Alpha

Alpha takes place twenty thousand years ago in Europe. It is the story of a young man that goes out on his first buffalo hunt only to become stranded and injured. He sets out on his way home and comes across a wolf pack intent on making him dinner. A battle ensues and he leaves the alpha of the pack injured and unable to return home. Unable to kill the wolf himself, the man decides to help it heal and they soon become a pack of their own on a mission to find home.

This movie wasn't entirely what I expected it to be. After seeing the movie preview for what feels like forever, the anticipation kept building and I was looking for a showstopper. I would rate this movie a 6.5/10, which is pretty in-line with other ratings. IMDb gives this film a 7/10 and Rotten Tomatoes has it at a 79% audience score.

My biggest disappointment was that I had to read the whole movie. It's not in English. You didn't know that either did you? Go watch that preview one more time and notice how there's not a single word in it. Yep, I missed that too. There isn't a whole lot of talking in the movie anyway (it's a wolf and a boy, they don't have much to say), but the little that there is, had to be read from subtitles. I normally don't enjoy reading my movies; this one is an exception. I thought some of it was comical the way he would talk to the wolf as if it knew what he was saying. His version of training a dog isn't the same as mine, but it was interesting to watch all the same.

With a production budget of $51 million, this movie is on the lower end for money to use on the special effects. For example, Bumblebee (the new Transformers movie coming out on Christmas), has a production budget of $102 million. Because of this small budget, the CGI is, well...let's be honest...it sucks. The buffalo looked like a puppet in front of a horrible green screen. Luckily, Alpha is played by a real wolf named Chuck. He is a Czech wolfdog which, according to MoviePaws.com, is a mix between wolves and German Shepherds. He is quite the handsome wolfdog, if I say so myself.

Photo courtesy of http://www.movie-trailers-blaze.com/alpha-official-trailer-2-2018-adventure-movie-hd-2/

If you're looking for a feel-good movie, this one is for you. It seems like a long movie, with some slow parts, but it's definitely worth it if you like wolves and movies about finding family in unbelievable places. It's an uplifting film that makes you feel like you should never give up because someone is always going to be there to help you succeed. Plus Chuck is a cutie, and he could be a real star one day. Go see his first performance so someday you can say, "I remember when he first started..."
 

The Darkest Minds

Based on the series of books by Alexandra Bracken, The Darkest Minds is about a mysterious "disease" named I.A.A.N. (see chart below) that kills all children under the age of 18, except for a select few. The adults are afraid of these surviving children and decide to send them away to entrapment camps. The children fight back and form a resistance group to survive.

This is an example of a movie that is receiving a mix of different reviews, and I bet you don't know who to believe. IMDb has this rated a 5.5/10....ouch. Rotten Tomatoes is at 78% for the audience score. Who do you believe? Me! This movie is much better than a 5/10. I think 78% percent is about right or maybe a bit higher than I would rate it, but it's definitely not a bad movie.

The Darkest Minds is very similar to Divergent, where they separate the kids based on their abilities. In this movie, they are categorized by colors:

The higher up on the chart, the more dangerous the child is. Any child that is rated an orange or red, is set to be terminated immediately. Enter Ruby Daly (Amandla Stenberg). She is an orange that has managed to survive the camps undetected, and with only 2 remaining oranges left in this world, she is unsure of her full abilities.

Let me just take a minute to explain what I.A.A.N. stands for. The chart below explains a lot.

Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration - sounds like a jumble of random words. Basically it just means that it's a disease that shows up extremely fast in children and that it's because of a decline in the nervous system. The adults don't know why it is happening and they don't know how to cure it, so instead they decide to go all WWII and send the surviving kids away or kill the ones higher up on the chart. Have we not learned from our past mistakes? When do these camps ever work? But, that's how it was in the book, I guess, so that's what happens in this film.

I think some of the acting was a bit adolescent, and some of the jokes just a little too corny, but overall I really enjoyed The Darkest Minds. They covered a lot of stuff and at times I found myself thinking, "Wow this movie is long." It's really not though. It's only 1 hour and 45 minutes. They just cover so much in that time.

