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.

MOVIE - Keeping Up with the Joneses

PG-13 (1:41)

Wide 10/21/16

Viewed 11/23/16 at Century Gateway

RT Critic: 19   Audience:  46
Critic's Consensus:  Keeping Up with the Joneses squanders a decent premise -- and a talented cast full of funny people -- on a witless and largely laugh-free suburban spy adventure.

Cag:  3.5/totally enjoyed it (though not to be considered a "great" movie)

Directed by Greg Mottola

20th Century Fox

Zach Galifianakis, Jon Hamm

My comments:  Holy catfish, this was a fun movie to watch...funny as heck, actors that have great chemistry and fast moving.  Took my mind away from everything else, as a good movie should, and left me with not a lot of "deep thinking," which at this particular point in my life I'm grateful about!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  A suburban couple becomes embroiled in an international espionage plot when they discover that their seemingly perfect new neighbors are government spies.