The Maltese Falcon

It's been awhile since I saw this film - it was great to see it on the big screen.

Huston (African Queen) wrote and directed - it is Bogart (Key Largo) after all. You will recognize some of the Huston regulars. A private detective - Spade - gets caught up in a criminal scheme and gets out fairly unscathed, A great, classic film noir. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Suffragette

It's about the lives of the more militant group that fought for the right to vote in England. It has an unresolved ending - I didn't like that. It felt unfinished. It was frustrating and irritating to watch - perhaps that was the point. Mulligan (The Walker) did a good job as always. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Steve Jobs

Sorkin (Newsroom) writes so you know it's going to be fast, witty, and smart. Boyle (Slum Dog Millionaire) directs so you know the editing and flow are going to be seamless. Fassbender (Assassin's Creed) and Winslet (Triple 9) do a great job at the accents and acting. The movie takes place during each major launch. Jobs interacts with several key people in his life at each launch. His daughter, his father figure, his friend, and his conscious. All in all, I say: RENT IT

Pride

IMDb writes, "U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984." Scott (Sherlock), West (The Affair), Considine (Hot Fuzz), and Nighy (Love Actually) all star in this comedy. It was sweet. And based ona  true story. All in all, I say: RENT IT

All Things Valentine

It's the one valentine's day Hallmark movie I allowed myself to watch. A blogger gets into a verbal dual with someone who comments on one of her blogs. She meets a vet and they fall in love - turns out he's the complainer. They both get hurt feelings, but it's love. Blah, Blah, Blah - All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Big Stone Gap

It's one of those movies that is based on a play and the entire time you're watching you're thinking this should have stayed a play. It just doesn't flow as good as it should probably because they were trying to stay true to the play. Wilson (Girls), Judd (Divergent), Goldberg (Jumpin' Jack Flash), and Elfman (Teh Mindy Project) do a good job but it just feels off. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Our Brand is Crisis

Bullock (Minions) and Thornton (Bad Santa 2) run political campaigns for two guys running for president in a South American country. They do horrible things that people in politics do. The writing isn't very good. The plot is predictable. I just didn't enjoy it. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Bridge of Spies

I put it off for a long time. I just didn't think it would surprise me at all. Hanks and Spielberg at it again...based on a true story. Well, I am glad I didn't pay to see it in theatres. I am glad I did see it on demand though - it was written by the Coen Brothers (Hail, Caesar!) It was decent. Not award winning - nothing that will blow you away - just interesting - and well done. All in all, I say: RENT IT

The Finest Hours

Based on the true story one of the coast guards finest rescues. Pine (Wonder Woman / Star Trek), Foster (Inferno), and Bana (Star Trek) all play coast guard officers. Affleck (Lewis and Clark) and McTavish (Outlander) play oil tanker workers. Two tankers split in half during a storm at sea. The coast sends everything they got to one and find out later there is a second. The left-overs go out to rescue those left on board. Everything that could go wrong does go wrong, but the men that Pine and Affleck play keep their crew alive and so many are saved. The cinematography is great too. You will feel cold and soaked to the bone like they are. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Love the Coopers

Martin (The Three Amigos) is the narrator. You find out who exactly he is at the end. Keaton (Hannah and Her Sisters) and Goodman (Raising Arizona) are a married couple about to split. They want one last Christmas together with the entire family. Each family member goes through something just before showing up to the Christmas meal. Helms (The Office), Seyfried (Big Love), Arkin (Argo), Wilde (House), and Tomei (My Cousin Vinny) all star. It's predictable, It tries to hard to be fresh and witty. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

The Song

IMDb writes, "An aspiring singer-songwriter's life and marriage suffer when the song he writes for his wife propels him to stardom." Aargg - another boring movie. Only about 10 minutes in or so you could see where it was going. All in all, I say: SKIP IT - bad acting, bad writing, and bad filming.

Tell

IMDb writes, "Ethan Tell is a small time crook who makes a big-time score when he steals 1 million dollars. Ironically, his life radically changes for the worse when he discovers that stealing the money was the easy part and he now must keep his partner, his wife, his parole officer, and two corrupt detectives from stealing it from him." I have to be honest - I couldn't take it after a few minutes. Watched kind of in fast-forward and got the gist. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

The Good Guy

Bledel (Gilmore Girls) and Porter (Hart of Dixie) are dating, but he becomes ambitious and complacent. So,  Greenberg (Bessie) steals his girlfriend away. It's so slow and boring. It just seemed pointless. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

The Details

IMDb writes, "When a family of raccoons discover worms living underneath the sod in Jeff and Nealy's backyard, this pest problem begins a darkly comic and wild chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity and murder." And that should have made me think twice. I like Banks (Pitch Perfect) though, so I thought I'd try, Big mistake. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Second Chance

Another show where you thing - this is ridiculous there's no way this is any good. Well, I love it. The actors make it work even if the plot is slightly far-fetched. Kazinsky (Pacific Rim) is cute, strong, and funny. He plays a 70 something retired sheriff that is brought back to life (and younger) using some cool genome machine built by a brilliant scientist in order to save his dying sister.

He's not even the actor that should convince you to see this. DeKay (White Collar) is in it as an FBI agent, but not like on his last show - a little different and you can tell. He's so good. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies

James (Downton Abby) plays Elizabeth Bennett. Riley (Maleficent) plays Darcy. Booth (Noah) plays Mr. Bingley. Dance (Aliens 3) plays Mr. Bennett. Huston (Outlander) plays Mr. Wickham. Headey (Game of Thrones) plays Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

I was so excited to see this - to see my imagination come to the screen. I was a little disappointed. It didn't follow the book as much as I would have liked - not Pride & Prejudice, but Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies. All in all, I say: SEE IT if you haven't read the book, but you have read the original book by Austin and you like Zombies. SKIP IT if you read Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies for it will be a let down.

