I was a little apprehensive about a Mummy remake when I heard about it since I quite liked the 90's version with Brendan Fraser. But I like Tom Cruise enough when he's headlining a blockbuster, so I gave this the benefit of the doubt...however, it was kind of a hot mess. This rendition of The Mummy was intended to be the first entry in an expanded universe of classic movie monsters. It follows Cruise's character Nick, is a mercenary who along with his bumbling friend Chris (Jake Johnson) and archaeologist love interest (Annabelle Wallis) stumble on the tomb of an evil Egyptian Princess. And of course, they unknowingly set her loose on the world. Only through the help of a secretive organized group with special interests of their own will they be able to find a way to defeat the evil she's unleashed. I never found myself hating this movie, but it certainly had its fair share of eye rolls. It was hard to take seriously....not that the movie wanted me to. In fact, I'm not really sure what tone the movie was going for because it could never really make up its mind. So... I didn't hate it but thought this one could have been much more focused. RATING: 6/10

In critics eyes, and perhaps audience's as well, DC has been on the down slide for awhile and losing the war to Marvel in cinematic adaptations. Last year, both major releases that DC's cinematic universe hinged on (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad respectively,) were not just panned, but destroyed by critics. I myself enjoyed Batman V Superman, despite the negative reactions of others, but felt that Suicide Squad itself tried to "Marvelize" itself too much and became a hot mess of studio interference. Now here comes Wonder Woman, whose brief appearance by Gal Gadot in Batman V Superman was undoubtedly one of its highlights. After the mess that was Suicide Squad, and the poor reception to Batman V Superman, I was unsure how good it would actually be, let alone that it could actually be received well. Much to my delight, the reviews so far have proven Wonder Woman to be loved by all, so I was very much encouraged heading into my screening. Wonder Woman gives us the origin story of Diana, an Amazonian princess raised on an island of powerful warrior women. Nothing much changes in her world until the arrival of a lost World War I soldier named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) who unwittingly brings the war to their paradisaical island. Feeling she can stop the God of War responsible for The Great War currently happening on the planet, she accompanies Steve to London and learns all about humanity and the ugliness of war. She also learns about who she is and her destiny. Wonder Woman, so far, is the most delightful blockbuster of the summer. Gal Gadot really brought this famous heroine to life and she was so much fun to watch on screen. I found the fight scenes empowering and the human scenes warm and amiable. Her chemistry with Chris Pine is really what made this film work and I loved all of their interactions with one another. And while I know the fish out of water thing has been done a lot particularly in superhero films, but seeing Wonder Woman in 1910's London was really fun. I found myself cracking up quite a bit. All in all, Wonder Woman is a triumph for the superhero genre (as well as DC) and an incredibly important film in this day and age. It was really amazing to have such a strong, powerful heroine up on the screen to be the role model that so many girls have longed to have. While this is not the first film of its kind to feature a female lead, it honestly is probably the best of its kind. RATING: 8.5/10

Out now is the sequel to Prometheus which itself was the prequel to Alien. Prometheus was critically received well, though general audiences had a much more mixed reaction. So it will be interesting to see whether or not Alien: Covenant will be greeted with a warmer reception. Alien: Covenant takes place ten years after the events of Prometheus. A group of astronauts are sent on a mission to colonize a brand new planet. But when a new planet appears and they receive a transmitted message from it, the astronauts vote to explore the new planet to see if it would be the better candidate of a place to live. They'll realize their mistake soon enough when each of them come in contact with the deadly alien species that are among the inhabitants of the planet. I had such a fun time with this movie. It was like the horror equivalent of Jurassic Park (or maybe The Lost World with the monster hunting scene in the field...), which means that once it started going it was an absolute thrill ride. Plus, it features an amazingly fascinating and off the wall performance by Michael Fassbender that makes you incredibly excited to see where the franchise could go next. This film makes Prometheus better, and I honestly am so excited to see what the next chapter will bring. RATING: 8/10

Why am I bothering with a Marvel movie you may ask? Because my fiance (unfortunately) happens to love them. Everyone and their dog loved the first Guardians of the Galaxy except myself so I certainly wasn't looking forward to this, however, I actually enjoyed this one much more than the first one... mostly because they didn't rely on the "I am Groot" gimmick quite as much. Baby Groot was definitely more tolerable than his adult counterpart. The movie was empty popcorn fun that made me laugh a couple times, but the plot boiled down to its core was pretty much the equivalent of a 90s sitcom if you think about it. For example, replacing its characters with those of Full House, a plot described as "that episode where Kimmy Gibbler finds her long lost father and Michelle gets in trouble for stealing something" seems more suited for the small screen sitcom than a big screen blockbuster. RATING: 6/10

