Patriot's Day honors Boston's courage and compassion

Movie Title:   Patriot's Day

Grade:  B+

Rating:  R, 130 minutes

In a Nutshell: I love Boston.  I've been there several times and would eagerly go there again tomorrow.  It’s a modern city dripping in history. 

This powerful film offers a respectful look at Boston’s finest who responded to terrorism at the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.   

“Two people took several days and weeks to plan out hate, but love responded in an instant.” – Interview with Patrick Downes

Uplifting theme: 

• Dedicated to all those who showed courage, compassion, and dedication during this terrible period in Boston’s history.
• Civic pride, teamwork, community
• Love vs. hate
• Good vs. evil
• Boston strong!
• “Always have hope.  Be confident that good always defeats bad.” – Dun Meng

Things I liked:

• The entire cast does a great job providing Boston accents and tributes to people we enjoy getting to know.
• Mark Wahlberg gives a dynamic performance as Sgt. Tommy Saunders.
• It’s always a pleasure to see J.K. Simmons, John Goodman, and Kevin Bacon.  I adore them all.
• You get to see real footage of the aftermath.
• Great aerial shots of Boston.
• Fans of Supergirl: Season 1 [Blu-ray], Melissa Benoist, will be happy to see her, although not happy to see her play the wife of a deluded terrorist.
• I loved the real photos and information at the end. The video footage of Patrick Downes running the race after his surgery really touched me.

Things I didn’t like:

•  Does anyone in Boston know how to speak a single sentence without using the F-bomb? 

Interesting lines:

• “Do not Mirandize.”   -  It's interesting and frightening that a decision could be made to deny an American citizen of his individual liberties.
• “Not what you were expecting, huh Comish? – lady cop

“It never is.” – Commisioner Ed Davis (John Goodman)

• “For a Muslim woman, marriage is a lilting dance of duality: strength and submission, beautiful, selfless, rapturous love of two masters, the carnal and the divine.” – Katherine Russell

Funny lines:

• “Give ‘em hell, brother!” – a guy who throw a sledge hammer out his front door to help the cops.
• ‘I gotta F***n quit smoking.” – Sgt. Jeffrey Pugliese (J.K. Simmons)
• “I’ll tell ya that boat ain’t gonna float.” – cop after a bunch of other cops shot a ton of bullet holes in it. 

Tips for parents: 

• There is a lot of blood, gore, and violence.
• You see several people do drugs.
• A gazillion F-bombs and other profanity.
• It's important to point out to your kids that Dzhokhar's friends were arrested for seeing evidence, but not turning it over to the police and obstructing the bombing investigation.

UPDATE as of 2/1/2017
A Boston Marathon bombing survivor plans to marry the fireman who rescued her, several media outlets report. “In the hospital, my mom tried to set me up with him,” Roseann Sdoiasaid. “She was like, ‘Oh, did you see that firefighter? He’s so cute.’ And I was like, ‘Mom, I just got blown up.’ ” Sdoia and her new fiancé, Mike Materia, will participate in the annual Empire State Building Marathon to help raise money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Materia comforted Sdoia on the ride to Massachusetts General Hospital in a police vehicle on the day of the bombing. “I asked him if I was going to die. And he told me that I was going to be OK, that I only had a flesh wound,” she told reporters. “He’s seen me on my worst day.” The couple had their first date in June 2013. He proposed last month.

@trinaboice 

Ratchet and Clank brings PS4 game to the big screen

Movie Title:      Ratchet & Clank

Grade:   B-

Rating:   PG, 1 hour 34 minutes

In a Nutshell:    Based on the popular Playstation video game series, fans and kids will get a kick out of this action-packed, colorful ride.  

It’s full of gags and witty one-liners that will entertain adults enough when they have to see it with their kids.  The adults in the audience I sat with laughed more than their kids.

Uplifting theme: 

• “To be a hero, you don’t have to do big things, just the right ones.” – Grimroth
• Sometimes we forget who we really are.
• Loyalty, friendship, perseverance.

