MOVIE - Bumblebee

PG-13 (1:54)

Wide release 12/21/18

Viewed 1/15/18 at Carlisle 8 with T

IMBd: 7.3/10

RT Critic:  92  Audience:  79  unbelievable, how can this be?

Critic's Consensus:  Bumblebee proves it's possible to bring fun and a sense of wonder back to a bloated blockbuster franchise -- and sets up its own slate of sequels in the bargain.

Cag:  I'll give it a 2 ... barely....

Directed by Travis Knight

Paramount Pictures

Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena

My comments:  I think of all the mindless crap I've watched with the kids, these Transformers movies are the worst.  And SO violent!

RT/ IMDb Summary  On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug.

MOVIE - Green Book

PG-13 (2:10)

Wide release 11/21/19

Viewed 12/27/18 at Carlisle Theater with Sandy
IMBd: 8.3/10

RT Critic:  82  Audience: 94
Critic's Consensus:   Green Booktakes audiences on a surprisingly smooth ride through potentially bumpy subject matter, fueled by Peter Farrelly's deft touch and a pair of well-matched leads.

Cag:  5

Directed by Peter Farrelly 

Universal Pictures

Based on a true story

Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini

My comments:  I wish they had chosen another name for this movie.  I can understand why they used it and how hard it might'v been to come up with a proper title, but this wasn't a good one for such a wonderful movie.  Based on a true story (I always wonder how much), it takes us back to the early 60s into the black and white communities of the deep South.  Oh, how I get pissed off!  It's all about a tough white Italian American from the Bronx taking on the job of driver for two months for a cultured black pianist who is performing in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, etc.  It's about how they slowly come around to becoming not just employer/employee, but like-minded friends.  Lots of gentle humor, earnestness, and head-shaking, maddening prejudice.

RT/ IMDb Summary  When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on "The Green Book" to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Confronted with racism, danger-as well as unexpected humanity and humor-they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime.

MOVIE - Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

PG-13 (2:14)

Wide release 11/16/18

Viewed 12/18/18 with Tristan
IMBd: 6.8/10

RT Critic: 38  Audience:  60
Critic's Consensus:  Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has glimmers of the magic familiar to Harry Potter fans, but the story's spell isn't as strong as earlier installments.

Cag:  2.5

Directed by David Yates

Warner Bros. Pictures

Written by J. K. Rowling

Johnny Depp, Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law

My comments:  Okay, I admit it, I didn't know what in hell was going on most of the time.  The funny thing was, when I discussed it with Tristan afterwards, he got most of the stuff I didn't, and I had to fill him in on the stuff I got but he didn't!  It was fun watching him love this movie.  He's becoming a huge Harry Potter fan, but loves the fantastical beasts the best.  There weren't too many of them in this movie, however.  I was actually quite bored....

RT/ IMDb Summary  At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings. In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans, Albus Dumbledore (Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

MOVIE - Instant Family

PG-13 (1:57)

Wide Release11/16/18

Viewed 12/18/18 at Carlisle RC with Ella
IMBd: 7.6/10

RT Critic: 82   Audience:  80
Critic's Consensus:  nstant Family may not quite capture the complexity of real-life adoption, but fittingly for the unconditional bond it honors, this flawed yet well-intentioned dramedy is ultimately worth the investment.

Cag: 5

Directed by Sean Anders

Paramount Pictures

Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Octavia Spencer, Margo Martindale

My comments:  A delightfully-cast retelling of a true story.  Rose Byrne and Mark Wahlberg have definite onscreen chemistry.  The two social workers are fantastic - and so, so funny, and the cast of other new foster parents are just wonderful.  I laughed a lot, came close to shedding a few tears - though my softy Ella sure did, happy tears.  A super feel-good movie that I would highly recommend.

