Deadpool 2 is over-the-top with surprising depth

Movie Title:       Deadpool 2

Grade:   B+

Rating: R, 119 minutes

In a Nutshell:   Marvel is on a roll.  The X-Force team assembles under the guidance of the most disrespectful, irreverent superhero ever, Deadpool, played expertly by Ryan Reynolds.

As Ryan Reynolds says in the movie, “The Academy’s watching.”  The sequel is definitely bigger....is it better than the first?  Umm....probably not.  Did it make me laugh?  Definitely.  

                                    

Tips for parents: 

• Deadpool says in the beginning, “Believe it or not, Deadpool 2 is a family movie.”  Nope.  Not true.  This is a true rated R movie.  If you set filters on VidAngel to delete profanity, violence and gore, this would be a 20 minute movie. 
• Crude language and TONS of F-bombs.  I hate it when kids swear especially, which Julian Dennison does as Russell.
• Scoutmaster pervert joke.  Ouch.  I have 4 sons.
• Lots of severed limbs and brutal, gory deaths.
• Lesbians
• You see a bottomless little kid’s junk full Winnie the Pooh style and a man’s naked rear end.
• Super high body count, destruction, violence, crude gestures.
• Guns.
• Some fun music, but other songs with very crude lyrics.

Uplifting theme: 

• “We all need that sense of belonging.  We all need a genuine sense of home.” – Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds)
• “Kids – they give us a chance to be better than we are…better than we use to be.” – Vanessa (the beautiful Morena Baccarin)  
• Family
• Sacrifice for others
• “Pain teaches us who we are.” – Blind Al (Leslie Uggams)
• “No child is hopeless.” - Blind Al

Things I liked:

• The trailer was hilarious. I loved the crack about Superman’s mustache in the trailer, referring to when DC had to use CGI to remove Henry Cavill's mustache in the movie Justice League.   
• I got a kick out of the opening credits.  Most of the time, we just ignore them, but read them this time!
• This is the year of Josh Brolin as the evil villain.  He voices a fantastic Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War
• Great action sequences.  As Deadpool says, “Big CGI fight coming up.”  Yep, LOTS of them.
• Tons of fun jokes and visual gags, all lightning fast.  You’ll have to see the movie again in order to catch everything.
• We learn a lot more about Wade Wilson, making his character development more deep and grounded.
• You’re going to get a kick out of some new twists.
• Keep watching after the credits for a couple more fun scenes, but there’s nothing at the very, very end of the music.
• The Logan music box in the very beginning scene got the audience I sat with to immediately start laughing.  There is a running gag about Logan during the entire movie.  So funny.  For example, both films played the same music during the death scenes.  Ha ha
• Tony Robbins.  Love that guy.
• Wade and his girlfriend watch the movie Yentl  I always loved that movie and the music.  Deadpool points out that the song, “Papa, can you hear me?” is the same tune as Frozen’s “Do you want to build a snowman?” I never noticed that!
• X-Men – trainee!  Ha ha
• I like Dub Step too.  Ha ha
• Several Canadian jokes.  A lot of locations in Vancouver were actually used in the movie. 
• At the end of the movie, it says that 15,000 jobs were created to make the movie.  The stunt work was amazing.  Sadly a stunt woman, Joi Harris, died while filming one of the stunts on a motorcycle. Production stopped for two days.
• Tons of fun Easter eggs.  For example, Deadpool refers to Cable, played by Josh Brolin, as "One Eyed Willy", which was a character in the 1985 movie The Goonies which starred Josh Brolin.
• Tons of movie, song, and pop culture references.  One of the movie posters shows Deadpool in a Flashdance pose on a chair with bullets raining down on him.  He definitely takes a beating in this film.

                                                      

Things I didn’t like:

• This is the first Marvel film to NOT give Stan Lee a cameo performance!  Drats!  I always look forward to those little moments.  Instead, you can see him in a quick picture montage.  Definitely not as good.
• Sometimes trailers are deceiving.  In an earlier trailer for DEADPOOL 2, Deadpool says, "Pump the hate brakes, Thanos," referencing Josh Brolin's role as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, but in the actual movie, he's talking to two lesbians and he says, "Pump the hate brakes, Fox and Friends."
• I don't read the comic books, but Domino's character and alliances are much different there than in this movie, as well as her color and eye circle.  It certainly didn't bother me, but some fans might be annoyed.  Zazie Beetz did a fantastic job.
• SPOILER:  Have you seen The Terminator?  Yeah, that's this plot.

