Critical Score:  80

Starring:  Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Nicolas Cage

Pretty cool animated movie.  Love the munchies scenes with Spider-Gwen.

Critical Score:  85

Starring:  Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman

Director:  Giorgos Lanthimos

A surprisingly dark comedy.  Emma Stone is the bomb.

Critical Score:  65

Starring:  Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff

Director:  Ali Abbasi

Border is just too weird.  I watched the whole thing, but it was very strange.  It took some interesting turns; acting was very good; basically science fiction.  It’s a Swedish movie with English subtitles.  The two stars are supposedly “Trolls” or something other than not quite human.  Probably would not recommend unless you are Swedish or a fan of one of these two actors, or if you like very different science fiction flicks.

Critical Score:  85

Starring:  Viggo Mortenson, Mahershala Ali, Linda Carellini

Director:  Pater Farrelly

Viggo will probably get nominated for best actor; Mahershala was excellent too.  Very entertaining – might have been a little far fetched at times, but overall very good.

Critical Score:  60

Starring:  viola Davis, LIam Neeson, Colin Farrell

Director:  Steve McQueen

It’s a little slow.

Critical Score:  85

Starring:  Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant

Director:  Marielle Heller

Very well directed and performed comedy/drama based on the true story and book of the same name.  Lee Israel (McCarthy) began forging letters from famous authors and selling them to book stores, collectors, historians, etc.  It’s estimated that she sold around 400 such artifacts.  Amazing that she got away with it for so long, but was finally called to testify and admitted to her crimes.  Her friend Jack (Grant) who was homeless and fairly helpless added  some color to Lee’s circumstance.  Fun to watch just to see who Lee was, how she lived her life (after publishing a NYT bestseller) and how all of Lee’s criminal behavior was going to end.

Critical Score:  65

Starring:  Amandla Stenberg, Common, Russell Hornsby, Regina Hall

Director:  George Tillman Jr.

The title of the movie is based on lyrics from Tupac:  THUG LIFE – The Hate You Give Little Infants F Everybody.  So many scenes are overly dramatic, but it’s hard not to get drawn into them.  The film displays a situation we are all familiar with – a young black man is mistakenly shot when a white police officer pulls him over for not signaling a lane change.  The problem is that this movie is short on answers; sometimes the main characters resort to violence, sometimes (particularly at the end of the movie) they don’t.  It’s a complicated dilemma that can really only be handled situation by situation.  A lot of the acting seems forced at times and the viewer is taken out of the experience due to this.  Amandla has a big role to fill here and overall does a pretty good job.  It seems to me that the best way for African Americans and all minorities to be treated the same is to do good work – regardless of the subject matter of the film or project or business endeavor.  This movie is kind of like “Crazy Rich Asians” in a way that says Look ! we are all Asians and we are making a big Hollywood production !!  “The Hate U Give” is too obvious in it’s attempt to level all racial playing fields.  The messaging would be better if if were more subtle.  It’s possible that this film could stir emotions and cause a greater divide from African Americans and whites.  In short, I thought it was a little short on solutions to the racial issues in our country today and a little awkward to watch.

Critical Score:  80

Audience Score: n/a

Starring:  Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck

Director:  David Lowery

Robert Redford says this is his last movie, but who really knows; he could change his mind any minute.  This is overall very entertaining and really tries to break down the motivation of Redford’s Forrest Tucker as to why he continues to rob banks over and over again.  Spoiler alert – it’s because that’s what he knows, that’s what he’s good at and that’s what he loves.  It’s kind of a tempting lifestyle as there would definitely be a rush if not addicting quality to the act itself and for outwitting law enforcement.  However, there is really no chance for much of a life in the end because Forrest is always running from the law and from people he cares about.

Possibly, the more interesting character and a bit of a surprise in the movie is Casey Affleck as the detective who at first seems to be trying to catch Forrest, but may have decided that catching him isn’t that important.  I guess the detective feels a little sorry for Forrest while respecting the love he has for his craft at the same time.  At least this is a different perspective than that of an obsessive and angry law enforcer going after the criminal at all costs whatsoever.  This detective seems to have a life that he likes, and doesn’t need to obsess about catching Forrest; he is intrigued though and interested in the case.  He also seems to really care about Forrest.  Overall a solid movie, excellent acting and worth a look.

Critical Score:  90

Audience Score:  n/a

Starring:  Alex Hannold, Jimmy Chin, Sanni McCandless, Tommy Caldwell

Director:  Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin

This documentary is incredible.  The feat that Alex is attempting to conquer is perhaps the most difficult ever attempted in the world of free solo climbing – climbing with no rope or gear except some white chalk.  The level of detail that is involved with Alex’s preparation – down to how  and where to put each of his fingers on various sections of rock on the 3000 ft tall El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.  El Cap is the epicenter of climbing; it’s a stunning visual.  Pretty much perpendicular to the ground from bottom to top.  This climb without rope has never been tried much less accomplished.  Even harder is to accomplish this feat while being filmed with a 4 or 5 man film crew.  The pressure doesn’t get much more intense, yet Alex breaks everything down into small puzzles until he thinks he can give it a go.  This doc is not one to be missed.