Here we go again with a based-on-a-true-life story that doesn't quite make it movie-wise, despite Clint Eastwood in the starring role. It's a cool caper about a down-and-out 90-year-old guy who winds up as a courier for a Mexican drug cartel. But somehow it falls flat. The Movie Slut isn't sure who to blame. Is it the script? The actors that include Bradley Cooper (who seems to be phoning it is), and Alison Eastwood, Clint's daughter. Let's just say it doesn't gel. Kinda like pudding left out in the sun.

On her 18th birthday, Charlie buys herself a junkyard yellow VW Beetle and learns that sometimes you receive more than you ever dreamed of. It turns out her little fixer-upper is a transformer, a huge yellow robot from another universe that's fleeing evil enemies. Charlie names her car-bot Bumblebee, the two bond, and save the Earth. What more do you need to know? Sure there are other transformer flicks, some better than others. But in the Movie Slut's estimation, this flick is a standout thanks to endearing performances by Hailee Steinfeld as Charlie and the lovable Bumblebee voiced by Dylan O'Brien. The Movie Slut doesn't want to get all feministy here, but she totally appreciated seeing a female action hero

The Movie Slut and 8-year-old Sid left the multiplex singing "A Spoon Full of Medicine." "Great," you say. Not so much. That song from the original Mary Poppins movie was not in this remake. Neither were any of the other tunes that have become beloved classics. As for the new music—feh. Sid and Slut were underwhelmed by the entire production. So maybe you're thinking they were misremembering the first movie, letting nostalgia color their assessment. Nope. As it happens, the original was on the plane MS took home from her visit with Sid. And even on the small airplane screen and with substandard ear plugs, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and the wonderful soundtrack and story soared leaps and bounds over the sorry sequel with Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Mirander. In fact, when Van Dyke appeared in a cameo near the end of this disappointment, the screen was finally electrified. The moral of this review: There's no improving upon perfection.

In an instant, this flick could have devolved into an infomercial for foster care parenthood. But like a mighty retaining wall, Mark Wahlberg is on hand to make sure that doesn't happen. He's Pete,  one half of a couple who are moved to bring unwanted children into their family. Not because they can't have kids of their own, but because they're motivated by the plight of the youngsters. Next thing you know, he and his wife Ellie (Rose Bryne) are contending with a teenage girl and her younger siblings, each with problems that would test the mettle of the most experienced parents. Does this flick sugarcoat foster care parenting. At times, yes. At other times, it appears to be a honest account—funny and sad— of the foster care process, from beginning to never-ending relationship.

Eight thousand miles. Six years. Five boroughs. Two feet. One guy. Matt Green is the walking man. For some reason, not completely clear even to him, he decided to walk on every street in New York City. Why not? He'd already traipsed across the country. The Movie Slut thinks it was a nifty idea. And appreciates his passion to undertake a project with no reward in sight. She also loves walking and is a major fan of the city. She thoroughly enjoyed this documentary and yet, at the same time, thought that it was a missed opportunity. She would have loved to see him walking by some of the city's little known treasures like the street where she lived for five years: Chittenden Avenue. High above the Hudson River with sweeping views of the George Washington Bridge and the bridge formerly known as the Tappan Zee, this unique one-block street also figures in MS's soon-to-be-published mystery: Men, Madness, Murder . Look for it soon on Amazon.com.

Oh those bows. Oh those arrows. Oh those bow-and-arrow battles. If you want to see two hours of the above, then by all means, buy a tic for Robin Hood . On the other hand, if like the Movie Slut, you think one such scene is enough, then wait for the sequel. Oh yes, there will be a sequel. In fact, this entire flick is nothing more than a prequel to the real Robin Hood story. You know, the one in which Robin, Maid Marian, and the Merry Men, are hiding out in Sherwood forest when they're not swooping into Nottingham to redistribute the wealth. Taron Egerton makes a serviceable, smart alecky Robin. Returned from the Crusades to find his castle a shambles and his city taken over by a corrupt sheriff, he teams up with Jamie Foxx (Little John) and Eve Hewsen (Marian), and does his best to bring some fun into this dark, brooding film.

It's difficult to like a movie with characters who are unlikable. And that's not the biggest problem with The Front Runner . Anyone over the age of 50 is well aware of the Gary Hart story. In 1987, he had the Democrat nomination for president all but locked up. And then there was a boat called Monkey business and a broad named Donna Rice. So what did the Movie Slut want from this movie? How about an understanding of why he did what he did. Was it rampant lust? Love? A self-destructive tendency that coursed through his psyche? Alas, this flick offers no insights. Meanwhile movie goers are subjected to a whimpering Donna Rice with mascara dripping down her face; a mawkish Mrs. Hart barking at her philandering hubby; and a peevish, petulant, utterly arrogant Hart (Hugh Jackman). Call her crazy, but MS thinks she deserved more than that.

