Thank You for Your Service (2017)

Directed by: Jason Hall

Written by: Jason Hall & David Finkel (novel)

Starring: Miles Teller, Haley Bennett, & Beulah Koale







Overall, the film was inspiring to be more proactive in fighting for veteran rights.  Plot wise, the film addressed what veterans go through in three different scenarios, such as gang activity, suicide, and the V.A.  It was very eye opening and brought about a larger issue that more people should be concerned of.

As a film, there were portions in the middle that dragged a little, such as the hunting scene, in my opinion, but I thought at the same time that these scenes were appropriate to bring about further scenes, essentially the backstory.  

On another note, I feel the casting choice for Miles Teller was poor.  To me, he's more of a college kid, because of how young he looks, but playing a late 20-year-old seems unbelievable, especially in him being a sergeant.

4 popcorns.

A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)

Directed by: Jon Lucas & Scott Moore

Written by: Jon Lucas & Scott Moore

Starring: Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, & Kathryn Hahn







Continuing after the first film, these three moms come back for their own taking back of Christmas.  They're tired to having to be perfect with the presents, the decorations, and just being jolly and trying to keep these unrealistic Christmas traditions.  But when their moms come to town, it sets each woman back with them each having their own issue with their mother, whether they are the smotherer, super critical, or just isn't there.

The film was hilarious; just as much as the first one.  But it was even better because Justin Hartley is in it and his interaction with the other characters is priceless.

But what made this film good was that you got to see different moms up there and their moms, making the lightbulb go off like "oh that's why they're like that."  It's definitely a mother daughter film, but not every mother is up on screen or they can be a blend of them.

There isn't really anything bad about the film.  But I just thought that it wasn't a crying laughing film. I did get a little teary eyed when the mother daughter relationships, but that's about it.

4 popcorns.

Geostorm (2017)

Directed by: Dean Devlin

Written by: Dean Devlin & Paul Guyot

Starring: Gerard Butler & Jim Sturgess






Natural disasters were occurring at an alarming rate therefore the countries of the world got together and crate a weather machine to control the weather all around the world.  Unfortunately, the machine is malfunctioning and causing even crazier natural disasters to occur in the most random places.  Jack (Butler) is sent by the government to figure out what's wrong with his creation, but he discovers that the machine is not malfunctioning, but is being controlled.

The movie was very interesting and kept me on my toes for most of the film.  I usually like these type of natural disaster films because it is always possible that this could happen in real life.  Plus, seeing the CGI is crazy.

But, some of the emotions that the characters exhibited seemed off.  For example, these two people are crying about being separated, but they've only known each other for like a week.  Am I just insensitive?

3 popcorns.

The Snowman (2017)

Directed by: Thomas Alfredson

Written by: Peter Straughan, Hossein Amini, Søren Sveistrup, & Jo Nesbø (novel)

Starring: Michael Fassbender & Rebecca Ferguson






Slowest movie I've seen in a long time.

After women go missing, Harry (Fassbender) and Katrine (Ferguson) begin to find snowmen along with them dead bodies, if there.  Working together, they discover clues to eventually solve the snowman killer.

The film was predictable and like I said, slow.  There was no action really and the investigators kept going back and forth on what they thought were clues, yadda yadda yadda.

Don't see it.  Not worth your time and is hella boring.

1 popcorn.

The Foreigner (2017)

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Written by: David Marconi & Stephen Leather (novel)

Starring: Jackie Chan & Pierce Brosnan






After an explosion killed his daughter, Quan (Chan) is determined to get revenge and know the names of the killers.  Questioning and stalking Liam (Brosnan), who is may have information as to who did the bombing is his main goal.  But Liam claims to not know anything.   But is he lying?

I thought the film would mostly be about Jackie Chan, but it isn't.  He's in it, doing his regular stunts, but the film is mostly about Brosnan figuring out who did the bombing.  That was kind of disappointing.

But the scenes with Chan were excellent.  He definitely showed his acting chops and presented his dramatic side.

3 popcorns.

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017)

Directed by: Angela Robinson

Written by: Angela Robinson

Starring: Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, & Bella Heathcote







With this film, you get to see how the Justice League hero came to be.

Professor Marston (Evans) is married and teaches at Harvard about the DISC theory: Dominance, Inducement, Submission, and Compliance.  Unfortunately, nobody cares.  Meanwhile, his wife Elizabeth (Hall) is frustrated that she does not earn the credit and reputation for what she's accomplished simply because she's a woman.  Considering their new project, the lie detector, they decide to hire an intern/assistant that can help them test the theory and their invention.  But both fall in love with her.

