MOVIE - The Upside

PG-13 (2:06)

Wide release 1/11/19

Viewed date at 1/14/19 at Carlisle 8 by myself
IMBd: 5.2/10

RT Critic: 39   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:  Preachy, manipulative, and frustratingly clichéd, The Upside showcases Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart's chemistry without ever taking full advantage of it.

Cag:  5/Loved it

Directed by Neil Burger

STXfilms

Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart, Nicole Kidman, 

My comments:  A wonderful, feel-good movie, right up my alley.  Some serious, gritty material with a lot of good humor and a twinkle in the eye.  Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston together made a dynamic duo.  Paragliding, opera, Aretha Franklin, pulling yourself up the the bootstraps, that's what this movie is all about ... and so much more!

RT/ IMDb Summary  Inspired by a true story, The Upside is a heartfelt comedy about a recently paroled ex-convict (Kevin Hart) who strikes up an unusual and unlikely friendship with a paralyzed billionaire (Bryan Cranston). Directed by Neil Burger and written by Jon Hartmere, The Upside is based on the hit 2011 French film The Intouchables.

MOVIE - Why Him?

R (1:51)

Wide release 12/23/16

Viewed in Carlisle, in the cushy recliners at RC Carlisle 8

RT Critic:  40  Audience:  61
Critic's Consensus: Solidly cast but overall misconceived, Why Him? offers the odd chuckle, but ultimately adds disappointingly little to its tired father-vs.-fiancé formula.

Cag:  4.5

Directed by John Hamburg

20th Century Fox

James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Megan Mellally, Zoey Deutch

My comments:  Okay, I loved this movie.  It was really crass and really funny.  All the actors were wonderful, though I wished it had shown a little more about the relationship between Laird and Steph.  But the scenes between Bryan Cranston and James Franco were a RIOT!!!!!  James Franco can do anything...and all the wild & crazy paintings throughout the movie were done by him.  Love it, love it.  Today is Chrismas, I saw it last night and I can't get it out of my head.  What a hoot!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Over the holidays, Ned (Bryan Cranston), an overprotective but loving dad and his family visit his daughter at Stanford, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). The straight-laced Ned thinks Laird, who has absolutely no filter, is a wildly inappropriate match for his daughter. The one-sided rivalry-and Ned's panic level-escalate when he finds himself increasingly out of step in the glamorous high-tech hub, and learns that Laird is about to pop the question.