First Man

First Man (2018)

Starring Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Pablo Schreiber, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas, Shea Whigham, Olivia Hamilton, Brian d'Arcy James, and Ciarán Hinds

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Written by Josh Singer

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A look at Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and the struggles he faced -- both familial and professionally -- to become the first man to walk on the moon.

 

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The RyMickey Rating: A

Call Me by Your Name

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Starring Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, and Esther Garrel

Directed by Luca Guadagnino

Written by James Ivory

Summary (in 500 words or less):  In the summer of 1983, seventeen year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) living in Italy with his parents (Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar) forms a friendship with a twentysomething graduate student (Armie Hammer) of his professor father who visits them for the summer.  The friendship begins to blossom into something more with Elio coming into his own in terms of his sexuality.

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The RyMickey Rating: B-

A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born (2018)

Starring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, Rafi Gavron, Anthony Ramos, Dave Chappelle, and Andrew Dice Clay

Directed by Bradley Cooper

Written by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A grizzled alcoholic rocker (Bradley Cooper) falls for a young budding songwriter (Lady Gaga) and their relationship goes through ups and downs as their careers begin to take different paths.

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The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Mine

Mine (2017)

Starring Armie Hammer, Annabelle Wallis, Tom Cullen, Clint Dyer, Geoff Bell, and Juliet Aubrey

Directed by Fabio Guaglione and Fabio Resinaro

Written by Fabio Guaglione and Fabio Resinaro

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A soldier (Armie Hammer) steps on a land mine while on a mission in Iraq and finds himself alone in a desert where personal demons begin to rear their ugly heads.

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The RyMickey Rating: C+

Happy Death Day

Happy Death Day (2017)

Starring Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Rachel Matthews, and Charles Aitken

Directed by Christopher B. Landon

Written by Scott Lobdell

Summary (in 500 words or less): College student Tree (Jessica Rothe) finds herself in a Groundhog Day-esque time warp that has her repeatedly waking up on her birthday...only to find herself being murdered before the day is over.  She must figure out who her murderer is in order to live another day.

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The RyMickey Rating: B-

The Lure

The Lure (Córki dancingu) (2017)

Starring Marta Mazurek, Michalina Olszanska, Kinga Pries, Jakob Giersal, Andrzej Konopka, and Zygmunt Malanowicz

Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska

Written by Robert Bolesto

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Two mermaids -- Silver and Gold  (Marta Mazurek and Michalina Olszanska) -- come ashore in Poland in the 1980s and begin working in a nightclub as singers/strippers.  However, these mermaids aren't the Ariel type -- they need human blood to sustain themselves on land.  Oh, and it's a musical because the goal is to make this as weird as possible.

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The RyMickey Rating:  C

Verónica

Verónica (2017)

Starring Sandra Escacena, Bruna González, Claudia Placer, Iván Chavero, and Ana Torrent

Directed by Paco Plaza

Written by Fernando Navarro

***This filmis currently streaming via Netflix*** 

Summary (in 500 words or less):  This Spanish supernatural horror film places its attention squarely on its title character, a fifteen year-old (Sandra Escacena) who spends her spare time watching her three younger siblings while her mother runs a local bar.  On the day of a solar eclipse, Veronica and two of her high school friends use a Ouija board to conjure up the spirit of Veronica's dead father, however it's not her father that makes an appearance, but instead a horrific demon who is using Veronica to wreak havoc on the living.

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The RyMickey Rating: B+

A Cure for Wellness

A Cure for Wellness (2017)

Starring Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, Harry Groener, and Celia Imrie

Directed by Gore Verbinski

Written by Justin Haythe

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A young executive named Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) is sent to a wellness retreat in the Swiss Alps to retrieve his company's CEO Roland Pembroke (Harry Groener).  However, upon his arrival, he realizes that this retreat may be more than meets the eye.

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The RyMickey Rating: C

Venom

Venom (2018)

Starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, and Jenny Slate

Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Written by Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Investigative reporter Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is overtaken by an alien lifeform while he is visiting the bioengineering corporation Life Foundation run by billionaire Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) which causes him to take on the alter ego of Venom -- a nasty creature that has designs on taking over the earth for his kind.

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The RyMickey Rating:  D+

The Star

The Star (2017)

Featuring the vocal talents of Steven Yeun, Zachary Levi, Gina Rodriguez, Keegan-Michael Key, Aidy Bryant, Kelly Clarkson, Patricia Heaton, Anthony Anderson, Kristin Chenoweth, Tracy Morgan, Tyler Perry, Kris Kristofferson, Ving Rhames, Gabriel Iglesias, Christopher Plummer, and Oprah Winfrey

Directed by Timothy Reckart

Written by Carlos Kotkin

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

Summary (in 500 words or less):  An animated retelling of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ told through the eyes of a young donkey traveling to Bethlehem.

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The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Christopher Robin

Christopher Robin (2018)

Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, and Bronte Carmichael

Featuring the vocal talents of Jim Cummings, Brad Garrett, Nick Mohammed, Peter Capaldi, Sophie Okonedo, and Toby Jones

Directed by Marc Forster

Written by Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy, and Alison Schroeder

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Having left behind his seemingly make-believe 100 Acre Woods friends decades ago, a grown-up Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) has an encounter with Winnie the Pooh that makes him question his workaholic ways that leave his wife (Hayley Atwell) and daughter (Bronte Carmichael) longing for his company.

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The RyMickey Rating: B