The Movie Slut can understand comparisons between Green Book and the 1989 flick, Driving Miss Daisy . Only here there's a white guy behind the wheel and a black guy in the back seat. But the Movie Slut thinks this new movie has more in common with A Walk on the Moon . Both films are set in the 1960s, an era when the times were a-changing and changing with the times proved more difficult for some people than others. The movies have another commonality: Viggo Mortensen. He stars in both films. Here Mortensen is a lovable thuggish bouncer who takes a job driving and protecting an African-American piano virtuoso ( Mahershala Ali) on on tour of the Deep Douth. Along the way this odd couple finds their common humanity. Some critics complained about the predictability of it all. The Movie Slut does not agree. She thinks like A Walk on the Moon , Green Book is a must-see.

War is hell. And so is this flick starring Rosamund Pike as British war correspondent Marie Colvin. It takes viewers into most of the contemporary war zones. Bosnia. Afghanistan. Sri Lanka. Syria. After losing an eye when she's hit by a grenade, Marie soldiers on. Maybe if the Movie Slut learned more about Marie's early life, she would have been more involved in her story and more impressed by her devotion to bring news of war atrocities to the citizens of the peaceful world. But lacking context, Marie comes across as a woman motivated less by righteous courage and more by foolish risk-taking.

Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Rodriguez, Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki So you think politics has become an unbreachable chasm. In Steve McQueen's new thriller that's nothing compared to the gender divide. After their thieving husbands are killed in a heist gone bad, the innocent wives are left to pay the debt owed to a murderous thug. And they prove more than up to the task. With Liam Lesson, Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall rounding off the exceptional cast, the viewer quickly learns there's not a good man among them. And not a woman who can't do it better if she has to. Go grrrls!

Somewhere between a trick to get viewers to the sequel to a 40-year-old movie and a treat that can be compared to a Payday candy bar, Halloween , the 2018 edition, is a serviceable slasher flick. Four decades after her world was upended by a knife-wielding lunatic, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is busy with her daughter and granddaughter and living in Haddonfield in a fortress-like home. Now, the day she's dreaded, and prepared for, has come. Michael Myers has escaped and he's coming to get her. And everyone else. Like any horror movie worthy of the genre, Halloween has its hokey moments. The police know the maniac is at lodge. But hey, let's not ruin the kiddies' fun by alerting the community. And so the stage is set for a bloody, gory frightfest. Enjoy

The Movie Slut met Lisbeth Salander in 2005 in Stieg Larsson's riveting bestseller, The Girl With the Dragon tattoo. She was, and still is, one of the most intriguing fictional characters of all time. A wisp of a woman who's a crackerjack hacker and a physical force who can take out men three times her size, she's a tattooed, pierced, bisexual with a moral code of her own. A traumatic childhood molded her. A harrowing adulthood reinforced her alienation. Now she is the avenging anti-angel— the woman who hurts men who hurt women. That's what she's doing when we first see her in this movie, based on the book by David Lagercrantz written after Larsson's death. The scene is classic Salander. But the film moves on from there and while it held the Movie Slut's interest, a niggling question crawled through her mind. What's missing? The answer: Lisbeth. She's lost her edge. Claire Foy ( The Crown ) is too pretty for the part, not tough enough, and isn't

Nicole Kidman, Lucas Hedges, Russell Crowe   Boy Erased isn't the first movie about the bogus conversion therapy that some people mockingly call "praying away the gay." Earlier this year, Chloe Grace Moretz starred in " The Miseducation of Cameron Post." The Movie Slut has now seen both films and believes the subject warrants a double take. Of the two, Boy Erased, based on a memoir by Garrard Conley, about his teenage years as the son of a Baptist Minister and homemaker mom living in the deep south is the unforgettable one. The misguided, uninformed, unscientific notion that sexual orientation is a choice that can be changed is resonant in both films, but what makes Boy Erased the standout is the bottomless motherly love that saves Jared (his movie name) from the clutches of the ignorant "therapists" who claim they can "fix" him. While his father takes more time to accept his son due to his deep religious belief, even he, after a mighty str

When we meet Jeanette (Carey Mulligan) and Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) it's 1960 and they live in small-town Montana with their 14-year-old son. Jerry is a golf pro. Jeanette is a housewife. They seem to have a good marriage and happy family. But problems arise and their relationship splinters. What's interesting about this sad, but realistic, film is that neither husband nor wife is at fault— or faultless— for the unraveling of this family. Watching Wildlife , which is based on a novel by Richard Ford (one of the Movie Slut's faves— The Sportswriter , Independence Day ) feels like stepping into an Edward Hopper painting. It's as Jeanette and Jerry are created on canvas and have as little control over their actions as the subjects in a painting. Their loneliness and unhappiness are in the strokes that make them who they are. It's Mulligan and Gyllenhaal's performances that give this movie depth and meaning. 

Even if you weren't a Queen fan in the 1970s and 80s, you're sure to love the rousing beat of "We Will Rock You," the sweeping sounds of "We Are The Champions," and the operatic flourishes of this rockin' bio-flick's title song, "Bohemian Rhapsody. Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) brings Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, back to life and we accompany him as he meets the band and makes the music. So it's a little kitchy now and then. So was the band. But that doesn't take away from the brilliant music, which generously punctuates this film. All is a build up to the final scene, a mini-concert that recreates the band's 1985 Live Aid performance. Movie-goers will be excused for foot stomping, hand clapping or jumping out of their seats to dance to  this.

