The date on this poster says August 19th.  I am writing this review on November 10th, the current release date for this movie is Dec 16th.  I am wondering if it will ever come out.  Which is a damn shame because I think everyone should watch this horrible movie.

There are movies that are great that you should go see as soon as possible.  There are movies that are bad and you should never waste your time.  Then there are movies that you should get all of your friends that you like making jokes with, get them all in a room and watch together and make fun of.  The Space Between Us is that movie.  A movie so comically bad that I actually had such a great time watching it.

The Space Between Us tricks you, because in the beginning it has some solid science, it looks good, looks like they spent some money on it, and you can get into it.  Then the kid starts talking.  Cliche after cliche, falling from Heaven to Earth, angels, heart is too big, a missing father.  It just goes on and on and on.  It is so comically bad that it feels like Tina Belcher made one of her erotic friend fictions a movie.  It literally feels like the dreams of a 13 year old girl made into a movie.  People were laughing at parts that were funny, and then they were laughing at parts that were so bad there was nothing else you could do but laugh.  Which is why it was so great.  It is just an escape into this world of absurdity, and it is so hilarious how serious they try to make it.

I do not think you should go to a theater to see this movie.  Wait for it, get some drinks and get ready to laugh your ass off at one of the worst movies of 2016, if it ever gets released.

Sometimes a movie comes out and the timing on it is so perfect, you feel like they planned it.  Arrival is one of those movies.  The subject matter and what just occurred in the American election are so perfectly intertwined it feels like the Aliens in the movie must of had something to do with the release date.

I loved Prisoners and Sicario, so you take the director from those movies and add Amy Adams and it is probably a guarantee I am going to like the movie, but I didn’t just like Arrival.  I loved Arrival.  I will say that if you are looking for Alien fights or some huge explosive movie this is not for you.  It is slow, measured and perfect.  It tells a wonderfully perfect story from almost a first person view the whole time and it is perfectly done.

Not only is this just a great movie to watch it also deals with fear.  The fear of the unknown, the fear of the unknown killer that you can see but don’t know what they are going to do, and it feels so on point with what has just happened with the vote.  Fear, mistrust, assumptions, escalation, the movie ratchets up the tension and you feel it, you want to scream out to calm down, everyone chill, take a step back and look at the data, look at the facts.  Arrival is a movie you need to watch this weekend.  An escape, a look inward, and just a damn great movie.  Go as soon as you can.

I was with The Neon Demon.  I was loving the color, the music, the crafted coolness of the story.  It was dark, sinister, and innocent all at the same time.  It was working, and it wasn’t going to lose me.  Then The Neon Demon appeared in the movie and it all just fell apart.  It went from something that felt like it had a purpose and a reason for being made into a joke.  A color mopped student art house film that was made over a 2 day period after he just learned about symbolism and went very literal.  It felt like Nicolas Winding Refn got bored and decided to just finish it without regard to making something watchable or good.

There is no doubt that there are some thing that were high points at the start of this movie.  The signatures of Refn’s color and music choices drive the movie forward.  Elle Fanning, Jenna Malone, Abbey Lee, and Bella Heathcote all play their parts well.  They push what is an obvious movie, and a story told many times before in an exciting direction.  All these things grab you, and make you want to see what will happen.  It all plays out very well for the first half of the movie.  Then there is a scene, with what I am calling The Neon Demon.  From this point on, it completely loses it’s way.  It pushes the boundaries of what needed to be shown for the story to a comical overreach to shock and to write a signature on the movie.  It takes the stylish and cool and turns it into a sad joke, and it is all the worse for it.  I wanted to be able to support this movie, and say that I liked it, or even tolerated it.  Letting the first half shine and making excuses for the second half, but there is nothing there to support.  It is not worth the time nor the effort.

In The Heart Of The Sea is another story from reality told by the watchful eye of Ron Howard.  In The Heart Of The Sea is a movie without meaning or agenda.  It is a telling of what happened, based on actual accounts that were recovered from the people who lived to tell the tale.  It doesn’t want to deliver a story about the fall of man, or the destruction of Earth and it’s creatures.  It tells the story of 20 men on a ship that ran into a whale.  What you take from that story is yours to take, and that is what is wonderful about In The Heart Of The Sea.

