Star Trek Beyond...

I totally loved it. As my wife said, "They got their interpersonal banter back." To be honest, I think that the new crew has stepped it up to top-notch specifically because this movie not only pay homage to the original cast and crew, but it also memorializes BOTH Leonard Nimoy and Antonin Yelchin, both of whom have worked with this crew in real life. This is not lost on anyone, not Trekkers, Trekkies, or those who made this film. The film has a great plot with a cool twist at the end. Additionally, they were able to recapture the innate sense of goodness, hope, campy humor, and serious social discussion that were a part of the original series, STNG, and the original movies. I haven't loved a Star Trek movie quite this much since they pulled whales out of time and took them into space before putting them back where they belong. 10/10 Oh, the poster? I won a tee shirt in a pre-screening trivia contest by correctly answering "Iowa" to the question "In which State was Captain James Tiberius Kirk born?" Me being me, and the tee shirt being only an XL, not a 2XLT, I traded it for one of the very-limited-edition Carmike Cinemas promo posters tossed into the crowd and caught by a young lady two rows down from us. Of course my lovely wife helped with the negotiations, and everyone went home both happy and thrilled.

Purple Rain...

Released in 1984, Purple Rain is a time capsule. It haunts for multiple reasons if you are a member of a certain age group, and because Prince is recently gone if not. When I saw it the first time in the 1980's, I saw it on HBO, on the small screen. I remember it being powerful for the musical brilliance and for the emotional intensity even then. It's more so on the big screen. I think we were lucky to have seen this in the theater. The acting is raw and un-trained, the people beautiful and intense. For all that, it will be a few days before the title song stops playing in my mind. The violence and sexuality are stronger and a touch darker than I remember, but nothing by today's standards. In the end, you fall in love with the music all over again, and appreciate the power of the stage performances by both Prince and Morris Day. A glorious tribute to feet moving and the lost glam of beauties with big hair in soft clouds, this definitely gets the musical and nostalgia votes, and I'll take the acting for the small independent thing that this movie was. It's a work of art in a different sense than high drama or anything else that comes your way in recent years. It's hard to believe it was 32 years ago. Excuse me if I feel my feet wanting to move...yeah, dance and music can have a bit of mysticism to them. 9/10

Dan

Gods Of Egypt:

Gods Of Egypt: I'm going to have to start rating multiple categories to capture how this movie hit me. I went in expecting a little bit of campiness / cheesyness, and the film definitely delivered. It also delivered on special effects and cinematography. If you want fun, go see this. If you want seriousness, don't. If you want historical and mythological accuracy , forget it. The scenes were big and awesome, the acting was cheesy and humorous. So here come the categories:
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Mythogeny: (How much did they diverge from mythological accuracy) 7/10
Seriousity: (How seriously can you take this film) 3/10
Cheesity: 7/10
Cinematography: 10/10
CGI/FX: 9/10
Acting: 5/10
Hot Bodity: 7/10
Skin: 4/10
Plot/Story: 5/10
Overall: 6/10

The Lady In The Van

Cantankerous. Odiferous. Odious. Outrageous. Outlandish, tetched, schizoid, obsessive, obtuse, obnoxious, and twitchy. These folk can not possibly be muggles, there is just too much magic. Maggie Smith blows my mind, but so does her male...benefactor, for lack of a better word. This film (Because it's too good to be called a "flick") has the depth and breadth of the ocean in one little driveway. I never expected to laugh where I did, but it happened. I have to be careful of spoilers, but the ending is so O.M.G. that I'm still awed. Forget the marigolds, and hold onto your piano for dear life. If there's not an oscar in one of those bags, it will be a canonizing miracle. 10/10, and it will steal your heart.

The Dark Knight Rises

Awesome. Involved, dark and light contrasting on many levels. Acting was fantastic. Effects phenominal. The flying Batmobile was extremely cool. Ann Hathaway was smoking hot as Catwoman. The geek factor was awsome. I've never seen a better blend of Geek with Goth, anywhere. Even Bane was pretty good. The main twist was well-hidden. 9/10.

It was also fun wearing my brand-new Dark Knight Rises t-shirt to the show.

Dan