Wonder Woman is wonderful

Movie Title:  Wonder Woman

Grade:  A-

Rating: PG-13, 141 minutes

In a Nutshell: I used to watch Wonder Woman on TV back when I was a little girl.  I loved it.  I thought she was beautiful, kind, and strong.  As a little girl, it made me feel like I could do almost anything. Yep, this superhero movie is about female empowerment, but it has a lot more than that.

I don’t know why it has taken this long to bring Wonder Woman to the Big Screen.  Maybe we were waiting for the perfect Gal Gadot.

This fun action flick has just the right amount of humor and Justice League magic.  Warner Brothers gives us an extremely entertaining summer popcorn blockbuster that gives Marvel a run for its money.  It’s part of a set up for Justice League and a planned trilogy for Wonder Woman.

Uplifting theme: 

• “If you see something wrong happening in the word, you can either do nothing or you can do something." - Steve Trevor (Chris Pine)
• “What one does, when faced with the truth, is more difficult than you would think.” – Diana/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot)
• “It is our sacred duty to defend the world.” –  Diana/Wonder Woman
• "Everyone is fighting their own battles, Diana, just as you're fighting yours." - Sameer
• “A promise is unbreakable.” - Diana
• "Only love can truly save the world." - Diana
• Love vs. hate, peace vs. war, humanity

Things I liked:

• Gal Gadot and Chris Pine are both gorgeous and awesome.  As Chris Pine’s character explains, “I am above average.”  Gal Gadot has the perfect accent to sound exotic.  As Sameer says about her, “OMG, that is a work of art.”  Eye candy for everyone.
• Great female stunt work.
• Some cool and fun slow-motion, as well as sped-up action sequences.
• Female director Patty Jenkins was going to film Wonder Woman back in 2005, but she became pregnant and the project was put on hold.  She said she was thrilled to be able to pick up the project again, because it was the movie she had been wanting to make her whole life.  She’s the first woman to direct a superhero film with a female protagonist.  We haven’t seen a female superhero since Electra in 2005.  It’s about time, right?
• Most of the CGI is very good, although it becomes a bit heavy towards the end.  Gal Gadot was actually 5 months pregnant during some of the filming, so they put green screen on her belly so they could remove the baby bump during post-production.
• I love it when the directors and producers put themselves in small cameo performances in their own films.  In this case, producer Zack Snyder shows up as a World War I soldier.
• Did you know this movie has been banned in Lebanon?  Gal Gadot is Israeli and even served in the military.
• Ah, romance.  I love that both Diana and Steve learn from each other and make one another better.
• I wish I had one of those truth lassos.
• It was cool to see the symbolism of light and color illustrated in man's world and that of Themyscera.
• The soundtrack was noticeably good.

Things I didn’t like:

• There are a couple of long, explanatory scenes to help you understand what’s going on.
• I wish Lynda Carter, the first TV Wonder Woman, could have made a cameo performance.  Apparently, she sings in cabarets and couldn’t fit it into her schedule.  She definitely should have made the time for her fans.
• The villain was pretty weak.

Interesting lines:

• “You let this little thing tell you what to do?” – Diana/Wonder Woman talking about Chris Pine’s watch.
• “You know that if you choose to leave, you may never return.” – Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen)

“Who would I be if I stayed?” – Diana

• “What kind of weapon kills innocents?” – Diana

“In this war, every kind.” – Steve Trevor
* "I believe in love." - Diana

Funny lines:

• “How could a woman ever possibly fight in this?” – Diana

“Fight?  We use our principles.  Although, I’m not opposed to using fisty cuffs, should the need arise.” – Etta (Lucy Davis)

• “Please put down the sword.” – Steve

“It doesn’t go with the outfit.” – Etta

• “Welcome to jolly ‘ole London!” – Steve

“It’s hideous!” – Diana

“Yeah, it’s not for everyone.” – Steve

• “You’re a man.” – Diana

“Yeah. I mean, don’t I look like one?” – Steve

• “Stand back!  Or maybe not.” – Steve
• “I’m both frightened and aroused.” – Sameer  (Said Taghmaoui)
• “You should be very proud!” – Diana after she tastes a vendor’s ice cream.  I feel that way about great ice cream too.
• “May we get what we want.  May we get what we need. But may we never get what we deserve.”  - men's toast at campfire

Tips for parents: 

• I love that the heroine is good.  She's someone I wouldn't mind my daughters emulating...if I had daughters.  I guess she's someone I wouldn't mind my sons marrying.  :)
• You see a LOT of Chris Pine…bare naked after a bath while he covers his junk with his hands.
• A man and woman close the door and a sexual romp is implied.
• Lots of violence, destruction, and explosions.
• At 141 minutes, it’s a long movie that a lot of little ones won’t be able to sit through.
• In the comics, the war is WWII, but the director chose to highlight WWI in the movie.  Parents might need to explain the differences between those two wars.