Funny lines:

• “Forgive me for being late.  I was busy gathering all the gluten in the world so it can not NOT hurt us.” – Deadpool
• “That is why the man bun is just the Millennial mullet.” – Deadpool
• “So dark.  Are you sure you’re not from the DC Universe?” – Deadpool
• “Mission accomplished?” – Dopinder (Karan Soni)

“Well, in a George W. sort of way.” – Deadpool

• “Every family film starts with a vicious murder…Bambi. Lion King. Saw 7.” – Deadpool
• “It’s time to get back on LinkedIn.” – Weasel (T.J. Miller)
• Vanisher….ha ha  IMDB shows his face listed as Brad Pitt!  The studio actually wanted Brad Pitt to play Cable, but he had to decline that role due to scheduling conflicts.
• “Never underestimate a man with a mustache.” – Deadpool
• “I have no idea what’s happening.” –  Blind Al

“It’s probably best.” - Deadpool

Interesting lines:

• “Family was always an F word for me.” - Deadpool
• “You are not your father.” – Vanessa
• “I fight for what’s right.” – Deadpool

                                           

                                           @trinaboice

Overboard remake adds some new elements to the 1987 original

Movie Title:     Overboard

Grade:   B

Rating: PG-13, 110 minutes

In a Nutshell:   It has been many years since I saw the original Gary Marshall movie  Overboard starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, but I remember thinking it was a charming Rom-com.  

The good news is that there is some charm to this remake, but the bad news is that it's not a great movie.

There is a funny running gag about Mexican soap operas.  Now that I think of it, the movie kind of feels like a goofy 1980’s Mexican soap opera.

                                                     

Tips for parents: 

• Eugenio Derbez pulls part of his shorts down to reveal a tattoo on his butt cheek.
• There is a LOT of Spanish spoken, so there are a LOT of subtitles.  If you speak Spanish, you’ll hear some profanity.
• The plot of the movie is that the protagonist and her children lie to a rich man to take advantage of his amnesia, as well as get a little revenge. Not exactly the kind of example we want to set for our kids.
• Girls in bikinis.
• Some profanity in English and Spanish.
• Alcohol.
• There is some discussion about what the word “pervert” means, so your young kids are probably going to ask you about it.
• You see an unmarried couple in bed together.

Uplifting theme: 

• Follow your dream
• Motherhood
• Poetic justice
• “Life’s short and you don’t want to live with regrets.” -  (Anna Faris)

                                   

Things I liked:

• Eugenio Derbez is always delightful.  I first saw him in How To Be A Latin Lover.  He’s super popular in Mexico.  I can see why.
• Anna Faris is probably best known for her roles in the Scary Movie franchise.  Unlike her ex-husband Chris Pratt, she tends to choose movie scripts that end up bombing at the box office.  She’s extremely likable and capable, although her plastic surgery is a bit distracting.  I’m not talking about her breast implants, but it looks like she had something done to her lips. I keep staring at her face to see if I could figure out what she had done.
• Fans of The Last Man on Earth: Season 1 will get a kick out of seeing Mel Rodriguez.
• Keep watching when the rolling credits run at the end of the movie.
• My twin sister teaches nursing students, so I thought it was cute that Anna Faris' character listened to nursing audio books in the car to help her prepare for her big test.  Every summer, my sister takes nursing students to various Third World countries to offer free health clinics.  The program is run through International Service Learning.  I got to go with her one year as a Spanish translator when she went to Colombia.  It was awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone in the health industry who is up for a meaningful adventure abroad! 
• There is a cute Jaws reference when you see the name tag “Brody” on a guy during a conversation about sharks.   Ha ha
• In a movie filled with wacky gags and slapstick humor, I thought it was insightful to include a short, yet deep scene where some men talked about how they felt like they were just a paycheck to their wives. 
• The youngest daughter, played by Payton Lepinski, is so adorable.  I’d like to see her in more films.
• It’s always good to see Eva Longoria.
• Director and writer Rob Greenberg was trying to bring something fresh to the remake by switching the gender roles and adding a Latino element to the story.

