The Secret Life of Pets

The Secret Life of Pets is a super cute animated movie about how pets behave when their owners leave the house. It follows a dog named Max who lives in Manhattan with his owner, Katie. When Katie goes to work he hangs out with his friends, other pets, in the building. One day Katie comes home with a new dog, Duke, whom becomes quite the disrupter to Max’s quite life. 

I thought that the story was engaging and the ending wrapped up nicely. The graphics were well done and I enjoyed and recognized most of the voice actors.

The only missteps were that it was a little long and I could have done without Kevin Hart’s voice, but overall a light-hearted, sometimes even funny movie. I’d recommend this one for anyone looking for something heartfelt and family friendly.

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange is the origin story for Marvel character Dr. Stephen Strange. A neurosurgeon turned space and time manipulating sorcerer. 

I was impressed with the cast, it starred some really well-known, respected actors including Benedict Cumberbatch as the main character, along with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benjamin Bratt, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton. They all did a really great job working with each other, I just didn’t really like the character of Doctor Strange. He’s kind of an anti-hero. His whole persona is arrogance and selfishness. On top of all of that the jokes were dry and I didn’t find them to be particularly funny.

This is one of my least favorite Marvel movies. The effects were a more extreme version of Inception and the story-line was sort of hard to follow. This is one that I’m glad I saw to get some background to some of the future Marvel movies but it’s not one that I would see again.

I Love You, Beth Cooper

I Love You, Beth Cooper is the story of a high school student, who wasn’t very popular, and on graduation day decides to make himself memorable by declaring his love for the most popular girl in school, Beth Cooper. Little does he know that she decides to take him up on his declaration and offers to show him the best time of his life. 

I wanted to check out this movie because I was looking for something funny. I also like Hayden Panettiere, who played the title role, in her newest project, so I wanted to give this one a chance.

Little did I know how terrible this movie would be. It was bad from the beginning. I just sat there hoping it would get better, which it never did. Instead, it actually got worse. It wasn’t funny at all, the plot didn’t make any sense, as it got later in the film it just got more obnoxious and the acting was terrible. I would not recommend anyone waste their time watching this movie.

Waterworld

Waterworld is the fictional story of what would happen if all the ice caps melted and the world flooded. It stars Kevin Costner and Jeanne Tripplehorn, two actors that I have enjoyed over the year, so I decided to give this movie a shot. 

This movie turned out to be far from the quality of a Costner hit like The Bodyguard or even one of my favorite HBO shows staring Tripplehorn, Big Love. I remember hearing that they went over in the movie budget and that the ticket sales couldn’t cover it, now I know why. The hair and costumes were overkill, the soundtrack was terrible, the script was poorly written, the CGI in some parts looked really cheap, it was unnecessarily misogynistic, and parts of the plot made zero sense. The movie was almost 3 hours long and there really wasn’t enough content to even warrant the time. Overall a terrible movie. Honestly, I knew better, but I guess I couldn’t help myself. Save yourself the 3 hours of torture and just avoided this one.

Silence of the Lambs

Silence of the Lambs stars Jodie Foster as FBI trainee, Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Agent Starling is tasked with interviewing “Hannibal the Cannibal” in the hopes of gaining information from him to capture another wanted serial killer that is on the loose, Buffalo Bill. 

I never saw this movie in the past because I thought it would fall more within the gory, horror genera but I was wrong. This is definitely more of a 90s classic psychological thriller. It was cool to see a young Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in their 1991 Academy Award winning film. Both did a phenomenal acting job. The script was well written, the plot was interesting, and there was a lot of suspense.

Obviously because it was made over 20 years ago there were some parts that looked lower quality but overall a very interesting film. If you haven’t seen this movie already, I’d recommend checking it out.

12 Rounds

12 Rounds stars John Cena as New Orleans cop, Danny Fisher & Game of Thrones actor, Aidan Gillen as criminal, Miles Jackson. In the film Miles blames Danny for the death of his girlfriend so in an effort to get revenge, he takes Danny's girlfriend, Molly, and then forces Danny to go through 12 deadly rounds in the hopes of saving her.

