This is Where I Leave You


We all have those family members that are a “little” dysfunctional or maybe the whole family is!  If you can relate to that – you will relate to this movie.  This is Where I Leave You is a film about the family that you love but can drive you up a wall within 5 seconds of being back together.  Having to spend a whole week together mourning the loss of their dad, 3 brothers, 1 sister and an over-sharing mom learn far more about each other than they really want to.  A great ensemble of actors from Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Timothy Olyphant to Jane Fonda allow for each characters’ charms and quirks come to life in this film. Jason Bateman by far was the most enjoyable character to watch and a different role for Tina Fey which I thoroughly enjoyed.  You get to see a new side of Jane Fonda in this movie and the other cast members all added to the merriment.  I enjoyed this film for the craziness of the family life and the moments when you feel like no one has your back and then you realize your family was always there.  Not a sappy movie but one that was entertaining in a reality type way.

Think Like a Man too


This is part two to the first film of the same title, Think Like a Man.   All the same cast of characters are back and this time the group is headed to Las Vegas for a wedding and a night to remember of bachelor and bachelorette parties.  I did like this film and the only negative thing I have to say is that it felt like it was a Kevin Hart movie.  Now, he is a funny comedian, but a little Kevin . . .goes a long way!  I would’ve liked to have seen more of the other actors and more of their storylines front and center instead of Mr. Harts but with that said – it was a fun romantic comedy with all the craziness that you expect from a film like this.

Chef

I would say this movie was an example of “finding” yourself by “losing” yourself and following your passion, even if it might not be how you imagined.  Jon Favreau, known for roles in movies like Rudy, Swingers, and the Iron Man series,  plays a chef who leaves his job at a fancy restaurant after not being allowed to create his own menu in his kitchen and being slammed by a food critic for becoming stale.  Eventually, he starts up a food truck and goes cross-country with the truck and his son promoting their travels on Twitter.  I think he sees how much his “good” job was keeping him from enjoying creating food dishes and connecting with his family and everything that was important in his life.  I just really liked how he found all of this in the last place you would expect without even realizing it until it was happening.  Maybe I should buy a taco truck???

Dolphin Tale 2

Dolphin Tale 2 finds us back at the Clearwater Marine Hospital where the rescued dolphin Winter lives along with the rest of the cast from the first movie.  While the first movie was about saving Winter and making her a tail and teaching her to swim again, this movie was more of a continuation of life for all of them.  After Winter’s companion dolphin dies, they need to find her another dolphin so she’s not alone in isolation (which is against the law) or risk losing her to another park.  The rule/motto for the rescue facility has always been “rescue, rehabilitate, and release” whenever possible for any rescued animals, so it’s not always easy to find another animal that “needs” to say there.  It’s all based on a true story and does feel pretty real when it comes down to making some tough decisions that are going to affect everyone in the park.  There were a lot of lessons of right and wrong and it’s a good movie for the whole family.

Edge of Tomorrow (aka “Live Die Repeat”)

I liked this movie much more than I expected.  Tom Cruise plays Cage, an inexperienced officer in the military that is thrown (literally) into a war being waged against an alien enemy that is trying to take over the earth.  A twist with this extraterrestrial is that it can control time and reset the day so it can know the future ahead of time – which helps whenever a part of it is killed.  When Cage is “infected” with this same power, he works with a legendary warrior, Rita, to try anything they can to defeat the aliens and end the war.  For Cage, this involves being sent back in time to the same point every time he is killed in battle – which is over and over and over and over – hundreds of times for him!  This also allows him to hone his skills and become legendary himself.  I was afraid this was going to be too much like the movie Groundhog Day or be all sci-fi and special effects and not much story – I was wrong!  It totally worked for me – it had a great story and moved at a nice pace and let you learn what was happening right along with Cage just as he was learning.  I’m glad I watched it – and would definitely watch it again!

The Expendables 3


This movie was a huge let down after the first two.  It was full of over the top action and I mean – over the top!!  Most of the movie was one explosion after another and total unreal stunts that were predictable but yet not needed!  You know who the Expendables are and what they do but yet they forgot to bring the fun to it like the first two had.  New characters were introduced but they all seemed out of place including Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford and Kelsey Grammer.  Not to mention a few of the “new” comers, (Victor Ortiz, Kellan Lutz and Ronda Rousey), which was the point of the story.  Stallone thinks his team is getting too old so he fires them and hires a batch of “young” kids to be his new team.  Well of course, they get their butts kicked and held hostage and the “old” guys have to come and save the day.  What I did like about it was Mel Gibson – he played the bad guy in this film and he was great!  He had a little bit of Mad Max and Riggs character from the Lethal Weapon movies in him.  When Gibson and Stallone went toe to toe - it was fun to watch.  I wish they would have stuck to the magic that was the first one but I guess – all good things must come to an end and in this case – the biggest over the top end there ever was!

Let’s Be Cops

I didn’t know how this movie would be, but it was actually pretty funny.  Two friends (Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr.) dress as police officers for a costume party.  Their outfits are so realistic that everyone who sees them thinks they are actual policemen.  When they realize this, that’s when the fun begins!  If you don’t take it too serious, who wouldn’t want to pretend to be cops and be “in charge” of things and test the limits of their new “powers”?  Some things are definitely a little (or a LOT) far-fetched, but that’s part of the fun.  It’s funny watching them start acting like they actually are cops, but knowing they really aren’t.  It all starts to fall apart when everything gets serious and they get caught up in a real life web of mobsters and detectives that can’t be trusted.  There were a few crude type scenes and some language, but overall, it felt like a good, buddy cop type of movie that was just fun!  I enjoyed it!

22 Jump Street


Sooooooo, 22 Jump Street is a sequel to 21 Jump Street starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill and that’s exactly what you get – the same as the first just with a few more one liners!  This movie doesn’t take itself any more seriously than the first.  In fact, they make fun of the first movie and if you listen to some of the punch lines – you’ll notice a lot of references to other movies and tv shows.  The story itself does have some laugh-out-loud parts but for anyone who is easily offended by language – this movie is not for you.  There are over 200 uses of the “F” word alone!  The lines get so saturated with the language the movie almost becomes offensive. But if you liked 21 Jump Street - you’ll more than likely like this than too.