Melissa McCarthy is Lee Israel. She doesn't merely play the part of the down-on-her-luck celebrity biographer, she invades the character. And if she doesn't get an Oscar nomination, the Movie Slut will be pissed. But back to Lee. We meet her when she can't pay the rent, when she drinks like a lush, when she's alone and friendless (except for her cats) in Manhattan, when her agent tells her to find another way to earn a living. And that's exactly what she does. Sadly, her new "job" is not exactly on the up and up. Based on a memoir of the same title, we follow Lee as she gets deeper and deeper into her shady endeavor encouraged by her new, and equally morally challeged pal (a terrific Richard E. Grant). You'll want to see this movie to find out what happens. 

For those not versed in the art and science of rock climbing, here's a primer. "Free" means no ropes attached. "Solo" means no climbing companions. Scary? You bet. But that didn't stop Alex Hannold, who became the first free solo climber to make it to the top of El Capitan, the 3,000-foot rock wall in Yosemite National Park. Twenty-five climbers lost their lives trying to maneuver their way up the sheer granite wall and this National Geographic documentary never lets the viewer forget how dangerous the undertaking it. The doc also tries to shed some light on why Alex climbs. A team of photographers, strategically-place on El Cap, take viewers through his meticulous preparation and practice sessions (with ropes). And then they treat us to his grand finale, a spectacular hand-by-hand, foot-by-foot ascent to the summit. Wow!

It's 1994 and 13-year-old Stevie (Sunny Suljic) is living in L.A. with his bully of a brother and clueless mother. His life sucks until he meets a group of older teens into skateboarding. He hangs around until they welcome him into their slacker lifestyle. The Movie Slut was hoping for lots of cool 90s music and nifty skateboarding. Alas she was disappointed on both accounts. And the banal, sophomoric conversations were quite a bore, particularly when the character nicknamed Fuck Shit opened his mind. Still, there were scenes that elevated the film, including Stevie's Rocky-like attempts to master the skateboard, and an early morning scene in which the ragtag group skateboard along the median of a roadway as the day awakens. The Movie Slut was not impressed by this flick written and directed by actor Jonah Hill. Perhaps she's not its target audience.

Gun violence. Police brutality. We've seen it, heard about it, lamented over it. What's new about this excellent heart-wrenching movie is that it takes us into the life of someone who suffers first-hand because of it. Her name is Starr Carter (an amazing Amandla Stenberg). She's sixteen when her oldest, dearest friend is shot to death in her presence by a jittery young policeman. Starr has grown up knowing the danger of such injustice, but nothing has prepared her for its impact. The movie follows her ambivalence about going public with her information and her transformation from frightened teen to a brave, determined activist, who reminded the Movie Slut of the Marjory  Stoneman Douglas students who survived the mass school shooting and are devoted to ending this outrage. The movie, based on a bestselling YA novel by Angie Thomas, is all the richer for painting a realistic portrait of the community, people, and issues involved. It's real. So real it hurts. But it shoul

French director Jacques Audiard brings us the best Western since...forever. The brothers (John C. Reilly & Joaquin Phoenix) are hit men during the California gold rush and unwitting employees of a creep known as The Commodore. It's 1851 and they're in pursuit of a guy with a so-called foolproof formula for finding the shiny stuff. A detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) is also on this gold diggers trail. The beauty of this flick is in the vast green expanses and jutting mountain ridges of the West and within the hearts and souls of the four men who come together on this fool's errand. Sure there's violence. But never gratuitous. Merci, Jacques for giving the Movie Slut this cinematic gem.

Jon Hamm, Lewis Pullman & Cynthia Erivo The Movie Slut had a love/hate/love relationship with this Coen Brothers-meet-Quentin Tarantino movie. She loved the first and last thirds of the flick. In the middle, she contemplated walking out. The story revolves around seven strangers who arrive at a run-down hotel on the California/Nevada border. They share one thing in common. They all have dark pasts. Except maybe John Hamm, who's a federal agent investigating who knows what? Hamm is the only actor with a comic edge in the movie and MS thinks it would have benefited if others were equally quirky. Still in the end, it all comes together quite beautifully, and is greatly enriched by the soulful performance of Cynthia Erivo, a British singer, actress, and Tony Award winner. Also in the excellent cast: Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, and Chris Hemsworth.

Here's one reason to see this based-on-a-true-story flick: Robert Redford in a fedora. The story is okay: A guy who committed 17 robberies, went to jail 17 times, and smiled throughout. In this movie, he meets a gal (Sissy Spacek) who, despite her law-abiding ways, falls for him.  But then, he is Robert Redford in a fedora. In real life, it seems the guy became a bit of a folk hero, but the movie doesn't make much of that. It focuses instead on the detective (Casey Affleck) who can't get a grip on the slippery character. The Movie Slut wishes this movie about a guy with a gun had more bang. But then, it does have Robert Redford in a fedora.