Fall Fantasies, Winter Washouts

Note: Back from a long break, but ready to roll. Let's go!

BLACK PHONE #2

HORROR 

PLOT:  The “Grabber” origin.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Some jump scares and an interesting back-story of Grabber.

WHAT IS WRONG:  Very slow to get started.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:    If you enjoy the first film but is curious about how the Grabber beginnings you will like it but no rush to see this  film.

 

WICKED FOR GOOD

MUSICAL/FANTASY 

PLOT:  The sequel to Wicked.  Elphaba, (Cynthia Erivo) the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda (Ariana Grande) are at odd with each other but still want to be friends.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The two female leads Erivo and Grande! They have great voices.  The costumes are dazzling!

WHAT IS WRONG:  The Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow origins have been changed and Dorothy !  You NEVER see Dorothy’s face only silhouette but you see her shoes-they are not red! 

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  It is a different telling of the classic story.  It is not bad but not great either. 

THE CONJURING: LAST RITES

HORROR 

PLOT:  The Warrens do their last paranormal investigation and background story about their past. 

WHAT IS GOOD:   It is creepy, scary and suspenseful. There is blood but not what you think.

WHAT IS WRONG:  Even this movie has typical jump scares.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!!  It is suppose to be the last film of the franchise but I don’t think so.  It is effective but if you’re into slasher the film it may bore you.

 

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA INFINITY CASTLE

ANIME

  

PLOT:  The Demon Slayer invades a mansion with assorted supernatural beings.  The first of three movies.

WHAT IS GOOD:  It is visually stunning and the sound astonishing!

WHAT IS WRONG:  It is a long anime film.  It is over 2 ½!

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you are a fan of the series it is a violent treat.  It is beautiful and bloody!

THE RUNNING MAN

ACTION/SATIRE 

PLOT:   In the distant future people watch selective, ordinary citizens become “runners’ and are tracked and killed by “hunters” while customers love to watch the carnage. The film is based on the Stephen King novel which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The action which is exceptional!  Colman Domingo as Bobby Thompson is great as the host of the violent TV show.  Josh Brolin is good as the evil producer.  Glen Powell is very good as Ben Richards, who doesn’t want to be a runner but does to pay for his child medical bills.

WHAT IS WRONG:  I didn’t see the 1987 version so I can’t compare the two.  It could have been shorter.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  Maybe.  If you like the 1987 movie you might like it better than this one but this movie isn’t bad.

 

PREDATOR: BADLANDS

THRILLER/SCIENCE FICTION 

PLOT:  Dek, a small predator goes to Genna also called the death planet to prove his worth as a warrior.  This is the ninth movie in the popular franchise.

WHAT IS GOOD:   Dek (Dimitrius Schuster Koloamatangi) proving he is worthy of being like his father and brother.  He shows emotion in his alien face.  Thia (Elle Fanning) is amusing, friendly to be a synthetic-looks human but is not who Dek helps on his journey to prove he strong and brave .

WHAT IS BAD:  Many fans are used to the ugly alien is the bad guy but in this film it has feelings and  is the hero.  Not bad but strange.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  It’s a different take  on  the Predator series and it does pay off.

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

THRILLER 

PLOT:  Pat Calhoun (Leonardo Di Caprio) an explosive expert who was in a terriost group French 75 is now stays of the grid and get high all the time until his daughter is kidnapped by an enemy from his past Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn)

WHAT IS GOOD:   The cast is great but DiCaprio and Penn stand out.  Great mix of  acting and action –very rare today.

WHAT IS WRONG:   It could have told the story shorter.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  If you enjoy the talented cast, exciting action.  I am sure there will be Oscar nominations for this film. 

 

SISU 2: ROAD TO REVENGE

ACTION

PLOT:  Jorma Tommila (Aatami Korpi) comes home in 1946.  His family is dead so he takes down his home by himself and moves to a new place to live.  Stephen Lang (Igor Draganov) killed his family and he is jail but they release him to kill Korpi.