Things I liked:

• If you have read my movie reviews before, you know I love Paul Giamatti.  We don’t get to see him in this animated film, of course, but hearing his voice is still great.  He plays the funny villain Chairman Drek, who looks like a mix between a turnip and the magician Penn Jillette and quips “This is seriously next level.”
• Keep watching after the first set of credits roll at the end to see a little bit more. 
• Young boys will love all of the weapons, gadgets, laser beams, inventions and a “mess o’ bullets.”
• I thought Dr. Nefarious’ little Spandex outfit was a crack-up.
• Qwark is voiced by Jim Ward, who you might have recognized from Wall-E , Despicable Me 2 or Spider-Man 2 .  I thought the cute antenna on his head was adorable.  The character reminded me a little bit of Pixar’s Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles 2 movie is supposed to come out 2019. I LOVED that movie!)  #KillingIt
• The facial expressions are done very well.
• Sylvester voices Victor Von Ion and John Goodman brings Grimroth to life.
• I was completely unfamiliar with any of the characters.  I would describe Clank as a mix between Star Wars' R2D2 and C3P0.  Ratchet is cute enough for girls to like, but adventurous enough for boys to love.

Things I didn’t like:

• I've never played the video game, so I know I didn't catch any of the Easter eggs and inside jokes, but fans have said there are plenty.
• There is writing on various things throughout the movie, but it’s really hard to read.
• Tons of fight and chase scenes.  Tons.  Non-stop.  Nothing particularly new here. I actually fell asleep for a few minutes. 
• I really like Rosario Dawson and think she’s beautiful, but she sounded like she was reading a script.
• Because the target audience is mostly young boys, it’s no surprise that there is a scene where the characters are vomiting.  What IS surprising is the lack of other bathroom humor jokes.
• You'll notice on the movie poster that the film was supposed to be released in 2015, but didn't come out until April 29, 2016.

Funny lines:

• “And remember, you can do anything as long as you’re me.” – Qwark
• “I heard you!  Do you see these ears?” –  Grimroth
•  “The point is if you’re going to use one-liners, they should all make sense and be relevant.” – Nefarious  
• “There is a lot of space in space.” – Clank (David Kaye)
• “Everyone stay calm.  Something epic is happening.” – Captain Qwark
• “Does anyone feel like we should have shot something by now?” – Stig (Alessandro Juliani)

 "The only thing I'm interested in finding is the Hall of Heroes cafeteria.  Come on heroes!  It's 3 floors up and it's meatloaf day!" - Qwark

• “I know you’re working with Nefarious on this!” – Ratchet

“Yes, isn’t it wonderful?  We’re all part of the same dream team.  We should make t-shirts!” – Chairman Drek

Interesting lines:

• “Blaming yourself and taking full responsibility are two very different things.” - Clank

Tips for parents:   

• As you can imagine, the Playstation 4 game is now in stores.
• It’s mostly harmless fun and teaches a few good values.
• Will your kids enjoy it if they've never played the video games?  Sure.  It's a stand-alone movie that works, but not worth racing out to go see.  Take them to see The Jungle Book instead.  You can read my movie review of the new Jungle Book here.

10 Cloverfield Lane keeps you in suspense the entire time

Movie Title:      10 Cloverfield Lane

Grade:   A-

Rating:   PG-13, 1 hour 45 minutes

In a Nutshell:    J.J. Abrams puts a spine-tingling spin on doomsday prepping.  He is a master at suspense and this psychological thriller has plenty of it.  He loves to NOT show the audience things, which adds even more to the achingly tense scenes and viewer anticipation.  

Did you ever see his 2008 Cloverfield movie?  (It made me dizzy with all its shaky cam effects.) This is sort of a sequel, but it’s not necessary at all to have seen that one to understand this one. 

Uplifting theme: 

·       Which is scarier: the known monster or the unknown one?

·       Be prepared. 

Things I liked:

·   Excellent performances by John Goodman (Howard), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Michelle), and John Gallagher Jr. (Emmett) Did you know that both Mary Elizabeth and John got their start on Broadway?

·       The film really plays with you, so much so that you never know exactly what the truth is until the end.

·       Foreboding music really gets you on edge….the whole time.

·       I love the close-ups on small things that really tell the story without words, such as when you see Michelle’s white knuckles on the steering wheel to her chipped fingernail polish.

·       Fantastic car accident in the beginning.  Very well done.  It really got me.

