To the Theater: Dope & Inside Out

Have you seen Inside Out yet? It's a Pixar movie that aims to show you what goes on inside your head when  faced with a difficult decision. The film is focused around the emotions of an 11-year-old girl named Riley whose family moves from the Midwest to San Francisco. Her emotions are voiced by Amy Poehler (who plays Joy), Phyllis Smith from The Office (who plays Sadness), Bill Hader (who plays Fear), Lewis Black (who plays Anger) and Mindy Kaling (who plays Disgust).

The goal of the emotions is to work together to make sure that each day is mostly positive for Riley, and that her core memories are joyful ones. But the move to a new city and a new town are upsetting for Riley, and the emotions have to work together to keep her in tact. Overall, this is definitely one of the better Pixar movies. It's super funny for all ages (although I think parents will find it most appealing), and the concept is simply clever.

One of my favorite parts of the movie is when two of the emotions, Joy and Sadness, meet up with Riley's imaginary friend Bing Bong. He hangs out in her long-term memories because Riley is 11 and, obviously, hasn't needed an imaginary friend in some time. I remember saying to #thehubs, if Riley started thinking about and playing with her imaginary friend Bing Bong again, then that's a surefire way for her to turn into a crazy homeless person, right?

Anyway, it's a great movie that's worth seeing in theaters, even if you don't have any kids.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

So I'm not sure if this movie is playing nationwide, but if it's in your town, it would be a fun indie movie to check out. Dope is about three high school best friends/geeks who are into '90s hip hop culture, good grades and punk rock bands. The lead, Malcolm, shows you what it's like to be a guy like him who happens to live in a place like Inglewood.

One day, Malcolm finds himself in a precarious situation that leads to a slippery slope of unfortunate events. He and his friends have to decide what path this will lead them down. This is more of a coming-of-age movie that has a lot of fun scenarios and unique viewpoints. It's not a heavy drama that's supposed to "open up your mind" or anything, although it tries to do that.

You'll like this movie if you just want to laugh. Plus, the cast includes Zoe Kravitz, Chanel Iman, A$ap Rocky, Tyga and the lobby boy from The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Rating: ♥♥♥

All my ratings are out of 5 hearts! Looks like Inside Out and Ant-Man are the big winners.

My thoughts on a few other July releases:

Magic Mike: XXL (7/1) -- ♥♥♥
Terminator (7/1) -- ♥♥♥

Ant-Man (7/17) -- ♥♥♥♥
Trainwreck (7/17) -- ♥♥♥
Self/Less (7/10) -- ♥♥♥
Southpaw (7/24) -- ♥♥♥

Other Movies on My Radar:

Minions (7/10)
Paper Towns (7/24)

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (7/31)

Have you seen any of these movies? Share your thoughts with me on Twitter and Facebook!