Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Four teenagers get sucked into a video game and must beat the game in order to get home before losing their lives.

This was a very clever, very creative new adaptation of the original movie. It will be especially endearing to those that grew up playing early NES style video games like The Legend of Zelda. In fact younger viewers who are unfamiliar with the limited technology of those early gamers may not entirely get all of the subtle humor and references. That being said, it is very entertaining and unlike the original Jumanji (1995) the CGI in this new version is very well done and doesn't look like it was pasted onto the film.

A little long at one hour and fifty nine minutes, but paced well enough to keep the audience engaged.

** 1/2 Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence, crude humor and language) 

Wonder Wheel

A young girl returns to the house of her estranged parents in 1950's Coney Island. Her unexpected arrival changes the subtle dynamics of the household.

Woody Allen is always at his best when not in front of the camera and this is no exception. The story is tragic, about tragic people, in tragic circumstances and the tricks we play on ourselves to cope and find happiness even if fleeting.

Admittedly this probably isn't for everyone and has a very slow pace that makes the running time of one hour and forty one minutes seem much longer than it actually is.  There are scenes of long running dialogue that are more play-like than cinematic which may put off some viewers. When all is said and done, it is a character piece and the development on screen is slow, brutal, and ugly which somehow translates into something beautiful.

**1/2 Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for thematic elements and language) 

Ferdinand

Ferdinand is loosely based on the children's book Ferdinand the Bull (1936), written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson.

This liberal adaptation is cute albeit forgettable. With a running time of one hour and forty seven minutes it strays from the original story quite a bit and may find parents getting restless as it drags.

Although now that Blue Sky is technically a Disney company, it is still worth suggesting that one check out Walt Disney's Oscar winning short Ferdinand the Bull (1938) as it is a perfect adaptation of the book and has a running time of less than eight minutes.

** Rentable

Rated PG (for some peril and rude humor) 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi...

Spectacular, exhilarating moments wrapped in a mediocre storyline. This is fun and greatly entertaining but the narrative drags and the humor seems slightly out of place, more at home in our galaxy than theirs perhaps. The plot is weak, the pacing is off and there are several holes. Overall it has an odd vibe, that being said it was light years ahead of any of the prequels.

Fun but unfulfilling.

** Must See for all Star Wars Fans

Rated PG-13 (for violence and language) 

Just Getting Started

I don't remember the last time I was this antsy or this bored in a movie theatre...it never gets started.

* Not A Chance

Rated PG-13 (for crude humor and language) 

The Man Who Invented Christmas

A fun twist on a familiar tale. Based on true events, this is a clever story about what writing A Christmas Carol might have been like for famed Charles Dickens.

Well cast and for fans of the original work and/or any of the countless films that have adapted the story to the screen this is one that you won't want to miss.

*** Must See

Rated PG (for thematic elements)

Coco

Completely unexpected!

Super cute, charming and enchanting, the new Disney~Pixar film focuses on family history and the importance of not forgetting those that have come before us, suggesting that families are truly forever.

**** Oscar Worthy

Rated PG (for thematic elements and death)

Justice League

Meh - it's fun eye candy.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence and language)

Wonder

True story based on the novel. This is such an uplifting, sweet, heartwarming story about selfless service and unconditional love. Great family film that will tug at the heartstrings of all ages.

***1/2  Must See

Rated PG (for mild language and thematic elements)

Daddy's Home 2

To be honest I am surprised I saw the original...let alone the sequel.

It is mindless slapstick - nothing memorable but you don't have to think either.

** Rentable 

Rated PG-13 (for language and suggestive material) 

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor is back! And for those of you that pretty much forgot or perhaps just blocked out the second installment of Thor as I did, it's all good.

The 3rd episode of the Thor saga is so much fun. Extremely reminiscent of the original Iron Man, it is very clever, very tongue in cheek, and very funny. The story itself moves along quickly and maintains the pace.

Fine holiday fun!

*** Must See

Rated PG-13(for language, violence and crude humor)

American Made

Barry Seal is a TWA pilot that moonlights as an amateur smuggler, bringing Cuban cigars into the USA through Canada. He is grudgingly recruited by the CIA to provide reconnaissance on burgeoning threats in Central America and soon finds himself in the middle of a covert CIA operation and the Medellin cartel.

Funny, sarcastic, dark comedy about real events that almost brought down the Reagan administration.

*** Must See

Rated R (for language and some sexuality/nudity)

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

After their headquarters destroyed and the world at risk, the Kingsman find allies in a similar US organization known as the Statesman.

Sadly predictable and completely forgettable.

** Rentable

Rated R (for strong language, violence and drug use)

The Hitman's Bodyguard

A former CIA turned professional bodyguard must transport a hitman to Holland so he can testify at the International Court of Justice.

This is really long - the set up alone took way too long and the storyline is very predictable.  The banter between Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson is pretty funny but not enough so to carry the whole movie.

** Rentable

Rated R (for gratuitous language, violence and crude humor)

Logan Lucky

Oceans 11 meets Raising Arizona

Bizarre quirky humor with a pacing all it's own.

*** 1/2 - Must See!

Rated PG-13 (for language and violence)

The Big Sick

A young couple's one night stand turns into an unexpected relationship that is cut short by family and a life threatening illness.

This true story of comedian Kumail Nanjiani is sweet and cleverly funny. Relatable to anyone with strong family and religious ties. Super Cute.



*** Must See

Rated R (for language and adult situations)

Spider-Man Homecoming

*** Must See
Rated PG-13 (for violence and language)

Beatriz at Dinner

Beatriz, a Mexican immigrant, has built a career as a health practitioner drawing on her kindness and sensitivity.  She collides with her antithesis, a self-indulging billionaire, at a wealthy clients' dinner party.

Horrifically gauche and unnervingly awkward this disconcerting dinner date falls flat.



** Rentable

Rated R (for language) 

Cars 3

Not nearly as memorable as the original but it makes up for Cars 2.

*** Must-See

Rated G

Wonder Woman

D.C. finally got it right!!


*** ½ Must-See!

Rated PG-13 (for violence and some suggestive innuendo) 

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Two young boys hypnotize their principal and transform him into Captain Underpants, the superhero from their homemade comic book.

This was somewhat disappointing.  I didn't ever read the books as a child, that being said, I expected something much more clever and heartfelt.

** Rentable for kids maybe

Rated PG (for bathroom humor and violence)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Well... I suppose it is the best of the forgettable sequels.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence and crude humor)

Baywatch

It's Baywatch...on a bigger screen.

* ½  Rentable if you really liked the TV series

Rated R (for language, vulgar humor, gratuitous violence, drug use and sex)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

After a botched heist, Quill and his crew find his long lost father and perhaps the true meaning of family.

Not as fun or memorable as the first, but it is entertaining.

*** A Must See for the comic crowd

Rated PG-13 (for violence, language and crude humor)

Snatched

An entitled millennial convinces her reluctant and anxious mother to join her on the exotic vacation to South American that she and her now ex-boyfriend were suppose to go on.

* Not-A-Chance

Rated R (for nudity, sex, drug use, language, crude humor and violence)

The Boss Baby

A seven-year-old boy has his happy life turned upside down by the arrival of an unforeseen nemesis - his baby brother.

** ½ Rentable

Rated PG (for mild crude humor) 

How to be a Latin Lover

A past-his-prime ladies' man moves in with his sister and her son after his wife leaves him for a younger man.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for crude humor and language)