I hope that people disregard the reviews and go see this one. It is hurting in terms of box office income. At a little over $8 million in sales and a $34 million production budget, this is not looking good for the rest of the series. I would really like to see where this all ends up, so please go see this movie. If you hate it because you think it's too similar to Divergent, I understand that. In my eyes, this movie is based on a book series, and if that series was able to do well in book sales, then something really good must happen in it to compete with such a popular trilogy such as Divergent. Give it a chance to prove itself. Everyone deserves a second chance.

Christopher Robin

Christopher Robin is the newest Winnie the Pooh film meant for every person, adult or child, that has ever loved the Hundred Acre Wood. We watch Christopher Robin go from a happy child to a workaholic with very little time to give to his family. Then one day, Pooh can't find his friends and so he enlists Christopher to help him. Christopher soon learns that family and friends are more important than any job.

I loved this movie from start to finish. Winnie the Pooh was always a presence in my home, and continues to be to this day. My mom is even named after Christopher Robin (her name is Christine), so yeah Winnie the Pooh is sort of important to us! I was so excited to see this movie, and it did not disappoint. The reviews on every media site are absolutely true. If you loved Pooh Bear in the past, then you will love this movie as well.

At first, I thought it was starting a bit slow. The beginning starts with Christopher as a young boy and then we jump through the years almost like we are transporting through the important parts of the book. Once Christopher is an adult (played by Ewan McGregor) it really picked up and had me laughing the whole time. There was something almost sentimental to me throughout the film. They kept us entertained by reminding us of all the old shows and all the old jokes: Pooh with his hunny, Piglet with the acorns, Tigger's bouncing song, etc. It was like I was being brought back to an easier time where my Hundred Acre Wood friends were all I needed. Pooh's wisdom was beautiful throughout the movie, even if he thinks he's just a bear with very little brain.

The character animations were also very well done. When Christopher was interacting with them it was like they were actually there having a conversation or off searching for their friends. Pooh had me laughing the whole time, especially with his sticky, hunny fingers and his need to understand the "real world." Eeyore was hilarious as well with his somber statements like "Thanks for noticin' me." I've always had a soft spot for Eeyore though so maybe that's just me.

I highly recommend seeing this movie if you ever loved Pooh and his friends. Even if you never got into Pooh before, I think you will love this movie. It will definitely be a part of my collection of DVDs someday. I mean with reviews like 8/10 from IMDb and a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, you can't get much better than that.

P.S. There is a small scene during the credits that is a little weird, and not totally needed. It ends with the friends all sitting in some beach chairs relaxing by the ocean which was pretty cute.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is the sequel every woman in Greece and America has been waiting for. Set five years after the original film (although it's been ten real years) and one year after the death of her mother, Sophie has finished remodeling the hotel and is set to throw a huge opening party. Following an argument with Sky that ends in a split, and a major storm destroying her decorations, however, Sophie is feeling alone and is left wondering how her mother ever survived.

I want to first start by saying that this sequel is getting better reviews than the original. People were not super crazy about the first movie (it got a 6/10 on IMDb), but they all know and loved the music, and this sequel is bringing them all to tears. While I did enjoy this movie and I loved hearing the old songs once again, I wasn't crazy about it. I left the theater in a bit of awe at the people that were crying, and wondering if I had missed something.

I did like following Lily James, who played the young Donna, as she met the three fathers on her international journey from the University of Oxford to Greece. She has an amazing singing voice, and she did a wonderful job in this role. The three fathers though? Young Harry, Hugh Skinner, is awkward and desperate for sex. Donna met him and not four hours later he's all, "Let's have sex!" I wasn't having any part of it. That was not how I had pictured young Harry at all from the first film.  Young Bill, Josh Dylan, wasn't much better. He wasn't as pushy about it, but still. The men in this film look like needy children that are only interested in one thing, and I hated it.

