TRAFFIK

A passable story about a couple who go away on a romantic weekend for the main star's birthday, played by Paula Patton. I was glad to see Omar Epps in a movie for a change. Looking at his profile on IMDB, I don't believe I've seen him in anything since 1997's SCREAM 2 lol What really bothered me about the film was how selfish Paula seemed to be. You know whenever you're in a situation and you have the ability to get away but your friend or boyfriend doesn't and 9 times out of 10, you go back to help them escape as well no matter what they say? Nope, this girl is the 1 out of the 10 when people tell her to leave or go on without them, she actually takes them up on it and hightails it outta there. 4.5/10

I FEEL PRETTY

From the previews it looked somewhat funny. To be honest, I haven't seen enough of Amy Schumer to have an opinion about her one way or another, but from the few things of her's I have seen, she hasn't impressed me much as a comedian. In fact, I think the actresses portraying her friends, Busy Philipps and Aidy Bryant, were funnier than her (Aidy especially). You can pretty much gather the story from the previews where this is a "love yourself no matter what others say or think about you" feel good story. It was in someways a ripoff I felt of BIG with Tom Hanks. This is supposed to be a comedy, and in a comedy you have only one job, which is to make the audience laugh. If you don't, you're going to fall flat on your face. I'm disappointed to see Michelle Williams wasted in this picture. 4.0/10

THE LOBSTER

This one really surprised me, not only with it's cast (consisting of Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly and Lea Seydoux) but at how crazy the story is (but it works). The premise is people who are single are taken to a hotel where they have 45 days to find a mate. At the end of that time, if they haven't found someone, they are turned into the animal of their choosing. Again, it sounds a little far out there but I really got into it. I had heard positive reviews about it when it came out but it just didn't appeal to me then. I honestly watched it because I was gearing up for THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER and I wanted to have a little Yorgos Lanthimos double-feature. 6.0/10

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER

Again, I had heard good things about this when it came out and I just recently saw both LOBSTER and this available on Amazon Prime so I jumped at the chance to watch them both. Another great story where a doctor and his family are being terrorized by a teenager who blames the doctor (once again played by Collin Farrell) for murdering his father since he died on Farrell's operating table. The actors who played his children, Raffey Cassidy and Suny Suljic, do great jobs with their roles and of course, Nicole Kidman always shines in hers. I will definitely have my eye on more of Yorgos Lanthimos' work as he releases them as I was impressed with both of these films. Again, both are on Amazon Prime if you're a member and in the mood for something different. 6.5/10

THE NEW YORK RIPPER

A little less than average 80's horror/giallo film. The title caught my eye as I hadn't heard of this previously. One of the scenes in particular had a very SUSPIRIA feel to it with it's use of colors and lighting, which I quite enjoyed. However, other than that, it was decent. Like any good giallo film, it keeps you guessing right until the very end. My major complaint was the killer would quack and talk like a duck which become somewhat annoying after a while. 4.5/10