Monday, March 18, 2024

Was the 2024 Oscar Season Filled with Poor Things?

 

OSCAR NOMINATION 2024

BEST ACTOR

COLMAN DOMINGO

RUSTIN 

PLOT:   Bayard Rustin, a charismatic, determined black gay man in the 60s who against all odds organized the March on Washington.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Colman Domingo is AMAZING as Bayard Rustin!  He was smart, savvy and nothing stopped him.  Chris Rock (yeah the comedian) as Roy Wilkins another activist that didn’t care for Rustin is very and good and Jeffery Wright is terrific as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. is great!  My only hope is Jeffery Wright will do Adam Clayton Powell Jr. biography.

WHAT IS WRONG:  When Hollywood does a biography they pick and choose what is in the film and YOU want to learn more you must read to find out the real story.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  ABSOULETY!  Rustin is an unsung person on the March on Washington that is finally getting his due.

 

BEST ACTOR

BRADLEY COOPER

MASTRO

BIOGRAPHY /DRAMA

PLOT:    The biography of Leonard Bernstein the brilliant conductor and his wife Felicia Montealegro.

WHAT IS GOOD:   Bradley Cooper as Bernstein.  He is passionate about his music and friends.  Carey Mulligan as his wife Felicia is a great for loving him no matter what.  Cooper is also the director and it is very good. 

WHAT IS WRONG:  Felicia may have an interesting back story but it is not talked about much.

SHOULD YOU WATCH: YES because of the performances of Cooper and Mulligan are very well done.


OSCAR NOMINATION 2024

BEST ACTOR

PAUL GIAMATTI

HOLDOVERS

COMEDY/DRAMA 

PLOT:   Paul Giamatti is Paul Hunham a crusty teacher who is punished has to take care of students at Christmas in 1970.  Most leave except one young man that changes his life.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The cast that consist of Giamatti, newcomer Dominic Sessa as Angus Tully, a smart but troubled young man and Da Vine Joy Randolph as Mary Lamb, a black cook who’s son died in the Vietnam War.  They are a sad but funny group of people trying to cope with life that didn’t give them a good hand.

WHAT IS WRONG:   Predictable but still interesting.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you enjoy watching people deal with tragedy and regrets then YES!

 

 PAST REVIEWS--

BEST ACTOR

CILLIAN MURPHY

OPPENHEIMER

SEE REVIEW

 

BEST ACTOR

JEFFREY WRIGHT

AMERICAN FICTION

SEE REVIEW

  

BEST ACTRESS

ANNETTE BENING

NYAD

BIOGRAPHY/DRAMA 

PLOT:  Diana Nyad is a gifted swimmer and at 60 she decides to swim from Cuba to Florida.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  Bening as Nyad!  The female is driven!  Five times she tried because she believed she could do it.  Also outstanding is her good friend and coach Bonnie Stall played by Jodie Foster.  She trusted in her friend despite how crazy it was!  The rest of the cast was great as well.

WHAT IS WRONG:   When Hollywood does a bio they sometimes alter the facts.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  The film is about the human spirit that can’t be stopped!

 

BEST ACTRESS

LILY GLADSTONE

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

CRIME DRAMA 

PLOT:  Osage Indians stuck oil and white men married the women to kill them and get the insurance money.

WHAT IS RIGHT:    When you think of native Indians you think of them on horse with bow and arrows killing the hero.  Not this film.  They are shown as intelligent, wealthy people who want the same thing any other people want equality and acceptance.  The cast!  Leonardo Di Caprio is fantastic as Ernest Burkhart who was lead astray by his uncle William “King” Hale played by the great actor Robert DeNiro.  He should have been nominated. Molly Burkhart played by Lily Gladstone is just amazing as Ernest’s wife.  She is not melodramatic as a woman trying to find out who is killing her people, her husband is trying to poison her and the death of her child.  She has a silent strength you can see all the pain in her eyes.

WHAT IS WRONG:  It is too long!  Martin Scorsese makes great epic stories but it is too long!

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  If you like great story telling, great acting.

 

EMMA STONE

POOR THINGS

HORROR/COMDEY/DRAMA 

PLOT:   Bella (Emma Stone) jumps off a cliff killing herself and her baby inside her but Dr. Godwin Baxter (William Dafoe) finds her in the water reanimates her and places her baby’s brain in her head.  She starts off as a toddler then matures into a woman.

