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                                             Jackie K Cooper’s Guide To the Movies

Title                                                      Rating                                                                          Score (out of 10)

Alpha                                                     PG-13 (Violence)                                                         5

(Set in Europe 20,000 years ago & tells the story of a boy and his wolf)

A X L                                                     PG (Mild Violence)                                                      5

(Story of a boy and a robotic dog – not much new here)

Beautifully Broken                             PG-13 (Violence)                                                          7

(Faith based film showing the power of hope and love)

The Children Act                                R (Language & Adult Situations)                              7

God Bless the Open Road                 PG (Mild Violence)                                                      7

(This faith based film delivers on the dramatic inspiration)

The Happytime Murders                  R (Profanity, Violence, Crudity, etc)                        2

(Melissa McCarthy & pornographic puppets star in the worst movie of the year)

The House With a Clock In Its          PG (Mild scary scenes)                                             5

Walls

(Black & Blanchette are good; the movie not so much)

Kin                                                         PG-13 (Profanity, Brief Nudity & Violence)           6

(Action thriller with sci-fi overtones; gets extra points for originality)

Life Itself                                               R (Language & Violence)                                           5

(Several stories interweave but clunkily)

Like Father (Netflix)                          Not Rated (Mature Audiences)                                 7

(Keslsey Grammer and Kristin Bell are perfect as a father/daughter with problems)

The Guernsey Literary & Potato      Not Rated (Mature Audiences)                                 7

Peel Pie Society

(A writer visits a unique book club in the year after the end of World War II)             7

The Nun                                                R (Profanity & Violence)                                          4

(Don’t go into the cemetery; don’t go into the basement; oh, just don’t go)

Operation Finale                                 PG-13 (Profanity & Violence)                                   6

((Search for Eichmann covers the subject but not with much depth)

Peppermint                                          R (Profanity & Violence)                                            6

(Jennifer Garner is out for revenge in this gender switched take on “Death Wish”)

The Predator                                        R (Profanity & Violence)                                            6

(Just a good ole shoot them aliens movie)

Searching                                             PG-13                                                                              6

The plot is good but the gimmick (everything is on computer screens) gets in the way)

A Simple Favor                                   R (Profanity, Nudity  & Violence)                              7

(Funny & dramatic at the same time; complex but highly entertaining)

Unbroken: Path to Redemption       PG-13 (Violence)                                                          6

(Good solid story about a great man, but it needs some star power)

White Boy Rick                                     R (Profanity & Violence)                                           4

(Depressing true story of a fifteen year old drug dealer & his spiral downward

The Wife                                                R (Profanity & Adult Situations)                              7

(Glenn Close shines in a role tailor made for her talents)

(updated) 9/23/18)

                                             Jackie K Cooper’s Guide To the Movies

Title                                                      Rating                                                                          Score (out of 10)

Ant-Man and the Wasp                    PG-13 (Profanity and Comic Violence)                  8

(Paul Rudd & Evangeline Lilly star in the best Marvel movie ever)

The Equalizer 2                                  R (Profanity & Violence)                                            7

(Denzel Washington delivers the goods in this action packed thriller)

The First Purge                                  R (Profanity & Violence)                                            4

(See how this “purge” thing all got started)

Hereditary                                           R (Profanity, Violence, Nudity)                                4

(Scariest movie of the year – no way!)

Hotel Artemis                                     R (Profanity & Violence)                                            4

(Jodie Foster should have checked out of this movie before it started)

Hotel Transylvania 3                        PG (Mild adult situations)                                          6

(Adam Sandler voices Count Dracula one more time in this family oriented sequel)

Incredibles 2                                       PG (Profanity & Comic Violence)                             6

(Pixar animated superheroes one more time)

Jurassic World                                   PG-13 (Mild Profanity & Violence)                          7

(Dinosaurs run amok, and that’s a lot of fun)

Mama Mia: Here We Go Again      PG-13 (Mild Profanity & Adult Situations)            7

(The gang is back with more ABBA songs and  – gasp! – Cher)

Oceans 8                                              PG-13 (Profanity & Violence)                                    5

(Sandra Bullock leads a girl gang on a criminal caper)

The Seagull                                          PG-13 (Profanity & Brief Nudity)                             6

(A long, talky trail to depression)

Sicario: Day of the Soldado              R (Violence, Profanity)                                               5

(Not as good as the original because the original had Emily Blunt)

Skyscraper                                            PG-13 (Violence & Profanity)                                   5

(Dwayne Johnson is over the top and beyond belief in this disaster movie)

Superfly                                                R (Profanity, Violence & Nudity)                              5

(A movie about crime in Atlanta with no heroes)

Tag                                                         R (Profanity, Violence & Brief Nudity)                    5

(Based on a true story of grown men playing tag – give me a break)

Uncle Drew                                          PG-13 (Profanity, Brief Nudity)                                 7

(Who knew Shaquille O’Neal could be so funny)

Whitney                                                R (Profanity & Drug Use)

(A documentary about the life and times, or rise and fall, of Whitney Houston)

Woman Walks Ahead                         R (Profanity, Violence & Brief Nudity)                   7

(Story about an artist & Sitting Bull; learn history & be entertained)

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?            PG-13 (Adult Language, Brief Nudity)                    7

