Just Can't Get Enough..."Sing Street"

Sing Street (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Jack Reynor, Aiden Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Mark McKenna, Ben Carolan, Ian Kenny,

Directed by John Carney

The Story:

Growing up in Dublin, Conor (Walsh-Peelo) is watching his family break apart as his parents (GIllen & Kennedy) are inching ever closer to divorce and he is pulled from his expensive prep school and sent to a Catholic school instead. Receiving the usual new kid welcome, Conor will have to deal with the school bully (Kenny) and is simply hating life. But when a new friend (Carolan) points out the mysterious girl across the way (Boynton), Conor figures out what he needs to do to impress the girl and make his life better: he's going to start a band.

This is everything that I hoped Pretty in Pink would be.

: )

Buoyed by an impressive soundtrack (it was the 80s after all), this coming of age comedy drama is also a musical.

But not that kind of musical.

No, the music is interspersed within the story as the kids perform covers and eventually sing their own songs.

The beauty of it all, the songs sound like they came straight from the 80s.

The new songs for the film fit in seamlessly with the works of Duran Duran and The Cure and other bands that influence these teens (and pepper the soundtrack) as they come to terms with who they are as a band.

The girl in question, Raphina is dying to leave Dublin and head to London to be a model.

This of course causes friction between her and Conor as she is his muse, and she sees him as just a sweet kid.

At least at first.

I would be remiss not to mention Conor's brother, Brendan (Raynor). He is the catalyst for a lot of what goes on in the movie, even though he doesn't have nearly as much screen time as he should.

The interaction between brothers gives the film the extra layer of heart it needs for an emotional finale that is so befitting this very charming tale.

The movie is streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade:  B+ 

Quite The Little Charmer..."A Royal Night Out"

A Royal Night Out (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Sarah Gadon, Bel Powley, Emily Watson, Rupert Everett, Jack Laskey, Jack Gordon, Jack Reynor,

Directed by

The Story:

Princess Elizabeth (Gadon) and Margaret (Powley) would very much like to get out of the castle and celebrate V-E Day with Londoners everywhere as World War II is over. Letting your daughters out on a night like that is worrisome enough for parents, but when your parents are the King and Queen (Everett & Watson) of England, you can imagine the answer already. However, they do send the girls out with a pair of military escorts (Laskey & Gordon) to ensure the girls are fine.

Naturally, you know what's going to happen next.

Based on the Queen's own true story, though I'm sure much of the efforts are exaggerated for comic effect, this movie is a sweet little story about 2 little girls who have one shot at feeling normal in their lives, and are determined to take it.

Gadon and Powley are up to the challenge of putting a little life into their royal portrayals and make the characters come alive getting a chance to experience a lifetime of events all in one night.

Equally charming are Everett and Watson as the stiff upper lip monarchs who are thrilled to see the war is over and now worried about what their girls are up to.

Of course, while the 2 military escorts play the comedy part of the movie, there's a 3rd (Reynor) who will bump into Elizabeth and provide the romance.

Like with all whirlwind movie romances, the two don't exactly hit it off very well upon their first meeting.

Very well done, and I'm glad the Queen was able to get out and let her hair down at least once in her life.

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B

I Really Doubt "Transformers: Age of Extinction" Is The Last Film In The Franchise

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci, Jack Reynor,

Directed by Michael Bay

The Story:

It's been 5 years since the Autobots and Decepticons waged war and destroyed Chicago. Now the American government has declared war and is hunting down the remaining Autobots and Decepticon survivors. When robotics tinkerer Cade Yeager (Wahlberg) discovers Optimus Prime, he revives the leader of the Autobots, and the few remaining Autobots gather to help Cade and and his family to take down the government contractors that are using Transformer technology to create their own version of Autobots for sale.  However, as is standard with all Transformers plots...

There is more to it than meets the eye.

:)

Oh come on, you know I had to do it!!

So, I've watched the 3 previous Transformer movies.  Couldn't tell you what happened in any of them except:

Shia LaBeouf whined a lot.
Megan Fox attempted to act a little.
Transformers fought, a lot, in poorly lit action sequences.

So I come back, a glutton for punishment apparently.

However, this one improved in at least 3 obvious ways:

No Shia.
No Megan.
No poorly lit action sequences.

Congratulations and welcome to the best installment of the Transformers franchise.

Granted, that's not saying a whole lot. ;)

With a bloated, nearly 3 hour running time, the movie rarely dragged, which is a good thing.

But still, at nearly 3 hours, I can watch 2 really good 90 minute films instead.

Still, had a good enough time and if there is another film, I'll check it out on DVD.

I'm a glutton for punishment, remember?

Final Grade: C+ maybe even a B- if you push me hard enough.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nope, once was good enough, but at least it was better than all of the previous versions before it.