RT/ IMDb Summary  When Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne) decide to start a family, they stumble into the world of foster care adoption. They hope to take in one small child but when they meet three siblings, including a rebellious 15 year old girl (Isabela Moner), they find themselves speeding from zero to three kids overnight. Now, Pete and Ellie must hilariously try to learn the ropes of instant parenthood in the hopes of becoming a family. INSTANT FAMILY is inspired by the real events from the life of writer/director Sean Anders and also stars Octavia Spencer, Tig Notaro and Margo Martindale.

MOVIE - Mortal Engines

PG-13 (1:51)

Wide release 12/14/18

Viewed 12/14/18 in Camp Hill
IMBd: 6.4/10

RT Critic:  26  Audience:  59
Critic's Consensus:  Mortal Engines has no shortage of eye-catching special effects, but lacks enough high-octane narrative fuel to give this futuristic fantasy sufficient cinematic combustion.

Cag:  1.5

Directed by Christian Rivers

Universal Pictures

Based on the book by Philip Reeve

My comments:  Excruciatingly long and really quite boring, no surprises, over-acted.  Maybe if I had read the book?  Not impressed.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Hundreds of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, a mysterious young woman, Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar), emerges as the only one who can stop London -- now a giant, predator city on wheels -- from devouring everything in its path. Feral, and fiercely driven by the memory of her mother, Hester joins forces with Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan), an outcast from London, along with Anna Fang (Jihae), a dangerous outlaw with a bounty on her head.

MOVIE - The Girl in the Spider's Web

R

Wide/Limited release

Viewed Monday 11/19/18 at Carlisle in a recliner...by myself....
IMBd:  6.1/10

RT Critic: 41   Audience:  46
Critic's Consensus:  The Girl in the Spider's Web focuses on the action elements of its source material for a less complex -- and only sporadically effective -- franchise reboot.

Cag:  3/Liked it somewhat

Directed by Fede Alvarez

Columbia Pictures

Based on the book by Steig Larson/David Lagercrantz

Claire Foy

My comments:  There were so many improbabilities and unreasonable happenstances in this movie that it became more than ludicrous.  However, if you didn't think about all of them, it was and enjoyable couple of hours.....  The actress that played Lisbeth Salander did NOT do it for me.  At all.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Young computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials.

MOVIE - Bohemian Rhapsody

PG-13 (2:14)

Wide Release 11/2/18

viewed 11/12/18 in Bangor with Fran

RT Critic: 62   Audience:   91
Critic's Consensus:  Bohemian Rhapsody hits a handful of high notes, but as an in-depth look at a beloved band, it offers more of a medley than a true greatest hits collection.

Cag:  5.5 I loved it AND it was awesome

Directed by Bryan Singer

20th Century Fox

Rami Malek!

My comments:  What a fantastic movie.  Great casting, fantastic music (pretty much all the original Queen). I could see this over and over- totally delightful. Rami Malek was EXCEPTIONAL!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury's lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. In the process, cementing the legacy of a band that were always more like a family, and who continue to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

MOVIE - The Bookshop

PG (1:53)

Limited release 8/24/18

Viewed 10/25/18 at Carlisle Downtown Theater with Gunner and Sandy

RT Critic: 54   Audience:  48
Critic's Consensus:  A rare adaptation that sticks too closely to its source material, The Bookshop's meticulously crafted world building gets lost in its meandering pace.

Cag:  1.5  Didn't like it at all

Directed by Isabel Coixet

Greenwich Entertainment

Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Patricia Clarkson

RT/ IMDb Summary:  England, 1959. Free-spirited widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) risks everything to open a bookshop in a conservative East Anglian coastal town. While bringing about a surprising cultural awakening through works by Ray Bradbury and Vladimir Nabokov, she earns the polite but ruthless opposition of a local grand dame (Patricia Clarkson) and the support and affection of a reclusive book loving widower (Bill Nighy). As Florence's obstacles amass and bear suspicious signs of a local power struggle, she is forced to ask: is there a place for a bookshop in a town that may not want one? Based on Penelope Fitzgerald's acclaimed novel and directed by Isabel Coixet (Learning to Drive), The Bookshop is an elegant yet incisive rendering of personal resolve, tested in the battle for the soul of a community.

