Top 10 films of 2017

This list gets harder to make every year. I had to eliminate some films that deserved to be on this list like "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" but in the end their can only be 10. It doesn't mean I don't like only these 10 films. Plenty of fantastic films that I'm sure will even win Oscars had to go, simply because there was not enough room.

10. Kong: Skull Island: I thought this was fantastic! It wasn't just a simple monster movie, it was quite complex. Had a great cast, a great plot, and got me pumped for "Kong vs. Godzilla" in 2020.

9. Split: James McAvoy deserves an Oscar for this film. I was skeptical given M. Night Shyamalan's recent track record and the fact that this opened in early January, which is usually a bad sign. I was pleasantly surprised.

8.  My Little Pony: The Movie: This felt like a Disney Renaissance film, had a great cast, and great songs.

7.  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Didn't take itself too seriously, and was just an all around fun film.

6. Spider-Man: Homecoming: Felt like classic Spider-Man while also bringing something new and a fresh new actor, who in my opinion is the best Spider-Man yet.

5. Wonder Woman: Had a great story, subtle humor, great action sequences, and finally shut the whiney DC fanboys up.

4. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: Felt like watching a classic sci-fi, and I could tell Star Wars took a lot of inspiration from the source material. It was fun, had some nice visuals and I actually saw this movie in theaters twice!

3. The Lego Batman Movie: My face hurt from laughing at this movie so much. It's a fantastic film that I never get tired of, and actually find something new every time I watch it. Perfect film for all ages.

2. Coco: This had an important story, an important message, eye-grabbing visuals and was a welcome return to Pixar's roots of making stories with a message and heart instead of cashgrab sequels.

And the number 1 movie of 2017 is.....

1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Come on, don't act like you're surprised. You had to know this would be the number 1 spot. I know a lot of fans are divided on this film, and if you're in the camp that doesn't like it, you're probably telling yourself "This blogger is a moron. I'm never reading his reviews again!" and that's perfectly fine if you feel that way. I, however, thought this was a phenomenal movie. It was different enough but still felt like Star Wars. Had great twists that I didn't see coming and replaced "Empire Strikes Back" as my favorite Star Wars movie. (Sue me.)

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Fair warning to parents who want to take their kids to this film: It is NOT  for young children. It is PG-13, not PG. And, boy, does it earn that 13. Although the movie is hilarious, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, a lot of the dialogue is really crass. There are sexual references and profanity throughout the film. I'd say if you were okay with your kid watching the  "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies, it's about that same level, but I still urge you to use your discretion. I think the idea behind this was "This is for the kids who grew up with the 1995 original and are adults now so let's make it "edgy."" So dumb, and so unnecessary. As for the quality of the actual film, I did enjoy it. I was worried that the jokes would get stale, especially since for the most part they are essentially repeated, but they actually got funnier as the film went on. It took the original premise, set it in modern day, and actually had a pretty good message behind it about loving yourself for who you are and making the most of life. So it's a shame this had to be so crass. What were you thinking, Sony? I thought the film was hilarious in the parts that weren't crass and those really worked, so why couldn't the whole film have been like this? It would have actually been better as a PG. Making something more "adult" ironically makes it more "childish." There was a parent at my screening who brought their young child to this film and they left halfway through because she got sick of all the inappropriate dialogue and innuendo. (Which I realize is redundant). This felt like a parody of the original, while also honoring the original, (including a mild 5-second shoutout to Robin Williams' character from the original) and had some good action scenes. It's not only a mild parody of adventure games but also the tropes of the characters from those games. (Invincible hero, smart mouthed comic relief, strong female character). It was clever and I can tell the actors had a lot of fun making it. At points, it even felt like a Guardians of the Galaxy film. So, yeah, great, hilarious movie. Just don't take your young kids to it.

Grade: A-   9/10   4/5 stars

The Greatest Showman

\

This movie was fantastic! The attention to detail for the time period in which it is set was impressive! The opening logo/credits are in the style of how they were in the 40's. This was a nice little touch that enhanced the film, and it wasn't even a full minute in yet. From that moment, I was pulled into the movie and didn't come back out until the end credits were over. Everything from the costumes, to the acting, to the sets is impressive! One of my complaints was the music seemed too modern for a film set in the 1940s. I would have preferred if they had been more true to the style of the music from that time, and also some parts were very obviously autotuned. The narrative also seemed to be all over the place at points. One of the subplots is started early in the film, and it's not even acknowledged again until the last 20-30. I actually forgot it was a subplot. I did enjoy the musical sequences. Even the slow ones were great because the singing was so impressive. (Except for the occasional "autotune" at some points.) This felt like a Baz Luhrmann film, and I mean that as a compliment. It even made me like Zendaya. I did not care for her work on the Disney Channel or Spider-Man: Homecoming earlier this year, but she was good in this. The character felt genuine, and that she was actually trying as opposed to her earlier mentioned works where her performance felt phoned in and canned. I was impressed that Zac Efron was able to still sing well, considering he hasn't been in any musicals that I know of since 2008's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" which was almost 10 years ago now. I smiled throughout nearly the whole thing, and was intrigued by the story. I definitely enjoyed myself at this one. 

Grade: B     8/10     4/5 stars

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I'm still reeling and processing what it is that I just watched! Holy cow this movie was intense! It challenges what we thought a Star Wars movie could be. It takes the franchise and shakes it up to new levels of writing and intensity we never thought possible! As a huge Star Wars fan, I've tried my hand at writing fan fiction and I could not have written anything better. The first 5 minutes alone are some of the best in the franchise. I have never laughed so hard during a Star Wars movie than I did in the first 5 minutes. The dialogue is riveting, the plot twists are insane, and the characters, both old and new have definitely developed a lot more. There's a reason Lucasfilm gave the director of this film, Rian Johnson, 3 more Star Wars films to direct after episode 9 comes out. It is certainly well deserved. The film is like a rollercoaster that flips you upside down, backwards, zigzags and jsut when you think you're done, throws you for a loop one last time. Rian Johnson has definitely earned his place among the great Star Wars storytellers, and deservedly so. It's got everything I want in a Star Wars movie, and more. Heart, humor, edge-of-your-seat thrills, emotional moments that made me cry, and just a touch of nostalgia.  Johnson has done what we never thought would be possible. He dethroned "Empire Strikes Back" as the best Star Wars movie! There was nothing about this movie that I did not like. It was perfect! The Force is definitely strong with this one.