WHAT IS GOOD:  It is a different telling of Frankenstein. Very funny but mostly bizarre at times.  Emma Stone is fine from child-like to grown woman.  Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderham a lustful cad who has sex with her a lot on a cruise.

WHAT IS BAD:  It is not for kids!  Lots of nudity and sex! Bella is a corpse!   Is it Poor Things or Porno Things?

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  This is a strange movie so if you want something different-this is iT!


BEST ACTRESS

SANDRA HUELLER

ANATOMY OF A FALL

DRAMA/MYSTERY 

PLOT:    Sandra Voyter is a writer with her husband and young, blind son and they live in the isolated mountains.  One day his husband falls off the top floor of the big house and dies.  Sandra is indicted but did she do it?

WHAT IS GOOD:  Sandra Huller as Sandra whose past is far from perfect but still loves her husband and child.

WHAT IS BAD:  Slow paced.  It’s a French movie

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  Yes for the performances.


BEST ACTRESS

CAREY MULLIGAN

MASTRO

SEE REVIEW

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Stering K. Brown -American Fiction

Robert DeNiro-Killers- of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr. Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling –Barbie

Mark Ruffalo-Poor Things

SEE REVIEWS

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-

Emily Blunt-Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks-The Color Purple

Jodie-Foster Nyad

Da Vine Joy Randolph-The Holdovers

  

BEST DIRECTOR

Jonathan Glazer

THE ZONE OF INTEREST

PLOT:   Commandant Rudolf Hoss (Christian Friedel) has wonderful home, a loving family and great backyard the bad part is it is next to a concentration camp in the 40s.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The acting is really great especially by the two leads Friedel and Oscar nominee Sandra Huller.  The music is scary as hell.  You don’t see the horror but you definitely hear it. The sickening part is the family has drama like most families but they seem to ignore the hideous things around them.

WHAT IS BAD:  Slow but frightening.

SHOULD YOU SEE IT:  YES but fair warning:  It is not a popcorn movie!  It is powerful and shocking!

 

BEST DIRECTOR

JUSTINE TRIET- Anatomy of a Fall

YORGOS LANTHIMOS-Poor things

JONATHAN GLAZER-The Zone of Interest

SEE REVIEW

MARTIN SCORESE-Killer of the Flower Moon

Christopher Nolan-Oppenheimer

 

BEST PICTURE

American Fiction

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

Killers of the Flower Moon

Mastro

Past Lives

Poor Things

The Zone of Interest

 

PAST LIVES

BEST PICTURE

ROMANTIC/DRAMA 

PLOT:   Nora and Hae adore each other when they were young but Nora moved to the US while Hae stayed in Korea.  He comes to see her.  They care about each other but things and time have changed.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Greta Lee as Nora.  She hated leaving her country but is content with living in America yet she still thinks of her young lover Hae.  Teo You as Hae Sing stayed in Korea but to him his life is ordinary.  Both care deeply for each other but life happens.  Past lives is a saying in Korea and it is throughout the movie.  John Magaro is good as Arthur who is a writer and understanding husband of Nora.

WHAT IS BAD:   Not much humor.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  It is a romantic movie without the melodrama.


THE BEEKEEPER

ACTION 

PLOT:   An elderly woman Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad) lets Adam Clay (Jason Statham) stay at her barn to take care of his bees.  She is scammed out of her life savings and kills herself and Clay wants revenge.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Jason Statham as Adam Clay!  He is more than a beekeeper; he is a retired special agent.  Phylicia Rashad as Eloise a kind senior who helps Adam.  She isn’t in the film long but she is great.

WHAT IS WRONG:   It is like a low-rent John Wick.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like Jason Statham YES.  You have seen it all before but he is a very good action actor!

 

ARGYLLE

ACTION/COMEDY 

PLOT:    Elle Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard, Jurassic World) has a dull life but she is a successful spy novelist whose real spies want her information.  It’s an update on The Long Kiss Goodnight.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Sam Rockwell (Aidan) is great as a real agent trying to protect Elle.  He is very funny but he can fight!  The action sequences are amazing.

WHAT IS BAD:   There is a lot of unbelievable twist and turns.  Elle’s cat Alfie gets into bad situations dropped in her backpack, left to die and shot at for comedy!