MOVIE - Puzzle

R (1:43)

Limited release 7/27/18

Viewed 10/16/18 at Gettysburg Majestic

RT Critic: 83   Audience:  83
Critic's Consensus:  Puzzle transcends its quirky premise with honest emotion -- and Kelly Macdonald, whose nicely understated performance proves she's too often underutilized.

Cag:  4.5

Directed by Marc Turtletaub

Sony Pictures Classic

My comments:  An interesting, thoughtful, very believable movie about good people with good intentions, but with different expectations.  One of those movies that make you think a lot.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  PUZZLE is a closely observed portrait of Agnes, who has reached her early 40s without ever venturing far from home, family or the tight-knit immigrant community in which she was raised by her widowed father. That begins to change in a quietly dramatic fashion when Agnes receives a jigsaw puzzle as a birthday gift and experiences the heady thrill of not only doing something she enjoys, but being very, very good at it.

MOVIE - Venom

PG-13 (1:52)

Wide release 10/5/18

Viewed 10/8/18 in a recliner in Carlisle

RT Critic: 28   Audience:  86
Critic's Consensus:  Venom's first standalone movie turns out to be like the comics character in all the wrong ways - chaotic, noisy, and in desperate need of a stronger attachment to Spider-Man.

Cag:  3.5/4

Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Columbia Pictures

Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams

My comments:  Very entertaining.  Tom Hardy was wonderful, I don't think Michelle Williams fit her role at all.  It could've even been a little bit more creepy, actually!  There was a bit of humor, I do love humor in these films. Other than that, no complaints! 

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Investigative journalist Eddie Brock attempts a comeback following a scandal, but accidentally becomes the host of an alien symbiote that gives him a violent super alter-ego: Venom. Soon, he must rely on his newfound powers to protect the world from a shadowy organisation looking for a symbiote of their own.

MOVIE - Smallfoot

PG (1:49)

Wide RELEASE 9/28/18

Viewed 10/1/2018 with Tristan

RT Critic: 75   Audience:  65
Critic's Consensus:  Smallfootoffers a colorful distraction that should keep younger viewers entertained - and a story whose message might even resonate with older audiences.

Cag:  2

Directed by Karey Kirkpatrick

Warner Brothers

Channing Tatum

My comments:  Actually fell asleep, a first....

RT/ IMDb Summary  An animated adventure for all ages, with original music and an all-star cast, Smallfoot turns the Bigfoot legend upside down when a bright young Yeti finds something he thought didn't exist -- a human. News of this Smallfoot throws the simple Yeti community into an uproar over what else might be out there in the big world beyond their snowy village, in an all new story about friendship, courage and the joy of discovery.

MOVIE - A Simple Favor

R (1:56)

Wide release 9/14/18

Viewed 9/18/2018

RT Critic: 85   Audience:  77
Critic's Consensus:  Twisty, twisted, and above all simply fun, A Simple Favor casts a stylish mommy noir spell strengthened by potent performances from Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively.

Cag:  4.5
Directed by Paul Feig

Lionsgate 

Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding

My comments:   This was a really cool, interesting movie that I liked a lot.  You knew right from the beginning that this was going to be bizarre, and it ended up being well acted as well as having an intriguing storyline.  I went to see it because of Anna Kendrick, but having Blake Lively and Henry Golding as the other protagonists made it just perfect.  Greatly enjoyed.

RT/ IMDb Summary  A SIMPLE FAVOR, a stylish post-modern film noir directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy blogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily's husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.

MOVIE - BlackKklansman

R (2:15)

Wide release 8/10/18

Viewed 9/12/2018

RT Critic: 95  Audience:  82
Critic's Consensus:  BlacKkKlansman uses history to offer bitingly trenchant commentary on current events -- and brings out some of Spike Lee's hardest-hitting work in decades along the way.