Grade: A+     10/10     5/5 stars

Coco

Pixar is going back to their roots! Their last few films such as "Brave," "The Good Dinosaur" "Finding Dory", and "Cars 3" were all mediocre, or at least below the bar of what I've come to expect from Pixar. This gets back to what put Pixar on the map in the first place: Amazing stories with a heartfelt message. The visuals in this movie are amazing! They pop off the screen! I'm amazed how Pixar manages to outdo themselves with the animation every year. They really put a lot of time, care, and effort into making this film the best it could be. The story is fantastic, has some good twists and a bit of dark humor (which is surprising from Pixar), and an important, heartfelt message that will make you emotional. The songs in this movie were fun and catchy (although it is not a musical). This is one of the few times where I agree that Pixar should win all the Oscars, as opposed to more recent years where I said that they had monopolized and stolen the awards from films I thought were superior. As hard as I tried, I couldn't find anything to nitpick. Nothing that would dock this film from being a perfect score. It's not that I didn't want to like the film, but part of being a film critic is being critical. I tried to find something, anything, that could improve this film, but as hard as I tried, I just couldn't. It's a perfect film! This will definitely win the Oscar for Best Animated Film, and this time I agree that it deserves to instead of "It's Pixar. It wins by default."
Grade: A+  10/10 5/5 stars

Justice League

Once again, the critics are wrong. This. was. Awesome! You know you're in for a fun time when "Written by Joss Whedon" pops up on the screen! It's got almost everything a Justice League movie should have. Humor, action, witty dialogue....It's almost on par with Marvel. Almost. Really, my only negative critique is the villain was really dumb. It's a Justice League movie and they give us Steppenwolf?! Really?! Even when Steppenwolf shows up, he doesn't do anything. The battle is over as quickly as it begins. The 3rd act and/or villain really should have been changed. But, hey, this movie managed to make Aquaman awesome! He's like a cross between a heavy metal guitarist and a professional wrestler. Everything about him is awesome, including the self-awareness that for the past 76 years, he's been a joke. He's the character that doesn't take no for an answer, doesn't care what people think of him, and is just awesome! The only character cooler than him is Batman, and that's because he's Batman. I did have one more problem with the story. If you're a casual fan without any knowledge as to who Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg are you may be confused as their origin stories are only glanced over or completely ignored. If they had given it another hour to take time to explain the characters' backstories that would have been super helpful. Instead we need to rely on context clues through quick dialogue. Hopefully we get an extended cut on the Bluray. It has some problems, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. At the end of the day, I was entertained, and that;s all that matters. By the way, stay ALL  the way through the credits. There are 2 scenes.
Grade: A-   9/10   4/5 stars

Murder on the Orient Express

This has the potential to be nominated for some serious Oscars. Boasting a star-studded cast and an exciting plot, this promises to be one of the best films of 2017. It diverted some from the book at the beginning, but that was actually a better choice. In the book, I felt I was thrown in without any context, and had to figure out the settings and characters. The movie took its time getting there, in a good way, and it was all the better for it. It established the characters clearly and made it easy to suspect each one of them for different reasons. Although the acting was good, there were still a few moments that fell flat. Johnny Depp's "New York" accent in particular. It was so obviously fake. And there was one scene where two characters are having a conversation, but one's back is turned to the camera and blurry. I hate that. It distracts, and sometimes makes it hard to follow crucial bits of dialogue, especially when a character's accent is hard to understand. This movie did something I thought would never happen. It made me like Josh Gad. I've been ragging on him for years about how I find him loud and annoying, but here, that doesn't happen. Maybe it's because he's in a more serious role, as opposed to a comedic one. Maybe "comedy" is his weakness, hence why he feels the need to shout every line but when he's in a serious role such as this one, he's got some serious accting chops. I wasn't blown away by his performance, but I was at least impressed. I'll go into future roles of his with an open mind, because this proves he can be a good actor. There was also some witty dialogue and some of it very sharp and snarky. The book did not have this, and it's a welcome improvement. If you're looking for a movie to make you feel smart and sophisticated, go see this. It's mostly worth it.
Grade: A-  9/10   4/5 stars

Thor: Ragnarok

This more than makes up for the lackluster "Thor: The Dark World." Although, this still could have been better. I enjoyed it and thought it was fun, but the tone and style felt out of place for a Thor movie. I kept thinking "I'm watching Guardians of the Galaxy" with different characters. Everything from an '80s synthesizer soundtrack to bright unicorn-vomit visuals is here. While the film is fun, the plot was all over the place. It felt like watching 3 movies at once. I kept thinking "Just pick and stick with a plotline." It jumps from location to location and story arc to story arc very quickly, and at times it was very hard to keep up with. I had to keep backtracking at least 10 minutes in my mind to catch myself up. "Oh yeah, that happened." Jeff Goldblum had a lot to offer as the character "Grandmaster". He had some funny lines and made me laugh a few times. Cate Blanchett is chilling as the villain "Hela." If you thought Tom Hiddleston could be scary at times, just wait until you see her performance. There were a lot of fun Easter Eggs that foreshadow at things to come and it was overall, a very fun movie. Like I said, my only complaint is the all-over-the-place plot, but considering how boring "Dark World" was, I'm just glad we finally got a good Thor sequel, even if at times it still could have been better.

Grade: A-   9/10     4/5

Happy Death Day

I went in with my expectations low. I made the mistake of going in with high expectations for "Wish Upon" and was sorely disappointed. I figured if I went in with the mindset that this would be just ok, I would enjoy it more. And I was right. I didn't like it enough to the point where I'm going to buy it on Bluray, but I'm glad I saw it. This shows why Jason Blum is one of the great modern day horror producers. This succeeded where "Wish Upon" failed. The main character starts out unlikable but gets better as the story goes on. "Wish Upon" didn't do that. The main character in that one stayed unlikable throughout the entire film. This had a good mystery element to it that kept me guessing. There's tons of suspects for who could be the killer, and they each have different motives. I kept changing my suspicions of who the killer was every 5 minutes. This had a good twist that I didn't see coming, and won't dare spoil, because it's just too well concealed. Another thing I need to praise is it didn't overdo it on the jumpscares or gore. All the deaths were off screen, and done tastefully. And it didn't rely on jumpscares, so much as "There's something lurking in the shadows." This is much more effective at bringing suspense. I wouldn't say go see it in the theaters, but it's worth a rent. Definetly worth checking out.
Grade: B   8/10   4/5 stars

The Mountain Between Us

This movie started strong, but unfortunately, it had a terrible second half and payoff. The only likeable performance in this was Idris Elba. Unfortunately, Kate Winslet's character is so whiny and unlikable that it's hard to root for her, let alone want her to end up with Elba's character. I'm fine when characters start out unlikable as long as they improve by the end. This does not happen here. Her character learns no lesson, and remains just as unlikable by the end. Going in, I did not know that this was a romance movie. And I can say, that if you've seen any romance movie ever you've already seen this. It has every cliche in the book. Awkaward, forced arguments, corny dialogue, 2 characters who swear not to fall in love, but then do.....I figured out how this was going to end 20 minutes in. This also had terrible CGI. There's a part with a cougar, and it looks so cheap and fake, and took me out of the film. It also ran about 30 minutes too long. The last half hour was filler, with no payoff and a predictable ending. If the first half weren't so strong, my judgement would be harsher, so it has that going for it, but I cannot recommend this movie. It was just OK.
Grade: C+    7/10     3/5 stars

The Lego Ninjago Movie (Repost)

I posted this review almost a month ago, but for some reason, it never got published. I'd hoped this was an error on Blogger's part, but I guess not. Unfortunately, I can not remember everything that I said, just the general gist of it, so this won't be as good as the original review. (Sorry.)


