TV Show - Upload

Watched on Prime Video
Season 1
Number of Episodes: 10
Length of Episode:
IMBd:  8.1
RT Critic's Consensus:  Though Upload at times suffers from tonal overload, witty writing and a winsome cast make it an afterlife worth living.
RT Audience Score: 87 / 88
cag: 3/liked it

My comments:  If you have lots of money, then when you die yoyu can have your consiousness uploaded into a virtual reality into an avatar of your likeness.  You even get to email and talke to your loved ones, and even tough them when they are all geared up in virtual reality gear.  So when Nathan dies in a freak car accident they discover it was murder - his rich, weirdo girlfriend pays for his uploads into a very fancy virtual reality.  There he meets his "angel," Nora, whose job it is to make sure he's cared for and nothing goes wrong.  They fall for each other, , he had, after all, had a pretty tentative lack-of-feeling for the girlfriend.  Series one ends with him breaking up with the girlfriend, being now poor so he had to start living in the cheap-o basement of the Upload facility,and girlfriend walks in with a huge smile and tells him she's had herself uploaded to be with him.

Storyliline:           By the year 2033, humans have developed the ability to upload themselves into their preferred choice of Artificial Afterlife. In Los Angeles, software engineer Nathan (Robbie Amell) is fatally injured in a self-driving car accident. His shallow girlfriend pressures him into agreeing to be uploaded to her family’s luxurious virtual heaven, Lakeview. Once there, he is greeted by Nora (Andy Allo), his customer service representative (or "Angel"), who appears as a holographic avatar while actually working in an office in Queens alongside other "Angels".  
          The series follows the two as Nathan grows accustomed to his imperfect afterlife with Nora's help, while the still-living Nora struggles to stay afloat.

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 - 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 - 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 - Life of the Party

PG-13 (1:45)

Wide release 5/11/18

Viewed 5/11/18 in Savannah, on our last night there, with Fran (opening night for this movie, too!)
IMBd:   5.5/10

RT Critic:  38  Audience: 44
Critic's Consensus:  Life of the Party's good-natured humor and abundance of onscreen talent aren't enough to make up for jumbled direction and a script that misses far more often than it hits.

Cag:  3.5 Liked it a lot, for the most part

Directed by Ben Falcone (I think that's Melissa McCarthy's husband)

New Line Cinema

Written by McCarthy & Falcone

Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Julie Bowen

My comments:  Knowing that it would be silly, stupid, and probably very funny in places, Fran and I decided to spend our last evening in Savannah at this movie.  That's exactly what it was:  silly, stupid, and very funny in lots of places.  Laugh really, really loud kind-of-funny.  Some of it was a real hoot.  There were three different scenes, however, that could have certainly been improved - taking out the eye-rolling stupid and continuing with the just-plain fun.  Oh well.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime dedicated housewife Deanna (McCarthy) turns regret into re-set by going back to college...landing in the same class and school as her daughter, who's not entirely sold on the idea. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, the increasingly outspoken Deanna-now Dee Rock-embraces freedom, fun and frat boys on her own terms, finding her true self in a senior year no one ever expected.

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 - Get Out

R (1:44)

Wide/ 2/24/ (though it took FOREVER to get anywhere near here)

Viewed 3/8/2018 
IMBd: 7.7/10

RT Critic:  99 Audience: 87
Critic's Consensus:  

Cag:  5/Loved it

Directed by Jordan Peele

Universal Pictures

Daviel Kaluuya, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford

My comments:    Bizarre.  Creepy.  Wonderful, fun and even funny.  I love it when you have no clue what is going on buy you totally know that that's okay and you are able to follow along with no problem at all.  I immediately got inside the protagonist's head and knew that he would figure everything out and be okay in the end, which made the scary bits extra fun and not quite so scary.  Catherine Keener was so incredibly creepy!  And Daniel Kaluuya, the guy who played Chris Washington, was marvelous.

RT/ IMDb Summary:   Now that Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined.

MOVIE - Jumanji

RPG-13 (1:52)

Wide Release 12/20/17

Viewed 2/2/18 with Laura and Ella - girls night out - Panera Bread first.
IMBd: 7.0

RT Critic:  77  Audience:  87
Critic's Consensus:  Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle uses a charming cast and a humorous twist to offer an undemanding yet solidly entertaining update on its source material.

