The Fall movie season has started with, in my opinion, a small sized bang. We got some great films and some pretty mediocre to bad films. Today I will be giving a review of each movie I have seen since September 2 up until October 7.  Let’s get started!

First up is the adaption of the popular novel The Light Between Oceans, starring Michael Fassbender, and Oscar winners Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz. This film followed Fassbender and Vikander as lighthouse workers who live on an island secluded to the outside world. After failing to have a baby twice, a boat arrives with a baby inside and they decide to take care of her. 4 years later, they find out who the real mother is–Weisz–and they have to decide whether to turn over the baby or to keep it as their own. This movie was filmed with amazing cinematography and had great performances from the three leads. I give this film a B+.

Next is the new Clint Eastwood biopic Sully, starring Tom Hanks as the famed captain who orchestrated the miracle on the Hudson. However, the film was more focused on the case that was investigated determining whether it was right for him to land the plane that way. Hanks gives a great performance while Eastwood’s direction creates the perfect tone for this film, along with a great screenplay. I give this film an A-.

Up next is another biopic Snowden, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the famed hacker. This film was troubling for me because it spent 2 hours on Snowden’s past and only 15 minutes on the actual hacking that made him famous. Despite a great performance from Gordon-Levitt, overall the film was very muddled with some good parts. I give this film a C-.

After that, the third film in the chick flick franchise that made everyone in 2002 cry has returned in Bridget Jones’s Baby. This film was weird before it started because it did not feature Hugh Grant at all. After that, the movie does not do anything that special that is different from other film, both in the franchise and outside of it. I had some fun with it, but in the end, I wasn’t really impressed with this film. I give this film a C+.

Next is the Disney bio-pic Queen of Katwe, starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and David Oyelowo (Selma). Following the story of a young girl in Katwe, Phiona learns the game of chess and goes onto try and win chess championships around the world. This film was great, with amazing performances and cinematography, with only this issue of it feeling as if it was being dragged out. I give this film B+.

After that is the film based off the oil spill of 2010, Deepwater Horizon. Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell lead this film into a depiction that I did not look fondly on. The pacing was all over the place and it made this tragedy into a Michael Bay explosion fest. I give this film a C-

Up next is The Girl on the Train, the hotly anticipated adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ thriller novel. Starring Emily Blunt in a stellar performance, she plays Rachel, a drunk, depressed, recently divorced woman, who sees people through the window of the train she rides. When it comes out that one of the people she spies on is missing, she tries to help find her, even though she might be involved with the reason why the women is missing. This film was fun for me, but it is one of those movies where I liked it, but if someone else did not like it, I understand where they are coming from. I give this film a B-.

After that, is the film The Birth of a Nation. Nate Parker takes you on the journey of Nat Turner, a slave who becomes a priest and rebels when he finds out the treatment of African Americans. This film had great performances and kept my attention throughout, but the third act annoyed me because it was not as well constructed as the first two acts. I give this film a B+.

Last, and definitely the least, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. This movie based on the children’s novel was so bad that it should have been called Middle School: The Worst Movie of the Year! It was riddled with horribleness and it was work to sit through it. Please, do not go see this movie! I give this film an F!

So that’s all the movies I have seen so far this year. Hope some of the November and December movies turn out to be great. See you next time!