Gerald's Game

Gerald's Game (2017)

Starring Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Henry Thomas, and Chiara Aurelia

Directed by Mike Flanagan

Written by Jeff Howard and Mike Flanagan

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A sex game at a remote lakeside cabin turns troublesome when Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) dies of a heart attack after handcuffing his wife Jessie (Carla Gugino) to the bed.  Jessie needs to muster all she can in order to survive this scary ordeal.

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The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Kong: Skull Island

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly, Corey Hawkins, Jing Tian,  John Ortiz, Thomas Mann, Shea Whigham, Toby Kebbell, and John Goodman

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Written by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connelly

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A team (both military and scientific) head to Skull Island in order to investigate some strange findings.  Upon their arrival, they soon discover the island is home to many larger-than-life creatures including the titular simian Kong.

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The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Raw

Raw (2017)

Starring Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, and Rabat Naït Oufella

Directed by Julia Ducournau

Written by Julia Ducournau

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Sixteen year-old Justine (Garance Marillier) follows in the footsteps of her parents and sister (Ella Rumpf) and attends a French veterinarian school where, during the heinous first week Rush Week, the lifelong vegetarian is forced to eat meat as part of a hazing ritual.  While initially repulsed, Justine soon begins to hunger for meat...in any form...including human...

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The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Score: A Film Music Documentary

Score: A Film Music Documentary (2017)

Directed by Matt Schrader

Written by Matt Schrader

***This film is currently streaming via Hulu***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A look at the art behind creating film scores...

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The RyMickey Rating:  C-

The Vault

The Vault (2017)

Starring Francesca Eastwood, Taryn Manning, Scott Hayes, Q'orianka Kilcher, Clifton Collins Jr., and James Franco

Directed by Dan Bush

Written by Dan Bush and Conal Byrne

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less): When a trio of siblings decides to rob a bank in order to help their brother out of some tough times, they don't bargain that the bank they're going to rob will be haunted...

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The RyMickey Rating: C

Beatriz at Dinner

Beatriz at Dinner (2017)

Starring Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Connie Britton, Jay Duplass, Amy Landecker, Chloë Sevigny, and David Warshofsky

Directed by Miguel Arteta

Written by Mike White

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Masseuse Beatriz is invited to spend the evening at a dinner party given by her client's husband.  However, when the liberal Beatriz discovers the party's guests are all conservatives, she stands up to them and their beliefs (in a way only Hollywood movies could depict).

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The RyMickey Rating: C

War Machine

War Machine (2017)

Starring Brad Pitt, Emory Cohen, RJ Cyler, Topher Grace, Anthony Michael Hall, Anthony Hayes, John Magaro, Scoot McNairy, Will Poulter, Lakeith Stanfield, Josh Stewart, Meg Tilly, Tilda Swinton, and Ben Kingsley

Directed by David Michôd

Written by David Michôd

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Four-star General Glen McMahon (Brad Pitt) heads to Afghanistan to figure out how to bring an end to the war in this subversive piece.

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The RyMickey Rating:  C

Wonder Wheel

Wonder Wheel (2017)

Starring Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Jim Belushi, and Juno Temple
Directed by Woody Allen
Written by Woody Allen
***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Twentysomething Carolina (Juno Temple) arrives at Coney Island in the 1950s after she has become a made woman for telling the FBI secret info about her mobster husband.  She finds her father Humpty (Jim Belushi) and his new wife Ginny (Kate Winslet), the latter of whom is a bit unhappy as the put-upon wife in her marriage so she seeks comfort in the arms of a young lifeguard Mickey (Justin Timberlake).  The lives of these four become intertwined, causing them to do things they may never thought they'd have been able to do.

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The RyMickey Rating: B-

The Mummy

The Mummy (2017)

Starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, and Russell Crowe

Directed by Alex Kurtzman

Written by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman

Summary (in 500 words or less):  When Army sergeant Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) unwittingly unearths the tomb of an ancient banished Egyptian princess, a great evil is released wreaking havoc on London after the tomb is shipped there to be examined.

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The RyMickey Rating: C-

Icarus

Icarus (2017)

Directed by Bryan Fogel

Written by Bryan Fogel and Mark Monroe

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Bryan Fogel is an amateur cyclist who is a bit devastated by the concept that his idols like Lance Armstrong have utilized drugs in order to succeed.  In his quest to find out if famous sports figures could actually get away with this conceit, Fogel connects with the director of Russia's anti-doping agency Grigory Rodchenkov and the two start Fogel on a drug regime.  However, in the midst of Fogel's treatment, Russia is accused of doping nearly all of its Olympic athletes and Rodchenkov is front and center in the scandal.  Fogel's documentary that began wondering if he could fool doping tests turns into a documentary about one of the biggest scandals in sports history.

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The RyMickey Rating: B-

A Ghost Story

A Ghost Story (2017)

Starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara

Directed by David Lowery

Written by David Lowery

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A man (Casey Affleck) dies and returns as a silent ghost to see how is wife (Rooney Mara) copes with his death.

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The RyMickey Rating: B-

Before I Wake

Before I Wake (2017)

Starring Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Jacob Tremblay, and Annabeth Gish

Directed by Mike Flanagan

Written by Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A couple (Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane) coping with the death of their young son decide to become foster parents to a young boy (Jacob Tremblay) who has moved from family to family after some traumatic events have occurred in their homes.  They soon discover that the boy's dreams have a magical way of becoming reality...but his nightmares do as well...

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The RyMickey Rating: C+

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, and Alicia Silverstone

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A cardiologist (Colin Farrell) befriends the teenage son (Barry Keoghan) of a man who died on his operating table only to discover that the young kid has some malevolent intentions.

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The RyMickey Rating: C

Life

Life (2017)

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, and Olga Dihovichnaya

Directed by Daniel Espinosa

Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick

Summary (in 500 words or less): A sextet of astronauts orbiting the Earth attach to a satellite that contains samples from an exploration of Mars.  After discovering that the samples contain evidence of life on Mars, the crew begins completing research, discovering that the lifeform grows very rapidly...and may not be as gentle as they first thought.

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The RyMickey Rating: B

47 Meters Down

47 Meters Down (2017)

Starring Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, and Matthew Modine

Directed by Johannes Roberts

Written by Johannes Roberts and Ernest Riera

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Two sisters (Mandy Moore and Claire Holt) decide to swim with the sharks on a trip to Mexico, but when their excursion goes awry and the wench on their cage breaks plummeting them 47 meters below the surface, they must muster all their courage to make it out of their situation alive.

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The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Colossal

Colossal (2017)

Starring Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Austin Stowell, Tim Blake Nelson, and Dan Stevens

Directed by Nacho Vigalondo

Written by Nacho Vigalondo

***This film is currently streaming via Hulu***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A woman in America soon realizes that she may have some control over a monstrous creature that is wreaking havoc in Seoul, South Korea.  

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The RyMickey Rating:  C 

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Starring Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Joonas Suotamo, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jon Favreau, and Paul Bettany

Directed by Ron Howard

Written by Jonathan Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan

Summary (in 500 words or less):  The back story of how Han Solo became Han Solo is essentially a heist movie about how our title character (Alden Ehrenreich) teams up with a group of mercenaries to complete a mission to snag some specialty fuel.

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The RyMickey Rating: C