Life

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 24 March 2017
      iTunes 3 June 2017

Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writer: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick
Running Time: 1 Hour and 44 Minutes

Staring:  Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds and Rebecca Ferguson

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: 6.8 of 10

RT:  Critics: 68%; Audience: 59%
MY RATING: 3

STORYLINE

Six astronauts aboard the space station study a sample collected from Mars that could provide evidence for extraterrestrial life on the Red Planet. The crew determines that the sample contains a large, single-celled organism - the first example of life beyond Earth. But, things are not always what they seem. As the crew begins to conduct research, and their methods end up having unintended consequences, the life form proves more intelligent that anyone ever expected.

MY REVIEW

Full disclosure, I was not really into the idea of watching this movie, but it was Saturday and nothing was on TV so we rented it on iTunes. I had to google Daniel Espinosa to see if I liked any of his other movies... {Safe House- Never saw it. Easy Money- Never saw it. Nothing else was released in the US.} Then I looked up Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. {Oh, they were writers on Deadpool and Zombieland.} I loved those. Let's do this.

First 20 minutes were pretty awesome, then that's when my brain disconnected from the story and plot fell into the tiger pit of plot holes and logic left on vacation.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Ryan Reynolds-  Love some Ryan Reynolds!!
• Special Effects were pretty brilliant!
• Scares- A good number of jump scares

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Characters- No one believes that NASA would have hired these idiots to do this kind of work!  Every single person who is working on the ISS seems to be an emotional train wreck, extremely unprofessional or just an idiot! I know I've said this in more reviews that just one, but seriously Hollywood, when you have a scientist who is making dumb decisions, it's hard for people like me to watch this and let them take a pass for doing things off-book our outside of protocol!  I just can't stand watching people make dumb decisions!!
• The Life Form- This thing is just not an anachronism. It's carbon based, consumes water yet does not boil or die in the vacuum of space. Please consult some actual scientists when you make this type of movie!!

On a more personal note..... Such a pretty day today. Got all dolled-up to go have lunch with Melissa. Then got a few rays of sun in the backyard and watched this little munchkin, Dexter Morgan, beg to go out and play in the grass!

Wonder Woman

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 2 June 2017

Director: Patty Jenkins
Writer: Allan Heinberg and Zack Snyder
Running Time: 2 Hours and 21 Minutes

Staring:  SO many great actors that to name JUST a few seems trite, but here goes...Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright and Danny Huston.

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? X

REVIEWS

IMDB: 8.4 of 10

RT:  Critics: 94%; Audience: 93%
MY RATING: 9, Strong 9

STORYLINE

Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when a pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers and her true destiny.

MY REVIEW

I'd like to begin my review with a love letter to director Patty Jenkins.
Dear Patty, if I may call you Patty. What a wonderful filmography you have under your belt. The Killing, Arrested Development, Monster and  now you've added Wonder Woman. What a wonderful, empowering and beautifully done movie. Thank you for this! We need more directors, women directors to prove that we do NOT need a man behind the helm of an action packed blockbuster to crate a sensation! THANK you for not making her Catwoman or even Ekektra. THANK you for making her the Wonder Woman that we deserve! Big hearts, Patty. 
Now that's out of the way. THIS is a pretty damn good movie. Yeah, there were some flaws, it's not a 10, well, I really only give 10's to movies that have lightsaber battles!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• True Storytelling- This movie makes you WAIT for the plot to develop. It does  not ask, it demands. 
• Chris Pine- I was not expecting this to be the performance that builds him an Oscar nomination, but this was a good, solid performance. He brought some levity and fun to the screen and let the STAR, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) take her place in the limelight. Does not hurt that he is a big chunk of eye-candy!
• Supporting Cast- You know, this movie would not have been so solid without the performances given by the throng of amazing people such as Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright and Danny Huston to call out a few. Even Chris Pine played his part so well in her immense shadow. There was so much heart and soul in this movie!
• Cinematography- From the first scene to the last, there was much amazing work that allows the watcher to fall away from reality and immerse into the world on the screen. My favorite scenes were those in her flashback to being a child. (Trying not to give anything away.)

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Villains- This main bad guy just left me a little flat. Wanting more. Not a deal-breaker, but definitely was less than perfect. It just felt a little obvious to use the WWI era Germans as the bad guys. I know we were all expecting it, but it did feel a bit overplayed.
• CG- Definitely not the best at all times. At least there was only one scene that made me do my "What in the wold were they thinking doing THAT with CGI?" cringe!

On a more personal note..... Rocked some serious POLKA DOTS today!

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