Out of the 3 Lego movies that have been released so far, this is my least favorite. I still liked it, just not as much. When I left "The Lego Movie" and "The Lego Batman Movie", my face hurt from laughing so much. And while I did laugh a lot here, I didn't laugh as much. I think part of the reason for that is because Phil Lord and Chris Miller didn't direct this time around, as they were busy working on the upcoming Han Solo movie at the time. (They have since been removed from the project.) I think another reason is because the studios released this one too quickly. Lego Batman came out in February and this came out in September. That's only 7 months between Lego movies. I feel they should have waited a while. Especially since Lego Movie 2 isn't coming out until 2019. If they had spent more time on this and released it in 2018, I feel it could have been better. A lot of the CGI was very impressive, and something happens about 25 minutes into the film that I won't dare spoil. It had me laughing to the point where I was crying. And there were some funny running gags, and the good news is, those running gags didn't get old. They actually got better as they went on, and the payoff at the end was hilarious. I did feel that as far as plot went, there was still something left to be desired. I felt like I'd already seen some of it in the original Lego Movie. It had almost the same message. I think this could have been more original if they had waited for Lord and Miller to be available to direct. This was like getting a Lego set and having it 98% completed, but never being able to fully complete it because you lost track of the last few pieces. What you did is still very good, but you wonder how much better it could have been if it had lived up to its full potential.
Grade: B   8/10   3.5/5 stars

My Little Pony: The Movie

(Hmm....My "Lego Ninjago" review seems to have disapperead. I'll look into this.)
This was fantastic! The filmmakers really put a lot of time, effort, and love into this. I was worried that it would feel like a long episode of the show, but it wasn't. Even if you haven't watched the show, you can still enjoy it. No exaggeration when I say we may have a contendor for a "Best Animated Film" nominee in the 2018 Oscars. (We all know it's going to lose to "Coco", though. Thanks, Pixar.) This feels like a Disney Renaissance film. It's got catchy songs, great animation, and great jokes. There were even some adults laughing. (Not because the jokes were inappropriate, they're just quick, subtle jokes that kids won't get. There was absolutely nothing inappropriate in this movie. No profanity or innuendo of any kind. Good on you, filmmakers!) That makes me wonder why it was PG. Apparently it's for "Mild Action." Oh for goodness sakes! If this were made 20-30 years ago it would have been G. It's no more intense than "The Lion King" or "Aladdin," which are both G. I honestly wouldn't mind going back to see this again. Given that it's the only movie coming out in October that I'm interested in, I may have to to tide me over until "Thor: Ragnarok." The voice case is phenomanal.  They really pulled out all the stops on this one. Liev Schriber as The Storm King  and Michael Pena as the sidekick Grubber are particularly comedic, and Emily Blunt is chilling as Tempest Shadow. My one nitpick is the plot was a little all over the place and it felt like they decided to throw 3 different episode concepts and combine them here. If the plot had been more linear it would have been a perfect score, but I'm sadly going to have to take a point off. Given that this is the only good movie coming out in October Death Month, I say go see it just for the sake of not going through movie withdrawal. I promise you'll have a fun time.
Grade: A-    9/10    4/5 stars

Gifted

WARNING: POLITICAL DISCUSSION/OPINIONS BELOW (also, mild spoilers)

The phrase "This won't win Oscars" is usually considered to be very bad. However, in this case I mean it in a good way. It won't win Oscars because it's the antithesis to liberal Hollywood. It's probably the most consevative, libertarain film I've ever seen. The message of the movie is one with which I agree: "Education should be the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian of the child, not the government." This also shows how public schools will victim blame. There is one part where one of the main characters is defending a boy who is being picked on. What does the school do? They blame her for stepping in and let the bully get away consequence free because the girl "shattered his ego." (I'm dead serious.) It also shows how sometimes public schools will shame and blame a child for being more intelligent than their peers because "You're not giving them a chance to catch up, you're making them feel inferior, you should hide your gifts, etc."   Essentially it shows how public schools are just nicer prisons for children. Chris Evans does a fantastic job. He deserves an Oscar, as does everyone involved. This will never win, let alone be nominated, because Hollywood is full of liberals, and this is the opposite of a message they're trying to shove down our throats. There's one part where Chris Evans' character has reached a breaking point. His deathstare alone deserves an Oscar. Octavia Spencer, as always, does a fantastic job. She says her lines with such passion, and at times I thought "I'd hate to be the person she's yelling at in this situation. She's not even yelling at me and I'm terrified." Child actors can be hit-or-miss and the young actress in this film does a great job. Hopefully she goes on to do other things in the industry, because she got this role down pat. She's incredibly talented. Marc Webb did an awesome job with this film, and needs a Best Director Oscar. It's still too early in the year to tell if this will be on my top 10 list come the end of 2017, but it's extremely likely. I very rarely have such strong, positive opinions about a film, but every once in a while a film comes along that moves me and makes me feel emotion. This is one of them.

Grade: A+     10/10    5/5 stars

The Dark Tower

I don't know what movie the critics saw, but it obviously wasn't this one, because there's no way this deserves an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. This was awesome! At times the plot could be a little confusing, but the parts I understood, I loved! I don't know what the critics' problem with Matthew McConaughey is in this movie. He was really good. He managed to ham it up without hamming it up too much. He was a fun villain without becoming a charicature. Idris Elba as always, is fantastic! He manages to be serious and brooding, but also adds a bit of comedy to the role when appropriate. (Psst, DC, cast him as Jon Stewart in  the next Green Lantern movie. Hint hint) My one problem was that the editing was off continuity-wise sometimes. Specifically, for the actor Tom Taylor. I'm assuming he hit puberty part way through production, because for the first half of the film, his voice is high, and then all of a sudden out of nowehere his voice gets deep in the second half. They should have gone back and redubbed the first half. The action sequences are awesome! My jaw dropped! They're fast paced and don't have the "slow mo shot" cliche that so many films do nowadays. Without spoiling anything, I will say that if you read a lot of Stephen King's other books, you'll see some Easter Eggs. (Some are blink-and-you'll-miss-it). Ignore the critics and decide for yourself.

Grade: B.   8/10     4/5 stars

Happy 4th Anniversary to the day I started this blog. (although technically it was yesterday. Thanks for reminding me, Facebook Memories) Since I started it, I have had 8,351 pageviews. Holy. Cow! I did NOT think I would even make it past the 1,000 mark at this point. It started out as just this little hobby for myself. A place for me to express my personal thoughts on films I'd recently seen. I started more for me, and a few immediate friends and family. I didn't think anyone other then them would actually read the darn thing. The fact that in 4 years it has grown from a cute little blog that only my friends and family read, to where it is now at the point where complete strangers are now reading it. (Even people from outside the US. Holy smokes.) According to the traffic stats, the biggest source that most of you have accessed the link is from  Facebook, which makes sense, since that's where most of my interaction is by posting the non-review content such as trailers, posters, and my thoughts on various bits of film news.

