MOVIE - How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World

PG (1:50)

Wide release 2/22/2019

Viewed after school on 2/25/29 with Tristan at Carlisle 8

RT Critic:  91  Audience:  87

Critic's Consensus:  The rare trilogy capper that really works, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World brings its saga to a visually dazzling and emotionally affecting conclusion.

Cag:  3.5 

Directed by Dean DeBlois

Universal Pictures

My comments:  Definitely better than some of the previous "animated" movies I've seen...kept me entertained and Tristan enthralled.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Now chief and ruler of Berk alongside Astrid, Hiccup has created a gloriously chaotic dragon utopia. When the sudden appearance of female Light Fury coincides with the darkest threat their village has ever faced, Hiccup and Toothless must leave the only home they've known and journey to a hidden world thought only to exist in myth. As their true destines are revealed, dragon and rider will fight together-to the very ends of the Earth-to protect everything they've grown to treasure.

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - Peter Rabbit

PG (1:35)

Wide Release 2/9/18

Viewed Thursday, March 22, 2018 with Tristan in a Carlisle recliner, fun!
IMBd: 6.4/10

RT Critic: 60   Audience:   61
Critic's Consensus:  Peter Rabbit updates Beatrix Potter's classic characters with colorfully agreeable results that should entertain younger viewers while admittedly risking the wrath of purists.

Cag:  3/ liked it, and Tristan liked it a lot

Directed by Will Gluck

Columbia Pictures

Based on the book by Beatrix Potter

My comments:  I went to this thinking it was animated (and dreading it).  However, it wasn't animated, the faces on the animals were a RIOT! and the movie itself was entertaining.  Not boring or snooze-worthy at all!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Peter Rabbit, the mischievous and adventurous hero who has captivated generations of readers, now takes on the starring role of his own irreverent, contemporary comedy with attitude. In the film, Peter's feud with Mr. McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door (Rose Byrne). James Corden voices the character of Peter with playful spirit and wild charm, with Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, and Daisy Ridley performing the voice roles of the triplets, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail.

MOVIE - The Greatest Showman

PG (1:45)

Wide release 12/20/18

Viewed 1/20/18 with all the Kilkos!
IMBd: 7.8/10

RT Critic: 55   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:  The Greatest Showman tries hard to dazzle the audience with a Barnum-style sense of wonder -- but at the expense of its complex subject's far more intriguing real-life story.

Cag:  3.5

Directed by Michael Gracey

Twentieth Century Fox

Hugh Jackman, Zac Ephron, Michelle Williams

My comments:  The music was wonderful, watching the kids' faces was great fun, the storytelling was OK.  I'm betting/guessing that most of the story was fictionalized, so watching it as a piece of fiction ws way more entertaining than trying to think of this as a biopic.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

MOVIE - Despicable Me 3

PG (1:30)

Wide Release 6-30-17

Viewed 7/27/17 with Tristan and Ella (Carlisle 8)
IMBd: 6.4/10

RT Critic:  61  Audience:  58
Critic's Consensus: Despicable Me 3 should keep fans of the franchise consistently entertained with another round of colorful animation and zany -- albeit somewhat scattershot -- humor.

Cag:  2

Directed by Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin, Eric Guillon

Universal Pictures

My comments:  Yup, cute...another cute movie.  Got the biggest kick out of watching Tristan and listening to Ella, who kept giggling.  The Minions had a very small part, unfortunately.  I like those little guys, especially listening to them talk....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Illumination, who brought audiences Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, continues the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters-Margo, Edith and Agnes-and the Minions in Despicable Me 3. Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, the animated film is produced by Illumination's Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and executive produced by Chris Renaud. Joining Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig in Despicable Me 3 is Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award winner Trey Parker, co-creator of Comedy Central's global phenomenon South Park and the Broadway smash The Book of Mormon. Parker voices the role of villain Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who's grown up to become obsessed with the character he played in the '80s, and proves to be Gru's most formidable nemesis to date. 

MOVIE - Trolls

PG 91:40)

Wide Nov. 4, 2016

Viewed July 10 with Laura, Ella & Tristan (Dollar Morning Summer Movie) at Carlisle 8
IMBd: 6.5/10

RT Critic:  74  Audience:  68
Critic's Consensus:  Trolls brings its instantly recognizable characters to the big screen in a colorful adventure that, while geared toward the younger set, isn't without rewards for parents.

