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

Logan's Rated R surprises superhero fans

Movie Title:   Logan

Grade:  B

Rating:   R, 135 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This is NOT your typical Marvel superhero movie.  For starters, it’s Rated R with tons of bloody violence, trampy girls, and an aging Wolverine wearing reading glasses.

It's the first Rated R movie to feature Wolverine and is a very dark, brutal movie.  It has some thoughtful reflection peppered in between the explosive action sequences.

One of the best things about seeing Logan in theaters is the Deadpool short right before the movie starts.  Hilarious.

Uplifting theme: 

•  Love, friendship, loyalty
•  Don't judge people. 

Things I liked:

• I love love love Hugh Jackman.  He can truly do it all.  I hated seeing him drunk and lost though.
• Patrick Stewart is awesome too.  I didn't like seeing him old and helpless though.
• Boyd Holbrook does a great job as the bad guy.
• I always get a kick out of Stephen Merchant, but the character he plays in this movie is nothing like you've ever seen him play before.  Kudos to him for having two movies in theaters right now!  (He plays his typical nerdy self in Table 19.)  
• It was funny to watch Wolverine read comics about himself.
•  Some of the characters watch the movie Shane.  It's one of my dad's favorite movies, so I noticed it!
• Logan's license plate said "wer112".  ha ha

Things I didn’t like:

·        Some Spanish without subtitles.

·       I didn’t like seeing Charles Xavier as a helpless old coot.

·       There’s lots of shaking and loud noises that make the mutants 
         go crazy, which is super annoying to sit through.

·       I didn’t enjoy watching a little girl be super violent.  Dafne 

         Keen did a great job though.

·       It's sad to see Wolverine tired, old, cranky, and mean.

*        I'm not an X-Men comic book junkie by any means, but there

          is a character that's not in the comic books.  It looks like the

          screenwriters just made it up.

Interesting lines:

• From the song in the movie: “I hurt myself today to see if I could still feel.  I focused on the pain, the only thing that’s real.”
• “You know, Logan, this is what life looks like: a home with people who love each other.  You should take a moment to feel it.” – Dr. Xavier
• "I always know who you are.  It's just sometimes I don't recognize you." - Dr. Xavier
• 
  
• Tips for parents: 

• Tons of profanity, including LOTS of F-bombs.
• TONS of bloody, gory, violent fighting.
• You might not want your children to see this gritty version of Wolverine.
• The theater near my house posted this warning to parents:  

@trinaboice 

John Wick Chapter 2 kicks you know what

Movie Title:    John Wick Chapter 2

Grade:  A-

Rating: R, 122 minutes of non-stop action and violence

In a Nutshell:  Revenge.  Huge body count.  Cool guns. Lots of violence.  Welcome back John Wick.

If you liked the first one, you'll love the sequel.  You can tell it's directed by a stuntman, Chad Stahelski. It's a master class in hand-to-hand combat. A movie critic from the Quad City Times described the stylish, slick film as a “ballet of violence.”  Well said.

Uplifting theme: 

• Persistence, tenacity
• Honor

Things I liked:

• Cool intro scene with motorcycle image on the façade of the building.
• Rome!  I absolutely love Italy.
• At times, there are subtitles, but I have to say they’re very stylish ones.
• Common does a great job as Cassian.
• The legend says John Wick killed 3 guys with a pencil.  You finally get to see that skill play out in this sequel.
• The film actually ties up loose ends from the first movie.
• Fans will be happy to see a cliff-hanger that assures another installment in this franchise.
• The trailer doesn’t reveal much of the story.  Thank you.
• Keanu Reeves does 95% of his own stuntman.  Check out some of the many impressive Keanu Reeves videos on YouTube that show how he trained for both John Wick movies.
• You get to learn more about the criminal “organization” and its underground world.  I thought the telephone operators with all the tattoos were hilarious. 

Things I didn’t like:

• Some of the scenes take place in dark catacombs, so this film will be hard to watch on a computer screen when it comes out on DVD.
• It’s ridiculous how many fight scenes there are in large crowds, yet the people around hardly bat an eye, let alone move out of the way or scream.
• John Wick has an excellent aim, yet so many of the other professionals keep missing their shots.

Interesting lines:

• “I’m not that guy anymore.” – John (Keanu Reeves)

“You’re always that guy, John.” – Santino D’Antonio

• “Rules.” – John

“Rules.  Without them, we’re like the animals.” – Winston (Ian McShane)

• “So, you have a choice.  You want a war or do you just want to give me a gun?” – John
• “Remember, you owe me.” – Bowery King

“You don’t want me owing you.” - John

 Funny lines:

• “Does he have a name, Sir?” – Charon (Lance Reddick) asking about John's dog.