Things I didn’t like:

• The chemistry between Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris             isn’t very convincing.  Of course, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell were an actual couple when they filmed the original Overboard, so their chemistry was undeniable.  
• Eugenio wears a lot of Seattle Seahawks t-shirts in the movie, but the location is supposedly somewhere along the Oregon coast.  I was just in Seattle last weekend, by the way.  It was my very first time there and I was so impressed!  My husband and I enjoyed perfect weather with blue skies and had so much fun going on tours, seeing the sites, and discovering cool restaurants.   I highly recommend the “Underground Tour”, “Free Walking Tours”, and Amazon headquarters tour!  What a cool city.

Interesting lines:

• “I don’t have time for fun.” – Kate (Anna Faris)

“Then you’re not doing it right.” – Theresa (Eva Longoria)

• “Land of the free, not land of the free lunch.” –  Bobby (Mel Rodriguez)
• “Mos of us only know the world we’re born into.”  - Colin (John Hannah) 
• “Act like a man!” – Godfather

                                          

                                             @trinaboice

I Feel Pretty just might give women more confidence

Movie Title: 

    I Feel Pretty

Grade:   B+

Rating: PG-13, 110 minutes

In a Nutshell: 
Every female is going to relate to this movie.  I think it’s fairly safe to say that every woman has insecurities about herself.  

Whether it’s a lack of confidence about how we look or speak or do certain things, we all wish we felt better about ourselves.  We can be our own worst enemy. The mirror certainly doesn't help.  This isn’t a movie about body shaming, but one of having self-confidence and trying to be your best self. In an interview with with Gayle King, Amy Schumer explained it as a journey, both the struggle for feeling good about one's self and her own career.

It’s kind of a mix between Jack Black’s comedy Shallow Hal and Tom Hank’s charming movie Big (I loved both of them).  It’s a fun chick flick…meaning, take your besties to the theater, share a giant bucket of popcorn, and don't beat yourself up for not being so perfect.

                             

Tips for parents: 

·      Some profanity.

·      You see a lot of Amy Schumer’s cleavage, mid-section, and bare naked back side a couple of times, complete with tramp stamp.  There is also a scene with a bunch of beautiful women in skimpy bikinis.

·      There is a lot of talk about sex, as well as a super awkward sex scene where you see some skin.  Pre-marital relations.

·      2 gay men.

·      Renee (Amy Schumer) gets drunk.

·      One of the girls confesses she has HPV and explains it away by saying, “Everyone has HPV.”  Um….nope.  That’s not true.  Guess what?  If you don’t sleep around, you won’t get it.

 Uplifting theme: 

·     “Believe in yourself.”  - Renee Bennett (Amy Schumer)

·      It’s confidence that makes you beautiful and sexy.

·      “Change your mind, change your life.” – Soul Cycle teacher

·      “We are real women.  What a great thing to be.” – Renee Bennett

·      Do YOU really see people?  Do you judge people just by how they look?

                                                      

Things I liked:

·  Michelle Williams is hilarious and awesome.  She's so effective in dramas, but it's also nice to see her in a comedic role.  She has had an amazing few months in the success of The Greatest Showman , as well as All The Money In The World .  We'll see her again in the upcoming movie "Venom." She's on a roll!

·   Most young people won’t know who Lauren Hutton is.  There is a picture towards the very end of the movie that shows Lauren Hutton when she was at the peak of her modeling days as a young woman.  I thought it was really fun to have her in the movie as Lily LeClaire.

·      Yep, it’s true.  Kentucky Fried Chicken does use Hidden Valley Ranch dressing.

·      I liked that the Soul Cycle teacher told all of the class participants to “set an intention.”  If we were all more mindful and proactive about our lives, we’d be surprised at how much better things turned out.  Renee (Amy Schumer) wears a sweatshirt at the beginning of the movie that says “Get it Girl!” which is the anthem of the movie.  Take your flaws and STILL believe in yourself.

