Going In Style showcases 3 legendary actors with charming chemistry

Movie Title:  Going In Style

Grade:  B+

Rating:  PG-13, 97 minutes

In a Nutshell:  Face it, the cast is a bunch of adorable, lovable, and legendary guys: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin.   They have fantastic chemistry and are the highlight of the film.  They ARE the film.

Going In Style is a remake of the old 1979 movie, yet the story still has relevance.  You’ll be entertained and walk out of the theater with a goofy grin on your face.

Uplifting theme: 

• Life-long friends
• Loyalty, family, friendship
• “One can’t get enough time.” – Joe (Michael Caine)
• “Do you want to drift off into the sunset or go out with a bang?” – Joe
• “There’s always another way.” – Murphy (Peter Serafinowicz

Things I liked:

• Christopher Lloyd has a small role, but he does a great job and steals the scenes he’s in.  I don’t like seeing him get so old, but it happens to all of us.
• We haven’t seen Ann Margaret in a while.  I think the first time I ever saw her in a movie was in Bye Bye Birdie.  I thought she was mesmerizing.  What incredible, long careers all of these actors have had.
• Pie!
• It’s entertaining to see how they mastermind their big crime.  Even funnier is watching them try to steal some groceries to get their feet wet in their new life of crime.  Kids, don't try this!
• Have you noticed that Morgan Freeman has now been in 3 movies with the same theme that he’s dying and now needs to do something crazy?   Check out The Bucket List   and  Last Vegas.   See?   They're both fun flicks too.

Things I didn’t like:

• The movie suggests that all banks are evil and heartless; therefore, it’s OK to commit crime.   It is NOT OK to commit a crime.  When people have nothing to lose, they do bad and/or illegal things.  Having challenges in life still doesn’t give us permission to break the law.
• It’s always a strange sensation when the audience wants the people in the movie to do something bad.  Does that mean we’re living variously through them? Do we want to be able to justify or rationalize our own bad behavior?  What does that say about us? 
• It’s not laugh-out-loud super funny, but it’s still charming.  The older crowd will definitely be laughing the loudest.

Funny lines:

• “This isn’t an admission of guilt.  I’m just tired.” – Albert (Alan Arkin)
• “Take my number.  Things happen.” – Mitzi (Siobhan Fallon Hogan)  My family still imitates her funny accent when she said "sugar water" in Men In Black 

Interesting lines:

• “We’re friends, Willy.  We’re supposed to look out for each other, aren’t we?  Then, let’s do it.” –  Joe (Michael Caine)
• “It’s a culture’s duty to take care of its elderly.” – Jesus (John Ortiz)   

Tips for parents: 

• Some profanity, including one F-bomb
• You might have to tell the kids about who the Rat Pack was.
• Some suggestive material and pre-marital relations.
• Medical marijuana discussion

If you're interested in seeing the original Going in Style (1979) with George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg, you can actually still get it on Amazon!   

@trinaboice 

Now You See Me is mostly smoke and mirrors

Movie Title:     Now You See Me 2

  

Grade:   B

Rating:     PG-13, 115 minutes

In a Nutshell:    I loved the first movie, but this sequel just felt more like smoke and mirrors.   

Uplifting theme: 

•  “Seeing is believing, but is it truth?  It depends on your point of view.” – Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman)

Things I liked:

• Lots of twists and turns.  It’s a fun ride, because you never know what's around the corner.
• Funny sleeping scenes.
• I love all of the cast.  Two Woody Harrelsons?  Twice the fun.
• It's always fun to see places around the world.  They spend some time in London, Macau, and New York.
• SPOILER ALERT: I love it when good "bad guys" outsmart real bad guys.
• Lots of action sequences mixed in with some quick wit.

Things I didn’t like:

•  I should have re-watched the first movie so I could remember how everything left off.  There were a lot of comments made that referred to past events, so if you haven’t seen the first one, you’ll be a bit lost.
• Too many villains.
• Everyone is too cool and slick, coming off as smug characters we have a hard time feeling sorry or concern for.
• Do't get me wrong here...I love all of the actors in the film, but they kind of play the same characters they usually do in almost all of their other movies.  Well, except Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter.  Amirite?  For example, Jesse Eisenburg always plays a fast-talking genius.  Morgan Freeman always plays someone wise and mysterious.  Dave Franco always plays a playboy loose cannon.  Lizzy Caplan always plays a snarky chick.  I'm just sayin...
• A lot of things are just too implausible and ridiculous.  If you think really hard to figure it all out, most of it just doesn't make much sense.  
• Most of the lines sound like scripted performance lines, rather than spontaneous conversations.

