This is a very hard movie for me to rate.  I liked the first one quite a bit.  I think the people who made this one must have liked the first one too, because they used the exact same plot!  So there are absolutely no worries that I will spoil the story for you.  Actually, if you really want to know the plot  just rewatch the first “Independence Day. Even so, there were a few welcome surprises.   Several actors who were in the original movie make decent appearances in this one, especially Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, and Bill Pullman.  However, Brent Spiner is my favorite.  His Dr. Okun practically steals the show and offers some well needed comic relief.  The end of the movie sets everything up for a third Independence Day, with Earth taking the initiative and bringing the battle into space.  That is actually a good idea and may make for a better movie.

I love epic historical dramas, but I especially love those that make me curious and want to read more about the subject.   That is exactly what happened when I saw a previous Gary Ross movie, Seabiscuit, and that is what happened to me today  after seeing “Free State of Jones.”  Matthew McConaughey plays Newton Knight, a Confederate army deserter who returns to his home county in Mississippi to organize farmers and fugitive slaves in a revolt against the Confederate officials who are unfairly taking their crops and property.  What a fascinating character!  There is so much to his story that much is inevitably glossed over or left out.  The film could have spent less time on Newton  as an army medic and more on how he was able to successfully live with his Black common-law wife in one of the most racist states in the Union.  The fact that he lived with her and his legal wife  all on the same property, and raised 13 kids between the two families, would have made an excellent movie in and of itself.  Another part I  feel could have been left out, or told in an addendum, is the inclusion of Newton’s great-grandson’s trial for miscegenation in the late 1940’s. This could also have been a separate movie.  “Free State of Jones” does show in brutal realism some of the heartbreaking aspects of this little known revolt, especially the hanging of some young deserters and the lynching of a beloved character.  I am definitely glad I saw this movie.  I am now off to see if I can find a good biography of Newton Knight.  Amazon here I come!

Kevin Hart plays his usual wise-cracking persona in this surprisingly entertaining movie.  The revelation for me was the presence of Dwayne Johnson.  I loved his unicorn shirt wearing, fanny pack carrying, and  John Hughes movie loving FBI agent. The plot isn’t much, but honestly, I didn’t mind.  Dwayne’s character was bullied in high school and Kevin’s character, the popular kid, comes to his rescue.  The film takes place twenty years later.  Now the bully is a secret agent and the popular kid has become a dull accountant.  The way they are thrown together to save the world is very contrived, but funny. Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy have small but pivotal supporting roles.  I dare you not to laugh when  “prescription pants” are mentioned.