Movie - Yesterday

PG-13 (1:52)

Wide release 6/28/19

Viewed 7/9/19 with Ella at Gettysburg RC Theater - first time here.  Great theater!

IMBd: 7.0

RT Critic:  63  Audience:  89

Critic's Consensus:  Yesterday may fall short of fab, but the end result is still a sweetly charming fantasy with an intriguing -- albeit somewhat under-explored -- premise.

Cag:  5/Loved it

Directed by Danny Boyle

Universal Pictures

My comments:  This was a fun movie with excellent actors and great music.  The story of a young man who, after an earthquake, awakens to find no one in the world remembers the Beatles or any of their music --- except him.  Lots of other little surprises along the way.  Super fun!  One that I'd watch again.  The lead guy sings all the songs himself.  Impressive.
     Ed Sheeran was in it and played himself.  VERY fun.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Jack Malik (Himesh Patel, BBC's Eastenders) is a struggling singer-songwriter in a tiny English seaside town whose dreams of fame are rapidly fading, despite the fierce devotion and support of his childhood best friend, Ellie (Lily James, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again). Then, after a freak bus accident during a mysterious global blackout, Jack wakes up to discover that The Beatles have never existed... and he finds himself with a very complicated problem, indeed.

Movie - Breakthrough

PG (1:30)

Wide release 4/17/19

Viewed Sunday, May 19th, 2019 in Chambersburg

IMBd: 4.5/10

RT Critic:  60  Audience:  83

Critic's Consensus:  Like its lead character, Breakthrough is fiercely focused on faith -- but its less subtle elements are balanced by strong performances and an uplifting story.

Cag:  4.5 Liked it a lot despite so many religious overtones

Directed by Roxann Dawson

20th Century Fox

Based on the book by the mom, Joyce Smith (not the Joyce Smith I grew up with....)

Topher Grace, Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas, Mike Colter

My comments:  Interesting, well-done, and not too religious.  Based on a true story.  A faith-based movie about a young man who drowned and should've never lived, but did.  Without brain damage, without lung damage, and with the whole town pulling for him.  Definitely a miracle, but was open ended enough so that if you don't believe in "God" it gives you lots of food for thought.  I didnn't feel like faith or belief-in-God and Jesus was being shoved down my throat.  My favorite person to watch was Topher Grace, who played the pastor.  He was just terrific, as was Mike Colter who played the firefighter who finally found John and pulled him out of the water.  A solid 4...maybe even a 4.5....

RT/ IMDb Summary  BREAKTHROUGH is based on the inspirational true story of one mother's unfaltering love in the face of impossible odds. When Joyce Smith's adopted son John falls through an icy Missouri lake, all hope seems lost. But as John lies lifeless, Joyce refuses to give up. Her steadfast belief inspires those around her to continue to pray for John's recovery, even in the face of every case history and scientific prediction. From producer DeVon Franklin (Miracles from Heaven) and adapted for the screen by Grant Nieporte (Seven Pounds) from Joyce Smith's own book, BREAKTHROUGH is an enthralling reminder that faith and love can create a mountain of hope, and sometimes even a miracle.

Movie - The Hustle

PG-13 (1:33)

Wide release 5/10/19

Viewed on Mother's Day 5/15/19 RC Hanover Theater, early afternoon
IMBd: 5.3

RT Critic: 14   Audience:  48

Critic's Consensus:  The Hustle's stars might make an effective comedy team in a different setting, but this gender-flipped remake of a remake adds little beyond its feminine twist.

Cag:  4/liked it quite a bit, funny
Directed by Chris Addison

MGM

Rebel Wilson, Anne Hathaway

My comments:  Well that was fun.  Cute and entertaining.  Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson played off each other really well as two con artists working both against each other and together.  Entertaining, lush setting, and funny.  Not hysterical, but enough good laughts.  Finally, a comedy that is funny but not stupid, yippee.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway have winning chemistry as a pair of con artists plying their trade in a stunning seaside town in the south of France. Josephine Chesterfield (Hathaway) is a glamorous, seductive Brit with a sprawling home in Beaumont-sur-Mer and a penchant for defrauding gullible wealthy men from all corners of the world. Into her well-ordered, meticulously moneyed world bursts Penny Rust (Wilson), an Aussie who is as free-form and fun-loving as Josephine is calculated and cunning. Where Penny amasses wads of cash by ripping off her marks in neighborhood bars, Josephine fills her safe with massive diamonds after ensnaring her prey in glitzy casinos. Despite their different methods, both are masters of the art of the fleece so they con the men that have wronged women. Wilson's talent for physicality and Hathaway's withering wit are a combustible combination as the pair of scammers pull out all the stops to swindle a naïve tech billionaire

MOVIE - Captain Marvel

PG-13 (2:08)

Wide release 3/8/19

Viewed Sunday evening 3/10/19 in Carlisle

IMBd: 7.1/10

RT Critic: 79   Audience:  62

Critic's Consensus:  Packed with action, humor, and visual thrills, Captain Marvel introduces the MCU's latest hero with an origin story that makes effective use of the franchise's signature formula.

Cag:  3.5

Directed by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Marvel Studios

Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law

My comments:  Not much to say, hard to follow at the beginning, somehow came together near the end, as usual a lot of battle scenes that I'm not very fond of - I'm sure most of the younger kids watching in the theater with me didn't understand much of what was going on but, oh well.

RT/ IMDb Summary  The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

MOVIE - Isn't It Romantic

PG-13

Wide release 2/13/19

Viewed date at 2/18/19 with Ella in Carlisle

IMBd:  6/10

RT Critic:  70  Audience:  51

Critic's Consensus:  It follows as many genre conventions as it mocks, but Isn't It Romantic is a feel-good rom-com with some satirical bite -- and a star well-suited for both.

Cag:  3/liked it

Directed by  Todd Strauss-Schulson

New Line Cinema

Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam DeVine, Priyanka Chopra

My comments:  Very cute movie, wish there was more singing and dancing.  The finale was great, a song a dance number in the middle of an empty midtown street in New York City.  Ella love it.

RT/ IMDb Summary  New York City architect Natalie works hard to get noticed at her job but is more likely to be asked to deliver coffee and bagels than to design the city's next skyscraper. And if things weren't bad enough, Natalie, a lifelong cynic when it comes to love, has an encounter with a mugger that renders her unconscious, waking to discover that her life has suddenly become her worst nightmare -- a romantic comedy -- and she is the leading lady.

MOVIE - Glass

PG-13 (1:50)

Wide release 1/18/19

Viewed 1/22/19 at Carlisle 8

IMBd: 7/10

RT Critic:  37  Audience:  74

Critic's Consensus:  Glass displays a few glimmers of M. Night Shyamalan at his twisty world-building best, but ultimately disappoints as the conclusion to the writer-director's long-gestating trilogy.

Cag:    4/Liked it a lot

Directed by M. Night Shyamalen

Universal Pictures

Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson

My comments:  Good move, what I would call a psychological thriller.  James McAvoy was wonderful as the multi-split-personality creepo that he apparently portrayed in the movie Split a year or so back.  Wish I had seen it.  Then I discovered that the Bruce Willis character and the Samuel Jackson characters were in a previous movie together, and this must've been somewhat of a continuation?  It didn't matter because you didn't have to see either one of those to totally get drawn into this one.  I was a little nervous that I was not going to understand, at the end, what we really going on, but they did give enough information to make it completely understandable.  It take place in Philadelphia and was filmed in Philadelphia and Allentown, apparently.   Good entertainment.

RT/ IMDb Summary  From Unbreakable, Bruce Willis returns as David Dunn as does Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price, known also by his pseudonym Mr. Glass. Joining from Split are James McAvoy, reprising his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb and the multiple identities who reside within, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, the only captive to survive an encounter with The Beast. Following the conclusion of Split, Glass finds Dunn pursuing Crumb's superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.

MOVIE - On the Basis of Sex

PG-13 (2:00)

Wide release 1/11/19

Viewed 1/10/19 with Sandy at Carlisle 8
IMBd: 6.2/10

RT Critic: 71   Audience:  71
Critic's Consensus:  On the Basis of Sex is nowhere near as groundbreaking as its real-life subject, but her extraordinary life makes a solid case for itself as an inspirational, well-acted biopic.

Cag:  5/Loved it

Directed by Mimi Leder

Focus Features

Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer

My comments:  I've got a feeling that even if this was a crappy movie I would rate it well.  However, it wasn't a crappy movie.  If the two wonderful actors who portrayed Ruth and Marty Ginsberg are anything at all like the real Ruth and Marty Ginsberg, I am sold, sold, sold.  There was just enough law, just enough Ginsberg family scenes, just enough touch of the 50s, 60s, and 70s to make this movie real, relevant, and right.

RT/ IMDb Summary  The film tells an inspiring and spirited true story that follows young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she teams with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of gender discrimination. The feature will premiere in 2018 in line with Justice Ginsburg's 25th anniversary on the Supreme Court.

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 - 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 - Crazy Rich Americans

PG-13 (2:00)

Wide release 8-15-18

Viewed 9/9/18 at Carlisle 8 with Ella

RT Critic: 92   Audience:  79
Critic's Consensus:  With a terrific cast and a surfeit of visual razzle dazzle, Crazy Rich Asians takes a satisfying step forward for screen representation while deftly drawing inspiration from the classic -- and still effective -- rom-com formula.

Cag:  4.5 So much fun!

Directed by Jon M. Chu

Warner Brothers Pictures

Henry Golding, Constance Wu

My comments:  This is a fun movie that highlights the city of Singapore, making it look glitzy and decadent and over the top.  I wonder how much of this is real?  A very enjoyable movie with a lot of comic relief balancing out the decadence and snobbishness of the rich.  Ella enjoyed it a lot, and snuggled with me in the recliner throughout the movie, which was the best part of it all!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  "Crazy Rich Asians" follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu (Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Golding), to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick's family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country's wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick's arm puts a target on Rachel's back, with jealous socialites and, worse, Nick's own disapproving mother (Yeoh) taking aim. And it soon becomes clear that while money can't buy love, it can definitely complicate things.

MOVIE - Ant Man and the Wasp

PG-13 (1:58)

Wide release 7/6/18

Viewed Thursday, 8/23/18 at Hanover Theater
IMBd: 

RT Critic:  88  Audience:  77
Critic's Consensus:  A lighter, brighter superhero movie powered by the effortless charisma of Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, Ant-Man and The Wasp offers a much-needed MCU palate cleanser.

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Peyton Reed

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Walton Goggins

My comments:  Very funny, very fun movie, though not at all relaxing to watch!  The cast is wonderful.  The ending/s which correspond to the ending of the Avengers which came out just about the same time, left me with a huge "WHAT????"

RT/ IMDb Summary  From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink: "Ant-Man and The Wasp." In the aftermath of "Captain America: Civil War," Scott Lang (Rudd) grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he's confronted by Hope van Dyne (Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas) with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from their past.

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 - Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

PG-13 (1:54)

7/20/18 Wide Release

Viewed 7/23/18 at Carlisle with Laura and Ella
IMBd: 7.3/10

RT Critic: 79   Audience:  76
Critic's Consensus:  Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again doubles down on just about everything fans loved about the original -- and my my, how can fans resist it?

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot - the music is awesome

Directed by Ol Parker

Universal Pictures

Based on the music of ABBA  (a 1970s rock group from Sweden)

Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Andy Garcia, Cher, Meryl Streep

My comments:  Dancin' Queen....You can dance....you can jive....having the time of your life.....
I just returned from seeing this movie.  With some of it was disappointed, but with some of it I felt giddy.  Yup, giddy.  And the grand finale was GRAND!  Best part of the movie!!!  The scenes with the younger versions of the couples seemed over-acted to me, and a teeny, tiny bit off.  Loved it when the three females were performing together, young OR old.  The modern-time numbers were really wonderful.  As is the scenery...how would ANYONE want to leave that place?  Fantastic costumes, too.  And including Cher was a blast.  So. Much. Fun.  Ella really loved it, and immediately wondered if they'd make a number three!
      Perfect movie for three generations to watch together.

RT/ IMDb Summary:

MOVIE - Leave No Trace

PG (1:49)

Limited release 6/29/18

Viewed July 15, 2018
IMBd: 

RT Critic:  100    Audience:   87
Critic's Consensus:  Leave No Trace takes an effectively low-key approach to a potentially sensationalistic story -- and further benefits from brilliant work by Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie.

Cag:  5.5 wowzer

Directed by Debra Granik

Bleecker Street

Ben Foster, Thomasin MacKenzie

My comments:  Different.  Satisfying.  Thought-provoking.  Mesmerizing.  Well acted. Loved it.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Will (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter, Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie), have lived off the grid for years in the forests of Portland, Oregon. When their idyllic life is shattered, both are put into social services. After clashing with their new surroundings, Will and Tom set off on a harrowing journey back to their wild homeland. The film is directed by Debra Granik from a script adapted by Granik and Anne Rosellini.

MOVIE - First Reformed

R (1:48)

Limited release May 18, 2018

Viewed Thursday evening, June 21, 2018 with Sandy at Carlisle Theater
IMBd:  7.7/10

RT Critic: 96   Audience:  70
Critic's Consensus:  Brought to life by delicate work from writer-director Paul Schrader and elevated by a standout performance by Ethan Hawke, First Reformed takes a sensitive and suspenseful look at weighty themes.

Cag:  How do you rate a movie like this?  Yes, I liked it....

Directed by  Paul Schrader

Studio A24

Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, 

My comments:  Holy shit, what did I just watch  What happens when you combine loneliness, despair, environmental issues, alcohol and religion? (and barbed wire, Drano, magical mystery tours, and holy roller, born again music...)  Well, watch this movie and you'll find out!  AND, what an ending!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Reverend Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reform church in upstate New York on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church is now a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation, eclipsed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, with its state-of-the-art facilities and 5,000-strong flock. When a pregnant parishioner (Amanda Seyfried) asks Reverend Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, the clergyman finds himself plunged into his own tormented past, and equally despairing future, until he finds redemption in an act of grandiose violence. From writer-director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver; American Gigolo; Affliction) comes a gripping thriller about a crisis of faith that is at once personal, political, and planetary.

MOVIE - The Rider

R (1:44)

4/13/18 Limited release

Viewed Tuesday, 6/19/18 at The Majestic in Gettysburg
IMBd: 7.7/10

RT Critic:  97  Audience: 81
Critic's Consensus:   The Rider's hard-hitting drama is only made more effective through writer-director Chloé Zhao's use of untrained actors to tell the movie's fact-based tale.

Cag:  6/Awesome  

Directed by Chloe Zhao

Sony Pictures Classics

Brady Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, 

My comments:  The Rider was an amazing movie, and I didn't fully realize the extent of the meaningfulness of it until the credits rolled.  The actors were all the real people that apparently lived the story playing themselves.  Like a documentary told completely as a story. Incredibly depressing, heartfelt, and even upliftiing in its sadness.  The South Dakota plains.  Thelvies of young people that are raised around horses, raised to ride.  The harshness and reality of spial cord injuries and brain injuries.  The rodeo.  Horses.  I don't even like horses!  But I sure did like this movie.  Here is Roger Ebert's (actually Godfrey Cheshire's)vright-on, excellent review:  https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-rider-2018

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Based on his a true story, THE RIDER stars breakout Brady Jandreau as a once rising star of the rodeo circuit warned that his competition days are over after a tragic riding accident. Back home, Brady finds himself wondering what he has to live for when he can no longer do what gives him a sense of purpose: to ride and compete. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and tries to redefine his idea of what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.

MOVIE - Tag

R (1:40)

Wide release 6/15/18

Viewed 6/16/18
IMBd:  7/10

RT Critic:  56  Audience:  64
Critic's Consensus:  For audiences seeking a dose of high-concept yet undemanding action comedy, Tag might be close enough to it.

Cag:  3.5  Easy and fun entertainment

Directed by  Jeff Tomsic

Warner Brothers

Based on a true story

Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jon Hamm

My comments:  This summer doesn't seem to have any good movies.  This one had fun actors and was actually based on a true story, but it was sort of slow moving and boring, believe it or not.  I was looking forward to the end.  Funny in places.  I'm glad I didn't have to pay to see it.  Loved seeing and hearing Jeremy Renner singing during the credits, that was the highlight of the movie!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  For one month every year, five highly competitive friends hit the ground running in a no-holds-barred game of tag they've been playing since the first grade--risking their necks, their jobs and their relationships to take each other down with the battle cry "You're It!" This year, the game coincides with the wedding of their only undefeated player, which should finally make him an easy target. But he knows they're coming... and he's ready. Based on a true story, "Tag" shows how far some guys will go to be the last man standing.

MOVIE - Deadpool 2

R (1:59)

Wide release 5/18/18

Viewed 5/19/18
IMBd: 8.1/10

RT Critic:  82  Audience:  86
Critic's Consensus:  Though it threatens to buckle under the weight of its meta gags, Deadpool 2 is a gory, gleeful lampoon of the superhero genre buoyed by Ryan Reynolds' undeniable charm.

Cag:  4/ Liked it a lot

Directed by David Leitch

Twentieth Century Fox

Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin

My comments:  So many funny parts, I tried to ignore all the violence and mayhem because it's so tongue in cheek and laughable.  Some jokes went right over my head, mostly because I couldn't quite understand what was being said.  Ryan Reynolds is such a natural in the part and it was a real blast having Josh Brolin enter the mix.  Music choices were wonderful, and all the additions right up to the very end of the credits were great fun.  Totally packed movie, I got the last seat, but it was smack in the middle of the back row and perfect.  Fun watching it with so many others even if I didn't know any of them!

RT/ IMDb Summary: After surviving a near fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Miami's hottest bartender, while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor - finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World's Best Lover.