WHAT IS GOOD:  First of all Sisu is not the hero’s name.  In Finnish it means sheer determination.  Korpi is determined and cannot die!  Draganov tries to kill him with everything he’s got but Korpi is very resilient!  Stephen Lang starred in Avatar as a villain Colonel so these two attacking each other is just fantastic and bloodly!

WHAT IS WRONG:  The violence is WAAY over the top!  Almost cartoonish.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like the first SISU you will enjoy this!

A Nobody But Bad Guys End of Summer

 

NOBODY #2

ACTION 

PLOT:    The sequel to Nobody.  His family goes on vacation but not crime and soon he is fighting for him and his family.

WHAT IS RIGHT:    Nobody (Bob Oderkirk) is very good as an average man who just wants an average vacation but always in danger.  Sharon Stone the villainess Lendina is great!  She seems to enjoy causing pain and cursing as well.  Daniel Bernhardt is great as her henchman Kartoush.  He is wonderful but unsung as the boss’s henchmen.

WHAT IS WRONG:  You know Nobody will get into trouble and resolve it in violence.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like the Nobody franchise.  YES!

  

BAD GUYS #2

ANIMATION/COMEDY/ ADVENTURE 

PLOT:   The sequel to Bad Guys.  The team wants to be good guys now but it is hard but they are force to do an amazing heist to protect a friend.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The animated movie is like Mission Impossible full of fun and thrills.  It is very elaborate and clever!

WHAT IS WRONG:  Over done at times.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  It has it all!  Action, comedy and excitement.  It is VERY well done.

 

NAKED GUN 2025

ACTION COMEDY 

PLOT:   Frank Drebin Jr (Liam Neeson) stumbles into a case that is global proportions.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  Aging action star Liam Neeson is great as a funny in comedy.  Pamela Anderson is very good as a mature femme fatal. CCH Pound is amusing as Chief Davis.  Danny Huston is still the bad guy but amusing as well.  Actors who usually do mostly dramas or thrillers are fantastic in this!  There is wordplay, slapstick and silly stuff at a rapid pace!

WHAT IS WRONG:  Some of the comedy is raunchy.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  It is a great update on the old Naked Gunn franchise.

 

RED SONYA

FANTASY/ADVENTURE 

PLOT:  The origin of the title character.  Different from the comic book and the 1985 film.

WHAT IS RIGHT:    Matilda Lutz (Revenge) is great as Red Sonja!  Yeah I know she is little in size but fierce in the fight scenes!  Robert Sheehan is the evil Emperor Dragan the Magnificent is effective and Rhona Mita as Petra who is in there briefly but was very good.

WHAT IS WRONG:  It is a shame it didn’t have a bigger budget.  It was done well but would have been better with adequate money.   

SUGGESTION:  If they make another Red Sonja I wish they would have her and another female warrior Xenia.  It would be worth watching.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  If you like sword and sorcery movies with a female lead  this is not bad.  If you watch the trailer it looks terrible but if you see the movie it is MUCH better.  It is a B-movie but a good B-movie. 

Summer Monsters, Zombies, Superheroes and Requels

LILO AND STITCH

FANTASY/ADVENTURE 

PLOT:   Live action remake of the cartoon.  Lonely young girl adopts a blue dog but it is really a destructive alien and it learns about family.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The young actress Maia Kealoha as Lilo.  She is cute, spunky and cares about her sister Nani who is played by Sydney Aqudoag who is young, wants to be a good sister, guardian  and trying to work.  Both actress are very good.  Stitch is computer generated and fun to watch even when doing gross things.  He is voiced by Chris Sanders and he is great!

WHAT IS WRONG:  The animated version was great without a remake.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!   If you enjoyed the animated version this version is just as good.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

FANTASY/ADVENTURE 

PLOT:  Live action remake of another Disney cartoon!  In the town of Berk, dragons are hated by Vikings but Hiccup, a creative young man befriends a dragon and they become good friends.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The visuals!!!  There are sequences of flight that take your breath away!  The cast is very well played.  If you enjoy giant monster fighting that is amazing!