Cag:  4/ liked it a lot

Directed by Jake Kasdan

Columbia Pictures

Based on the book by CHris VanAllsburg

Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart

My comments:  I would never have chosen to go to this by myself, but when Laura suggested we take Ella I jumped at the chance and I'm so glad I did.  What a fun movie!  You get to know four teenagers for a short bit...about 20 to 25 minutes...before they're wooshed into the game of Jumanji and become different characters played by Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and pretty girl, *****.  They are joined near the end of their adventure by one of the Jonas Brothers.  Excitement and adventure abound, but it's the funny stuff that really keep this movie rolling and the laughter surfacing.  Fun movie!  All three of us really enjoyed it a lot.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  When four high-school kids discover an old video game console with a game they've never heard of--Jumanji--they are immediately drawn into the game's jungle setting, literally becoming the avatars they chose: gamer Spencer becomes a brawny adventurer (Dwayne Johnson); football jock Fridge loses (in his words) "the top two feet of his body" and becomes an Einstein (Kevin Hart); popular girl Bethany becomes a middle-aged male professor (Jack Black); and wallflower Martha becomes a badass warrior (Karen Gillan). What they discover is that you don't just play Jumanji--you must survive it. To beat the game and return to the real world, they'll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, discover what Alan Parrish left 20 years ago, and change the way they think about themselves--or they'll be stuck in the game forever...

MOVIE - Pitch Perfect 3

PG-13
Wide release 12/22/17

Viewed New Year's Eve 2017 - 10 degrees at Carlisle 8
IMBd: 6.2

RT Critic: 31   Audience:  53
Critic's Consensus:  Pitch Perfect 3 strains to recapture the magic that helped the original spawn a franchise, but ends up sending this increasingly unnecessary trilogy out on a low note.

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Trish Sle

Universal Pictures

Anna Kendrick, John Lithgow

My comments:  Oh, oh, oh, SO much better than Pitch Perfect 2!  Yay.  Thoroughly enjoyed this one.  Okay, the John Lithgow/Fat Amy part was a little weird, but added a nice bit of fun, and I like the way it started the movie with a scene that they came back to near the end.  There were some really funny parts, though a few of Fat Amy's fell a little flat.  And those girls sure can sing!  I love the USO aspect as well, and the other musicians in the movie were a great addition. I haven't seen the first one in awhile, but I'm thinking this one was pretty comparable.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Now graduated from college and out in the real world where it takes more than a cappella to get by, the Bellas return in Pitch Perfect 3, the next chapter in the beloved series that has taken in more than $400 million at the global box office. After the highs of winning the World Championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.

MOVIE - Father Figures

R (1:53)

Wide release 12/22

Viewed 12/26/2017 in Camp Hill
IMBd: 5/10

RT Critic: 25   Audience:  42

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Lawrence Sher

Warner Brother Pictures

Ed Helms, Owen Wilson, Glenn Close, Terry Brandshaw, J. K. Simmons

My comments:  This was a really funny comedy that I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was pretty impossible to believe throughout the entire movie that Ed Helms and Owen Wilson were actual twin brothers, but in theory they pulled it off and I laughed my butt off in many places.  They're both really good and really funny, and I thouroughly enjoyed Glenn Glose as their mom.  During the credits it said that one of the actresses was Katie Asleton - I'm pretty sure this is my old friend Jennifer's sister-in-law and when I looked it p, sure enough, she was born in Milbridge, Maine.  Don't you love it when small town local girls make it in the big time?  She's married to Mark Duplass.  Cool.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Two brothers (Owen Wilson and Ed Helms) hit the road to find their long-lost dad after they learn that their mom has been lying to them about his death. 

MOVIE - Logan Lucky

PG-13 (1:59)

Wide Release 8-18-17

Viewed 9-3-17 at Carlisle 8
IMBd: 7.3/10

RT Critic: 92   Audience:  76
Critic's Consensus:  High-octane fun that's smartly assembled without putting on airs, Logan Lucky marks a welcome end to Steven Soderbergh's retirement -- and proves he hasn't lost his ability to entertain.

Cag:  5 Loved it

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Fingerprint Releasing/Bleeker Street

Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Katie Holmes, Hillary Swank

My comments:  Now this was a really, really good comedy.  Not a silly comedy, or stupid one.  Not a black comedy or even a slap happy one.  It was smart, fun, and very, very funny.  For me, Adam Driver really stole the show.  Between his Forrest Gump-like accent, artificial hand, and straight-faced delivery of all his lines, I couldn't wait for the next scene he was in.  And believe it or not, the entire movie was full of good, positive family values even if it was about a heist!  Channing Tatum was his usual charming self an Daniel Craig, Hillary Swank, and Katie Holmes were all superb.  The only off note for me was the character that Seth MacFarlane played.  Too over-the-top, more silly than the rest of the movie warranted.  A really well done move, not Oscar Material, but clever, well acted, and well made.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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.

