La La Land

I'm guessing the "La" in the title is a reference to Los Angeles? This is not like any musical you'll ever see. I doubt it will make the jump to Broadway. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are not especially good singers or dancers. The musical aspects are hardly noticeable. I don't understand the fuss the film is raising. It's ok, with a pretty good story. Has a bittersweet ending.

Lego Batman Movie

Not as good as The Lego Movie, but pretty good. It dwells on Batman's character flaws, naturally he has to confront them in the end. I think the ending was sort of sloppy though.

Wonder Woman

Wow, see this movie! Apparently, DC has been having some misses, but Wonder Woman is a hit! Gal Gadot is inspired casting, perfect blend of strength, beauty, and caring. She exhibits both her warrior side and feminine side. I was worried the film might feel the need to cover up her feminine side for fear of showing her as weak. I hope Patty Jenkins gets some kudos at the Oscars. This is not the sort of film the Oscars like to recognize, but it should because this is a really good film. It's 2hr 20 minutes long, some films, even good ones can feel a bit long, but Wonder Woman was over before I realized it. It's that good.

Dunkirk

Pretty much an attempt to tell the story of what it was like to be at Dunkirk. No build up, you are there when the allied troops were surrounded. Difficult to make out the dialog but you don't really need to. Not much dialog. The part where you may choke up a bit is when the civilian flotta arrives. The aerial battles were some of my favorite moments, as the pilots could pick out an enemy plane lining up to do a bombing run and the pilot had to respond to break it up. Didn't see it IMAX which might give the best experience.

I found the editing to be quite disjointed. The scenes with the planes needed to be tied together better. The movie would cut to another story line, then back to the planes at a point in time previous to when they were last seen. The acting was fine and the cinematography was great. I think a better edit could make this a more memorable movie.

"Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2".

Ugh, what a mess. Frenetic whirlwind scenes that are like a blur. Non-stop action is about all I can say for it. Not exactly sure what is the central purpose of the plot. Crappy dialog, made me think a high schooler wrote it. Somehow they manage to make Kurt Russell look very young in a flashback scene.

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

Not sure about this one. Good timing of its release though. Not centered around Wonder Woman. Just about Professor Marston and the women around him. Kinky guy, definitely all about his alternative lifestyle. Wonder Woman is on the periphery of the entire movie. If Marston hadn't invented Wonder Woman, they wouldn't have made this film.

I'd rather they had made a Wonder Woman documentary. Her history, or herstory , would be really interesting.

Blade Runner 1049

A sequel to technically a flop at the box office. Definitely true to the original in style and presentation. This version doesn't seem to have as clear a story nor has as powerful an ending as the original. Ryan Gosling seemed a good choice as Harrison Ford's modern counterpart. The film certainly uses a lot of low frequency sounds. I doubt this film will be as influential as the original.

The Room

Bleah, it lives up to its billing, terrible movie. They'll soon release another film starring James Franco, The Disaster Artist which is a film about the making of The Room. Franco does a very good acting job of being Tommy Wiseau. I guess they did the same with Johnny Depp in making Ed Wood, although they seemed to follow all of Wood's career. Like Rocky Horror, The Room has a set of activities you do during the film. One is throwing plastic spoons whenever you see a spoon on screen. They also throw small plastic footballs around when the same happens on film. The other thing you do is talk back to the film. Whatever comes to mind is ok.

Justice League

Justice League isn't doing well on rottentomatoes. I don't see why not. I enjoyed the movie. It's a straight up superhero action movie. How did "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2" have such a high fresh rating while Justice League which I think had a more coherent story with easier to follow action scenes be deemed as "rotten"? This movie is not exploring any deep social or personal issues. It's just trying to be a superhero movie.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Not bad, but I was still hoping to get the same feeling I got when I saw Star Wars for the first time. The film has a lot of plot twists that'll keep you on your toes. The sound track is very disappointing. It was so good in the first film that I bought the recording, something I've never done before. The force figures in but it's not front and center. Very long ending. There's a part where you think it's over but there's still more. Luke seems to be jaded by the whole "force" thing which seemed odd. His younger self was so idealistic and dedicated to being a Jedi. The actors Hamill and Fisher look so old. I remember their younger selves, even having a crush on Carrie Fisher, which seems odd now when looking at her on screen. All-in-all, it's worth the ticket price.

Jumanji

Haven't seen the original, but this update is good. All in all, it's a feel good film about some high school kids that, during detention, get sucked into an old video game and assume avatars contrary to their former selves. Dwayne Johnson comes across as a really nice guy. Eye candy for both persuasions as Johnson is as muscular as ever and Karen Gillan is as cute as a button as well as being sexy. Definite thumbs up.