Movie Title:       Book Club Grade:  B- Rating: PG-13, 104 minutes In a Nutshell:  I guess you could say that this movie puts the sex back into the word “sexagenarian", although the majority of the leading ladies are in their 70's and 80's. Sex is the main focus of this movie which, honestly, disappointed me because this talented cast could have done so much more.  There are so many interesting topics that could have been explored to develop the characters better. The stellar cast includes four Oscar winners and two nominees: Jane Fonda, Diane K ..read more

Movie Title:       Deadpool 2 Grade:   B+ Rating: R, 119 minutes In a Nutshell:   Marvel is on a roll.  The X-Force team assembles under the guidance of the most disrespectful, irreverent superhero ever, Deadpool, played expertly by Ryan Reynolds. As Ryan Reynolds says in the movie, “The Academy’s watching.”  The sequel is definitely bigger....is it better than the first?  Umm....probably not.  Did it make me laugh?  Definitely.                         ..read more

Movie Title:  Traffik Grade:  C- Rating: R, 1 hour 36 minutes In a Nutshell:    I was in the Las Vegas airport recently and saw a sign on the bathroom door stall that gave an emergency phone number for women who were trapped in human trafficking.   The number is 1-8888-3737-888.   That’s a fantastic idea and easy number to remember, but I wonder how many girls who get kidnapped happen to have a cell phone on them.  Right? At the end of the movie, it says, “It is estimated there are 1.9 million women being trafficked in the United States.&nb ..read more

Movie Title:     Overboard Grade:   B Rating: PG-13, 110 minutes In a Nutshell:   It has been many years since I saw the original Gary Marshall movie  Overboard starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, but I remember thinking it was a charming Rom-com.   The good news is that there is some charm to this remake, but the bad news is that it's not a great movie. There is a funny running gag about Mexican soap operas.  Now that I think of it, the movie kind of feels like a goofy 1980’s Mexican soap opera.     &nbs ..read more

Movie Title:     Breaking In Grade:  C- Rating: PG-13,       88 minutes In a Nutshell:  Just in time for Mother’s Day, Gabrielle Union does a good job showing us what any mama bear will do to protect her cubs.   Unfortunately, the action-thriller movie is predictable and even toned down to earn the PG-13 rating. Tips for parents:  While I was glad there weren’t a lot of F-bombs (there is 1), it was a bit odd to hear one of the bad guys use the word “friggin.” The intensity of peril at that point becomes laughable.  ..read more

Movie Title:        Isle of Dogs Grade:   A- Rating: PG-13, 101 minutes In a Nutshell:  I went to Japan with my family last summer for the first time.  It was so amazing that I know it won’t be the last time.  I absolutely loved it.  The ground crew at the airport in Tokyo actually bowed in unison to all of the passengers on our airplane right before we took off.  I mean, how could you not love a country that does that? My kids went crazy for Japan too.  It’s an incredible country with so much to offer, so I really got a k ..read more

Movie Title:     I Can Only Imagine Grade:  B Rating: PG, 1 hour 50 minutes In a Nutshell: Imagine what it would be like to walk with Jesus.  That’s the crux of the story line of this movie and the best-selling song by the popular Christian band “Mercy Me.”  Timed perfectly for release during the Easter season, its opening weekend earned an impressive 17.1 million dollars, making it Roadside Attractions' biggest box office debut to date. I Can Only Imagine - The Very Best of MercyMe is the most played Christian song of all time.  Want to talk ..read more

Movie Title:   Blumhouse's Truth or Dare Grade:   D for dumb Rating: PG-13 In a Nutshell:  Brought to the Big Screen by the same producers as the award winning Get Out   and Happy Death Day this horror teen flick scored a terrible 15% on Rotten Tomatoes for being lame.   It's so bad that I can see teens renting it on Red Box so they can laugh at it in their mom’s basement while snacking on Cheetos on a Friday night.                                 Tips ..read more

Movie Title:    Avengers: Infinity War Grade:  A Rating: PG-13, 156 minutes  (the longest Marvel film to date) In a Nutshell:  Starring…well….EVERYONE!  All of your favorite Marvel superheroes get spotlighted, a difficult task that the Russo brothers capably tackled. As the 19th film released by Marvel Studios in the past 10 years or so, with more to hit the Big Screen next month and into the summer of 2018, clearly, Marvel is the big boy at the Box Office. I've been looking forward to this movie for a long time and I don't want to include a bunch of ..read more

Guess who is speaking at the LDSPMA writers' conference in November? ME!!! Oh yeah, and my new best friend Orson Scott Card! Check out the impressive list of other speakers. It's going to be awesome! Come join us! https://www.ldspma.org/2018-ldspma-annual-conference ..read more