Movie - Little Women

PG

Wide release 12/25/2019

Viewed 12/29 in Carlisle with Sandy

IMBd: 8.3/10

RT Critic:  95  Audience:  93

Critic's Consensus:  With a stellar cast and a smart, sensitive retelling of its classic source material, Greta Gerwig's Little Women proves some stories truly are timeless.

Cag:  5.5/Loved it!

Directed (and written) by Greta Gerwig

Sony Pictures

Based on the book by Louisa May Alcott

Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet, Meryl Streep

My comments:  What a fabulous movie, really cleverly written, going back-and-forth between the time of the original book and seven years into the future.  For the most part well cast, but there were a few that I wasn't so crazy about, particularly John, the tutor then husband of Meg...and there didn't seem to be enough chemistry between Amy and Laurie, at least not for me.  A wonderful movie to watch, hope it earns some awards.  Particularly loved Laura Dewrn as Marmie.  

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, and unfolds as the author's alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig's take, the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women each determined to live life on her own terms -- is both timeless and timely. Portraying Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, with Timothée Chalamet as their neighbor Laurie, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March.

MOVIE - All Is True

PG-13 (1:41)

Limited release 5/10/2019

Viewed Memorial Day, 2019 at the Maple Theater in Bloomfield, MI - a pretty cool theater

IMBd: 5.9/10

RT Critic:  72  Audience:  76

Critic's Consensus:  Impressively cast and beautifully filmed, All Is True takes an elegiac look at Shakespeare's final days.

Cag:  5/Loved it 

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also starred

Sony Pictures Classics

Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench 

My comments:  A pretty decent movie.  All is true?!?  That's what I kept wondering as I watched this movie...how much is true and how much is just of the author's imagination?  How much is based on tidbits of information?  There's so much controversy about Shakespeare, the man and the myth, lol!  There's even a huge faction that say it wasn't even a guy named Shakespeare that did the actual writing of any of the plays.  This movie was totally interesting, thought-provoking, and whether it is true or not, was a great piece of historical storytelling.  The poor older gent behind me fell asleep, I suppose it was slower going than the adventure-packed stuff that is thrust down our throats for the last couple of years.  I really enjoyed this one a lot.  And Branagh's depiction of the bard is a blast to watch!  AND with Judith Dench as Anne...be still my heart!

RT/ IMDb Summary  The year is 1613, Shakespeare is acknowledged as the greatest writer of the age. But disaster strikes when his renowned Globe Theatre burns to the ground, and devastated, Shakespeare returns to Stratford, where he must face a troubled past and a neglected family. Haunted by the death of his only son Hamnet, he struggles to mend the broken relationships with his wife and daughters. In so doing, he is ruthlessly forced to examine his own failings as husband and father. His very personal search for the truth uncovers secrets and lies within a family at war.

Movie - Five Feet Apart

PG-13 (1:56)

Wide release March 15, 2019: Streaming 6/11/19

Viewed April 6, 2019 with Ella Bella

IMBd: 7.2

RT Critic:  55  Audience:   79

Critic's Consensus:  Elevated considerably by Haley Lu Richardson's performance but bogged down by clichés, Five Feet Apart doesn't tug at the heartstrings quite as deftly as it should.

Cag:  4 Liked more than I care to admit, despite the tears....

Directed by Justin Baldoni

CBS Films

Based on the book by Rachael Lippincott

Haley Lou Richardson, Cole Sprouse

My comments:  I did not...I repeat I did NOT want to go see this movie, but Laura didn't want to either, so guess who took the person who really, really wanted to see it?  I knew it would be a tearjerker and I certainly wasn't wrong.  First half of the movie was great, learned a lot about cystic fibrosis.  I greatly enjoyed the splendid cast.  The second half of the movie is when all the tearjerking started.  Very poignant.  You could hear the sniffling and nose blowing throughout the theater.  Ella grabbed my hand many times.  She tried not to sob.  She'd read the book, so she knew what was going to happen and when I asked she said the movie was following the book fairly well.  I learned a lot, shed tears I did not want to shed, and was left terribly depressed.  How to rate?  Tough.  If I went with my emotions it would be very low, but it was well-done and memorable with terrific acting.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Seventeen-year-old Stella spends most of her time in the hospital as a cystic fibrosis patient. Her life is full of routines, boundaries and self-control all of which get put to the test when she meets Will, an impossibly charming teen who has the same illness. There's an instant flirtation, through restrictions dictate that they must maintain a safe distance between them. As their connection intensifies, so does the temptation to throw the rules out the window and embrace that attraction.

2018 Golden Globes

We'll find out on January 6th which of these will win a Golden Globe:

Best Motion Picture

     Black Panther

     BlackKlansman

     Bohemian Rhapsody

     If Beale Street Could Talk- (not coming out until 12/14 and with limited release at that!)