It is not the only thing making this beautiful film worth watching.   Amazing CG and wonderful acting round out this tale and make it worth watching in the theater.  It is a story about men on a boat hunting whales for whale oil.  It shows the hunting process and it does not cut away or leave anything to the imagination, so be prepared.  This movie feels real, it feels scary and it feels like a true story worth telling regardless of the outcome.  No agenda needed, it is just a good story.  The picture it paints of these lives and the lives of this time period of 1820 with a great clarity.  It felt real, and looked amazing.

There is a lot of movies to pick from right now and coming up, so a whaling epic might not be on your top choices.  This movie is visually amazing and delivers a great story.  I think it is well worth paying for in the theater.  You can as usual skip the 3-D.  It is not worth the extra money.  If you are looking for a movie this weekend before all the movies coming out for Christmas I would check out In The Heat Of The Sea.

Did you know there was a movie directed by Steven Spielberg coming out this weekend, and that it has Tom Hanks in it?  You didn’t?  Neither do most people.  The smaller, less huge movie by Spielberg deals with a very small story, in a very big cold war.  The story is about a insurance lawyer played by Tom Hanks, who is asked by the US Government to defend the first discovered Russian Spy during the Cold War.  They want it to look like the US is on the up and up when it comes to our due process, even to commies.

The story ends up unfolding into this twisty weird spy story that feels like no one knew what they were doing then.  We just happen to pick the right guy at the right time that would fight for what is right.   This movie is big on patriotism and the fight for what is right against an overwhelming drive to cut corners and not follow our rules of law.   It states that always is the time to do what is right, the time to give everyone the rights we take for granted and the things that make us a great country.   The movie is powerful, wonderfully crafted and delivers a very clear message to the world of today.

It is pretty easy to know that this is a solid contention for awards, with Tom Hanks and Spielberg teaming up again with the Coen Brothers writing, but that is not what makes this movie great.  What is wonderful about it, is the very small hidden story that was found and is told now, to the world of today, and how much it applies to this world now.  The history that is taught here, makes you reflect on what is happening in the world and makes you look at what is right, and what you believe in, compared to what the US is supposed to be about.  The Coen brothers delivered an amazing script, that was directed beautifully and acted by top notch actors who believed in everything they were saying.  It is a powerful piece of film, and a favorite of mine for the year.

There is a lot going on in Black Mass.   It is a story that spans a long period of time.  It is a story about Whitey Bulger who was a South Boston gang leader that ended up on the F.B.I’s most wanted list for 20 years until he was caught in 2011.  Whitey Bulger is played by Johnny Depp.  Looking over Johnny Depp’s list of movies I see he played John Dillinger but overall has not delt with heavy characters that are as brutal and horrifying as Whitey Bulger.

Johnny Depp delivers an amazing performance as the Irish mobster.  Staring into the audience’s eyes with the blue eyes of Bulger you feel chills as he terrorizes across the country.  Truly wonderful, and very nice to see him doing something far different than his usual characters.

Black Mass the movie, while very good, is a bit scattered.  It is hard to get a sense of what is going on, and the criminal activity that is happening besides random killings.  The story has to deal with multiple locations, time frames and various illegal businesses and it gets a little lost trying to tell it all.  However the performances are so strong and that subject matter is not that important that it is forgivable.  The movie still entertains, frightens, and shows the grip he had on so many people.  It paints a picture of this person that I never knew about and delivers that story very well.

I enjoyed this movie very much, even with it’s flaws.  I think it is worth watching, and paying for.  It is violent, and heavy so be aware if you are looking for a little lighter faire.  It is worth seeing this weekend though if you are looking to hit the theaters and don’t want to go see The Maze Runner movie.

So Learning To Drive that is a movie that might be coming out in a theater near you this weekend, or perhaps next weekend.  It is most likely you have never heard of this movie, and do not know what it is about, or who it is for.  It is about a older divorcee, played by Patricia Clarkson learning to drive a car and creating a friendship with a Sikh Indian man played by Ben Kingsley.  As for who it is for, I am not sure.

