by Kelly Lee

by Kelly Lee

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace "A Random Killing"
Airtime: 10/9c
Airdate: January 31, 2018
Channel: FX

​Chicago real estate tycoon Lee Miglin is murdered in what police describe as a random killing.

​ALNM Rating: 4.5/5
Directed by: Wes Ball
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Walton Goggins, Ki Hong Lee, Jacob Lofland, Katherine McNamara, Barry Pepper, [redacted], Rosa Salazar
Rating: PG-13
Available to watch: In theaters now
Review: Maze Runner: The Death Cure is exactly the movie fans of the series have been waiting for for over two years.  I'm not going to delve into too much detail here, because we'll be devoting an episode of the podcast to this, but rest assured it is worth the price of admission.  The action sequences have taken a serious step up from the previous two films starting from the very first scenes of the movie.  The growth of Dylan O'Brien's range as an actor is on full display, and it is clear that Rosa Salazar is a star in the making.  As always, Thomas Brodie-Sangster brings a special kind of heart to the film with his seemingly effortless transformation into Newt while Ki Hong Lee brings the kind of intensity you want in an action hero.  Some of my favorite comedic beats involve a certain surprise character I won't mention here.  All in all, the movie was thrilling from beginning to end.  But head into the movie prepared, because there were several significant moments I found myself wishing I had brought some tissues.

by Christina

Grace & Frankie
​Airtime/Airdate: Season 4 now available!
Channel: Netflix

Finding out that their husbands are not just work partners, but have also been romantically involved for the last 20 years, two women with an already strained relationship try to cope with the circumstances together.

ALNM Rating: 5/5
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, and Connie Nielsen
Rating: PG-13
Available to watch: Anywhere you can purchase or rent movies

Review: In this movie that inspires ladies of all ages, Gal Gadot steps into the Wonder Woman boots as Diana of Themyscira who courageously protects her people and travels with stranded American soldier Steve Trevor onto the battlefront of World War I to find Ares, the God of War.  Prior to its release, this film received much hype and definitely delivered an epic superhero movie filled with great acting and female empowerment.  Diana’s termination, drive, and bravery are shown through Gadot in a role that she was born to play.  Diana learns much about the world around her and the people she had never encountered before.  This film is not to be missed.  If you didn’t get a chance to see it in cinemas, I highly recommend renting, buying, or watching it in any way that you can!

P.S. You’re welcome, Christina.  I *finally* did that Wonder Woman review you’ve been asking for since last summer.

Official Summary: When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor. On Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.

ALNM rec: As both of your trusty ALNM hosts are half-Chinese and come from Asian families, there is a part of me that really relates to some of the crazy things that Nick’s family says and does in the book.  Not to say that either of us are “crazy rich” or come from secret millionaire families in Asia, but both Christina and I can understand the humor and exasperating moments that Nick endures with his family, especially his Asian mother.  In our 2018 movie article, I also mentioned that this will be made into a feature film to be released this summer, so make sure you read the book first so you understand the movie even better.  Or if you’re not much of a book worm, I suppose you can just wait for the movie.

Available for purchase wherever you buy books or e-books nowadays.  Also available for audio book download.