Did I even talk about Wonder Woman?

Basically the film is just discussing how Marston's relationship with Elizabeth and Olive compile into one woman: Wonder Woman.  Through their unconventional relationship, their careers fall, but it does raise the question: Can you have two soul mates?  Can you be in love with more than one person?

I love these types of movies and although the trailer makes it seem that this film will be boring, I can assure you it isn't.  It is a little unorthodox in terms of subject matter, i.e. porn, but still it's a beautiful film that should be watched by everyone whom is closed minded, or if you like philosophy or Wonder Woman.

5 popcorns.

Victoria and Abdul (2017)

Directed by: Stephen Frears

Written by: Lee Hall & Shrabani Basu

Starring: Judi Dench & Ali Fazal







When presenting Queen Victoria (Dench) with a special Indian coin, Abdul (Fazal) looks her in the eyes and smiles.  Victoria, overcome with interest and attraction, decides to have him stay in England and work there as a servant whom slowly moves up the ranks.  Unhappy with the situation, Victoria's son and other staff members do anything they can to get him deported back to India.

This film is a feel good historical movie that is astounding that it is a true story.  Seeing their relationship on screen shows that both of them were ahead of their time, while everyone else was still prejudiced and racist.

This film also gave great insight as to why she held power for so long and why Abdul had never been heard of before.  The film was outstanding and the chemistry was magnetic.  In addition, the film aesthetics were fabulous, especially the chosen locations.

5 popcorns.

The Mountain Between Us (2017)

Directed by: Hany Abu-Assad

Written by: J. Mills Goodloe, Charles Martin (novel), & Chris Weitz

Starring: Idris Elba & Kate Winselt






In an attempt for survival, Alex (Winselt) and Ben (Elba) rely on each other to find other humans that have resources to lead them back home.  While on the mountain, they encounter dangerous terrain and unforeseen obstacles that bring them closer together.

This movie kept me on edge.  I kept wondering what was going to happen throughout the whole film. Were they going to be saved?  Were they going to die?  Who was going to die first?  Would they stay in touch even after they were saved?

Elba and Winselt had great chemistry, but it was the first time that I've seen a sexual relationship that was interracial.  But you could always just see it as two British doing it.  And yes, sorry for the spoiler.

But anyway I really liked it and some trivia: they were actually there in the snow and Kate Winslet actually did fall in the ice.  Crazy stuff.

4 popcorns.

Battle of the Sexes (2017)

Directed by: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris

Written by: Simon Beaufoy

Starring: Emma Stone & Steve Carell








In this bio-flick, Emma Stone plays the famous Billie Jean King while Steve Carell plays Bobby Riggs.  This film was marketed as the greatest tennis match a.k.a. the battle of the sexes, but it was mostly about Billie Jean King discovering that she's attracted to women and how that can ruin her career.  The tennis match was about 20 minutes out of the whole movie.

In other words, the whole movie was advertised incorrectly in my opinion, which in the end ended up with this low score.

Yes, the aesthetics and film technicalities were fine, but the plot dragged on and wasn't exciting.  I don't even think you should rent the film.  Just skip it all together.  It wasn't entertaining at all.

But rather than a kernel, it'll get 1 popcorn, because both gave a good performance.

1 popcorn.

Stronger (2017)

Directed by: David Gordon Green

Written by: John Pollono, Jeff Bauman (novel), & Bret Witter (novel)

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal & Tatiana Maslany





 After the explosion from the Boston bombing, Jeff (Gyllenhaal) has to start getting used to life without his legs.  He goes through sporadic mood episodes and pretty much loses his motivation to live, but once he finds that he's a hero, he gets the courage to live life to its fullest.

It was okay.  I thought there'd be more about the actual bombing, but it mostly reflected his personal experience.  Gyllenhaal's performance was great and real, but I wouldn't see this film again.  It just wasn't my kind of film.

2 popcorns.

Wind River (2017)

Directed by: Taylor Sheridan

Written by: Taylor Sheridan

Starring: Jeremy Renner & Elizabeth Olsen







When I saw the trailer for this film, I knew I didn't want to see it.  I didn't like that Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen were the stars in this mystery film that focuses on Native Americans and their reservation.  They couldn't get Native American actors?  But then again someone noted that they would need big star names for the film to actually be successful and made.  But, still...

Nevertheless, the film was great.  The plot was sound and made sense as well as made you think about who the killers of this poor Native American girl could be.  While the main storyline was going on, there was also some consideration about Renner's character's background and how he fit in.

4 popcorns.