When I saw Jordan Peele’s first film “Get Out”, I compared it to an episode of Twilight Zone (Peele hosts the most recent incarnation) or a really good Black Mirror installment. This one is creepy. I’m not sure if it was all the evil doppelgangers or the whole home invasion part of the film, but much of this is pretty terrifying. It’s also very well done.The set up is a bit confusing as I wasn’t sure where they were going with it, but once the family led by Lupita Nyong’o makes it to Santa Cruz on the insistence of her dim husband, the film takes off. It goes from a home invasion film, which I always find very uncomfortable, to something out of The Purge. The whole premise is weird and you’re never sure what exactly is going on, but the ride is compelling. I had issues with the dad in the movie played by Winston Duke. He’s a guy who needs to shut up and listen to his wife and really began testing my patience. “Us” is a bloody film and some ways disturbing. It all comes together at the end with a little twist, so pay attention to detail. I saw this one by myself in a somewhat empty theater, so that didn’t do me any favors. Check it out. Not as good as “Get Out”, but almost.

Rating (***1/2)

The first female led film in the MCU is another solid entry. They just keep churning them out. The strength of this one was Brie Larson. She’s in almost virtually every scene and takes the character and runs with it. She brings a lot of charisma to the role as she takes on a pivotal part in the mythology. A lot of the film takes place in the mid 90’s and that is when the film is at its best and easily most fun. This is before the Avengers initiative gets started. There’s a bunch of fun stuff like slow downloading computers, Blockbuster video, Radio Shack is still around, beepers & Nine Inch Nail t-shirts. I loved it all. Samuel Jackson, with 2 good eyes, is along for the ride and he’s much of the comic relief. The film moves along pretty well. There is some periods of the movie which I found mundane and a little dull. Much of that revolves around the Annette Bening character, who I thought was miscast. I didn’t really buy her role. There is a kitty in this and he/she steals the film. Just don’t get too close because Goose isn’t your average household pussycat. There are 2 cookies (extra scenes) during the credits. One of which is very important, while the other is just plain funny. So don’t leave early.

Rating: ***

There are 2 documentaries about this failed music festival that came out right around the same time. I watched this one, while the other can be viewed on Hulu. This is a fascinating story. A spoiled rich millenial named Billy McFarland with way too much time and money hooks up with Ja Rule and decides to put on a lavish music festival on a private island, which he purchased, in the Bahamas. He sets up a huge promotional campaign aimed at rich millenials to lure them and spend hoards of cash with a promise of models, celebrities, music, beautiful places to stay, plenty of booze and a experience to remember for eternity. This was supposed to be the “shit”. Well, they got it half right because it all turned to shit and hundreds and hundreds of young folks got snookered as the whole event fell apart from nothing short of disorganization, manipulation and greediness from a spoiled rich kid. I found it odd that so many kids would want to spend all this money, and were talking thousands of dollars, to see Blink 182 and a bunch of other crappy bands. The lure was like the pied piper, but done with lavish websites and pretty sandy beaches. The documentary tells the story very meticulously and and how it all comes together and unravels is fascinating. What I also found interesting is once this guy was finally arrested and sent to home confinement (in his penthouse BTW), he began selling bogus tickets to the same people who he screwed over with the festival. Unbelievable. Check this movie out because it’s really an interesting story that made headlines and has now become a punchline.

Rating ***1/2

While working on the Avatar sequels, James Cameron took time out of his busy schedule to produce a very cool looking sci-fi film based on a Japanese graphic novel. The film has a lot of style and vision, plenty of action and is loaded with interesting characters. But what is this movie really about and who is this movie marketed for? The story is all over the place. We get a really interesting set-up, but nothing is really drawn out and I wanted to know more about some of these guys. It’s also quite violent for a PG-13 movie which I’ve seen marketed for kids. It’s not overly graphic to gain an R, but we get some pretty good kills including a guy cut in half. Appropriate for a graphic novel, however. This isn’t a bad movie, but it has lots of problems with the script and its too long. I wish the film was tighter and more contrite and you’d have a better film. I saw it in IMAX 3-D because that’s how it was marketed. You can skip the 3-D. It’s cool at times, but not really worth the extra coin. Suitable for 10 and up.

Rating (**1/2)