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