Movies Of 2018 - May Recapped!

This month was very front end heavy. I've now got to drag myself back in time a bit as I stupidly didn't write my waffle when I saw the films... *sigh* I'll remember for next month.


Sherlock Gnomes ★★☆☆☆


Garden gnomes, Gnomeo & Juliet, recruit renowned detective Sherlock Gnomes to investigate the mysterious disappearance of other garden ornaments.


I really wasn't sure where I was going to fall on this one. It was fine, but predictable. Very predictable. It passed the time with some chuckles but nothing that really split my sides. I doubt this will be one I'll watch again. It's main benefit is that it isn't as bad as Duck Duck Goose. [05/05]


I Feel Pretty ★★☆☆☆


A woman struggling with insecurity wakes from a fall believing she is the most beautiful and capable woman on the planet. Her new confidence empowers her to live fearlessly, but what happens when she realizes her appearance never changed?


Personally I'm not a fan of Amy Schumer, but I was sort of entertained by the trailer, and a rom-com is always in my favourite types of film so it made it into the cinema schedule fairly quickly.

I was so very nearly converted to being a fan... it was so close. *holds thumb and forefinger 2mm apart* But alas, the middle section sent me right back to where I'd been in the first place. Even though the ending redeemed the film slightly I still wasn't convinced by what had happened.

Let's forget all the talk of fat shaming that was going on before the film's release. Quite frankly that felt like nonsense. The movie basically holds to the idea that she thought she was overweight, got some confidence because of a random accident, and then realised that she had that confidence inside her all along. And as a message I thought that worked reasonably well.

Where I had the problem was in her fall to the dark side, that ultimately led her to picking it all back up at the end of the film. It doesn't take a massive break from reality to get into Renee's head in this one. I can see someone like that ditching friends to go to a classy party because it's something new and exciting, but I can't believe that she would have been that heartless to her friends. That's ultimately where the film lost me. [08/05]


Tully ★★★☆☆


A mother of three hires a night nanny to help with her newborn.


Firstly, I'd like to say how impressed I am that the twist of this wasn't spoilt in anything that I saw before going to the film. I was pleasantly (?) surprised by it.

Tully was an interesting film, slightly awkward and quite emotional. It's a fairly niche movie though, and I can't see it appealing to a very large group of people.

I'm struggling to find a lot to say about this one. Definitely not an indication that I didn't like it, as is sometimes the case for my silence. It's just very difficult to sum it up. [08/05]


The Strangers: Prey At Night ★☆☆☆☆


A family of four staying at a secluded mobile home park for the night are stalked and then hunted by three masked psychopaths.


I honestly don't know why anyone would put money into making this film. It's predictable, but not in a nostalgic way you get from old terrible horror movies.

Nothing really original in it. A random selection of nutters hunting people. Who knows why? And who cares quite frankly. [09/05]


Life Of The Party ★★★★☆


After her husband abruptly asks for a divorce, a middle-aged mother returns to college in order to complete her degree.


I love Melissa McCarthy, and she was amazing in this. I hadn't laughed this much in ages, it felt good for my soul. Everyone in the screen was laughing, and sometimes that's just what you need.

Eighties throwback and some truly amazing outfits. You'll end up wanting to join in during the dance off. And if you find yourself not wanting to, then you're probably too young to appreciate that.

There's so much fun in here that, spoiler alert, a bit further down the page I went to see it again. A genuine feel good film, and it definitely made me want to bust out some retro moves. I will also be adding "vagoogle" to my vocabulary. [10/05]


Entebbe ★★☆☆☆


Inspired by the true events of the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight en route from Tel Aviv to Paris, and the most daring rescue mission ever attempted.


This is a tricky one for me. There's no denying that it was a interesting, and that if felt well made. But it wasn't really for me. The fact that there were so many well known faces in it made it difficult to concentrate on the story. [11/05]


Avengers: Infinity War [11/05]


Life Of The Party [11/05]


Breaking In ★★★☆☆


A woman fights to protect her family during a home invasion.


This one has been done to death really. Child/children taken by bad people. Parent goes nuts to get them back. But despite this fact... I still love watching them. Especially where it's a woman that is on a mission. At this point I'd like any would be attackers and burglars that after all these movies, and many Home Alone marathons that I feel very prepared to defend my territory... and I'm watched a lot of CSI, so I'm getting away with everything too.

Where The Strangers was predictable and dull, this was predictable and yet still entertaining. It's not going to win any awards, and was annoyingly a little short, but still a good watch to pass the time. [11/05]


Book Club - Unlimited Screening ★★★★☆


Four lifelong friends have their lives forever changed after reading 50 Shades of Grey in their monthly book club.


There's a clear divide about this film, as was very evident about the feedback. In almost all instances the women loved it and the men hated it. And in this instance (like some others... don't get me started ;) ) men are wrong. With four fantastic actresses they would have had to do a really terrible job for this to come out as a bad film.

When this one comes out on DVD I will be pairing it with First Wives Club and having a very entertaining evening in front of the box.