Hell or High Water presents a great character study

Movie Title:  Hell or High Water

Grade:  B+

Rating:   R, 102 minutes

In a Nutshell:  Director David Mackenzie present us with rich characters to study in this modern Western flick.

Uplifting theme: 

• “I’ve never met nobody who got away with anything, ever.” – Tanner (Ben Foster)
•  Family, sacrifice, brotherly love
• 
  

Things I liked:

• Chris Pine is so awesome.  I love him in everything.
• Jeff Bridges has really been hitting the Big Screen hard the last few years.  He’s perfect at playing a crusty old guy with a thick Southern drawl.  He does a great job in this film.  My only complaint is that half of the time you can hardly understand what he’s saying because he grumbles and mumbles so much.
• Ben Foster does an excellent job.
• It’s not smart to rob a bank in Texas where so many people have a conceal/carry license.  Ha ha   Tanner laughs, “These conceal carry permits sure complicate a bank robbery, don’t they?”
• I had just learned what Pemmican is and they actually mentioned it in this movie.”  Check out this video to see for yourself what pemmican is and why it's the perfect survival food.
• There is a surprising amount of humor.
• The T-bone waitress (Margaret Bowman) conversation was pretty funny.
• The weathered faces and attitudes of the poor Texans was believable. 
• You just don't mess with a good, ole boy Texan sherriff

Things I didn’t like:

• Marcus makes lots of racist comments about Mexicans, native Americans, and Christians.
• Big banks as the enemy is certainly not a new idea.
• I just really wanted the brothers to take a shower. 

Interesting lines:

• “You never understood that fighting back makes the beating last longer.” -  Toby (Chris Pine)
• "You know what Comanche means.  It means enemies forever.” – Bear (Gregory Cruz)

“You know what that makes me?  A Comanche.” - Tanner

• “You tell me not to be like you and then you offer me a beer.  Which is it?” – Justin Howard (John-Paul Howard)

Funny lines:

• “Why are you always dressed like me?” – Marcus (Jeff Bridges)

“This is our uniform.” – Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham)

• “You want to hear about these robberies or just sit there and let Alzheimer’s run its course?” – Alberto
• “Could you tell their race?  Black?  White?” - Marcus

“Their skin or their souls?” – Elsie (Dale Dickey)

• “Tweakers don’t sleep.  They just tweak.” – Alberto   (“Tweaker” is slang for drug addicts.)
• “You Rangers are an odd bunch.” – Bank Manager (Joe Berryman)

“No, just him.” – Alberto

• “Only A-holes drink Mr. Pibb.” – Tanner
• “In your last days in the nursing home, you’ll think of me and giggle.” – Tanner
• “Anything a 5 year old can do ain’t a sport.” – Marcus
• “This is what they call ‘white man’s intuition.’” – Marcus

“Sometimes a blind pig finds a truffle.” – Alberto

Tips for parents: 

• Lots of profanity, including lots of F-bombs.
• Some people get shot and killed with some blood and gore.
• You'll want to make sure your kids understand that just because someone needs money or has a sob story, it doesn't mean it's OK to commit crime.

The Finest Hours features a truly honorable hero

Movie Title:     The Finest Hours

Grade:   B

Rating:   PG-13, 1 hour 57 minutes

In a Nutshell:  
This movie honors the heroes who participated in the greatest small-boat rescue in Coast Guard history.  

Based on the book by the same name, the film seems almost old-fashioned, as if it were made in 1952 when the rescue took place.

Uplifting theme: 

• When life gets hard, we have to have hope and take action.  Casey Affleck’s character, Ray Sybert, says at one point, “I’m scared too.  I got a life just as you.  I just don’t see any point standing around talking about it.”
• Chris Pine’s character, Bernie Webber, states “We all live.  We all die.”  True. We’re all in this thing we call life together, so we might as well help each other.
• The unwavering courage demonstrated in this true story is extremely inspiring.  All of the characters were afraid.  I love the quote attributed to Ambrose Redmoon, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather, the judgement that something is more important than fear.”

Things I liked: 

• Ahhh, Chris Pine.  He gives a solid performance and nails the New England accent. Thankfully, his baby blues were sephia-toned down a bit in this film so that I wouldn’t be so distracted by gawking at them the entire time.
• It's fun to love a bad-boy who kicks butt in an action film, but it’s so refreshing to have a protagonist in a movie who is kind, obedient, and respectful.  Bernie Webber was an incredible man.   
• I love it when a movie includes photographs of the real people in history at the end of the film.  I love it even more when the actors actually look like the people they are portraying, which is the case in this film.
• The sound effects were chilling.
• The special effects are effective and believable.
• Can you imagine how unpleasant the filming conditions must have been for the actors and crew? 
• Actress Holliday Grainger was perfectly cast.  She looked like she really stepped out of the 1950’s.