This movie had the same feel as typical 90s action movie, like a Die Hard or a Speed. This was an early John Cena movie, so he didn't give as much range as he has now, but he did a good enough job with what he had to work with. The script wasn’t the best, how he got to the answers of some of the puzzles was unbelievable and some of the CGI was pretty terrible. Additionally, parts of the plot were also pretty predictable.

All in all, not the best move ever but not the worst. If you are looking for something to just veg out on that doesn’t require a lot of brainpower or thought, maybe check this one out.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is loosely based on the novel of the same title. The plot is centered on a dystopian future after a second Civil War in the United States. The fire fighters are now the law and order. They are tasked limiting the knowledge of the public through censorship by burning books instead of dousing fires.

I never read this book in high school but I knew roughly what it was about so I wanted to check it out. I thought that the plot was really interesting and could definitely be something that could happen in the future. Additionally, the acting was pretty good, with the star power of Michael B Jordan and Michael Shannon.

Where the movie dropped the ball for me was in its delivery of the story. I thought that it was rushed, that there were pieces missing and that they should have divulged a little deeper with the character development. Also, I thought that end was a bit weird and turns out it wasn’t the same way the book ended. Because of these things it was easy to tune out and I would say that this is one that can be skipped.

Coco

Coco follows Miguel, a young boy who has to hide his love music because of his families generational ban on music. His life takes an interesting turn when accidentally ends up in the Land of the Dead where he is able to uncover his families true history.

I normally don’t watch animated movies nor musicals, but chose to make an exception for this one. This movie had a lot of great reviews when it had come out. It’s the first Disney/Pixar film with an all Mexican led cast. The movie portrays authentic Mexican culture by giving you a little insight into Día de Muertos. I thought that the movie was visually appealing. The cinematography was full of vibrant, bright colors. I also thought that the story was well told and engaging. Additionally, the soundtrack was also quite catchy and appropriate for the theme.

All in all, I thought that this was a very well made and enjoyable family-friendly film. This is absolutely one I would recommend everyone checking out.

You Again

You Again is the story of Marni, a woman who has come a long way since high school where she was bullied incessantly by the most popular girl in school. When her brother announces that he is getting married she realizes that the woman he is planning to wed is the very same girl who bullied her so many years ago. She then decides to take it upon herself to protect her brother by doing whatever it takes to stop their wedding.

I thought that this movie was a super cute chick flick. It’s a female driven story with some really well respected actors including Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, and Betty White. They all did a great job playing off of each other.

There were some parts that were a bit awkward that could have been cut out but overall I thought it was a really nice story about family and forgiveness. I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a fun and lighthearted chick flick.

Deadpool 2

In the second installment of the Deadpool franchise, Deadpool 2 picks up where the first one ends. It follows Deadpool as he comes upon challenges that force him to decide what type of mutant he wants to be, an anti-hero or a superhero.

I was really excited to see this one because I loved the first one so much. This movie had a great musical score, I thought it was cosmetically well placed and eclectic. The plot was engaging and not entirely predictable. I also thought that the post credit scenes were really funny and probably the most humbling part of the entire film. I also liked that they did include some additional X-Men cameos.

Throughout the movie it had the same hyperaware, raunchy, self-deprecating humor as the original. Although I enjoyed it, it didn’t have the same punch that the original had. The original actually caught me off guard and generated real hearty laughs. This one didn’t quite provide that same amount of unbridled hilarity. Additionally, there were parts that were really over the top that I think could have been cut out.

Even though this movie was a bit of a disappointment, because it appears the franchise is turning into a one trick pony, I will say that it was still enjoyable. The parts that I liked still outweighed the parts that I didn't like. So if you liked the first one, I'd say still give this one a shot, just come in knowing it’s not going to entirely live up to the original.