·       You’ll get to see lots of emergency prep products and think about what you might need if there really were some kind of disaster.  I noticed Emergency Essentials buckets in the house, which is a company I have used for many years and can highly recommend!

·       The Santa Clause card game scene was outstanding.  It was intense, funny, and the moment where the movie really revs up and gets crazy.

·       The majority of the movie takes place inside a very small space, which increases the dramatic tension immeasurably.

·       This is director Dan Trachtenberg’s first movie.  It looks like he has a bright future.

Things I didn’t like:

• The ending.  Hmmm….could have been stronger.  Does that mean this will be a trilogy?   J.J. Abrams refers to anticipation as his “mystery box.”   He is excellent at building expectation, but sometimes the end result is a bit disappointing.  I’m still mad at him for the TV series Lost: Season 6 - Final Season , but I think he did a a great job with Star Trek Into Darkness .  His next one comes out this summer!
• Like the first Cloverfield movie, you only get to see a tiny bit of the “thing”.  You’ll be disappointed if you think you’re going to see a bunch of monsters or aliens.
• John Gallagher’s character doesn’t get as much attention as you might want.  There is a tiny back story, but it feels rushed and we don’t get to know him very well.  Of course, Michelle is the protagonist in the story, so her experience is where the focus is.
• There’s really only one line that shows any connection with this movie to the first Cloverfield and that is when Howard mentions he worked for a satellite company.  In the first movie, it is a satellite that falls into the ocean that awakens a monster/alien from underneath.

Funny lines:

•  “There’s no place like home.” – Howard
• “Neither one of us will be able to go up there to help you if you get stuck.  Don’t get stuck.” – Howard
• “Come on!” - Michelle

Tips for parents:   

• There are some explosions, a shooting, and some gruesome images of dead people that might frighten young children.
• Mary Elizabeth Winstead is in her underwear during some scenes.
• 1 F-bomb.

 

Love the Coopers mixes a little bit of humor with a lot of family tension

Movie:    Love the Coopers

Rating:    PG-13

Grade:   B-

In a Nutshell:    Timed perfectly for the holidays, the talented cast gets slogged down with a sappy and predictable script that mixes a little bit of humor with a lot of family tension.  Even so, did it tug at my heart-strings and successfully elicit tears from my eyes.  Yup.

Uplifting Theme:

·          “You can be the hero of your own life.” – Ruby (the lovely Amanda Seyfried)

·         “Try and be the person you want to become.” - Narrator

Things I liked:

·         The cute Christmas/Santa montage at the beginning will quickly get you in the mood for the holidays.

·         While the movie focuses on Christmas, there are several  shout-outs to Hanukkah.

·         As a film critic, I appreciated the discussion that Ruby and Bucky had about an old Charlie Chaplin film and its inspiring ending.

·         The storybook narrator offers interesting insights.  SPOILER ALERT:  The voice is from our beloved Steve Martin!

·         Diane Keaton is timeless.  And she always looks great in a scarf.

·         One of the character’s names is Bo (played by Maxwell Simkins).  That’s my son’s name!

·         Sam (the loveable John Goodman) plays with words that always evoke laughter from the audience.  He lists the famous Christmas reindeer as “Donner and Blitzen and Rudolph and Nixon” and Santa’s brothers as “Panta, Janta, and Mylanta.”

·         The babies in the Maternity ward of the hospital are all dressed as Santa.  Adorable.

Things I didn’t like:

·          Everyone spends the majority of the film lying to each other, hiding things, and being disappointed in one another.  Funny and unpleasant.

·         The family sings Christmas carols together and it’s Diane Keaton who gets a solo….NOT the talented Amanda Seyfried.  What the heck?  Come on!

·         Madison, the little girl played by Blake Baumgartner, says “You are such a D—k” several times.  NOT adorable.

·         There are a couple of offensive Jesus jokes.  Seriously?  Especially at Christmas time?

·         Blatant product placement annoys me so much.  In this film… McCafe.

·         People often offer each other terrible advice.  For example, Bucky the grandpa tells Hank (Ed Helms) to “go out and get some.”

·         I’ve always thought Olivia Wilde was beautiful, but I really hated her arrogant, condescending, disrespectful, dishonest, slutty character, Eleanor.

