Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

STORKS

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I attended my first prescreening of a movie today thanks to my friends Kristin and Jane.  Storks is definitely not a movie I would usually pick to go see, so it is not an easy one to review.  I am going to give you two takes on this movie.  The first is for kids.  I am sure kids will love this movie.  It is fun, cute and a little goofy.  Andy Samberg plays a stork who works for a giant company that no  longer delivers babies.  Instead they deliver packages sort of like an avian Amazon.  When a baby mysteriously shows up for delivery, he must get the baby delivered before the boss finds out, or lose a big promotion.  There are a few funny jokes concerning the fact that birds don’t seem to “see” glass.  Comedians Key and Peele are hilarious as two wolves who use the herd mentality of their pack to create many useful items, including a car and submarine.  There is the customary happy ending of course.  Now for the adult review.  I would recommend that you don’t go to this movie unless you are bringing kids.  There isn’t enough comedy to make it worth your while.  I also found it kind of strange in this day and age to  create a movie promoting the idea that storks make and deliver babies.  I feel this movie is going to confuse a lot of children and create some awkward conversations with the little ones.

Morgan

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Morgan is a bioengineered “person” created by an unnamed corporation.  The reason for her creation doesn’t become apparent until toward the end of the movie.  Kate Mara plays a trouble-shooter sent by Morgan’s creators to see if money they are spending to keep her in a top-secret facility is worth it.  Unfortunately for her handlers, who include Paul Giamatti, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Toby Jones and Rose Leslie, she may not be as harmless as they thought.  This movie comes across as a hybred of  Ex Machina and Teminator.  My husband and I guessed the plot twist pretty early on so we were not surprised by the big “reveal” at the end. I would have loved to see more exploration of the ethics and consequences of what the scientists in this movie do; instead the second half of the movie is comitted to lots of violence and bloodshed.  My advise is to skip this movie and watch Hell or High Water instead.

 

Hell or High Water

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For those of you who have been following this blog, you have probably noticed that I love to follow the smaller movies.  “Hell or High Water” is one of the best of these movies I have seen this year.  The great Jeff Bridges plays a crafty Texas Ranger close to retirement in this modern western.  I enjoyed the back and forth banter he has with his partner, played by Gil Birmingham.   Chris Pine has some acting chops as one of two brothers (the other is played by Ben Foster) who resort to robbing banks for what they believe to be a noble reason.  These is some unexpected humor,  great dialogue and superb acting.  This is a gritty movie, that should be depressing, but there is satisfying redemption at the end.

Pete’s Dragon

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I honestly don’t think I ever saw the original Pete’s Dragon, which I think is probably a good thing, so my review isn’t based on comparing the two.  I thought this was a really sweet and gentle movie; one to see as a whole family.  Your kids will love the story and you will appreciate the special effects.    The movie tells the story of orphaned Pete (played with great sincerity by Oakes Fegley) who is rescued by and lives with a furry dragon whom he calls Elliot. I enjoyed seeing Robert Redford as a man who saw the elusive dragon when he was a kid, and who never gave up hope that he would see it again.  Yes, it has the predictable and inevitable bad guy (played not very threateningly by Carl Urban) and as expected, a happy ending.  I highly recommend this movie to people with kids and anyone who is young at heart.

Suicide Squad

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If you are looking for a movie with a deep plot and Oscar caliber performances, go see Captain Fantastic.  However, if you want to see a truck load of bizarre characters kicking butt with lots of explosions and a dash of humor, this the movie you have been waiting for.  It was nice to see Will Smith back in a watchable movie playing  a  “heartless” assassin, a role that  suits him well.  Margot Robbie and Jared Leto are dementedly twisted as devoted lovers who just can’t keep away from each other.  The biggest surprise for me was Viola Davis as a tough government official who has an intriguing and pretty far out plan to protect the planet.  The plot is very simplistic and you will probably see the ending coming from a mile away, but who cares?  This was my last day of freedom before I go back to teaching and this movie was the perfect way to end the summer with a mindless BANG!  By the way, if you go, stay until about half way through the credits for a little preview of the next Batman movie with Ben Affleck.