MOVIE REVIEW: HUSTLERS

Working as a stripper to make ends meet, Destiny's life changes forever when she becomes friends with Ramona -- the club's top money earner. Ramona soon shows Destiny how to finagle her way around the wealthy Wall street clientele who frequent the club. But when the 2008 economic collapse cuts into their profits, the gals and two other dancers devise a daring scheme to take their lives back.

Director: Lorene Scafaria

Cast: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo, Cardi B

Release Date: September 13, 2019

Comedy, Crime, Drama

Rated R for pervasive sexual material, drug content, language and nudity

Runtime: 1 h 50 min

Review:

Hustlers is a surprisingly engaging film mixed with a strong undercurrent of feminism and female friendship.  Lorene Scafaria has crafted a film that’s funnier than it is dramatic at any point.  You can’t help but feel that there’s probably a deeper story in there somewhere and we only get to know the characters on their most basic levels. Still, it’s entertaining easy flowing film that’s more fun than it deserves to be.  Scafaria keeps the action moving at a steady pace never lingering too much on anything in particular, this makes some of the more superficial aspects of film brush off easier.  Constance Wu carries the film with ease while showing off a hefty bit of range as she goes all in with her character.  Her character isn’t the showiest role in the film but it’s the heart and soul of the film.  Jennifer Lopez does solid work here even though you get the distinct feeling that she’s just playing a version of her own personality in real life with a stronger tan.  Keke Palmer and Lili Reinhart are fun in supporting roles, unfortunately Julia Stiles is sadly underused.  Hustlers is the kind of crime dramedy just fun even if it’s not particularly deep.  

B

MOVIE REVIEW: IT CHAPTER TWO

Defeated by members of the Losers' Club, the evil clown Pennywise returns 27 years later to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine, once again. Now adults, the childhood friends have long since gone their separate ways. But when people start disappearing, Mike Hanlon calls the others home for one final stand. Damaged by scars from the past, the united Losers must conquer their deepest fears to destroy the shape-shifting Pennywise -- now more powerful than ever.

Director: Andrés Muschietti

Cast: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean

Release Date: September 6, 2019

Genre: Horror

Rated R for disturbing violent content and bloody images throughout, pervasive language, and some crude sexual material.

Runtime: 2 h 50 min

Review:

It Chapter Two has the unenviable task of trying to tie up the story started in the original film.  Much like the original novel and mini series adaptation the latter half of the story doesn’t quite have the pop or elegance of the first half of the story.  This sequel is bigger and has a more expansive mythology.  It has an impressive collection of big name actors as the grown versions of the Losers Club who all play their roles fairly well.  Still, as you sit through Andrés Muschietti’s nearly 3 hour opus you keep waiting for something amazing or truly terrifying to happen.  It never does as we go through a variety of side stories and back stories.  That’s not to say there aren’t any thrilling or mildly scary sequences because there are but the problem is that it all feels sort of routine leaving the film like a hodgepodge collection of horror tropes blended into a single film.  It’s never a bad film per say but it’s not a great film either.  The main issue is that the central villain is put on display much too often which makes each subsequent appearance less and less scary.  By the conclusion some of the moments come off as funnier as opposed to spine tingling, making it feel closer to a late era Nightmare on Elm Street which is fitting since there’s a visual nod to the 5^th film in that series.


B-

MOVIE REVIEW: READY OR NOT

Grace couldn't be happier after she marries the man of her dreams at his family's luxurious estate. There's just one catch -- she must now hide from midnight until dawn while her new in-laws hunt her with guns, crossbows and other weapons.

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Cast: Samara Weaving, Mark O'Brien, Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell

Release Date: August 21, 2019

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for violence, bloody images, language throughout, and some drug use

Runtime: 1 h 35 min

Review:

Ready or Not is one of those film’s that just comes out of nowhere and just surprises in multiple ways.  It’s a great black comedy that’s consistently entertaining from start to finish.  While the basic premise seems incredibly basic, you can find plenty of nuance and texture in it’s dissection of the 1% and gender politics.  It’s never overly didactic because first and foremost it aims to entertain with over the top set pieces and genuine shocks.  Director’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett crafted a lean efficient thrill ride that’s incredibly fun.  Australian actress Samara Weaving delivers a star making turn as grace.  It would have been easy to play the character as a one dimensional but she adds multiple layers to her which makes her all the more engaging as she goes from frighten to fighting back.  The supporting cast is made up of a bevy familiar character actors along with Andie MacDowell being the biggest name in the whole thing.  Ready or Not feels like a mash up of Your Next and Clue while becoming a crazy special thing of it’s own.


