Top 10 Movies of 2017

Looking over my two lists of top 10 movies of 2017, I've decided to do an overall top 10 of both lists. Narrowing my top 20 to an overall top10 is a wee bit harder for me. This is how I decided the list: 1. In the course of the year, did I watch this movie more than once? 2. Is this a movie that I would like to own or ran out to buy when it was released on DVD? her 

Here are the links to the other two top 10s. 

January-June 2017

July-December 2017

Here goes.....

10.  Coco. I have a Disney movie collection.

9.  Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tells. I collect Disney movies, especially if Orlando Bloom is in them. 

8.  How to Be a Latin Lover. This movie is so freaking hilarious!!!

7.  The Greatest Showman. I love the music!!

6.  Girl's Trip. Another hilarious movie.

5.  Ingrid Goes West.  This is twisted on so many levels.

4.  Logan. What can I say, I love Hugh Jackman.

3. Thor: Ragnorak. What can I say, I love Australians.  

2.  Hidden Figures. This is a beautiful movie that everyone should see and then own.

1. Wonder Woman. Little girls want to be just like Wonder Woman. I know I did when I was young, underoos and all.

So, that concludes my 2017 movie viewing. This year, I'm making it a goal to watch a film outside of my immediate comfort zone. I'll try something new, like maybe a military movie.

My Favorite July-December 2017 Movies

Here it is ladies and gentlemen, my top 10 films, July through December, 2017. It took me a while because there were a few I wanted to watch before I posted my list. This is going to be short, I promise I won't go into too many details. The format will be Title, Genre, Release Date, Rating.  Here is the link to January - June. January-June 2017

10.  The Big Sick, Comedy, July 14, 2017, R:  Starring Kumail Nanjiani, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano and Zoe Kazan. It's an interracial love story and then some. Go see it. It's just good.  

9.  Spider-Man Homecoming, Action, July 7, 2017, PG-13: Starring Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton. I'm glad that Marvel had a chance to make their movie, I just don't think he's that interesting of a character. Tom Holland is so much better than Andrew Garfield in the role. I'm just not completely sold on Spider-Man. I like his interaction with The Avengers better. 

8. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Action, December 15, 2017, PG-13: Starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan. I never saw the first one, so I have nothing to compare this one to. I thought this was hilarious. You have Dwayne Johnson (hot) and Jack Black and Kevin Hart (both hilarious). What more could a girl ask for?

7. Girl's Trip, Comedy, July 21, 2017, R: Starring Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, and Tiffany Haddish. Four friends go on a girl's trip and chaos ensues. Tiffany Haddish is one of the funniest ladies on screen. I laughed so hard I was in tears. The comedy is crude, so it's not for the faint of heart. 

6.  Coco, Family Adventure, November 22, 1017, PG: Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, and Anthony Gonzalez. It's a Disney cartoon so we know it must be good. This was very cute. It had me laughing, crying, and missing my dad.

5.  Molly's Game, Biography, December 25, 2017, R: Starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Michael Cera, and Kevin Costner. It says that this was released in Jan. 2018, but I watched it in limited release in 2017, while vacationing ironically in Vegas. This is about a girl named Molly Bloom, who hosts poker games for the Hollywood elite. How true to life is this version, with what really happened? I don't know. Speaking about Spider-Man....... Tobey Maguire sucks. It's ALLEGED that Michael Cera's character was based on Tobey Maguire. That pair, Tobey and Leo, I really don't care for. I know many will disagree, including my husband who must watch every Leo movie. Seriously though, name the last movie Tobey Maguire has been in where he doesn't spin a web. 

4.  The Greatest Showman, Musical Biography, December 25, 2017, PG: Starring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson. The visuals were stunning, the music was amazing. I liked this movie better than Les Miserables. I'm don't like the circus or the mistreatment of any animal, including human, but I loved learning about the birth of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. I remember going to the circus when I was little. This was a very fun and beautiful movie.   

