Driver

(R) 1:53

Wide/Limited release

Viewed Monday, 7/3/17 after work
IMBd: 8.4/10

RT Critic:  98  Audience:  91
Critic's Consensus:  Stylish, exciting, and fueled by a killer soundtrack, Baby Driver hits the road and it's gone -- proving fast-paced action movies can be smartly written without sacrificing thrills.

Cag:  4.5 Liked it a whole lot

Directed by Edgar Wright

Sony Pictures

Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, Kevin Spacey, Ansel Elgort

My comments:  I knew nothing about this movie before I went other than hearing people say that it was surprisingly good.  And it was.  There were a few places I had to roll my eyes a bit, but I think it was probably made purposely that way.  Most of it was actually a lot of fun to watch and to think about.  Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm playing bad, bad guys was worth it by itself!  And the young man, Ansel Elgort, who played the part of Baby was just terrific.  Yes, I've got to say I liked this movie a lot.  Great acting, great music, interesting storyline, adorable love story - recommended highly.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  A talented, young getaway driver relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. When he meets the girl of his dreams, Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

MOVIE - Beatriz at Dinner

R (1:23)

Limited 6/9/17

Viewed 6/30 at Carlisle Theater
IMBd: 6.5/10

RT Critic:  76  Audience:  69
Critic's Consensus:  Beatriz at Dinner offers timely social commentary enlivened by powerful, layered performances from Salma Hayek and John Lithgow.

Cag:  It should have been a 6 (awesome) but ended up being just so-so

Directed by Miguel Arteta

Roadside Attractions

Based on the book by

John Lithgow, Salma Hayek

My comments:  Another totally wonky ending.  Enough already!  Too many of these lately, another one that made no sense to me, only pissed me off... Spoiler: I realize that mental illness took a jump into this film.  You could see it coming...depression, then hyper-talking, then long silences. I know that depression and other kinds of mental illness are what spawn many suicides.   However, I still find them very difficult to accept and/or understand.  And in this case, she let him win!  This movie had such great possibilities.....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Beatriz, an immigrant from a poor town in Mexico, has drawn on her innate kindness to build a career as a health practitioner in Southern California. Don Strutt is a real estate developer whose cutthroat tactics have made him a self-made, self-satisfied billionaire. When these two polar opposites meet at a dinner party, their worlds collide and neither will ever be the same.

TV Show - The Handmaid's Tale

Just finished watching Season 1
Premiered: 4/26/17
Season: 1
Number of Episodes: 10
Length of Episode
IMBd: 8.7
RT Consensus: Haunting and vivid, The Handmaid's Tale is an endlessly engrossing adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel that's anchored by a terrific central performance from Elisabeth Moss.
RT Audience Score: 93% (100% from critics!
cag: 6
Produced by:  Hulu
Based on the Margaret Atwell novel of the same title (Margaret Atwood even had a bit part in the show!)

Characters:
Offred - Elizabeth Moss
Commander Fred Waterford - Joseph Fiennes
Serena Joy Waterford - Yvonne Strahovski
Nick (the Commander's driver and Offred's secret) - Max Minghella
Moira (Offred's best friend in her previous life)- Samira Wiley
Luke (Offred's husband in her previous life) - J. T. Fagbenle
Ann Dowd - Aunt Lydia

My comments:  This is wonderfully done. Really fantastic entertainment, such a story!  Elizabeth Moss is also a producer.  She does a great job as Offred, but there are so many silent tears!  She handles her feelings really well and silently (for the most part), but those silent tears are a few too many....

Storyline from IMBd:  Adapted from the classic novel by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism in its militarized "return to traditional values." As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (Elisabeth Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander's household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate the world. In this terrifying society, Offred must navigate between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids--where anyone could be a spy for Gilead--all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.

MOVIE - Paris Can Wait

PG (1:32)

Limited release 5/12/17

Viewed 6/17 at Carlisle Theater
IMBd: 6/10

RT Critic:  48   Audience:  46
Critic's Consensus:  None

Cag:  3 liked it, but that's all

Directed by Eleanor Coppola

Sony Pictures Classics

Diane Lane, Alec Baldwin

My comments:  Other than getting to travel a little bit through France and enjoying Diane Lane's performance, this movie didn't do much for me.  I wasn't turned on even the tiniest bit by the French guy who ended up sweeping her off her feet, which made what might have been a good ending a bit blah.....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  When her director husband is occupied with work in Paris, an American woman takes a jaunt with his business associate, a charming Gallic rogue who is happy to squire her on a tour of some of the finest meals in Provence. The first feature directed by Eleanor Coppola, wife of Francis and director of the "Apocalypse Now" documentary "Hearts of Darkness".

MOVIE - The Mummy

PG-13 (1:50)

Wide release 6/9/17

Viewed Monday, 6/12/17 at Carlisle 8 (comfy reclining seats)
IMBd: 5.8/10

RT Critic: 15 (Now that's pretty bad!)  Audience:  42
Critic's Consensus:  Lacking the campy fun of the franchise's most recent entries and failing to deliver many monster-movie thrills, The Mummy suggests a speedy unraveling for the Dark Universe.

Cag:  3/Liked it for the most part

Directed by Alex Kurtzman

Universal Studios

Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Courtney B. Vance

My comments:  I can't believe that both Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe would do such a silly, forgettable movie.  For the money?  Except....actually....as silly as it was, I enjoyed it for the most part.  I loved the ancient Egyptology, I loved going to Mesopotamia/Iran, I even enjoyed the legend...but why did they have to include zombies?  Her minions could've been done so much more cleverly.  It also seemed overly long.  Great ending.  Left it open for many more, and I'm guessing this one will be lucrative enough so there will probably be more coming.  Just not what I pictured as a Tom Cruise/Russell Crowe film.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy. Thought safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension. From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters. Cruise is joined by a cast including Annabelle Wallis (upcoming King Arthur, television's Peaky Blinders), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), Courtney B. Vance (TV's American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson) and Oscar (R) winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator).