The Disappointments Room (2016)

Directed by: D.J. Caruso

Written by: D.J. Caruso & Wentworth Miller

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Mel Raido, & Gerald McRaney




Dana (Beckinsale) and her family decide to move out to the country after a family tragedy.  Being separated from the city, unfortunately, does not boost the mood of the family and actually creates more friction when Dana begins to become obsessed with the disappointments room that she finds in her new home's attic.

This film was a disappointment.  I mainly saw it because I wanted to know what was in the room and when I found out, I was not too excited about it.

The film's location was beautiful.  So there was nothing wrong with that.  But some of the actors, that weren't the main characters, seemed not so great at acting...essentially the supporting characters were terrible actors.

Another issue I had with the film was the role of Ben, played by Lucas Till.  Till seemed a little on the young side to portray the role given of the flirty handyman.  His bad boy flintiness seemed like the ultimate failure and his character probably couldn't get anyone to sleep with him.

Also the story was a little confusing.  The moral of the story that I came up with seemed different or completely lost on others.  But if you see it, let me know what you think.

2 popcorns.

The Light Between Oceans (2016)

Directed by: Derek Clanfrance

Written by: Derek Clanfrance & M. L. Stedman (novel)

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, & Rachel Weisz

The Light Between Oceans is a very emotional film. 

Isabel (Vikander) has lost two children due to miscarriages while married to Tom Sherbourne (Fassbender), the man who takes care of the lighthouse.  After the loss of their second child, a small boat washes up to the shore of the lighthouse carrying a baby.  Isabel, thrilled, takes care of the child and convinces Tom to not report the child to the city.  After years of taking care of the girl, eventually they run into Hannah (Weisz), the biological mother of the child who has been convinced that her daughter is dead.  Dreaded with guilt, Tom has to decide whether he should confess to having the child or take that secret to the grave.

The film is shot in New Zealand, which is, to me, the most beautiful place on earth.  Therefore the scenery is gorgeous of the ocean, the lighthouse, and even the city, which was decorated to represent the 1920s. 

Besides the location, the camera shots were also beautiful.  They created a much greater love for the film and scenery.  Plus the film had a lot of showing, not telling.  For example, to show that Isabelle lost another child, rather than telling, there was a shot of where they buried the child.  The combination of the actors’ expressions and the symbolism made a greater sympathy for the characters.

Overall, I loved this film despite my multiple tears.  If you go see the film, make sure to have some tissues.  5 popcorns.

War Dogs (2016)

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Written by: Stephen Chin, Todd Phillips, Jason Smilovic, & Guy Lawson (article)

Starring: Jonah Hill & Miles Teller




War Dogs is about two best friends that get into a load of trouble.  Money hungry, they take large government contracts to supply weapons and other supplies to the military.  When they run into trouble with their shipment, friendships are tested to the point where these friends need to figure out what is more important: their friendship or money.

The film has an interesting concept.  It provides the view that has never been seen before of how the military and war are seen as a money making machines.   Nevertheless, the film did drag in some places, but overall was entertaining.

The way the film was made was very similar to The Big Short, where one of the characters describes the story as it continues throughout.  The only thing I didn’t like about the film was that there were these title cards in between acts, that became annoying after awhile.  I felt that they weren’t needed and the film would have run better without them.  These title cards interrupted the flow of the film and therefore get a lower score.  3 popcorns.

Don't Breathe (2016)

Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Written by: Fede Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues

Starring: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, & Dylan Minnette




Don’t Breathe, to me, is a little overrated, but still very good.

Three teens rob a blind man’s house in an attempt to get enough money to move to California.  Unfortunately, the blind man is also a war veteran who has become very dependent on his ears.  After catching and killing one, the other two have a difficult time trying to escape.  With their attempt, they come across the blind man’s secrets that may come to their advantage.

I was expecting this film to be seriously amazing, but it had its moments where the tension faded.  But nevertheless was still very good in terms of storyline.

