April had a lot of good show and movie watching. We usually find some sort of something we want to rewatch, but we also found several ones new to us and even one in a theater.
Movies:
1.Ballerina. Super Rockstar and I had watched this recently, but since it’s considered part of the John Wick series (kind of an in between the story), we let the boys watch it. We all enjoyed it. It’s rated R.
2. The Wrecking Crew. Super Rockstar and I watched this one and to be honest–it wasn’t very good. It’s Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista playing half-brothers seeking to find out who killed their estranged dad. It felt awkward and at times just terrible, but did have some funny moments here and there. It’s Rated R.
3. Remember the Titans. Since Morgan has been working weekends quite a bit, we are often left with movie night being just us and Grayson. Even though we have seen it numerous time, he requested this one–as he loves all things football. It is such a good movie and about so much more than football. It’s rated PG.
4. Fury.  It’s not often that we get to watch a movie with just Morgan. He is a huge WWI and WWII buff and had long wanted to see this movie. He’s 19 now, so choosing a rated R movie isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be. The only thing we require is that there’s no nudity. This is one of the most graphic WWII movies I had ever seen. So much so, that when it came time to pick up Grayson from wherever he was that night–I happily volunteered. It’s about a tank sergeant (played by Brad Pitt) and his crew as they make their final push toward the end of the war. It’s a very heroic story, but it does not hold back on sharing in great detail the horrors of war going on all around them. It’s rated R.
5. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. We got to catch this one in the theater–the boys are both big Super Mario fans. We all really enjoyed it. It has all the favorites from the game–and of course Jack Black playing Bowser is awesome. It’s rated PG.
6. All the Johnny English Movies (Johnny English, Johnny English Reborn, and Johnny English Strikes Again). These are such silly good movies and often make our rotation of re-watching. If you’ve never seen them, I highly recommend them. Their all rated PG.
7. Crime 101. This was a very good action/crime story. It has Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, and Mark Ruffalo. It’s about a talented thief, an insurance broker whose being overlooked in her job, and a cop that wants to catch the thief. Super Rockstar and I watched this on our own and really enjoyed it. It’s rated R.
8. Jack the Giant Slayer. This is a Jack and the Beanstalk retelling from 2013 and I don’t know how we missed hearing about it until now. We watched it with just Grayson and it’s very good. It has some ickiness here and there–as the giants have a taste for human flesh, so you do see quite a bit of that, but otherwise it’s a very creative and good action film. It’s rated PG-13.
9. The Accountant. Super Rockstar and I had watched this years ago and remembered liking it, so we decided to try it on family movie night with the boys. Ben Affleck plays an autistic math genius who as a child was forced to learn survival skills by his military father. As an adult he is an accountant who also takes high paying and dangerous criminal clients. It’s very good intriguing story and we all enjoyed it. It’s rated R.
TV Shows:
1. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters–Season 2. We enjoyed the 1st season so much, that we have carried on with the second. It’s also been very good–revealing a lot more of the story. It does seem like the writers get stuck with what to do with some of the secondary characters, but otherwise we’re liking it.
2. Marshals. This is a spinoff of one of the characters from Yellowstone–Casey Dutton. It picks up his story after he and his family move to the outer edges of the Yellowstone, but we find out his wife, Monica has died and it’s just he and their son now. His Navy Seal past brings an old buddy back into his life who is now a Marshal. He convinces Casey to join and now we have the premise for this show. Here’s the deal–Taylor Sheridan did not write, nor does he direct this one…and it shows. It has a lot of bad acting. A lot. And the snappy timing and drama that make awesome Taylor Sheridan shows is missing. I want to like it. I really do. I’ll probably give the second season a shot when it comes out, but I’ll be honest–I’m not feeling optimistic.
3. The Madison. Now THIS is a typical Taylor Sheridan. It has Kurt Russel and Michelle Pfeiffer and is set in the incredible beauty of Montana. We unfortunately did not read anything about the story before we watched it and were very unprepared for what happens in the first episode. So much were we unprepared that I didn’t want to watch it again for several weeks. But we eventually finished the 1st season (it’s only 6 episodes). I can tell you that it is very good. But just brace yourself if you don’t know anything about the story– I won’t give any spoilers.
That is all for now. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on what you are watching.