Welcome back friends! Sorry I’m a day late. Federal Holidays will do that to you. Nevertheless. I am here with your weekly roundup!

Before I dive in let me remind you of how I’m doing these “reviews” going forward. (1) For the time being, I am going to run down ALL the movies I saw in the previous week (or weeks in this case) and give my opinion on whether or not they’re worth the watch. This might encompass movies just released in theaters, the newest Netflix original, or an older classic that I just happened to watch since the last post.

(2) Instead of giving a numeric score at the end of the review, I’m going to simply state whether or not the movie is worth the watch. For the older movies, it’s pretty straightforward. Is the movie good or bad? For the new movies in theaters, I might not recommend a movie because it’s not worth the $20 theater ticket and would be a better watch at home on Netflix (or the streaming service of your choosing). Regardless, my new scale is as follows.

Duty to Watch? Yes- this signifies a recommendation

Duty to Watch? No- this signifies a pass.

Cool? It’s pretty straightforward. Maybe we should just dive in and you can see what I’m talking about! Cool? Cool!

Mary Queen of Scots- Pretty straight forward movie. It’s a depiction of Mary Queen of Scots and her life after she returned to England. It’s from the team that did Darkest Hour and it shows. This movie runs over some of the nitty gritty aspects of the period but it never feels boring or dragging. It’s not as good as Darkest Hour (partly because the acting is not as great), however it’s still a good ride. I don’t think this is in theaters still, but I think is a good watch, especially once it comes to Amazon.

Welcome to Marwin- Sometimes the critics are right. Sometimes when they say a movie sucks, they’re right. This movie. Wow. Oh man is it bad. I just do not understand it. The cast is phenomenal and the story idea isn’t too out there. IDK. Sometimes, things are just wack from the get-go.

If Beale Street Could Talk- Until this morning, I was sure this was going to be an Oscar best picture nominee. It had all the features of an Oscar nominated film. But I guess the Academy saw the same movie I did. Don’t get me wrong, Beale Street is still good, just not that good. Perhaps it’s because I do not understand the culture behind it. Or maybe I just wasn’t in the right place when I saw it. Point is, I don’t think it is as good as everyone else does. That all being said though, I’d still recommend this one, IF ONLY for the fact that everyone else thinks it’s great.

My Cousin Vinny- I told you I would “review” older movies. Think of this as a weekly walk through Will’s movie mind. Sometimes I see a bunch of new movies in theaters. And other times I go to my friend’s house and spend the day watching older movies like My Cousin Vinny. If you haven’t seen this one, then what are you doing? This movie is so unintentionally funny it’ll make your sides hurt, and it is actually legally accurate in it’s depiction of a trial. Awesome stuff and a whole hearted recommendation!

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation- What else can be said about these two movies? In a world full of below average action movies, Mission Impossible continues to dazzle and entertain with action on a level you never thought you needed. After all, the third movie in this new trilogy, MI Fallout, was my Number 2 movie of 2018! So what else do you need to know?

Escape Room- I really wanted to enjoy this movie. I really did. The trailers made it look like good funny nonsensical horror-action flick. Instead, Escape Room is just sort of. . . blah. It doesn’t tread any new ground and even the puzzle solving is below average. Don’t get me wrong. You might enjoy yourself with this one, however, there are many more movies you can spend your weekend watching, both in theaters and at home. This is a definite “wait for Netflix” watch IMO.

The Upside- I was expecting this to be a dumb feel good movie and that’s exactly what I got. It doesn’t break any new grounds and no one is going to remember it in a year. HOWEVER, I had a lot of fun watching it. Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston work TERRIFICALLY together and you can tell everyone was having fun making this movie. This might be the best movie of January, and BOY is that saying something.

On the Basis of Sex- I saw this movie because I am (hopefully) going to be a lawyer someday and as a potential future lawyer and movie buff, it is my God-decreed duty to watch any legal-y movie that comes my way. For the uninitiated, this is the RBG biopic and follows the future SCOTUS justice through law school and her first major case. This movie is like cotton candy. It’s sweet and you feel good while watching it, but it is essentially nothing but air. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a “good” movie. It’s just not surprising. I mean come on. Did you really think a future Supreme Court Justice was going to lose this big important case about sex discrimination? Yeah I thought so too. Still. Of all the crap in January 2019, this is one of the better ones.

Aquaman- MY MAN!! I got to seeing this for the second time last weekend and I think this might be the best DCEU movie. Better than Man of Steel and better than Wonder Woman. I’m not quite ready to make that call (especially since I haven’t seen any of the DCEU movies since they were in theaters), so for now, I’ll just settle on this solid movie about Khal Drogo as the Fish Whisperer.

Glass- I saw this on last Thursday and I still don’t know what I think about this one. On the one hand, the cast is pretty solid and the action is exciting yet different from most other super hero movies out there. Plus it’s always nice to see Bruce Willis actually care about a role he’s playing. On the other hand, the script is lazy, the pacing is all over the place and the M Night (trademarked) plot twists at the end were just blah. This movie could’ve been better if it had 2 extra years to incubate. Instead, what we have is sort of a hot pile of garbage. You might find some enjoyment out of it, but I think you’ll enjoy it more when you can rent it from your home.

So, with all that, I guess the recommend of the week would be the Upside. Kinda sad Glass didn’t hit home for me. Maybe next time buddy. Any how. Cheers and talk to you next week!

(All movie posters from their respective Wikipedia pages. I do not own any of the images used in this post. All copyright material used under fair use and for review purposes only.)

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