Going In Style

Plot:

Seniors Willie (Morgan Freeman), Joe (Michael Caine), and Albert (Alan Arkin) have hit some very rough times and decide they've had enough! Their plan? Rob a bank. 

Pros:

•Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin were absolutely delightful. I've always been a fan of all three. It looks like they were having a blast filming this. 

•Going into this I thought it would mostly a comedy and while it is very funny, there were some touching moments as well. 

•Very interesting and relevant social commentary. I think there's something in here that everyone can relate to, no matter how old you are. 

•A great movie to take your parents or grandparents to. 

•Until the credits rolled, I had no idea that Zach Braff had directed this. When given the right material he's actually a decent director. He's good with actors and keeps thing moving at a nice pace. 

Cons:

•Doesn't really have too many surprises. I was pretty much able to predict most of what happened. 

•Poor Christopher Lloyd. It's sad to see what he's become. Luckily his role in this is very small. 

My Rating: 8/10

The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism

Plot:

Documentary about the American Impressionist movement, featuring the works of many artists from that time. 

Pros:

•I kind of like movies like this and what they try to do. If you've always wanted to visit museums and see many of these beautiful paintings but don't have the time or the money, you're in luck. They bring them to you on the big screen and make you feel like you're there. 

•Extremely gorgeous looking movie. Not only the paintings but the locations as well. 

•Keeps it short. The whole movie is barely an hour and a half. 

Cons:

•Doesn't really offer any new information about that time period. 

•Unless you're a big art fan, I can't really recommend you see this in theaters. It's not bad by any means but unless you're into the subject, it can come across as very dull. 

My Rating: 7/10

Frantz

Plot:

Following WWI, a young German woman named Anna (Paula Beer) is mourning the loss of her fiancé. One day she meets a mysterious Frenchman (Pierre Niney) who has been visiting her fiancé's grave. 

Pros:

•This is one of the most beautiful looking films I've seen in awhile. Most of it is in black & white but there's a handful of scenes in color spread throughout. The director did a flawless job transitioning from one to the other. 

•Very well written and heartbreaking story. 

•I thought it was interesting and insightful the way they showed the effects WWI had on both the Germans and the French. 

•Outstanding performances by both lead actors. 

•Wasn't as predictable as I thought it might be. I thought I had the twist all figured out but when it's revealed I was like "Oh shit. It all makes sense now."

Cons:

•Dragged a little bit towards the end. If they had just cut maybe 10 minutes it would've been a damn near flawless movie. 

My Rating: 9/10

Gifted

Plot:

Frank (Chris Evans) is raising his niece Mary (Mckenna Grace), a child prodigy. Suddenly he's thrown into a custody battle with his mother (Lindsay Duncan). 

Pros:

•Mckenna Grace is by far the best part of this movie. She's only 10 but she's quite a good actress. Very funny as well and not in that obnoxious way like many child actors are. I got a few genuine laughs during some of her scenes. She and Chris Evans worked very well together. 

•Speaking of Chris Evans, he once again gives a good performance. I totally understand him wanting to do a quieter role like this. 

•Marc Webb is a fairly competent director. Yes I know he did the Amazing Spider-Man movies but all the issues they had were not his fault. 

•Some really gorgeous shots. 

•Short and moves at a good pace which I always appreciate. The whole movie is only about and hour and forty minutes. 

Cons:

•Extremely predictable. If you've seen the trailer you can pretty much guess how it'll all turn out. 

•While I thought the story was very sweet and had some genuinely touching moments, I felt like they played it way too safe. There's so much more they could've done with it. 

•Aside from Mckenna Grace and Chris Evans, the characters were very one dimensional. 

•Most of the movie was filmed well but for some reason there were a few scenes where March Webb chose to use a handheld camera (orbit seemed like he did). Very distracting and made me nauseous. I wanted to yell at the screen, "Oh for fucks sake!! Keep the camera still!"

•The courtroom scenes, while not the worst I've seen, felt like something from those made for TV movies I use to watch in the 90s all the time. 

•The whole love interest subplot with Mary's teacher added absolutely nothing to the story. 

•While a decent enough movie, it's not something I'd say you should see in theaters. This would be something I would normally watch on a Sunday afternoon if it was on tv and I was in the mood for a drama. 

My Rating: 7.5/10

The Fate of the Furious (IMAX)

Plot:

A mysterious woman (Charlize Theron) gets Dom (Vin Diesel) to betray his family. 

Pros:

•This is going to be a pretty short review. Honestly what can I say that I haven't already said in my reviews of the other movies. If you're a fan of this franchise like I am than you're going to like this one too. It's a Fast & the Furious movie. You know exactly what you're getting. It doesn't try to be more than what it is and I respect them for that. 

•The car scenes and action was well shot. 

•Jason Statham was by far my favorite part of the movie. I loved the banter between him and The Rock. Very funny. If Vin Diesel ever decides to leave the franchise again I'd totally be okay with a movie about the two of them. 

Cons:

•While certainly not the worst out of all the movies, it's not the best either. At least with the other movies, as dumb and over the top as they are, I kind of knew what was going on as far as the "plot". Here, there were VERY long periods of time where I had no idea what the fuck was happening. I just sat there watching one mind numbing action/explosion scene after the other. It got tiring. 

•Paul Walker really was the heart of this franchise. He's presence was greatly missed here. 

•I've come through accept that this is now a superhero franchise. There's no other explanation for the shit these characters are able to pull off. Somewhere there's a deleted scene that explains how they got their powers. I'm sure of it. 

•The dialog in this one seemed even worse than usual. I laughed when the written by credit came on the screen. 

•I won't spoil the reason Dom goes "rogue". All I'll say is I literally yelled are you fucking kidding me at the screen. It was some serious soap opera bullshit. 

My Rating: 7.5/10

Kedi

Plot:

Documentary about a group of stray domestic cats in Istanbul and the impact they have on the people around them. 

Pros:

•I tend to avoid any kind of animal movie because I always end up sobbing and feeling depressed afterward. But I heard about this one awhile back and it had me curious. To my relief, this was a very happy movie that I think all animal lovers will enjoy. It's a very fascinating story showing you just how much cats are loved and respected over in that part of the world. 

•Tons of adorable cats! What's not to like? I lost count of how many times I said awww during this. 

•Beautiful locations. 

Cons:

•A little too short. It's barely an hour and twenty minutes. I would've liked to see them go a bit further with this. 

•There really is no one specific plot. It just shows you the everyday lives of these cats. While I was completely okay with this, some people might not like this. 

My Rating: 9/10