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  Not really.  If you can see it on cable or streaming it would be better.  Exciting but senseless!


MADAME WEB

ACTION/SUPERHERO 

   PLOT:    Cassandra Web (Dakota Johnson) is a paramedic and she gains clairvoyant powers and must save three teens from an evil Spiderman (Tahar Rahim) because these three female teens will kill him in future.

WHAT IS RIGHT:   The ending is exciting.  She does become blind and in a wheelchair like in the comic book by the end of the movie.

WHAT IS WRONG:   Madame Web is a villain in the Spiderman comic books but to the public she is not well known.  It is really a mess!  The three ladies are stereotypical types the nerdy girl; the smart girl and the tough girl.  The bad Spiderman ONLY goal is to kill the women. He has a little backstory.  Cassandra supposed to protect them but leaves them alone a lot.  Four writers including the director S.J. Clarkson who did the great Netflix series Jessica Jones !

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  NO!!!  This movie should be seen on a streaming service or ON DEMAND


DUNE PART TWO

SCI-FI/ACTION 

PLOT:    Paul Atreies is now part of the leader Fremen warriors along with Chani (Zendaya) who is his love interest.

WHAT IS RIGHT:   Timothy Charlamet is good as Paul and Zendaya as a female warrior Chani but Austin Butler as Feyd Ratha Hankonnenn is great an evil assassin.

WHAT IS WRONG:  As always in Hollywood there are changes from the classic novel to the screen.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  If enjoyed the last one it and it is better.


IRON CLAW

BIOGRAPHY/DRAMA 

PLOT:  The tragic tale of the Von Erich dynasty in wrestling.  Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) is determined to make one of his four boys a wrestling champion and will do whatever it takes.  He  pushes them to the limit! 

WHAT IS GOOD:  The cast.  Holt Mcallany is amazing as the father who will break his sons to become a wrestling champion.  Zac Elfron as Kevin Von Erich is intense trying to get his approval but always failing.  Maura Tierney as Doris Van Erich the silent but strong mother of the family who tries to keep it together despite all the sadness.

WHAT IS WRONG:  Aaron Dean Eisenberg as Ric Flair!  They should have got the real guy because He would be better than the actor who played him.  REMEMBER:  When you are watching a bio not everything is true and you have to separate fact from fiction.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  It is a sad story of brothers who loved each other but their father’s dreams got in the way of  them living. 

THE COLOR PURPLE

MUSICAL 

PLOT:    Celie goes on a journey to find faith, hope and her sister.  Based on the novel by Alice Walker, was a movie in 1985.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The songs are very good especially “Hell No.”  Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery,  a sassy, brassy blues singer daughter of a preacher.  When she is singing or talking she is sensational!

Fantasia Barrino as Celie who went through hell in life is fantastic.  The rest of the cast is equally good.

WHAT IS BAD:  It still makes black men look bad.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YESSSS!   It is better as a musical than the drama in 1985.  It has tragedy and triumph.  Worth watching.

 

AMERICAN FICTION

COMEDY/DRAMA 

PLOT:   Monk Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) writes intelligent novels that don’t sell but he needs money to pay bills so he writes a book about stereotypical blacks in the ghetto which becomes a best seller.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The cast is amazing that includes Sterling Brown, Tracie Ellis Ross, Issa Rae and John Oritz, Monk’s happy agent he has a successful client.  The subject matter is great as well!  Not all black writers want to write about the usual slavery; crime and being poor.

WHAT IS WRONG:  The predicable story of family with problems and secrets.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES.  It shows that black writers have the same problems as black actors; the usual, tired stereotypes.

 

MAYHEM

ACTION 

PLOT:   Sam (Nassim Lyes) is a model prisoner.  He finally gets out finds a job, marries and has a little girl.  He wants to buy land but can’t but Narong (Olivier Gourmet) will help him if he does illegal activities and when he doesn’t bad things happen to his family.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The fight scenes!  Brilliantly brutal and men and women get Sam’s wrath!  Also you can about the characters because Sam wants to do the right but his pass catches up with him.

WHAT IS WRONG:  It is not wrong but half  the movie is subtitled; the other half English.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YESSS!  People who love action will love this MOVIE!!!


