Welcome to the my weekly Movie Review Round Up article where I talk about the movies I saw this past week. Did I use MoviePass to see these movies? Yep! Is MoviePass paying me to tell you about the amazing fact that I spend $10 a month to see as many movies as I want? Nope! But MoviePass…

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

When trying to discuss Three Billboards with someone that would consider themselves a, “casual moviegoer,” it can be a really hard movie to sell, and to be fair, a film about a woman that upsets a small town in Missouri after she buys three billboards doesn’t exactly sound like the most exciting thing in the world. Surprisingly though, this movie brings so much to the table. It has a lot of surprising humor, a lot (and I mean a lot) of fantastic acting, and incredibly memorable characters. So what’s the problem?

Well, in a shocking twist, the movie doesn’t give me enough. Even though the movie is almost exactly two hours long, I felt like there was more story to tell. For me, I would have liked for this movie to do one of two things. Either cut out certain plot threads and characters or be a tv show. I know, telling a movie to be a tv show might seem a little unreasonable but there’s so much greatness in this movie that just isn’t given a chance to breathe. I think a one season, twelve episode Netflix show would have been incredible. As it stands though, actors like Peter Dinklage come into the movie in only short bursts, steal the scene, and then leave. Either flesh out characters like this or leave them out of the movie entirely.

Overall, Three Billboards is a solid film still manages to deliver an incredible film despite some of it’s shortcomings. No doubt we’ll be hearing about this movie again when award season rolls around. Seriously, Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell are incredible in this movie and it would be criminal if they weren’t nominated for the performances they bring to the film.

8.5/10 (Really, Really, Really Good)

2017 has certainly been an interesting year for me when it’s come to movies. Last week I found myself in tears as I connected with a film about a young Mexican boy who refuses to accept his families culture, and now, one week later, I find myself yet again in a similar situation. Lady Bird may not be about a young Mexican boy, but it is about something else I wouldn’t think I could relate to: a 17 year old high school girl. Lady Bird is a film that seems to be sweeping the reviewer world, getting nothing but high praise with every review. Obviously, I was a bit skeptical. From the trailer I saw, I thought it just looked like another Juno or any other indie film about a quirky character, and while it certainly is that kind of movie, I think there’s more to Lady Bird than some might expect.

Often with indie films, they seem like the writer is more interested in coming up with catchy phrases or being too cute for their own good. It never actually feels real. Lady Bird however takes it’s 2002 setting and transports it’s audience back to that time and makes it feel legitimate. While the hipster look and act of Sacramento, the place where the film takes place, may have not made it’s way to Mississippi, my home state, until 2007, the way everyone dresses, acts, and speaks, is all authentic in a way that I didn’t expect.

And on top of feeling like I was brought back to the days of being in my late teens, the other part of the film that makes things feel so personal for me, is the relationship that Lady Bird has with her mom. Some might see the scenes where Lady Bird and her mom have a twenty second fight followed by them joking around like good pals, and roll their eyes. They might say, “people don’t act like that,” but they do. That’s what I loved about this movie. It took something so realistic and so personal for so many people and executed it almost flawlessly. Yes, there are times when Lady Bird falls into the classic teenage movie cliche’s but it doesn’t allow those cliche’s to stay around for very long. At the end of the day, this movie is getting tons of high praise and that’s because it deserves it.

9.5/10 (Amazing)

Well, that’s it for this week’s Movie Review Round Up. Um… well, the plan for next Friday WAS to review The Disaster Artist, but apparently my state isn’t cool for that movie. As of right now, unless something changes, next week I’ll be reviewing Just Getting Started, a movie that looks like a remake of Grumpier Old Men mixed with Sister Act. The only thing is appears to be missing is all of the wonderful humor, memorable characters and songs about Jesus. The other film I’ll be seeing is Wonder, a Julia Roberts movie about a little boy with a disfigured face… and I thought the week I reviewed Justice League and Bad Mom’s Christmas was a tough week.