3.  The Disaster Artist, Biography, December 8, 2017, R: Starring James Franco, Dave Franco and Seth Rogen. This is a film about the making of the cult film, The Room (2004) starring Tommy Wiseau. How much of what went on in the film actually went on in real life? My husband and I are looking into showings of The Room. James Franco is amazing, Dave Franco is amazing. If Tommy Wiseau is anything like the way James Franco portrayed him, he's absolutely insane, not bad insane, just splendidly crazy insane, if that's a thing. I really liked this movie, I'll just leave it at that. 

2.  Ingrid Goes West, Comedy, August 25, 2017, R: Starring Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Wyatt Russell. This was one of my FAVORITE movies of the year. Everyone should see this. Aubrey Plaza is outrageous in this film.  It made me realize how much time I waste on social media, and here I am wanting everyone to read my social media.   I reviewed this film, so I will link that review here. Ingrid Goes West Review

1. Thor: Ragnorak, Action, November 3, 2017, PG-13: Starring Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston. I reviewed this movie, so I won't say much and link the review. This is one of my FAVORITE Marvel films to date. Thor: Ragnorak Review

I'm sitting here in the silence of my mom's house, just the ghosts and me, alone, reflecting on my choices and I realize that, while yes a blog like this can be helpful, there are movies that I pass on just because they don't look interesting to me or because I just flatly refuse to watch that particular genre. I hate horror films, so you won't see many on my lists, EVER. I'm not a critic and therefore am not required to sit through every film ever made. 

Here is a list of all the films that I watched, July- December, 2017:

These are in no particular order. The highlighted films are those that are worth seeing, but didn't make my list. I had no more room. 

Victoria and Abdul
Spider-Man Homecoming
War for the Planet of the Apes
The Big Sick
Girl's Trip
Dark Tower
The Glass Castle
An Inconvenient Sequel
The Hitman's Bodyguard
Ingrid Goes West
Home Again
IT: IT Review
Geostorm
Justice League
Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Last Jedi Review
Thor: Ragnorok
Jumanji
Molly's Game
Coco
The Shape of Water
All the Money in the World
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Post
Disaster Artist
The Greatest Showman
Daddy's Home 2
Marshall 
Phantom Thread

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I can't remember a time when Star Wars wasn't a part of my life.  My first memory was watching The Empire Strikes Back at my preschool friend Adam's house. We had a movie day of Superman 3 and The Empire Strikes Back.  Obviously one film was better than the other. This childhood friend was also my "first kiss", which I don't remember because we were still in diapers. My mom still has the photo to prove it. I digress. I think I feel a Force connection to these films because we were both born 40 years ago. As a matter of fact I'm writing this blog post on my 40th birthday.  Because the movies are released on or around my birthday every year, I feel like the films are my presents. I can't help but feel disappointed in my gift this year.

I was invited to the Star Wars Global Press Junket earlier in December, and was excited to see the cast, especially Luke Skywalker aka Mark Hamill (or is it the other way around??).  After hearing the cast and director, Rian Johnson, speaking about the film (what they could anyway) my inner geek started counting down the minutes until the Thursday, December 14th. I was actually looking forward to this film! After being slightly disappointed in The Force Awakens, I was happy that they were finally doing the films justice, so I thought.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those who hated the prequels. I actually liked them. At it's core this story is about good vs. evil, a sentiment expressed by Gwendoline Christie during The Last Jedi press panel. It just so happens that the story is also centered around one family, whom fans love. Anakin Skywalker's journey to the dark side was important and while yes, at times, Ani could be a bit whiny, I still knew that through him we would get Luke and Leia and I wanted to see that story. I miss George Lucas, I'm sorry so many fans hated on your films. I liked them. I had heard of his treatments and story ideas for Episodes I, II, III and VII, VIII, IX way back in the early 90's. They were in the books which are now called "Legends" but I still call "Canon".  The Last Jedi missed the mark on so many levels, here's why....

What a waste of a character Luke was in this film. After the look he gave Rey at the end of The Force Awakens, we get a shell of the former hero in The Last Jedi. We've been waiting 34 years for this moment. Was this movie supposed to be funny? It was't. Harrison Ford is funny, he has a dry sense of humor that works well with Han Solo. Luke's attempts at being funny were just campy. "I want to see Luke drink breast milk from an alien," said no one ever!!! Then to kill him off the way they did. I hear that he's rumored to be coming back for IX? Obviously as a force ghost like Yoda and Obi-Wan in the originals. I was expecting more from him. 

