Something Special Under The Hood..."Monster Trucks"

Monster Trucks (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Thomas Lennon, Barry Pepper, Rob Lowe, Danny Glover,

Directed by Chris Wedge

The Story:

When a previously undiscovered species is found while drilling for oil, the company bigwig (Lowe) decides to keep things hush hush so that he can keep drilling. Except one escapes and is discovered by Tripp (Till) who tries to help it stay one step ahead of the company that's trying to get it back. Using the creature's unique abilities, they will embark on a mission to free the other creatures that the company has captive and return them all to the wild.

Awwww...

This one is definitely geared for kids, which is always apparent when it comes from Nickelodeon Studios.

That said, at least it is entertaining enough to keep the adults entertained that decide to watch alongside their little movie watching buddies.

They've peppered (no pun intended) the film with some very familiar faces and names to up the star power, but naturally, it's Till and the creatures that provide the framework for 90% of the film.

Harmless fun for the whole family, and I'll rarely complain about that.

Final Grade: C+

More Like Average..."The Great Gilly Hopkins"

The Great Gilly Hopkins (2016)  

Rated PG

Starring Sophie Nelisse, Kathy Bates, Glenn Close, Octavia Spencer, Bill Cobbs, Zachary Hernandez, Clare Foley, Billy Magnussen,

Directed by Stephen Harek

The Story:

Gilly Hopkins (Nelisse) has bounced from one foster home to the next, always making herself unwanted by the family until they send her away. She's finally met her match in Maime Trotter (Bates) who is raising one little boy (Hernandez) and caring for her blind neighbor across the street (Cobbs). The more Gilly tries to get under Maime's skin, the more she fails. But her latest attempt to reunite with her mother (Stiles) may just blow up in her face.

Always hoping for an enjoyable family movie, many of kids books to movie translations turn out to be enjoyable enough for a viewing, but nothing I would need to see again, or even bother my family with.

This is where Gilly Hokins falls.

She is totally unlikable for at least the first half of the film, I even debated turning it off, that's how unlikable I found her to be.

I mean, it's not like we haven't seen this story in some form or another already:

unlikable person meets someone with a heart of gold who will melt that icy exterior and the two will bond and become a family.

The rest of the cast kept me interested, and I wanted to see if Gilly could be turned into a nicer person.

Spoiler... of course she can. ;)

Then it all comes crashing down with the arrival of Grandma (Close) and the stage is set for another conflict as Gilly was finally becoming part of a family, only to have that taken away from her as well.

Except this is the movies...based on a book... so there is a happy ending.

In real life, no way does the Grandma ever visit Maime Trotter's house again.

:)

Final Grade: C 

Guaranteed To Give You "Goosebumps"

Goosebumps (2015)

Rated PG

Starring Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush

Directed by Rob Letterman

The Story:

Zach (Minnette) moves to a new town, and he's just not that into it, but then he meets the mysterious girl next door (Rush), Hannah. She seems great, but there's something about her dad (Black) and his overprotective ways that wants to keep Zach and Hannah apart. When Zach winds up discovering that her dad is the author R. L. Stine, and that he keeps all of his books locked up because the monsters from his books are very, very real. And now they are all loose. It's up to these 3 to get them back under lock and key before it's too late!

I suppose I should start with the fact that I've never read a Goosebumps book, never watched the show, so I have nothing to compare this to.

And I think that's okay.

I saw the trailer, it looked amusing enough, so I figured why not?

I was not disappointed.

For once I had a couple of teenagers that weren't trying to alter a dystopian future or change the world.

Nope, they were running from monsters!

Yes, it was quite a refreshing change of pace.

A great cast, led by Jack Black (in multiple roles) and a solid script keep things fun and exciting for the duration of the film.

It was nice to have a movie for the whole family that we all watched together, and when it was over, thumbs up all around.

Never boring, nobody doodling or checking their phone while it was on.

I'll take that kind of film every time.

Final Grade: Solid B, a B+ could even be argued and I wouldn't object.