Over the years, as Disney has begun remaking each of their former animated classics, I've discovered that my reactions to these remakes fall along a wide scale. There's the one I detest (Maleficent) and the one I adore (Cinderella,) and everything in between (the ambivalence of The Jungle Book and Alice in Wonderland falls here.) From the previews, I got the sense that this film, unlike Maleficent, stayed incredibly true to the source material...so that had to be a good thing right? But the more I saw, the more it seemed that the film was just a literal reenactment of the animated film with little else to offer. After finally seeing it, the best thing I can say is that I didn't feel outraged as I watched it that it was a total ripoff....but I definitely didn't fall in love with it like I did Cinderella either. Beauty and the Beast is a mixed bag. There are things that it gets right (such as the production design and costumes which really bring the fairy tale to life) and many things that made me scratch my head. Time to air some grievances. Emma Watson certainly makes a likable enough Belle, but she really isn't much of a singer. In fact, some of the musical sequences are the weakest part of the film because they're either TOO much like the original (the opening song Belle being one of the greatest offenders,) or they're new songs that don't manage to resonate or recapture the magic to belong alongside the other classic tunes. Too often the new songs are used to compensate for character development, and in a live action film that just didn't work for me. In many scenes, these new songs are used as placeholders for why characters make certain decisions, or why they feel a certain way...but it just comes across as hollow when some well thought out dialogue could have done the trick and shaved off a few more minutes from the runtime. Other random complaints include that the beast's CGI is a bit all over the place, Emma Thompson plays her part as if just doing a terrible impression of Angela Lansbury, and some of the CGI designs of the furniture just are kinda ugly (again sorry Mrs. Potts.) The film is best when it's trying not to rely too hard on its source material (minus the new songs), but when in doubt, it is certainly what the filmmakers fall back on. It feels a bit lazy, but at the same time....it's not exactly an unpleasant film experience. I never found myself hating it. I'm sure that's not the greatest praise, but to be honest, I expected this to be as bad as Psycho 1999! Of course I wish it took more risks like Cinderella did, in just making the story their own, yet still honoring the classic its based upon. I feel like ditching the musical aspect of this would have helped, but alas. The filmmakers were too scared to do anything but pay respect to the animated film. RATING: 6.5/10

Three years ago, The Lego Movie came out and pretty much surprised everyone. Unfortunately this time around, the surprisingly good factor wasn't something that could really happen with The Lego Batman Movie, since Batman ended up stealing all the scenes in The Lego Movie. Basically it was hard for anyone not to have expectations. Because of this, I didn't think there was any way for The Lego Batman Movie to live up to the movie it spun off from. The Lego Batman Movie chronicles the adventures of Bruce Wayne, and his altar ego Batman as he constantly saves Gotham City from crime. His world is turned upside down when Commissioner Jim Gordon retires and appoints his daughter Barbara, who has a much different view on Batman being the sole person the city relies on to solve their problems, to take his place. Batman prefers to work alone and doesn't want to have any attachment of any kind, or to allow anyone into his life. But when Joker unleashes a terrible chaos onto the city (featuring almost every villain you can think of,) Batman must reconsider the value of being a part of a bigger team. The Lego Batman Movie is an incredibly funny and enjoyable film. Any Batman fan will totally enjoy this movie because there are homages galore to all of his past movies. However, as fun of a protagonist that Lego Batman is (and yes there's a reason he was one of the highlights in The Lego Movie,) we perhaps get too big of a dose of him here. He was a great supporting character, but having him as the lead wasn't quite as fun as having the more humble everyman Emmet from The Lego Movie. Still, Arnett is absolutely hilarious in this role, and it's fun to see him interacting with his Bat family. Michael Cera's Robin was a fun addition too and brings a good dynamic between the two, but I found myself a little underwhelmed by Rosario Dawson's Barbara Gordon. Still, there's more than enough hilarious cameos to rival the first movie...and it's just really fun to think that the Lego Movie universe is one where almost any single crossover is possible (aside from Marvel....and yes the "Iron Man Sucks!" joke was one of my favorites.) The action that results because of these combinations is seriously fun and it certainly makes me excited for any future Lego installments. So while everything is most definitely awesome, it doesn't quite surprise you the way the first one did. But it's still solidly fun and enjoyable in its own right to be sure. RATING: 8.5/10

Crown Heights is all about the real life story of a man who was wrongfully convicted for murder in the 1980's. His best friend knows that he is innocent, and spends a few decades of his life trying to prove it. The filmmakers behind Crown Heights wisely decided to capitalize off of the success of Serial and Making a Murderer in deciding to tell this story, that it's no surprise a movie about wrongful imprisonment won the Audience Award at Sundance. Seeing one more injustice in the world is something that resonated with audiences, and the efforts one man made to make it right are definitely inspiring. The story was told a little differently than I expected, with a lot less focus on his original trial, and a lot more about his many years in prison. The second half of the film shifts the focus even further, as the best friend working on his case almost becomes the new main character. At first it was a little odd to me to have the trial over so quickly and not knowing where the film would go, but towards the end as the film concludes its story, I appreciated that decision. It allows the climax of the film to be a lot more impactful, and a lot more interesting. Crown Heights is a solid film. It features great performances and a simple, but fascinating story. The two men's plight, one in prison, and the other in his own mental prison until he frees his friend are definitely stories worth telling. Another thing I was intrigued by was that our protagonist was in fact a criminal, just not a murderer, which took the film to other interesting ethical dilemmas. Crown Heights will definitely make an impact on those who view it, but probably isn't one of the strongest winners to come out of Sundance in recent years. RATING: 8/10