(The life and times of Fred Rogers and his special “neighborhood”)

Zoo                                                         PG (Mild Profanity & Violence)                                 7

(It’s World War 2 in Ireland so save the elephants)

(updated) 7/22/18)

                                             Jackie K Cooper’s Guide To the Movies

Title                                                      Rating                                                                          Score (out of 10)

Action Point                                        R (Profanity, Violence, Nudity)                              2

(Johnny Knoxville owns a water park – so what)

Adrift                                                    PG-13 (Profanity, Brief Nudity & Violence           7

(Shailene Woodley and Sam Ciafin are lost at sea)

Ant-Man and the Wasp                    PG-13 (Profanity and Comic Violence)                  8

(Paul Rudd & Evangeline Lilly star in the best Marvel movie ever)

Book Club                                            PG-13 (Profanity & Sexual Situations)                  4

(Sex and the single senior woman)

Deadpool 2                                          R (Profanity, Violence, Nudity)                               4

(Ryan Reynolds has lost some of his quirky charm)

The First Purge                                  R (Profanity & Violence)                                            4

(See how this “purge” thing all got started)

Hereditary                                           R (Profanity, Violence, Nudity)                                4

(Scariest movie of the year – no way!)

Hotel Artemis                                     R (Profanity & Violence)                                            4

(Jodie Foster should have checked out of this movie before it started)

Incredibles 2                                       PG (Profanity & Comic Violence)                             6

(Pixar animated superheroes one more time)

Jurassic World                                   PG-13 (Mild Profanity & Violence)                          7

Dinosaurs run amok, and that’s a lot of fun)

Oceans 8                                              PG-13 (Profanity & Violence)                                    5

(Sandra Bullock leads a girl gang on a criminal caper)

The Seagull                                          PG-13 (Profanity & Brief Nudity)                             6

(A long, talky trail to depression)

Show Dogs                                           PG (Profanity)                                                              5

(A cop and his dog solve a crime – wait hasn’t Tom Hanks already made this movie?)

Sicario: Day of the Soldado              R (Violence, Profanity)                                               5

(Not as good as the original because the original had Emily Blunt)

Solo: A Star Wars Story                     PG-13 (Profanity & Violence)                                    5

(Harrison Ford is so embarrassed)

Superfly                                                R (Profanity, Violence & Nudity)                              5

(A movie about crime in Atlanta with no heroes)

Tag                                                         R (Profanity, Violence & Brief Nudity)                    5

(Based on a true story of grown men playing tage – give me a break)

Uncle Drew                                          PG-13 (Profanity, Brief Nudity)                                 7

(Who knew Shaquille O’Neal could be so funny)

Upgrade                                                R (Profanity, Violence)                                                8

(The sleeper hit of the summer – and you probably missed it)

Zoo                                                         PG (Mild Profanity & Violence)                                 7

(It’s World War 2 in Ireland so save the elephants)

(updated) 7/8/18)

“The Phantom Thread” (Focus Features)

With writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson you always get the unexpected. So I shouldn’t have been surprised that I expected “The Phantom Thread” to be an entertaining movie and it isn’t. What I found it to be is a pretentious film about a group of people who are so self-centered that they can not interrelate with anyone else. And when they do stumble into a relationship it turns out to be a grotesque caricature of humanity. You can pin all the plaudits you want on this movie but in the end it is one sick puppy.

The amazingly talented Daniel Day-Lewis plays Reynolds Woodcock, an extraordinarily successful London fashion designer. He is also a loathsome person. He is strictly concerned with his world and anyone he lets in is only there as long as they can be useful to him in some way. When they have served their purpose they are out. The person usually showing them to the door is his sister Cyril (Leslie Manville). She is the one person Reynolds tolerates.

Enter Alma (Vicky Krieps), a waitress Reynolds meets one day. He is immediately fascinated with her and adopts her as a muse of sorts for his designs. He transforms her life and they enter into a relationship, but what it is isn’t immediately obvious. Still the movie is a love story of sorts.

When the movie ends there are still questions galore to be explained. I have gone over so much in my head and still don’t have answers. Usually that would be a good thing, as I would feel the movie really triggered my curiosity. In the case of “The Phantom Thread” it just makes me recall how bad the script was.

Paul Thomas Anderson has disappointed me in the past “The Master” had Phillip Seymour Hoffman giving a class in dynamic acting, but he was trapped in a mess of a story. On the other hand “Magnolia” went way off the rails with its “raining frogs” but managed to be entertaining at the same time. I went to”The Phantom Thread” with an open mind and good expectations solely because of Daniel Day-Lewis. His talent can usually overcome any obstacles, but sadly that was not the case in this effort.

Maybe if Krieps had been more of a fascinating character the audience could have accepted some of the plot twists. But she comes across as bland personality wise and less than beautiful. Reynolds appears to be a man who looks for and creates beauty so his obsession with Alma is a mystery. Leslie Manville’s portrayal of the enigmatic Cyril is a plus for the movie.

The film is rated R for profanity and adult situations.

“The Phantom Thread” garnered six Academy Award nominations so there are people who saw it with a different appreciation than I did. Some have called it classic; I call it weird.

I scored “The Phantom Thread” an unraveled 4 out of 10.

Jackie K Cooper

www.jackiekcooper.com