​I probably never would have watched this movie if it weren't for my podcast partner Chris.  I'm occasionally into artsy and introspective movies, but this one just didn't really appeal to me.  It's not even that I don't like Brie Larsen, I like her fine.  I enjoyed Captain Marvel and have seen a few of her other indie films and haven't been disappointed yet. 


I just wasn't into this one.


We are following Kit as she is kicked out of art school for being what we are to perceive as "too glittery".  I have to tell you, the chances that she got into art school with the type of art she was putting out seems pretty slim.  I have only a cursory knowledge of what you'd have to present as a portfolio and her stuff isn't it.  Anyway…what do I know, I'm just a random blogger.


So Kit fails out of art school and ends up back at her parent's home.  Within 24 hours, they are already on her case about what she's going to do with her life.  After some harassment, she finally decides to join a temp agency who place her with a public relations firm (but it's really an advertising firm?).  While this is occurring, she also gets these invitations to come to the Unicorn Store where she meets the Salesman (Samuel L Jackson) who takes her through the process to become a Unicorn owner.


Kit starts having a purpose and meets a guy in the hardware store and convinces him to help her build a stable out of her old playhouse in the backyard.


Things go right, things go wrong, and at the end of this movie you're left with an ending you completely expected.


I didn't hate this movie.  I got a little frustrated with the blending of the magical and the metaphorical and reality.  Both Kit and her parents (played by Bradley Whitford and Joan Cusak, arguably the best characters in the movie) were all over the place in personalities.  In one scene they are calm and understanding, the next they're going against character and berating and throwing barbs at each other.


Is Kit crazy? Did she just have an active imagination?  I still don't know.


I feel like you have to be a super fan of one of these actors to seek this out…or be my podcast partner Chris.  We're reviewing this one for the podcast soon, so it should be interesting to see what everyone else thinks.

Mom and I went to the movies yesterday as we tend to do on Sundays.  This week we decided to go and see MIB International starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and Liam Neeson.


The movie follows Molly, who as a young girl, encounters the MIB one night in Brooklyn.  She makes it her life's mission to discover the MIB and become a part of their organization.  Once she finds them, she talks her way into becoming a probationary agent and is then sent on assignment to London as there is a problem in that office.


Here she meets Agent H who is the office "pretty boy" and who has a reputation for having saved the world.  He's a lone wolf character with a party guy attitude.  Molly, now Agent M, manipulates him into letting her help on a mission that he's been given.  Together they uncover that there is a mole within the organization whose goal is to end the world as we know it.


The bad guys in this movie are probably one of the best things about it.  They are sufficiently creepy, have exceptional powers; and when they are in their natural form, they look like nebula from space.


There are several misdirects to keep you guessing as to how it will end and while I did feel like it was sort of predictable, it kept me guessing enough to where I didn't mind the way it played out.


This is not your original MIB, there isn't as much humor as I would have liked and the little alien played by Kumail Nanjiani is probably the funniest thing in the whole movie. There's a little bit of heart in here, but a lot of the movie felt stiff.   By expanding the MIB to be international, they definitely opened up a lot of doors for the future.


Overall though, it was just OK.  This isn't a must see and if you do want to see it, maybe wait until it comes out on digital or DVD.  It's not one that you need to rush out an see, but it was an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.

I can't tell you that this is like Moulin Rouge. Or Bohemian Rhapsody.  Both are their own animals.  But if you could somehow find a way to mash those feelings together.  Maybe throw in a little Across the Universe…?

You'd have Rocketman.

Rocketman is of course the story of Elton John's rise to stardom and struggle with addiction.

We first see Elton as young Reginald where he and his family discover that he is a musical savant.  He's able to hear  and play music in a way few can.  This isn't a straight musical where the entire movie is sung, but there's dancing in the streets and blasting off into space.  There's a small child pretending to be a conductor when he should be sleeping and he's (and you) can see the orchestra in front of him.  This is about where I started my low level tears.

We follow Elton through the beginning of his career and sexual awakening.  Meeting his writing partner Bernie.  Trying to find love and only finding the bottom of a bottle.

The film touches on everything.  It does what every good movie should do.  It's visually compelling, contains joy and sadness; and helps you connect to a man that you may only know as a performer.

I absolutely will be seeing this again.  Having the actors sing the music themselves instead of having the original tracks play made a big difference with this one.  The only thing that would have made it any better would be if they had gone Les Miz style and had the actors singing on set.  Taron Egerton does such a fantastic mimic of Elton John that you can almost forget what the original music sounded like.

If you don't like musicals or Elton John music, you're going to have a bad time.  Otherwise, enjoy the ride.