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 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.

American Assassin (2017)

Directed by: Michael Cuesta

Written by: Stephen Schiff, Michael Finch, Edward Zwick, Michael Herskovitz, & Vince Flynn (novel)

Starring: Dylan O'Brien & Michael Keaton






I wasn't going to see this movie because it's definitely a guy movie.

After Mitch's (O'Brien) fiancé dies, he becomes determined to get revenge.  He begins investigating who killed her and then gets recruited to join a counter terrorism group, led by Stan Hurley (Keaton), a former Navy Seal.

It was a gruesome film.  After it ended, the guy next to me said, "Mike Tyson got nothin' on Michael Keaton."  Keaton was that intense.

It was a great action flick with good guys, bad guys, shooting, explosions, torture, etc., but I didn't see the reason as to why Mitch decided to stay in this group because the group was investigating counter terrorism, which apparently had no link to his girlfriend's murder. Or did I miss something?  So what was the motivation?  That's the only thing I had a problem with.  There wasn't enough character development to explain his motivation.

3 popcorns.

It (2017)

Directed by: Andy Muschietti

Written by: Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, & Stephen King (novel)

Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, & Wyatt Oleff




I saw the original and this version is way better.

A group of students begin noticing that people are missing and after doing their research, they find that it happens every 27 years.  After discovering that something is abducting kids, each of the group members begins having their greatest fear haunt them, controlled by the evil clown/demon Pennywise (Skarsgård).

To me, and to others, the film is not scary.  It's creepy, but also funny.  The kids make the film and have great chemistry with each other as well as emulate how kids are, picking on each other, but still being friends.

Other than the kids being great, Skarsgård also did a great Pennywise.  Apparently, from looking at the trivia, he did a lot of his own stunts and like the part where he contorts his body is real and not CGI.  That makes it even creepier.

4 popcorns.

Shot Caller (2017)

Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh

Written by: Ric Roman Waugh

Starring: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau







Jacob has it all.  He works on Wall Street, has a beautiful house, and a lovely family.  But after a drunken night, it all goes away and he gets stuck in prison.  In order to make sure he's not taken advantage of, he makes a name for himself "Money."  But once he gets out, he'll have to decide, is he Jacob or Money?

This film was amazing, mostly due to the possibility that this story could haven to anyone.  It's so realistic and played extremely well by Nikolaj.  In addition, this part is very different from his "Game of Thrones" one of Jamie Lannister.

The technicalities of the film are okay, nothing spectacular, but I didn't see anything wrong either.  The only reason for the 4 is because it drags in a couple of places.  But I highly recommend this movie due to the plot.

4 popcorns.

Kidnap (2017)

Directed by: Luis Prieto

Written by: Knate Lee

Starring: Halle Berry







Going through a custody battle, Karla (Berry) is highly stressed and just wants to enjoy her time with her child.  But as she becomes distracted at the park, her son is kidnapped and she'll do anything to get him back.

The film watched like a B movie.  It followed all the film making rules, but seemed amateurish compared to other films.  If Halle Berry wasn't signed onto this film, it probably wouldn't have been made otherwise.

There were a few scenes that were held too long, which was a bad choice on the editing and directing side.  Plus some of the music was distracting and felt too cinematic.

But, the movie was highly suspenseful with tension and good acting.  Berry did an excellent job portraying a caring mother trying to get her child back.  Throughout the film, as an audience member, I wanted to know what was going to happen next.  I was eager for more!

Even at the end I wanted more and was unsatisfied with how they left things.  Personally, I would have liked some more information about the custody afterwards and how this kidnapping affected it, but I guess the director thought otherwise.

Nevertheless, 4 popcorns!  I thought it was a great plot.

Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Directed by: David F. Sandberg

Written by: Gary Dauberman

Starring: Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson, & Stephanie Sigman








I recommend, before watching this film, you to watch the first one first.  Otherwise you might be lost or not see the connection between the films.

A group of orphans move into a new home where weird things begin to happen to Janice (Bateman) and her best friend Linda (Wilson) after discovering a strange doll in the closet.  After a while, the doll becomes more dangerous and needs to take a human soul in order to live on and become stronger.

Now that's where I became confused.  Apparently, the doll is not possessed, it's just attached to an evil spirit.  I thought the doll had the demon inside it, but note to self, it just waits for a host a.k.a. one of the girls.

The film was very tense for the most part and had a complete plot that gave you that "aha" moment at the end.  You can see how the films connect and even get a sense of the true story as well.  (Since if you didn't know, the real doll is a raggedy Ann doll.)

