Moonstruck

Yes... that Moonstruck... with Cher and Nick Cage. As an Oscar nominated best picture film, this was amazing... in that it was comically over the top. I know that Nick Cage has a type, but go back and watch this and you see a caricature of himself. The story is of Cher getting engaged and then falling in love with the brother of her fiancé. It is stereotype Italian family, stereotype Brooklyn, stereotype 90's rom-com. And because of that, it is quite fun. It would never even get a viewing today, much less a nomination, but as flashback fodder, I loved it.
4 stars (out of 5)

The ParkingLot Movie

This is a short documentary about working as a parking attendant at the Corner Parking Lot in Charlotte. Really this plays like a senior thesis film for a film student, or an artistic coming out party for a wanna-be film maker. That is, it is pretentious, unaware of that status, and self-satisfied with the finished product. It is a series of interviews with hipster-employees about what it means to be a parking lot attendant and the struggles of said employment (or more likely the struggles of said hipster status). I laughed at a couple situations, but mostly found myself wandering around the house waiting for the time to run out. Good thing it was short.
2 stars (out of 5)

Jumanji

As a sequel this fails miserably. The only real connection to the original or the book is the name, and the fact that a jungle exists. But as a stand alone comedic action-adventure, I found it quite entertaining. The plot was video game-ish, and so appropriate. But the brilliance lies in the performance of the adult actors embodying teens. With Jack Black leading the way (and killing it) as a 16 year old, self-absorbed, popular girl, I consistently bought into both the concept and execution of teens in adult bodies... so well played. Nothing heavy, and not meant to be. Just fun.
4 stars

Pitch Perfect 3

I am a sucker for acapella music. I liked all three of these films and #3 does not let down. The plot is sufficient to get us through the playlist. Here it is a reunion/farewell as the Bella's get a place on a USO tour through Europe. The best single scene is again the riff-off. I could watch that all day. So ...
4 stars

The Marauders

Heist plus special forces plus revenge plus police procedural... Perfect combo? Well, at least the possibility exists. I wouldn't put this on the perfection category by any means, but it was an interesting take none-the-less. The characters were sufficiently drawn to give rationale to the plot (albeit cheap character history like murdered-family-in-the-past or set-up-by-corrupt-superior-officers, etc). The plot navigated sufficient possible branches for long enough, but not for too long (so crazy justifications weren't necessary for story resolution). While this is basically a meh! review, I have to admit that putting all these things together well is not obvious or easy. So appreciate a quality meh! for what it is.
3 stars

The Take

Idris Elba plays a CIA operative stationed in Paris a few days before Bastille Day. When a bomb goes off, and the prime suspect is an American pick-pocket working the streets of Paris, Elba is on the hunt. But he finds that the pick-pocket is a believable rube, and the two spend a couple hours together finding out who the real bomb-maker is, and what the real purpose is behind the attack. Elba uses his smoldering detective/operative persona to great effect and our pick-pocket uses his skills to help [SPOILER ALERT] everything work out in the end [END SPOILER]. When a film contains actors I love (Elba) and plot elements I enjoy (heist, pick-pockets, slight of hand/plot), I consider myself entertained.
4 stars

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I know that whether you self-identify as a fan or a fan-boy will directly influence your perception of how good this movie is. As a fan, I loved it. The plot tension is built from the beginning with the last vestiges of the Rebellion working out a retreat in order to fight another day. Rey tracks down Luke, seeking help and bit of training on the side. Nothing works out quite right. And while we expect that nothing working out quite right will still allow things to work out, I feel like the story took some turns that weren't necessarily "just the formula". Great action, insubordination, and good v evil. Great use of color and sound to thoroughly set mood. Nice connections to the Star Wars canon, without being bound by it, leaving room for future story to move around a bit. And it made me want to watch the rest of the films again to remember what exactly that canon is (which by stating that I need to see to remember clearly places me outside the fan-boy category). 

5 stars

The Magnificent Seven

A town on the western frontier during gold rush days is being bullied by a land owner. Townspeople are being killed and land being stolen in service of said landowner gaining control of local gold mines. Enter Denzel Washington as bounty hunter / gun for hire (with his own beef to pick with said land owner) as charismatic savior of the town. Washington rounds up a cadre of "tough customers" to help him in his deposing (disposing?) of bad land owner. All of this you know exactly from the beginning, and you know exactly how it will play out. And yet somehow I still found this enjoyable and fresh. Maybe because a western is so rare that even a formulaic one is novel. Maybe because of the all star cast. Maybe because after midnight on a holiday break my bar for excellence is quite low. Regardless, without using the word excellence in a direct connection to the film, I do enjoy me a good western with requisite bad-guy heroes saving a town from bad-guy varmints.
4 stars

The Thomas Crowne Affair

Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway star in this 1968 heist thriller. McQueen is millionaire socialite Crowne, and he gets his kicks planning the perfect bank heist. Dunaway is the insurance detective charges with finding the culprit when no clues are available to the police. A match of wits paired with falling for each other puts both in a difficult place. Decent, but the chemistry between these two on screen did not knock me over, which I expect would be necessary for a film like this.
3 stars

Security

Antonio Banderas is an out of work vet needing a job. He takes the only thing available to him, night security at a mall. The other security guards are caricatures of incompetence with suddenly highly specialized and valuable skill sets. In his first night on the job, a young girl who is running from someone is let it, and now it is up to Banderas and his night security compadres to save the day. Classic 1 vs. 100, hands vs automatic weapons, good vs evil scenario that utilizes the entire mall as the canvas to project the girl. Low creativity, low quality plot, low value added, highly formulaic.
2 stars

The Mysteries of Laura (serial)

Debra Messing plays a NY homicide detective who is clearly one of the best in the business. She seems to have a sense for where the case needs to go, and then pursues the killers with commitment. At the same time, she is down to earth, struggles with her ex-husband, raises twin boys and is always eating. Somehow this "regular girl" portrayal is buyable and endearing. Equal parts police procedural and pleasant comedy with the right balance throughout, this was a nice diversion.
4 stars