Four Long Flights Worth of Movie Reviews

When you’re stuck on a plane for hours on end, eventually you can’t sleep, you put down the magazine or book, and just zone out and turn on the entertainment system. And in all reality, since I don’t get to watch many movies at home, I actually enjoy getting to catch up on some watching. Some were certainly more worthwhile than others though, so here’s my quick rundown, in the order I would recommend them. I’d highly recommend finding time for the first several. And with that, here they are:

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi — Grade A+

This one definitely had me on the edge of my seat. Based on a true story, this drama / action film portrays the attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi. A bit hard to watch, but extremely engaging. If you liked Lone Survivor, you definitely need to see this one.

Eye in the Sky — Grade A

Wow. Not only was it an extremely well made movie, it really does make you think about the rules and requirements of modern warfare. The premise is that a joint task force between the UK, US, and Kenya have located and identified some very high value terrorists. They have a drone (or RPA — remote piloted aircraft) in place, but must evaluate the implications of what the remote strike would have as there are civilians around.

One representative quote: “If they kill 80 innocent people, they win. If we kill one civilian, we lose.”

It’s pretty cool to see what technology is presumably available these days, but in the same respect, it’s kind of scary to think about — or more accurately think about what would happen if our enemies had the same.

London Has Fallen — Grade A

Excellent action film. The premise is that terrorists have attacked London during a state funeral and are targeting all of the other world leaders that have arrived. Lots of action and suspense put this one near the top of my list. I’d probably even watch it again even though I know what happens.

Bridge of Spies — Grade A

Sorting out these top four were tough. Originally this was top pick, but they I watched some really good movies after it. Based on a true story, Tom Hanks plays a lawyer asked to defend a Russian spy during the Cold War. In general, dramas aren’t typically my favorite genre, but this one was so good that it didn’t matter. Even though it was a bit long (at almost 2 hours and 20 minutes), I still was engaged in the plot the whole time. Definitely worth a watch!

The Intern — Grade A-

I was a bit skeptical that this would be super cheesy, but it actually turned out to be very entertaining. Robert Deniro becomes a “senior” intern at a young internet clothing startup being run by Anne Hathaway. It definitely had quite a few funny (not typically laugh out loud, but still funny) scenes, and the plot was well tied together and kept moving along. Best comedy I watched on the trip.

10 Cloverfield Lane — Grade: A-

I was very pleasantly surprised by this part sci-fi, part scary movie. I thought they did a good job of keeping you guessing not only what was going to happen, but of what was real and what wasn’t. The vast majority of the movie happens in a prepper’s bunker, and I won’t spoil the movie and tell you any more than that. Of the movies I watched on the way to Hong Kong, it was the one I enjoyed the most.

Allegiant — Grade: B

I watched the first two of the Divergent series in theaters, but somehow missed that this one even came out. I read all the books a few years ago, and while they weren’t quite as good as the Hunger Games books, I still enjoyed them. The accompanying movies for the Divergent series fell a bit short when compared to the Hunger Games movies, but I still enjoyed seeing them.

That all being said, Allegiant was about on par with the previous two movies in the series. If you liked the first two, you’ll probably like this one as well. If you didn’t like the first two, I’d spend my time elsewhere. The one thing that really stood out to me was that I remembered virtually nothing of the plot — either that or they took quite a bit of creative license when moving the book to the big screen.

Before We Go — Grade: B-

I had never heard of this movie, but I clicked on it because I thought the main actress was Rachel McAdams from the small title on the screen (it wasn’t). Nonetheless, it looked like it might be cute and fall in to the romantic comedy genre which I usually enjoy. Plus I was trying to switch things up a bit from the other movies I had watched.

In the end it was cute, but it certainly won’t make my favorites list. The movie follows a woman who lost her purse and wallet, and has to make it make home to Boston before morning. A trumpet player in the train station sees her miss the train and then proceeds to try to help her out for the majority of the rest of the movie. I don’t think I’d watch it a second time, but it was a good way to pass an hour and a half on the plane.

Captain America: Civil War — Grade C-

I don’t know if I’m just getting superhero’d out, but this was just mheh. Even Ironman being in it couldn’t move this higher on the list.

Everybody Wants Some — Grade D

This comedy follows a college baseball team’s first weekend at college chasing tail and getting into trouble. I wouldn’t watch it unless you were really hard up… Like on a plane for 15 hours.

Demolition — Grade: F

Maybe women will enjoy watching Jake Gillenhall on screen more than I did, but I was not impressed. I kept waiting for the movie to get better but that just didn’t happen. The one very small positive twist was finding out who was in the station wagon, but that was a very small win. Don’t waste your time.