·         Sloppy French kissing.  Funny, but gross.

·         Interesting title.  And I'm not even talking about the lack of proper punctuation. If the Coopers had just loved each other better, this film wouldn’t exist.  The Coopers spend the entire film “searching for comfort and a little more joy” this Christmas season.

Funny lines:  

·         “You’re way too cute to be a Republican.  Please tell me you’re not one of those Republicans who believes in Fox News, but not evolution.” – Eleanor (Olivia Wilde)

·         “All we’d have to figure out is how long we’ve been together and what’s your name?” – Eleanor

·         “I don’t think volunteering counts if you just talk about it.” – Joe (Jake Lacy)

·         “Calm down.  Man up and let’s lie to my parents.” – Eleanor

·         “That was the best dinner I’ve ever had in my entire mouth.” – Aunt (June Squibb)

Interesting lines:

·         About the holidays:  “Everyone panics, as if you can schedule happiness.” – Bucky (Alan Arkin)

·         “Perhaps it’s unreasonable to expect married couples to grow at the same rate for 40 years.” – Narrator

·         “You love everybody at arm’s length.  Keep it up and you’ll end up alone.” – Bucky  (Alan Arkin)

·         FOMO = “Fear Of Missing Out.”   Is that the new YOLO?

·         “Isn’t it interesting that we want to run from our families and impress them at the same time?” -  Eleanor

·         “Such a fuss when everything we want is right in front of us.” - Bucky

Tips for Parents:

·        The Coopers are definitely NOT role models for your kids:     Infidelity, flatulence, selfishness, lack of respect and kindness.   The good news is that they finally figure it out by the end of the movie.

·         Some profanity and crudeness.

 .

GREAT Christmas movies:

   

Monuments Men movie gets me Googling for more

Movie Title:  The Monuments Men

Grade:  B+

PG-13, 1 hour 52 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This inspiring movie is based on a true story about us all of us.  I admit that I’m curious to learn more about what really happened as the small group of art experts tried to save priceless pieces of history as the Nazi regime began to fall in WWII Europe.  I was in Italy just a few months ago, basking in all of the beautiful artwork and can’t imagine what a terrible loss it would have been to humanity if we didn’t have some of the masterpieces that exist in that country alone. 

Based on the non-fiction telling by Robert M. Edsel,Monuments Men , the subject matter and setting are truly fascinating.  Unfortunately, the movie falls a bit short of what could have been an outstanding cinematic journey worthy of Oscar buzz...for next year.  (It was supposed to be released at Christmas in time for this year's Oscars, but George Clooney chose to wait.)  It misses the German mark...you could say.  The audience I watched the movie with consisted of mostly older people, some who looked like they could have actually fought in WWII. 

This brief tour through war-torn Europe was directed, written, and performed by George Clooney.  It’s a bit of “Geriatric Band of Brothers” heist meets “Saving Private Ryan”, although not nearly as realistic or good as the latter.  The audience loved the camaraderie among the men and were left wanting a little more out of the star-studded cast which includes Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville and the exquisite Cate Blanchett.

Uplifting theme:  What a sobering reminder this film features that Hitler stole lives, art, and even history from all of us.  James Granger says “He really wanted it all.”  Frank Stokes corrects him “He wanted everything.”  Frank Stokes continually reminds his crew that their lives are worth more than a piece of art, and yet they are all willing to sacrifice everything in order to preserve it because it represents mankind’s greatest accomplishments.  

I love that the men refer to various works of art as “she” and “her”, granting true life to images that capture our very soul.  Frank Stokes narrates the journey and explains that they were fighting for culture, our history, and our very way of life.  The works of art are not simply beautiful things to look at and admire, but our history…yours….mine.   It was inspiring to learn that over 5 million pieces were recovered through The Monuments Men project.

Things I liked:

• It was refreshing to see a loyal husband resist an invitation of infidelity, especially on a lonely night in romantic Paris.  Matt Damon’s character, James Granger, even returned the tie he was given by the hopeful woman.
• The sets and scenery were breathtaking.
• One of the most profound scenes was when (SPOILER ALERT) the group finds a big barrel of gold nuggets and then realizes they were from the mouths of Jews who were killed by the Nazis. The scene carried a sobering weight that other scenes lacked.  The audience gasped a few times, which I think, would have made George Clooney proud.

