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