Blumhouse Productions, Wyolah Films,

Missi Pyle, Luke Evans, Juliette Lewis, Octavia Spencer, Allison Janney, McKaley Miller, Dominic Burgess, Diana Silvers, Corey Fogelmanis, Andrew Matthew Welch, Gianni Paolo, Victor Turpin, Skyler Joy, Kyanna Simone Simpson, Katira Banks

Sue Ann (Octavia Spenser) is a small town assistant to the town Veterinarian Dr Brooks (Allison Janney). But in a small town, people stick around and issues from decades ago still hang around. Erica (Juliette Lewis and her daughter have just moved back to town, and her daughter joins a bunch of local kids who make friends with Sue Ann who allows them to party in her basement in exchange for some friendship with the youngsters. But as things go from bad to worse, they begin to regret their decision to make friends with Sue Ann who askes that they call her Ma, as she may have some deep issues to resolve at their expense.

This is not the movie you see in the trailer, and I really hesitate to put Horror as a category for this film, as it’s not really in any way a horror film. Oh yeah, the some blood and gore, and a lot of real terror, but this is a psychological drama to the nth degree. By way of well placed flashbacks spaced throughout the movie, we find out the story of what happened to make things the way they are today, and we do get a chance to understand Sua Ann and why she does the things she does. The story was unfairly hit by the critics who didn’t get what the film is really trying to do, and a lot of people went to see this with unrealistic expectations and they may have been disappointed. But I do believe over time the value of this film will win out in the end. It is a very good psychological thriller and very well constructed. There may be a few missed opportunities to turn up the heat a lot more on some aspects of the story, but I think they way they chose to do this is really very realistic. No one is all black or all white, and there’s not way you could ever come out of this not feeling something for Sue Ann simply because of the gravitas Octavia Spencer naturally brings to any role she chooses to do. I think she did an absolutely outstanding job in this role, and she really deserves a lot of praise for her performance here. I bought it 100 per cent and am amazed at her talent. Kudos to the director and producer of this film, as I personally think it was very well done, and quite impressive and very touching. This, unlike a slice and dice run of the mill slasher film, will stick with me for a long time. I really found this film chilling.

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Andrea Leone Films, Busted Shark Productions, Fear of God Films,

Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Kylie Rogers, Aaron Paul, Diane Kruger, Quvenzhané Wallis, Bruce Greenwood, Jane Fonda, Octavia Spencer, Janet McTeer

Fathers and Daughters is a very touching heart felt film about a single father Jake Davis (Russell Crowe) who is also a well known author who is struggling with the accidental death of his wife while trying to raise his little girl and the light of his life, Katie (adult played by Amanda Seyfried, Young Katie played by Kylie Rogers). Told in intertwining stories of Young Katie supporting her Father who went through a stay in the mental hospital after the death of his wife, leaving her with an Aunt and Uncle who don’t feel inclined to let her go back to her dad, and the grown up Katie, now working as a child welfare worker, but suffering badly from the effects of everyone she loves leaving her alone. It is a very touching tale and an excellent relationship drama.

The three main characters in this story, Jake, and his daughters, Young Katie, the child, and adult Katie the screwed up woman trying to learn how to live her life with the strong desire to help others, but no idea how to help herself makes a very touching and tragic story. But it’s also very heartwarming. All three of these actors are superb, and all need to be congratulated very much for their wonderful performances. No surprise from Russell Crowe, although he pulls out a stellar performance of a man at his wits end doing everything in his power to keep fighting against all odds. But this is the best I have seen Amanda Seyfried, although she has done some very good performances in the past, she is absolutely excellent in this very troubled and difficult role. Great job! But Kylie was absolutely stunning in her role as Young Katie. This little girl pulled off one of the best child acting performances I have ever seen. The rest of the cast is outstanding as well. Though this is a tragic story, it is crafted extremely well, and kudos to the screenwriters and director as well for a stunning film. This is one movie I was really glad to see, and it touched my heart deeply. This is an adult story, some of the choices Katie makes are very bad, and though shown very tastefully, are not meant for little ones. The R rating is much more about what you feel than what you see. But adults and older teens ought to watch this film. It is like a work of art and a real masterpiece. I highly recommend this movie for mature audiences.