·      It’s refreshing to see how brave Amy Schumer is about making fun of herself and flaunting her more than size 2 body.  Her stand-up comedy bits have always been completely honest, although extremely raunchy. I admire that she doesn't let Hollywood make her feel terrible about herself.

·      I’ve been a big fan of Saturday Night Live ever since my college roommate and I would watch it together on a tiny TV in our dorm room.  I love seeing a lot of the comediennes from SNL on movies lately.  This one features the talented Aidy Bryant and Sasheer Zamata. 

·      You’ll see a lot of beautiful women like Naomi Campbell and Emily Ratajkowski.

·      I laughed at the beginning when the camera scanned all of Renee’s beauty products in her bathroom.  Most of us spend ridiculous amounts of money on products, hoping they will FINALLY be the magic pill to make us look prettier and feel better about ourselves.  The ironic thing about this movie is that Renee works for a cosmetic company and her speech at the end sells more make-up.
*  I loved Renee's color-coordinated boxes behind her desk in the China town basement.  

Things I didn’t like:

·   You know what else is attractive?  Virtue and humility.  While Hollywood has been pumping out a lot of "be who you are" movies lately, there is a serious lack of movies that celebrate women, or men for that matter, who are virtuous and humble and chaste.  Religious values are, more often than not, mocked in Hollywood movies. Yeah, that doesn't exactly get laughs or sell box office tickets, but I sure would like to see more well-behaved, good girls in movies being honored for a change.

*  Everyone loved Amy Schumer when she first hit the scene, but for some reason, it’s now popular to hate her.  Her stand-up routines are super trashy and she seems to celebrate being a skank, but I love that she doesn’t apologize for not being the skinny model that Hollywood thinks she should be.

·   I thought it was funny that they grouped Busy Philipps with the “average” girlfriends, because I’ve always thought she was pretty.
*  I thought for sure that some time during the movie we'd hear a modern version of the famous  West Side Story song, I Feel Pretty.  Nope, it never played.  Missed opportunity, right?
*  Women are definitely going to appreciate this movie more than men.

Funny lines:

·      “Can I be you when I grow up?” – Ethan (Rory Scovel) 

Interesting lines:

·   “I think a lot of people are confused about themselves.” – Ethan

·      “I started to believe that if I wanted it bad enough, all my dreams could come true.” – Renee Bennett

·      “What if we never lost that little girl confidence?” – Renee

·      “This make-up line won’t change your life – only you can do that.” – Renee

·      “I know I look good.  I don’t need a room full of drunk guys to confirm it.” – Renee

·      “I am brave.  I am blonde.  And I got this!” – Mason (Adrian Martinez)

                                                     

                                                @trinaboice

Game Night is a dark comedy with some fun twists

Movie Title:      Game Night

Grade:  B+

Rating: R

In a Nutshell:   “And THAT is how you do a game night!”   

This dark comedy has enough twists to keep the audience entertained and guessing.

Tips for parents: 

• F-bombs, profanity, and other crude language.
• Talk of sex.
• Sibling rivalry.
• Fight Club action
• Blood, violence
• Someone gets shot in the arm

Uplifting theme: 

•  Family, friendship, loyalty 

                 

Things I liked:

• I like Rachel McAdams in pretty much everything she does.
• I love Jason Bateman, but he tends to lean towards the really raunchy movies.  I appreciate that this one was a little cleaner.  He and Rachel McAdams make a joke about child actors that don’t do anything with their lives, which is especially funny, because Jason Bateman was a child actor in the TV show Silver Spoons: Season 1.
• Fans of Lamorne Morris from New Girl: Season 1 will get a kick of his Denzel Washington impersonation.   
• A few fun twists.
• Full of pop culture references.
• Keep watching during the rolling credits at the end.
• Cute opening with clever transitions.
• Some funny lines that I'll probably be quoting for some time.