Left to right: Young Bill, Young Harry, and Young Sam (Josh Dylan, Hugh Skinner, and Jeremy Irvine)

The best parts in this movie were the original songs. I wasn't as into the new music as I thought I would be. They were all very slow or very weird (in terms of young Harry's song "Waterloo"). I didn't understand them. Sure they were catchy, but the attraction, to me, stopped there. Also, why is Cher in this film? Everyone loves Cher, I know, I agree. But...really? Her voice isn't even on the same level as the other people in this film. It sticks out among them and her character of Sophie's Grandma, Ruby Sheridan, really wasn't necessary to the story. Donna hated her, and yet here she is ready to be a grandma? No thank you. I could have done without that whole plot line altogether.

Left to right: Young Tanya, Young Donna, and Young Rosie (Jessica Keenan Wynn, Lily James, and Alexa Davies)

I think the hardest part about this whole movie is that Meryl Streep really isn't in it. To me, she made Mamma Mia what it is today. People didn't flock to see the original film for Sophie, no offense Amanda Seyfried, but it's true. Meryl hasn't won innumerable awards for nothing! How dare you make a movie she was a huge part of and then kill her off! Without any explanation no less! I never heard any mention of how she died. Maybe that's what I missed that made everyone cry. Or maybe I'm just weird and don't cry at movies. Who knows?

IMDb gave this sequel a 7.3/10 and Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 77%, and those are very good ratings. I did enjoy the movie, but it wasn't what I wanted it to be, and that's why I wouldn't have rated it as high. I would still go see it if you enjoyed the first Mamma Mia. You will love Lily James as I did, and you will feel for her when you see how young Sam lied to her and broke her heart. I hope you feel differently about this movie than I did, and I don't often say that.

Skyscraper

Skyscraper stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as he attempts to save his family from the tallest skyscraper in the world. Will Sawyer, The Rock, runs a security business and he has checked all the security measures of the Pearl skyscraper. Right before the Pearl housing section is set to open to the public, criminals have a different plan, which leads the Rock to jump to extreme measures.

I knew going into this one that it would be cheesy. I mean just watching the previews I was like ummm did he just jump from a crane to a building?? Yes, he very much did. While this film lacks in believability, it makes up for it in the action and effects. The Rock is awesome and we know he is very strong (clearly). He may not be as invincible as this movie makes him look, but it was still enjoyable to watch. No real man will ever be able to climb up a crane over 100 stories into the air, or hold a bridge together by sheer might alone, but this movie wasn't meant to be taken seriously. It was meant for pure entertainment, and it delivered on that aspect.

The Pearl Skysraper towers above all others.   Photo courtesy of Arch Daily: https://www.archdaily.com/888619/the-rock-is-starring-in-a-new-action-movie-called-skyscraper-and-it-looks-crazy

I would never give this one a rating of anything over a 6/10, and I know it won't be one that I go rushing to Walmart to buy as soon as it comes out. If it weren't for Movie Pass I wouldn't have gone to see it at all probably. I would watch it on Netflix when it came out, but it's definitely not going to be a big money maker.

Other reviewers are loving this film however. One reviewer on IMDb termed it "100%  Old School," and gave it an 8/10. They go on to state how this movie took them back to all the great movies of the 80s with a "superhero" that was strong and invincible. There are quite a few other reviewers that agree with this, some even rating the film 9 or more, but the overall is listed as a 6.2/10. Rotten Tomatoes has an audience score of 79% though, and that's pretty darn good in my eyes. So the decision is yours. To go see the Rock do impossibly amazing stunts, or not to go...that is the question.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Ant-Man and the Wasp is the newest Marvel movie to hit center stage. The story takes place right after Captain America: Civil War and right before Infinity Wars. We watch as Ant-Man goes from housebound criminal with an ankle monitor, to a super hero yet again. Hope Van Dyne (The Wasp, played by Evangeline Lilly) and her father, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), enlist Ant-Man's help in bringing back Hope's mother from the quantum realm. That is, until others have better plans for Dr. Pym's quantum machine.

There was a lot going on in this film. First you have the main story with the rescue mission of Hope's mother, but then you also have this villain that wants to use the quantum machine for her own needs. Much of the film is spent trying to keep the lab safe from this Ghost (Ava, played by Hannah John-Kamen) that jumps through walls and comes into and out of vision as if she's not actually of this world. She puts up a huge challenge for Ant-Man and the Wasp and it was interesting watching them try to fit someone that could actually jump right through them.