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Lionsgate, Red Wagon Entertainment, Summit Entertainment,

Maggie Q, Octavia Spencer, Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Bill Skarsgård, Jeff Daniels, Naomi Watts, Miles Teller, Ray Stevenson, Theo James

After the devastating events of the previous film, the four escape outside the wall to discover what’s out there. Tris and her three friends find a world outside that may hold the answers to how she came to be Divergent in the first place, but naturally trouble looms from all sides, and they have to make some hard choices as to where to put their allegiance in the future. This is the final film in the Divergent series, oops, surprise! This is part one of the last film in the series. The last one, word has it is coming out as a TV movie without a theatrical release.

I wasn’t impressed very much by this film. Hopefully the last one, if it does eventually come out, will be a little bit better. I guess the dump at the box office has destined this to be finshed as a TV movie. I guess my disappointment in this one was shared by the rest of the world. Perhaps there have been so many similar series and all the hype has jaded us a bit, or perhaps there’s just too much special effects and too little story. This was step by step predictable from the start to the end. There’s no real tension as it’s easy to tell what’s going to happen each step of the way, and very little suspense. The characters in this story is not nearly as likeable, and not as easy to care much about. I don’t know if it’s a weakness in the story, the screen play, the actors, or what. Perhaps, as I suggested earlier, it just was too much pizazz and not enough story, I don’t know. But in any case, this is by far the weakest of the films so far, and each one has dropped a star as we through them. I had higher hopes for this film, as I haven’t had the time to read the books, but I was kind of let down by this one. Glad I waited for the DVD instead of paying top dollar to see it in the theater. There’s lots of better films out there. This is probably okay to skip unless you’re really a big fan. Sorry.

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Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios,

Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin, Shakira, Alan Tudyk, Katie Lowes, Tommy Chong, J.K. Simmons, Octavia Spencer, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Raymond Persi, Jesse Corti, John DiMaggio, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister

The animal kingdom has evolved. In the city of Zootopia, predators and prey live happily side by side with no animosity. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a bunny, who dreams of becoming a real police officer in Zootopia and is anxious to leave the carrot farm of her parents and head out to the big city. After graduating highest in her class at officer’s school, Judy is assigned to parking detail. But when she insists on being give a chance at a missing persons case, with the help of her new found friend Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to solve the case, she stumbles on a bigger problem, and ends up making a mess of it in this new feature from the Disney Animation team.

This is a very, very well done film. Using traditional animation in a wondrous way, Disney goes back to the truth that it’s not the beauty of the animation, it’s the depth of the story. This is one very well told story. It is similar, in a way, to lots of other tales of a youngster starting out trying to prove their worth with all the cards stacked against them, but this story is really enchanting and it pulls you right in to the heart of the matter. Never boring, I think this is a film that kids and grown ups are going to enjoy side by side. The writing is very good, and that, along with the excellent animation and good voice actors makes a good film. This is one of the better ones of the latest batch of kid’s animation, and one you should make sure the kids get to see. It has great values, good lessons, and yet is very entertaining. Judy is one of the neatest characters to come along in a long time. I highly recommend this movie for all ages. I promise you will absolutely love Speedy, the Sloth

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BlackWhite, Sunlight Productions, Treehouse Films (II),

Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Jillian Estell, Bill Burr, Jennifer Ehle, Andre Holland, Gillian Jacobs, Anthony Mackie

Elliot Anderson (Kevin Costner) is grieving. His daughter ran off when she was 17 with an older African-American guy who was a criminal, a crack user, and she died giving birth to her daughter. After she died, Elliot and his wife raised the little girl, Eloise (Jillian Estell) until a tragedy took her Grandmother Anderson away. When this happens, her paternal Grandmother, Rowena (Octavia Spencer) determines to challenge Elliot’s custody. Elliot wants the best for his granddaughter and does not want her exposed to her father’s life style, but his life is in turmoil and Rowena is determined to let Eloise experience the other half of her family.

This is a touching drama. It’s slightly about racism, how could it not be with the elephant in the room. But it’s more about pain and sorrow, with a strong dose of love mixed in. Never really heavy handed, the cast is really good. Kevin and Octavia are both outstanding actors who play their parts very well. Jillian is also perfect as the little girl. There are several other characters that add a great deal to the enjoyment of the movie. The struggles are played out very smartly, and the pain is really obvious. No one here is a bad guy and they all want the best despite their own limitations. This was a film that I found riveting, and I was deeply moved by it as I watched. I expected this to be pretty good, but it has far more to offer than I expected. This films shows both sides of Los Angeles and the good and bad in each. I really loved the way the story was unfolded and I was very impressed with the cast, the script, the location, and the story. This is one I highly recommend. If you have teens, watch it with them and talk about what you see. It is a very good film and I highly recommend it.

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