Q’s Reviews – April 16, 2018

A Quiet Place.  A better than average monster movie that uses sound, the lack thereof, to create a gripping and unique atmosphere.  Rapacious alien critters have invaded earth and wiped out most of the human population. They hunt only using a heightened sense of hearing.  A family is forced to live in silence while avoiding the creatures that threaten them constantly. Lee (John Krasinski) and Evelyn (Emily Blunt) must protect their children and school them in the new reality of instant death if a sound is made.  As they navigate the new reality, the invincible aliens terrorize them.  But, of course as in all monster movies, the family figures out the alien’s Achilles’s Heel and the film ends with one of the greatest scenes ever.  Rated PG-13 for terror and some bloody images.

Paterno.  Al Pacino is legendary College Football Coach, Joe Paterno.  We meet Joe in his last year of coaching at Penn State as the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal explodes in the news and courts.  Paterno’s legacy is threatened as the scandal spreads to him and Penn State itself.  Paterno’s monomaniacal focus on Football is his tragic flaw.  The refusal to recognize the abuse was to protect the football program.  It eventually becomes a complete institutional failure.  The victims are ignored until the scandal becomes overwhelming.  The film provides a lot of insight into Paterno and his cadre of insiders.  Check this out to see Al Pacino’s performance.  Rated TV-MA for language.  Currently available on HBO.

Chappaquiddick.   The film chronicles Senator Ted Kennedy’s peccadillos surrounding the car accident on Chappaquiddick Island that caused the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, a campaign strategist.  All of this happened in July of 1969, as the first moon landing captivates the nation and takes some of the news heat off.  Kennedy’s moral compass is certainly off a bit as the importance of family and the cause is put ahead of the whole truth.  The film feels more like a documentary than an insightful theatrical release with a point of view.  If you remember these events, the film will take you back in time.  If this is all new to you, you may be interested in a bit of sordid history.  Rated PG-13 for thematic material, disturbing images, some strong language, and smoking.

Rampage.  If you like over the top monster movies with great CGI that are utterly ridiculous, this is the one for you.  Dwayne Johnson is Davis, a Primatologist with a pet albino gorilla named George.  A clandestine genetic experiment goes awry and turns George into a raging monster.  But a huge gorilla needs some friends, so lets add a flying wolf the size of an elephant and a berserk crocodile whose destinies are all to destroy downtown Chicago.  And the best part, is they do destroy downtown Chicago.  Just sit back, laugh and enjoy all the silliness amidst wanton destruction.  Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief language, and crude gestures.

The Miracle Season.  The film is unapologetically maudlin as we get to watch a bunch of high school girls overcome a tragedy to succeed when only failure was seemingly inevitable. Set in Iowa, the girl’s volleyball team is stunned by the heartbreaking death of star volleyball player Caroline “Line” Found.  The team is disconsolate and mourning the loss of Line.  They cannot even bring themselves to practice.  But they overcome their grief and with the help of their tough-love coach (Helen Hunt) they turn their pain into a positive tribute to Line and regain their camaraderie and go on to win the state championship.  Rated PG for some thematic elements.  This is a real positive, family movie about teamwork and how to turn anguish into joy.  It is a based on a real story.  It is a Peggy’s Pick.