“No.” – John

• “Never one to waste words.” – Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio)
• “I’d like a tasting.” – John (as he tests out various weapons)
• “And the lining?” – tailor

“Tactical.” – John

• “I’ll make it quick.” – Cassian

“I’d appreciate that.  I’ll try to do the same.” – John

• “7 million!  It’s Christmas!  We going to Applebee’s after this.” – Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne)  It was fun seeing Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne in some scenes together again after the Matrix 

Tips for parents: 

• This is very, very violent, as expected.
• Lots of blood and head shots.
• F-bombs and other profanity.

  

@trinaboice 

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is non-stop action and violence

Movie Title:    Resident Evil: The Final Chapter [Blu-ray]

  

Grade:   D

Rating:  R, 106 minutes

In a Nutshell: This is the 6^th and supposed final installment in the popular dystopian video game and movie franchise, featuring Milla Jovovich.  It has all of the necessary jumps, scares, and fang close-ups you’d expect from the same director who did Alien Vs. Predator (Paul W. S. Anderson.)

Milla Jovovich doesn’t age, but gets better with her long, athletic legs that can jump and flip over anything, as well as kick alien/zombie/bad guy butt.  Her ice cold stare is priceless.  Can you imagine her and Kate Beckinsale in a cat fight?

“Is that all you got?”

Uplifting theme: 

•  Never give up.
• Sacrifice for others gives life.

Things I liked:

• If you haven’t seen any of the previous movies in this franchise, the first 5 minutes of this one will give you a quick refresher.
• It feels like a video game at times.
• Another tough girl I’ve always liked watching in movies is Ali Larter.
• Some of the stunts are pretty impressive.

Things I didn’t like:

• Cars never start when you need them to in an emergency.  Lame.
• It’s a bit confusing.
• Mind-numbing, non-stop action the entire time.  There’s a lot of running and kicking.  I was exhausted just watching them.
• A lot of the scenes are at night or in the dark, so this movie is going to look horrible on a computer monitor or small TV.
• The title suggests that this is the last movie in the franchise, but the ending certainly leaves it open for another one…

Funny lines:

• “I made you.” – Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts)

“Yeah, big mistake.” – Alice

• “What are we gonna do?” – Doc

“We’re going to kill every last one of them.” – Alice

Interesting lines:

• “We played a long game, you and I, but now it’s over.” – Albert

“Yes.  Yes it is.” - Alice

Tips for parents:   

• This is super violent, bloody, and gory.
• Tons of explosions, crashes, and destruction.  
• Scary zombies racing after you.
• Some profanity.

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No Good Deed is predictable, but still suspenseful

Movie Title:   No Good Deed

PG-13, 1 hour 24 minutes

Grade:  C

In a Nutshell:   He’s creepy.  She’s stupid.  It’s all very predictable, but that didn’t stop the audience I watched the movie with from screaming, cheering and clapping.  And yeah, 90% of the audience was middle-aged women who were happy to see the helpless female victim finally start to fight back and kick some bad guy butt. 

Uplifting theme:  Don’t be stupid.  Don’t open your door to strangers, especially to large, menacing men who could squash you with their finger.  On a serious note, women need to know self-defense and how to handle a firearm.

Things I liked:

• Idris Elba is excellent.  He is equally convincing as a heroic character in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and Thor , as he is as an escaped felon looking for psychotic revenge.
•  Even though I thought the movie was pretty cliched, I still noticed that I was chewing my gum really fast.  Despite your head knowing what’s going to happen, your heart still races.
• The beautiful Leslie Bibb plays Meg, Terri’s slutty and wise friend who offers some comic relief.
• The movie takes place in Atlanta.  I lived in a suburb near Atlanta for 15 years and loved it.  The movie would have benefited, however, from a few of those magical fireflies they have in the South.
• I wondered if this would be a remake of the 2002 Samuel L. Jackson movie No Good Deed , but it’s really not.

Things I didn’t like:

• Terri could have gotten help from other people so many times during the ordeal.  She’s supposed to be an educated District Attorney turned stay-at-home mom, but she makes some really dumb and annoying choices.
• It kind of feels like one of those Lifetime movies created for an estrogen-filled audience. 
• I have to admit that I've uttered the phrase "No good deed goes unpunished" many times in my life when I have done something kind and yet it turned around to bite me.  It happens.  Still, it's important to not become so cynical that you stop serving others.  You just have to be smart about it too.

Interesting lines:

• “I would have thought with all those brains you got, you woulda figured out what game we’re playing.”  - Colin
• “Why are you doing this?”  - Terri

“You’ll see.”   - Colin

Tips for parents:  I’m not sure why this movie is rated R because it has 2 F-bombs.  Idris Elba steps out of a shower and is naked, but because of the lighting, you don’t see anything.  The beautiful Taraji Henson wears a tank top that gets wet in a scene…

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