Widows – Review

Widows – Budget of $42 million – 2 hours and 9 minutes

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Veronica sits at home thinking of the husband, Harry, she lost when she hears a knock at the door.  Potential Alderman Jamal Manning muscles his way in.  Before Harry died, he blew up in a car carrying $2 million of Jamal’s campaign money.  He wants it back.  Veronica knows he means business because this alderman hopeful is a mob guy trying to go “legit”.  He has learned that police come after the mob with guns but go after the government with subpoenas.  In addition, they have the power to give jobs to whomever he wants and for any amount of money.  With that power, he can control the ward more than any mobster could dream.  He wants his money now or Veronica is dead.  Veronica gets a key with a message from her driver Bash.  Harry wanted Veronica to have it in case anything happened to him.  The key opens a safe deposit box.  Inside is a notebook of all of Harry’s past, current, and future plans.  Veronica decides to get the widows of Henry’s crew to help with Harry’s final heist.  Linda believed she owned a dress shop.  However, when her husband Carlos died, she learned he owed bookies and gave them the store as collateral.  Once he died, the payments stopped.  So, they took the store back.  Alice, who was constantly abused by her husband Jon, wants to get a regular job.  Now that he is gone, her mother wants her to use her looks to be a sugar baby.   Amanda wants to help but she is too busy with an infant since her husband Jimmy died.  With only 3 women involved, they still need a driver.  Linda asks Belle to join.  Belle is a single mother that works 2 jobs.  She needs the money and is willing to do anything for it.  Veronica has her team in place but has no idea how many players were involved in Harry schemes.  This one goes to the top and back.

You will jump more than a horror movie with all the shocks.  You can’t blink in this movie or be late because you will miss a crucial moment to everything these women do and how it gets done.  You will have real OMG moments when each step of Harry’s plan is revealed.  But that’s not the only mystery.  Harry’s plan is written in clues, so the women must uncover the plan before they execute it.  This movie has several surprises but one you will never see coming.  So see this movie before it is revealed to you.  You know it won’t be given here!  Now, to be honest it has one of the worst kisses in movie history and a slow build up to Veronica’s motivation.  Other than that, it still has strong performance and a raw storyline.  This is one to see in theaters.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars

What if we say no – Alice

I don’t need a vouch – Belle

You risk your life. You piss it away as well – Linda

How are you – Veronica

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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – Review

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – Budget of $200 million – 2 hours and 14 minutes

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Newt has lost the right to travel internationally, so he sits with the British Ministry of Magic to convince the powers that be to restore them.  They are willing to do it but only if he works for his brother Theseus.  Theseus is on the hunt for Credence.  The BMM believes that Credence is the long lost brother of Leta, Theseus fiance and Newt’s old Hogwarts’s friend.  Credence is a pure-blood wizard and the only wizard alive that can kill Albus Dumbledore.  Since Grindelwald broke out of prison 3 months ago, they know it is only a matter of time before Grindelwald finds Credence.  While Grindelwald wants to turn Credence into a weapon, Newt knows the BMM wants to kill him.  Newt doesn’t want to choose sides, so he rejects the offer.  After Newt leaves, he is summoned by Dumbledore.  Dumbledore knows Credence is in Paris to search for his birth mother.  He wants Newt to find Credence and help him.  Newt decides to help and he isn’t the only one on Credence’s heels.  Tina is looking for him too.  Secrets will be revealed, sides will be chosen, and everyone will lose.

This is a story that only J.K. Rowlings can deliver.  With great special effects and a strong cast, you will be engrossed in the story.  While seeing Harry Potter is not necessary, you must see the first Fantastic Beast movie to understand Credence and Newt (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer).  While there aren’t as many beasts as the first, there is plenty of new beasts to see.  But don’t fret, you will still get your Niffler, even some baby ones.  With everything in its favor, it still runs too long.  Some of the scenes could have been shortened or removed and the movie would still work.  Even with the heavy running time, something felt missing to connect Newt to Dumbledore.  So much time was spent explaining Newt’s relationship with Leta, that you feel cheated on Dumbledore/Newt connection.  A better storyline was sacrificed for the effects.  While Dolby isn’t necessary, IMAX is a great option.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars

Did he actually say the words ‘majestry family’? – Leta

I do enjoy a view – Dumbledore

Ah, I always wanted to go here – Jacob

So needy – Grindelwald

Tina was here – Newt

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Instant Family – Review

Instant Family – Budget of $49 million – 1 hour and 59 minutes

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Pete and Ellie flip homes and found the perfect home for Ellie’s sister and her husband.  They wonder why Pete and Ellie don’t want their home for themselves but remember the couple didn’t want children.  It was at that moment that Ellie gave a “look” that her family and husband noticed.  Knowing her sister has had complications getting pregnant, Ellie thinks about adoption.  Pete brushes it off with a sly comment until he comes home and sees her crying at the computer.  She has been looking at photos of children waiting for adoption online and can’t believe how many children are in the system.  When Ellie walks away, Pete takes a look at the screen and is moved into action.  The couple starts to take adoption classes.  Once they pass, they go to a “meet and greet” to set up potential parents with kids.  They start to look at the younger kids but can’t make a connection.  Pete tries to talk to the teens but Ellie stops them.  Overhearing the conversation, Lizzy lets them know exactly how the teens feel.  They instantly feel a connection to Lizzy.  They want to adopt Lizzy but they are presented with Lizzy’s two siblings, Lita and Juan.  Their mother is a drug addict and in a jail.  She has not attempted to reconnect with her children.  Lizzy is headstrong and played mommy to her younger siblings since she was 10.  Juan is clumsy but when corrected he constantly apologizes and cries.  Lita only eats potato chips and will throw horrific tantrums.  In the honeymoon stage, Pete and Ellie believe they are the exception to adoption rules.  But when the honeymoon is over, everything hits the fan.  And just when they get a grip on family life, the children’s mother comes back.

This is a true and honest look at adoption.  From the decision to the classes to the adoption to the love, you are with the family every step of the way.  The statistics presented in this movie are staggering and heartbreaking.  The kids who age out of the system end up addicted, in jail, or dead within a few years.  Most just want a home, but after a certain age, no one will adopt them.   You will get misty-eyed when you see Juan and Lita’s numerous court bears.  There should have been some emphasis on what lead their mother down the wrong path and what made her pull away from reunification.  This movie won’t scare you from adoption but it will shine a light on the children, their coping mechanisms, and why it’s hard for them to bond.  Please visit InstantFamily.org to help children in foster care today.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars

I’m so sorry about the Blindside comment – Ellie

Don’t tell me how to treat my kids. Mind your business – Lita

What about the white savior thing – Pete

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