Spy Who Dumped Me
This film is…goofy, surprisingly funny, clever, jarring and ultimately still goofy. Best friends Audrey and Morgan stumble onto an international conspiracy that takes them on a wild ride to Europe.
The acting is quite good for the most part. Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon are perfect as the American want-to-be-spies. Sam Heughan and Justin Theroux play the professional operatives. Other notable actors include: Ivanna Sakhno, Gillian Anderdson, Kev Adams, Hasan Minhaj, Genevieve Mc Carthy, Lolly Adefope and Paul Riser.
Audiences and Critics have been all over the board on this one. We decided the acting quality and the delightful story line was quite good and worth the look. Mind you it drifts from time to time but overall it is well acted and well produced.
It is rated R for violence (a lot of violence), language, some crude sexual material and graphic nudity. That said, it is listed as an Action & Adventure, Comedy. The run time is a whopping 116 minutes. It is NOT suitable for children.
Rating 
Eighth Grade
It is the perfect time to write this review. The venue last night, Ruyi, a family favorite Chinese/Japanese Restaurant in the Potawatomie Casino where the family got together for dinner, a little gambling and a chat about the movie. The group included Great Grandparents, Kay and Howard, daughter Jennifer and husband Matthew, John and Jim, and nephew Aaron.
The obvious topic was about the newly released film Eighth Grade. The banter immediately shifted to the fact that the film could not be seen by the youngsters whom the film was based on, Eighth Graders!
In prepping for this writing, we discovered A24, the movie’s distributor offered free screening of the film to all teenagers…AUGUST 8th in ONE theater in each state, ratings waived!
In Wisconsin, that theater was in Mequon (where our family lives), 7:00 PM.
In California, that theater was the recently renovated and reinvented as an entertainment complex, Alamo Drafthouse Mission in San Francisco, 7:40 PM.
All that said, we found the film to be pretty much on target. It was fair, realistic, authentic, relatable and a heartwarming reminder to all of us what 8th Grade is/was like.
It has a compact cast. Elsie Fisher plays the lead Kayla. Josh Hamilton is the single Dad. Emily Robinson, Jake Ryan, Daniel Zolghadri, Fred Hechinger and several more play the young students.
Critics and audiences give this film very high scores. That said, many friends and fellow travelers think it is much ado about nothing. We think it is a valuable reminder of what it was like for each of us, empathize with those growing through it now, and the comfort we’ll never have those feelings again.
It’s rated R for language and some sexual content. It is listed as a comedy and runs 94 minutes.
Rating
The Meg
The Meg stands for Megalodon, a prehistoric ‘super shark’ that was bigger, faster, smarter than today’s sharks. We were surprised to learn the first tier Director, Jon Turteltaub of National Treasure and the author Dean Georgaris of the Lara Croft franchise collaborated with Warner Bros. Pictures in creating this film.
We are pretty sure the film was crafted to become a global release given its list of stars. Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Winston Chao, Page Kennedy, Jessica McName, Olafur Darris Olafsson, Robert Taylor, Sophia Cai, Masi Oka and Cliff Curtis.
It was filmed initially in London and later in Hawaii. Audiences are all over the board on this movie. The super shark is really the star here. The story drifts from one shark cliche to the next. It turns quite gruesome and violent. It becomes mostly predictable, almost slap stick in the last third. Time will tell the fate of this one.
It is rated PG-13 for action/peril, bloody images and some language. We do not recommend this film for younger viewers. It is listed as Action & Adventure, Horror (It is!), Science Fiction & Fantasy. The run time is 114 minutes.
Rating 
Can’t wait for “Green Book” to come out next month! I hope it is as good as the trailer and that you love it!