Things I didn’t like:

• It’s a bit slow-moving and disjointed with not nearly enough humor and some missed opportunities to make the film truly wonderful. 
• Substitute the last line of the movie with something better like “Come on, I want to show you something else!”

Funny lines:

• “Do we get to kill anybody?” – Preston Savitz
• “Speak English” said several people to James Granger whose French was terrible.  I’ve been to France and they really do hate it when we Americans attempt to speak their beautiful language.
• James Granger explains “I seem to have stepped on a land mine.” Frank queries “Why would you do that?” repeated by Walter Garfield.  James says “It was a slow day.”  I thought that scene was well done as they tried to come up with a solution and were prepared for any outcome.
• An American soldier says after the war was announced to be over “Isn’t there supposed to be a parade or something?” to which James Granger gently corrects “Probably not in Germany.”
• While talking about setting up some dynamite, two on the team have the following exchange: “Maybe I should do this.”  “What do you know about explosives?”  “Nothing.”  “Ok.”

Inspiring lines:

• “Who will be their protectors?  Who will make sure the Mona Lisa is still smiling?” – Frank Stokes
• “It’s not bad.”  “It’s not good” – an exchange as two of the crew look at a canvas of Hitler’s artwork from his failed run as an art student
• “Frank explains his passion about the Monument Men project by saying “If you destroy their achievements, it’s like they never existed.”
• “Great works of art can never belong to one individual.”  - Donald Jeffries

Things to learn more about:  George Clooney said of this film “It’s so rare to do any story that people don’t know.” I would love to learn more!

• Ghent Altarpiece and the Art of Jan Van Eyck
• Russia’s Soviet Trophy Brigade
• The Nero Decree stated that if Hitler died, the Nazis were to destroy Germany’s infrastructure, as well as other valuables, including art.  Nero was blamed for the fire that destroyed much of Rome.  Forty-two days after issuing the Nero Decree, Hitler killed himself, and a week later, Germany surrendered.
• Michelangelo: the Bruges Madonna and the Piccolomini altar,

Tips for parents:  There is some profanity, but not as much as you would think there would be in a war movie.  People are killed and wounded with some blood and gore.

Mike and Sully go to lovable Monster's University

I imagined the director and producers of Monster’s Inc sitting around a board room table, trying to come up with a plot for the next installment of the Pixar’s lovable monster flick.  During the brainstorm, someone in the room must have said “Monsters scare you….Scare U” and suddenly the college template was framed for the newly released prequel.

How the one-eyed Mike Guzowski and furry “kitty” giant, James Sullivan (Sully), first met in college is a ragtag underdog story that includes party monsters in frat houses, a rousing alma mater fight song with spunky cheerleaders, jocks, boring Ferris Bueller-esque professors, and inspiring competition between students who want to win the annual Scare Games.  The campus is full of all the clichéd groups you ever saw during your undergrad years, complete with an emo Goth goul and dragon-winged, centipede-bodied dean who is easily the scariest monster in the entire school.  You know you had a dean like that.

Randy Newman’s theme song gets you in the mood for some magical monster animation from beginning to end.  And by the way, be sure to stick around at the end of the rolling credits for the final touch.  I love it when movies reward their diehard fans who want just a little bit more and are willing to stay in their seats until the bitter end.  

The cast includes the exceptional voice talents of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Sean Hayes, Bonnie Hunt, and Jennifer Tilly.  Mike and Sully are fleshed out with back-story details that leave us loving them even more.  Can you say “Merchandising Jackpot!”?

One of my sons is currently an animation student in college, so I always love to hear his opinion on the artistry and CGI in films.  He gave Monster’s University two big thumbs up and bows to Pixar’s talent and creativity.  Fingers crossed my son can get a job with Pixar when he graduates next spring!

The film doesn’t rely on the fans’ love of the first movie; it introduces new characters you’ll fall in love with, as well as new dimensions to the Monsters’ world that are sure to create new areas in theme parks.

It’s an adorable movie that the entire family will enjoy.


Grade:   A-