 But let's take a look at the stats of the pageviews by country:
US: 84
Ireland: 4
UK: 3
Russia: 2
Austraila: 1
Canada: 1
Germany: 1

I now have people viewing this from around the globe! Wow! i didn't even think it would make it outside the US! This is truly a great honor for me, and I feel so overwhelmed.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Ignore the critics! This movie is absoultely phenomenal! There are very few movies where I leave the theater thinking "I want to go see this a couple more times." When this hits the discount theater I'm going to see it again! This is a sci-fi movie with a classic "Flash Gordan" kind of feel. It's a fast-paced, super fiun thrill ride. And the visuals are spectacular! It's the most visually impressive movie since "Avatar!" The two main characters were very reminiscent of Han Solo and Leia, especially with their flirtatious love-hate relationship. It also had fast-paced witty dialogue. If you're a fan of Star Wars or even Star Trek, this is definetly worth  a watch. It's a shame this isn't doing so well at the box office. Hopefully it makes its money back, because I want a sequel to this, darn it! (Which, again, "I want a sequel" is something I very rarely say after movies. They have to be really good for me to say that.) The only thing that could have improved this movie is there were a couple of parts that were unneccessary from a plot standpoint and were just there to pad the runtime. I guess those parts are the movie equivalant of commericals so that you can go to the restroom and get concession refills without missing anything important. Even though this isn't doing so well, I'm hoping it finds a cult following on Bluray.
Grade: A-    9/10    4/5 stars

War for the Planet of the Apes

A good prequel trilogy! Take that, Star Wars!  Looking at this through the context of the original from 1968, it's hard to know who to root for. The humans in this are horrible to the apes, but you think "Well, they kind of deserve this, because they do the same thing to us in the original." And yet you still sympathize with them. We're rooting for the bad guys and yet...we're not. The motion capture on the apes is amazing! Not since "Avatar" has there been such impressive effects. (Although I may redact that statement after I see "Valerian", but we'll see...) The detail on each ape is exquisite. If it weren't for the apes riding horseback and wielding guns, you would think this was a nature documentary. Woody Harrelson does a great job, although at some points it does feel like a repeat of his character from "The Hunger Games." As far as who to root for, it's hard to decide. Neither side is definitively good or evil. Some of the humans are horrible, but some just want to leave the apes alone, and have the war come to them. Some of the apes are even on the human side. The action sequences in this were way over the top (in a good way.) I honestly don't know how this film could be improved. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Most times I say "I really enjoyed the movie except for this, this and this," but that didn't happen here. The emotion was so well conveyed. It makes you hate your own species and cry over a bunch of CGI Apes. Kind of ridiculous out loud, but it's so well written and acted, I wouldn't be suprised if this gets nominated for a few Oscars when awards season comes around.

Grade: A+    10/10     5/5 stars 

Wish Upon

Ok. This movie isn't great but it doesn't deserve the 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I quite enjoyed it, but it definetely could have been better. Mostly because a lot of the characters were charicatures. You could make a checklist and check each box as the film goes on. "Mean girl" Check. "Bullied main character." Check. "Guy that likes her but she doesn't like." Check. "Guy that doesn't like her but she does like." Check/ "At least one of the main character's parents is dead" Check.  It goes on.  But as far as the actual story goes, it was kind of exciting. It wasn't a "scary" movie, but it was definetly suspenseful. The ways the wishes got twisted to be bad were kind of clever. But this suffers from what almost every horror film suffers from these days: A lazy ending. The ending is just completely random and out of nowhere, to the point where it's kind of laughable. I thought of an ending that would have been much better, and "Twilight Zone" esque. (But I'm not giving spoilers. If you want the spoiler review go to my Youtube channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6cFUtvDg3VYAEWgxtdxYUQ
Overall, I think the movie this reminded me most of was "Drag Me to Hell." Definetly had the same kind of style/story. This had a lot of potential, and while a lot of it was pretty good, it certainly could have been better thought out.
Grade: C   7/10   3/5 stars

Power Rangers

To be honest, I got pretty much what I expected with this movie. I thought at best it would be average, and at worst it would be a dumpster fire, like "Fant4stic". And yeah, it was perfectly average. A lot could have been improved, changed, and taken out, but at the end of the day, I was entertained. I wasn't checking how much runtime was left, or praying for the sweet release of the end credits,  but I wouldn't exactly recommend this film to anybody either. It's entertaining, but not exactly a film I'm clamoring to watch again. The film did suffer from a lot of problems. The chemistry between the 4 leads was awful. The runtime is 2 hours and 15 min, and for a movie called "Power Rangers" and it takes almost 2 hours of that for them to actually become the Power Rangers. Instead, they fill up the time with teen angst and drama. It felt like I was watching a Disney Channel movie or something on Freeform. There was one part where a character supposedly died, but I honestly didn't care because not enough time was spent on their character development. I was indifferent to what happened to these characters. Also, they hired Bryan Cranston, but just like in 2014's "Godzilla," he's barely in it, and his talent is wasted. Bill Hader got more screentime. Bill Hader! I like Bill Hader, but in small incriments. He was in this wasy too much. By far, the best part of the movie was Elizabeth Banks' performance as the villain. She went over-the-top without overdoing it. Just a classic Saturday morning cartoon style villain who enjoys being evil for the sake of being evil. The first half of the movie did give me a sense of deja vu, as it felt a little too much like someone was trying to do a remake of "Chronicle." There are very few times where I praise the score of a movie, but I have to here. I loved the score. It sounded like the soundtrack to "Tron: Legacy." I'm glad I didn't pay to see this in theaters, but it was worth a rent. If you're at Redbox, and this is in stock, and there's nothing else you want to see, it's worth at least one watch.

Grade: C    7/10    3/5 stars

Despicable Me 3

Going in, I was expecting this to be pretty weak. I wasn't in the mindset that I was going to hate it, just that at best, it would be OK. It's the 3rd (4th if you count "Minions") entry in an animated film series. Most franchises by this point have thrown in the towel as far as effort is concerned and just said "Forget it. Put little to no effort into this. Just put something together to shut kids up for 90 minutes. They'll eat it up anyway." Happy to say, that was not the case with this one. Not only was there effort, but they've also learned from their mistakes. I said in my review of the second one that the film had too many scenes focusing on the Minions, which overshadowed the rest of the plot. They remembered this time that people like the Minions, we just like them in small increments that are few and far between. They were in it for maybe 15 minutes of the whole thing. I feel one way the film could have improved was to flesh out the villain a little better. I thought he was one of the best parts, and would have loved to see more. He's a former child star, mentally trapped in the 80s, and so there are a lot of 80s references and songs. This was a concept that I felt could have done more than what was done here. They had so many oppurtunities with this that they missed out on. I would have loved to see more 80s references. The plot was pretty paint-by-numbers, and I could tell for the most part where it was going to go, but some things still surprised me. Not my favorite in the franchise, but certainly not the weakest.