Funny lines:

•  “Not Chinese food.  I think here it’s just called food.” - Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson)
• “I want to be completely off the Grid and do you know why?” – (Walter Tressler)    “Yeah, because the Grid is for real humans.” – J. Daniel Atlas  (Jesse Eisenberg)
• “Don’t do anything I would enjoy.” – Merritt McKinney
• “Is that weird to have more hair in your ears than on your head?” – Merritt to his twin brother

Interesting lines:

•   “The eye; it can’t lie, but don’t think for a minute it can’t be lied to.” –  Thaddeus Bradley

• Tips for parents:   

• Someone flips the bird at the camera.
• Some profanity and inappropriate language.

As the characters say, “Didja get all that?”

The Last Witch Hunter doesn't cast a spell on audiences

Movie:    The Last Witch Hunter

Rating:   PG-13, 1 hour 45 minutes

Grade:   C

In a Nutshell:    Timed perfectly for Halloween, this creepy action flick features Vin Diesel kicking evil witch butt.    Unfortunately, the film doesn’t cast a good spell on audiences and is getting horrible reviews from critics.   The plot is thin and the CGI is thick.

Uplifting Theme:

·         “There are shades of evil everywhere.” – Kaulder      (Luckily, good conquers evil.)

·         “I used to think the universe ran in circles, repeating itself, always predictable.  Now, I don’t know what happens next.” - Kaulder

“You know what we humans call that?   Living.” – Dolan 36th

Things I liked:

·         Vin Diesel.  So, yeah.  The movie isn’t great, but if you’re a Vin Diesel fan, you’ll still enjoy it.

·         Supposedly, the witch hunter character he plays in the movie is based on a Dungeons & Dragons character he played for years.   

·         It’s always good to see Michael Caine in anything, although he’s mostly dead during the majority of the movie.  He plays “Dolan 36^th”, who is a type of personal assistant to a rich playboy with fighting powers…sounds like his role in Batman Begins , eh?

·         Elijah Wood has the squeaky clean look of the priest he plays, but enough odd edge to make you wonder if he really is a good priest.

·         The beautiful French actress Julie Engelbrecht plays the Queen Witch, who is ugly and scary, but not very imaginative.  Her mother is the German actress Constanze Engelbrecht, who starred with Julie in her acting debut Adieu mon ami .

·         Fans of Game of Thrones: Season 4 [Blu-ray] will be happy to see the charming Rose Leslie play a “dream walker”.  I thought she had a kind of Kristen Stewart vibe.

·         The bar for witches was pretty cool with the floaty things and shimmering wisps.  Vin Diesel has special ways of identifying witches, but it’s not very hard: they all have tattoos, dress like Goths, and look like catwalk models. 

·         The visual design of the of the movie is pretty good, albeit mostly CGI.

Things I didn’t like:

·         LOTS of CGI effects, some of them pretty hokey.

·         It ends with some teasers to set you up for a sequel.  Do we want a sequel to this?

·         The plot is pretty predictable and is full of formulaic moments like slow-motion fighting, and swords driving home a death blow after spinning around a few times for dramatic flair.  Some things that happen are nonsensical.

·         Most of the scenes are dark and murky, just like the movie poster (pictured above).  This movie will get lost on a computer monitor.

·         Well, now the mystery of where all the bees have gone is uncovered.  They were saved up and used for this film.

·         Cliché creepy old doll.  Works every time though.

·         When the witches cast spells, it sounds like someone is playing a old LP record backwards like we used to do when we were kids to make a scary ghost sound.
-      There is a small amount of humor, but more would have made the film playful.  As it is, the movie takes itself pretty seriously.

Funny lines:  

·         “You want to quit?” – Kaulder

“No, I want a raise.” – Dolan 37^th

·         “Please don’t think less of me.  I’ll confess it later.” – Dolan 37^th after he punches a bad guy.

·         “There’s more to life than the dulcet tones of stewardesses.” – Dolan 36^th

What do you know about stewardesses? – Kaulder

“I wasn’t born a priest.” – Dolan 36^th

·         “You look like a terrible band from the 80’s.” – Grosette (Michael Halsey)

Interesting lines that are meant to sound cool and profound:

·         “The world is changing.” – Dolan 37^th

“Only on the surface.” – Kaulder

·         “You know, paper is the past.” – Kaulder

Words to know:

Necromancy = a method of divination through alleged communication with the dead

Tips for Parents:

·         Some of the scenes are pretty scary, especially the opening scene.  SPOILER ALERT:  Thankfully, there is only one really bad, scary witch and you don’t see her again until the end of the movie.

·         Some profanity.  Lots of fight scenes.

·         Lots of bugs crawling around.

·         Creepy skeletons floating around in the place where witches are banished.


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