The Finest Hours

Released:  2016

Number of Ginger Snaps:  6 of 10

6 of 10 Ginger Snaps

Director:   Craig Gillespie

Writers:  Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson

Producers:   Dorothy Aufiero, James Whitaker

Main Actors:  Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster



Favorite Character
Ray Sybert

This was better than I thought it would be.  Granted, it wasn't great, but it held my interest and kept me engaged.  And it had some cute boys in it, which is always helpful.  Just saying...

I have to admit that this is not really the type of movie I like to watch.  It had action, which I like, but it was based on a real story and focused on the drama aspect.  The acting was okay, the story was okay, and the production quality was decent.  That was part of the problem though - it was all 'okay'.  There wasn't anything stellar about it.

Despite it just being 'okay', I would recommend this movie to those of you who like dramas.  It was entertaining.

10 Cloverfield Lane

Released:  2016

Number of Ginger Snaps:  7 of 10 

7 out of 10 ginger snaps 

Director:  Dan Trachtenberg

Writers:  Josh Campbell,  Matthew Stuecken

Producers:  J.J. Abrams, Lindsey Weber

Main Actors:  John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr.




Favorite Character:
Michelle

Favorite Quote:
What, the 'ten new ways to style your bangs'? - Emmett

I enjoyed the movie - it's the kind of films I like - some science fiction, a little scary, a study of human reactions when put into insane situations... Yep... right up the Val alley.

One thing I think would have made it a better movie is to have included another small character or two.  It would have been nice to have been given a little more on what was happening outside of the shelter.  I know - that was kinda the point of the movie, but something - like a short blurb announced on the radio would have helped build more uncertainty about what was really going on.   It just felt like it needed a little more interaction outside of the 3 characters.

John Goodman did an excellent job of being the uber creepy guy.  It's hard for me not to think of him as Roseanne's husband, but he did a good job in the movie.  I definitely did not think of Roseanne at all!

Anyway, overall - recommended (but not for little ones).

The Secret Life of Pets

Released:  July 8, 2016

Number of Ginger Snaps:  8 Out of 10

8 of 10 ginger snaps 

Directors:  Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney

Writers:  Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, Brian Lynch, Simon Rich

Producers:  Janet Healy, Christopher Meledandri

Main Actors:  Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey


Favorite Character:  Killer Bunny Guy (aka Snowball)

Favorite Line:  You've got the stench of domestication all over you.  - Snowball

This movie was totally silly and adorably cute.  I loved the fast pace of it.  I don't have kids, but I imagine that is a good thing for a kid's movie.  It made me laugh - a lot.  Another good thing for a kid's movie I would think.

I gotta admit, I almost busted a gut when the sausage dream sequence came on.  All I could think of was watching Grease when I was a kid with my friends and all of us singing that song.  Oh memories of youth...

Anyway, I recommend this movie, especially if you want a low brain exercise engagement that makes you happy.

Star Trek Beyond

Number of Ginger Snaps:  9 out of 10

9 of 10 ginger snaps 

Director:  Justin Lin

Writers:  Simon Pegg, Doug Jung

Producers:  JJ Abrams, Bryan Burk, Roberto Orci  

Main Actors:  Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Sofia Boutella

Favorite Character:  Jaylah 

Favorite Quotes:  

Cause if I mess it up, I don't want it to be just my fault.  - Scotty

You gave your girlfriend a tracking device.  - Bones 

I loved this movie - much more than the last one.   I especially liked the opening scene - funny, crazy, spacey awesomeness.  The recognition of Ambassador Spock's death was touching and made me cry. I will always hold a special place in my heart for the first Vulcan I ever knew.  

Anyway, back to the review... I liked it cause it didn't seem to be a copy of an already existing Star Trek movie.  Not that doing that would be a bad thing, but they already did that in the last movie.  This one stood on it's own and developed the same (yet unique) characters very nicely.  It seemed that this movie was more focused on characters and plot then the last one.  I liked that aspect.  Good job Scotty!  I mean Simon!  

Jaylah was fabulous!  The addition of this alien was extremely well done - and not just because she liked the Bestie Boys.  She was a strong, identifiable character AND she wasn't put in only as a love interest!  Well done movie maker guys!  Well done.  I really hope to see her again in the next Star Trek.  

Misconduct

Number of Ginger Snaps:  5 out of 10

5 out of 10 ginger snaps 

Director:  Shintaro Shimosawa

Writers:  Simon Boyes, Adam Mason

Producers:  Ellen Wander, Ryan Black, Bill Delaney

Main Actors:  Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino






Favorite Character:  Doug Fields

Favorite Quote:  "Why the fuck would I do that?" - Jane

Kind of a weird movie.  The director was definitely trying to use the artsy-fartsy aspect of film production, like a long still of an actor's reaction and characters talking just out of the shot.  Some of it worked, some didn't.  Some of it just felt forced - like 'hey!  look at how cool and intense this is!  think profoundly now!'.

