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.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn

Written by: Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn, Mark Millar (comic book), & Dave Gibbons (comic book)

Starring: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, & Julianne Moore






This film was just as interesting as the first one.  Same qualities: crazy, adventurous, and funny.

After the Kingsman headquarters gets blown up, Eggsy is on a quest to find out who did it and why.  He discovers that their emergency plan is the Statesman, Kingsman American cousin.  With their help  they begin their investigation to ultimately end with a blue rash plague slowly killing people around the world.

Just like Samuel L. Jackson in the first film, Julianna Moore is similar in being quirky and an all-around unconventional villain.  Her master plan though is smart and the whole plot makes sense.

It kept me entertained with laughs and action.  There was one part that seemed very aggressive to put in the film, sexually I mean, so perhaps seeing this film with family wouldn't be the best advice, i.e. parents.

5 popcorns.

Tulip Fever (2017)

Directed by: Justin Chadwick

Written by: Deborah Moggach (novel) & Tom Stoppard

Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan, & Christoph Waltz








In order to support her family, Sophia (Vikander) marries a wealthy man Cornelius (Waltz).  Unhappy and eager to have a child, she has an affair with an artist (DeHaan) and plans on a way for them to be together.

This film was not heavily advertised, but it should be.  Vikander does it again with a marvelous performance during this period piece.  Her interaction with Waltz and DeHaan was so contrasting that, as an audience member, you sympathize with her and her endeavors that she goes through to be happy.

Besides this main storyline, the film had a few other subplots that were interesting since they revolved around the tulip mania that occurred during the 17th century.  Tulips were a rarity and were being exchange for money, similar to art, gold, and other valuables in modern times.

I enjoyed this film very much and loved how the film interconnected the characters and plots.

5 popcorns.

The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

Directed by: Patrick Hughes

Written by: Tom O' Connor

Starring: Ryan Reynolds & Samuel L. Jackson








When Darius Kincaid (Jackson) gets summoned to give his testimony in court about an angry tyrant, he becomes the everyone's number one target.  Michael Bryce (Reynolds) gets hired to protect Kincaid, but their history may get in the way of him doing his job.

This film was both hilarious and had plenty of action.  Honestly, I can't think of anything bad to say about the film.  I didn't think there were any slow scenes and each actor gave a great performance, especially Salma Hayek.  Her character was great.

The plot was sound and the cinematography, special effects, and more was great too.  Probably the best technical feature was the editing, because they were able to hit all the sound points (which could be the sound technician rather than the editor), and they did a few scenes where they split the screen into three or so parts and have different scenes playing in each of them.  I love when editors do that, if done well and in this case it was done well.

5 popcorns.

The Glass Castle (2017)

Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton

Written by: Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham, & Jeannette Walls (novel)

Starring: Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, & Naomi Watts







At first I was apprehensive about this film.  I originally wanted to see it and was very excited about it, but then I saw that "Rotten Tomatoes" gave it a low score and considered it "Rotten."  I was shocked and saddened.

Nevertheless, I went to see the film and understood their low score, but I loved it; hence the 5.

Jeannette (Larson) had a childhood of freedom and instability.  Her and her family moved from place to place, sometimes starving and trying to survive.  Despite, their anger with their parents for not taking care of them, Rex (Harrelson) and Rose Mary (Watts) had their moments.  As Jeannette grew older, she began to distance herself from her past life and deny it.  But running away from your problems sometimes has the ability to catch up with you.

Now the film felt like a moment after moment, trying to make you feel all these things at once, accomplishing the exact opposite.  But after the middle of the film, that stopped, or at least I didn't notice it anymore.  But those moments were relatable, at least for my life and that's why the film was so good.  But if you cannot relate to the family, then of course, you'll hate it, which is my guess about the "Rotten Tomatoes" critics.  Plus, some of them said that they've seen this story before, but I haven't.  What they said the story was, was not what I thought it was.

Anyway, all in all you'll hate it or love it.  Not sure if there is an in between.

5 popcorns.

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

Directed by:  Matt Reeves

Written by: Mark Bomback & Matt Reeves

Starring: Andy Serkis & Woody Harrelson





Um, where is Andy Serkis' Academy Award?

Cesar (Serkis) just wants peace between the apes and humans.  But after Koba started a war in the last film, Cesar feels that it is his job to find a place where him and the other apes can be safe.  But when his family is threatened, Cesar decides to finish the war and avenge the apes for their struggle.

