The Shallows

This movie didn’t live up to my expectations, but I think I liked it a “little” better than I originally thought.  Nancy Adams is a medical student that has lost her mother, is getting overwhelmed by life and just needs a vacation to get away from everything for a while.  She decides to travel to a secluded beach she’s heard about to enjoy the sun and get in some great surfing – alone, of course.  What she doesn’t count on is being attacked by a shark!  After escaping, she’s able to eventually make her way to a raised rock that she can sit on to get away from the killer shark, but is still 200 yards away from shore.  She’s also injured and starts suffering from the heat, along with lack of food and water, all while trying to “outsmart” the shark.  Overall, I just didn’t buy it.  I’d heard it compared to the movie Jaws, but it was nowhere near that level!  And the longer it went, the cheesier it was, and the more overacting there was!  I liked the scenery and filming, but the story just got old and didn’t go very far once it was all set up.  It had potential, but didn’t live up to it for me…

The Shallows


It was billed as the “next Jaws” as “fearless” and “terrifying” . . . did we see the same movie???  I was thinking more along the lines of “I don’t think so” “laughable” and “oh please – did you even see Jaws?”  I found nothing new or fresh about this movie or terrifying none the less!  A woman, played by Blake Lively, goes back to the beach where her mom use to surf to deal with the death of her mom.  She is basically alone, on the waves, where she runs into a . . . shark!!  Who would’ve thought that would’ve happened???  She manages to make it to a lone rock with a gash her in thigh from the nip that the shark gave her.  She’s only 200 yards from shore – she can make it – but wait . . . the shark is reading her mind!!!  It knows what she’s thinking and no matter what she tries – he’s always there. . .waiting for the taste of her flesh and the lust of her blood!!!! Whatever will she do?? (Que the dramatic music)  She comes up with a plan – one that will rock her world and the shark!!!   REALLY??  I saw Jaws!  It was far more superior than this film and I already knew the ending before she even dipped her big toe in the water!! I guess you can assume what I thought of this movie . . .

 

Parental Guidance


Love, love, loved this movie!  Billy Crystal and Bette Midler play grandparents who are asked to come babysit their grandkids that they don’t see very often.  There are 2 helicopter parents with a new age way of parenting, 3 kids that have their rules of governing themselves, and 2 old school grandparents who are in for the ride of their lives.  There is a lot of crazy stuff that happens, a lot of laughs as we see Billy and Bette trying to copy their daughters ways of parenting and kids that really don’t know their grandparents and aren’t thrilled about being with them.  The three kids all have personal issues they’re dealing with and along the way we see them getting closer to their grandparents and the family overcoming the obstacles that first separated them.  I am very sentimental about this film because I am a grandma of 9, so forgive me if I get a little weepy, but it really is a heart-felt movie about the little things in our lives that create the bonds and the memories that we will always have of our family.

 

The Good Neighbor

This movie was a little different.  The story is about two high school kids that are attempting to scare their old, cranky neighbor into believing his house is haunted.  They set up all kinds of props to get his attention along with sneaking into his house and installing cameras so they can watch and record everything from home.  Besides recording everything not being the best of ideas, each attempt to frighten him seems to bring out some hidden emotions from his past that end up to be much more than either of the boys bargained for!  The more they watch, the more they wonder about what he’s doing in areas they can’t see on their cameras, and the riskier their own behavior gets until it all comes to a head.  James Caan plays the neighbor and does a great job in his role.  It’s a simple story overall, but was pretty intense and felt like there was a lot more to it than there appears to be on the surface.  This one can cut deep if you let it…

Central Intelligence


Kevin Hart – Duwayne “The Rock” Johnson . . . what more could you ask for?  I know, you’re probably thinking dumb – cheesy – been there, done that before movie, but it was a good movie with a lot of laughs.  Kevin Hart plays Calvin Joyner, an all-around popular jock from high school.  Duwayne plays the overweight, nerdy kid that everyone made fun of.  The opening scene is set in a gym where we see them as seniors.  As Calvin is receiving his award, we see Duwayne’s character being humiliated in front of the school.  Calvin is the only one to rush over to help him.  Fast forward to 20 years, class reunion time and Calvin is looking back on his life and wondering how he went from hero to zero as he’s just an accounant now.  When Duwayne’s character calls him up, he has changed his name to Bob Stone and he’s no longer the nerdy kid we know, but more like “The Rock” as we know him.  The story goes that Bob is really a C.I.A. agent and needs Calvin’s help to break a crime ring.  But – Calvin doesn’t know whether to believe him or not because Bob Stone is into unicorns, Pretty in Pink reruns and fanny packs.  These two are great comedic actors together and each of them plays off each other so well.  It’s just a fun movie to sit back and have some laughs and to see a little action along the way. 

 

Pete’s Dragon


This is such a sweet, sentimental story.  Pete is left alone in the forest by a car accident that kills his parents.  He has no one to protect him and the wolves are circling him.  In comes Elliot, a beautiful, soft, dragon that saves him.  As the story goes, we know that Pete and Elliot became family.  But one day, Pete is seen in the forest by a local forester and they want to save him. This begins another new story of what it means to be family and to believe in what’s not seen.  We go on a great adventure with Pete and Elliot and I loved every minute of it.  One of the actors in this movie is Robert Redford, who plays the grandpa.  He was such a delight to see.  This film is for all ages and it will make you cheer and maybe even shed a tear.  Just a terrific film.