Special: Moxie, The Little Things, One Night In Miami... Mini-Reviews

Moxie:

Synopsis: Vivian (Hadley Robinson), a seemingly shy 16-year-old, has always preferred to keep her head down and fly under the radar. But when the arrival of a new student (Alycia Pascual-Peña) forces her to examine the unchecked behavior of her fellow students running rampant at her high school, Vivian realizes she's fed up. Inspired by her mother's (Amy Poehler) rebellious past, Vivian anonymously publishes an underground zine called Moxie to expose bias and wrongdoing in her high school, and unexpectedly sparks a movement. Now at the center of a revolution, Vivian begins to forge new friendships with other young women and allies, reaching across the divide of cliques and clubs as they learn to navigate the highs and lows of high school together.

My thoughts: As a white male who fully realizes his priviledge, this tale set against the backdrop of sexism and (to a lesser degree) racism really spoke to me more than most movies about this subject. Maybe it's because it was in a high school setting where I recognize some of the happenings mirroring things I saw happen in high school. Anyone can pick something out of this, whether it's the mistreatment of certain groups or to learn how to become an ally to a cause. Equal parts heartwarming and rage inducing, Moxie should not be missed.

Final verdict: 4.5 zines out of 5.

The Little Things:

Synopsis: Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who's terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culprit, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke's past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.

My thoughts: It's been a while since I saw a slow burn thriller like this and The Little Things makes me miss the style even more as it's far from perfect. The cast are solid throughout (which you can see based on the poster it would be). But the pacing and director John Lee Hancock is uneven (a normal complaint about his work). The ending was solid, though I can see a bunch of people being mad about it. Jumping into these characters psyche's was my favourite part and I was left satisfied come the end credits but I wonder what could've been if wound up a little tighter overall.

Final verdict: 3.5 hair clips out of 5.

One Night In Miami...

Synopsis: On one incredible night in 1964, four icons of sports, music, and activism gathered to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. When underdog Cassius Clay, soon to be called Muhammad Ali, (Eli Goree), defeats heavy weight champion Sonny Liston at the Miami Convention Hall, Clay memorialized the event with three of his friends: Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge).

My thoughts: Generally in period drama's accuracy comes into play... But director Regina King says fuck that in her directorial debut. The cast is strong and the story is poignant however I can't help but feel they pulled us in multiple different directions without much purpose and the film was longer than it needed to be.

Final verdict: 3.5 what ifs out of 5.

Special: Inside Out/Ted 2/Spy Mini-Reviews

Inside Out:

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions - Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley's mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley's main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.

My thoughts? The exploration of the human mind of a 12 year old girl lead by her eccentric and colourful emotions was a lot more fun than I expected it to be. I was fortunate enough to know about the "sadness" this movie entailed, and no I don't mean Riley's somber emotion, I mean the emotional punch of the movie, so when it happened it was expected and it hot me less than Up, Toy Story 3 or How To Train Your Dragon 2. Overall it was one of Pixar's better films in my eyes as the animation and voice-acting was top notch to go along with an original, albeit difficult, story to tell. Inside Out is a complex piece of art that will appeal to both children and adults alike, in other words it's typical Pixar.

Final verdict: 4 out of 5 emotions.

Ted 2:

Newlywed couple Ted and Tami-Lynn want to have a baby, but in order to qualify to be a parent, Ted will have to prove he's a person in a court of law.

My thoughts? Like it's predecessor Ted 2 is absurd and hilarious most of the time. There are points when it reaches too far and crosses a line it shouldn't but in the end we forgive it. What it lacked that it's predecessor nailed was it's ability to take this bonkers scenario and have the audience want to invest emotionally into the characters. When it does eventually try to flip the switch in the third act it's not a smooth transition and it leaves us feeling disconnected and worst of all we are no longer laughing. Luckily they throw in a thunder buddy reference for the first time in the film and all is forgiven. I'd be amiss to say that Ted was a great movie but I'd be lying if I said I never laughed during it's nearly 2 hour runtime.

Final verdict: Barely 4 out of 5 bongs.

Spy:

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency's most dangerous missions. But when her partner (Jude Law) falls off the grid and another top agent (Jason Statham) is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent a global disaster.

My thoughts? I'm not really a McCarthy fan, outside of her brilliant role in Hangover III I'd have to say my favourite film has been The Heat, a movie I'd probably grade a 3. But I'm happy to say Spy won me over, sure she's still playing essentially the same role but this time she brings style and a slew of on-point co-stars to the party. Statham hasn't done anything to write home about recently but this role reminds me of the old Ritchie flicks that made me like him in the first place. Law is as charming as ever and Byrne plays the bad guy role so well, surprising since we never get to see her do that. The script is paced well and the director never misses a shot.

Final verdict: 4 out of 5 intelligence agencies.