Friday, January 12, 2024

2023 Year End Wrap-up, Part 2

WONKA

ADVENTURE/FANTASY/MUSICAL

 PLOT:   How Willy Wonka, inventor, magician and chocolate maker became rich and started his own chocolate factory.

 WHAT IS GOOD:   Timothee Charamet who was good in Dune is great as Wonka!  Cheerful, optimistic and outrageous!  Calah Lane as Noodle, who helps him, is great.  Paterson Joseph as Slugworth leader of the chocolate cartel (!) is evil to the core!  Last but not least Hugh Grant as Oompa Loompa, a short, orange skinned, green-hair guy.  Director Paul King is the English Steven Spielberg.

WHAT IS WRONG:  Most of the songs were okay but not great.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  OH YES!  It has everything you want in a movie!

 

GODZILLA MINUS ONE

SCI-FI

PLOT:    Japan in the late 1940’s living through the war now a new menace rises in the form of Godzilla.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Godzilla!  He is not a B-movie monster anymore! He is a giant killing machine!  He spares no human!  The cast of humans are very good!  You care about the people will they survive Godzilla’s wrath!  In most of Godzilla movies you can’t wait for the King of the Monsters to show up and cause damage but this film is not the case.  They keep the roar and his music –very good!  The film was made with less than 15 million dollars-unlike the millions of dollars Hollywood needs but isn’t very good.

WHAT IS WRONG:   The people are important in the movie but it does drags when Godzilla is not on screen.  He is in the film only 4 times and the movie is 2 hours and 5 minutes so he is on screen every 30 minutes or so.  You have to read the subtitles which turns many people off.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  There are 2 kinds of Godzilla fans:  One, the fans who love the film in 1954 where Godzilla was created by the atomic bomb. Second, the fans who love Godzilla coming out of the ocean of Japan destroying everything and if there is another monster attacking and destroying the creature.  To enjoy this film you have to a little bit of both!

 

THANKSGIVING

HORROR/SLASHER 

PLOT:     Black Friday sales at Right Mart ends in tragedy and a killer in a John Craver mask rises.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The killer is not slashing teens at random; there is a purpose why he is taking out young people.  Some of the kills are SICK!!!

WHAT IS WRONG:   Fans who watch these kind of films will easily know who the killer is!  Stereotyped teenagers.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like revenge /slasher movies YES.

 

WISH

3D ANIMATION

MUSICAL/FANTASY

PLOT:    Asha finds out King Magnifo really doesn’t grant wishes like he promised.

WHAT IS GOOD:   Ariana DeBoise as Asha who is an intelligent girl who figures out many things about King Magnifo.  Chris Pine as Magnifo who is charming and controlling.  Some songs are very good. 

WHAT IS WRONG:  Too many songs!

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like the usually Disney heroine, pretty and smart, the cute characters and  the  villain then YES!  It is a joy to watch even if there is too many musical numbers.

 

HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLARD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES

ADVENTURE/ FANTASY

PLOT:    The prequel to Hunger Games and the transformation of Coriolanus Snow.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Tom Blyth as the young Snow and the slow turn that he became a tyrant.  Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Braid, a spunky young girl who Snow gets romantic with. Viola Davis as the Dr. Volumina Gaul who is very devious and charge of the 10th Hunger Games who has a big barrel of snakes she trained!  Peter Dinlage as Casca Highbottom who is Dean of the Academy but has a drug problem.

WHAT IS BAD:  It takes a while to grow on you.  It gets very interesting near the end.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like the Hunger Games starring Jennifer Lawrence and the book by Suzanne Collins’ novel which they didn’t change too much then YES!

 

 TROLLS BAND TOGETHER

3D ANIMATION/MUSICAL/ADVENTURE

 PLOT:     Branch (Justin Timberlake) was in a boy (Troll?) band and one of his brothers are in the clutches of a singer Velvet(Amy Shumer) who drains his talent so she can sing.  The third film in the series.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Justin Timberlake as Branch, Poppy(Anna Kendrick) his very happy girlfriend, Tiny (Kenan Thompson) a small but loud friend and Amy Shumer as the evil Velvet.

WHAT IS WRONG:  They break out in song at any time!

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!!! It tells the importance of family, has many of songs and Amy Shumer is great as the villainess!

