Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Captain Fantastic

July 29, 2016 By Adnerb Leave a Comment

Apple Rating:

I feel it is my duty to let you know before I continue that this is not a super hero movie.  However, Ben Cash, as played by the great Viggo Mortensen, is  a flawed father who adapts and grows in order to give his kids a better life; that is my idea of a hero anyway.  The story centers on Ben and his six kids who live deep in the Washington wilderness while  his wife is being treated for a mental illness.  They live “off the grid” while learning to hunt, be self-sufficient,make and grow most of what they need, and  read  and discuss meaty literature.  When Ben gets news of his wife’s suicide, he and the kids decide to leave their mountain Utopia to attend her funeral in another state.  I won’t go into detail about what happens next, but Viggo Mortensen gives a nuanced and, to me, Oscar caliber performance as the conflicted father.  I enjoyed how the sheltered kids come in contact with modern society ( they have never had a coke or hot dog).  This is a warm, funny, thought-provoking movie that will make you laugh and cry.  I would hesitate to bring young kids, especially since Viggo goes full frontal for one particular scene, but I think children over 13 might find much here to think about.  I highly recommend this little indie film and hope it finds the audience it deserves.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Utopia, Viggo Mortensen, wilderness

Star Trek Beyond

July 24, 2016 By Adnerb 2 Comments

Apple Rating:

I have been watching the Star Trek franchise for over forty years.  I loved the original television series with William Shatner and company.  I am equally captivated with the newest reboot staring Chris Pine.   These beloved characters just keep getting better!  “Star Trek Beyond” definitely lived up to my expectations.  There was lots of action, great special effects, humorous dialog and an appealing new character who I could see joining the Enterprise for a fourth movie.  If you enjoyed the first two Star Trek movies, there is nothing in this movie that will disappoint you.  On a bittersweet note, this will be the last time Chekov makes an appearance in these movies due to the recent death of Anton Yelchin.

 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Chris Pine, Enterprise, Star Trek, William Shatner

Ghostbusters

July 18, 2016 By Adnerb 4 Comments

Apple Rating:

This is a fun movie!  I love it when a reboot can pay homage to the original and then go its own entertaining way.  The four female ghostbusters are spot on and each brings their own unique comedic style to their roles.  There are fun cameos from most of the original cast; although my favorite was Dan Aykroyd because he gets to say…..well no spoilers here.  The real surprise for me though was Chris Hemsworth.  His dreamy Thor is the main reason I am an Avengers fan.  But evidently he is not just another pretty face- Hemsworth  has some comedic chops and holds his own with these funny ladies.   I was surprised to see Andy Garcia in this movie but he did a fine job playing the usual truth bending politician.  If you are tired of seeing serious adult-oriented action movies full of shooting and explosions, I  highly recommend this fun piece of comedy fluff (well, there my be a few explosions here).  Also, don’t forget to stay until after the credits for another reference to the original movie and perhaps  teaser for a Ghostbusters II?  I hope so!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Chris Hemsworth, comedy, Dan Aykroyd, Ghostbusters, Thor

The Infiltrator

July 16, 2016 By Adnerb Leave a Comment

Apple Rating:

Very well-done movie based on the true story about a U.S. Customs official who goes deep undercover to infiltrate the Medillin Colombian drug trafficking empire.  Bryan Cranston is top-notch as agent Bob Mazur, who teams up with Emir Abreu, played by the always entertaining John Leguizamo,  Their goal to infiltrate the cartel’s money laundering operation is of course very dangerous and stressful.  This is a thinking man’s move,  with more dialogue than action. Even so, I was on the edge of my seat wondering if one small slip (involving a state-of-the-art briefcase) or a misplaced word (forgetting a detail of the fake identity) would cause the intricate sting operation to fall apart and cost Mazur, and his wife and children, their lives.  If you need lots of nonstop action, I would skip this movie.  However, if you want to see a great performance by Bryan Cranston and learn how Bob Mazur and company were able to pull off a two year sting that uncovered drug kingpin Pablo Escavar’s money laundering operation and led to the arrest and conviction of over 100 people, this movie is definitely worth seeing!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Benjamin Bratt, Bob Mazur, Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo

The BFG

July 2, 2016 By Adnerb Leave a Comment

Apple Rating:

The Big Friendly Giant, as played by Oscar winning actor Mark Rylance, is a kind, warm and welcoming giant.  He shanghais a young orphan named Sophie (played with just the right amount of feisty innocence by Ruby Barnhill)  because she accidentally sees him while looking out of her window late one night, and takes her to Giantland.  The BFG and the  little “human bean”  get off to a rocky start but become fast friends.  He protects her from the big carnivorous giants (he is a much smaller giant, they call him “Runt”, and is a vegetarian) and she helps him catch and bottle dreams.  The CGI effects are spectacular.  I especially enjoyed the meeting between the BFG and the Queen of England ( surprisingly well played by Penelope Wilton).  He introduces himself by saying he is her “humbug servant” and shares the secret of having a good  whizzpop (the BFG delightfully mangles the English language throughout the movie).  How Sophie, the Queen and the BFG work together to defeat the evil giants, with names like Bloodbottler and Maidmasher, is clever and exciting.  This is the last screen play that Melissa Mathison wrote before passing away at the age of 65.  I think she would have been proud of the way the whole thing turned out.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Mark Rylance, Penelope Wilton, Roald Dahl, The BFG

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About Adnerb

I'm a middle school teacher and pop-culture lover. I created this blog to give you my take on movies, TV shows, and other things I find interesting.

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