MOVIE - The Shape of Water

R (1:59)

Wide release 12/22/18 (again, hard to find locally)

Viewed January 22, 2018
IMBd: 7.4

RT Critic:  92  Audience:  73
Critic's Consensus:  The Shape of Water finds Guillermo del Toro at his visually distinctive best -- and matched by an emotionally absorbing story brought to life by a stellar Sally Hawkins performance.

Cag:  6/Awesome  

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer

My comments:  Oh my goodness, I didn't take notes about my thoughts and reactions after seeing this movie other than that it looks like it takes place in the late 50s.  Oh brother!  I loved it, it was wonderful science fiction with a spectacular ending.  Six months later and I still remember many (MANY) parts of it clearly, which is really unusual for me in recent years....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  From master story teller, Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER - an other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa's life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones and Michael Stuhlbarg.

MOVIE - Murder on the Orient Express

PG-13 (1:54)

Wide/Limited release

Viewed sometime around 11/15/17

RT Critic:  58  Audience:  54
Critic's Consensus:  Stylish production and an all-star ensemble keep this Murder on the Orient Express from running off the rails, even if it never quite builds up to its classic predecessor's illustrious head of steam.

Cag:  4.5
Directed by  Kenneth Branagh

Studio 20th Century Fox

Based on the book by Agatha Christie

Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Willem Defoe, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench

My comments:  An excellent whodunit with an even more stellar cast.  I've never read this famous Agatha Christie novel, so it was really cool that I had no idea who the murderer was!  The locales and the cinematography was spectacular, as well as Kenneth Branagh's Hercule Poiret's amazing mustache!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  What starts out as a lavish train ride through Europe quickly unfolds into one of the most stylish, suspenseful and thrilling mysteries ever told. From the novel by best-selling author Agatha Christie, "Murder on the Orient Express" tells the tale of thirteen strangers stranded on a train, where everyone's a suspect. One man must race against time to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again. Kenneth Branagh directs and leads an all-star cast including Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley and Josh Gad.

MOVIE - Same Kind of Different as Me

RPG-13 (1:59)

Wide release 10/20/17

Viewed around 10/21/2017 

RT Critic: 33   Audience:  87
Critic's Consensus:  

Cag: 3.5

Directed by Michael Carney

Paramount Pictures

Based on a true story

Greg Kinneer, Renee Zellweger

My comments: Stupid, forgettable name for a movie.  Having no clue what this movie was about, I went.  It was probably a good thing I had no clue, because I probably would have never gone if I'd known its premise.  It was OK.  A tearjerker, which I'm not crazy about.  And I felt I had to take a couple of stretches of imagination, "liberal license."  I think what they wanted to say was that the wife, Debbie, had a very strong link to Denver, when the movie made it appear that the stronger link, all along, was the husband, Ron.  It was based on a true story, I'll have to look up if it was from a book or not.  Acting was fine, I don't think I've seen either Greg Kinneer or Renee Zellweger in a movie recently, they've both aged well.  Lots of religion without being preachy.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME is based on the inspiring true story of international art dealer Ron Hall (Greg Kinnear), who befriends a homeless man (Djimon Hounsou) in hopes of saving his struggling marriage to Debbie (Renée Zellweger), a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the most remarkable journey of their lives. Jon Voight plays Hall's father, with whom he reconciles thanks to the revelations of his new life. Based on the New York Times bestseller.

MOVIE - The Glass Castle

PG-13, (2:07)

Wide release 8/11/2017

Viewed 8/26/17

RT Critic:  51  Audience:  72
Critic's Consensus:  The Glass Castle has an affecting real-life story and a hard-working cast in its corner, but they aren't enough to outweigh a fundamentally misguided approach to the material.

Cag:  5.5

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Lionsgate

Based on the memoir by Jeanette Walls 

Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts

My comments:  Terrific movie.  Based on the book which is based on the memoir of Jeanette Walls.  Didn't read the book, though I contemplated doing so several times.  What a beautifully told, sad, exhilarating, painful and joyous story.  Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts were brilliant.  I particularly liked the way that the story was told with three different sets of actors depicting three different time periods, flashing back and forwards, showing the full and total picture of what it would have been like to be in this family's shoes.  During the end credits, photos of the real people were shown and labeled, putting a crowning touch on a really good couple of hours.  Alcoholism is a horrible disease....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Chronicling the adventures of an eccentric, resilient and tight-knit family, THE GLASS CASTLE is a remarkable story of unconditional love. Oscar (R) winner Brie Larson brings Jeannette Walls's best-selling memoir to life as a young woman who, influenced by the joyfully wild nature of her deeply dysfunctional father (Woody Harrelson), found the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

MOVIE - Norman

R (1:58)

Limited release 4/14/2017

Viewed June 1, 2017 at Downtown Carlisle Theater
IMBd: 6.2/10

RT Critic: 89   Audience:  57
Critic's Consensus:  Norman's elegantly told story is brought brilliantly to life by a quietly powerful performance from Richard Gere.

Cag:  3.5 

Directed by Joseph Cedar

Sony Pictures Classics

Richard Gere, Michael Sheen

My comments:  I was a little confused at first, which unsettled me a bit.  So it took me about the first half of the film to get into it and relax.  Once I completely realized what was happening, I went with the flow.  There was some interesting cinematography, juxtaposing conversations in two different places on the same screen in a really interesting way.  Quickie, almost cameos, by some really good actors.  All in all, I'm glad I went.  I also realized that this beautiful old theater in downtown Carlisle must have been created by the same architect that created the Critereon in Bar Harbor, Maine.  They are so alike!

RT/ IMDb Summary:   Norman Oppenheimer is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman's life dramatically changes for better and worse.

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 - 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 - 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."