A

Cindy Prascik's Review of Angel Has Fallen

Yesterday it was off to the pictures for Angel Has Fallen, the latest installment in Gerard Butler's Secret Service series.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

Framed for an assassination attempt on the President, Secret Service agent Mike Banning is on the run for his life.

Angel Has Fallen jumps out of the gate with an intense action sequence and never much lets up. There are a few quiet moments that lay out the private life Agent Bannon has made for himself since last we saw him, but mostly this movie knows where its bread is buttered and keeps the car chases and explosions rolling. Gerard Butler is again serviceable in the lead, a meathead trying hard to look like something more but never quite getting there. The supporting cast is as good as it needs to be, but cringe-worthy dialogue and juvenile humor don't give it much to work with. Despite offering few surprises, Angel Has Fallen maintains tension and is, in places, very nicely filmed. It's a big, loud, end-of-summer romp that is likely to fade from memory before you're out the theater door. Angel Has Fallen clocks in at 121 minutes and is rated R for, "violence and language throughout."

Angel Has Fallen is a by-the-numbers actioner that doesn't exceed expectations, but maybe it doesn't need to.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Angel Has Fallen gets six. Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: GOOD BOYS

Invited to his first kissing party, 12-year-old Max asks his best friends Lucas and Thor for some much-needed help on how to pucker up. When they hit a dead end, Max decides to use his father's drone to spy on the teenage girls next door. When the boys lose the drone, they skip school and hatch a plan to retrieve it before Max's dad can figure out what happened.

Director: Gene Stupnitsky

Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Brady Noon, Keith L. Williams, Molly Gordon, Lil Rel Howery, Will Forte

Release Date: August 16, 2019

Genre: Adventure, Comedy

Rated R for strong crude sexual content, drug and alcohol material, and language throughout - all involving tweens

Runtime: 1 h 29 min

Review:

Good Boys is one of those comedies that pops up every now and then, much in the same vein of Superbad and this year’s Booksmart.  There are similarities to those films but moving the age range down gives its own sense of character and innocence that’s missing from the high school comedies.  Gene Stupnitsky directs his film at a brisk pace letting the jokes shoot by at a dizzying pace.  The script is sharp even if it’s not groundbreaking, the jokes work nearly from start to finish.  The pace of the film never lets anything lingers too long so any jokes that miss don’t hang around long.  The cast is likeable and all three boys share solid chemistry across the board.  Jacob Tremblay is clearly the most talented of the three but Brady Noon and Keith L. Williams more than carry their own weight.  Their delivery of the script is incredibly naturalist and authentic which really helps the film particularly since the film has a hefty amount of heart behind its racy exterior.  Good Boys ultimately has a lot going for it but more than anything it’s genuinely funny with a sweet message behind it.   

B+

Cindy Prascik's Review of Blinded By the Light

This weekend my cinema choice, among a glut of new offerings, was Blinded By the Light.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

Inspired by the music of Bruce Springsteen, a young Pakistani-British man tries to follow his dream of being a writer, against his traditional father's wishes.

Blinded By the Light marks the third (that I'm aware of?) music-inspired, hope-inspiring movie of 2019, and its beautiful message of perseverance, respect, and acceptance feels like just what the world needs right now.

Blinded By the Light tackles tough subjects like racism and the austerity of mid-80s Britain with humor and charm. Newcomer Viveik Kalra is an engaging lead, always sympathetic even in his worst moments; however, it's Aaron Phagura who really lights up the screen as the friend who introduces our hero to *his* hero, Mr. Springsteen. The two together are a joy to watch! Springsteen tunes and some other choice nuggets provide a nostalgic soundtrack that, along with spot-on costumes and hair, really captures both the ups and downs of the 80s. In these challenging times, it's beautiful to see how universal art really is.

Blinded By the Light runs 117 minutes and is rated PG13 for "thematic material and language, including some ethnic slurs."

Blinded By the Light is an endearing film that highlights the power of music. In our troubled times, it is just what the doctor (or the Boss?) ordered.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Blinded By the Light gets nine.

Fangirl points: I see you, Duran Duran poster! Until next time...