It's a solid comedy, with some romance thrown in... and woman or man... you'll finish watching that film and be a little in love with Andy Garcia. [14/05]


Deadpool 2 ★★★★★


Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (AKA. Deadpool), brings together a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy of supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-traveling mutant, Cable.


I'll refrain from gushing, but needless to say, this movie was wonderfully entertaining mindless violence. Just what I look for in a film. I'm still cheesed off that there wasn't a midnight screening, but it was a wonderful showing with loads of us packed in to see it. There's no denying that a packed house makes for a better experience. We were all laughing and cringing together, such fun.

As you can see just a little further down the screen, I saw this another two times, and I'm still not convinced that I saw all the little nods to other things. Top tip for the DVD commentary... one with actual commentary, and one with Peter just telling you what all the little things were.

Speaking of Peter, he is definitely one of my top five things about DP2. He's magnificent, and I genuinely panicked when bad things started happening to X-Force... and damn the script writers for lulling me into a false sense of security.

Bit of a spoiler alert here if you haven't seen it... I love the credit scene... but who in their right mind would give Deadpool a time travel device?! What about that seemed sensible to you, Negasonic Teenage Warhead? WHAT? [15/05]


Deadpool 2 [19/05]


Deadpool 2 [20/05]

Yes, I know. That's a bit excessive!


Rampage [20/05]

YES OKAY! THIS ONE MIGHT BE MORE EXCESSIVE!


Solo ★★★☆☆


During an adventure into a dark criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion.


So this was my midnight screening... I threw caution to the wind again and dragged myself out of bed when normal people were sleeping. I rocked up at 11:45 thinking I was actually running a bit late... but as it turned out, I was the first one there. I tried my best to sneak down the side so I didn't have to have my picture taken with some extras who were doing some promo shots out front. Unfortunately I wasn't channelling my ninja skills enough due to lack of sleep and I was trapped against my will for snaps.

When I went to see Last Jedi the whole screen was packed out. I had been toying with when to see this one, I wasn't overly bothered so a midnight screening seemed a bit over the top. But LJ had been such a great atmosphere that I went for it. I was very surprised to find that when I went to book there were only two other seats booked for the 3D screening, and when I checked the 2D there were maybe 20 tickets booked.

No one had very high hopes for this one, and I for one didn't think it was as good as Force Awakens or Last Jedi, but it did have its moments. There were a lot of nostalgic references, I don't know if they were things that was already know in the fandom, but to me they were new and I appreciated them.

Beyond that I wasn't overly impressed by it. Paul Bettany was woefully under used and the rest didn't really feel very convincing, even when taking into account the fictional nature of everything. The one thing that actually got me in the feels was Lando and L3. Still brings a tear to my eye now. [24/05]


Edie ★★☆☆☆


83 year old Edie believes that it is never too late - packing an old camping bag, leaving her life behind and embarking on an adventure she never got to have - climbing the imposing Mount Suilven in Scotland.


This was a really emotional film, I was surprised quit how much of it got to me. There's a genuine battle between loving and hating Edie for a significant portion of the film. While I felt the triumph of the whole endeavour, I'm not really sure that I came out liking her. Or several of the characters for that matter. The only one I really came out liking was Jonny, who let's face it, was too nice for his own good.

It's a story of perseverance, and you do need some to make it through. It says that the film is 1hr 42. It felt like every minute of that, and several more. I wasn't so bored that I was making shopping lists in my head, but had I been watching it at home I'd have switched channels. It is a nice film, that I'm glad I watched. But I won't be watching it again. [30/05]


Show Dogs ★★★★☆


Max, a macho, solitary Rottweiler police dog is ordered to go undercover as a primped show dog in a prestigious Dog Show, along with his human partner, to avert a disaster from happening.


Yes I'm giving it four stars and I don't care what you all say!! I laughed on more than one occasion and found it an amusing lift to my day... so ptttttttttttttt to all you misery guts who are saying it's terrible.

The only bad bit about the film was having to share the cinema with children on half term... although I was highly entertained when the 12 year old girl in front of me who had been snapchatting for 50% of the films dropped her phone on the floor.

It's daft humour and it really lifted my spirits, and those are the best movies to have. Even if the CGI panda and tiger were a little terrible.

To sum it up, this movie is basically Rush Hour with dogs. That alone should make you want to see it. [31/05]



17 movies this month. With a fair few rewatches due to the annoyance of decisions about where they showed things. It got so bad that I nearly had to defect to another cinema just to see The Breadwinner and On Chesil Beach... I still don't understand why you can't show these things at a cinema that has 14 screens... 14!! *sigh* I'll stop my ranting.

As I was finishing up with this post they announced that there's another Secret Screening coming up in June. These ones seem to be for films coming out about a month after the screening, so by that measure they likely suspects are... Skyscraper, Hotel Artemis, The Secret Of Marrowbone, or Ideal Home. I doubt we're lucky enough for it to be Skyscraper, although I'll keep my fingers crossed until they go numb in the hopes that it is.

Happy watching everyone.

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