I expected more from you Luke

The Originals were campy, I get it, but they were made in the 70's and 80's. The prequels were more serious and I appreciated that. Kylo Ren is the worst character on so many levels. Anakin was whiny, but Kylo is just a spoiled adult brat. I can't believe that he is the only Skywalker link we have left. What a terrible way to represent. Anakin was so upset because he couldn't save his mother, someone he loved so much, he killed a bunch of Tusken Raiders. Kylo just killed his dad. The end. Kylo, you're a horrible human. At least Vader had redeeming qualities, you have none, you killed Han (let's just pretend Harrison Ford didn't want Han Solo to die). 

The way Kylo killed Snoke and that fight scene, Kylo and Rey vs. Snoke's guards, was amazing. This is the ONLY reason for me to watch this movie in theaters for a second time. Now on Snoke's death, what was that? Seriously, why introduce a villain, just to kill him off and not give him a backstory. I hope that they explain Snoke, who he is (was) and how he got a hold on Ben Skywalker. I was so disappointed in his lack of character development. The same can be said with Captain Phasma. How disappointing it was to see her die so quickly.

One of the worst things about this movie is the reveal of Rey's parents as drunken nobodies, who just sold her as a slave. She's a nobody? Really? I hope this was just a ploy made by Kylo to get her to turn to the dark side. If not, if they really are saying that Rey isn't connected to the Skywalkers in some way, then I think I'm done with this series. Some will argue that Anakin was a nobody, but at least he was a part of the prophecy to bring balance to the Force. He had meaning. I'm still hoping that Kylo Ren only lied, similar to how he threw Rey under the bus when General Hux questioned him about Snoke's demise. We know he's a man child who lies. 

Another idiotic move, Yoda's Force ghost burning the Ancient Jedi Texts, which we see again in the Millennium Falcon, because Rey has stolen them.  Yoda was not the wise Yoda of old (old as in prequels). This was another example of pure velveeta cheesiness.  He acted like he did at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, when he first met Luke and he acted like a silly little green alien on the Dagobah System. His Force ghost CGI wasn't even up to par with the prequels, why? Because he's a puppet again. It was more of a mockery than anything else. 

The absolute worst things that Rian Johnson did to this film was have Jedi Leia fly through space. COME ON!!!! Even Obi-Wan couldn't do that. Even with being Force sensitive, the rising of Leia should not have happened, it doesn't make sense. Another character wasted!! While yes, it wasn't the films fault that Carrie Fisher passed away, it was the way they sent her off that was horrible.  My entire life I wanted to be a Jedi Princess. Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia was a Force (ha ha) for young girls to look up to.  While at the press event, all of the ladies on the panel seemed to agree that Carrie was a role model. I love watching films with strong females, who can kick a little but like their male counterparts, Buffy, Black Widow, Wonder Woman, Padame (in Episodes I and II) and her daughter Leia. To see her end the way it did, which was in no way at all, seemed a little disrespectful to "Our Princess".

While this review leans more towards the dark side of the Force, and by that I mean negative, there were a few scenes that I loved. The fight scene, mentioned earlier, with Rey and Kylo against Snoke's guards, was spectacular. I love the scenes with Finn and Rose. Although Rose can be a bit annoying at times.  The best thing about these new films are Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac. Laura Dern sacrificing herself for the Resistance was a great scene too. Anything with Poe is amazing!! Could he be the next Admiral?  Could there also be a spark between Poe and Rey? I love Oscar Isaac!

I feel sad that that I couldn't like this movie more. I had super high hopes and was disappointed at the way the story was handled. My hope is that J.J. Abrams can fix what was so horribly done. Didn't Rian Johnson say this was his baby?? Is there a way to have a redo? The more I think about this movie the angrier I get. 

I wish that I could give it more Gerber Daisies, but alas, to this I give only 2. 

On a side note, please Star Wars "Powers That Be", give Ewan McGregor his own Obi-Wan film.  Oh, and George Lucas, please come back!!!