 

 SILENT NIGHT

ACTION/THRILLER

PLOT:    Brian and his wife lose their only son to gang war at Christmas Eve. She wants to move on: he wants revenge!

WHAT IS GOOD:  Joel Kinnaman!  There is no dialogue, like a silent movie and yet he shows all the anguish and suffering of losing a child.  The action is near the end but when it happens it is non-stop!

WHAT IS WRONG:  Revenge is a popular theme in action films but director John Woo has to add something unusual to the genre!  No dialogue meaning no catch phases!

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES-if you want a different take on revenge action movies!

 

THE GRINGO WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS

HOLIDAY/COMEDY

PLOT:   Mexican dad (George Lopez) is happy that her daughter is coming home for the holidays until he finds out she is bringing her white boyfriend.

WHAT IS GOOD:  George Lopez!  He wants to keep tradition but times are changing.  The three young neighbors are like Three Latin Stooges.  A few stereotypes but still amusing.  Where is their movie?

WHAT IS WRONG:  It is Guess Who‘s Coming To Dinner vibe which has been done too much.

 SHOULD YOU WATCH:   If you like romantic holiday comedies-Yes!

 

 AQUAMAN:   THE LOST KINGDOM

ADVENTURE/SUPERHERO

PLOT:    Black Manta still wants revenge against Aquaman and goes to great lengths to get it.

WHAT IS GOOD:   Jason Momoa as Aquaman.  He is funny, protective and serious!  Patrick Wilson as Aquaman’s brother King Orm is amazing hating his brother  who placed him in prison but ready to help him to save Atlantis.  Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta is just FANTASTIC!!!  He will stop at NOTHING to get destroy Aquaman. Amber Heard as Mera whose scenes were cut down by her famous divorce from Johnny Depp was not in the film much.

WHAT IS WRONG:  Comical in spots, a little gross in spots too.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  The movie is like a 2 hour superhero cartoon so if you like that-GO 

Sunday, January 7, 2024

2023 Year End Wrap-up, Part 1

 

Note: Yeah, the Writers and Actors strike paused the industry, including for us humble movie bloggers. Now that that's over, perhaps there will be (finally!)no more lockdowns and labor disputes to get in the way of Hollywood releasing new films---so hey, it's 2024 already, here we go!

EQUALIZER 3

ACTION/THRILLER 

PLOT:   DIA Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) wants to retire in Italy but he has to get rid of the gangsters first.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  Oscar winning actor Denzel Washington!  His talent is still there despite he kills the bad guys like The Punisher!  He is cool, calm and cold.  Italy looks beautiful and dangerous.

WHAT IS WRONG:  It’s a story they use thousands of times: man with a skill set takes out the crooks!

SHOUD YOU WATCH:  If you like Denzel Washington and the kills he commits for justice.


GRAND TURISMO

DRAMA 

PLOT:    Based on the video game of the same name and a true story.  A young guy who plays video games gets a chance to become a real race car driver.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The cast!  Archie Madekwe is great as Jann Mardenboroguh who worked in a store to professional race car driver.  David Horbour as Jack Salter, once a great driver now a mechanic.  Djimon Hounsou as Steve Mardenborough, Jann’s father and Geri Hallwell (Ginger Spice) as his mother Lesly.

WHAT IS WRONG:  Every cliché about chasing your dreams is there.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  Only if you like the video game and the cast are great.


EXPENDABLES 4

ACTION 

PLOT:   The gang has to stop a merceny from selling warheads to a terrorist.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Sylvester Stallone as Barney (?) Ross and Jason Statham as Lee Christmas playfully annoying each other!  The banter is priceless.  Curtis (50Cents) Jackson is good as new member Easy Day.  Tony Jaa (Ongbak) is good as Decha, an ex Expendable. The villian Iko Uwais (The Raid 1 and 2) as Suarto Rahmet.  He doesn’t talk very much but his brutality is much.

WHAT IS BAD:  The CGI is not very good and the final battle is on a ship!  The price tag of the film is 100 million dollars!  Where did the money go?  Megan Fox as Gina who is great but becomes the leader of the team!  Once was Christmas girlfriend.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like action and despite it isn’t as good as Expendable 2 it is B-movie good!


THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER

HORROR 

PLOT:  Two teens go in the woods and come back possessed.

WHAT IS RIGHT:   The production is very good.  Two special guests are in it.