Grade: B    8/10     3.5/5 stars

Spider-Man: Homecoming

This was absolutely, without a  doubt, the best "Spider-Man" movie ever! It's everything I loved about Spider-Man in the comics, cartoons, and video games growing up. It has his signature wisecracks, the fun thrills, and struggles of being a teen that Spidey is famous for. Michael Keaton gives a wonderfully chilling performance as the villain. There is one scene in particular that I won't spoil where his threatening demeanor is enough the frighten even a grown man. Spidey's tech-savvy sidekick also provides some wonderful comic relief. My one complaint was the actress Zendaya. She was so monotone and bored, that I was really starting to regret Disney buying Marvel at some points. (She was a Disney Channel star.) If she had put more emotion into her lines, or had  been given better direction, she could have been a more interesting character, but she just came off as bland. I will probably have to watch this movie several times when it hits Bluray, because I spotted some fun little Easter Eggs and inside jokes, and I'm sure there were plenty more that I missed. As always, stay for the very end of the credits. I'm not going to spoil anything, but lets just say that Marvel is starting to become very meta....and that's all I'm going to say about that. It's too good and too funny to spoil.

Grade: A-   9/10    4/5 stars

Transformers: The Last Knight

This is going to be a very unpopular opinion and I may lose followers for this. Most of you will think me an idiot. But I loved this movie! It was absolutely fantastic! It's the best one yet! After 10 years they've finally learned: Whiny, millennial college kids are annoying. There are none of those characters here. Just Spielberg-esque precocious kids and other characters that are actually likable and well-written. And yet it still has the "12-year-old boy" mindset that brings explosions and epic battles. As far as plot goes, it is kind of silly, all over the place and doesn't really make sense. But it's a "Transformers" movie, you kind of expect that at this point. It does contradict the first one as far as the Transformers' origins, so I'm guessing this is a reboot, much like "Age of Extinction" was. The one thing that annoyed me about this was the way it was filmed. The aspect ratio changes literally every shot. Widescreen, then full screen, then widescreen, then full screen, over and over. It was really annoying. Who knows why they did that. Hopefully they fix this by the time the Bluray comes out. Overall, I'd say this is actually my favorite Transformers movie, and I highly reccommend it. Just don't expect it to be thought-provoking, intelligent, or Oscar winning, and you'll be fine.
Grade: A-   9/10  4/5 stars

Cars 3

Surprisingly, this was actually pretty good. Though, parts of it were a little rehashed from the first one. (It even has the same opening. I thought the projectionist had started the first movie by mistake.) And some of it does feel like "We're doing what more-or-less the first one was, except Lightning is Doc and the new character is Lightning." But thank goodness they learned from Cars 2 that people don't like Mater. He's barely in this one! There were some jokes that were pretty funny, and I didn't see the ending coming to be honest. And having it appeal to both genders by adding strong characters of both genders is a good bonus. (Yes, girls can like race cars. Before you ask: No I am not a girl.) This one was a little less kid friendly than the other 2, though. Not because it's inappropraite, but it does deal with themes of getting older and making way for the next generation, and how you're going to be remembered after you die. For the target audience of 5 year olds, that's pretty heavy! But I feel it was done well, and in a way kids could understand. Is it Pixar's best? Not even close, but it's certainly better than "Brave" and "The Good Dinosaur."
Grade: B    8/10   3.5/5 stars

The Mummy (2017)

Do not listen to Rotten Tomatoes. 17% is way too harsh. I get it, critics. You were expecting this to be like the 1999 Brendan Fraser one. Too bad. I personally liked this new take on the story. The gender-swapping was a bit weird but it brought sort of a "crazy stalker girlfriend" vibe to the film. Even if you haven't seen the Brendan Fraser version you could still enjoy this film. Tom Cruise does a great job in the lead role. The movie still has some fun moments, despite the trailers advertising this as a "dark" film. It manages to be creepy, while still keeping it fun. (Think the classic Black-and-white monster movies back in the days of yore). Since it's practically a law in the filmmaking world now to have every movie be in a "universe" that's connected, this has plenty of Easter Eggs fans of the old black-and-white monster movies may recoginize, but I won't dare spoil them. There's one sequence towards the end of the film with a surprise villain that in my opinion was one of the best scenes in the film. I personally thought this was a great kickoff to this franchise. It's like back in the '30's when people would go to the movie theater for their weekly serials. Except instead of short 10-15 min. long weekly serials we get big budget escapedes that last 2 hours and come out every 1-2 years. (or in Marvel's case, every 3 months).  I am going to compare this to the Fraser film just a bit. Personally, I think this one is better. (I know. Shame on me, right?) The CGI in that movie was just bad, even for 1999. Here, most of the effects are practical. Instead of taking someone, and making them look monstorus by adding CGI to their face, they actually used practical effects and makeup. (which, quite frankly, is what they should have done in the first place) That's not to say that every shot is perfect. When CGI is used, it still looks pretty fake. But overall, this was a fun, creepy, monster flick with a classic feel. I'm excited to see what the next entry "The Bride of Frankenstein" has in store in 2019.
Grade: A-  9/10  4/5 stars

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

I was really skeptical about this one. How could a movie based on a book series whose sole premise is based entirely on potty humor be good? How could I endure 90 minutes of bodily function and bathroom jokes? The only reason I even considered seeing this is because I read the books in elementary school (Nostalgia factor) and the fact that Kevin Hart and Jordan Peele are in this. And yeah, this actually worked. It never went overboard with the potty humor (which cannot be said from the books) and when there was potty humor, it was done tastefully. (As tastefully as it could be done anyway.) There were also a lot of great blink-and-you'll-miss-it visual gags. The movie also wasn't afraid to acknowledge that potty humor is the lowest form of humor, as that point is made by several characters, several times, so in a way, it was kind of meta. The animation is also fantastic! If you didn't already know that this was a Dreamworks production, you would not be able to tell. It looks like 2015's "The Peanuts Movie," and is animated extremely beautifully. And yes, even the adults will like this, despite the over-the-top juvinile humor. Several adults at my showing were laughing. Not chuckling. Laughing. There's something for everyone to enjoy here. As someone who read the books in 1st and 2nd grade, it took me back to my childhood, and reminded me of those innocent days where even stupid gross-out humor was funny. 

Grade: B   8/10   3.5/5 stars

Wonder Woman

This feels like DC's attempt at recreating Marvel's first Captain America movie. I mean that in a good way. It doesn't feel like a superhero movie. It's more like a mythology/period piece. And we finally have a DC movie with some decent jokes that don't feel out of place because the rest of the movie has such a dark tone. They're not on-par with Marvel's level of wit, but it's pretty dang close. And yes, DC has finally learned: Superhero movies can be fun. The acting was great, except for David Thewlis. I don't know what happened there. He was so good in the "Harry Potter" movies, but here, he hammed it up a bit too much to the point where it was almost laughable. The action sequences were well done and the score was also great. My only other criticism is the film did move a bit fast in the beginining. The exposition should have been drawn out a bit longer because it was hard for me to transition to the next part of the story that quickly. I'm surprised that so many people liked this. Not because it's a bad film. I enjoyed it too, but because as of late DC has been the scapegoat in the superhero movie game. So if this pleased even a bunch of nitpickers, then you know it's good. 