Other than that, there isn't much else to say.  I didn't get scared as much as I was creeped out and tense.  I guess knowing something is coming helps with the fear.  The best part though was the ending because, like I said, it had the connection between the films.  That's what pushed it up to a 4, otherwise it would have been a 3.

4 popcorns.

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Directed by: David Leitch

Written by: Kurt Johnstad

Starring: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, & John Goodman




In 1989, the Cold War is finally ending, but Lorraine Broughton (Theron) has a mission to find out who is the double agent a.k.a. Satchel in MI6, as well as discover a list with every name of the secret agents.

To be frank, the movie was confusing for about 3/4ths of it.  As an audience member, you knew that she was on hunt for this list as well as Satchel, but the connections to the "bad guys," didn't make sense all that well.  In other words, it was a little difficult to keep up until the end, where you have an "ah ha" moment and just figured everything out.  But in my opinion, that's way too long.

In addition, most of the film was a flash back, which seemed unnecessary.  I think it would have been better and less confusing if they had kept the storyline linear.  Plus, there's a moment in the film where you don't know if it is the past or present.  They should have at least gave some indication as to what it was.

Furthermore, Theron's fighting was iffy.  What I mean is that it seemed so robotic.  Like punch here, kick here, yadda yadda yadda.  There wasn't enough spontaneity until the end where the fighting seemed to have improved.  Not sure what that was about.

Along with the fighting was a lack of music.  Most of the scenes were quiet where you just hear the action grunts and breaking glass, etc.  I wonder if there was action music, like shown in the trailer, if the fighting would have been better and more fast paced rather than slow boring movements.

But despite all these negatives, the actors performed well and the cinematography was great.  Beautiful cool tones filled the screen and the ending gave you a shocker.  The first part of the ending was predictable, but then it took twist that you just don't see coming. (Or at least I didn't.)

4 popcorns.

Wish Upon (2017)

Directed by: John R. Leonetti

Written by: Barbara Marshall

Starring: Joey King, Ryan Phillippe, & Ki Hong Lee




Clare (King) ends up with this Chinese music box given to her by her father, Jonathan (Phillippe).  After reading the box, she sees that she can make seven wishes.  But after a few wishes, she notices that everyone she loves is starting to die.  Is it connected to the music box?  And if so, can she stop making wishes to save the ones she love.

I was so entertained by this film even though it was kind of predictable.

The movie basically has this overall theme of be careful what you wish for, original right?  King as well as her costars make the film feel more like a thriller than a horror film, but the horror comes from the Final Destination type deaths that come with each wish.

I liked the backstory given with the music box as well as how literal the wishes were.  Plus everything she wished for is typical for a teenager to wish for.  It's a great little horror flick that will entertain you and give you the creeps from the graphic deaths.  The film as a whole was a little predictable, but still good overall.  4 popcorns.

The Book of Henry (2017)

Directed by: Colin Trevorrow

Written by: Gregg Hurwitz

Starring: Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher, & Jacob Tremblay




First off, the trailer does not do this film justice.

At first I did not want to see this film.  I thought it was about a mom helping her kids out, but it is so much more than that.

Henry (Lieberher) is a genius.  He controls the finances, can create magnificent creations, and can research a topic like nobody's business, but unfortunately a family crisis puts him in charge of giving directions to his mother in order to save his school crush from an abusive step-father.

Now, I completely understand as to why the trailer left out the most important part of the film (as I am doing now) because otherwise the film is not as emotionally profound as it is.  But due to this important fact, it presents themes and morals that made me cry and think philosophically about life.

I highly recommend this film for any mother or child that is close to a parent.  It'll make you appreciate them more.

5 popcorns.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Written by: Jack Paglen (story), Michael Green (story), John Logan, & Dante Harper

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, & Billy Crudup





In order to create a new civilization, a large group of colonists, embryos, and a crew voyage to a new planet.  On their way, their ship becomes damaged and the crew must awake to fix it.  While doing so, they receive an interesting transmission that peaks their curiosity of a new planet that they never discovered before and is closer.  The captain, Oram (Crudup) decides it is best to travel to this planet despite Daniels' (Waterston), his second in command, protests.  On this new planet, they discover that they are not alone.

I had not watched the previous Alien movies, but this film provided enough information for me to catch up.  But, for those that did watch the previous movies, the beginning dragged from what I heard.  It took too long for the crew to discover the aliens, but to me, it provided essential backstory, especially since I hadn't seen an Alien film before.

On another note, Michael Fassbender.  When he first appeared, I was very apprehensive about his character since he plays a robot.  It was difficult to imagine him as a robot, but he grew on me.

Overall, not too bad, but just be aware of the two notes above.  4 popcorns.