Things I didn’t like:

•  Some crude humor that lowered the quality of the film.
• The movie poster with Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams is terrible.  There is another movie poster that's being used with game pieces on it, but it isn't very good either.

Funny lines:

* "You're not Liam Neeson!" - Annie (Rachel McAdams)

    "That hurts my feelings." - Max (Jason Bateman)

* "Wait!  You don't have to do this.  I have children at home." - Annie

   "Not with that a$$ you don't." - bad guy

* "Oh no!  He died!" - Annie

*  "Our baby's gonna crush all of the other babies." - Annie

                                            

 @trinaboice

Downsizing has a big message

Movie Title:  Downsizing

Grade:  C+

Rating: R, 2 hours 15 minutes

In a Nutshell: Alexander Payne directs this social satire that introduces some interesting environmental ideas, but ultimately reminds us that a life lived for others has the most meaning.

Tips for parents: 

• Paul takes the Lord’s name in vain and gets immediately scolded by Ngoc Lan Tran.  She uses the “F” word a thousand times in one scene and he tries to teach her it’s a vulgar word.  There is some more profanity in other scenes.
• Pre-marital sex and discussions about it.
• Oddly, there is a LOT of full body male nudity.
• Kids will mostly be bored.

                                   

Uplifting theme: 

• “The door to happiness opens outward.” – poster on the wall during Paul's high school reunion
• We are meant for something better.
• “The world is filled with things to see.” – Dusan Mirkovic (Christoph Waltz)
• “I finally have a chance to do something that matters.” –   Paul Safranek (Matt Daman)

Things I liked:

• Hong Chau was recently nominated for a well-deserved Screen Actors Guild Award for her role as Ngoc Lan Tran.
• Christoph Waltz always brings such colorful characters to the big screen.  I thought he was fantastic in Big Eyes.
• It was interesting to see how Downsizing  was used in different ways: save the planet, punish criminals and poor people, allow the average person to live a life of luxury, reflect on the meaning of life, opportunity to begin again.
• Gorgeous scenery in Norway.  Parts of the movie were also filmed in beautiful Canada.

Things I didn’t like:

• Some people have been very critical of Matt Damon’s bland performance, but I think that was just Paul Safranek’s character.  I love Matt Damon in anything.  Because Paul rarely smiles, it would have had a lot of impact if the movie had ended with him grinning from ear to ear like in the 1988 movie The Accidental Tourist (which I loved).
• It’s a little slow moving.
• It’s very preachy about global warming and over-population.
• The trailer made the movie appear like it would be a comedy, but it’s really not.  The idea of downsizing could have made for a very funny movie, but it strives to be something much deeper and comes off feeling uneven.
• A lot of plot points are glossed over without much explanation.
• The trailer makes it seem like Matt Daman's boring call center job is what contributes to his wanting to leave his life in the "real" world and downsize, but he actually gets that job after he downsizes!  The trailer scene with Kristen Wiig's character working at a shoe store doesn't even appear in the movie.  It always annoys me when trailers paint a different picture from what the movie actually is or when they show lines that don't appear in the movie.                                           

Interesting lines:

• “Not a very successful species these homo-sapiens.” – Dr. Jorgen Asbjornsen (Rolf Lassgard - This is his first film in English!)
• “Lots of people are in pain, Mom, in all sorts of ways.” – Paul Safranek (Matt Daman)   That’s really true.  We should never judge others, because we don’t know the pain they might be going through.
• “Human life on earth is unsustainable.” – TV talking head
• “Friends tell friends the truth.” – Dusan Mirkovic (Christoph Waltz)
• “When you know death comes soon, you look around things more close.” – Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau)
• “Downsizing is about hitting the reset button.” – Dave Johnson (Jason Sudeikis)
• “It’s humbling, huh? Nature is such a patient sculptor, grinding a tiny bit each day, slowly, slowly for thousands of years to make such a supremely beautiful thing.” – Dr. Jorgen Asbjornsen
• “Downsizing is about saving yourself.” – comedian guy is about saving yourself.” – Dave Johnson  (It's true.  The more we get rid of all the stuff and things in our lives, the more free we are from the things that fill our lives with unimportant nonsense.)

                                           @trinaboice