The editing and camera work was interesting in the sense that the camera was another person in the house.  It, at times, acted as the blind man, but then would go back to being the regular camera to show the two main characters’ journeys.  There were a few long cuts that were all camera. 

I thought there were some scenes that were excessive towards the end.  The blind man kept trying to get Rocky (Levy) one too many times, but at the same time it is understandable.  I won’t tell you why though since it’s a spoiler.

4 popcorns.

Hands of Stone (2016)

Directed by: Jonathan Jakubowicz

Written by: Jonathan Jakubowicz

Starring: Edgar Ramirez, Robert De Niro, & Usher Raymond IV




So before beginning this review, I have to let you know I was seriously distracted and annoyed by these two women next to me.  They kept talking throughout the film and even after confrontation still talked, although not as much.  Damn ladies.  Therefore my review may not be reliable since I didn’t get to enjoy the film that much.

Hands of Stone is the biographical story about the great boxer, Roberto Duran (Ramirez) and his journey to fame.  It also tells about his feud with Sugar Ray Leonard (Raymond) and his relationship with his trainer Ray Arcel (De Niro).

I didn’t think the film was that interesting.  The acting was great, but the storyline feels like a “been there, done that” type story.  It reminded me a lot of Rocky, which apparently came out during the time when this story takes place.  I mean, maybe Rocky took a little bit of their inspiration from this true story, but it’s unlikely. 

I also felt that this film had two main characters that were competing for the starring role.  The film should have chosen one character to go along with throughout the story: Roberto Duran or Ray Arcel.  Because there were two competing stories, there wasn’t a connection with either of them.  Therefore if something bad happened to one of them, there was no sympathy on my part.

3 popcorns.

Hell or High Water (2016)

Directed by: David Mackenzie

Written by: Taylor Sheridan 

Starring: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, & Gil Birmingham







Hell or High Water should be marketed more in my opinion.

In this film, Chris Pine and Ben Foster play two brothers that start robbing banks.  At first, they seem to not know what they are doing, but as the film goes on, we, the audience, see that they are much more sophisticated than first identified.  As they rob banks, Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham take on the case to catch these men. 

I expected this film to be a comedic adventure, but there were some sentimental spots.  The two dynamic duos had great chemistry.  Pine and Foster were just like real brothers with their horseplay and insulting jokes, but they would still protect each other.  The same goes for Bridges and Birmingham, even though they weren’t brothers, they were partners and had a similar relationship.

All the characters had a significant flaw that hindered their quest, whether it’d be robbing banks or trying to catch the robbers.  As the film continued, we got to see the characters develop in relation to their flaw, which made for a compelling story.

The plot is also interesting because, true, it is your typical robbing banks movie, but there is a deeper meaning behind the film, which consists of socioeconomic status (SES) and how it affects the characters.

I recommend seeing this film if you want a couple laughs, action, and some sympathy for the various characters. 4 popcorns.

Southside with You (2016)

Directed by: Richard Tanne

Written by: Richard Tanne

Starring: Tika Sumpter & Parker Sawyers

Southside with You is a big disappointment.

In the trailer I saw, the narrator says, “see how it all started,” but I didn’t expect us, the audience, to only see the first date.

Basically this film is about Michelle Robinson and Barack Obama’s first date.  It is a lot of talking and walking around.  There is nothing about their wedding, their kids, and their road to the White House or anything else that is not their first date.  I expected a lot more.  I guess I expected a biopic, but it didn’t happen.

I heard that this is how this director’s films are.  But I didn’t know this before watching it.  If I did, I probably wouldn’t have watched it.  But if you like movies where the characters just walk and talk with there being no end goal in a short amount of time, then this is the film for you.  I, on the other hand, like there to be character development as well as a more distinguished plot with the goal of something other than Michelle saying that it is a date.  Mostly because we, audience members, already know that it is a date.