Thor: Ragnarok Review

OMG OMG OMG!!! I have no words for the beauty that I witnessed last night. And by beauty, yes I mean Chris Hemsworth The Lord of Thunder, I mean God of Thunder. Thor: Ragnarok is my favorite Marvel film to date. Watching this movie, I felt like I was in an 80's video game. I have nothing negative to say about it. It kept my attention from start to finish, the music was great, the visuals were stunning, and the acting was on point.

I laughed out loud so many times throughout the film. Hemsworth is hilarious. He can sure have some fun with the roles that he plays. I love that about him. He doesn't take himself too seriously.  Of course I loved the cameos in the film. Dr. Strange shows up in the beginning.  Anthony Hopkins also makes a brief appearance as Odin. We find out that Jane and Thor broke up, but I think that is already briefly mentioned in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The scenes between Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth are so funny. Bruce Banner is the "Hulk" in the majority of the film. Mark Ruffalo is my favorite Banner/Hulk.

The plot of Thor: Ragnarok was really good. A dark force awakens to take over Asgard. Come to find out, this "dark force" is Thor and Loki's sister, Hela, the goddess of death, played by Cate Blanchett. Thor, Loki, the Hulk and a Valkyrie must work together to save the day without the help of Thor's hammer, which is destroyed by Hela during their first encounter on earth.  Because she is Odin's oldest child, she can wield the hammer. This surprises both Thor and Loki.

After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Hulk winds up on a "junk" planet, run by Jeff Goldblum (he is very good in this movie too). Hulk ends up becoming a fighter in their version of UFC.  We find out that Banner has been living as the Hulk for the last two years. Thor also happens to land on this planet after his first encounter with his sister, Hela. Thor, now hammer-less, and Hulk have to fight (you see this in the previews and commercials, so I'm not giving anything away). The exchange between Hulk and Thor is hilarious.

My sister-in-law loves Thor, she thinks he very handsome. Chris Hemsworth looks very good in this movie, especially with his short hair. With the success of this film, I wonder if Chris Hemsworth will sign on to do a few more? What does this mean for the franchise. Is Hela dead? Can you kill the Goddess of Death? Does Death die?

Thor was never my least favorite marvel character. That honor is bestowed to Captain America. Let's face it Cap is pretty boring and vanilla. Thor is vanilla too, but he controls lightening! Thunder too right, considering he's the God of Thunder, not God of Lightening. 

I repeat, this is my favorite Marvel movie to date. I didn't want it to end. Maybe I should post a blog with a list of all my favorite Marvel comic book films. That would be interesting.

Thor: Ragnarok is rated PG-13 for brief Hulk nudity (ha ha ha) and it gets 5 out of 5 Gerber Daisies on my Gerber Daisy scale. This is an absolute must see, not a "I'll wait until it comes out in the cheap theaters!!" I may even like it better than Wonder Woman.

Is IT Worth IT?

Last weekend I had the opportunity to see IT with the hubby and I didn't take him up on his offer. While he was watching IT, I wanted to give some love to the other movie released as IT's competition, Home Again. That movie I loved and thought was absolutely adorable. We all know that Home Again wasn't going to hold a candle to IT. 

After hearing how my hubby and my friends loved the movie, I decided to check IT out for myself. I hate gory films but I love horror/thriller. Give me a great Scream or scary Halloween and life is good. On a side note, I'm over the moon with excitement that Jamie Lee Curtis will be in the new Halloween film, coming out next Fall. I loved her return for Halloween H20. Maybe she'll rectify her Halloween Resurrection mistake. Anyway, I digress.

I watched the original IT miniseries in 1990 (27 years later IT returns, interesting ploy there Warner Bros.) I feel that the 1990 miniseries was scarier than the movie version. I jumped once and IT wasn't even a full jump, IT was more of a twitch. I think what was so terrifying about the 1990 version of IT was that I watched as a little girl CHILD. What is IT after? Children's fears. Knowing the ending and knowing that IT is a giant alien spider, doesn't make IT all that terrifying. I cried in this movie, can you believe IT!  I laughed a few times too. I pains me to say IT, but IT was't all that scary. The Conjuring, now that was a scary movie (the original, not the sequel). 

Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an allegory for the demons we face in high school, IT is an allegory for the fears we face in real life. I was more afraid of crazy mama, the bullies and the disgusting dad, than of the circus clown. I loved how the outcasts joined together to fight against their fears. 

I don't think I can read the book. The insinuations already make me feel sick to my stomach. I don't need to read IT in print, where everything is described in detail.  Anyway, I'm reading Joe Hill's (Stephen King's son) NOS4A2. IT's taking me a long time to get though because IT makes me nervous to read (so I read a little bit, then stop, then start again and repeat the process)

Bill Skarsgard was good as Pennywise, but he's attractive in real life, so he's not that scary. His voice was the scariest thing about him. Tim Curry was good in the role, but IT's been forever since I watched the 1990 version, and I can't remember how much he was in the movie.  Don't get me wrong, I don't like clowns, but to me, they're more laughable than they are scary. When I think of clowns, I think of Circus Circus in Vegas, and I always had fun there when I was little. The whole "killer clown" craze  from last year was just one long Halloween prank to get everyone ready for the movie (I loved watching those videos online). 

My hubby didn't make me go alone, that was nice. He watched some YouTube videos explaining the Easter Eggs throughout the film, and wanted to watch IT again. 

Overall the director, Andy Muschiette, did a good job with the film. I enjoyed IT a lot. Would I see IT again, no. Would I buy IT on DVD, no. I'm glad I saw IT and I'm glad IT wasn't gory. Even though IT wasn't super gory, this is definitely not a children's movie. IT is rated R for a reason. I hope parents are smart enough not to take their kids.  

Because IT is almost Fall (and Fall is the time for scary things), and I'm feeling some nostalgia for 1990, IT gets 4 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daisies. I hope IT enjoys them!! I tried to capitalize and bold, and use a lot of ITs. I hope I got them all.  Yes, I wrote this way on purpose tonight, even using the redundant "little girl CHILD." 

Ingrid Goes West

We're all guilty of it. Spending hours on social media, posting, checking on comments or just getting the satisfaction of knowing that someone liked what we had to say. Well, tonight my husband and I watched a very unsettling movie, Ingrid Goes West and it was about that very thing, our obsession with the antisocial, social media.  

A Brief Synopsis:  Ingrid (Aubrey Place) a very troubled woman, who has just been released from a mental institution, is social media obsessed. She starts to cyber stalk Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen), a photographer. She decides to move west, to Venice California to physically stalk Taylor, (married to Ezra played by Wyatt Russell). Going so far as to steal Taylor's dog from her house, to "find and return him" just to get an introduction to Taylor and inject herself into Taylor's life.  Being extremely grateful to Ingrid for helping them find their dog, Taylor and Ezra open their lives to her and start inviting her out. Ingrid knows all of the "ins and outs" of Taylor's days and studies her. Nothing is sacred on social media. 

Ingrid moves into a one bedroom apartment. She is always using her landlord, Dan (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), who crushes on her instantly. She convinces him to play her "boyfriend" to impress Taylor, Ezra and Taylor's brother, Nicky (Billy Magnussen). Nicky discovers her secret obsession and blackmails Ingrid, whom he calls Olga. Ingrid convinces Dan to help her kidnap and scare Nicky, because Dan thinks that Nicky beat Ingrid up. So much more happens after that, but because it's integral to the to the end of the film I won't say anything more about the movie.

My Social Media Perspective: My husband and I were discussing the film on our way home. While yes, Ingrid was mentally disturbed, Taylor was the worst. Taylor was a hipster millennial, who posted pictures about her avocado toast (Girl, I grew up eating that in the 80's!!) and everything else about her day. Her life was too "perfect". 

I tell my students that social media is a wonderful thing, it's also the worst invention mankind created. It doesn't make us more social, it makes us less social. Yesterday my hubs and I went on a whale watching excursion in Newport Beach. I was so obsessed with trying to capture the perfect shot of the dolphins surfing our waves, I almost missed a pod of mamas and babies. I put my phone away. Who care if my "Snap Fam" didn't get to see it. It they want to see it, then they should go on a whale watching trip. 

