The Shallows (2016)

Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra

Written by: Anthony Jaswinski

Starring: Blake Lively







In an attempt to reconnect with her deceased mother, Nancy (Lively) travels to a hidden beach in Mexico to surf and just enjoy the water.  Unfortunately, while there she is attacked by a shark.

Loved this film!  I was tensed up in my seat the whole time.  This film keeps you on the edge with you wondering what is going to happen next.

This film has a clear protagonist and antagonist with it being Nancy and the shark respectively.  There aren't many other characters in the film.  It's pretty basic premise with her needing to survive and get away from the shark.

The main reason the film is not five popcorns is because in the film the creators make the shark seem like it is going after Nancy because it's vengeful.  According to my shark expert and to Earth Sky, sharks feel little emotion.

But other than that, this film is awesome and will keep you wanting more. 4 popcorns.

The Neon Demon (2016)

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn

Written by: Nicolas Winding Refn, Mary Laws, & Polly Stenham

Starring: Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, & Keanu Reeves






Jessie (Fanning) just lost her parents and ventures to L.A. to make something of herself.  While there she gets into modeling and does very well due to her fresh young non-altered look.  The other models don't approve of the new competition and do everything in their power to make sure she doesn't succeed.

The film has a good premise, but falls short when it comes to the conclusion, mostly due to some supernatural weird circumstances that ruin the movie.  But some people may like that.  I wasn't one of those people and recommend you do not see this film unless you like experimental films.  (I usually do, but this one had a weird plot.)

Elle Fanning's character was great and who knew she was so tall?!  Poor Dakota.  Anyway, she'll probably go far in life and did a great job of being a model as well as adjusting to Jessie's character arc.

Even though I didn't like the plot, there were some interesting things technical wise.  The camera work was creative and artsy.  There were a few scenes with sun flares, too many in my opinion, but then they were nice shots of scenery and just general creative shots.  The editing was beautiful too with the neon lights and tint.

Other than that though, nothing to get excited about.  2 popcorns.

Finding Dory (2016)

Directed by: Andrew Stanton & Angus MacLane

Written by: Andrew Stanton, Victoria Strouse, Bob Peterson (additional material), & Angus MacLane (additional material)

Starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, & Ed O'Neill






A year after Finding Nemo, Dory is asked the important question of where she comes from.  Not knowing, Dory sets out on a quest to remember and find her parents.

I love Dory.  Who doesn't love Dory?

Anyway, the movie is entertaining.  There a few hilarious parts and some sad parts.  The story is clear and the conclusion makes sense.  Plus, the main characters: Dory (DeGeneres), Marlin (Brooks), and Hank (O'Neill) all have character arcs.  Some minor characters do too.

There isn't much to say about this film.  It's a great Pixar film and is beautifully done.  Even though it is the number one animated film ever according to the box office, I didn't think it was as good as the original and some other Pixar films.  Not sure why.

Oh well.  But I did really like the Pixar short, Piper, at the beginning of the film.  Super cute.  Piper would get 5 popcorns, but Finding Dory gets 4.

Central Intelligence (2016)

Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber

Written by: Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen, & Rawson Marshall Thurber

Starring: Dwayne Johnson & Kevin Hart







Bob Stone (Johnson) was not popular in high school.  After an embarrassing incident, he leaves school, but not without making his one and only friend, the most popular guy in school, Calvin Joyner (Hart).  20 years later, Calvin receives a Facebook request to reunite with Bob.  Unsure, he accepts the request and they meet up for drinks.  Unfortunately for Calvin, Bob is not the same guy he was in high school and now works for the C.I.A.  He drags Calvin into an espionage mess where Bob is being framed for betraying the country.

First off, I didn't think this film was that funny.  I chuckled a few times, but nothing crazy.  Despite that, I did like the collaboration of Johnson and Hart.  They have good chemistry and will probably work together again in the future.  I especially liked Johnson's character this time around, because it's very different from the ones he has played beforehand.

The story did keep me interested though.  I was intrigued to see what was going to happen with both characters so that was a plus.  But that's about it.  3 popcorns.