WHAT IS WRONG:   It is the rip-off of The Exorcist name!  Terrible sequels and this is a possible reboot.  Who is asking for it?  It is more like Evil Dead than the title.

SHOULD YOU GO:  If you are a fan of the original movie and all the others than yes but if not-WAIT!!!

 

THE NUN II

HORROR

PLOT:    In 1956 a priest is killed by fire and Sister Irene has to deal with the evil nun again.  The sequel to the first film The Nun.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  Tasa Famiga as Sister Irene.  She is scared and she is brave as well.  Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey-not related to actor Robert Downey Jr) is  a innocent little girl who is picked on by bully Kate(Anna Popplewell) and Maurice(Jonas Bioquet) is great as a friend to Sophie and wants to be lover to her mother.

WHAT IS WRONG:  Many jump scares that you know are coming!

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like the first movie you will enjoy it but if you didn’t it is more of the same.

 

SAW X

HORROR 

PLOT:    John Kramer/Jigsaw GOT conned by bogus doctors for his illness-bad idea!

WHAT IS RIGHT:    John Kramer(Tobin Bell) is near death and someone in his support group tells him about a group of doctors to save him so he goes and finds out it a scam!  That doesn’t sit well with him so you know what happens next!  All 10 movies this is my first.  I enjoy the revenge theme that is why I watchted this one.  Very good and gory.  Bell as John Kramer is very good at being bad and the villains are very terrible and gets what is coming to them.

WHAT IS WRONG:   It is long for a horror movie

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you are a fan of the franchise –YES! If not you will not be used to the gory death!

 

PAW PATROL THE MIGHTY MOVIE

ANIMATED 

PLOT:    Cute puppies becomes cute superhero puppies from a magical meteor.  Based on the Nickelodeon TV series

WHAT IS GOOD:    The evil but brilliant scientist Victoria Vance (Taraji P. Henson) is great as being wicked.  Skye, a tiny pup but is strong and driven.

WHAT IS BAD:    Too short!!!

SHOULD YOU GO:  If you have children who love the series YES and even if you don’t like the series you will enjoy this!

 

THE MARVELS

SUPERHERO/ADVENTURE 

PLOT:    The Supreme Being is destroyed in Hala and the new Kree leader Dar Benn wants to save her planet and get revenge on Captain Marvel.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The three superheroes Brie Larson (Captain Marvel)who carries herself well as a deity, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan.   Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury as comic relief.  Zawe Ashton is a good villain as Dar Benn.

WHAT IS BAD:  Marvel latest movie problem is being too funny mostly. 

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  It is B-movie good!  It is not the best but not the worst!  If you can wait for ON DEMAND  or streaming would be the best bet.

Friday, August 25, 2023

Megs, and Mutants, and Mayhem, OH MY!


THE MEG 2: The TRENCH

ACTION/THRILLER

PLOT:  The sequel to the The Meg  in 2018.  Five years later they discover something in the water that has Megs and large octopus.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The Megs!  The sharks are the stars and they do deliver!  Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor is still a hero like in the last movie.  There is a lot of humor and horror.

WHAT IS BAD:  This is a popcorn movie so have to expect the outrageous things.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  OH YES.  If you like shark movies, unbelievable situations  and heroics you will enjoy it! 


TEENAGED MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM

ANIMATED/ACTION/COMEDY 

PLOT:  The Teenaged turtles must stop a malformed house fly from destroying all humans.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Every few years Hollywood always makes a Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle movie.  This time it is creepy animated but it is very good.  The turtles are voiced by young people!  The best is Jackie Chan as Splinter, the father of the turtles who constantly tells them humans will never accept them.  Ice Cube as Superfly, a huge mutant housefly who hates humans and wants to kill all humans and make more grotesque insects and animals.  He is evil and very funny.  Maya Rudolph is funny to as Cynthia Utrom, who works at TCRS-Techno Cosmic Research Institute  to use their blood to make weaponize  ordinary animals.

WHAT IS BAD:  The ending is long and crazy.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES if you like the turtles.