Cag:  5

Directed by Spike Lee

Focus Features

John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace

My comments:  So many emotions filled me as I watched this movie - outrage, disbelief, laughter.  I was so appalled because I don't want to realize the prejudices that some people feel so incredibly strongly.  It's........sick.  The movie was quite brilliant, but I thought it would be more of a comedy, not realizing how incredibly difficult it would be to watch.  Wow.  And I do adore Adam Driver.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  From visionary filmmaker Spike Lee comes the incredible true story of an American hero. It's the early 1970s, and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Determined to make a name for himself, Stallworth bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. The young detective soon recruits a more seasoned colleague, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), into the undercover investigation of a lifetime. Together, they team up to take down the extremist hate group as the organization aims to sanitize its violent rhetoric to appeal to the mainstream. Produced by the team behind the Academy-Award (R) winning Get Out.

MOVIE - Beautifully Broken

PG-13 (1:48)

Limited release 8/24/18

Viewed 9/2/18 at Gettysburg Outlet Mall

RT Critic: 67   Audience:  94
Critic's Consensus:  There was none for this one

Cag:  4.5

Directed by Eric Welch

ArtAffects Entertainment

Based on a true story

My comments:  A tearjerker.  The retelling of the story of three families and the genocide in Rwanda beginning in 1994.  Two of the families are very religious, and there's a strong Christian belief-in-God that makes up part of the foundation of the story.  But even for a non-believer -- this non-believer in particular -- the story was more than righteous.  We can all help.  We can all make a difference in the world.  All it takes is a little love, a little compassion, a little understanding, and a dose of hope.  With or without religion, doesn't matter.  I love the way all three stories intertwined - and if it weren't true I would definitely say there were too many coincidences!  At the end, just before the credits, it explains what happened to the people involved in the story and then ends with a wonderful message from one of the protagonists.
Legacy Mission Village, First Presbyterian Church of Nashville.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  A refugee's escape, a prisoner's promise, and a daughter's painful secret all converge, causing their lives to become intertwined in ways they could have never imagined. As three fathers fight to save their families, they are led on an unlikely journey across the globe, where they learn the healing power of forgiveness and reconciliation.

MOVIE - Three Identical Strangers

PG-13 (1:36)

Limited release 6/29/17

Viewed 8/16/18 with Sandy at Carlisle Theater
IMBd:  7.7

RT Critic: 96   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:  Surreal and surprising, Three Identical Strangers effectively questions the nature of reality and identity.

Cag:  3.5

Directed by Tim Wardle

NEON

My comments:  A documentary that starts out with great exuberance and gets darker and darker as the layers of these three guys' stories are peeled.  Nature versus nurture.  Three identical triplets, separated at birth ... what happens when they "meet" each other 20 years later?  A true story.  I had no idea going into this that it was a documentary or any idea about anything other than that it was about triplets, which added to the experience.  Quite fascinating, actually.

RT/ IMDb Summary  Three strangers are reunited by astonishing coincidence after being born identical triplets, separated at birth, and adopted by three different families. Their jaw-dropping, feel-good story instantly becomes a global sensation complete with fame and celebrity, however, the fairy-tale reunion sets in motion a series of events that unearth an unimaginable secret -- a secret with radical repercussions for us all.

MOVIE - The Spy Who Dumped Me

R (1:16)

Wide release 8/3/18

Viewed 8/12/18
IMBd:  6/10

RT Critic:  49   Audience:  61
Critic's Consensus:  The Spy Who Dumped Me isn't the funniest or most inventive spy comedy, but Kate McKinnon remains as compulsively watchable as ever.

Cag:  2.5 (Not a total waste of time...)

Directed by Susanna Fogel

Lionsgate

Mila Lunis, Kate McKinnon, Justin Theroux

My comments:  Really, really stupid with lots of funny parts.  I couldn't STAND Kate McKinnon - the part she played or her acting.  I can't say it was a total waste of time, but close.

RT/ IMDb Summary  Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon), two thirty-year-old best friends in Los Angeles, are thrust unexpectedly into an international conspiracy when Audrey's ex-boyfriend shows up at their apartment with a team of deadly assassins on his trail. Surprising even themselves, the duo jump into action, on the run throughout Europe from assassins and a suspicious-but-charming British agent, as they hatch a plan to save the world.