The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Directed by: James Wan

Written by: Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, James Wan, & David Leslie Johnson

Starring: Vera Farmiga & Patrick Wilson







Ed (Wilson) and Lorraine (Farmiga) Warren take on their biggest case to date. A young girl in England brings home a Ouija board and, of course with that, the spirit of an old man.  In hopes of casting the spirit out the Warrens come to England, but are unsure if there is a spirit in the house or the girl is just faking it.

I loved this film.  I usually do not like horror films because I end up laughing at them.  I try not to because I don't want to ruin the movie for others, but they just do not seem scary.  But this one did.

The whole time I was watching this film I had goosebumps.  I liked it so much, I saw it twice.  The nun, who is a demon in the film, was the character that really made me shiver.  Mostly because she's a nun, seen as a religious symbol, but also a demon.  Great contrast and decision making of changing the demon to be a nun.  Good job Wan!  Also F.Y.I. the nun is going to have her own movie; same director, writer, and producers.

Another reason I really enjoyed this film is that there are two scenes that are very creative.  There is one where the Warrens want to talk to the spirit, but he will not possess Janet (Madison Wolfe) unless they aren't looking.  So Ed looks away and the camera just has him in focus, while Janet/the spirit are out of focus, but you can still tell when the possession happens.  The other scene is a point of view shot when Ed cannot see and the camera is blurry as it goes around the house with his hands out in front.  I love those type of scenes...when they work!

Besides that I thought the story was cohesive and the acting was great.  5 popcorns.

Now You See Me 2 (2016)

Directed by: Jon M. Chu

Written by: Ed Solomon, Pete Chiarelli (story), Boaz Yakin (characters), & Edward Ricourt (characters)

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, & Lizzy Caplan






The four horsemen are back!  Minus one horsewoman and an addition of one to replace Isla Fisher's character Henley Reeves.  Reason being for the absence of Fisher is that she was pregnant in real life!  Congrats!

In this sequel, Atlas (Eisenberg), Merritt (Harrelson), and Wilder (Franco) have to deal with a power issue in the group as well as their new horsemen, Lula (Caplan), who is quite different from Henley.  As Atlas struggles with not being the leader of their group, the four horsemen get taken on a wild ride by none other than Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe), who is supposed to be dead.  Walter hires the horsemen to steal a chip that can control every computer in the world.  But the horsemen have their own plans.

What I liked about this film, other than the amazing magic tricks, is the new character Lula as well as how in the beginning of the film, there is a brief reminder as to what happened in the first film.  But, it is probably best to watch the first film before watching this one even with the prologue because there are some aspects of what happened in the first film that are not mentioned in the second's intro that are important.

Caplan's character Lula is fantastic and eases the tension between the all boys' club.  She adds a sense of humor that would otherwise not be there despite Harrelson's and Franco's attempts.  So whoever thought of her is a genius.

There were a few camera shots that bugged me regarding a kidnapping.  I won't say who was kidnapped.  They tried to do it from the kidnappee's point of view (POV) and it was semi-successful. They should have just let the scene be in third person since it did not add anything or take away anything from having it be in POV.

Other than that, the film is entertaining and is clear about the intentions of all the characters.  Plus it finally ties up some loose ends that were in the previous film.  4 popcorns.

Me Before You (2016)

Directed by: Thea Sharrock

Written by: Jojo Moyes

Starring: Emilia Clarke & Sam Claflin

First off, I read the book Me Before You I.  I’m now on the second one, which is not as good.  I won’t say why because that will ruin the ending of this film. 

Louisa Clark (Clarke) is in desperate need of a job because she supports her family. When she goes to the job center, she is able to be employed by a wealthy family, the Traynors, to take care of their quadriplegic son, Will (Claflin), who has a lost a reason for living.

Emilia Clarke has such an expressive face that she is the perfect example of showing, not telling.  Her chemistry with Sam Claflin is great and does well with the events of the story. 

I didn’t see many technical problems with the film.  There may have been one shot that was a little blurry, but that could have been my vision going awry.  But it didn’t deter away from the story and this film made me cry at least three times. 

If you need a nice rom-com (more rom, than com) take a relaxing look at this film.  It'll make you get all the feels.

5 popcorns, mostly because I cried.