Things I didn’t like:

• You might get a little bit sea sick.  I had to close my eyes a few times so I wouldn't feel nauseated.
• Sometimes it’s hard to hear what everyone is saying with all of the waves and other things crashing around in the background.
• Bring a jacket to the theater.  Seeing all that snow and icy water might make you cold.
• Although I didn’t know the details of the rescue before I watched the movie, everything was pretty predictable and straight-forward.  There were no surprises.
• It could have used a little bit more of humor.  
• The land scenes are a bit dull, but the ocean scenes are extremely engaging.

Interesting lines:

• “In the Coast Guard they say you go out.  They don’t say you gotta come back.” – Bernie Webber
• “Just relax and be patient.” – Bernie, teaching Miriam how to dance.  That was kind of his philosophy throughout the entire ordeal.

Tips for parents:   

•  This is a serious film.  Although it’s a Disney movie, it definitely does not have a light-hearted “happily-ever-after” tone to it.
• There are some deaths and tense moments that might frighten very young children.

   

Into the Woods brews mixed messages for adults and children

Movie:  Into the Woods

PG, 2 hours 5 minutes

Grade: A-

In a Nutshell:  Once upon a time, there was a Broadway musical that Disney remade as a feature film for families. This deconstructed twist on some of the familiar The Brothers Grimm fairy tales is an interesting brew of humor, music, slanted wisdom, dark moments, and unsatisfying endings.  

I had such high hopes for this movie. Two years ago we all laughed and cried and sang to Les Miserables (2012) on Christmas day.  This is definitely no Les Miserables (2012) .  It's not even last year's Frozen .  I wish…

Uplifting Theme:
      ·         Be careful what you wish for.

•          You are not alone.  No one is alone.
•          “Careful the tale you tell.  That is the spell.”   That’s good advice for Director Rob Marshall and Stephen Sondheim.

Things I liked:

•          I’ve always loved Chris Pine and his beautiful blue eyes.  Who knew he could sing too?  In an interview with Anna Kendrick, she said that Chris was very shy about his singing voice.
•          With very little CGI, the scenery and landscapes in the film are beautiful and feel like fairy tale settings. 
•            Lilla Crawford, who was FANTASTIC, replaced another girl as Red Riding Hood, after only one week into filming!  Her voice sounded like a real Broadway voice, unlike in this year’s Annie, starring Quvenzhane Wallis.
•       Some of the lyrics are pretty witty, evoking eager laughter and winces from the audience I sat with.
•       The story has not one prince, but two, played by Chris Pine and Tony nominee Billy Magnussen.  Their duet together is hilarious.
•        Anna Kendrick does a great job as Cinderella and will soon grace the big screen again in Pitch Perfect 2.  I have high hopes for that movie too.

·          

Things I didn’t like:
      ·         For a Disney musical, the ending was a downer.  It had a dark satire like Sondheim's style in 
            the incredibly disgusting Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street .
      ·         The messages in the songs are mixed.  Life is full of moral dilemmas and so is this story.

•      None of the melodies are very memorable.  I do remember they sang "Into the Woods!" a lot.  ha ha  Quite a few songs from the original musical were cut from the movie.
•     Several people die horrible deaths.  It’s not an innocent movie for children and is very dark in spots.   Jack’s mother smacks him often and the audience gasped each time.  Cinderella’s step-sister smacks her.  Red Riding Hood stomps on the baker’s foot.  There are some gruesome moments, but I won’t give you any spoiler alerts….just a head’s up for parents.
•   Johnny Depp's role is way too short. I would have liked to see Christine Baranski sing more as well.  She and Meryl Streep created a fun spark together in Mamma Mia! The Movie

Funny lines:
·         “I was raised to be charming, not sincere.” – Cinderella’s Prince   (The audience booed when he said that.)
·         “I wish my house were not a mess.”  - Jack’s mother (Tracey Ullman)  Me too, Tracey.  Me too.
·         “Perhaps it’ll take two of us to have this child.” – Baker
·         “This is ridiculous!  What am I doing here?  I’m in the wrong story!” – Baker’s wife
·         “I’ll gladly help you with your house.  There are times I actually enjoy cleaning.” – Cinderella

·          

Interesting tidbits:

•  Director Rob Marshall almost chose some of the actresses he had already worked with for the role as the witch, such as Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago), Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, and Penelope Cruz.  Can you believe he didn’t pick Idina Menzel?  Still, Meryl Streep did a great job.
•    You may have recognized the young boy who played Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) from Les Miserables (2012) .
•  James Corden plays the baker.  He begins hosting his new talk-show in just a month.
• In the original musical, there was a role of narrator.  Some big names were considered for this part as well: James Earl Jones, John Cleese, Alan Rickman, Christopher Plummer, and even Disney favorites Julie Andrews and Angela Lansbury!
• Emily Blunt, who is warm and charming as a baker’s wife who can’t bare children, was actually pregnant during the filming!  You can notice her baby bump in one of her later scenes with Cinderella's Prince.
• You might also have recognized one of Cinderella’s step-sisters, Lucy Punch.  This is her 4^th time playing this role: Ella Enchanted [HD] , Cinderella 2000, and a BBC version of Cinderella.
•  Emily Blunt (the baker’s wife) and Meryl Streep (the witch) also starred together in The Devil Wears Prada .

Tips for Parents:  There are several themes that are too adult for young children, even though this is a Disney production.  There is some violence and morbid scenes.

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Tom Clancy fans come out of the shadows to cheer on the new Jack Ryan

Movie Title:  Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

PG-13, 1 hour 45 minutes

Grade: A-

In a Nutshell:  Tom Clancy fans will love this prequel to the popular Jack Ryan save-the-USA stories.  Chris Pine, with his beautiful blue eyes, joins the club of fantastic leading men who have brought this patriotic character to life: Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck.  I would have loved to see some short cameo appearances with those guys!

Sure, the film is formulaic: inexperienced CIA analyst uncovers an attack on the U.S. and is suddenly thrust into operative status as he dodges bullets, guided by a crusty mentor (played by Kevin Costner).  It’s still a fun spy thriller that will get your pulse going as you yell “Hurry!” at the big screen.

Uplifting theme:  Jack is wounded in Afghanistan in the beginning of the film, but finds two unexpected motivations to recuperate: Cathy and protecting his beloved country. I loved the look in his penetrating eye (one was swollen shut) as he was wheeled off on a gurney.  It said so much about how this country felt after the 9/11 attacks. Meaningful motivation can push you beyond what you thought you could do.

Things I liked: Kenneth Branagh directs and plays a vicious Russian in the movie.  He proves he can equally navigate Shakespeare and Thor.  I liked that the setting is modern day and spotlights a very real threat of the collapse of the American dollar.  Jack warns “They’ll call it the American crisis, but after six weeks, they’ll call it what it is…the second Great Depression.”

Things I didn’t like:  I usually like Keira Knightley, but I just didn’t feel the chemistry between her and Chris Pine.  She seemed a bit forced with her American accent. There is an obligatory car chase scene and many of the tense moments feature pounding at computer keyboards.  One disjointed scene that annoyed me included a fight scene with Jack and Aleksandr in the water under the streets, but then suddenly they’re exchanging blows in a van moving above-ground.  With all of the recent talk in the news of NSA spying, it’s interesting to see how quickly the field agents can gather intel and act on it.

Funny lines:

• “You weren’t kidding…you ARE in the CIA” states Jack.  William Harper responds “Somebody has to be.”
• “This is geo-politics, not couple’s therapy.” – William Harper
• “You Americans like to think of yourselves as direct, but maybe you’re just rude.” – Viktor Cherevin
• “You Russians like to think of yourselves as poetic, but maybe you’re just touchy.”  - Jack
• “The first night can be brutal.” = Viktor Cherevin after he tries to get Jack killed
• William Harper asks “Any way to get that Boy Scout look off your face?”  Jack laughs “Not a chance.”  Harper responds “Good.  That’s what I like about you.”
• “He drinks, right?” Jack asks.  The response: “Like a Russian.”
• “I’m in the CIA ”  - Jack    SPOILER ALERT:  After surviving a frightening ordeal, Cathy sighs “Thank God.”

Inspiring lines:

• “Wait 2 minutes before you take that” counsels Cathy to her new patient Jack who wants some pain killers.  When he asks “Why?” she inspires “So you know you can.”

Things to look for:

• Read the words on the movie screen when Jack passes the data on to a field agent in the dark movie theater for a symbolic undertone.
• The 360 degree camera pan while Jack is in the taxi after just arriving in Russia.
• The picture hanging in Viktor’s office.  What is it? “Battle Of Bunker Hill ”?  Interesting choice, right?

Tips for parents: One F-bomb, but not that much other profanity.  Lots of bloodless fighting scenes. Jack and Cathy are found in bed for a conversation only.

Add this one to your collection of other fun Jack Ryan movies.  These are some of my favorite movies of all time: