A Quiet Place is gripping

Movie Title:  
    A Quiet Place

Grade:   A-

Rating: PG-13,
   90 minutes

In a Nutshell:   We all fell in love with John Krasinski when he first appeared in The Office: The Complete Series.  

He has since gone on to show us his action hero chops in movies like 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and his creativity and humor in "Lip Sync Battle." This is now his third time directing and I'm convinced he will continue to bring us something fresh.

If this movie were a typical talking horror movie, it wouldn’t have been nearly as frightening.  The tension and suspense are magnified in the silence.  #StayQuiet

                                             

Tips for parents: 

• There are a lot of subtitles kids will need to read.
• The alien monsters are pretty scary looking.
• Children are constantly in perilous situations.
• Bloody, dead body.
• You see a pregnant woman's "water" break and later you see blood when she's getting ready to give birth in a bath tub.

Uplifting theme: 

• Family, unity
• Sacrifice
• Resourcefulness

                                                               

Things I liked:

• I loved seeing John Krasinski and his lovely, talented wife Emily Blunt in a movie together.  I can’t wait to see her in the upcoming "Mary Poppins"!
• My niece learned American Sign Language and later married a deaf man who has a cochlear implant, like the one seen in this "silent" movie.  It’s so wonderful to see capable deaf people portrayed in films.  Another movie that puts ASL in the spotlight is "Rampage."  Millicent Simmonds, who plays Regan Abbott, is actually deaf in real life.  This is her second movie; her first was Wonderstruck.
• Yes, you get to see the aliens.
• Every time I saw a trailer for this movie, the audience would get completely silent and you could feel the tension in the theater.  That’s how gripping this movie is.
• More often than not, horror movies have a lot of characters so that people can be killed off.  The result is usually that we don’t care about them.  In this movie, we’re only given one family and we become quickly invested in them.
• I always get annoyed by the dumb choices characters make in horror movies, but this family is pretty smart and has figured out how to live in a silent world.
• I like that this movie starts on Day 89 after the alien invasion happened.  It would have been a much different movie if it had shown Day 1.  Not knowing many details about what happened added to the tension.

                                               

Things I didn’t like:

• It didn’t make sense to me that Regan Abbott would even need a hearing aid in a world where silence is what keeps people alive.  Interestingly, it’s her hearing aid that becomes an important part of the story.
• The viewer is never told where the alien creatures come from.  It appears they simply kill noisy people, rather than eat them.  The little we know about them comes from old newspaper headlines that are hung in the family’s basement and a few TV sound bites.  Fans of this movie are making all kinds of YouTube videos to talk about the details they wish they knew.
• There are some little details that might annoy you, so just don’t worry about them.
• If you watch this in a theater, PLEASE be quiet so that everyone else in the theater can enjoy the quiet experience.

                                     

                                              @trinaboice

The Huntsman: Winter's War is a mixed prequel/sequel

Movie Title:  The Huntsman: Winter's War

Grade:  B

Rating:  PG-13, 2 hours 3 minutes

In a Nutshell:    This ain’t no Frozen Film critics are ripping this prequel/sequel to shreds, but I actually enjoyed it.  There is some humor, adventure, great CGI, beautiful landscapes, fun action sequences and even romance.

Sure, the story is a little messy and uneven, but it’s still entertaining and visually stunning, especially if you liked Snow White & The Huntsman .  It has more enchanted charm than the first one, even if it’s a sequel that viewers never asked for.

 Uplifting theme: 

• “Love doesn’t make you weak.  It’s all that ever gave me strength.” – Eric/The Huntsman
• What does the mirror show YOU?
• What is the source of YOUR power?
• “Love conquers all…so I’ve heard.” – Queen Freya   (It really does.)
• Jealousy and revenge hurt you more than the other person.

Things I liked:

• The majority of the CGI is really impressive.  Some of it is fake looking (the fog on people's breath), but most of it is really good and believable.  I thought it was cool (pun intended) how there are delicate snowflakes in the air wherever Queen Freya stands.
• The musical score by James Newton Howard is really good, noticeably good.
• I could watch Charlize Theron all day long.  I think she’s absolutely beautiful…the fairest of them all. Unfortunately, the story about how she comes back to life is a bit weak and vague. Who cares though, really?  We get to see Charlize in beautiful gowns looking wicked and glamorous.
•  I loved the river scene with the sprites and the enchanted forest scenes with the fairies.  Adorable turtle covered in moss.  (You might miss him if you're not paying attention to the background.) The film is from the same producer who worked on Maleficent and has that same feel.  You can read my movie review for Maleficent here.
• The dwarves offer plenty of comic relief.
• You get to learn a little bit more about Eric/the Huntsman and his back story. Chris Hemsworth works his charm and even has some funny lines.  I don't remember him talking with a Scottish accent in the first film, but he lays it on pretty thick in this one.
• I really like the title "Winter's War".  It refers to the coldness of heart and the internal battle between good and evil, love and hate, as well as the actual snowy winter scenes where battles are fought in the movie.

