Overboard

A remake of the 1987 movie Overboard, starring Goldie Hawn and Kirk Russell.

This remake falls pitifully short of its predecessor. In spite of its attempt to make it fresh with the gender twist it never comes close. In fact most of the dialogue is taken verbatim from the original script. The comedy falls flat, and the two leads are annoying and never have any believable chemistry which is part of what made the original so much fun.

* Not-a-Chance

Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content) 

Life of the Party

A forty-something womans' life is turned upside down when her husband unexpectedly demands a divorce. In an attempt to reboot her life she goes back to college to finish up her senior year...along side her daughter.

Surprisingly tame for a Melissa McCarthy comedy, albeit totally forgettable. It has a couple of laugh out loud moments, good timing, and decent pacing. That being said, nothing spectacular here.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content) 

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story tells the back story to the reluctant hero Han Solo.

Such a disappointment! I was so looking forward to this installment of the Star Wars spin offs as I absolutely LOVED Rogue One – it ranks number two on my list, second only to The Empire Strikes Back, and beating out Star Wars: A New Hope.  So I was expecting this film to deliver the same kind of wallop. Sadly it was somewhat of a letdown.  Let me explain why:

Han Solo is first and foremost a self-proclaimed scoundrel.  He is a smuggler that unwillingly gets involved in a rebellion that he cares nothing about.  He is selfish, arrogant and only loves money.  So the prospect of seeing what he was up to before he is introduced to Luke Skywalker and company is exciting.  In Star Wars: A New Hope (the original and unadulterated version) our introduction to who Captain Solo is and what kind of persona and character our heroes have just put their trust in, takes place in the cantina, first he isn’t intimidated or threatened by the presence of Storm Troopers, and second, Han kills Greedo, the bounty hunter without hesitation or apology (for anything other than the mess).  This is our guy – the outlaw.

In Solo,  the time line that is set up leaves much to be desired as there is not a fulfilling character arch that successfully takes our would-be-hero from a "Peter Panesque Aladdin" to the "Outlaw".  It is reminiscent of the pitiful arch of Anakin Skywalker – did anyone ever once believe that the whiny kid on screen became Darth Vader??  It’s kind of the same thing here. I never bought that this guy became the murdering, selfish, arrogant, money loving scoundrel we all know. Not to put too fine of a point on this, but without this arch, Hans’ return to save Luke from Darth Vader at the end of Star Wars: A New Hope isn’t redemption and then becomes somewhat predictable and trite robbing us of what it originally was intended to be – emancipation.  

The key relationships, specifically Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian are also jarring, they all meet for the first time in this story– again considering the time line, this episode seems to takes place succinctly right before Star Wars: A New Hope, which is odd considering that Han informs us in The Empire Strikes Back that “We go way back, Lando and me.”  Leading us to believe they have a much more lengthy and in depth history.  Also it seems that the two most recent Star Wars installments have had a hard time navigating the humor, vernacular and vocabulary that most of us have come to accept existed a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (as corny and on the nose as it may be) and cross the line into a more Marvelesque type of world.  Even if it gets a laugh, it takes the audience out of the force field – pun intended – that allows us to be a part of this world.

Overall I was totally underwhelmed.

** ½  It’s Star Wars, you know you’re going to go see it.

Rated PG-13 (for violence and mild language)

Book Club

Four life-long friends gather once a month to catch up and discuss their recent read. When it is Vivians' turn to pick a new book, she attempts to shake things up by selecting, Fifty Shades of Grey.  As the friends read the book they start to examine their own lives and begin making some bold new life choices.

Nothing spectacular here other than the cast. The story is weak, full of holes and drably predictable. That being said, there was something semi-sweet to the whole production. Perhaps it was the 70-80 year old women playing 65 year olds (Mary Steenburgen is the only one that actually is 65)...who knows? Nevertheless it wasn't horrible, it wasn't good either - not uncomfortable enough to be rated NC-50...but it was close.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content) 

Deadpool 2

The foul-mouthed mutant mercenary returns, this time to battle the time traveling cyborg, Cable.

Deadpool 2 certainly doesn't take itself seriously or any other movie for that matter as it makes fun of itself and most pop culture, specifically the comic book genre, as it bounces along its gratuitously vehement way.

Gruesomely vulgar, atrocious language, ferociously crude, and excessive violence all adds up to wickedly funny.

**1/2 Don't take the Kids!

Rated R (for language, violence, gore, and callous sexual content)

I Feel Pretty

An insecure and self-conscious woman dreams of being beautiful, when she hits her head in a random spin cycle accident she thinks she has become the most beautiful woman in the world and this changes everything...

Meh. I am not an Amy Schumer fan and although this is a much tamer version of her, this is still a simple, albeit slightly tweaked, remake of Shallow Hal and not nearly as funny... and that's saying a lot.

The character arc is basically non-existent as we watch the sympathetic protagonist blink and become overly confident and arrogant. It speeds through a mediocre plot that screams "beauty is on the inside", while melodramatically pointing out that no one really cares about your insides.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for sexual content, partial nudity, and language)