WHAT IS WRONG:  Woke again but just a little.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  OH YES!!!  It is a delight for the eyes and the heart

JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH

ACTION/ADVENTURE

PLOT:  A drug company pays a group of mercenaries to get DNA from hybrid dinosaurs on yet another secluded island.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The dinosaurs  of course.  They are freakish than the past ones.  The fun is the people have to escape one crisis after another.  Scarlett Johansson as Zora is good as well as Mahershala Ali as Duncan leader of the mercenaries.  They become heroes reluctantly.

WHAT IS WRONG:  The first fifty minutes!  It sets up the story but it is slow.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you love the Jurassic franchise. YES!  It is fun because of the giant monsters.

28 YEARS LATER

SI-FI/THRILLER 

PLOT:  A small island in the UK successfully protects zombies from attacking them.  On one of Jamie (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and his 12 year old son Spike (Alfie Williams) may have found a doctor named Dr. Ian Kelson to help their sick family member Isla (Jodie Comer)

WHAT IS GOOD:  Alfie Williams as Spike.  He has to learn how to fight, take care of his mom and face danger with his dad. That’s a lot for a 12 year old but Williams pulls it off.  Johnson always finds his ways in movies whether they are successful or not!  Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Ian Kelson is great trying to live and keeps his humanity.  There are beautiful scenes in the film.

WHAT IS WRONG:   It is a downer.  Lots of sadness.  Mental illness, terminal illness and daily survival.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like the first one YES!  It has beautiful visuals and sadistic violence.

  

SUPERMAN 2025

ACTION/ADVENTURE/FANTASY

PLOT:  A VERY DIFFERENT version of the man of steel.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  David Corenswet (!) isn’t bad as Superman.  He truly believes what he is doing is right!  Rachel Bronahan is good as Lois Lane, a reporter and Superman’s love interest.  Nicholas Hoult as the evil Lex Luthor is effective.  He is so obsessed with even Superman wonders what is wrong with him!  Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, a Green Lantern is very good even if his hair cut isn’t.  Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl is okay even though she doesn’t have much to do but when she does it is brutal!  Krypto, the CGI dog is adorable and annoying!  Ed Gathergi as Mr. Terrific is terrific!  I hope they make a movie about him!

WHAT IS WRONG:  Superman gets beat up often in the movie!  He is resilient  but he is hurt most of the time!  He swears too but not much and he is not Clark Kent a lot either and it is explained why he wears the glasses he doesn’t need.  The worst is Superman is called a bitch and not by Lex but someone close!

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like the traditional Superman movies NO but if you want something new and unique this is for you.

 

M3GAN 2.0

ACTION/SCI-FI 

PLOT:     Megan, an AI robot that was “killed” must come back to fight a military female robot to save the world!

WHAT IS RIGHT:  Megan the robot is great!  She still has lewd humor, still can dance and knows how to kill.  The fights scenes are good.

WHAT IS WRONG:  The first film was a horror movie now it is an action thriller with two fem bots trying to kill each other!  I must say it is different.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like the first movie this one will be a shock!  If you like the change in genre this one is you might like it too.

Final Sins, Reckonings, and Destinations

SINNERS

HORROR/ACTION 

PLOT:    Two black twin brothers buy a place to start a club in the south in 1932 but something evil arrives.

WHAT IS RIGHT:   The music is great as well as the cinematography. Michael B Jordan is good but the villain Remmick played by Jack O Connell is excellent.

WHAT IS WRONG:  Nothing happens for an hour.  It is a slow burn but the second hour is unbelievable!!!   It is something to be seen!  Jaw-dropping!   It is a different vampire movie I have EVER seen!

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you want something unique this film is it!

FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES

HORROR 

PLOT:  Young female college student must stop the cycle on her and her family that will be killed by Death.  The 6^th movie in the supernatural series.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The kills!  The slaughter of people are very elaborate and bloody!  The late Tony Todd in  his final appearance is very brief but good.  The plot does make horrific sense.