Grade: A-      9/10   4/5 stars

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

This....was actually a lot better than I expected. Considering how awful ''At World's End" was (although I did enjoy "On Stranger Tides") I went in with low expectations. I thought at best it would be mediocre. But they went in a different direction with this one. It feels more like a reboot of the franchise than an actual sequel. But yes, Johnny Depp is still doing the same schtick, and yes, it does wear thin. However the new characters played by Brendon Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario were interesting, and had some surprise connections to other characters that I will not spoil. Also, the villain played by Javier Bardem, he was cool for the first 20 minutes he was onscreen, but sadly, like Depp, he started to feel like a caricature that wore thin. Out of all the "Pirates" villains, he was definetely the weakest.  And there's a flashback sequence with a young Jack Sparrow where it's very obvious that CGI was used on Johnny Depp and it just looks awful. They couldn't have just cast a young actor? The story is the best story of the sequels, and it feels like there was some effort put into it, and it was actually pretty fun. A lot of the dialougue was witty and I did laugh a few times. Considering this is "Pirates 5" it was better than it had any right to be. Nothing will ever match the first one, because the first one was unique. It took something that shouldn't have worked, and not only did it make it work, it made it work well. That's something that will never be able to be repeated, and I agree, these films do need to stop. I think having different writers and directors helped this film. It made sense, wasn't too terribly long, and knew when it needed to give more, or give less. That's something that the other sequels haven't been able to accomplish. Is it worth paying full price? No, but it wouldn't hurt to go see it on a $5 Tuesday if you have that or waiting for a discount theater. 

Grade: B     8/10     3.5/5 stars

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Why do we give Rotten Tomatoes so much credibilty? There are plenty of movies that have recieved low scores that I ended up really liking and this is one of them. Do not listen to the critics. I think the reason so many were quick to hate this film is that it is a little too fast paced. There aren't really any quiet moments to give the audience a few minutes to catch their breath and comprehend what they just watched up to that point and that is one way the film could have been improved. But as far as story goes, I really enjoyed it. Although at times I did see a lot of similarities to "The Force Awakens" and ''Rogue One", but Star Wars is basically sci-fi fantasy anyway, just as this is medeval Star Wars. Charlie Hunnam is great in the title role, but for me Jude Law and Aidan Gillen really stole the show. Law's great at playing villains and this is another example of that. He's so chilling. Aidan Gillen wasn't necessarily a "comic relief" character, but a few of his lines did get some laughs out of me. The action sequences in this film are so elaborate and well-done, however there are moments where it's painfully obvious CGI was used instead of actors, and it's not even good CGI. It looks like a trailer for a video game from 2004. A lot more of the budget should have gone to improving the CGI, because as quickly as I was enthralled by the action sequences, I was just as quickly taken out of them, and that kind of ruined the final battle for me. I also absolutely must praise the score! My goodness was this an awesome score! I loved Daniel Pemberton's work on "The Man from UNCLE" and the score here as just as epic. I can listen to this soundtrack for hours. It really gets you pumped for whatever action sequence or battle is about to happen. If you're about to hit the gym, put on this soundtrack. Trust me, it will help you. This was a great fantasty/action film. If "Stardust" was Guy Ritchie's fantasy movie for women, this is definetly his fantasy movie for men. Defintely should ignore Rotten Tomatoes with this one.

Grade: B   8/10   4/5 stars

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The best thing about Marvel is also the worst thing: They always try to outdo themselves with the next film in the MCU. Sometimes it really works like with this film, and Captain America 2 and 3, and sometimes it doesn't like with Iron Man 2 and Thor 2. But the advantage is they know how to keep making it better. They take fan's criticisms and complaints into account and try really hard to fix them. Such is the case with this film. Not that I had anything to complain about with part 1, but man, this definetely beats part 1 by a lot. Everything about this is better. The pacing, the story, the dialouge, the humor, and even the soundtrack. It manages to keep the style, spirit, and tone of everything we loved about the first film while also breaking new ground with it. It's very hard to make lightning strike twice, especially with a film with as weird a premise as Guardians of the Galaxy. By all accounts, the first film shouldn't have worked. Even more so the case with this film. Marvel has managed to do the impossible twice now. This is good, because it proves they're willing to take risks, but this is also bad, because now they'll be forced to outdo themselves every time, until eventually they'll be crushed by their own unattainable expectations. I'm very worried this will happen in the near future, especially as new films come out with new characters and new crossover films. Will we eventually be too greedy and want more and more and bigger and better each time until we're disappointed? I hope not. I know this isn't really a review of the movie, so much as it is about Marvel, but it's getting really had to keep this spoiler-free. Trust me, this is one film where you want to go in knowing as little as possible. Don't read the comics, don't use social media until you've seen the film. And I cannot stress this enough: Do not leave until ALL the credits have finished!!!!.

There is a total of 5 (Yes, FIVE) end credits scenes. And all are important especially as we gear up for Infinity War.

Grade: A-   9/10   4/5 stars

Listen to Borimir

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

I didn't see this in theaters because I have not liked Eddie Redmayne in previous works. To me, he was always a little bit too over-the-top. So I was a bit skeptical about this. Not to mention, I've frankly had enough of Harry Potter. I love it, but there is such a thing as too much. Especially when this movie was very obviously a blatant cashgrab. But after everyone telling me how good it was, I decided to at least rent it. I'm actually glad I did. I went in with my expectations low. I wasn't determined to hate it, I just thought at the most it would be OK. It was actually quite good. Not just as a Harry Potter spin-off, but just as a fantasy movie alone. And to my surprise, Eddie Redmayne was actually enjoyable. He was fun and quirky, while not being over-the-top. I'm actually nominating him as a contender to replace Peter Capaldi on "Doctor Who" when this season is done. Even if you've never seen a Harry Potter movie you'll enjoy this, since it's not really connected to the other films for the most part. Will you get more out of it if you have? Yes, but only because of small references here and there that basically say "Hey, we're in the same universe." I enjoyed the differences in the magical world culture between England and the US. In England, non-wizards are called "Muggles." In the US they're called "No-Maj's." (As in "No-Magic.") And there's a lot of school pride/rivalry between whether Hogwarts or the US equivalent Livermorny is better. Nice nod to the previous works. Apparently we're supposed to get 5 of these things, but honestly I don't see how. It works pretty well as one film, and is pretty self-contained. There's no big reveal or cliffhanger to set up the next movie. To be honest, I'm not even sure how it could continue but I'm excited to see how.

Grade: A-      9/10  4/5

The Circle

This is one of those movies where you need to read the book first. The reason for that is the book is about 500 pages and they needed to cut a lot out and as a result, the editing is a bit choppy, and the film may be confusing as it does move very quickly. But since I did read the book, that wasn't a problem. Some of the best performances of the year are in this film, particularly from Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, and John Boyega. However, one of the worst performances of the year is also in this film from Ellar Coltrane. His performance is just awful. Every line from him, without exception, is either without emotion, or just very awkwardly delivered. They really should have given him better direction or hired someone else. Most movies of this nature are very one-sided, but in this film both sides of the argument are delivered very well. You see the positives and negatives to both sides, although the negative sides from Tom Hanks' character's point of view are presented as very manipulitive but that's the point. I wouldn't say Tom Hanks' character is evil or a villain in the way we traditionally think of movie villains, but he's not afraid to deceive and manipulate, and sometimes play on human emotion to get what he wants. He presents this fascist society as a good thing for the betterment of humanity, and preys on common human empathies and sympathies to convince people to side with him. He's not the level of, say, President Snow from "The Hunger Games", but he's pretty close. Whereas Snow uses threats, Hanks' character takes a "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" approach, as do most of the other employees of The Circle. Like I said, you should probably read the book first, or you may get confused because of the choppy editing, but once you've read it, and then seen this you'll be able to piece together the missing elements of the film. Will this win any Oscars? Probably not. but it is still a very important film that everyone needs to see. 

Grade: A-   9/10   4/5 stars 

A Monter Calls

This is one of those times where an advertising campaign grossly misadvertises the movie. Remember when everyone thought "Lady in the Water" was going to be a horror film but it ended up being a fantasy? Same thing here. I thought this was going to be a fun fantasy "Boy and his creature" movie in the same vein as "E.T." or "Pete's Dragon," but this was actually a very serious drama. It was well acted, the CGI on the monster is some of the best I've ever seen (between this and the Beast in the "Beauty and the Beast" remake, I'm getting more and more amazed and impressed at how CGI/motion capture is getting more realistic, without being creepy like with "Polar Express") and even the story, though it was depressing was still very well told. My one issue with the casting is that Hollywood for some reason loves to cast Sigourney Weaver in mean roles. Every movie I've seen her in, her character is the meanest in the film. It's been that way for 30 years, to the point where it's almost a trope like "Sean Bean must die in everything he's in". She is very good in this, but it's the same character as every other movie she's been in. Personally, I didn't like this movie. I wanted to, but it was just too depressing. There is no hope to this film, and it just leaves you sad. Personally I blame that on the marketing advertising it as something it wasn't. Now that being said, the film is done very well. It's hard to get a huge range of emotion from child actors, and the actor who plays the boy absolultely rocks it. His sadness and anger feel genuine. When he has to come to terms with the bad hand life has dealt him, you understand why he does what he does. Sometimes the film was a bit hard to understand (is the monster real? Is he a metaphor?) and the story didn't flow very well at times. But I get it. The film is based off a book (which I haven't read) so things need to be taken out for time reasons. It was a well-made movie but it was super depressing.

Grade: C    7/10    3.5/5 stars

La La Land

I can see why this won Best Picture, even if it was only for 30 seconds. This film was fantastic! I'm not usually a fan of live-action musicals, which is why I waited to rent this one, but this was a great movie! Although, it is a little pretentious and narcissitic, but hey, it's an Oscar-nominated film. That's the very definiton. Given that this is the only movie that I've seen Ryan Gosling in, I can't really compare his role in this film to previous works, so for what I got it was great. His singing is pretty good. And now we move to Emma Stone. As far as acting goes, she was fantastic, but her singing ability is average, and at times a bit off key. I've heard better, but I've definietely heard worse. This movie goes into date-night movie territory, but never chick flick territory, thank goodness. (Hey, I'm a guy. I'm not the target audience for those). Overall this was a fun romp, and it deserved every award it was nominated for and won with the exception of Best Costume Design. (What costumes? It's just regular clothes.) The story was pretty good, the chemistry between Gosling and Stone was believable, although sometimes the drama and arguments were a bit overacted, and the choreography and songs were awesome! I am going to be listening to the soundtrack on repeat for a long time. I cannot get these songs out of my head. It's a mix of jazz, pop, funk, a little bit of everything. There's something for everyone to love in this fun musical romp.

Grade: B  8/10  3.5/5 stars

Assassin's Creed

I was really skeptical about this one, because it's a video game movie, and those are hit-or-miss. (Mostly miss.) I also knew very little about the source material going in, but that gave me an advantage because I was able to judge it purely on its own merit as a film and not based on whether or not it was a "faithful adaptation." I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The plot was a little silly at points, and some times it felt like it was hitting me over the head by constantly reiterating "This is the hero's goal. This is the artifact we're looking for. Don't forget it. You won't foreget it because we're going to drill it into your head 20 more times in the next 10 minutes," and that got annoying really fast, but overall I enjoyed this movie. It had a sort of futurisitc "Indiana Jones'' feel. The acting from Michael Fassbender was fantastic. His performance was by far the best one in the movie. The action sequences were well choreographed, and this film was super fun! Unfortunately, since this is a video game movie which did terribly with critics, this probably won't get a sequel, which is a shame, really, considering that the film ends on a mild cliffhanger. (Why couldn't this have just stood alone?) Seems like the filmmakers put the cart before the horse by planning on making this a franchise before seeing how well it actually did. I really want a sequel to this, but even if we don't get one, I still enjoyed myself. It was a lot more fun than I expected, and surprisingly well-done, especially for a video game movie.
Grade: B. 8/10 4/5 stars

Lion

Congrats to me! This is my 150th post!

This movie was amazing! I'm still overwhelmed by how fantastic and beautifully done this was! It's one of the few non R-rated Best Picture nominees of 2016, so I decided to give this rare oppurtunity a shot. I'm so glad I did. This is an absolute must see. The first half of the film is in different dialects of Indian with English sutitles, and that can be kind of hard to get through, but about 45 minutes or so into the movie when the dialouge is mostly in English for the remainder of the film. Dev Patel and costar Rooney Mara have something in common. They've both starred in terrible films, but have redeemed themselves with Oscar nominated films. (Patel was in that garbage "Last Airbender" movie, and Mara was in the most recent "Fantastic Four" remake and "Pan", but has starred in "The Martian which I liked.) This deserves the Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay awards it won. I agree with some critics that some parts of the film moved at a slow pace, but in my opinion the emotion portrayed in those scenes far outweighs the slow pace. The film is emotional and nearly made me cry. It's an absolutely fantastic and brilliant piece of cinema. 

Grade; A+  10/10  5/5 stars

Boss Baby

Sadly, this wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. It was still pretty good, just not the laugh riot I was expecting. It's still clever, but it's...a Dreamworks movie. You get what you expect when you hear Dreamworks. It was by no means a bad film. I actually quite enjoyed it, it just could have had a bit more effort thrown in to it. The plot is pretty clever (although some of it doesn't really make sense, but hey, it's a kids movie. It's supposed to be silly), the voice acting is pretty good (Especially from Alec Baldwin and Jimmy Kimmel), but overall I don't think most people will remember it in 5 years. It will probably be the same case that it was with "Over the Hedge" or "Shark Tale" where when you mention it people will say "Oh yeah...that came out..." Still a pretty good, cute, harmless kids movie (kids will definetely enjoy it) but overall, not very memorable. The film has some really cute moments, and there were some jokes that I laughed at, but it wasn't as good as the trailers made it seem. 

