vrsmith

[vrsmith]

Materialists

This film had an unusual concept about a modern day matchmaker. Who knew that this type of service existed? Apparently for the wealthy it does. Dakota Johnson played a successful one who worked in a high end business. The end goal was of course to have her matches get married, not necessarily for love, but for the best business proposition. The story gets complicated as she meets a prospect, Pedro Pascal, who is a “10” meaning he checks all of the boxes, but her real love is a struggling actor (Chris Evans). Dakota Johnson seems to portray shallow people well.

[vrsmith]

The Life of Chuck

This was a very original film. The Life of Chuck started out towards the end and worked its way back to when Chuck was a youngster. I loved that the movie highlighted Chuck’s love of dance. The dance sequences were pretty awesome. First we saw Chuck dancing as an adult, then we experienced his love of dance when he was much younger because of his grandma. As this was a Stephen King story, it definitely had a few twilight zone moments.

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The Phoenician Scheme

A Wes Anderson film was The Phoenician Scheme. This director has a truly recognizable style, which is his alone. This film had humor and an ensemble cast that included big names like Tom Hanks. The main character was played by Benicio del Toro. Did I like this film? Eh. It was a bit draggy for me but again, you have to appreciate the director’s choices.

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Karate Kid: Legends

Don’t worry if you have either never seen a Karate Kid movie or don’t remember the plot if you have. You will not be lost. This is a new story. I enjoyed this movie. It had heart, and lots of action. The characters were likable and they had chemistry with one another. Jackie Chan was a Karate master. Ralph Macchio was another master. Together they coached Ben Wang to become good enough to defeat the reigning champion of a local NYC Fight championship. Of course, there was a love interest and her father who were also important to the plot. This was a feel good movie which sometimes we just need.

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Mission Impossible- Final Reckoning

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt… The movie was exciting; as I would expect it to be. It’s part of the Mission Impossible franchise which has not disappointed me yet. The plot of course is preposterous; but I would expect it to be. The team has to race the clock to keep an entity from destroying the planet. I am amazed of the stunts that Cruise does on his own. There was a fabulous biplane fight with him hanging on in mid-air. The film was long, but did not feel it.

[vrsmith]

Rebel with a Clause

What a sweet, funny, and enjoyable documentary film this was. Rebel With a Clause was born on a Manhattan sidewalk. Ellen Jovin, a huge fan of grammar, set up a folding table and a sign saying, “Grammar Table”. This started her 50 state quest to talk to people from all over the country about grammar. Her husband filmed the journey. Ellen was a delightful and knowledgeable person to talk to and she received much joy from interacting with people. The film captured many funny moments. There was also a sense of no matter what political or religious leanings the public had, grammar was a unifying factor.

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The Ballad of Wallis Island

This was the most delightful film I have seen all year. The premise is that a wealthy recluse of a man (Tim Key) who is obsessed with a small defunct indie folk musical group whose two band members played by Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden are lured to his island to play a gig. The band mates were former lovers who split years before. The movie takes you through a heartfelt emotional journey with humor, and original songs.

[vrsmith]

The Friend

The Friend was a small movie, but I felt like there was a lot going on here. On the surface, it was about a writer (Naomi Watts) who inherits her friend’ s dog (a 150 pound Great Dane). There were many reasons why she did not want the dog, or could not even have the dog in her NY apartment legally. The friend was Bill Murray, who had committed suicide. He had many ex wives and girlfriends who were also part of the cast. It was a watchable film. I loved the dog, who had a personality which came across very clearly. He grieved, just like a human. You could see it in his eyes. Honestly, the dog was an absolute gem and for me was the best part. Once he appeared, he was in all of the subsequent scenes. So was the “Friend” the human friend or the dog friend?

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Thunderbolts *

A blockbuster Marvel film, Thunderbolts* was playing in practically all of the screens at the theater. Superhero movies are not my thing, but this was an entertaining and fun. And it barely cracked the two hour mark. So many of these films are so long. I appreciated the length here. The plot had a few misfit superheroes coming together to fight a crooked politician (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). There were a couple of humorous moments, but I wanted more of that.

[vrsmith]

The Accountant 2

Part buddy comedy as Ben Affleck employs the help of his volatile brother played by John Bernthal, and part action thriller, The Accountant 2 was a fun ride. This was a sequel, but I had no recollection of the first film, so it did not matter. There was a murder, and the boys along with the US treasury deputy director went on a quest which included lots of mayhem.

[vrsmith]

Sinners

As I live in a town that offers little to no indie films, I opted to see Sinners, a highly rated film that overlapped multiple genres. A thriller- yes. I felt high anxiety fearing for the lives of characters. A mystery- yes. There existed an ancient foreboding puzzle that was to affect future generations. Horror- yes. Spoiler alert: the movie turned into a vampire tale with blood and destruction. The vampire part was actually fun. I’m a fan from way back watching Dark Shadows on tv when I was little. This film even had music: blues and traditional Irish songs. This was worth seeing.

[vrsmith]

The Amateur

Exciting movie that starred Rami Malek as an unlikely hero seeking revenge on his wife’s killer(s). He was a data guy and was uber smart. He worked in a basement office for the CIA. When his wife was randomly killed by terrorists in London, he set out on his journey. Laurence Fishburne attempted to train him to kill. The film followed a usual path for this genre, but it was entertaining.

[vrsmith]

The Penguin Lessons

Finally, a movie that is uplifting in the theaters. I am happy to say that Penguin Lessons fits this bill. Based on a true incident, a man teaching English at a private school in Argentina in 1976, happens upon a distressed penguin covered in oil. Rescuing it, the penguin follows his rescuer and the man was “stuck” with him. Of course, the penguin grows on him. The story has a few other plot nuances, as the setting of the story happens during political unrest. See this film for a mood enhancer.

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Black Bag

I will probably rewatch Black Bag at some point because I think I missed some details. This film was complicated for me. It centered around British special operations agents, two who were married to each other. Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender were the couple. The plot centered around finding out who the traitor was in the group of five who were implicated. Fassbender was tasked with finding out who that was but one of the five was his wife. This was an intelligent film.

[vrsmith]

Last Breath

Last Breath was based on a true story about an underwater rescue. It played out like a thriller. A ship that contains divers in the North Sea was tasked with going to the sea floor to repair something down there. God knows why the mission went forward considering the storm that they were in. So of course things went very wrong. This was pretty extraordinary of a rescue. The film was short and exciting.

[vrsmith]

My Dead Friend Zoe

Interesting drama maybe comedy sort of? The film had very serious undertones with the actors dealing with serious subjects such as PTSD, Alzheimer’s, and death. The story follows a young war veteran who sees her best friend Zoe even though Zoe has passed on. This phenomenon stops her from moving on with her life. She resists help from a veteran’s therapy group led by Morgan Freeman. Her grandfather, played by Ed Harris needs help as his health is failing, and he is a stubborn war veteran himself. This synopsis does not do the movie justice. It was actually a lot more captivating.

[vrsmith]

The Unbreakable Boy

The film seemed like a cliche, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Based on a real life family, the story centered on a married couple, whose son, named Austin, has autism and a bone disease. Austin had a younger brother also. The couple struggled financially and emotionally. Without giving away plot lines, I will let you know that it was heartwarming. I rarely cry in theaters, but this one touched me.