Nevertheless, the acting is phenomenal.  Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers were great as Michelle and Barack Obama.  They have all the same characteristics that we see on television.  I believe they were the perfect casting choice.  But that is the only positive.  1 popcorn.

Ben-Hur (2016)

Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov

Written by: Lew Wallace (novel), Keith R. Clarke, & John Ridley

Starring: Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, & Rodrigo Santoro

Ben-Hur is wow. 

I usually do not like watching religious films about various Bible stories, but every time I watch them I always feel like becoming a better person. This film is no exception.

I’ll start with the negatives because there is actually only one.  The editing was a little all over the place.  In the beginning, the cuts seem randomly organized, but towards the end they become better sequenced.  I think the editor is mostly used to doing action sequences, because when it is a slow scene or a flashback, it isn’t as good as when it is fast paced.

As for the positives, there are many.  I liked the CGI because you could barely tell that it was even there, but it had to be otherwise PETA would have been involved.  The scenes with the horses were very well done and most of the time they were real. 

I also liked the symbolism and dialogue of the film.  One example is when you win against someone you love, you really lose.  Another is that everyone is a Roman in a Roman’s eyes.  And, of course, all of Jesus’ scenes. 

There are also a couple of stories that mix into each other that make up the plot.  There is the one about Jesus as well as the main one of Ben-Hur and his brother, Masala.  Actually, now that I think about it, there is also a third, the rise of the Roman Empire.

This film is very powerful and it is underrated in the media.  I recommend it…5 popcorns.

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Directed by: Stephen Frears

Written by: Nicholas Martin

Starring: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, & Simon Helberg








Florence (Streep) is dedicated to music...has been all her life.  But after seeing a beautiful opera singer, she decides she wants to sing and do concerts.  Unfortunately, she is off rhythm and always flat.  Nevertheless, her doting husband St. Clair (Grant) will do anything to make her dream come true as well as protect her from humiliation.  But how far is too far?

Since this film is based on a true story, I love it even more.  Meryl Streep was hilarious and Helberg's faces contributed to this.

My favorite character though had to be St. Clair due to his love for his wife.  Even though their relationship was a little out of the ordinary, he still thought she was amazing.  After researching, he loved her even before she was rich so he wasn't a gold digger everyone!

The beginning and a little of the middle are a tad slow.  But after her first concert, the story begins to pick up and be interesting again.

Plus I loved one of Streep's lines: "People may say I couldn't sing, but no one can ever say I didn't sing."  In other words do what you love and disregard everyone's opinions of it.  It's none of your business what other people think of you.

4 popcorns.

Sausage Party (2016)

Directed by: Greg Tiernan & Conrad Vernon

Written by: Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, & Jonah Hill (story)

Starring: Seth Rogen & Kristen Wiig







When Frank (Rogen) discovers the truth that food is murdered once it goes to the Great Beyond (a.k.a. out of the supermarket), he sets out to alert everyone to save themselves and destroy the monsters (a.k.a. humans).

Well this film is definitely not for kids.

When I first saw the trailer, I thought that the main character, Frank, the sausage, would have been taken to a human's home and that's how he discovered the truth.  But nope, he stays in the supermarket.  So in that case the trailer is a little misleading, but the story is better with him being in the market rather than out of it.

Interestingly enough the writers made all the food equal to their ethnicities, such as soy sauce being Asian.  So of course as in the real world, there will be some racist jokes and hatred among the different food.  But I liked the message at the end where Frank says that they all need to become united against the monsters.  It kind of relates to modern society where we all need to stand together against any problem.  Race cannot get in the way.

Also I liked how there was a variety of relationships.  It wasn't just your standard sausage and bun, which, again, also represents our society today.  Our world is reflected in a rated-R animation.

Most of the funny parts were due to the outrageous scenes that the film had.  Like you couldn't believe this was a movie about animated food.  It was still funny, but you shouldn't watch it with your kids and probably not your parents either.

3 popcorns.