Things I didn’t like:

• They talk about Snow White, but you only get to see her from the back.  Apparently, Kristen Stewart didn’t want to have anything to do with this film, so they used a body double.
• I really like Emily Blunt, but her portrayal as Queen Freya was a bit...shall we say...cold?  She has a new movie coming out in October called The Girl on the Train  
• Lots of leather.  Lots.  Some of the clothing looked like new, fresh costumes and should have been messed up a little bit to look more authentic.  Queen Freya and the Evil Queen look wonderful.
• There is a fight scene in a tavern that has good action, but it’s filmed too close, so you can’t see everything that’s going on.  It has no music in the background, just fight noises, which actually was an interesting sound choice.
• Like Maleficent , the protagonist could teach young girls an important lesson in personal empowerment, yet becomes completely unhinged and evil because of a man who betrayed her.  Not exactly a good role model for our daughters.
• The beginning and end feel a bit heavy, but the middle feels like a magical adventure.

Funny lines:

• “This is the worst plan ever.” – Eric/The Huntsman
• “What are you going to do: take on two evil sisters and their entire armies?” – Sara (Jessica Chastain)

“Yeah, pretty much.” – Eric/Huntsman

Interesting lines:

• “Men have forgotten what it means to be afraid.” – Queen Freya
• “You may know much, Ravenna, but you do not know all.” – Queen Freya

“I’m afraid I do.” – Ravenna

• “If she could not raise a child, she would raise an army.” – narrator who is the wonderful Liam Neeson
• “In my kingdom, there is but one law: do not love.  It is a sin.” – Queen Freya

Tips for parents:   

•  Some profanity, as well as "colorful" Scottish insults
• The goblins might scare very young children
• There are some inappropriate sexual innuendoes, but they’re subtle and will probably fly over most kids’ heads.  There are two scenes when sex is implied, but you don’t really see anything.

See Edge of Tomorrow Today

Movie Title:  Edge of Tomorrow

PG-13, 1 hour 53 minutes

Grade:  A-

In a Nutshell:   This is Groundhog Day on steroids!  (I love that Bill Murray classic.)  Add the uber-intense Tom Cruise and the beautiful Emily Blunt, along with flawed, but heroic soldiers and you’ve got an action movie sure to thrill.  Video gamers will almost feel like they’re inside a Halo: Combat Evolved , complete with resets after dying and kicking alien butt.

Uplifting theme:

• Humanity is worth fighting for.
• Every moment of life is precious.

Things I liked:

• I thought it was appropriate for the film’s opening weekend to be during the 70^th anniversary of D-Day.  Replace Nazis with aliens and you’ll still feel patriotic.
• It’s kind of amazing to see a movie which actually ends, rather than one that Hollywood tosses out there, hoping to pump out a mediocre sequel for you to spend your hard-earned money on.  
• The super fast, squiggly aliens were cool, especially the “Alpha” when he growls.
• I saw it in IMAX 3D, which made some of the action sequences epic.  When someone got tasered, I was almost worried I’d get hit too. 
• I loved the fat soldier’s t-shirt that said “Mimic this.” It’s funny as is, but has another meaning when you learn that they call the aliens “mimics.”
• I loved the high-tech mech-suits the soldiers wear.
•  Emily Blunt was really cute in The Devil Wears Prada , but now she is even sexier as a strong, fighting machine.  Her body-double does some amazing stunts, including a ridiculously awesome push-up pose with her feet lifted off the ground (is that even possible?), but she's believable as a determined and tough soldier.

Things I didn’t like:

• It shows a movie clip of Hillary Clinton in some kind of executive meeting, as if she is president of the United States.  Was that a subtle bit of hopeful propaganda for the next presidential election?
• There was a plot hole in the ending…as if the rest of the movie was believable.  haha

Inspiring lines:

• “The fiery crucible, the only place where true heroes are forged.”  - Master Sergeant Farrel
• “There’s no courage without fear.”  - Master Sergeant Farrel
• “We fight.  That’s what we do.”  - Major William Cage

Funny lines: 

• “What do we do now?  - Rita Vrataski

“I don’t know.  We’ve never gotten this far.”  - Major William Cage

• “Where is the safety?”  - Major William Cage

“Exactly!”  - mocking soldiers

• “What day is it?”  - Major William Cage

“For you?  Judgment Day.”  - soldier

Tips for parents:  Be prepared for lots and lots of violence.  There is one F-bomb, but only a few other“mild” forms of profanity, which is impressive since it's such a testosterone-filled fighting flick.  There is a creepy shot of a burning/melting face, as well as one of a fat guy’s bum….both are a bit disturbing.

If you love the whole time-loop concept like I do, check out the following movies: 

       

Kids who like time travel will get a kick out of Mr. Peabody and Sherman.