Won't you be my Neighbor?

The massively well reviewed documentary about Fred Rogers and his Neighborhood TV show. This was masterfully done: factually informative, revealing of the person of Fred Rogers, and revealing of the culture he was living in and speaking to. He really was a revolutionary in many ways, and this is worth watching to see one man's idea about how culture can be changed.
5 stars (out of 5)

Friends with Kids

A group of friends transitions from single to married to family. What is meant to be insight and commentary of the difficulty of raising kids and maintaining your sense of self amidst the real struggle of pouring your entire self into small humans comes across as trite. I tried to walk out on this a bunch of times, but it ended up playing in the background as I read a book. Maybe a bit of relational trainwreck voyeurism, with just enough comedy to make it to the credits?

2 stars (out of 5)

Zoe

Did you see Her? This is a similar story, with less subtlety and less overall cultural commentary. Ewan McGregor is Cole, the inventor of human-like android emotional companions. This story follows Cole as he navigates a new world, and raises the questions of what to think about the possibility of sentient machines. Not perfect, but interesting.

4 stars (out of 5)

Mission Impossible - Fallout

The next installment of the Mission Impossible franchise, this is a typical, what you expect, but action summer movie. I even got popcorn. This time Tom Cruise and his IMF friends need to save the world from a nuclear bomb. I am pretty luke warm on this film. The action is big, the story is solid. What I consistently felt was that I should have watched a couple of the previous installments to get the backstory. Here the writers assumed I remembered all the names and details from three years ago (which I didn't) and so my actual understanding of motivations was nearly completely missing. And it felt like that made a difference.
3 stars (out of 5)

The Spy Who Dumped Me

Mila Kunis finds out her ex-boyfriend was a spy and has left something important in her apartment. Kate McKinnon is her best friend and the two of them decide that it is up to them to save lots of lives and take said important item to Europe. Clearly they are amateurs and don't really know what they are getting into. But the chemistry between the two is great, and the character McKinnon plays is "a little bit much", which is exactly what she needs. It seems like she really is just playing herself and allowed to be wacky. Over the top, but not so over the top and to induce eye-rolls. Really, just an enjoyable, fun over the top action comedy.
4 stars (out of 5)

Son of a Gun

This Australian heist film really gives you everything you could want. Ewan McGregor is the criminal mastermind that takes a young kid under his protection in return for help with a breakout. This also places the kid in "the gang" for the planned gold heist, and the resulting running from the law. Nothing really extravagant here, but some good plotting and character dilemmas pulls you all the way to the end. Nice, Nice, Nice.
5 stars (out of 5)