I actually think that this Ant-Man sequel beats the first one, and reviews so far agree. IMDb has this movie at a 7.6/10 whereas the first is rated a 6.3/10. The CGI is very well done especially in the quantum realm and for Ava. The comedy is great and kept me entertained throughout. I wouldn't say it's the best comedy by any means, but it was funny. My only complaint is that I prepped for this film with the wrong movie, and it references the past quite a bit. I thought, "OK, I'll watch Ant-Man first and then I'll be ready for this sequel." Wrong! If you have seen the first movie, that's good, but it won't help you here. You need to prep with Civil War. That movie explains why Ant-Man is on house arrest and why Hope and Dr. Pym are angry with him. I saw Civil War years ago when it first came out, but I haven't seen it again, so when this movie started I was very lost. So much has happened in the Marvel world that Civil War was certainly not on my mind.

To be completely honest, I don't totally understand why Ant-Man is even a thing. He's not one of the big name super heroes and his story really isn't a part of all the other Avengers. He's just there, and maybe some of you love these movies, and there is nothing wrong with that. All the power to you! Ant-Man is a good movie, but he will never be one of the super heroes that draws a big crowd. I really only wanted to see it because I love Evangeline Lilly (yay Lost!), and because I had to so as not to miss anything important in regards to the Avengers.

If you really love Marvel, then sure go see this one. You will probably be in a not-so-crowded theater which is always nice. Room to stretch out right? It was a good movie, but it's not helpful to the Avengers story. The best part by far was the cut-scene after the movie (there are 2 but only the first is worth watching). So, the decision is yours. If my lack-luster review does not help you, then I do apologize. I'll make it up to you soon!

The First Purge

The First Purge, as the title suggests, is a prequel to all the previous Purge films to hit the theaters. It takes place on Staten Island as an experiment in which anyone that stays and takes part in the 12 hour law-free zone will receive $5,000 from the New Founding Fathers. Will they fight? Will they survive?

I've seen every single Purge film. The First Purge was not one of my favorites. I found a lot of flaws in it, and I don't feel like it added anything to the series. I understand why they made this film, to explain how it all began, but after seeing the previous films I pretty much had it all figured out. The experiment had two aspects: sociological, and economical. Marisa Tomei plays Dr. Updale who is responsible for this whole experiment. She wants to see what would happen if a group of people are set free for 12 hours to commit any crimes, and having this in a controlled setting is exactly what she needs. Patch Darragh, who plays Arlo Sabian, the Chief of Staff of the New Founding Fathers, wants to see this experiment from the economical side, and he won't see this experiment fail.

If you've seen the other Purge films and enjoyed them, you can probably skip this one. If you live on Staten Island and have seen the Purge films and enjoyed them, definitely skip this one. My major complaint is how this film portrayed Staten Island, and I'd be surprised if natives of the island don't agree. I've been there once or twice and it has always been a very upscale area, with beautiful houses and landscaping like you've never seen before. I didn't see any of that in The First Purge. They made it look dirty and very much lower class. Honestly, the only white people in the entire movie were the people that were running this experiment. How is that supposed to look? Like the white upper class is killing the lower black population? I'm pretty sure this movie didn't do anything to help with discrimination these days.

The decision making of major characters in this movie are very stupid, and that's putting it lightly. "Let's all group together in this unguarded church! We'll totally be safe here!" Are you serious? I understand it's a church and that's sacred land, but this is the Purge and those killers don't care. You think murderers go to church? Maybe if they're playing you for a fool, but they aren't going because they're a believer.

The best character in this film was Dmitri, played by Y'lan Noel, but even he can't make up for the stupidity in this film. He's cool, but not worth sitting through this movie more than once. IMDb reviewers have rated this film a 5.3/10 and Rotten Tomatoes give it a 38% audience score. Ratings like that are painful to see, but sadly I must agree. Save your money. Wait for Netflix.