Passengers

Passengers was an interesting idea that ended up really dropping the ball. I felt misled by the previews that made this story seem way more intriguing then what it ended up being.  A good chunk of the movie is Chris Pratt's character by himself, which seemed to drag on forever. Once some other characters were introduced it picked up a bit but not much. The one high action, turning point, within the film was pretty good but the purpose behind it was not what I had hoped for. It took a while to reveal this lackluster plot and because of that I found the move to be disappointing. If you are a fan of Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence, or Michael Sheen you could probably get through it, but for those looking for a little more quality I’d say it’s okay to miss this one. 

Jackie

Jackie is the historical account, through Jackie Kennedy’s perspective, of her life before and shortly after the assassination of her husband, JFK.

There were a lot of things that I didn’t know about Jackie Kennedy that I found very interesting after seeing this movie. She had a deep interest in history and had the foresight to make the necessary steps and sacrifices, after JFK's assassination, to forever solidify both of their names in the history books.

What I really appreciated about this movie was its authenticity and accuracy. I felt like the portrayal of Jackie Kennedy by Natalie Portman was spot on. I’m not a huge fan of Natalie Portman but I felt like she did a really great job on embodying Jackie through her speech and nature. Jackie was a complicated person and wasn’t the most pleasant but I respected the fact that it was a real portrayal and not dressed up differently for Hollywood purposes.

I think that overall this movie was a little slow and dry. This wasn’t one I wanted to see in theaters and was glad I saw it at home instead. Where it may have lacked slightly in entertainment value it made up for in the compelling acting of the historical context. For that reason I’d say, if you don’t know much about the aftermath of the assassination of JFK, it’s definitely something that should be seen so I would recommend checking it out.

Anthropoid

Anthropoid is the true World War II historical drama of two men within the self-exiled Czechoslovak army who were tasked to Operation Anthropoid, the mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, Hitler’s third in command and one of the most ruthless men of that time.

I wish I would have had a chance to catch this one in theaters. It was such an amazing and powerful story. The script did a great job of really getting you to know these characters and feel invested in their incredible struggle.

The main actors, Jamie Dornan who played Jan Kubis and Cillian Murphy who played Josef Gabcík had a great on screen partnership and were able to really tap into these men and their accounts.

The final few sequences were so intense that I was sitting on the edge of my seat because of how deeply invested I became in these characters.

This is a great story about determination in the face of the most incredible adversity of the 1940s. I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

Moonlight

Moonlight won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and Best Picture. It’s a story from childhood to adolescence to adulthood of a young Black man, who grows up in a tough neighborhood, while struggling with understanding his sexuality. His life is shaped by those who bully him and those who support him. This movie tries to bring awareness to some the struggles that are felt in the Black LGBT community.

This drama is cut in a gritty type of way and there is a cloud of sadness that engulfs it. I thought that the acting overall was really great, but with that being said, this movie isn’t going to be for everyone. Of all the movies that were nominated for Best Picture this year, I understand socially why this picture won, however I felt like there were some other great movies that could have won instead. For this one, I'd say it's worth checking out once but I don't think I'd watch it again.