The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

Directed by: Yarrow Cheney & Chris Renauld

Written by: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, & Brian Lynch

Starring: Louis C. K., Eric Stonestreet, & Kevin Hart








The Secret Life of Pets is a cute family movie that's great for kids and adults alike, as long as you've had a pet or like animals that is.

Max (C. K.) is happy being the only dog in Katie's (Ellie Kemper) life.  They do everything together. But one day, Katie comes home with a new dog, Duke (Stonestreet).  When Duke begins taking over Max's home, Max devises a plan to show him who the real alpha dog is.  One day, while the dog walker is distracted, Duke takes Max on a ride and throws him away in a trash can.  But when cats steal their collars, animal control is after them.  Will they ever be able to get back to Katie or will they end up lost in the pound?

My favorite characters are Chloe (Lake Bell), the cat, and Gidget (Jenny Slate), the Pomeranian.  The cat acts just like mine with trying to fit in boxes, getting toys stuck to her nails, and more.  Gidget is just a love crazy dog who will do anything to find Max.

But Max and Duke are great protagonists that eventually get a character arc.  The story makes sense with everyone trying to find them from animal control to Snowball (Kevin Hart), the crazed bunny who hates humans and their pets, to Gidget and their other animal friends.

It isn't an amazing movie or anything, but it did pull at the heartstrings when I saw owners with their pets because you think of your pet.  But it isn't like anything is wrong with it.  I thought it was creative how they combined Illumination films in the story line for marketing purposes, the issue of what happens to pets that are abandoned, and more.  3 popcorns.

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

Directed by: Roland Emmerich

Written by: Nicholas Wright, James A. Woods, Dean Delvin, Ronald Emmerich, & James Vanderbilt

Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, & Bill Pullman







So I never saw the first one, but according to most, it's the same.

David Levinson (Goldblum) after the attack of '96 is still researching aliens.  President Whitmore (Pullman) has been labeled crazy and can connect to aliens.  His daughter though works for the new president and her boyfriend (Hemsworth) is a pilot currently on the moon.  When a random UFO comes towards the moon, President Lanford (Sela Ward) issues an attack despite Levinson's requests not to.  A few hours later, another UFO comes, much bigger and attacks the moon and basically starts a whole new war.

I thought it was good.  I liked the explosions and the slight humor within the different stories.  I was a little lost on some relationships, which probably would have been explained in the first film.  That's about all I got. 4 popcorns.

The Purge: Election Year (2016)

Directed by: James DeMonaco

Written by: James DeMonaco

Starring: Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mykelti Williamson, Joseph Julian Soria, & Betty Gabriel







I love the Purge movies.  I think they are so clever.

Senator Charlie Roan (Mitchell) is running for president against the NFAA (I don't know what that stands for).  The main reason she is running is because her family was murdered on purge night 18 years ago and she wants this night gone.  However, many like the purge and do not want to see it end.  This year government officials are not exempted from purge night, which means purgers can target the senator, and they do.  Leo Barnes (Grillo), her head of security, does everything in his power to protect her, because he too wants this night gone.

So this film to me has more of a purpose than the previous ones.  The stakes are higher because if the senator dies, then the NFAA's nominee would win by default, and keep the purge alive.

In addition to higher stakes, they insert more realistic components, such as drones and murder tourism.

Like the others, there's murder, blood, masks, and more.  It's just good.  It'll keep you on edge with some light humor provided by Joe Dixon (Williamson), who is just trying to keep his deli from being looted.  5 popcorns.

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

Directed by: David Yates

Written by: Adam Cozad, Craig Brewer, & Edgar Rice Burroughs (stories based on)

Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, & Samuel L. Jackson







Remember Disney's Tarzan?  This is basically the sequel.  Surprisingly Warner Bros. didn't make the same mistake as they did with Pan (which I also reviewed), in which they changed the entire story to something new.

Anyway in this film, Tarzan (Skarsgård) is called upon to accept King Leopold's invitation to travel to Africa.  By doing this he would be helping England's economy greatly.  But he'd rather not go back to revisit his past.  After some convincing from George Washington Williams (Jackson), he decides to go.  Once there, Williams, Tarzan, and his wife Jane (Robbie) discover that the African people are being enslaved to create an army by Leon Rom (Waltz) for King Leopold.  In an effort to stop them, Tarzan will have to go back to his animalistic ways.

Of course that isn't the whole story, but the gist of it.

I'm pretty neutral about this film.  I didn't think it was amazing, but at the same time I didn't think it was horrible.  The story is concise and makes sense. I liked how it related to actual events, but kind of wished the animals talked too.  But that probably would have ruined it.

But being me, I like to compare the "what I consider original" (Disney) to the the remake/sequel.  The main differences are that the animals do not talk (well in English I mean), less politics, more tension between races as well as Jane and Tarzan, new villains, and more.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that this film is great for adults, but not great for kids or those that loved the Disney version and expect it to be the same.  But I could be wrong.

The CGI is amazing, especially this part at the end that contains wildebeests.  Skarsgård and Robbie have great chemistry and Waltz is the perfect bad guy as always.  Jackson seemed randomly thrown in there, but he provides the humor for most of the film.

There are several subplots that get in the way of the main objective, which can be confusing on what part we are supposed to focus on.  In other words there are two competing conflicts that intertwine.  One involving Tarzan's past and one that I talked about in the summary about enslaving Africans.

One portion of the film that annoyed me was Tarzan's real name, which is John Clayton.  Clayton?  That's the villain's name from the Disney version.  Thanks for the confusion Warner Bros.  You couldn't have picked any other name?  But then again, maybe that's how the books are.  I didn't read them, but there's a list of them here, if you would like to.

Overall, I'm going to give this film 4 popcorns.  The characters are great and the premise is good.  I liked the conflicts, even though the seemed to be competing.  CGI was good and Skarsgård is hot. ;)

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.