Today was our annual family picnic in the park. I took a few snaps, for the family who missed out, and I took a few photos, for my mom who requested them. Then I put my phone away. We're so quick to capture the moment, that we miss out on being in the present, we miss out on life. 

My mom was telling our friend Jessie, that ever since she got her tablet and a Facebook account, she hasn't been able to finish a book. We used to be in a book club with Jessie and a few other friends. The fact that she is on her tablet all the time and doesn't read anymore, something she loved, is sad.

I'm guilty of this too. I have a Yelp account, a Goodreads account, a Snap Chat, a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook account and three Instagram accounts, one for just family and friends, one connected to my blog and one for my dogs.  I do get satisfaction from seeing the likes and reading the comments.  It's the affirmation that people like me. It's that stupid pleasure seeking ID that rules over my social media accounts. I think that I'm going to start limiting my social media usage. I'm going to go off Facebook, and test this for a month. I want to conduct a little experiment and see how long I can actually go without checking my social media accounts. I'm not going to delete anything, but I am going to take a break. I need to spend more time living in the moment and enjoying the things around me!

We put so much of our lives out there for everyone to see. Why, my life really isn't that spectacular! 

Recommendation: This movie was a modern day Single White Female. I think this movie was AMAZING! Everyone with a social media account should go see it. The acting was great, even by Wyatt Russell. I didn't really care for him in Table 19 (which I recently saw again and sort of liked it), but he isn't that bad in this. Aubrey Place I never cared for, but she deserves to get some awards for Ingrid. This really was a very well done film. This movie is rated R. 

To quote British political commentator, journalist, blogger, etc... Milo Yiannopoulos, "Shallow emotions. An incapacity to feel genuine love. A need for stimulation. Frequent verbal outbursts. Poor behavioral controls. These are just some of the things that social media are encouraging in all of us. They're also a pretty comprehensive diagnostic checklist for sociopathy - in fact, that's where I got the list."

This movie gets 5 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daisies.  Go and watch it, you may learn a thing or two about yourself. 

PS. It's ironic that I'm on social media writing about how much social media has ruined our lives! 

My Top 10 Movies January-June 2017

Ok, here it is my list of MY top 10 favorite movies from January-June 2017.  I know everyone is on pins and needles, waiting for me to release MY LIST.  Some of the movies I'll be mentioning actually came out in December of last year, but I didn't see them until January. Narrowing my list takes a lot of time and I will have a few honorable mentions. I won't have films like Alien or the Fast and the Furious on this post, because those aren't movies that I enjoy. Is this list biased? Yes, because there are some films that I just won't watch. Remember this is my top 10. 

Official Top 10---

10. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tells PG-13 May 26, 2017 Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, Javier Bardem, Brenton Twaites, Geoffrey Rush

This is so much better than the last Pirates movie. I liked this almost as much as the original. I felt that the last three movies were lacking in originality. I wish there were scenes with Johnny and Orlando. In the original they were amazing together. Maybe there's still a story to tell now that we have the relationship between Will and his son ,Henry. We know from past experiences that Barbossa doesn't stay dead. I feel that Javier Bardem's Captain Salazar was a great adversary for Captain Jack, better than Blackbeard and Davey Jones.  

9.  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2  PG-13 May 5, 2017 Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper

I love comics and this was a fun movie. Dave Bautista is hilarious!! I think his character is my favorite, because he tells it like it is. I will be honest, this wasn't as good as the original, even the hubs said so, but it still kept my interest. 

8.  Gifted PG-13 April 12, 2017 Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer

I just love me some Chris Evans, I really do. Remember when he was The Human Torch? This was a really touching film about the love of family. Chris Evans plays a former professor who takes in his gifted niece, after her mother, his sister, commits suicide. So, he takes his niece to Florida and makes her live a normal life, even though she's a genius too. This movie does have me wonder about the minds of geniuses. Is life too much for their brains to take? This is the 2nd movie that Octavia Spencer is in on my list. Mckenna Grace is adorable and is in another movie featured on my list too. Jenny Slate is good. Her voice is interesting.  This movie is very heartwarming and is about love.