MOVIE - Bridget Jones's Baby

R (2:03)

Wide release 9/16/16

Viewed 11/1/16 at Century Gateway
IMBd:  6.9/10

RT Critic: 76   Audience: 73
Critic's Consensus:  Bridget Jones's Baby might be late on arrival, but fans of the series should still find its third installment a bouncing bundle of joy.

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Sharon Maguire

Working Title

Colin Furth, Patrick Dempsey, Renee Zellweger, Emma Thompson

My comments:  I really didn't expect to like this movie (the trailers I saw led me to that conclusion), but I went anyways, because I LOVE Colin Furth.  So glad I did....it turned out to be very funny, and quite good, actually!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Oscar (R) winners Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth are joined by Patrick Dempsey for the next chapter of the world's favorite singleton in Bridget Jones's Baby. Directed by Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones's Diary), the new film in the beloved comedy series based on creator Helen Fielding's heroine finds Bridget unexpectedly expecting. After breaking up with Mark Darcy (Firth), Bridget Jones's (Zellweger) "happily ever after" hasn't quite gone according to plan. Fortysomething and single again, she decides to focus on her job as top news producer and surround herself with old friends and new. For once, Bridget has everything completely under control. What could possibly go wrong? Then her love life takes a turn and Bridget meets a dashing American named Jack (Dempsey), the suitor who is everything Mr. Darcy is not. In an unlikely twist she finds herself pregnant, but with one hitch...she can only be fifty percent sure of the identity of her baby's father.

MOVIE - Masterminds

PG-13 (1:30)

Wide release 9/29/16

Viewed Sunday, 10/20/16 at Century Gateway

RT Critic: 32   Audience:  46
Critic's Consensus:  Masterminds' great cast and stranger-than-fiction true story are largely wasted on a scattershot comedy with a handful of funny moments and far too much wackiness.

Cag:  3.5 Great fun!

Directed by  Jared Hess

Relativity Media
Based on a true story, believe it or not!

Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis

My comments:  This flick was a freaking riot - a funny, farcical movie!  Just plain stupid and fun...over-the-top, non-stop laughs with nothing drawn out or overdone, time flew by.  How they could do all they did without cracking up constantly is beyond me!  It siad at the beginning this this was based on a true story, and a bit of research proves that is true, which is really hard to believe!  At the end they showed photos of Galifianakis and Wilson with their "real" counterparts.  Crazy!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  In this action comedy based on true events, directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite; Nacho Libre), David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis) discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. He is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. Day in and day out he drives an armored vehicle, transporting millions of other people's money with no escape in sight. The only glimmer of excitement is his flirtatious work crush Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig) who soon lures him into the scheme of a lifetime. Along with a group of half-brained criminals led by Steve Chambers (Owen Wilson) and an absurdly faulted heist plan, David manages the impossible and makes off with $17 million in cash...only problem is he foolishly hands the money over to this wild group of double crossers and has been set up to take the fall. With the bandits blowing the millions on lavish and ridiculous luxuries, they leave behind a glaring trail of evidence. Now on the lam and in over his head, David must dodge the authorities, evade a hilarious hit man, Mike McKinney (Jason Sudeikis), and try to turn the tables on the ones he trusted most.

MOVIE - Florence Foster Jenkins

PG-13 (1:50)

Wide Release 8/11/16

Viewed Friday, 10/14/16 at Century Gateway

RT Critic:  86  Audience:  74
Critic's Consensus:  Florence Foster Jenkins makes poignant, crowd-pleasing dramedy out of its stranger-than-fiction tale -- and does its subject justice with a reliably terrific turn from star Meryl Streep.

Cag:  4.5 It was really good, liked it a lot!

Directed by Stephen Frears

BBC Films

Based on a true story

Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg

My comments:  Biopics are truly interesting - usually I come away with a "No Shit!" kind of reaction.  This was quite a story, acted beautifully by the three protagonists.  Perfect for their roles, I was particularly impressed by Simon Helbert (of Big Bang Theory fame), his facial expressions and gorgeous piano playing blew me away.  I loved the end, when Meryl Streep got to sing beautifully, showing ho Ms. Jenkins pictured herself singing the entire time.  So poignant...and somewhat sad, I guess, though you don't come away from the film feeling at all sad.

IMDb Summary:  Florence Foster Jenkins, born Narcissa Florence Foster, was an American socialite and amateur soprano who was known and mocked for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. The historian Stephen Pile ranked her "the world's worst opera singer". "No one, before or since," he wrote, "has succeeded in liberating themselves quite so completely from the shackles of musical notation."