MOVIE - Eighth Grade

R (1:34)

Wide release 8/3/18

Viewed 8/6/18
IMBd: 7.5

RT Critic:  99  Audience:  83
Critic's Consensus:  Eighth Grade takes a look at its titular time period that offers a rare and resounding ring of truth while heralding breakthroughs for writer-director Bo Burnham and captivating star Elsie Fisher.

Cag:  2/Bleh...it was okay, I guess

Directed by Bo Burnham, who also wrote it

Studio A24

My comments:  This movie was painful.  Difficult to believe.  Even weird kids have friends (most of the time), and Kayla isn't weird.  She's average.  Nothing-special looks, almost cute other than she doesn't stand up straight.  Probably an average student.  Thoughtful.  She seems to lack self-confidence, but that again is "average."  But she would have friends, of this I am certain. (I was a teacher in three different K-8 schools, for some of the years actually teaching 8th grade). This movie depicts her a being totally friendless.  No way.  Probably one of the biggest themes in the movie is the social networking that's happening in kids' lives now.

RT/ IMDb Summary  Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school--the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year before she begins high school.

MOVIE - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

PG-13 (2:09)

Wide release 6/22/18

Viewed July 5, 2018

RT Critic:  48  Audience:  51
Critic's Consensus:  Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom adds another set piece-packed entry to the blockbuster franchise, although genuinely thrilling moments are in increasingly short supply.

Cag:  3 liked it okay...

Directed by J. A. Bayona

Universal Pictures

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard

My comments:  EArly afternoon showing to get out of the heat - I haven't seen any of the other Jurassic Parks leading up to this, which is just fine with me.  I like Chris Pratt and it was a pretty interesting storyline for an action/adventure.  The good guys versus the bad guys, and of course they are VERY bad guys.  It was a bit slow and draggy in places.  Midling entertainment, nothing spectacular.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  It's been three years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles. When the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who's still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission. Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire planet to a perilous order not seen since prehistoric times.

MOVIE - Ocean's 8

PG13 (1:50)

Wide release 6/8/18

Viewed June 8, 2018

RT Critic:  68  Audience:  45
Critic's Consensus:  Ocean's 8 isn't quite as smooth as its predecessors, but still has enough cast chemistry and flair to lift the price of a ticket from filmgoers up for an undemanding caper.

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Gary Ross

Warner Brothers Pictures

Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchette, Helen Bonham Carter

My comments:  This movie was a blast.  It was so much fun seeing popular actors appearing left and right AND it's a very clever heist story.  Yep, it was very Ocean's Eleveny, right down to the depiction of Sandra Bullock/Debbie Ocean being the sister of George Clooney/Donny Ocean, ...now, possibly, deceased....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Upon her release from prison, Debbie, the estranged sister of legendary conman Danny Ocean, puts together a team of unstoppable crooks to pull of the heist of the century. Their goal is New York City's annual Met Gala, and a necklace worth in excess of 150 million dollars.

MOVIE - Ready Player One

PG (2:20)

Wide release 3/29/18

Viewed on a Thursday off, 4/5/18 in Hanover at the RC Theater there - a 1:20 showing, I was the only one in the HUGE auditorium.
IMBd:  8/10

RT Critic: 74   Audience:  80
Critic's Consensus:  Ready Player One is a sweetly nostalgic thrill ride that neatly encapsulates Spielberg's strengths while adding another solidly engrossing adventure to his filmography.

Cag:  3.5

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Warner Brothers Pictures

Based on the book by Ernest Cline

My comments:  It was okay...entertaining....a LOT of battle scenes, the last one, when they're fighting for entrance to find the final key is painstakingly long.  Drove me a bit crazy.  It's a long movie.  But fun.  Not great.  Book was, of course, better....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline's bestseller of the same name, which has become a worldwide phenomenon.The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.