Lucifer

Ok...I know...the plot sounds ridiculous and so did the previews. Lucifer takes a vacation from hell and ends up helping a detective solve crimes in LA - city of angels. It works and there is really only one reason why it works. Ellis (Once Upon a Time - he played Robin Hood) is great. He is funny  - I kind of like this take on his story. He's an angel even if he is in hell. All in all, I say: TRY IT - if you have similiar tastes to me you might enjoy this new take on crime.

X-Files

Duchovny (Red Shoe Diaries) and Anderson (The Fall) are two FBI agents who investigate mysterious things. He is a believer; she is a doctor and scientist. Over the years the two get caught up in a plot to hide things from the American people. There is an abduction, a marriage, and a child. Some episodes are creepier than others. Some are more fun than others. Chris Carter (who also wrote Millennium) writes and created the series. Lots of cool guests - some guest star play several different roles in different episodes. If you are a true fan you catch things - themes and characters - that repeat. There are clues in some episodes that help with other episodes. Very few things in the show are accidents - they were thought out - they aren't coincidences. Some people that worked behind the scenes work behind the scenes in Supernatural. All in all, I say: SEE IT if you like supernatural stuff.

The movie picked up some time after the X-Files department had been closed down - some time after the end of the tv series. All in all, I say: SEE IT if you saw the show.

The new series has the same chemistry. It's been fun seeing 6 more episodes so long after the end of the series. All in all, I say: SEE IT if you are a fan. SKIP IT if you aren't because you will be lost.

Colony

Aliens or rather Visitors have come to Earth. We don't get to know the entire story. We come into it after everything exciting has happened. LA appears to be behind enemy lines in an alien colony surrounded by a large wall and guarded/protected by "Red Hats" or Homeland Security. There is an underground resistance movement. Holloway (Lost) is an FBI guy who takes on the job of finding "Geronimo" the leader of the resistance. Callies (TWD) is his wife and a member of the resistance. All in all, I say: NOT SURE yet - I've seen 3 or 4 shows and I can't make up my mind.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

A half hour comedy show about cops in NY. It stars Samberg (SNL), Crews (Get Smart), and Braugher (Homicide) who plays is a comedic genius in this. It is worth it just to see Braugher perform. It's just long enough to get a laugh, but not too long to be stupid. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Hell on Wheels

AMC show that focuses on the building of the railroad across the US.

Mount (Mr Right) and Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) do an amazing job in this. The plot is excellent, the writing is fantastic, and action is awesome. You don't want to make Bohannan mad!  All in all, I say: SEE IT

Cullen Bohannon, a former soldier and slaveholder, follows the track of a band of Union soldiers, the killers of his wife. This brings him to the middle of one of the biggest projects in US history, the building of the transcontinental railroad. After the war years in the 1860s, this undertaking connected the prospering east with the still wild west.

- Written by cc ardbeg

Cold Justice: Sex Crimes

Same basic idea as Cold Justice only focusing on rape cases. They solve a lot of crimes in this because they go into cities and counties and pay for rape kit testing which gets them a ton of DNA. It is inspiring like the other show and makes me cry. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Talking Dead

Chris Hardwick hosts a show that follow The Walking Dead where they analyze the show. Guests from TWD also appear. There is trivia, behind the scenes stuff, and just overall a great show for fans to watch. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Limitless (tv show)

Instead of having a sequel to the movie Bradley Cooper decides to executive produce a tv series sequel. IMDb writes, "An average 28-year old man that gains the ability to use the full extent of his brain's capabilities is hired by the FBI as a consultant. A television follow-up of the film Limitless(2011).." Carpenter (Dexter) and Mastrantonio (Grimm) star. It works. It's funny and well written - not to mention well acted. I really enjoy watching it. All in all, I say: SEE IT

The Casual Vacancy

The tv version of JK Rowlings book. A local hero dies and all hell breaks lose. It shows how one person really can hold things together for an entire town. It is extremely depressing. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

You, Me and the Apocalypse

Fischer (The Office) is taking the fall for her son and ends up behind bars. Lowe (The Grinder) is a Catholic priest who works to debunk the supernatural. And there are some twins, a nun, and roommate with computer skills. They all end up together during the apocalypse and this show explains how they come to be together. All in all: I say: SKIP IT - I didn't laugh once. I did get irritated on more than one occasion though.

Bad Words

Bateman (Zootopia) has found a loophole in the spelling bee and because of his photographic memory he makes it to the finals. Along the way he falls in love (Hahn from Bad Moms) and makes a new friend. The reason behind taking his revenge so far is not surprising and you should be able to figure it out about half way through. All in all, I say: SKIP IT - it's not really very good, but if you go against me it's on HBO or Showtime OnDemand.

Mildred Pierce

A remake put on by HBO. It stars Winslet (Titanic) and Pearce (Jack Irish) star. It is soooooo annoying. OMG - all the complaining and tantrums. The entire film seemed completely pointless. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Seeker

Three kids are tested to see if they are worthy to take a sacred oath. The test turns out to be murder and behind all the secrets are lies and betrayal. The descriptions are too much and often unnecessary. There are entire scenes that are not necessary. There is too much mystery and too mush supernatural - nothing seems to serve a purpose. The entire thing seems pointless altogether. I couldn't finish it - it was too annoying. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Outsiders

A family in Appalachia is about to come under attack from the outside world because of a coal company, a murder involving moonshine, and a family leadership succession gone wrong. Hurst (SOA), Morse (The Green Mile), and Gallner (Veronica Mars) all star. A cop struggles to avoid going up into the woods. It's well acted - let's just hope the plot doesn't go in a predictable way. All in all, I say: SEE IT on WGN.