7.  How to Be a Latin Lover PG-13 April 28, 2017 Eugenio Derbez, Selma Hayek, Rob Lowe, Raphael Alejandro 

I had seen the previews for this movie and wasn't interested in seeing it. As a matter of fact, one night my husband and I were debating on whether to see this or Snatched. We ended up seeing Snatched, see my comments about that movie below. This movie is about a guy, who doesn't want to work, he wants to marry a rich older widow and be taken care of for the rest of his life. His much older wife, after 25 years of marriage, finds herself a younger model and Maximo gets kicked to the street.  He must reconnect with his estranged sister and nephew. Maximo and his friend, played by Rob Lowe are so over the top. Mckenna Grace from Gifted is also in this movie. This movie made me laugh so hard I had tears in my eyes, but it was also strangely heartwarming (which also put tears in my eyes). 

6. Baby Driver  R June 28, 2017 Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Jon Bernthal, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey and the Music

This was such a good movie with an amazing cast. I love Ansel Elgort as Augustus from Number the Stars and Lily James as Rose from Downton Abbey and as Cinderalla. I thought Ansel Elgort was very funny at just the right moments. Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx were over the top. I usually don't gravitate to these types of films. This one wasn't as violent as I thought it was going to be. Just like how the setting of La La Land is like another character in the film, the music in Baby Driver was another character in this film. 

5.  The Lego Batman Movie PG February 10, 2017 Will Arnett and a whole slew of other famous funny people whose names I won't add.  

This was by far better than Batman V. Superman and Batman Begins. It was campy, it was hilarious and it had a lot of adult humor. Some things were probably not appropriate for little kids. I had a fun time watching it.

4.  Logan R March 3, 2017 Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart

I'm so sad that the Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is coming to an end. He is Wolverine. I can't imagine anyone else in the role. I hope they aren't in a rush to bring back the character. Let Logan be dead, especially for Jackman's fans who grew up loving him as Wolverine. With that being said, I actually hope they start a new series with Logan's daughter, X-23 or Laura, because she has played a prominent role in the comics. I love myself a good comic book movie and this was one of the few times that the film exceeded my expectations.  This film was rated R so it's not for kids. It is extremely violent. I am a little confused about the timeline and everything is a bit muddled, but this was a very well deserved sendoff for Hugh. 

3.  Hidden Figures PG January 6, 2017 Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, and Kirsten Dunst  

This was such an amazing movie, that I went to see it in the theaters, not once, but twice. With my husband, who loved it, and then again with my mom. It's the true life account of three female African American mathematicians working for NASA and the struggles they faced being both female and African American. This movie made me cry for joy and it made me laugh out loud. I already love Octavia Spencer (she's in another one of my favorites, Gifted) Tarjai P. Henson, who my husband knows as Cookie, and Janelle Monae (we have the same name!) were all fabulous in this film. It's a great family movie and should be seen by everyone!! 

2.  Beauty and the Beast PG March 17, 2017 Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Ewan McGregor, Sir Ian McKellen. Luke Evans Kevin Klein, Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci

This movie was so well done. I loved the costumes, I loved the singing. The movie was sweet, sassy and funny all at the same time. I love Matthew from Downton Abbey. He was wonderful as the Beast. If you LOVE Disney like I do, you'll love this movie. I'm lying, you don't have to be a Disney lover to appreciate this movie. Maybe if you're a man, you won't like it. My husband fell asleep. 

And now #1................