This was the best Planet of the Apes movie yet (in terms of the recent films.  I never saw the 60's versions.).

Once again Serkis performs fantastically as Cesar with his human like qualities and strong persona that carries through into the audience.  In addition, Harrelson does the same.  Finally both of these actors are being realized for their greatness!

The storyline this time is complete and you feel satisfied with the ending.  It does make me wonder though if they will continue the series and do a remake of Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" film in the early 2000s starring Mark Wahlberg.  I hope they do, especially with Matt Reeves as the director.

There is much else to say about the film.  Storyline is great.  CGI is great.  Film tech stuff is great.  The characters and acting is great.  It is a great film.  5 popcorns.

*** Make sure to follow me to get a first look as to whether the film is worth it.  Click on "follow" in the left hand column.***

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Directed by: Jon Watts

Written by: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, John Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, & Erik Sommers

Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, & Robert Downey Jr.




Tom Holland was made to play Spider-Man.

Continuing after Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker goes back to his teenage life in Queens, hoping and expecting to be used again for another Avenger mission.  But after several reach out attempts, Parker decides to become the friendly neighborhood super hero and keep his own town safe, but still secretly hoping for a top super secret mission.  While patrolling the city, he finds several robbers using alien made weapons.  Feeling that it is his duty to help, he gets more involved with these robbers than he should have and runs into difficulties that a teenager shouldn't face.

Let's start with Tom Holland.  To me, he is the best Spider-Man yet.  Compared to Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield, Holland really captivates audiences with his teenage persona, while the other two seemed too old.  Holland is awkward, talks too much, and tries to be cool to impress a girl.  He has everything that makes a teenager and also plays out situations as well as experiences as a teenager would.

In addition, Jacob Batalon, who plays Ned, and Zendaya, who plays Michelle, have great chemistry with Holland and also play teenagers well.  Probably because being a teenager wasn't all that long ago.

Michael Keaton always plays a perfect villain.  In this film, Keaton plays the Vulture, who has a hidden agenda that I will not disclose because it's a spoiler. 😛 But just know, he's great.

What I really like about the film is that they had diversity.  The film didn't consist of only white actors.  The love interest was African American.  Best friend?  Filipino.  Aunt?  Italian.  Bully?  Indian.  It's so great to finally see more ethnicities on screen that represent what makes New York...well, America great.

Also, the film had a moral.  Who doesn't love a moral to the story?  But I'm not going to get into the moral of the story because it's a spoiler.  If you really want to know, you can comment on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/poppinmovies/) or Twitter/Instagram (@poppinmovies) and we'll talk about it.

There weren't many negatives in this film of positives.  The CGI was a little wonky in places, but not very noticeable.  And the ending ending was terrible.

So there are three endings.  The first is the ending to the movie.  The second is after the beautiful credits that have all the animation involved.  That ending is good, though a little confusing about why Keaton says what he says.  As for the ending after the regular credits, I was disappointed.  It's better to not watch those, but if you can't resist, just know, that you will be disappointed too, but might have a good laugh.

But other than that, best Spidy film to date.  5 popcorns.

*** Make sure to follow me to get a first look as to whether the film is worth it.  Click on "follow" in the left hand column.***

47 Meters Down (2017)

Directed by: Johannes Roberts

Written by: Johannes Roberts & Ernest Riera

Starring: Mandy Moore & Claire Holt




Lisa (Moore) and Kate (Holt) are on vacation in Mexico.  To get closer to some romantic interests and also to make the most of their vacation, both agree to do some diving, but safely.  Both enter into a cage to keep them safe from sharks, but as they enjoy their time underwater, the cage falls down 47 meters.  Now the sisters must figure out how to get back on the boat before their oxygen runs out or the sharks eat them.

This film was so intense.  It is the best shark film I have seen thus far.

The best part of the film was the twist at the end.  But besides that, as an audience member, you felt like the characters.  You didn't know where the sharks were compared to other films where there was dramatic irony.  There was no music nor visuals to give away where the sharks were.  You were just as lost as Lisa and Kate.

A third positive is the science and survival techniques behind the film.  I thought at first, Why don't they swim to the top?  Duh.  But apparently that can damage your brain.  Who knew right?

There were parts of the film where the characters' actions were not predictable, but intelligent.  I know if I was in that situation, I would have died so fast.

Everyone go see this film!  I haven't heard much about it, but it is seriously amazing and keeps you on your toes the whole time.

5 popcorns!