Grade: B   8/10   3.5/5 stars

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

I was extremely skeptical about this movie. I actually thoght the people who saw it opening weekend were suckers. Why would I see a movie that I already own, just with a different cast? Why should I support this extremely blatant cashgrab? But after literally almost everyone I know raving about how amazing and marvelous it was, I finally decided "Well, I haven't really heard anything bad about it. I'll give it a chance.", and I'm glad I did. This was amazing! Everything from the sets, to the costumes, to the CGI, to the acting was marvelous. I dare say that in some ways it was even better than the original. I try to keep my reviews spoiler free, but unfortunately mild spoilers are needed in this review so I can give specific reasons why I thonk this is superior to the animated one, so if you don't want spoilers stop reading now.

Some complaints that most people had with the animated version were:

"Why does the witch curse the beast when he was a child and was only following stranger danger rules?"

"Why did all the servants get cursed too? They were innocent!"

"Why does everyone turn their nose up at Belle for reading of all things?"

Here's what happened. This version makes more sense and that is why I think this one is superior.

It begins with the Beast (as a human) as a young adult and he is at a ball with potential suitors one of whom will be his wife. Big age difference. The line in "Be Our Guest" changes from "For 10 years we have been rusting," to "For so long we have been rusting."

The servants were cursed because after the Beast's mom the queen died, his father became cruel and abusive, and the servants got cursed because they just stood by and watched. (Which doesn't make much sense either, but it's better than the "Because they just happened to be there" reason in the original)

Everyone is a jerk to Belle because they are illilterate, so it doesn't make sense for her to read.

The songs were awesome! I had no idea Emma Watson had such an amazing voice. Ewan McGregor still can't do accents, but his singing is still pretty good. Dan Stevens (The Beast) should be on Broadway, because he has some impressive singing chops. Luke Evans (Gaston) doesn't sound brutish enough, which is one aspect where the animated is slightly better, but they made up for that by making him a creepy stalker, so it balances out. Josh Gad....oh boy....well,....he does his typical schtick. I don't like it, but I know what I'm getting. He has one character. He's not good, but I knew what I was getting going in to it.  As much as I hate to say it, I'm actually quite excited for the next Disney live action remakes. Are they unneccesary? Yes. Will they be good? Who knows, but if they do what they did here, I think they will be. 

Grade: A-    9/10     4/5 stars

Kong: Skull Island

Man, oh man, was this movie fun! While I liked Peter Jackson's version, this definetly blows it out of the water! It's totally epic! I'm surprised this wasn't released in the summer, because it's definely got that summer blockbuster feel. One criticism people had with 2014's "Godzilla" was that it moved too slowly and took forever for Godzilla to actually show up, and I agree. This fixes that mistake by showing Kong in the opening scene to tide us over, and then doing the buildup. The tone and feel of this movie reminded me of "Indiana Jones." It's a fun island survival movie. In my opinion, one thing "Godzilla" suffered from was the human characters just weren't that interesting. That was not the case here. The characters are written very well, with clear goals and conflicts. The scale of Kong and the island as a whole are impressively huge. Do not watch this movie on your phone. Watch it on the biggest screen possible with an epic sound system for full immersion. Keep in mind the movie, in my opinion, really pushes the PG-13 rating. Some of the violence and deaths can get really brutal. Yet it still manages to balance it out with humor. (Particularly from John C. Reilly's character.) Godzilla had a very dark, bleak, and overall depressing and hopeless tone. (Although those monster fight sequences were awesome!!!!!) This has an action movie tone and is extremely intense at times. Some of the creatures they came up with for the island are really cool, and definetely not stuff I felt I had seen before. It's impressive that a movie that's been remade and redone again and again and again since the 30's still manages to bring something new to the table, while also retaining that classic feel. 

Grade: A-  9/10  4/5 stars

Masterminds

It's a shame this didn't do so well with critics or box office. I thought this was a great movie! I've been a fan of Jared Hess' work since "Napoleon Dynamite", and "Nacho Libre". He has yet to let me down and this film did not disappoint. I wasn't really sure what to expect considering this was delayed twice and was only in my local movie theaters for 2 weeks at most. My expectations weren't super low, but I was cautious. I figured at most it would be "meh." The fact that it did not do well has nothing to do with the quality of the film. I have a feeling in about 20 years or so, it will be a cult classic comedy. I was laughing so hard throughout most of this movie. There were times where I was missing dialougue and trying to pay attention, because I was still laughing at a joke from 2 minutes ago. I can only imagine the conversation the director had to have with the real people of this film, since it is based on a true story. "I'm going to turn your life story into a comedy, ok?" That was either incredibly embarassing, or they were cool with it. The film builds up pretty quickly and just gets crazier and crazier, and even more hilarious as it goes on. I wouldn't consider this a "smart" comedy, but if you're looking for a way to kill 90 minutes or you're into turn-off-your-brain screwball comedies, you'll probably enjoy this. It's a hidden gem worth searching for.
Grade: A-   9/10  4/5 stars

Pete's Dragon (2016)

86% fresh on the Tomatometer?! Either these critics weren't watching the same movie I did or they so blinded by nostalgia for the original they didn't care that the is absolute garbage! Not since Fantastic Four in 2015 have a been so angry at a movie and begged for the credits. The credits were a sweet, sweet mercy. The main problem was they remade a musical, but took away all the songs. So as a result they had to write more plot, but this plot is so buthchered and hackneyed from the original, I couldn't even recoginize this as the same story. One problem most audiences had with the movie when the trailer came out was "The dragon has fur." I don't have a problem with that. We don't know what dragons look like. What I did have a problem with was they made the dragon too doglike. We've seen this "It's not a dog but it has doglike qualities" thing over and over. It's been done to death. "Meet the Robinsons" did this with the dinosaur. "Hercules" did it with Pegasus. Even "How to Train Your Dragon" already did this. This film stole from "How to Train Your Dragon". If you're going to give it doglike qualities, just make it a dog. Another problem was the plot. It's the stupid liberal, hippie, environmentalist "Save the Forest" propaganda that kids' movies these days seem to love hitting us over the head with. We get it: Humans are bad. We've had that idea progressively drilled more in more into our minds since "Avatar" came out and now it's getting annoying. The original did not have this level of stupidity. And the invisibility powers of the dragon only seem to work when the plot calls for it. When they're searching for him in the forest, he can disappear no problem. Once he's been captured, suddenly they don't work anymore but of course when he escapes they work again. You have rules. Stick to them. Not even the acting of the talented cast could save this movie. The writing and plot are just too awful. I'm sorry to make a pun but the movie does drag-on. The filmmakers should do as the dragon does and disappear.
Grade: F.  0/10. 0/5 stars