1.  Wonder Woman PG-13 June 2, 2017 Gal Gadot and Chris Pine

Would there be any other film at my number 1? I've already seen it twice. I grew up with the reruns of the Lynda Carter version. I wore the Underoos and knee high red socks, I used my jump rope as my "Lasso of Truth", I ran around my grandmother's "jungle" saving mankind (she had a big backyard).  Every girl wanted to be Wonder Woman. I don't have issues with Man of Steel and BvS. I liked those films and I think the critics can sometimes be annoying. But I only liked those films, this one, I loved. I was up in arms when they cast Gal Gadot. I didn't know who she was, she didn't have blue eyes and she wasn't Lynda Carter. I still wasn't sure about the casting choice when she appeared in BvS. By that time, she had won the masses over, but being the cynic that I am, I wasn't convinced. That was until Wonder Woman. I love Chris Pine (I re-watched This Means War and I liked it and I loved People Like Us). I loved their scenes together.  They had AMAZING chemistry. Diana Prince had an innocent side, but could also kick some serious a../butt. I loved this movie and I cannot wait to see what they do next. I'm not going to speculate about Steve Trevor. When they changed the years of the TV series from the 1940's to the 70's they had a Steve Trevor in both decades. I'm sure there will be a creative way to bring back Chris Pine. We all love him, and part of that movie's magic was Chris Pine.  

New Adds to July-December 2016---

Why Him? R December 23, 2016 James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Zoey Deutch, Megan Mullally, Keegan-Michael Key   

This was such a funny movie. Again James Franco is way over the top, but that's what's funny. I love Keegan-Michael Key, yes I did watch Substitute teacher.  

La La Land PG-13 December 25, 2016 Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling and Los Angeles

I loved the music, I love Emma and Ryan together (yes, we're on a first name basis) and I love the setting, which is really a character all on its own. I know that some/a lot of the movie, was filmed in Long Beach and the South Bay, but it's meant to be "Los Angeles". We however know it as greater LA.  If you don't like musicals, than this really isn't the movie for you. 

Honorable Mention 2017----

Kong: Skull Island PG-13 March 10, 2017 Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson 

This was a pretty good movie.  It had a lot of action and kept me interested. I wasn't a huge fan of Tom Hiddleston, (I thought his name was Tom Middleson) but he wasn't bad. Not a top 10 contender but good for an honorable mention. What can I say? It was a fun movie.

A Dog's Purpose PG January 27, 2017 

Yes there was controversy and I know that people will disagree with my choice, especially PETA who doesn't want us to own dogs anyway (my Mia addressed that in a Blog post a few years ago). I justified the controversy as, why wasn't this video shown to the public when it happened, why a few days before the film's release? To me that was sketchy. I read this book and its sequel, A Dog's Journey. Of course the book is always better than the movie. Things were left out and things were changed for creative purposes.  This is a tear jerker, so was the book. Remember it's about a dog that keeps getting reincarnated, so it does die every now and then. Something we dogs lovers hate to have to face.  So, it's about a dog and it has romance, a combo I love!!

Fifty Shades Darker R February 10, 2017 Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan 

This was so much better than the first film. The acting still isn't very good, but it was such an improvement over the last film.

Baywatch R May 25, 2017 Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron 

Dwayne Johnson is hilarious (and nice to look at, as is Zac Efron). Some of his one-liners, like calling Zac's character High School Musical are on point. Jeez he's funny. 

Lion PG-13 January 6, 2017 Sunny Pawar, Nicole Kidman, and the guy from the Lord of the Rings.   
Another real life account.  It's about a little boy from India, who falls asleep on a train waiting for his brother to finish working. The train takes off and the little boy finds himself like 500 miles from his family. I think he ends up in Calcutta. People try to kidnap him and while nothing is shown, you can guess what happens to these poor children who are kidnapped. He eventually gets adopted by a family in Australia and lives a good life. He knows though, that something is missing. So he goes in search of the family he can barely remember. He does find his mom, but he also discovers that the brother he was waiting for, got killed in a freak accident. I know this movie sounds depressing, but it was actually very good. 

Don't Waste Your Time---

Snatched R May 12, 2017 Goldie Hawn, Amy Schumer 

This was just bad... The end

The Mummy PG-13 June 9, 2017 Tom Cruise

Universal, please don't make an expanded universe. I read an article saying that we have too many of these ie. MCU, DCEU, Star Wars etc.... That's not my reason. This movie just wasn't good. Oh and Tom Cruise becomes infected with the evil demon thing. 

Table 19 PG-13 March 3, 2017 Anna Kendrick and other people including Phoebe from Friends

Even Phoebe couldn't save this one. Too many characters to not care about and what was the point of the guy who crashed the wedding??  It made no sense.

Rough Night R June 16, 2017