MOVIE - Bad Moms

R (1:41)

Wide release 7/28/16

Viewed Monday, 10/3/16 at Park Place by myself

RT Critic:  60  Audience:  73
Critic's Consensus:  Bad Momsvboasts a terrific cast and a welcome twist on domestic comedy -- and they're often enough to compensate for the movie's unfortunate inability to take full advantage of its assets.

Cag:   3- Liked it all right

Directed by John Lucas & Scott Moore

Block Entertainment

Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Christina Applegate

My comments: This movie could have been completely hysterically funny, but there were two problems....first is that they tried to put too much "reality" into it (the divorce & repercussions) and they hit too many particularly stupid notes ('mean girl/bully PTA president pulling all the shots, instant easy turnaround at the end).  50% was just great - raunchy, racy, and almost off-the-charts bad taste, while the other 50% was eye-rolling.  Good entertainment.

RT Summary:  In this new comedy from the grateful husbands and devoted fathers who wrote The Hangover, Amy has a seemingly perfect life--a great marriage, over-achieving kids, beautiful home and a career. However she's over-worked, over-committed and exhausted to the point that she's about to snap. Fed up, she joins forces with two other over-stressed moms on a quest to liberate themselves from conventional responsibilities--going on a wild, un-mom-like binge of long overdue freedom, fun and self-indulgence--putting them on a collision course with PTA Queen Bee Gwendolyn and her clique of devoted perfect moms.

MOVIE - Hunt for the Wildepeople

PG-13 (1:21)

Limited release 6/24/16

Sunday, 7/24 at Midtown Cinema in Harrisburg

RT Critic:  99  Audience:  92
Critic's Consensus:  Critics Consensus: The charmingly offbeat Hunt for the Wilderpeople unites a solid cast, a talented filmmaker, and a poignant, funny, deeply affecting message.

Cag:  5/Loved it

Directed by Taika Waititi

Piki Films

Based on the book by

Sam Neill

My comments:  This was a wonderful movie, correctly rated by Rotten Tomatoes and all the other reviews I've read. Set in "the bush" of New Zealand, it tells the story of how power put in the wrong hands can go dreadfully awry and that you definitely cannot judge a book by its cover.  When a 13 year old overweight boy is fostered by a loving woman and her grumpy husband way in the middle-of=nowhere-New Zealand, an instant bond forms between the boy and the woman (she has the boy call her "auntie").  Then, in order to set in motion the craziness that follows, tragedy has to strike.  The rest of the film is about how "uncle" (Sam &&&&) and &&&&&& take off into the bush to avoid the law, while bonding and hunting and figuring out how to stay alive.  So much humor and well-meaning in this excellent film!  You always know that the outcome is going to be a good one, too!

RT Summary:  Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family. Equal parts road comedy and rousing adventure story, director Taika Waititi (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, upcoming THOR: RAGNORAK) masterfully weaves lively humor with emotionally honest performances by Sam Neill and Julian Dennison. A hilarious, touching crowd-pleaser, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE reminds us about the journey that growing up is (at any age) and those who help us along the way.

MOVIE - The Intern

PG-13

Wide release 9/25/15

Kolb cheapie theater, Wed. 1/13/16

RT Critic: 60   Audience:  76
Critic's Consensus:  The Intern doesn't do enough with its timely premise, but benefits from the unorthodox chemistry of its talented leads.

Cag: 4,5 Liked it a whole lot

Directed by Nancy Meyers

Warner Bros. Pictures

Robert DeNiro, Anne Hathaway

My comments:  I looked forward to this for months, and was not disappointed.  Because age (mine) is seriously starting to bother me....people make me feel so old.....this was a huge boost, full of positivity and chemistry between the two marvelous protagonists.  It got a bit smarmy in a place or two, gave me some great laughs, and was a real pleaser!

RT Summary:  70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin.

MOVIE - Love the Coopers

PG-13 (2:00)

Wide release 11/13/15

Saw this one by myself

RT Critic: 20   Audience: 41

Cag:  2.5 It was okay....

Directed by Jessie Nelson

Groundswell

Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Alan Harkin

My comments:   This was sort of stupid and unbelievable.  Diane Keaton is bent on leaving John Goodman after many years of marriage....but why?  It's totally unapparent and really dumb.  A few laughs, Alan Arkin is great....but I was pretty unimpressed.

RT Summary:  LOVE THE COOPERS follows the Cooper clan as four generations of extended family come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration. As the evening unfolds, a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday.