Willie's View Movie Reviews

It Comes at Night   2017 ★★★★ It Comes At Night is a psychological horror-thriller for people who like thought provoking films.  This film gets your brain to ask questions. Like, what’s wrong with that guy? What’s going on? Where are they? Where is all the other people? Are they dead? How long have they been held up in a cabin?  These are just some of the questions you might ask yourself while watching this horror unfold.  The film stars Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Gift) who is becoming one of my favorite actor-writer-directors today. He either stars in or makes films that make you use your brain. Judging by the performance of this movie at the box-office, not many people saw this film, which, like Blade Runner 2049, people don’t like thought provoking films. What’s this film about? As if my questions didn’t give you a few clues, it about a family hiding in a cabin in the woods, avoiding a virus that has plagued the country. But when a man breaks into the house at night lookin

    The Dark Tower is a bad adaptation of the Stephen King book series. Plain and simple. For some reason Sony Pictures thought it was a good idea to take all seven books and smash them up into one 95-minute movie that is such a mess, I beg someone to explain to me what I just watched.   Matthew McConaughey gives one of the worst performances of his career as Walter/The Man in Black, the villain of the movie, who spends the entire time following a kid who has visions of another world. It turns out the kid holds the key to ending the existence of Walter. Everyone in the kid's world (our world) thinks he crazy. He goes through a portal into a world where he encounters Walter's nemesis-The Gunslinger played by Idris Elba, who does his best with what he has to work with.  I read the first book in The Dark Tower series and found it to be a trippy read. Watching this version, I can barely find any plot threads from that book in this movie. The major ingredients missing in this mov

 Watching The Boss Baby reminded me of the classic animated Warner Bros./Chuck Jones shorts and other more recent animated films. It was the animation style and the rapid pace that brought me back to my childhood of watching Bugs Bunny outwit Elmer Fudd.  The Boss Baby tells the story of what happens when a suit wearing, briefcase carrying toddler arrives in the home of 7-year-old Tim, wrecking havoc and ending his days as the only child. What transpires is an often fast-paced film that works when it's in the house. When it breaks out into other territories is when the film starts to drag.  Alec Baldwin, love him or hate him, does the voice of The Boss Baby and does a fine job. It's his energy and the rapid pace animation style that makes this one watchable. It's when it gets into world building (no spoilers here) that the film becomes a bit exhaustive and boring. It's at it's best when it stays with the domestic walls of Tim's house (it's his parents,

Wonder   2017 ★★★½ This review may contain spoilers. WONDER is the film adaptation of the best-selling novel written by R.J. Palcaio and stars 11-year-old Oscar nominee ( for Room) as Auggie Pullman. Auggie was born with a facial deformity and has been home-schooled by his Mother Isabel (Julia Roberts) over the years. Our story starts when Auggie begins his first day in middle-school. Going to a new school can be trying on any young person, but with Auggie, it's understandably more so. WONDER is more than Auggie's story. It's also his sister's story. Via(Isabela Vidovic) has taken a backseat to Auggie all her life. When she returns to school from summer vacation, it seems that her best friend, Miranda (Daniella Rose Russell) has changed and has no interest in being her friend anymore. Forgive me for getting into spoiler territory. I'll stop and tell you that WONDER is about kids dealing with bullying. It's a powerful and moving story until we get t

This review may contain spoilers. WIND RIVER is a riveting murder mystery starring Jeremy Renner as a wilderness tracker and Elizabeth Olsen as a very green FBI agent. Writer/Director Taylor Sheridan (HELL OR HIGH WATER) evokes director Clint Eastwood in this story of murder on an Indian reservation in Wyoming. Jeremy Renner gives his best performance on screen as Corey Lambert, a wilderness tracker who is haunted by the past. After discovering a dead body on an Indian reservation, he learns that the identity of the body is connected to his tragic past. Lambert sets out to find out what happened with the help of a very green FBI agent played effectively by Elizabeth Olsen. Viewers might know the stars better as Marvel's Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch, roles Renner and Olsen play in The Avengers movies. No need to go any further with plot details. WIND RIVER is a mystery worth watching unfold. Like I mentioned above, Sheridan evokes Clint Eastwood's strongest films. It's a