Blockers

Blockers is a comedy starring Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, and John Cena. They play parents who discover their daughters have made a pact to have sex on prom night and take it upon themselves to try to stop them. 

I thought that this trio did a great job playing off of one another with no one outshining the other. I enjoyed Ike Barinholz, party dad, John Cena’s over protective tough dad with the soft side, and Leslie Mann’s uptight mom who is still trying to be best friends with the daughter role. Even through Leslie has been typecast in this role, having done it multiple times now, I still really enjoyed her in it.

The movie had a unique concept. I laughed throughout the entire thing and toward the end really enjoyed the heartfelt moments.

All of my favorite qualities in a comedy were in this movie. For someone looking for an adult comedy that is lighthearted, fun and a bit raunchy, this is the one for you.

Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name is a coming of age drama, based on the novel of the same name. It is the story of a young man who experiences falling in love for the first time. It’s set in 1980s Italy and follows Elio Perlman, a 17-year-old precocious, musical savant, living in Italy, and his father's 24-year-old American assistant, Oliver played by Armie Hammer. Elio is played by newcomer Timothée Chalamet.

At the latest Academy Awards, it won for Best Adapted Screenplay, and was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Chalamet) and Best Original Song. Because of these nominations I wanted to give this movie a shot. In the end, I don’t think it necessarily had the best screenplay. I appreciated the diverse plot-line and the tasteful presentation of the love affair, but it was slow moving. Toward the end it got more interesting but I was never fully captivated.

I did think that Timothée Chalamet did a nice job portraying the young Elio, figuring out who he was as a person and understanding his sexuality. I’m not a huge fan of Armie Hammer but I felt like he wasn't a distraction, neither tried to outdo the other; they worked well together. Additionally, the soundtrack was pretty good and appropriate for the time period. I also thought that the landscaping was vast, lush and beautiful. But, those qualities alone could not save this move. The movie wasn't terrible but for me it just was missing something to really bring me in and because of that I would not think about seeing it again.

A Quite Place

A Quite Place is the story of a family that is trying to survive an alien invasion that has wiped out the majority of the human population. Set in 2020, the aliens hunt by sound so it makes for an eerily quiet film. 

Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, real life husband and wife, play parents who are doing everything in their power to protect their family. Both he and Emily Blunt did a fantastic job, with very little dialogue, portraying a wide range of emotions. It was quite captivating.

The move was promoted as a horror film but I wouldn’t really call it a typical horror film. I would say that it’s a well-made suspenseful drama. From the beginning of the film all the way until the end you are on the edge of your seat, wondering what is going to happen next.

John Krasinski wrote, directed and starred in this movie which is no easy feat. This movie had a creative premise, a well written script, and above all else compelling acting from everyone involved.

The only thing that this movie was missing was a more satisfying ending. I felt like the film was cut short, it was only an hour and 35 minutes. I left wanting a bit more. I think if they extended it about 20 minutes, it could have been even better. With that said, however, I still think it was a really great movie.