Rememory takes place in a distant future where an invention has been made that can extract pure, unfiltered memories. Unfortunately, the creator of the invention dies under mysterious circumstances before it is released to the public, so a man named Sam Bloom (Peter Dinklage) who has a vested interest in the machine, takes it upon himself to solve the puzzle. After befriending the inventor's widow and "borrowing" the prototype machine, he looks through the recorded memories for clues to figure out what really happened, as well as to solve some of his own inner demons. Rememory is such a great concept that it's a little disappointing that the filmmakers took it in the easiest route that they could: a simple whodunnit. That doesn't mean it's not an interesting or good film, it's just that it doesn't live up to the potential of its premise. There are so many more fascinating places that this film could have gone with exploring the power of memory. The film definitely touches on some interesting ideas, and in particular, the revelations in the latter half of the film are good. I just couldn't help but wish I could see more movies set in this world, with much different genre focuses. Still, for what the film actually is, I do feel that it was well made and entertaining enough. It's just not something that's going to stay with me for a long time like it could have. Peter Dinklage certainly gives it his all, and of course, it was nice to see Anton Yelchin again in one of his final roles even if it wasn't the most fleshed out part. RATING: 7.5/10

Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara play a young couple whose love story seemingly ends abruptly when he dies in A Ghost Story. Affleck's character, who is simply listed as C in the credits, discovers his existence still continues after death, but unfortunately, it consists of witnessing life silently under a sheet. Restricted to the confines of his house, he's forced to watch his former lover grieve extensively. If there's one thing to know about this movie upfront, it's that all scenes (and shots really) are incredibly drawn out and the film really revels in its simplicity and taking its time. In an early scene in the film, we witness the couple cuddling and it seems so earnest and sincere, and the length of it makes the audience feel uncomfortable--like we're intruding on their intimacy. It's the type of film that asks a lot of its audience because most of the scenes give you plenty of time to think. Also, when discussing Affleck's performance, it's hard to know what to say where his face isn't visible for 90% of the movie. Nor does he talk either. The film is practically a silent film as there is maybe only 10 minutes of dialogue total all throughout. A Ghost Story is absolutely not a film for everyone. In fact, I'd definitely say that there is a very small audience for this film. It definitely knows it's an artsy movie and embraces that to a degree that is definitely alienating to a mainstream audience. But Ghost Story definitely doesn't care. However, even indie-loving audiences might find the constant long drawn out scenes to be pretty tedious to sit through. I can certainly understand audiences finding A Ghost Story to be a frustrating film experience, but at the same time, I can't help but admire its boldness and uniqueness. When it comes down to it, even if it wasn't the easiest film to sit through, its true originality is much preferred to some of the more uninspired offerings from Hollywood as of late. RATING: 8.5/10

Brigsby Bear is the bizarre tale of a man (Kyle Mooney) who was kidnapped as a baby, and raised by his captors in a bomb shelter. He learned about the world and proper morality through watching his favorite television show, "Brigsby Bear." His life is turned upside down when he's rescued by the cops and discovers that he is the only person in the world who has ever seen or heard of Brigsby, as it was a show that was lovingly produced just for him by his captors. Struggling to cope in life in the real world (or as he sees it, a Brigsbyless existence,) he seeks for closure by creating a film to conclude Brigsby's adventures. Brigsby Bear could have been taken in a lot of different directions. It would be easy to make the film a full-fledged comedy and err on the crass and outrageous side. Fortunately, the filmmakers kept it more honest and warm, while still managing to be pretty funny. I think this decision was the right one, as the combination of humor and drama is able to leave a more lasting impact on the viewer. The film has a capable cast and everyone seems to be having a great time. Nostalgia for 80's tv series abounds whenever we get glimpses of the protagonist's beloved show and you can just sense the care that was put into every aspect of this movie. The movie definitely has the familiar feel of a quirky, clueless but lovable fish out of water type, akin to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Elf and Enchanted, but luckily, it manages not to feel tired. Some of that comes in combining that indie with another indie: the making a movie indie (as previously seen in Son of Rambow and Me & Earl & The Dying Girl.) Brigsby Bear accomplishes the rare feat of making a far fetched story feel grounded. It manages to be light hearted and serious all at once, but most importantly to note, it's a fun film. RATING: 8/10