Geoff's Reviews

I still can’t believe this really happened and at 48, I remember it on the news.  There’s zero chance that anybody under 40 is going to like this movie.  They are going to think that’s it’s too far fetched and just silly.

Ask anybody 45 or older about this and they will verify that Nancy Kerrigan really did get her leg hit, really did scream like that, Tonya’s body guard really did make all those claims (even writing this I can’t believe it).

This movie was really well done.   I don’t think it’s one that anybody “needs to go and see” but if your over 45 and you’ve got nothing better to do, I think you’ll enjoy it.  If your under 40, what can I say, maybe you should see it just for the historical story of how crazy the whole situation was.

6/10

Very good Western movie.  Again, like so many others that I enjoy, it’s based on some revenge but it’s a lot more.  It does have some slow moments, thus young kids (teenagers) might not like it but I’d really recommend it for anybody over 25.  No kids under 12 are going to like this and I wouldn’t take my 14 year old daughter to see it.  I believe it’s rated R and this one is a movie that deserves that rating.

8/10

So anybody that knows me is probably going to be very surprised that I went and saw this.   Even as I write this I’m kind of surprised myself.  A musical about a circus show.

In 2017 a friend of mine and I bought this $35 deal from Regal where you could see every Best Picture nominated film as much as you wanted for a week.  We saw all nine of them that week, many a few times (yes, I was exhausted by Sunday).  This included La La Land which I would have never seen except this deal.   Believe it or not, I have seen a number of musicals in my life.  My parents were into it when I was a kid, I was married to a music major for over 10 years.

La La Land was horrible.  It was bad just by itself but made worse when compared to Hidden Figures, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Lion, Manchester by the Sea and the best picture winner Moonlight.  Just in that category a movie like Hidden Figures, which I very much enjoyed was obviously put in that category because of the actual great true story, not because of it being a great film.  You expect that when it comes to the Oscars but it in the case of La La Land, it was so bad that I lost all respect for the Oscar process.

Ok, all of that said about La La Land, zero expectations for Greatest Showman.  My youngest daughter really wanted to see this.  She did and wanted to see it again so I took her.  I went into it same way I went into any Disney Princess movie, there for her and that’s it.

I was very surprised by it.  The signing was really good, not something I’d go and buy the soundtrack but I could very much appreciate the talent.  The story was entertaining enough that I didn’t fall asleep.  And I’m sorry to bring it up again but if I were to just rank La La Land to Greatest Showman, La La Land would get somewhere in the negative and Greatest Showman would get a 10+.

Since I’m not ranking this compared to just one movie and instead overall, I give this a 6 out of 10.   A movie I’d strongly recommend if you have kids under 14.

6/10

Loved this movie but man was it disturbing once you figure out what’s really going on.  My only issue was that I didn’t want it to end – I wanted about 20 more minutes for some more of what happened at the end to continue to happen to others.   I am purposely being vague here because I don’t want to give away how it turns out but once you see it and especially if you know me personally, you will know exactly what I’m talking about, whether you agree with me or not.

This is a great movie, I’d strongly recommend seeing it.  Probably 13 and under won’t understand or appreciate it.

8/10

Very, very funny – one of the best comedies I’ve seen in a while.  My biggest complaint with this one and this happens so often with comedies is that the trailers gave so many of the jokes away.   This time more than usual.  If you haven’t seen it yet and can avoid watching any trailers, unless you don’t have a pulse, you will think this is one of the best comedies you’ve ever seen, it’s that good.

Without trying to give anything away, I loved when the neighbor just slowly backs away from the door.  Those that have seen it will know what I’m talking about and if you haven’t you’ll remember this.

This is a good one too that you can see with your at least 10 year or older kids.

I’m giving it a 6 but would have given it an 8 out of 10 if the trailers hadn’t shown a good number of the best scenes.  Again, do NOT watch any trailers, try to forget what you’ve seen.

6/10

About the evacuation of 300,000+ British, French and I believe a couple other countries soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk during World War II.

I was really looking forward to this movie when it first came out back in July of 2017.  I had seen all the previews, knew the story.  The previews are what had me so excited.   I got to say that I was pretty disappointed when I saw it that opening weekend.  A couple days later, over my initial disappointment, I told those that cared to listen that it wasn’t as good as I had expected but still worth going.

It was re-released in January 2018 since it had been nominated for some academy awards.   I went and saw it again and this time really enjoyed it.  I already knew the specifics of the movie, thus no surprises but this time, I wasn’t led to believe it was going to be one of the greatest movies.   This time it was fantastic.   This time I could appreciate even more what was accomplished and the way the movie was made and edited.   The shame of it now is that it can no longer be seen on the big screen.   It was most definitely a movie that should be shown on the biggest screen possible.  In other words, not for the little screen on an airplane.

I’d highly recommend this if you can see it on at least a 65″ screen or larger with an excellent sound system.

8/10

Movie about a dirty cop.   I enjoyed this movie, not one of the greatest.   One of my favorite TV shows is Chicago PD.   I enjoy the cop shows when they will do whatever it is, legal or not so much, to get the bad guy.  This story has been told probably a hundred times in a movie before.  I knew that going in but still liked it.

7/10

I LOVED THIS MOVIE – first time using all CAPS to describe any movie.  This movie is right up my alley.   Father gets revenge on the people that harmed his family (I don’t want to give away too much).   This was so great.

I blasted Breaking In in an earlier review and some of it might have unconsciously had to do with seeing this.  What a night and day difference between these two movies.  Very good acting, awesome story, many surprises.

Pretty violent, I wouldn’t want to take my 14 year old daughter but if she wanted to see it, I’d pay for it.

9.5/10

Great movie but have to have half a brain to appreciate it which I don’t believe most Americans are in possession of.  If you are above the average intelligence and enjoy good acting and history, I believe you will really enjoy this movie.

I don’t think it did that good in the box office because of our intelligence but also, it doesn’t make us look all that great.

If you can get by all that, this is in the top 5 over the past year and I really recommend it.

I also want to say that after watching a preview or reading about what it’s about, even if you are a smart person, I don’t think all will enjoy it because it simply might not be ones type of movie.

Before you go see it, read what’s it’s about, don’t have to be an expert but spend the ten minutes on Wikipedia and you will appreciate you did.

9/10

Loved this movie, saw it twice.  Won’t see it a third time but enjoyed it almost as much the second time.  Don’t have to watch the first to appreciate it but it wouldn’t hurt.  In my case, I did see the first one but it was on a red eye from San Francisco on the seven or so inch TV on a United flight, thus I didn’t remember a whole lot.

I brought my 13 year old daughter (now 14) and my 16 year old son.   That was awkward.  The use of the “F” word takes some getting used to.   About every fifth word the first 10 minutes of the movie.  I do regret bring my daughter but not losing any sleep over it.

I am also not a fan of staying after a movie through the credits to see what is almost always a disappointing extra scene but this time I’d recommend it.   There’s a lot to it, I stayed both times.

8/10