What I do not know is this movie is not for 37 year old men in relationships that are not falling apart.  While I can see that this movie is a kind, sweet story about a woman lost in the world in the second half of her life, it did not speak to me at all.  I did not feel connected to any of the characters.  The story didn’t seem like something especially innovative, and it didn’t push the limits of that story into risky ground.  It is a story of a woman in New York going through a divorce and learning to drive.  That is it.  While I can appreciate the acting, and the struggle this character is going through if you are not a divorced 40ish something woman I can not see you really connecting to this movie either.

Learning To Drive really left me puzzled about who is going to see this movie and who is going to connect with this movie.  I can’t see many of my readers here wanting to go see Learning To Drive.  So I think unless you are the very targeted niche this movie is for you can skip this one.  There is just not going to be enough here for you.

Have you ever seen a chill movie.  A movie with conflict and story, and all the things that have to come with a movie but done in a way that is just chill.  Like a sunday mid-day party with chill beats and some drama that is going on over in that cabana over there, but it is not effecting your party.  That is what We Are Your Friends feels like, and I am not sure if that is a good thing or not.

I liked We Are Your Friends because of this, it felt like Zac Efron’s Cole Carter was on the outside looking in at his whole life, and all of it was just going past him.  He is not paying attention or focusing on anything, instead being pulled all around by his friends, his attempts at celebrity, and the girl.   So nothing that is happening is a big deal, it doesn’t feel like a big deal, it just feels like another beat in his life.  You are tricked by the music and the beats and the pulse that those scenes trigger, you get excited and love what you are seeing.  You get into those scenes, and forget about everything else.  This is the problem.

When you look at the movie as a whole, it is a odd chill movie.  It deals with things like drugs, alcoholism and death, but in a way that doesn’t feel like it is a big deal.  These scenes happen and then they end, and then there is a party and running.  That is it.  The bottom doesn’t ever really happen for Cole Carter, and I think it is a worse movie for it.  It feels like an Sunday afternoon movie on TBS, when I think it was meant to be something far more real.  Instead you can watch it whenever you want and it isn’t going to have the meaning and punch I think that was intended.  So while entertaining, it does not deliver what it wanted, which was something more than just a movie about EDM.

So I would say you do not have to go pay to see this movie this weekend.  It is something you should watch on a sunny day, and when you are done go out to a pool party.

One Sentence: Slow but worth it for the realism.

Rated: R

Nudity: None

I would suspect most of you have not even heard about this movie coming out this weekend.  With everyone looking forward to The Avengers kicking off the Summer season, not many are looking at what is coming out this week.  Well The Water Diviner is coming out this week.  A movie about World War I and a man who has lost everything because of it.

This movie is 2 hours long and fills almost every moment with talking, coffee drinking, traveling, and markets.  There is very few action scenes, so don’t expect that type of movie.  The movie is about the long journey to find what was lost, for a man who could find water in the middle of the desert.  It is carefully put together, slow, full of talking and pretty good at what it does.  If you are willing to put in the work of not having a super hero punch something for 2 hours then The Water Diviner is a pretty good movie.  It has some odd parts, like the last 2 minutes I did not love, and some other scenes that felt a little out of place.  These are forgivable for a movie at least trying to step away from men in tights.

Should you go see it in the theater though?  I would say probably not for most people, unless you love obscure history of World War I or have a Russell Crowe fetish, you can probably wait on this one the home viewing option of your choosing.  It is a fine film, but it is not worth the amount for 2 people to pay full price for.

One Sentence: A history lesson

Rated: R

Nudity: None

After Credits: None

This is a pretty easy review.  This movie is excellent.  David  Oyelowo is excellent.  That is all I really need to write.

The movie is a perfectly timed story for those younger than I am, who were not alive when this event occurred.  I am a under educated white male, and I had heard references to Selma, and knew it was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement, but I was not fully aware of what it was about or what occurred.  I am aware that this is a movie, and that there is no requirement for this movie to be accurate, but there is enough here for me to actually learn and educate myself further about this event, and I have.

The movie deals with the violence and injustices that occurred at Selma, it isn’t just a movie about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  It has a amazing cast, and is powerful and meaningful.  It feels like it is a perfect movie for the times, and it is something that will make us think about what is happening today, and remind us that history repeats itself.  It is a hard to watch movie, but that was the intention of Selma, and it is done very effectively.  I think this movie is something that everyone should see.