Summer movie preview

A goal for last summer was to see 12 movies.  Other than ones I have already previewed, here is a list of some I hope to see.

Baywatch - starring Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron - May 25- directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses)

War Machine - starring Brad Pitt - May 26

Snatched - starring Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn - May 12

The Mummy - starring Tom Cruise - June 9

All Eyez On Me - biopic of Tupac Shakur - June 16



Rough Night - bachelorette version of The Hangover - June 16


Beguiled - Civil War drama starring Colin Farrell, Elle Fanning  - June 23

Atomic Blonde - starring Charlize Theron - July 28

Dunkirk - directed by Christopher Nolan - July 21

Spider Man:  Homecoming -  July 7

An Inconvenient Sequel:  Truth to Power - July 28

The Bad Batch - Keanu Reeves - June 28

That's 12!  But check out my other info for Wonder Woman, Alien:  Convent, etc.

Baby Driver - starring Ansel Elgort - out June 28

Kingsman: The Golden Circle - Sept 22

Going in Style

A nice ensemble piece with Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin as a group of friend who lost their pensions and seek revenge by robbing the bank who stole their money.

The bank robbery plan reminded me a lot of the scenes in the Dark Knight (similar cars, masks and suits).  And in preparation for the robbery, they watch a movie to pysche themselve up:  Dog Day Afternoon.  "Maybe we shouldn't be watching this".

An interesting little subplot with their respective family members -  on one hand they think they have nothing to lose but on the other hand, they do have good relations with others that each of them is putting at risk.

And of course, a lot like another Morgan Freeman movie, the Bucket List.  Aging men seeking a few final thrills.

Worth a look  * * * of 5

The Siskel to my Ebert, Pat Young was not in agreement
http://www.yourvalleyvoice.com/news/20170412/whats-old-is-still-old

T2 Trainspotting

It's been 20 years - what are the boys up to?   An interesting follow up to the quirky Trainspotting.  Piecing things together, the original movie was about 4 addicts planning to rob their dealers.  At the end, one of the them steals the money from the others and leaves.

Now it is years later and Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to the hometown of Leith, Scotland to not much of a welcome.  Simon (Jonny Lee Miller) is of course still mad and Spud (Ewen Bremmer)  is still a bit crazy looking, but thankfully not a junkie.  Simon has evolved into a cocaine habit.  So lots of drugs still permeate this case.   Plus some deviant sex.  Definitely R Rated.

The real crazy one Franco, escapes from prison and seeks revenge on Renton for stealing from him.   A welcome addition is Veronika (Anjela Nedyalkova) who interchangeably is Renton, Simon and and Spud's girlfriend.  The subplot of getting more money again is for her to have her own brothel, which they plan to make in an old building ironically called Sunshine.

A complex plot particularly after not seeing the original movie in some time.  If you really like it, a rewatch of the original is in order.  Again  directed by Danny Boyle and he gives it a fitting look - a bit chopped and stop motion to accent the action and dialogue.

Good music from Blondie and Queen.  And a very modern rant on the Wham! t shirt slogan:  Choose Life.

**** of 5

Elvis and Nixon

A story, as opposed to "the story" about the famous photo of Elvis Presley in the Oval Office with President Richard Nixon in 1971.  The backstory is that while Nixon started recording his meetings in his office, he did not do it until after meeting Elvis.  So who knows what they talked about?

This is a fictional story about why Elvis wanted to meet Nixon and how the meeting came about.  Some fun touches make it an interesting, if disbelieving story, but who really knows?  Both are long deceased and it probably only lasted 10 minutes or so.

Michael Shannon plays the 70s Elvis and Kevin Spacey as the straight man Nixon.  Elvis is of course the star.

* * * of 5 (Amazon Prime)

Superbad (2007)

I've got a list of my top 10 movies.  In the second 10 would be Superbad, starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Seth Rogen and Bill Hader.

Cut from the cloth of American Pie and Porky's, it's a classic Losing Your Virginity movie, but with a strong helping of Bromance.   A couple of hapless nerds try to get drunk and laid all in One Last Night.  It's been done before but never so well.

What makes it special?  Probably the interaction between the boys and the 2 police who turn out to be like kids themselves.  McLovin!

* * * * *