 

INSIDIOUS #5 RED DOOR

THRILLER/SUPERNATURAL 

PLOT:    Dalton Lambert (Ty Simpkins) is now grown and going to college but evil still follows him.  His father Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) is not getting along and his wife died.  Both are trying to repress  tragic memories.  Supposedly the final chapter of the popular franchise.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  Patrick Wilson is star and director.  He does a good job.  Good jump scare moments.  Simpkins as Dalton does a good job of a trouble with college and other problems in his life.  Sinclair Daniel as Chris his female roommate is great comic relief.

WHAT IS WRONG:  Slow and not many jump scares.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you enjoy the franchise you know the characters you will find it good; others may find it very slow.


OPPENHEIMER

BIOGRAPHY/DRAMA 

PLOT:  Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the man who created the atomic bomb directed by Christopher Nolan.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The performances of Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy Batman, 28 Days) Robert Downey Jr. ( Iron Man franchise)as Lewis Strauss, his rival. Emily Bunt as Kitty, Oppenheimer’s wife and the rest of the cast.  Oscar nominations are in their future.

WHAT IS BAD:  Oppenheimer was said to be a ladies’ man but the nudity could have been cut out.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  It is an epic tale of creating something that could destroy the world and the same people who helped you are the very same people to bring you down.  It is a great movie but ALWAYS read more about famous people when they make a drama about them.

 


Wednesday, July 26, 2023

The Sound of Barbie, Freedom and Summer Profits

JOY RIDE

COMEDY

PLOT:  A group of young Asian women go on a business trip but soon becomes a wacky adventure and find out about themselves.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The cast of Asian American actresses.  Audrey ( Ashley Park) is the attractive smart female; Lolo (Sherry Cola) who is not ashamed to express herself; Kat (Stephanie Hsu)

 Audrey‘s roommate when they were in college now an actress and loves sex and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) Lolo’s cousin who is a little strange but loves hip-hop.  It is raunchy, outrageous and very funny!  It is sad near the end.

WHAT IS WRONG:  It is a formula females  have fun and mishaps journey. You seen it before just not with Asian woman.  They put down whites a lot.

SHOULD YOU WATCH: YES.  It is a wild, funny film .  It is rated R for a reason!  Sexual situations, lots of cursing and suggestive sex and a threesome!


BARBIE

FANTASY/COMEDY

PLOT:   Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives in the perfect world of Barbieland but is beginning to have human emotions so she has to go to the real world to solve her problem.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The visual effects are AMAZING!!! Her costumes are fantastic.  Ryan Gosling is very funny as Ken. Kat McKenna is great as Weird Barbie.

WHAT IS WRONG:  You don’t want to hear a speech of hard it is to be a woman in this kind of movie.  It does have wonderful, funny moments but not enough.  It can be stupidly fun at times. 

SHOULD YOU GO:  Young girls will love it, teen girls will like the fashion and the adults will some of the silly stuff.  If you can deal with this mixed bag, GO! 


MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING

PART ONE

ACTION/THRILLER

PLOT:  Ethan Hunt and his team have to find a unique key that could destroy the world.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The cast starting with Tom Cruise and Ethan Hunt.  He does his own stunts and does  well in the acting department as well.  Hayley Atwell (Captain America First Avenger) as Grace, a professional thief who gets way over her head.  She is a great actress in everything she does.  The villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) is fantastic and Henry Czerny as Kittridge who will do what it takes to save the country or himself.  The action scenes are simply the BEST!

WHAT IS WRONG:  The story is familiar but you are not going for story.

SHOULD YOU GO: OH YES!  This is the summer popcorn movie people have been waiting for!  It has everything  a summer movie must have and it is done very well.  MUST SEE!


SOUND OF FREEDOM

DRAMA

PLOT:   True story of Tim Ballard, a government agent who stops sex trafficking of children.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard.   He has a big family of his own and he goes way out of his way to capture pedophiles.  Caviezel is known for doing The Passion of the Christ directed by Mel Gibson.  Caviezel takes risk in his acting career and it does pay off!   The rest of the cast is great as well.

WHAT IS WRONG:  It is slow but not enough to lose interest.  Many scenes are sickening in what is implied.

THE CONTROVERSY:  The movie is 5 years old and  finally gave distribution, release the movie.  It could be because they use God’s name too much.  The quote “God’s children are not for sale.”  That is not a left issue or right issue but a crime!  At the end of the movie it reads that the most country that buys children is the United States.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  It is NOT a popcorn movie but it is a good  film.  It is hard to stomach at times but worth watching.