The movie did keep me engaged though.  The story was disjointed, probably on purpose.  It needed something more to keep the story line somewhat constant cause I kept thinking 'what?' too many times.  Granted, some level of 'what' questioning is intriguing and definitely keeps the audience engaged, but it got to be too much.  By the end, I just wanted to know what the bleep happened.

I don't think I would recommend this movie to anyone, however, if you do see it, I'd be curious to know what you thought.

The Martian

Released:  2015

8 Out of 10 Ginger Snaps 

Number of Ginger Snaps: 8 of 10

Director:  Ridley Scott

Writers:  Drew Goddard (screenplay), Andy Weir (book)

Producers:  Mark Huffam, Simon Kinberg, Michael Schaefer, Ridley Scott

Main Actors:  Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Chitwetel Ejiofor




Favorite Character
Rich Purnell (from the movie version)
Mindy Park (from the book)

Favorite Line
Rich Purnell is a steely-eyed missile man! (from the movie)
How come Aquaman can control whales?  They're mammals!  Makes no sense.  (from the book)

This is one of the few movies I've seen where I read the book first, then saw the film.  It was an extremely good portrayal of the book.  It did leave out a lot, but that is to be expected.  What they did include was well done and spot on.

I do wish they had done more with the Mindy Park and Rich Purnell characters.  They were a bit more developed in the book.  The actors portrayed them well, but I would have liked them to have had more screen time.  Oh well, there are only so many things you can do in 2 hours.

The acting was very good.  I wasn't sure how Matt Damon would do - I mean, I know he's a good actor, but you know how reading the book before seeing the movie kinda sets you into your own version of the characters.  Matt portrayed Watney very closely to how I imagined Watney would be.

If you read everything up to now, you probably figured I am going to recommend the movie - you're right.  It has earned a Ginger Snap "see this film" rating.

Oh - and I want to go to Hermes so I can float around and slide into other sections of the station.  Just saying...

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Released:  2016

7 Out of 10 Ginger Snaps 

Number of Ginger Snaps:  7 out of 10

Director:  Zack Snyder

Writers:  Chris Terrio, David Goyer

Producers:  Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder

Main Actors:  Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot


Favorite Character
Superman (duh)

Favorite Line
I don't think you've ever known a woman like me.


First off, the movie should have been named Superman v Batman - Superman should always be first.  Second, starting the movie off with 911 like destruction made me tear up.  Granted, it's that 'sensitive time' of the month for me, so there is that.  Finally, Wonder Woman rules and should have come into the fight sooner.

Seriously though, it was okay.  It wasn't awesome, but I didn't expect it to be.  The movie was disjointed in both the editing and the story line.  It was difficult to follow everything visually.  I know that it's an action movie, but there was so much going on and continual movement that it made my eyes hurt.

I didn't like the ending.  Not at all.  I know they are probably already working on the next movie, but NOOOOO - that ending bites.  LAME.

Spy

Released:  2015

8 Out of 10 Ginger Snaps 

Number of Ginger Snaps:  8 of 10

Director:   Paul Feig

Writer:   Paul Feig

Producer:  Peter Chernin, Paul Feig,  Jessie Henderson

Main Actors:   Jude Law,  Melissa McCarthy,  Rose Byrne



Favorite Character
Rick Ford


Favorite Quote
I'm immune to 179 different types of poison.  I know because I ingested them all at once when I was deep undercover in an underground poison-ingesting crime ring.  - Rick Ford


Very enjoyable funny movie.  I laughed a lot.  And there were gun fights, explosions, and car crashes.   Right up my happy movie experience ally.

Rick Ford was the best character.  Granted, I do really like Jason Statham (cause he's hot and badass), but he was really funny.  Statham was awesome in the role.   Due to the appreciation I have of his badassness, I recommend the move.  It will make you laugh.

The Hateful Eight

Released:  December 25, 2015

8 Out of 10 Ginger Snaps 

Number of Ginger Snaps:  8 of 10

Director:  Quentin Tarantino

Writer:  Quentin Tarantino

Producers:  Richard Gladstein, Shannon McIntosh, Stacey Sher

Main Actors:  Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh



Favorite Character
Oswaldo Mobray

Favorite Quote
"That door is a whore"

It was definitely Tarantino - blood and guts and gross icky stuff.  I liked it.  The story line was intriguing and kept me engaged.  I wasn't sure who was bad and who was good, which is a sign of a good movie.

An aspect that interested me was the music.  It was an original score and really added to the film.  I guess that should be a given, but I took note of it more in this movie than in others.  It was well 'positioned' I guess would be a good way to describe it.

The characters are always interesting in Tarantino films.  I love the dynamics of the characters in this movie especially.  I think it was the fact that some of them behaved very differently at the end than you would have thought at the beginning.

I recommend this movie for grown ups only.  And not right after you eat a big meal containing meat.  Just saying...