Cag:  3 Liked it - very cute

Directed by Walt Dohrn & Mike Mitchell

Studio Dreamworks Animation

Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Christine Baranski

My comments:  This was an extremely cute movie.  I didn't really want to see it, I just wanted to spend some time with the kids.  So I went.  And I enjoyed it!  Anna Kendrick spoke and sang the lead and Justin Timberlake, although he didn't sing until the end, played Branch, the other protagonist.  The evil chef, preparer of troll stew, was unmistakably Christine Baranski.  very cute with, of course, a great moral - everyone has happiness, or the possibility of it, inside themselves.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  DreamWorks Animation's TROLLS is an irreverent comedy extravaganza with incredible music! From the genius creators of SHREK, TROLLS stars Anna Kendrick as Poppy, the optimistic leader of the Trolls, and her polar opposite, Branch, played by Justin Timberlake. Together, this unlikely pair of Trolls must embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond the only world they've ever known.

MOVIE - Boss Baby

PG (1:37)

Wide release 3/31/17

Viewed 4/21/17 with Tristan
IMBd: 6.3/10

RT Critic:  52  Audience:  51
Critic's Consensus: The Boss Baby's talented cast, glimmers of wit, and flashes of visual inventiveness can't make up for a thin premise and a disappointing willingness to settle for doody jokes

Cag:  2.5

Directed by Tom McGrath

DreamWorks Animation

Alec Baldwin (BossBaby voice)

My comments:  Friday night with Tristan - incredibly far fetched concept that doesn't really make sense in multiple ways, but entertaining nonetheless.  Tristan seemed to enjoy it, cut could't really tell me what it was about or what his favorite part was.  The teenager sitting beside me laughed all through it so it certainly help appeal for some! I've certainly seen worse.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  DreamWorks Animation and the director of Madagascar invite you to meet a most unusual baby. He wears a suit, speaks with the voice and wit of Alec Baldwin, and stars in the animated comedy, DreamWorks' The Boss Baby. The Boss Baby is a hilariously universal story about how a new baby's arrival impacts a family, told from the point of view of a delightfully unreliable narrator, a wildly imaginative 7 year old named Tim. With a sly, heart-filled message about the importance of family, DreamWorks' The Boss Baby is an authentic and broadly appealing original comedy for all ages.

MOVIE - Secret Life of Pets

PG (1:30)

Wide release 7-8-16

Viewed end of August, just before returning to Tucson for the last time, with Ella and Tristan

RT Critic:  74  Audience:  62
Critic's Consensus:  Fast-paced, funny, and blessed with a talented voice cast, The Secret Life of Pets offers a beautifully animated, cheerfully undemanding family-friendly diversion.

Cag:  3  Liked it

Directed by Yarrow Cheney, Chris Renaud

Universal Pictures

My comments:  Cute.  Didn't drive me too crazy. Both the kids enjoyed it.  Really not too bad.....

RT/ IMDb Summary:      For their fifth fully-animated feature-film collaboration, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures present The Secret Life of Pets, a comedy about the lives our pets lead after we leave for work or school each day. Comedy superstars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet and Kevin Hart make their animated feature-film debuts in The Secret Life of Pets, which co-stars Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Jenny Slate, Bobby Moynihan, Hannibal Buress and Albert Brooks. Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and his longtime collaborator Janet Healy produce the film directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2), co-directed by Yarrow Cheney and written by Brian Lynch and Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio.

MOVIE - Finding Dory

PG (1:40)

Wide release 6/16/16

Viewed twice between August and September, 2016

RT Critic:  94  Audience:  84
Critic's Consensus:  Funny, poignant, and thought-provoking, Finding Dory delivers a beautifully animated adventure that adds another entertaining chapter to its predecessor's classic story.

Cag: 4 

Directed by Andrew Stanton and Angus Maclane

Walt Disney Studios/Pixar

My comments:  Although I saw this twice - once with each set of grandkids - I never wrote down my actual reaction/review at the time.  I don't usually like animated films, but this one was not too bad, 90% of them I'd never go to twice!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  "Finding Dory" reunites the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few things about the true meaning of family along the way. The all-new big-screen adventure dives into theaters in 2016, taking moviegoers back to the extraordinary underwater world from the original film.