     A Star is Born

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

     Crazy Rich Asians

     The Favourite (Although it came out on 11/23, it's a limited release and I've not seen it anywhere....)

     Green Book (Just came out)

     Mary Poppins Returns (coming out 12/19/18)

     Vice (Wide release on Christmas day)

Best Motion Picture - Animated

     Incredibles

     Isle of Dogs

     Mirai

     Ralph Breaks the Internet

     Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language

     Capernaum

     Girl

     Never Look Away

     Roma

     Shoplifters

Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

     Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born)

     Willem Defoe (At Eternity's Gate) (limited release 11/16 - about VanGogh)

     Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased)

     Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)

     John David Washington (Blackkklansman)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

     Christian Bale (Vice)

     Lin-Manuel Miranda (Mary Poppins Returns)

     Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)

     Robert Redford (The Old Man and the Gun)

     John C. Reilly (Stan & Ollie)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

     Mahershala Ali (Green Book)

     Timothee Chalamet (Beautiful Boy)

     Adam Driver (Blackkklansman)

     Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) (limited release on 10/19 - haven't seen it showing is this corner of the world....)

     Sam Rockwell (Vice)

Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

     Glenn Close (The Wife)

     Lady Gaga (A Star is Born)

     Nicole Kidman (Destroyer) (Limited release on Christmas day)

     Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

     Rosamund Pike (A Private War) (wide release 11/16, but not around here!)

Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

     Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns)     

     Olivia Colman (The Favourite)

     Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)

     Charlize Theron (Tully)

     Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

     Amy Adams (Vice)

     Claire Foy (First Man)

     Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)

     Emma Stone (The Favourite)

     Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)

Best Director - Motion Picture

     Bradley Coopoer - A Star is Born

     Alfonso Cuaron - Roma

     Peter Farrelly - Green Book

     Spike Lee - BlacKkKlansman

     Adam McKay - Vice

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 - 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 - Disobedience

R (1:54)

Limited release 4/27/2018

Viewed Thursday, June 21, 2018 at Majestic in Gettysburg
IMBd:  6.8/10

T Critic:  84  Audience: 80
Critic's Consensus:  Disobedience explores a variety of thought-provoking themes, bolstered by gripping work from leads Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, and Alessandro Nivola.

Cag: 5 It was really wonderful

Directed by Sebastian Lelio

Bleecker Street

Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Alessandro Nivola

My comments:  Another powerful movie with exceptional performances.  Whoa, being gay in an Orthodox Jewish community!  Totally impossible, "Disobedience" showed a depth of humanity and love in the Orthodox Jewish community which, as much as I'd love to believe might happen, truly can't imagine that it would.  For most of the movie you get "typical" reactions from people.  Yes, my heart broke for a young woman of faith who was definitely not heterosexual, choosing to follow the beliefs she was raised with and marry a man she did care about but was not attracted to.  My heart broke even more for her husband, who ended up being an incredibly honest, loving, spiritual man.  The kind of spiritual leader that I could definitely believe in myself, and would help to heal our world.  Oh yes, I shed some tears, and I walked out of the theater thinking, "what could possible be the next step in a story like this one?"  Well done, well done.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  From Sebastián Lelio, the director of the Academy Award-winning A Fantastic Woman, the film follows a woman as she returns to the community that shunned her decades earlier for an attraction to a childhood friend. Once back, their passions reignite as they explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality. Written by Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz and based on Naomi Alderman's book, the film stars Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola.

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 - I Feel Pretty

PG-13 (1:50)

Wide release 4/20/18, to disc & streaming July 17, 2018

Viewed May 3. 2018

RT Critic:  34  Audience:  34
Critic's Consensus:  I Feel Prettyhas a charming star and the outline of a worthwhile comedy -- but unlike its suddenly confident central character, it suffers from a fundamental lack of conviction.

Cag:  3.5 Liked it

Directed by Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein

Studio STXfilms

Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Rory Scovel

My comments:  With the fabulous Amy Schumer!  Fun and funny and sweet and poignanat and all sorts of things, this was a totally enjoyable movie tied up in a big red bow.  The world has to stop judging everybody on how they look and concentrate more on how they act and think.  And the point of the whole movie:  it has to start with ourselves! 

 

RT/ IMDb Summary:  In I FEEL PRETTY a woman who struggles with feelings of deep insecurity and low self-esteem, that hold her back everyday, wakes from a brutal fall in an exercise class believing she is suddenly a supermodel. With this newfound confidence she is empowered to live her life fearlessly and flawlessly, but what will happen when she realizes her appearance never changed?