WHAT IS WRONG:    You seen one you have seen them all but kills become more imaginative.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you like these kinds of films it is better than most of them.  There is a saying in Hollywood that horror in the summer doesn’t sell.  This one is!

 

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FINAL RECKONING

ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER 

PLOT:  Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team a device that could destroy the world.

WHAT IS RIGHT:    Tom Cruise doing the most fantastic stunts!  The film is over 2 ½ hours but it goes by very fast!  His team has newcomers and the original people from past films.  There is brief sadness in the film but the hero must fight on.

WHAT IS WRONG:  The stunts are great but it almost cartoonish as well as the villain.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  If you are a fan of this franchise YES!  I don’t think this is the last one but if it is it was done very well.

Spring Thunderbolts, Mines, Assassins and Working Men

THUNDERBOLTS*

SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY 

PLOT:  Antiheroes come together to save the world.  Marvel’s version of Suicide Squad.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  Florence Pugh as Yelena, she is an assassin who is ashamed and disgusted with her life.  She is strong most of the time and sad the rest.  David Harbour is great as Red Guardian, comic relief but has a serious side.  Julia Louis Dreyfus is very good as Valentina Allegra De Fontaine, head of  the CIA. She is charming but cunning and ruthless.

WHAT IS WRONG:  The hero/villain named Sentry.  He is VERY powerful  but ordinary when he is human.  His origin is amazing but you don’t know that until the end.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  OH YES!  To the reader of comics they may dislike some things but to the other audience who enjoy just excitement it is great.

DISNEY’S SNOW WHITE

MUSICAL/FANTASY 

PLOT:  Snow White must save her kingdom from the Evil Queen.  A remake of the animated classic.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Rachel Zegler has a lovely voice and Gal Gadot (Wonder Women) is wicked as the vain Queen.  It is beautiful to look at.  The dwarfs are very funny and the animals adorable.

WHAT IS WRONG:  The songs are NOT memorable!  The song, Hi Ho from the classic is cute but over the top!

SHOLD YOU WATCH:  It is not as bad as you think but with the budget for reshoots, the two leading actresses did not get along and there are some woke parts it could have been MUCH better!  Ms. Zegler is talented and she does have a right to speak her mind but not when you have to promote a big budget picture.

 

A WORKING MAN

ACTION 

PLOT:   Jason Statham is Levon Cade, a former Royal Marine who is now a construction worker and helps his boss find her daughter who was kidnapped.

WHAT IS GOOD:  Jason Statham!  He is good when he plays a tough guy to help others.  The fights are great.  Humor helps a lot.

WHAT IS BAD:  It’s a B-movie you have seen before.  Jason Statham plays the same type.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES if you are a fan of action films and of course, Jason Statham.

 

MINECRAFT

ADVENTURE/FANTASY/COMEDY 

PLOT:  Based on a video game Jack Black is Steve, a bored doorknob salesman who longs for something more and he goes in a mine and finds an orb he is taken to another world he can create his own world.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  Jack Black and Jason Momoa as Garrett, a big guy who is video game champion but he also not so bright. The two are a great pair and make the movie fun!

WHAT IS WRONG:  It is very silly once they go to another world.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  If you like the video game but the performances of Momoa and Black are the two best reasons to go.  It is senseless but so entertaining

  

G20

ACTION/THRILLER

PRIME 

PLOT:  President Danielle Sutton (Viola Davis) goes to a summit with her family in South Africa and met with terrorists.

WHAT IS RIGHT:  The talented actress Viola Davis as the president.  She is tough, funny and a concerning mother.  She brings humanity to the part.  Antony Starr (The Lost Boys) as the villain Rutledge is great.  Ramon Rodriguez as the prime Special Security Agent is all you want as a bodyguard: loyal.

WHAT IS WRONG:  There is a lot of “woke” in the film.  A black female president; her Latino as her Special Security Agent, the daughter is very smart, sassy and the bad guys are white.

SHOULD YOU WATCH:  YES!  It is has a lot of suspense and action.  It is senseless but exciting.