MOVIE - Sherlock Gnomes

PG (1:26)

Wide release 3/23/18

Viewed with Tristan, after school on Thursday, March 29, 2018

RT Critic: 27   Audience:  36
Critic's Consensus:  Sherlock Gnomes is sadly, utterly stumped by the mystery of the reason for its own existence.

Cag:  1

Directed by John Stevenson

Paramount Pictures

My comments:  Always fun to take T to a movie, just the two of us, and he enjoyed this.  But for me, yuckety yuck yuck.....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  When Gnomeo and Juliet first arrive in the city with their friends and family, their biggest concern is getting their new garden ready for spring. However, they soon discover that someone is kidnapping garden gnomes all over London. When Gnomeo and Juliet return home to find that everyone in their garden is missing there's only one gnome to call SHERLOCK GNOMES. The famous detective and sworn protector of London's garden gnomes arrives with his sidekick Watson to investigate the case. The mystery will lead our gnomes on a rollicking adventure where they will meet all new ornaments and explore an undiscovered side of the city.

MOVIE - Tomb Raider

PG-13 (1:58)

Wide release 3/16/2018

Viewed March 16, 2018

RT Critic:  50  Audience:  56
Critic's Consensus:  Tomb Raider reboots the franchise with a more grounded approach and a star who's clearly more than up to the task -- neither of which are well served by an uninspired origin story.

Cag:  3/Liked it - good entertainment

Directed by Roar Uthaug

Warner Brothers Pictures

Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins

My comments:  Totally stupid and unbelievable, but really fun to watch.  She would have been dead at least a dozen times, and at the very least not been able to get up andmove afterwards, never mind fight and run and blah blah blah.  It certainly kept me entertained, though.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Lara Croft is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen. Now a young woman of 21 without any real focus or purpose, Lara navigates the chaotic streets of trendy East London as a bike courier, barely making the rent, and takes college courses, rarely making it to class. Determined to forge her own path, she refuses to take the reins of her father's global empire just as staunchly as she rejects the idea that he's truly gone. Advised to face the facts and move forward after seven years without him, even Lara can't understand what drives her to finally solve the puzzle of his mysterious death. Going explicitly against his final wishes, she leaves everything she knows behind in search of her dad's last-known destination: a fabled tomb on a mythical island that might be somewhere off the coast of Japan. But her mission will not be an easy one; just reaching the island will be extremely treacherous. Suddenly, the stakes couldn't be higher for Lara, who--against the odds and armed with only her sharp mind, blind faith and inherently stubborn spirit--must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name tomb raider.

MOVIE - Black Panther

PG-13 (2:15)

Wide release 2/16/2018

Viewed March 11, 2018
IMBd: 7.4/10

RT Critic:  97  Audience:  79
Critic's Consensus:  Black Panther elevates superhero cinema to thrilling new heights while telling one of the MCU's most absorbing stories -- and introducing some of its most fully realized characters.

Cag: 4.5

Directed by Ryan Coogler

Marvel Studios

My comments: What an amazing set, costumes, sound - the music was just great.  It was a really good movie and a really interesting story, with usual major battle scenes; good versus bad throughout.  Black panther will make a nice addition to the Avenger's crew, it was nice to be able to see from whence he came!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  "Black Panther" follows T'Challa who, after the events of "Captain America: Civil War," returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T'Challa's mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk.

MOVIE - Annihilation

R (1:55)

Wide 2/23/18 On video 5/29/18
Viewed March 1, 2018
IMDb: 6.9

RT Critic: 87   Audience:  66
Critic's Consensus:  Annihilationbacks up its sci-fi visual wonders and visceral genre thrills with an impressively ambitious -- and surprisingly strange -- exploration of challenging themes that should leave audiences pondering long after the end credits roll

Cag:  4 -Creepy (good!)s SciFi

Directed by Alex Garland

Paramount Pictures

Based on the book by Jeff VanderMeer

Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez

My comments:  A mesmerizing sci-fi movie that left me with many questions, and I've spent a bit of time mulling them over.  Now that I think I've figured out what the ending meant, I don't feel a unsettled as I did when I walked out of the theater.  I really do enjoy sci-fi, and this one had a bit of horror attached, which was pretty cool actually.  I love it when you have to think and think to put things together and wonder why things happened, and wait for the explanation.  It's when there's no explanation that I have trouble - especially in sci-fi, because it doesn't always have to make sense.  I'm pretty sure that this was based on a book, I'll have to check that out.  

RT/ IMDb Summary:  A biologist's husband disappears. She puts her name forward for an expedition into an environmental disaster zone, but does not find what she's expecting. The expedition team is made up of the biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, a surveyor, and a linguist.            
 It's been already twelve months since his last covert operation, and the rugged military, Kane, is still missing in action, presumed dead. With his wife--the successful academic biology professor, Lena--still grieving him, an unprecedented phenomenon in the swamplands of Florida will soon have her following in Kane's footsteps, as a member of a strong all-women team. So many theories try to explain the mysterious ever-expanding iridescent membrane which swallows the area; however, none was able to yield facts. What kind of startling biological transmutations lurk behind this bright and colourful kaleidoscope of horrors? In the end, what did Kane see?

MOVIE - Fifty Shades Freed

R

Wide Release 2/9/2018

Viewed February 12, 2018 at Carlisle 8

RT Critic:  12  Audience:  38
Critic's Consensus:  Fifty Shades Freed brings its titillating trilogy to a clumsy conclusion, making for a film franchise that adds up to a distinctly dissatisfying ménage à trois. 

Cag:  3.5

Directed by James Foley

Universal Pictures
Box Office:  96 million

Jamie Dorman, Dakota Johnson

My comments:  Two words.  Jamie Dorman.  That is all.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Believing they have left behind shadowy figures from their past, newlyweds Christian and Ana fully embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. But just as she steps into her role as Mrs. Grey and he relaxes into an unfamiliar stability, new threats could jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.

MOVIE - Hostiles

R (2:15)

Wide release 1/26/18

Viewed 1/25/18

RT Critic: 71   Audience:  73
Critic's Consensus:  Hostiles benefits from stunning visuals and a solid central performance from Christian Bale, both of which help elevate its uneven story.

Cag:  5.5  One helluva movie

Directed by Scott Cooper

Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures

Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike

My comments:  I'm pretty sure this is one of those movies that you don't forget.  A tragic story, but one that mesmerized me.  Super performances, Christian Bale just can't be beat.  He lives and breathes his part.  Indigenous people versus those who took them over.  This movie is  about relationships between people, friendships past and present, the ties that bind and those that are fleeting or even meaningless.  I think this was a brilliant movie, a huge piece of US history, and a story that will stay with me for a long, long time.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Set in 1892, Hostiles tells the story of a legendary Army Captain (Christian Bale), who after stern resistance, reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to tribal lands. Making the harrowing and perilous journey from Fort Berringer, an isolated Army outpost in New Mexico, to the grasslands of Montana, the former rivals encounter a young widow (Rosamund Pike), whose family was murdered on the plains. Together, they must join forces to overcome the punishing landscape, hostile Comanche and vicious outliers that they encounter along the way.

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 - Gifted

PG-13 (1:41)

Limited release 4/7/17

Viewed date 4/24/2017

RT Critic:  72  Audience:  85
Critic's Consensus:  Gifted isn't quite as bright as its pint-sized protagonist, but a charming cast wrings respectably engaging drama out of a fairly predictable premise.

Cag:  5 - It was really, really good

Directed by Marc Webb

Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer

My comments:  How do you know when yo're rating a movie on its merits or in the way it makes you feel and think?  What are the kind of criteria tht people use when writing a movie review?  Acting?  Stoy?  Characters and setting?  More and more, for me, it's how it makes me feel and think when I walk out of the darkened auditorium after the credits hae rolled.  There were only five of us in the theater, but I don't think there were many more in the other seven auditoriums on this Monday night.
     I loved this movie.  I loved the actors - Chris Evans is becoming a favorite.  I love that it was about a precocious kid.  I loved that it had heart ans surprises and even that I shed a tear or two.  Was it a great movie?  It was for me.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy - his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) - in a coastal town in Florida. Frank's plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old's mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank's formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary. Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank and Mary's landlady and best friend. Jenny Slate is Mary's teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well

MOVIE - Ghost in the Shell

PG-13 (1:46)

Wide release 3/31/17

Viewed April 4, 2017
IMBd:  6.4/10

RT Critic:  43  Audience:  51
Critic's Consensus:  Ghost in the Shell boasts cool visuals and a compelling central performance from Scarlett Johansson, but the end result lacks the magic of the movie's classic source material.

Cag:  4

Directed by Rupert Sanders

Paramount Pictures

Based on Japanese manga "The Ghost in the Shell"

Scarlett Johansson

My comments:  Creepy.  Good Creepy.  Delicious creepy.  Gross.  Violent.  Based on a Japanese comic book.  I don't remember much of Blade Runner - I saw it a zillion years ago - but the setting reminded me of what I remember about it.  You couldn't be bored with this movie, because you're thinking all the time, figuring out how pieces fit together, figuring out what's going on.  And it all comes together quite well.  I do enjoy science fiction, and I did enjoy this movie.  I bet it cost a bundle to make, the credits at the end for all the animation --and creepy stuff-- went on and on.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to: her life was not saved, it was stolen. She will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this to her and stop them before they do it to others. Based on the internationally acclaimed Japanese Manga, "The Ghost in the Shell."